My quad flight log

[KevG]

That sounds a huge amount better, not the raspy sound of the gyros fighting this time, still have a wobble though which I would suspect being a prop balance issue

[Stambo]

All the guides I have seen say to tune in acro mode first.
As you are flying in an auto level mode I would try dropping the level P down to at least 7.5.

Here is my current settings, they may be a little aggressive for you but they work well for me.
The big difference is PID controller 1.
It is a complete rewrite and for me seems much better.

Your P gains are probably pretty close.
I you won't notice so much until flying acro.
D can improve things quite a lot as it dampens the changes a bit.
To tame my settings down a bit just leave the roll pitch rate low but increasing the yaw rate a bit makes it heaps better.

These screenshots are taken with windows snipping tool, if you are running windoze you already have it.
Easier than taking photos of the screen.

Naze32-CF PID2.JPG (49.82 KiB) Viewed 2644 times

Naze32-CF PID1.JPG (49.13 KiB) Viewed 2644 times

[Tony]

I did watch a YT vid on balancing props in situ with a laser and mirror. Think I've got a few laser diodes kicking around so I could try it. But that means every time you break a prop you have to go through all that again... Does everyone do this?

[Tony]

Thanks for the info Stambo, this all sounds far too complex for me unfortunately.. I have setup my flight modes with the IU switch and they change from angle to horizon modes... So I'm guessing what I need to do is just have horizon mode. Then when I switch this off it will give me acro as default.. Acro sounds pretty scary to me and I'm sure to crash it..

I'm uncertain of the PID screen as to what mode of flight these are for. Are they for acro, angle or horizon. It doesn't say on the screen....

[Tony]

ive changed my modes now to acro (IU switch ON) and horizon (IU switch off). this short video shows both modes. when i land the first time i flick to acro mode.... think i could get used to that..!!!! guess i need to go to the field really to try these. id like to get rid of the wobble, so ill play with PID's

http://youtu.be/UwermlqB1H0

[Derek]

I am surely no "quad-pro" Tony but it looks like you are doing better and youre learning as you go. That's fantastic! You, of all people, should know that our rc toys always need some kind of tweaking or adjusting before they fly right. Keep at it buddy! We're with ya!!!

[Tony]

Thanks Derek, certainly another huge learning curve, shame my brain cells are diminishing though to remember it all...

[Lee]

Looks fine to me now.
I would stop there, with your tuning, and just get out and fly it.
Once you have more flying experience under your belt, you will then have a better understanding of tuning.
You can fiddle with it, and stick all manor of gadgets on, but nothing but flying it will make you a pro pilot

[Tony]

Thanks Lee, it's ok but still shakes with throttle up, not as bad as yesterday at the river though....

[danhampson]

Looks fine to me now.
I would stop there, with your tuning, and just get out and fly it.
Once you have more flying experience under your belt, you will then have a better understanding of tuning.
You can fiddle with it, and stick all manor of gadgets on, but nothing but flying it will make you a pro pilot

+1 The better i get at flying it the more im starting to understand what each gain does and how it affects the quad, you can only do so much LOS tuning. When i first flew my rcx it would wobble in hover but was alot better in FF. A quad has to be tuned for all aspects of flight hover, decent, hard/soft assent, FF, FFF ect... The only way this can be done is if you fpv it and then make changes.

[Tony]

Hmmm, I appreciate your comments but to fly it with those vibes on fpv is going to be doing my head in I think with the camera shaking... The fpv camera shakes too as I let the Mrs wear them when I was in the garden. I'll wait I think till I get some new props and see if they help with the shakes... We all know one shouldn't fly any aircraft that isn't sound.. The vibes are very scary if you give it some hard throttle up..

[Lee]

If its still shaking at a high frequency, then keep reducing the roll P gain until it stops.

[Tony]

i was playing about with P gains today, took them right up to 6 on roll and it was shaking even more so i gradually took it down, im now at 3.6 and most of the shaking has gone. its really only on hard throttle pumps, which is usually when im going to hit something...lol. it stops shaking when i drop throttle a little... its too dark to do anymore flying as you cant really see it much.

[danhampson]

on the right hand side of the pid gain window there is a box, TPA. The way this works is as you raise the throttle it lowers the p gain to help remove oscillation under throttle, the higher the value in the TPA the more it lowers the gain as you throttle up.

So you could try raising the TPA by 5 points and see what happens.

Just a note if you are using PID 1 TPA doesnt do anything, the oscillation has to be removed with straight p gain.

[Stambo]

Tony it's not as hard as it seems.
If you can get to your PID screen you are most of the way there.
Have you dropped the level P a bit yet?
That will make the snap back to level a bit less severe.
Increasing the roll D gains a little will make things a bit smoother too.
And don't forget to save.
For most of us at the beginning all this PID stuff was black magic.
The more we flew and tweaked the easier it got.
I have had many quads and thankfully now it takes only a few batteries to get a decent flyable quad.
It still takes many more to get a decent video platform.
You are on your first quad and being a mini it is not the easiest to get right.
It takes time but you will get there.
Just remember you have the collective help of many people on this forum who have been where you are now.
And look forward to your summer and the many FPV flights to come.
In no time at all you will be zooming around wondering what all the fuss and trepidation was about.

[Tony]

on the right hand side of the pid gain window there is a box, TPA. The way this works is as you raise the throttle it lowers the p gain to help remove oscillation under throttle, the higher the value in the TPA the more it lowers the gain as you throttle up.

So you could try raising the TPA by 5 points and see what happens.

Just a note if you are using PID 1 TPA doesnt do anything, the oscillation has to be removed with straight p gain.

I'll try that tomorrow Dan, never touched those settings yet....thanks

[Tony]

Tony it's not as hard as it seems.
If you can get to your PID screen you are most of the way there.
Have you dropped the level P a bit yet?
That will make the snap back to level a bit less severe.
Increasing the roll D gains a little will make things a bit smoother too.
And don't forget to save.
For most of us at the beginning all this PID stuff was black magic.
The more we flew and tweaked the easier it got.
I have had many quads and thankfully now it takes only a few batteries to get a decent flyable quad.
It still takes many more to get a decent video platform.
You are on your first quad and being a mini it is not the easiest to get right.
It takes time but you will get there.
Just remember you have the collective help of many people on this forum who have been where you are now.
And look forward to your summer and the many FPV flights to come.
In no time at all you will be zooming around wondering what all the fuss and trepidation was about.

Yes Stambo, the P on roll was at 4 default, so I kept increasing it, I got to 6.2 then the quad started to really oscillate, so I went back to 4 and worked my way down. I'm at 3.6 now but it's too dark to see it... I've mainly been looking at stopping the vibration during throttle up as everything else seems ok. It does it in both acro and horizon..
Thanks for the tips

[Stambo]

Someone else mentioned TPA.
If it is only under heavy throttle crank that up a bit.
What that does is decrease P gains under heavy throttle.
20 means the last 20% of throttle has gradually decreasing P.
You can still drop your roll/pitch P gains some more.
If you go too far it will start to feel less connected, soggy on the controls.
Best thing to do is try then fly.
We could teach you about PID profiles but that might be a bit much for now.

[Tony]

Thanks Stambo, noooooo, don't teach me anything else for now I'll change TPA tomorrow and try it...