That makes sense about getting locked in. Okay, I may try reloading some of the terrain data at 30 m just to see if it makes a difference. We are in an area with small foothills, nothing crazy. I have a small tentative mission queued up with a simple take off, two waypoints and a return.
Does any of this matter by type of GPS used? I currently have one of the Matek GPS units, it’s an M8. Does any of this change if you use one of the m10 chips?
Got ARMING_CHECK “1”
GPS_GNSS_MODE “5” (didnt notice a big change, but it is overcast)
LOG_DISARM “1”
one thing i noticed was that I was able to ARM, then DISARM and re-ARM again. Which is something that it had not done in the past for me.
(that should be the correct file. I am including a second file that I believe was just me arming the plane)
Looking at log 3, I think in a nut shell you’re rushing it. If you are getting telemetry or messages (Yappu Telemetry?) then you should wait for the messages:
EKF3 IMU0 is using GPS
AHRS: EKF3 active
Once you see those then it means the EKF is happy. It has a suitable GPS/GNSS position and everything is stable. Before that message appears you will get errors, and that’s normal. It’s a bit confusing because it will look like the GPS has a stable position but it still takes a while for the EKF to initialize. Some times, you just have to wait. If the GPS hasn’t been used in a log time, or if you’ve moved it a long-ish distance (>100km) then some times it will take longer to warm up. But once it’s going you find the time is quicker. (higher quality GPS modules will of course have quicker initial position acquisition times)
Try the GPS_GNSS_MODE, 65. The sat count I saw here was still low and HDOP wasn’t great either. Functional but could be better.
Don’t forget to set LOG_DISARMED back to 0.
Looking good.
The M8 works fine. I’ve used them on a ton of drones. Them M10 will be faster to lock and get data, but for a plane like this I wouldn’t change. Once you’re in fight I don’t think it will matter. If you’re making a commercial survey drone, different story, but this isn’t that.
Likewise with the 30m data, probably not a big deal. If you do load the 30m data don’t forget to change the TERRAIN_SPACING setting.
That makes sense. I know that I probably am rushing somewhat. So you would say it’s not uncommon for the plane to sit out there for 5 minutes or so just getting locked up with satellites and letting everything settle out?
Yeah I need to see about reloading the yaapu script on the radio. I’m not sure where messages show up on there, but I will do some reading. If you have a link to something that would be great.
I think for the most part I had been watching my satellites in 3D lock only, not necessarily paying attention to the EKF. I do know that if I have the battery in, getting satellites, and plug it into mission planner, it looks like EKF shows green on there, and it’s always some other pre-arming issue.
I agree with you on the M8/m10 chips. I have a bunch of the M8, I will likely continue to use them as I predominantly use fixed wing.
On mission planner you should see a message “ready to arm” on the HUD. Or in the message box those messages I highlighted earlier.
On a fresh start, yeah the M8 on a F405 will take some time. I’ve seen it. The second flight is always much quicker. On occasion I’vepl had a second pack that seems to take forever to lock in. In that case (if it’s been 3 or 4 minutes) I’ll just unplug and re-plug the battery and try again. No issues.
Here’s the goods on Yaapu: https://github.com/yaapu/FrskyTelemetryScript
If you’re having a specific issue let me know. What kind of radio, and RC link are you using?
This is very helpful my friend. You have helped fill in a lot of small gaps of knowledge that are difficult to figure out.
I have an old taranis x9d, edge TX, crsf module.
I am looking at getting a new radio, have looked at the radio master boxer slightly smaller size and I like the fact they have the six dedicated buttons on a single switch for you says flight modes.
I do like the idea of the game style controllers, but have not found one I love with the switch setup that I like
@Allister , I have a question for you. Since I am looking to change radios, I currently run CRSF, but I like the idea of the Radiomaster Boxer w built in ELRs module. I am wanting to know if you have any experience or what you may have heard about the built in radio modules? I like the idea because of not needing an external module and if I use a better antenna (than what is supplied), that would help with range. Im looking at likely no more than 8-10 mi out at a time.
The ELRS stuff tends to be offered by more individuals, cheaper, but I dont know much about its reliability or setup. Thasnks
Sorry, wrong guy to ask. I use TBS CRSF with a TX16S. I’m sure if I was starting to buy gear today I’d probably look closer at ELRS, but so far I don’t see enough reason to switch out my gear or start running another systems. TBS isn’t perfect, but it’s not broke enough for me to want to fix it.
One thing I will say, and this goes for any radio system, antennas make all the difference. Antenna type, and antenna placement can do wonders for any radio system. Not necessarily the most expensive antenna, but the right antenna for the type of flying you’re doing.
TBS gear is more reliable. Period. If you already have it I certainly wouldn’t switch.
@andyp1per , with the params that were tuned for the Matek F405 VTOL, I noticed that if I switch flight modes from return to launch back to either q stabilize or FBWA, there is a momentary blip with a plane just falls out of the air. Thankfully I was high enough that it was able to recover okay. Is this normal?
Please post a log - unable to say anything constructive without it
Finally had some decent weather to get some flights underway.
So looking for help smoothing out transitions from VTOL to FBWA and back. Here are two BIN files. I did the same take off in QLOT, go up, transition to FBWA and then back to QLOT. What would need to be adjusted to smooth this out? Everything in Q modes are very smooth and same for forward flight.