Multirotor loops and rolls just got easier with OpenPilot
With the latest release of the OpenPilot software version 14.01 come two new features (among others) that when combined, make flipping and rolling a multirotor (MR) even easier. A new flight mode called "Rattitude" is a hybrid of the self levelling "Attitude" and the more aerobatic 'Rate' mode. In "Rattitude" mode as the control stick on the transmitter moves out from the centre, the flight mode of the craft changes from 100% Attitude through to 100% Rate with varying degree of mixture in between. The effect means that letting go of the sticks means the MR will return to self levelling (ie Attitude mode) but you can still throw it around as the control sticks move out from centre, you get the aerobatic response of Rate mode.
Normally you would have to flick a switch to go from Attitude to Rate. In Attitude mode, because it's always trying to self level, to maintain forward flight you have to constantly be holding the stick forward. It feels like you're fighting it to a degree for the whole flight. Also Attitude mode limits the maximum angle of pitch and roll so if you try to roll in Attitude mode, you'll roll to the angle defined as the maximum and not go any further around.
In Rate mode, it goes where you point it. If you roll to 45 degrees, the MR will attempt to hold that angle until you tell it otherwise. Rate mode can be intimidating for the novice pilot as the safety net of self levelling is removed and depending on the settings, Rate mode can fill quite 'slippery' if you're not used to it.
The other new feature in 14.01 is Cruise Control which from my limited reading of the topic attempts to maintain a steady altitude when the MR is turning or banking by slightly increasing the rpm to counter the slight decrease in lift). With Cruise Control comes a 'Max Angle' parameter that when set to 90 degrees, combined with Rattitude mode, means that as the MR rolls past 90 degrees, it automatically spins down the motors. That means the part of the roll when the MR is passing through the inverted (ie the props would normally be pulling it to the ground), the motors are automatically shut down which seems to make for a much tighter roll.
From personal experience I went from rolling and flipping with at least 10m height to doing the same at maybe head height. The first time I tried this combination it was quite weird to hear the motors shut down as it passed through the 90 degree vertical point but they came back up a few milliseconds later. Posts in the OpenPilot forum suggest that setting the Cruise Control Max Angle (CCMA) to 80 degrees and the degrees / second to 360 make for some nice smooth rolls.
The screenshots below show captures from the OPenPilot GCS software version 14.01 and the settings required to change to get this to work. I first tried it on my "beater" quad with a CC3D flight controller and liked it so much I put it on my "nice" quad with a Revo FC and Ov3rquad frame. The video below shows the results from these settings on both my CC3D and Revo controlled quads with CCMA set to 90 degrees and the Rate mode "Degrees / second" setting up at around 450-500.
The next thing I want to try is lowering the CCMA to 80 and deg/sec to 360 for the nice, "natural" roll and then go the other way to CCMA = 100 and deg/sec =720. Maybe with these settings I might get in a few double or triple rolls before hitting the ground.
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APM Arducopter: Problem with Altitude Hold Solved
The problem:
As soon as I engage Altitude hold on my Arducopter Hexacopter, it shoots up instead of holding a nice steady altitude as expected.
The solution:
My throttle mid-point was not exactly at centre and when I engaged Altitude hold, the throttle stick becomes an altitude adjustment control as opposed to a throttle meaning relative to the centre position, if the stick is up, the Hex will rise. If the stick is below centre, it will fall. I analysed a logfile where I had been hovering in a nice stable position and found my throttle setting to be about 480. I thought this would have been close enough to the default (500) but apparently not because after adjusting THR_MID, the Hex hovered perfectly in position.
These URLs helped me identify and solve the problem:
Setting Failsafe on Arduplane & Futaba T10CAP
The Problem: Switching my Futaba T10CAP Tx off wasn't engaging RTL on my HKPilot Mega 2.5 controlled Phantom FX-61 flying wing.
The solution: In this plane I'm using the Corona R8FA 2.4GHz Fasst Compatible Receiver for which the manual is found here. The failsafe functions of the APM board are defined here. By starting the APM Planner v2.0.0 and going to 'Initial Setup', 'Failsafe' you can see the values of the PWM signal the Rx sees from the Tx. In my case, at low throttle position I get 1096 value. Switching the Tx off the value jumps up to 1150.
Going into the Basic Menu on my Futaba Tx, then 'F/S' I found channel 3 failsafe was enabled and set to 20% so when the Rx lost signal from the Tx, the throttle was going up.
1.TX-failsafe feature: This method is to set failsafe on the FASST transmitter and has priority (works
on channel 3 only under FASST 7ch mode or on multiple-channels under FASST multi-channel mode)
while the receiver is working on, just like the FUTABA receivers
For the APM Failsafe function to work, I need the value to drop below 1000 (defined by the paramter 'THR_FS_VALUE') so I disabled the channel 3 F/S setting. Now the RX-Failsafe feature (if enabled) value will be set on Channel 3 one second after losing the link to the Tx. The value is set by following the procedure below. To get a value below 1000, I temporarily set the end point on my Tx for channel 3 to 140% which brings the throttle value down to 966. Set the Rx-Failsafe mode (as below) and then restore channel 3 endpoint to 100%.
2.RX-failsafe feature: Turn on FASST transmitter and turn on the CORONA 2.4GHz Spread Spectrum
Receiver, put all the sticks and switches to where give the control inputs you want if the receiver looses
signal and Press the F/S button down for about 5 - 6 seconds while the Green LED light solid (Rx in
normal operation), then release the button. You will see the Red LED will flash for about 4 - 5 seconds.
(Note: The Red LED will FLASH high speed to indicate the RX-failsafe is turned on OR FLASH low
speed to indicate the RX-failsafe is turned off). If you press the F/S button a second time while the Red
LED is flashing, the receiver will change its RX-failsafe status (on / off),then the LED will return to
Green solid again. If you not press the F/S button .Nothing will be changed and the LED will return to
Green solid again. If you want to cancel the RX-failsafe feature (not just turn it off), you can do it by
binding the receiver again.
Stitching Aerial Photos
My aim is to photograph a couple of acres of a farm and stitch all the photos together to make one large panoramic. The tutorial here goes a long way in getting started http://plane.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-chdk-camera-control-tutorial/ . I've seen a number of software packages online that will apparently do the job, some are free while some cost many thousands of dollars.
The first software package I'll try is the Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE) freely available here;
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ice/
The appealing aspect of this software is it's integration with PhotoSynth and ability to publish to the web.
Here's a quick sample made with photos from an iPhone.
Firmware Upload HKPilot Mega V2.5 Flight Controller
The first time I tried to upload the ArduCopter firmware to the Hobbyking HKPilot Mega V2.5 Flight Controller I got an error "Communication Error - no connection". Even though I specified the correct COM port identified via the Computer Management in Windows 7. Under the "Ports (COM & LPT)" it shows up as "Arduino Mega 2560 (COM35)" along with two others "Standard Serial over Bluetooth link".
Convinced I had the settings right I was beginning to wonder if I had a dud board. The solution I found was to disable the other two COM ports in the Computer Management.
After disabling these COM ports, the firmware uploaded to the board with no errors.
ReadyMadeRC Polarising Filter on a GoPro3 Black
A real quick look at the effect of using the readymaderc polarising lens protector on a GoPro 3 Black. The filter seems to help balance out the bright light coming from the window with the shadows of the surrounding office. The sky colour also looks a more natural blue.
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=165_300&products_id=2225
2.1mm F:2.0 Turnigy Micro FPV Camera Lens
This image shows the view from the default lens that comes with the 1/3-inch SONY CCD Video Camera (PAL) on the left and from the same camera but with the lens swapped for a 2.1mm F:2.0 Turnigy Micro FPV Camera Lens. On the right I've drawn a green box to show the area of the original lens overlaid on the view from the replacement lens. The original lens has quite a smaller Field of View in comparison.
While the new lens has a much wider FOV, objects appear smaller overall. Compare the size of the fridge in the middle of the frame. I'm going to try the wider FOV lens for now as it should be better in tight spaces.
1/3-inch SONY CCD Video Camera (PAL)
2.1mm F:2.0 Turnigy Micro FPV Camera Lens
rctimer brushless gimbal settings for GoPro 3
These are the settings I'm using with "BruGi_049B_r77.zip". They seem to work well for me. Sample video from the gimbal on the hex to follow soon.
https://code.google.com/p/brushless-gimbal/downloads/list
A GoPro, a gimbal and a hex
The gimbal has been mounted on the F550 hex. Just need to tidy up some wiring, mount a 3S to power the gimbal, find a new spot to mount the new 4S main battery and run a cable to switch the gimbal tilt 90 degrees manually.
