Help with props/motor selection for Arducopter

So I hacked up one of my 5" freestyle quads with GPS + Arducopter (Matek F405) and it flies well :+1: but I’m looking for more stability. I can lift a GoPro but it’s not very stable. I’ve tuned it to the best of my ability. Not sure if it’s possible to obtain Mavic like stability?

Guessing I may need some slower motors + lower pitch props to get a more stable platform? I’m using the TBS Source One open source frame - thinking of maybe trying the 7" arms with some bigger props but not sure about motors. Anyone running something similar?

Currently I’m using 5040 tri-blade props on 2205-2450kv motors. It flies great in rate mode :slight_smile: but I was hoping to be able to put a camera on it and use Auto mode to fly autonomously and doing that I get just the slightest wobble. I’ve done autotune as well as manually tuning it with no success.

Have you been through the sub 250mm tuning thread? You can get very stable performance on these quads with high kv motors so it’s probably just a case of tuning your filters.

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@andyp1per I have not - do you have a link to that thread? I have not looked at filters at all though I’m somewhat familiar with them from Betaflight.

Thanks!

Also make sure you have followed the new tuning guide in the wiki: Tuning Process Instructions — Copter documentation

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Thanks for the links! I have some homework to do. :slight_smile:

Quick question - does autotune do anything with the filters? I have done autotune several times but never looked at the filter settings. Guess I should do some diffs between what I had for defaults and after my tuning attempts and see what changed.

Autotune will set the yaw filter. I don’t think it will set anything else - the reason is the behaviour of autotune will be very different based on your filter settings and filters set too high can be dangerous for your hardware.

Enabling esc telem and the dynamic notch filter are very helpful if you have a blheli32 esc. Using a good GPS module also is important for good position hold. Some foam on the barometer can help with altitude hold as well.