I have researched myself to death on this one and cannot find a solid answer. I am thinking it is due to the GPS not having acquired its position fully, but here is what I am facing.
I power up the Pixhawk and let it go through initialization. I arm the Pixhawk and then arm via radio. My radio is setup to always startup in Loiter mode. When I do this, I get a loud beep...beep...beep...beep that does not stop unless I disarm or go to Stabilize mode. The copter will arm but it continues to give me this noise. I have a blue "breathing" LED until I arm at which time I get the green.
Any knowledge that can be shared about this is greatly welcomed!
Replies
BEEPING SOLVED!
It was the lost copter alarm! It was set in the CH10 function which in my Taranis setup is always "up" during startup. Solved that and I had a few channels mixed up in the Pixhawk setup file. All is good now! Well, except for waiting on props.
Log for the first flight. (I think)
14.BIN
This is the log just before I crashed it today. Unfortunately after doing a fair amount of slow turns and low speed/low altitude flight I was bringing it back to me when it started just going every direction then rolled into a vehicle and crashed. Not too much damage. A few props and a motor mount and I'll be back to flying. I'll load the previous log next. It had the continuous beeping even though it armed and flew well. No matter what mode I switched to it seemed to just be in stabilize mode.
15.BIN
If copter is in a GPS dependent flight mode prior to arming and if copter does not have a GPS lock the Pre-Arm Safety Check with prevent arming. Loiter requires a GPS lock.
FWIW, I do not recommend arming or taking off in a GPS dependent flight mode. Others will no doubt disagree.
I agree. Take off in alt hold, in my opinion. It only takes 5 seconds to make sure the copter works, then you can switch to loiter. That way if loiter mode is messed up, you can immediately switch back while still in the air. In loiter mode you are not directly controlling the copter, you are just telling it a set of coordinates to stay at. The sticks move those coordinates around. If there is some problem, the copter can fly crazily thinking it is doing the right thing. This is why you don't just fly with a tablet, you have to be ready to take manual control at any time with the transmitter.
Taking off in Alt_Hold is not a good idea either. For one thing, Alt_Hold puts a "dead band" around your current throttle stick position, so when you take off chances are you are past the hover point when the aircraft breaks ground. If you are a beginner, having your new pride and joy take off like a rocket can turn into a panic situation that may end in a pilot induced crash.
If I were you, I would forget about modes that have GPS in it and learn how to fly it by hand first. I know it sounds difficult, but you need to learn the basics, getting the flight controller to do all the flying especially, when you're a beginner and still learning is a very bad idea and a nasty habit to get into.
The Air France Flight 447 crashed, killing all 228 passengers on board because the pilots relied too much on the automation system to do the work for them, which led them to make a fatal error in the end.
My point being is, you need to get a feel for how your quad-copter flies and responds to your inputs. You can only experience it, by flying it in manual mode.
I would have RTL in another switch that overrides the 3 position switch.
I have a 3 pos switch to Stabilize, alt hold, and pos hold/loiter.
My 2 position switch overrides the other for RTL on channel 7/8.
Ken, I'm a bit confused on what mode you want to replace with what. Stabilize mode is usually the best for taking manual control, but requires some skill on the throttle. Alt hold is almost as safe, since the alt hold behavior has gotten really good. The iris doesn't have stabilize on the controller, its most basic mode is still alt hold. I think you could get away with that. The Iris has a 3pos switch for alt hold, loiter, auto. And a 2 pos switch to engage rtl. If all you have is a 3pos, I think that alto hold, loiter, rtl would be a good bet for you.
That is the wrong approach.
A Pixhawk is not now, never was, and never shall be a NAZA. You need to learn how to fly in Stabilize, and don't even think about using a GPS mode until you can.
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