Good day all, I have a long story I will try to keep short.
Using Cube orange I have to run carbon fibre props (instead of plastic) because even though the vibe levels are the same for both some sort of vibration causes pulsing of the motors in flight and poor flight behaviour with the plastic props
I changed to Cube Orange+ and found that 90% of this problem went away but I still see some bad behaviour with the plastic props.
I want to run plastics props (cheaper) and am considering trying the cube orange+ (IB) but it sounds as though this should not be done unless the vibrations etc are analyzed? I am not sure what to look for.
I guess what I am asking is that is there a risk to running the (IB) or can I just try it and see? I don’t mind to spend the money on the test I just don’t want to put the drone at risk if this is not a good ideal.
I can provide logs of the drone currently running Carbon Fibre props and the Orange+ if someone is willing to review them.
Can anyone take a look? or did I post this in the wrong spot? I have a Cube Orange 1 B now so I can swap it for the Orange + but I would love to hear some feedback first.
In that log X and Y axis vibrations are not very bad, maybe just a little worse than ideal. But Z axis vibrations are getting into the danger zone and will be affecting tuning and some aspects of flight.
So that really wont change much with which version of Cube you have - it’s still physical issues you should fix.
Tuning is working OK but a little nervous. This is quite good considering you have a bunch of default parameters.
You should at least run the Initial Parameters section in MissionPlanner, then do an autotune at least on pitch and roll.
Your harmonic notch filter cant be working properly with the existing settings. You’ll need to set these (plus the other Initial Parameters) and do a test flight before moving on to Autotune:
INS_LOG_BAT_MASK,1
INS_LOG_BAT_OPT,4
Come back with the .bin log from that test flight and we’ll go over a few more things before advancing.
What size props are you wanting to use?
If they have props in your size, then Master Airscrew MR series are excellent props that dont need balancing and give better than expected performance.
Thank you for taking the time to review the log.
The props are 22" from T-motor, I have tried plastic versions and they cause issues, the CF versions are good.
Using the Cube Orange (not the orange plus) the XY vibes are the same but the Z vibes are substantially better. We have been running the orange (non plus) for hundreds of flights no issues with tuning etc as it is now.
The orange + came out and it is “recomended” to change to the + so I tried it.
This is why I wanted to try the “1 b” or “I B” version becuase there is a big difference in Z vibe between the orange standar and the + (exact same frame setup etc)
Attached is a flight from the orange (non +) for review to see how much different they are (orange + is much worse in Z).
Regarding the notch filter. I followed all the instructions but that was done on older firmware so perhaps it needs to be redone… but honestly it has flown perfectly well for many many flights so likely I will just disable the notch filter until such time as I can properly do the analysis and testing again.
For auto tune I have never had luck with that. It tends to over tune it and I end up dialing everything back anyway. This drone is meant to be docile, not twitchy as it needs to maintain a solid GPS lock on the payload. I have had bad tunes (which some may think are good tunes for their situation) actually cause me issue with my onboard data (custom photogrammetry payload) so I prefer to as well not change tuning at the moment.
Please see link to a flight with the old orange cube. If there is no safety concern I will try the “I B” version because there is definitely a difference in Z vibe between the + and non + orange.
The T-Motor CF props are good. I cant comment on any internal damping differences between Cube variants. Usually the only difference is new/updated IMUs.
I’ll check that log, but the harmonic notch filter has incorrect settings and needs re-evaluation.
and just do a test flight with RC control and some variety - turns, ascents, descents and so on. It doesnt have to be long.
These parameters are quite safe, we’re not changing PIDs but just some filtering and responsiveness.
What ESCs do you have?
I suspect the PWM range is wrong, and MOT_SPIN_ARM could be a lot lower and MOT_SPIN_MIN could be a bit different. This may effect the thrust expo, but probably not very much. Let’s see the next log before making further changes.
EDIT:
Also set GPS_GNSS_MODE,7 to see if you can get a more consistent update rate and HDOP
And I would definitely update to latest stable firmware. All your existing parameters will be preserved.
Thanks, I see differences in vibes between the cubes for sure. I will be rolling back from the Orange + to the Orange (not +) for now. If I have time I will try with the IB and see how it goes.
They claim that the + is better for vibe but likely it depends on your frame.
Thanks greatly for the updated parameters. I have to swap the drone back to the non + version before I test these settings.
The reason I don’t update firmware is that I need to maintain consistency for my clients so when I update firmware I do them all at once. Currently I don’t have anything that is screaming in need of update so I don’t update. It’s a philosophy I know some don’t agree with but it has done me well for the past 6 years and likely over 1000 client flights.
I will try your settings though thanks.
I use T-motor combined esc and motors. They are problematic on startup in the cold. I have messed with mot spin arm and min in order to get them to arm properly. With stock setting when it’s cold 1 or more of the motors will not start… it will sit there twitching. Then if the pilot does not notice it the drone flips over and destroys $700 in props. These are the best setting I have found that work for start up.
I have worked directly with Tmotor testing multiple firmware and to no success so we stopped testing. They admitted that is a problem with other users as well (however it should be noted that I never had a startup isssue with these motors using DJI A3 FC hardware.
They seem to have updated the offering. Mine are a few years old as I bought a lot of them to have on stock. This seems to the new offering
BTW I can’t use these props (the plastic ones in the photo) or the drone will pulse badly so I have to use custom made CF versions from TMotor which is what is installed on the drone in the logs I have linked.
One other thing to note is that the CF version of the props reduces the failed startup substantially.
Wow I had no idea you can optimize my compass! very cool.
One issue I have all the time (and have had forever) is that sometimes on powerup the compass points like 20 deg off from where it should. Most times when the drone gets into the air it corrects itself but sometimes (very rarely lately) it won’t even arm giving an error that the compass is more than 20 deg off or something like that. If you have any suggestions for that it would be awesome. The drone flies great though when it does arm. At any rate that is not a huge problem because it’s not a problem that happens often.
You need these settings for those integrated motor set:
MOT_PWM_MIN,1100
MOT_PWM_MAX,1940
and probably: MOT_THST_EXPO,0.6
then you will NEED to retest and reset your:
MOT_SPIN_ARM
MOT_SPIN_MIN
They will probably be around 0.09 and 0.12 respectively. Set MOT_SPIN_ARM so that all motors reliably start up at the lowest possible value. Then add about +0.03 for MOT_SPIN_MIN
A different PWM range and doing the ESC calibration procedure does not work with those ESCs.
Thank you again for your feedback. I have a drone in hand now that I can take the time to update and take the risk of new firmware over the coming weeks. So I have changed back to Cube Orange (non plus) and updated FW to the latest stable (V4.5.7 2a3dc4b7)
I have redone acc calib, will redo compass calib in the field today and adjust the pwm settings as per your above recommendations.
I won’t apply your compass adjustments as I am not sure if they will change after the calibration I do in the field.
I will also apply these settings you recommended.
At the risk of doing too much as once I will start with these things in this post.
A compass calibration overwrites all the existing calibration settings. That’s OK though since you are changing the Cube - the compass calibration is one of the things that is unique to each FC.