Hello,
Whats the Parameter for the Maximum distance of waypoints? 120mtr is to less
As far as I know the ArduCopter code does not have a parameter limiting waypoint distance â the usual technique to accomplish the same thing is by setting a fence distance. The 120 limit for this device is presumably being imposed by the app not letting a larger figure be set.
I will try to Set the fence distance from 54 to 100 and See what Happens
Or can i use the waypoint Mode in qgroundstation?
You can set whatever parameters you want through QGC, but actually flying waypoints via QGC unless youâre connected via USB (i.e., through an onboard companion computer) would probably not be safe. As noted earlier, the trick to get access without using USB is unsafe if the connection is lost.
OK, thanks
In my opinion, this limitation is the only disadvantage of this drone
Hi Daniele - I want to change the GPS module to a M8N (Beitian BN-880 - not using the compass). How does yours compare to the original module? I have noted your settings to change in U-Center but would like to know if any alterations are needed on the EX4.
Is it possible to set up the BN-880 to work with the EX4 as it is?
If needed - I see you changed it to UBX protocol - how did you do that?
Can it be done over WiFi or do I need to use the USB port?
I have never even heard of UBX so please keep it simple.
Thanks
Rob
What ist the PSC_YYZ_XY_BKE Parameter? Ist ist for the Speed?
Donât know it by hard, but the ArduCopter site has a list with all parameters and their meaning.
I cant find this one
There are lots of PSC_ parameters but the one you mentioned isnât one of them. Are you sure that particular one isnât a custom parameter?
There really shouldnât be any reason to screw around with those in most cases.
Hi Rob,
sorry for the late reply, I was on holidayâŚ
My M8N module is slightly thicker than the original one, so it required some tweaking of the upper shell to let it fit the drone.
I believe that the easiest way to configure a M8N is to use the arducopter auto configuration feature, which is still available on the EX4.
This requires the following parameters to be set through Mission Planner:
GPS_AUTO_CONFIG 1
GPS_GNSS_MODE 0
GPS_SAVE_CFG 2
This will suffice to automatically detect an Ublox and configure it to raw UBX protocol.
After that first configuration, you can play with the other parameters regarding the constellations to be used (GPS_GNSS_MODE, to set GPS, GLONASS, etc.) and SBAS settings (GPS_SBAS_MODE, Iâve set mine to disabled).
I recommend to NOT touch the GPS_RATE_MS and leave it to 200 (msec, equal to 5 Hz).
The automatic configuration will also modify the GPS assigned serial port baudrate (SERIAL5_BAUD) to 115 kbps.
Once you have found your preferred setup, I suggest to revert GPS_AUTO_CONFIG parameter to 0, in order to freeze the configuration and be sure that all the parameters will not be automatically modified (at least this is what I did).
Hope this help.
Daniele
Thanks for the reply Daniele. I had already got the BN-880 working last night using QGC to set the parameters. I noticed the module was very sensitive when connected to U-Center - 6 satelites showing in the house but far less sensitive when installed. The BN-880 is a beast compared to the original but I did manage to fit it within the case by putting it down behind the button. In an attempt to improve reception, I split the module and fitted the antenna on the outside. Now it cannot receive any satelites in the house but it is much better outside. On the map screen the original GPS position jumped all over the place and now it is much more stable. I assume there is a lot of interference so may look into improving the shielding. I will also take a look at the parameters as I tried many options before getting it working and may have messed up something. Thanks for sharing your setup as this is definitely a worthwhile upgrade.
Ciao Daniele ma tu sei riuscito ad aggiornare il firmware dellâeachine ex4?
I am having problems with my EX4 Pro (latest 3km range model) suddenly running away after a few seconds of working perfectly - 4 crashes out of only about 8 very short, close range flights. After the first two crashes (both next to my house) I upgraded the GPS module with a Beitian BN-880 which is working very well.
Last crash - After 4 hours of hunting and unable to find it, I went home and looked at the Listener log txts, the GPS readings are fine so I used the last position to find the EX4 Pro. They took me straight to it (within 1m) in very dense and tall foliage on a steep river bank. I lost control a few seconds before the logs showed the magnetic interference warning. Incase it was pilot error (I am a noob) I had pressed the return home button which is confirmed in the log but it still kept going. I am not sure but it appears to always veer off in a 10 Oâclock direction at the same height and be totally unresponsive.
Is there any software that can read these logs and display the data while showing the position on a map? I entered the last log into excel to try to find what could be causing the problem. Nothing stands out but it may have happened when rcIn3 went from 1500 down to 1100 then returned to 1500. I presume rcIn3 is a remote control signal but I donât know which one and it may have no connection anyway. What is the difference between the two positions shown on each line (dLat and dLng + locLat and locLng)? Any help much appreciated as I am running out of replacement legs for it! Here is the last log which can be opened with excel -
2020-08-17-13-59-53.txt (81.8 KB)
Hi there,
I use Google earth to plot the dots after filtering them to unique timestamp values. This Naches for a less cluttered display on the map but has less data, obviously.
The dLat and dLong are the values youâre looking for, the other pair is for your phoneâs location.
I use the other fields like drone message and error message to get an idea about whatâs going on.
Sadly one you start getting those EM interference youâre in danger of losing control.
One other message I noticed when I had my only crash, how to keep it that way, was something about a EKF filter error. That one seems to be a known culprit in other crashes and is due to compass error.
Hi Denis - thanks for the info. The log showed it had EM interference earlier in the flight but it did not affect anything and I lost control before the next warning came. Do you, or anyone else, know what the intereference interferes with? The sensors all seem to have been working and there was 2 way communication as I sent the RTL after loosing control which was received OK. I feel it is more of a software problem as I was only about 20m or less away when it ran away each of the 4 times. I think my next move is to tether it and try to get it to do some âcontrolledâ run aways. It maybe a certain combination of inputs that trigger them. First I need to find out what each of the rcIn and rcOut relate to.
Edit-
Using QGC I got these which may be right
Channel Location - +
rcIn 1 = Right Joy left right
rcIn 2 = Right Joy up down
rcIn 3 = Left Joy down up
rcIn 4 = Left joy left right
rcIn 5 = M Mode Button RTL Button
rcIn 6 = Auto Take-Off Button
rcIn 7 = Possibly Camera up/down but not showing in QGC
rcIn 8 = Camera Button
On my log both joysticks inputs are not being registered and show them centered about when I lost control yet instead of stopping and hovering it kept going.
The camera control is likely to be the start/stop video recording and photo taking. As far as I am aware those are the MAVLink commands for camera control. The gimbal should also be tied to one of the rc channels since it can be directly mapped to the tilting motor or servo is the gimbal is really cheap.
I also get lots of EM interference during my flights and in most cases theyâre harmless, but in at least one occasion it was not, and the quad just veered off into a tree. Luckily there was minimal damage, just a chipped propeller and a missing rubber feet which I could replace easily. Surprisingly the quad still flies perfectly well so there seems to be some sturdiness built into these little things.
As for what causes the EM messages, these seem to affect mostly the compass so any metallic structure above or under the ground could cause the compass to go bonkers, that is to have so much errors that the value it shows decays from one reading to the next causing the PX4 to take an odd path. One time I also had this near-miss close to where I later had the crash, it was a park area with lots of metallic stuff around: a skate rink made out of steel, underground piping for gardening and fountains as well as lots of wifi signals. In hind sight I had a very hard time getting the compass to calibrate there, whereas in my house with the wifi router virtually glued to it, it calibrated with no issue, every time I tried so my guess is that if on a location, youâre trying to calibrate the compass and it gives either a false positive - the vertical calibration goes failed then immediately goes to success, then there must be something causing the compass to have abnormally larger errors so itâs likely to be a dangerous spot to try and fly. The thumb rule would be if you canât calibrate the compass then donât fly even if you do eventually manage to get it to calibrate properly.
As a last resort when the quad goes bonkers is the RTL button but if that doesnât seem to have any effect, chances are it wonât help much since it uses pretty much the same navigation method, then switch to Altitude mode - this uses the optical flow and sonar sensor to control the quad. Hopefully, if youâre not too high up, then the optical flow sensor will help with stabilizing the quad and regain some degree of control to allow for a safe landing.
LE: When I had my crash the logs showed also this message: âEKF ground mag anomalyâ which seems to match the compass going out of order. There doesnât seem to be a whole lot we can do about it, just try to recalibrate the compass and choose a EM interference free area.
QGC shows each of the inputs working and they appear to match the logs numbering. rcIn8 is the camera/photo button. The gimbal up/down does not show and rcIn7 is spare so maybe for it. I have not seen the EKF warning. I suspect the EMI could be internal rather than external as people say it can happen anywhere and at any altitude even in places that do not affect other quads.
Thanks for your help but I feel I am hijacking this thread so have started a thread on RCGroups forum to look into this further.
Caro Babbo Natale,
per qanto riguarda il FW del Filght Controller, riesco a leggerlo e scriverlo ma non esistono aggiornamenti per la mia scheda.
Per la parte Videocamera/wi-fi ho aggiornato vA.7.19101201 a vA.7.19111901 con il pacchetto giaâ linkato in questa discussione.
Sarebbe meglio proseguire in ingleseâŚ
Ciao