Quadcopters.

[planedriver]

With all of us being hooked on aviation in one way or another, I thought I'd start another thread.

 

I'm sure many here also have a drone of some sort to play with, and maybe in a position to help others out with interesting videos or a bit of tech help for the newbies.

 

I recently bought 2 crashed DJI Phantom 2 vision plus units and have been busy rebuilding one of them, and flew it for the first time today.

 

Before "the knockers" bombard the thread, I'd like to point out that if used in a sensible and responsible manner, they can be great fun, and if not already aware, mine include the latest software which automatically limits their operation near airports, which is a great thing.

 

My first videos I got this morning were to me at least, amazing!

 

The flight data transmitted back down to the iphone mounted on the top of my transmitter clearly show direction of flight and battery level indication, etc; but what is not displayed at the moment is it's altitude and speed.

 

I'm currently researching the problem as I want to get it resolved, so maybe someone here might have the solution?

 

Not sure if shouting "clear-prop" 4 times before flights will help.

 

You'd realize i'm new to this stuff, but loving it so far.

 

 

[Robbo]

Does it have the alt and airspeed module?

 

Most of these features are add ons.

 

 

[planedriver]

Thanks mate i'll check that. Thought it was part of the package, but possibly it's something i'll have to add.

 

Kind Regards

 

Planey

 

 

[Keith Page]

Thanks mate i'll check that. Thought it was part of the package, but possibly it's something i'll have to add.Kind Regards

Planey

Yes you are correct speed and altitude is on mine -- part of the unit.

Thought of one, have you set the GPS in the quad copter so it know where it is?

 

If you have not let me know and I will copy and paste the process -- a long shot guess to the problem.

 

or The other one leave it sit on the ground till all the lights stop flashing then take off, if it is not let go through this flashing process the unit is quite radical to fly.

 

With all that said I am now exhausted for ideas.

 

Regards

 

KP.

 

 

[planedriver]

Yes Keith the gps is fine.

 

I can leave in the hover, put the transmitter on ground and drag the thing away 20ft or so and when I let it go it returns to where it started.

 

I've replaced all the cables and flight controller, reloaded the app, but still no height, speed and distance indication on screen.

 

It's got me beaten at the moment, but I never give up till a problems resolved.

 

 

[Peter G]

I spend lots of time building, repairing, setting up quads hexcopters, helicopters etc which is kind of my thing being a Hobby shop owner :) and you are so right flown carefully they are so much fun.

 

DJI have some really great features to make then safe and easy to fly but to keep the machine working at its best the compass needs to be calibrated before its first flight, if you have a light crash and the big one if you take further that 50km from its last calibration point.

 

I always do mine if taking it a distance to keep the GPS location current and have to date never had a flying issue ever... I have also re set the software to go max height of 120m from its TAKE OFF POINT and 1000m distance that way I dont go above the legal height... Even at 120m up it takes some great pics but I have seen youtube videos of them going up in the clouds which is part why some give them a bad name....

 

Keep under the 400ft height and 30m away from people and have a awesome time flying ya Phantoms :)

 

Oh if you add gimbals, cameras lights etc also make sure you re balance it level with motors off because if its heavy on one side you will reduce your flight time in GPS mode due to two the motors revving higher all the time to keep the Quad level and they also handle crap flying in manual mode too if not balanced level..

 

Pete

 

 

[Peter G]

Yes Keith the gps is fine.I can leave in the hover, put the transmitter on ground and drag the thing away 20ft or so and when I let it go it returns to where it started.

I've replaced all the cables and flight controller, reloaded the app, but still no height, speed and distance indication on screen.

 

It's got me beaten at the moment, but I never give up till a problems resolved.

standard as yours is you dont have that function, If you want to take full advantage of it you will need a 5.8ghz video transmitter and a small 7" screen attached to your radio which you can then install a IOSD (On Screen Display) inside the Quad which are awesome..

 

it tells you the phantom battery voltage, how many sats you have, your height, distance, compass direction and they also have a small dot on the screen that follows the drone and lets you know which side of yourself the quad is eg if your on the left side of you the dot will be on the left of the screen... its really cool and makes the flying so much more fun to have the full data being displayed in the screen :)

 

 

[Keith Page]

There is another very important point not mentioned, that is the homing feature which occurs when the battery is getting to nearly the end of charge.

 

Start the unit out in the open "not under a tree" because when it is in its return home mode we have no control the unit is on its way home by itself.

 

Hence if it is high in the air - the unit comes to the home point then lowers its self down to the ground if there is a tree in the way one is in for a lot of trouble.

 

Regards,

 

KP

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter G]

nice pics Mark :) yes the new Phantom 3 use lightbridge and can link to a Ipad or mobile for the screen..

 

we should stick one on our Jets and film a high speed flight.... would look sweet as hey

 

 

[WayneL]

I have to echo Mark and Peters comments on the Phantom 3. I too have flown rc for many years and have made a few dji based multicopters in the last 5 years. Recently a ordered a Phantom 3 advanced for a work mates wife who is right into photography. I got to have a one month play with it and was highly empressed with the camera and gimbal stability and the automation and info available on screen ( I used a mini ipad ). A true flying camera platform. I wish I had one when tripping around Australia 5 years ago.

 

Wayne

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

My mate is over the moon about how easy it is to use and fly...When I tested it a couple of months ago I think I posted in another thread about it on the forum. I really couldnt believe how good it is in all facets for the money. Eric was telling me he was flying that dji in 30 to 40 knot winds on that WA beach photo shots he said it was pretty dodgy but it did a incredible job in that wind

 

 

[planedriver]

On-screen flight parameters are supposed to be a standard feature with the phantom 2 vision plus, but I think mine has forgotten about that:sleep:

 

My son had a long flight with it this morning, batteries were getting a bit low and it lost FPV also. He freaked out and said he couldn't control it.

 

I took over, and switched off the transmitter and after a short delay it made it's way back to the take-off point, landed itself and the motors then shut down.

 

All a bit unnerving for the first time, but it did exactly what it was designed to do.

 

Peter G.

 

Thanks for your input but I understand the radio works on 5.8 gig hz, but the FPV works on 2.4.

 

According to what I have read on the Phantom forums, if you use the popular aftermarket 5.8 gig for the telemetry, it can interfere with the radio transmissions although a lot use it. I still have a lot to learn.

 

Kyle. Even my girlfriend had a fly of mine yesterday and found it easy. It must be, she can drive a car, but if you're a passenger, all you need is a prayer book:pope:

 

 

[planedriver]

My mate is over the moon about how easy it is to use and fly...When I tested it a couple of months ago I think I posted in another thread about it on the forum. I really couldnt believe how good it is in all facets for the money. Eric was telling me he was flying that dji in 30 to 40 knot winds on that WA beach photo shots he said it was pretty dodgy but it did a incredible job in that wind

Yes they are surprisingly good in those conditions, but the battery has a much shorter life, as it's constantly spooling up the motors to keep it where it's supposed to be according to the GPS.

 

 

[planedriver]

Although my on-screen flight parameters are still not working, everything else seems fine.

 

Yesterday I managed to get a video with some good footage in it, but having never edited before, wondered what editing program is easy to use for newbies.

 

I had a quick go with Windows Live Movie Maker and Arcsoft VideoImpression2 which I have on my computer, but didn't get very far.

 

It's probably something I have to persevere with, to be able to shorten it, and cut out the bits I don't want.

 

I was wondering what programs you guy's use?

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

hey it strikes me in looking at those remote photos that you could possibly use a drone if in trouble in a remote place, and you don't have a satphone.........send an SMS on your phone (even though no coverage on the ground) and attach phone to drone, and then ascend to the altitude necessary for the phone SMS to actually send (will likely only work with Telstra and even then not everywhere....) I know it said max alt 400ft but if you could get it up much higher there's every chance that you'll get good 3G coverage.......

 

I know its not guaranteed....but its a possibility if circumstances mean you need to try

 

 

[WayneL]

I was wondering what programs you guy's use?

I am currently using Pinnacle Studio 17 which I find easier to get started more quickly than most other editing programs. Like Premiere Pro CC too.

Wayne

 

 

[Ultralights]

On-screen flight parameters are supposed to be a standard feature with the phantom 2 vision plus, but I think mine has forgotten about that:sleep:My son had a long flight with it this morning, batteries were getting a bit low and it lost FPV also. He freaked out and said he couldn't control it.

I took over, and switched off the transmitter and after a short delay it made it's way back to the take-off point, landed itself and the motors then shut down.

 

All a bit unnerving for the first time, but it did exactly what it was designed to do.

 

Peter G.

 

Thanks for your input but I understand the radio works on 5.8 gig hz, but the FPV works on 2.4.

 

According to what I have read on the Phantom forums, if you use the popular aftermarket 5.8 gig for the telemetry, it can interfere with the radio transmissions although a lot use it. I still have a lot to learn.

 

Kyle. Even my girlfriend had a fly of mine yesterday and found it easy. It must be, she can drive a car, but if you're a passenger, all you need is a prayer book:pope:

Dont forget the FPV and camera feedback from the PV2+ is over a wifi connection, and the wifi, even with the booster will not have anywhere near the same range as the controller transmitter, so even if you loose FPV and camera controls, it will still fly normally (if you can see it with your eyes, hint hint) you can still fly it back to wifi range. or if you have great line of sight, long way away, set the camera to record video, even if it goes outside of wifi range, the camera will still record.

 

 

[SDQDI]

hey it strikes me in looking at those remote photos that you could possibly use a drone if in trouble in a remote place, and you don't have a satphone.........send an SMS on your phone (even though no coverage on the ground) and attach phone to drone, and then ascend to the altitude necessary for the phone SMS to actually send (will likely only work with Telstra and even then not everywhere....) I know it said max alt 400ft but if you could get it up much higher there's every chance that you'll get good 3G coverage.......I know its not guaranteed....but its a possibility if circumstances mean you need to try

That's a good idea Andy.

 

Seeing as you are a tech guy, would it be possible to set up a mobile phone in a similar configuration to a wireless home phone? What I mean by that is can you have a remote hand piece for your mobile? So you could send up your base station on your drone and then once at altitude make proper phone calls from a handset. I know we already have wireless earpieces and other such accessories but are there any full size wireless handset options that would be viable or buildable?

 

If that was doable it might be a nice alternative to getting a sat phone.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

I haven't looked but pretty sure there will be a Bluetooth solution that will allow a last number recall and will likely work without anything between you for the distance. The exact capability a will be device dependant. Most modern BT car stereos will allow you to dial specific numbers, either stored or out of contacts. Those stereos are likely in mid to high end cars now not sure about 4x4 or bush badgers though.