There are so many posts about problems. After ordering an IRIS+ I almost got worried that it will not work as shown on the nice 3DR videos on youtube.
The last two days I could do my very first 4 test flights. Unfortunately all at night (too busy at work and getting dark too early).
I did not dare to try to much due to the low light conditions.
However. Stabilize, Pos. Hold and RTL works fine. As advertised...
I will try soon follow me and auto missions and I am confident it will work out as shown on the 3DR videos.
To all who hesitate and are wondering if it's worth to get an IRIS+
YES. It works!
PS.: Having experience with model aircraft and being able to fly them manually (stabilize mode, land, take off, fly nose-in, etc.) will help a lot. I could imagine totally newbies might have more challenges.
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I forgot to update on the 433 Mhz telemetry.
Had some issues with the range in the beginning. In the meantime it turned out that it was mainly due to the reduced output of less than 10 mW, which was the standard setup.
Turning it up to max of 100 mW gives me a range of 200-300m as advertised. On stock antenna. Directly connected to a Samsung tablet with the short USB cable. I have not yet tried how much it will improve if I use a PC or upgraded antenna.
Update:
Still happy with it. In the meantime I installed the Tarot Gimbal.Today I tried out some failsafes in real life condition.
Switched the transmitter off during an auto mission. The Iris+ did as she was supposed to - continue the mission.
I also wanted to know if the Iris really does RTL if not in an auto mission and TX connection is lost. Worked out as well.
There is just one thing I would like to improve. With the gimbal I finally realized that the Iris often does small "jumpy" Yaw corrections when i.e. in pos hold mode. I haven't check if others had similar issues before, but in the video footage it doesn't look nice and is kind of annoying.
Maybe I need do so some calibration or adjust the PID values.
I have the same problem with my Iris and the x8. quick little yaw movements in loiter mode. My only cure was to ditch the tarot 2 axis gimble and install the DYS 3 axis gimble. Basically direct plug n play, but I found some gimble settings on you tube that made it even better. The yaw will be eliminated for much better video with the 3rd axis. Try also to learn to fly in stable mode and turn off gps. You wont get that yaw twitch. I have also tried different PID setting, and auto tune that took some of it away, but did not eliminate it.
Do you know what exactly the difference is between the yaw management in stable mode vs. loiter/pos.hold?
I guess in GPS modes the heading of the GPS will be taken into account which then leads to those twitches, which we see less in stab mode? I might start tuning some PIDs manually.
Some flights ago I had the camera mounted at the front. Recently I changed to the 2 axis gimbal. Having the camera weight not in the front anymore but closer to the center of gravity, has an effect on those yaw twitches as well. It's at least what I think I can interpret from my different log files. So could mean that without the camera weight in the front the standard PIDs of Iris are a too high.
Ok. Will try stable mode as well. But I like actually the position hold to get better moves when i.e. climbing up.
I guess there is a way to activate pos. hold with a manual yaw like in stabilize. That could then be another simple way to get improved video without a 3axis gimbal.
This is how it looks like in one of the logs. Not sure if this is typical standard or can be improved by tuning, calibration or anything else.
I built a y6b over a year ago , i liked the way the pixhawk worked so i used it in a second build in a quad frame...I picked up a Iris+ a month ago for my kids and to compare their RTF Iris+ to my builds....and it flys great , does everything it suppose to and is set up more towards new pilots and thats great because my kids are hard on the sticks....can't beat the price on the Iris+ batteries especially on Amazon...can't wait for the Pixhawk2 to come out.
Update:
Tried more missions with point of interest. Works good. So far still without a camera or a gimbal. First I want to be sure that the IRIS+ works as it should.
I also tried the follow me mode today. All fine.
So in summary I am very satisfied. All worked out of the box without any special tweaking...
There is just one issue: The range of the telemetry. In the "one meter" test I do not get 190 or higher RSSI. I get around 150 with a TX power of 8mW. Out in the field, when I connect the telemetry directly via the short cable by mini USB to a tablet, the range is really low (30-40) . I need to try some of the tweaks which can be found online.
Are you trying to connect with your Iris+ through dense foliage as you fly the missions? I noticed some attenuation when I had trees between me & the Iris. I also use a very long USB cable, about 5-6 feet (2-4 meters) and mount the transceiver either on my tripod with the FPV monitor or on the roof rack on my car. As well, are you on 433 MHz or North American frequency of 915Hz?
Here are some POV tests I did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0NIQg1yPg8 DaveCheck your antennas on the unit and on your ground transceiver. (make sure they are on tight)
Antennas seem to be tight.
I looked at some tlogs from my flights and there I can see that noise is around 50-60 (whatever the unit is) and the RSSI is on avg. only 100 and then during flight coming down until it crosses the noise and I lose connection. This happens at quite short distance already (maybe 50m).
I am on the 433 MHz.
Nothing in between ground station and IRIS. Unblocked line of sight.
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