First Flight done. bunch of questions

thejobe · Jul 20, 2015

Hello All.
Just finished my first flight. A few things felt a little out of wack. was wondering if i could get some insight on some problems.

First thing i did was my First flight check list.
Charged Battery and Controller
downloaded Firmware to SD card
updated firmware on phantom and controller
calibrated the IMU
calibrated the Gimbal
calibrated the RC sticks
charged battery to full again

after i was finished with setup i took it into the backyard for a first take off
I started it up and calibrated the compass
checked to make sure i had good signal and then took off.

first time up it worked fine.
had it up for about 2 mins checked all the sticks to see if everything was good then i landed.

after that i took it up again and thats when it was getting funky.

first thing i did was got a little Altitude (about 40 feet)
after i let go of the sticks the copter kept rising up (not fast but still up)
i landed it again shut it down and restarted. didnt happen again so ok???

next thing was the video feed to the phone. how much lag is there suppose to be?
i had about a 2 - 3 sec delay on the downlink. is that normal? also very pixelated.

next thing i noticed was the controller getting uncomfortably warm. is this normal?
once i landed the copter i checked the copter it was very hot to the touch. is this normal?

please let me know if this is normal for this copter.
(Phantom 2 owner. been flying copters and planes for 20 years)

bobmyers · Jul 20, 2015

thejobe said:
Hello All.
Just finished my first flight. A few things felt a little out of wack. was wondering if i could get some insight on some problems.

First thing i did was my First flight check list.
Charged Battery and Controller
downloaded Firmware to SD card
updated firmware on phantom and controller
calibrated the IMU
calibrated the Gimbal
calibrated the RC sticks
charged battery to full again

after i was finished with setup i took it into the backyard for a first take off
I started it up and calibrated the compass
checked to make sure i had good signal and then took off.

first time up it worked fine.
had it up for about 2 mins checked all the sticks to see if everything was good then i landed.

after that i took it up again and thats when it was getting funky.

first thing i did was got a little Altitude (about 40 feet)
after i let go of the sticks the copter kept rising up (not fast but still up)
i landed it again shut it down and restarted. didnt happen again so ok???

next thing was the video feed to the phone. how much lag is there suppose to be?
i had about a 2 - 3 sec delay on the downlink. is that normal? also very pixelated.

next thing i noticed was the controller getting uncomfortably warm. is this normal?
once i landed the copter i checked the copter it was very hot to the touch. is this normal?

please let me know if this is normal for this copter.
(Phantom 2 owner. been flying copters and planes for 20 years)

What was the ambient temperature? Were you in direct sunlight? The lag and pixilation could well be caused by the tablet or phone overheating. I have had issues with that-- try to fly in the shade. The altitude gain on the first flight may be and IMU issue. If it doesn't happen again, I don't think you have to worry about that.

One little trick on the copter, if you have time on the battery left, land it and let it idle for about a minute or two before shutting it down. This cools the motor, the aircraft and the battery some. Your battey will be the warmest when you remove it, with the processors in the aircraft and the battery, the heat does build, especially on a warm day

thejobe · Jul 20, 2015

i was in some sunlight but mostly tree coverage (thats why i didnt go too high.).
it was about 98 degrees outside. very humid.
and thanks for the trick on the the battery ill keep that in mind.

bobmyers · Jul 20, 2015

thejobe said:
i was in some sunlight but mostly tree coverage (thats why i didnt go too high.).
it was about 98 degrees outside. very humid.
and thanks for the trick on the the battery ill keep that in mind.

Yes, I fly mine on construction sites in the summer heat and have to do some heat control for the IPad to maintain good video reception. Another trick, if you have a good ac, is to actually cool the video device down using the ac vents before you start the next flight. It does help. I even fly mine inside my pickup with the AC going. I get good signal and reception inside my truck up to a half mile with good LOS.

thejobe · Jul 20, 2015

hmm alright ill try that on my next flight when i go to the field.

thejobe · Jul 21, 2015

I took it out to the field today. it was still humid (rain came 1 hour later) but wasn't as hot.
the copter still had that vertical drift problem when i took off.after about 2-3 mins in the air it was stable. still not sure why it does that.
this copter is very fast. a lot faster than my phantom 2 was. threw me off guard a few times.
I found that my phone just isn't fast enough to keep up with the video coming with the copter.
question now is does anyone have any recommend for a tablet. im open to anything except for an ipad.

RedHotPoker · Jul 22, 2015

Hahaha, no. Unfortunately not. There are 19 threads on best tablet choice.
With out any experience with other tablets myself besides this iPad Air 2 64GB Cellular. So no, can not help you out there.
But if you decide to go for the best option, it stays cool to the touch, no glare screen in the Sun star light, oh and you can set your RTH to the location you are standing, if you wander off.

Good hunting.

RedHotPoker

thejobe · Jul 22, 2015

i since i posted that i tested about 5 phones and 3 tablets.
i have found that the processor speed and gpu speed greatly effect the experience. the iphone 5 s and newer are best choices for apple devices ipad air 2 is the fastest. if you have an iphone 5c or lower.... well expect a few video lag issues.
android side was what i was looking for though.
the 3 fastest phones you can get are
LG G flex 2
motorola nexus 6
HTC one m9
these phones should fast enough to handle the video downlink without any lag.

but these were expensive for me to just go grab.
and the screen size was on the small size so i was looking for something bigger. so i looked at mini tablets 7-8".
i check all the bench mark of tablets at that size and everything was around $400 and up.
but then i found one on sale on amazon.
called HP Slate 7 extreme. its stats were very high on the benchmark and i found it on amazon for $80!

as soon as i get it ill let you all know how well it works.
but if you want to take a look at the benchmark for it here ya go.
http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/mobile/HP+Slate+7+Extreme/review
heres the amazon link
http://www.amazon.com/HP-S7-4400US-...1437541958&sr=8-1&keywords=hp+slate+7+extreme

thejobe · Jul 22, 2015

I took it out for another flight today. much cooler outside.
slightly windy so didnt keep it up long. about 20mph gusts.
the gps hold doesnt seem to be working. not sure whats going on.
im uploading 2 pictures
first picture is the copter and you can see that the horizon is not level at all.

second picture is of the sensors for the IMU.

why is z axis off by so much? is that normal?

is there something else im missing?

bobmyers · Jul 22, 2015

thejobe said:
I took it out for another flight today. much cooler outside.
slightly windy so didnt keep it up long. about 20mph gusts.
the gps hold doesnt seem to be working. not sure whats going on.
im uploading 2 pictures
first picture is the copter and you can see that the horizon is not level at all.
View attachment 25534
second picture is of the sensors for the IMU.
View attachment 25535
why is z axis off by so much? is that normal?

is there something else im missing?

You may have to do a slight gimbal adjustment when you take off to level the horizon-- however, IMO this is not perfect, but real close.

Check the Manual for the compass specs-- those look like they may be in spec-- I didn't check it --

thejobe · Jul 22, 2015

i took it out one more time today. it flew perfect. the compass check fixed it. thanks for the help!

thejobe · Jul 23, 2015

i got that tablet today. apparently it has connection issues with the app. i contacted the support team, marketing team, app team. they said they will get back to me.

guess i will just have to watch how i fly it and not get to far from sight.