Flytrex Live 3G Released - Review

[flyNfrank]

No worries Frank, you are an awesome help to so many of us in the flytrex learning curve :mrgreen:

Looking at my flytrex receipt, it says "Live 3G" other than that, don't know at this time how to tell.

Out of the blue yesterday my Wife says "it still amazes me what that little thing can do" thought she was talking about me

Life is Good :mrgreen:

Navman, thanks for the kind words. If Amit shows up again he can let us know whats going on with the ID numbers.

 

[jasonnelson007]

Am I posting I the wrong section here. But I'm having terrible gps problems after I stalling my flytrex. I have the vision+ and never used to drop below 8-9sat when flying. Usually 10-11. Now I'm dropping to 1-2. Constantly kicking into atti mode at the worst time. I have re-posted the wires as many ways as I can. I have the foil mod done but it didn't seem to do much. I'm lost at what I can do next. I got my stage 2 fpvlr installed but I'm scared to try it out.

If you continue flying when dropping to 1-2 satellites you will soon be posting a much different thread. I have no experience with this yet, but I have to think that the new Can-Bus adapter may be would cures your issue. The 1st thing I would is remove the top cover and bypass your flytrex device and reinstall the cover again. To bypass for testing purposes, just unplug the gps wire from the harness and plug it back into the connector on the board. You can leave everything attached as you will just be performing a test. Should you regain positive satellite reception then you know where the problem is. Btw, while you have the cover off and working with the gps plug, you seriously need to do this simple mod. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30912 Don't take this wrong, but you would be a fool not to do the simple mod.

Does something look wrong with this picture?
Thanks Frank. I'll be trying your suggestions tomorrow. I never dropped to 1-2 until I was flying or I wouldn't of flew. What happens if it hits 0 gps sats? Manual mode or can it just take off?

 

[jasonnelson007]

Just noticed I should down grade my controller to 3.08.

 

[bbfpv]

Any one know if a 4G version is in the works ?
Or if 4G speeds are even required ?? Thinking of purchasing, but if a 4G is in the works, happy to wait.

I have not heard anything about 4G so no one get excited or go look for it... I am merely asking...

BTW To the Flytrex work. I work for a large Aus Telco... more than happy to help test out 4G version using LTE and a few other 4G technologies..... Just putting it out there LOL :]

4G would be overkill since all the flytrex is sending back to the server is telemetry data points a couple of times/second.

 

[Chuck26287]

Any one know if a 4G version is in the works ?
Or if 4G speeds are even required ?? Thinking of purchasing, but if a 4G is in the works, happy to wait.

I have not heard anything about 4G so no one get excited or go look for it... I am merely asking...

BTW To the Flytrex work. I work for a large Aus Telco... more than happy to help test out 4G version using LTE and a few other 4G technologies..... Just putting it out there LOL :]

4G would be overkill since all the flytrex is sending back to the server is telemetry data points a couple of times/second.

I agree. It was my understanding that the main reason for upgrading to 3G was not the improved speed of the technology, but rather the availability (or future declining availability) of 2G technology in certain market areas. These use so little data they can't be tasking the bandwidth at all. I did a flight where the Flytrex Live 3G was connected to the Live Flight Servers for over 20 minutes, and used $0.20 worth of data off my H20 Wireless Pay As You Go Plan balance.

 

[Chuck26287]

Has anyone received and connected a Flytrex Live 3G with a Can Bus Adapter cable yet? I know they were just released and probably no routine sales shipments have made it here yet, but wondering if anyone had one early as a trial/beta test of any sort? I've got two on order, one for a P2V+ and one for a regular Naza M V2, but I'm sure they'll be awhile getting here. I was hoping to find a sample of the enhanced logging .csv file you get when the Flytrex Live 3G is logging when connected through the Can Bus connection. Anyone have a sample file they could post and make available or know of someone who I could contact directly? I posted to the Flytrex Facebook page but haven't seen any reply yet. I'm hoping when they get some time, they'll put the new enhaced export file on the website as a sample to download like the standard version.

 

[bbfpv]

Has anyone received and connected a Flytrex Live 3G with a Can Bus Adapter cable yet? I know they were just released and probably no routine sales shipments have made it here yet, but wondering if anyone had one early as a trial/beta test of any sort? I've got two on order, one for a P2V+ and one for a regular Naza M V2, but I'm sure they'll be awhile getting here. I was hoping to find a sample of the enhanced logging .csv file you get when the Flytrex Live 3G is logging when connected through the Can Bus connection. Anyone have a sample file they could post and make available or know of someone who I could contact directly? I posted to the Flytrex Facebook page but haven't seen any reply yet. I'm hoping when they get some time, they'll put the new enhaced export file on the website as a sample to download like the standard version.

Flytrex is only getting their first production run of the new adapters this week sometime, so it'll be a couple of weeks before they hit the mainstream. As far as demo units, Simon Newton on youtube did a quick overview of an install a few days ago, so you could try sending him a message on G+ to see if he has any samples of the enhanced data. It's my understanding that at launch it will just be compass heading, with more to come down the road.

 

[Chuck26287]

Has anyone received and connected a Flytrex Live 3G with a Can Bus Adapter cable yet? I know they were just released and probably no routine sales shipments have made it here yet, but wondering if anyone had one early as a trial/beta test of any sort? I've got two on order, one for a P2V+ and one for a regular Naza M V2, but I'm sure they'll be awhile getting here. I was hoping to find a sample of the enhanced logging .csv file you get when the Flytrex Live 3G is logging when connected through the Can Bus connection. Anyone have a sample file they could post and make available or know of someone who I could contact directly? I posted to the Flytrex Facebook page but haven't seen any reply yet. I'm hoping when they get some time, they'll put the new enhaced export file on the website as a sample to download like the standard version.

Flytrex is only getting their first production run of the new adapters this week sometime, so it'll be a couple of weeks before they hit the mainstream. As far as demo units, Simon Newton on youtube did a quick overview of an install a few days ago, so you could try sending him a message on G+ to see if he has any samples of the enhanced data. It's my understanding that at launch it will just be compass heading, with more to come down the road.

It looks like they might already have more than compass heading... here is the comment off the Flytrex Blog...

"Extended real-time telemetry and logging - When used together with the new adapter, the Live 3G transmits and logs new parameters about your flight, including flight mode, compass data, engines status and more. New data will gradually be introduced to the Flytrex systems."

Not sure what they're saying... could mean flight mode, compass data and engine status is now operationally logging, and more (new) data will be introduced gradually in addition to these new parameters; or flight mode, compass data and engine status could be the new data they're saying will be gradually introduced in the future. I think I'll drop an email to Amit at Flytrex and ask, as well as message Simon and see if either can enlighten us on the issue.

Thanks for the lead.

 

[jasonnelson007]

Am I posting I the wrong section here. But I'm having terrible gps problems after I stalling my flytrex. I have the vision+ and never used to drop below 8-9sat when flying. Usually 10-11. Now I'm dropping to 1-2. Constantly kicking into atti mode at the worst time. I have re-posted the wires as many ways as I can. I have the foil mod done but it didn't seem to do much. I'm lost at what I can do next. I got my stage 2 fpvlr installed but I'm scared to try it out.

If you continue flying when dropping to 1-2 satellites you will soon be posting a much different thread. I have no experience with this yet, but I have to think that the new Can-Bus adapter may be would cures your issue. The 1st thing I would is remove the top cover and bypass your flytrex device and reinstall the cover again. To bypass for testing purposes, just unplug the gps wire from the harness and plug it back into the connector on the board. You can leave everything attached as you will just be performing a test. Should you regain positive satellite reception then you know where the problem is. Btw, while you have the cover off and working with the gps plug, you seriously need to do this simple mod. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=30912 Don't take this wrong, but you would be a fool not to do the simple mod.

Does something look wrong with this picture?
Thanks Frank. I'll be trying your suggestions tomorrow. I never dropped to 1-2 until I was flying or I wouldn't of flew. What happens if it hits 0 gps sats? Manual mode or can it just take off?

OK, Bypassed the flytrex and gps sats came back anywhere from 8-10 inside. Completed the mod on the gps plug, tried it with the foil mod and without. Not really much difference. When I turn camera on to record I usually lose 1 sat. Comes back as soon as I shut it off. I have re-routed the gps wires every possible way and still nothing. Put it all back together 4-6 inside and put it outside and seemed to be getting pretty consistant 7-8 sats and now no drop out when recording. I have no idea what is going on. Definatly not as locked in as it was before I installed the flytrex. Anyone have any other ideas what I can try.

 

[jasonnelson007]

I just downgraded my firmware back to 3.08 and now I'm getting 7-8 sats inside and 7-9 outside and stable. Does this make sense? Can the firmware cause this?

 

[bbfpv]

I just downgraded my firmware back to 3.08 and now I'm getting 7-8 sats inside and 7-9 outside and stable. Does this make sense? Can the firmware cause this?

If you're implying you had 3.10 and downgraded to 3.08, then yes. DJI pulled it and said to downgrade immediately. It's very possible your experience was one of the reasons.

 

[Navman]

I'm still at 3:04 on the Phantom 2 until I figure out what I've got to gain vs what I got to lose with further research on 3:08.

Due to weather, I've only had one flight with flytrex on board with the P2 and got 10 sats which is the same as it's always been.

 

[amitregev]

Assuming the setup executable link for windows is http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM ... tified.exe then yes I did install it.
The first time I tried it a few days ago, I actually could choose between both COM1 and COM6, not knowing which one to choose I probably (can't remember) tried both.
Today I tried again and I can only see COM1, not sure why.

When connecting the Live to the USB, do you get a small popup bubble on the Windows side indicating that a new device was connected to your PC? Or maybe you see some error message saying that it had trouble recognizing/installing the new device on your PC? :?:

Although not always true, usually the Live system will be the higher port number since this is the last one you connected to the PC.

 

[amitregev]

the firmware name never shows up in that little box once you select it (at least it never has for me). it's a bug I would imagine.

what is the LED color/pattern on the flytrex once you power it up?

Thanks Bbfpv! I just looked and indeed it seems like the selected file name is missing. I've added a note for this and we'll make sure to get this fixed with the upcoming update for the Live Programmer.

 

[amitregev]

Got my unit today and it is nicely tucked on the under belly of my P2.... Yippeeee!!!
Thanks Amit for hand-holding me through this. I received the unit without any customs hasstles.... so thanks a lot once again.

Now back to trouble shooting mode

My 3g connection wont work but another sim with 2g does and i get the blinking green led. Whereas with the 3g sim it stays purple for most part and then goes blue for some time before turning red again. What am I doing wrong?

I read this somewhere and not sure if it has anything to do with my problem.
No 2G GPRS data plan - Flytrex Live requires GPRS data connection. If using a SIM with only 3G or 4G data plan Flytrex Live will fail establishing network connection and the LED will remain purple.

I have a 3g plan but no 2g and if the above is true(i wonder why?) then could this be the root cause of the issue? Thanks

Hi djifan

Thanks for the great update! I'm really glad to hear that the new Live arrived safely and without too much trouble!

The quote you included about the GPRS requirement is taken from our previous Live 2G system and is no longer valid for the new Live 3G (which you are using -- all new orders are of the Live 3G, we no longer ship the 2G to anyone..). So your system should most definitely work with both 2G and 3G networks.

Can you tell me what is the carrier of the 3G SIM you are trying to use? I will review their details to make sure their network is indeed GSM (and not CDMA for example) and see if this might be what's causing this issue. Thanks!

 

[amitregev]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I just finished installing mine last night and now listening to you guys I need to do a firmware update? Is this correct? I haven't installed a dim card yet, to if he I'll try it. I did turn it on and the light flashes red blue red blue.

HI jasonnelson007

Most of the changes we made with our recent Flytrex Live 3G updates are related to pilots flying with the A2/WooKong or Blade 350 QX systems. If you're flying with any other flight controller/quadcopter then you can leave the Live 3G with the current firmware you received it with form us.

If everything is working fine for you and you are seeing the flashing green light with your Live 3G you can keep it with the same firmware version you have, even if it isn't the latest. Our recent firmware updates were targeted to address very specific issues with these specific flight controllers, so you don't have to worry about it if everything is working for you with the current firmware.

For future reference, to see what is the current firmware version on your Live 3G device and if a new update is available for your Live enter your Flytrex Account Settings -> Live, and then click Manage for the Live device you wish to view (usually you'll only have one Live device, but some users own several Live devices and those will be listed here). In the Manage Live Device view you will see the current firmware version of your Live device, what is the latest available firmware version and details how to upgrade your Live to the latest version.

I hope this helps. Cheers!

 

[amitregev]

Got my unit today and it is nicely tucked on the under belly of my P2.... Yippeeee!!!
Thanks Amit for hand-holding me through this. I received the unit without any customs hasstles.... so thanks a lot once again.

Now back to trouble shooting mode

My 3g connection wont work but another sim with 2g does and i get the blinking green led. Whereas with the 3g sim it stays purple for most part and then goes blue for some time before turning red again. What am I doing wrong?

I read this somewhere and not sure if it has anything to do with my problem.
No 2G GPRS data plan - Flytrex Live requires GPRS data connection. If using a SIM with only 3G or 4G data plan Flytrex Live will fail establishing network connection and the LED will remain purple.

I have a 3g plan but no 2g and if the above is true(i wonder why?) then could this be the root cause of the issue? Thanks

A solid blue LED means the Flytrex can hit the servers, so you're getting a data connection. Are you sure you bought the "Live 3G" and not the an older "Live" which is 2G only? They are identical looking and the only way to know is to look at its name on the Flytrex website. Under your account settings click on Live, and it will have your unit listed there "Live 3G, ID xxxxxxxxxxx". If it just say Live, then you've got an older model.

Thanks a lot.

Here is what it says when I click on Live under Account Settings:
Live Device (not linked to aircraft)
Live 3G, ID FL XXXXXXXXXXX

So I think I do have the 3G version. Anyone having only 3g(WCDMA) plan and not 2g(GSM/GPRS)? Thanks Again

@djifan - You'll need a GSM network. The Live 3G uses a GSM module, so it won't work with CDMA. I remember we talked about this a while back and I double checked the networks in your region. There should be a lot of GSM networks there, so try to verify which are GSM and switch to a SIM card from one of the available GSM carriers. Let us know how it goes!

 

[heady]

My Live 3G is on the way. A Function "Acoustic Lipo-Voltage-Warning" in the App (Android/IPhone) would be nice.

 

[Chuck26287]

Has anyone experienced any thing different about their connection to the Flytrex Live servers to display their Active Flight page? When I originally installed my FL3G, I connected it to the 12v output side of a step-down regulator instead of the 6S input side. This was of course not a problem for the FL3G as it's spec'd for 3S-6S input. However, it means I'm logging the output from my regulator and not the voltage of my flight battery. I didn't feel like undressing the wiring right then so I didn't worry about it. I made the first flight and everything worked fine. During this whole time, whenever my flight battery was connected and the FL3G had its flashing green light, if I opened up Chrome and went to my Live Flight Page, I saw the live flight screen with data and the GPS plot on the map. This was true even if I had not started the motors, but was just powered on.

Today I connected the FL3G to have 6S input power so my logging would accurately reflect my flight battery voltages. That was the only thing I changed. Now, with power on and a flashing green LED on the FL3G, if I open Chrome and go directly to my Live Flight Page, it shows "CONNECTING", then changes to "NO LIVE FLIGHT AT THE MOMENT". However, without powering off or changing a thing, if I login to my Flytrex account and go to my profile screen, the Live Flight button directly under my profile picture is green, and indicates an active live flight. If I click that button, I go to my Live Flight page, and everything is normal... flight data and active GPS plot displayed on the map. So, I know the live flight is being received normally from the FL3G, but accessing it from outside my Flytrex account appears impossible (tried from two other computer sorces as well).

Wondering if there are server issues happening right now? Anyone else see anything like this? I just can't see going from 3S input to 6S input being able to cause something like this.

 

[Chuck26287]

Has anyone experienced any thing different about their connection to the Flytrex Live servers to display their Active Flight page? When I originally installed my FL3G, I connected it to the 12v output side of a step-down regulator instead of the 6S input side. This was of course not a problem for the FL3G as it's spec'd for 3S-6S input. However, it means I'm logging the output from my regulator and not the voltage of my flight battery. I didn't feel like undressing the wiring right then so I didn't worry about it. I made the first flight and everything worked fine. During this whole time, whenever my flight battery was connected and the FL3G had its flashing green light, if I opened up Chrome and went to my Live Flight Page, I saw the live flight screen with data and the GPS plot on the map. This was true even if I had not started the motors, but was just powered on.

Today I connected the FL3G to have 6S input power so my logging would accurately reflect my flight battery voltages. That was the only thing I changed. Now, with power on and a flashing green LED on the FL3G, if I open Chrome and go directly to my Live Flight Page, it shows "CONNECTING", then changes to "NO LIVE FLIGHT AT THE MOMENT". However, without powering off or changing a thing, if I login to my Flytrex account and go to my profile screen, the Live Flight button directly under my profile picture is green, and indicates an active live flight. If I click that button, I go to my Live Flight page, and everything is normal... flight data and active GPS plot displayed on the map. So, I know the live flight is being received normally from the FL3G, but accessing it from outside my Flytrex account appears impossible (tried from two other computer sorces as well).

Wondering if there are server issues happening right now? Anyone else see anything like this? I just can't see going from 3S input to 6S input being able to cause something like this.

You know... I service ultrasound equipment for a living. When something clearly breaks, you can usually get to the bottom of things pretty quickly. When something's operational characteristics change, it gets a little tougher. I'm used to having people tell me what's wrong, and have to find out what's causing the problem. Generally, if it's an operational change issue, when they tell you what they did, or what happened, or what they changed, and you still can't figure out what's wrong, you often times go back and find you didn't get all the info. Sometimes they didn't think it mattered. Sometimes they just forget something.

Today, I'm the operator who forgot something. Something little, but a direct path to the resolution.

I've posted and emailed a few different places to try and get to the bottom of this. I haven't heard back anywhere, so I've been rethinking it over and over. I was wondering if it could be related to the new v18 firmware for the FL3G, when I had to slap myself, because THAT was another thing that changed. I only changed the voltage input today. HOWEVER, after my last flight (everything worked fine then) I upgraded my firmware after doing my post-flight physical inspection. I only NOTICED the issue today after only changing the input voltage.

As I thought about this, since I could see the live flight by accessing it through my Flytrex account, it was almost like anyone but me being prevented from viewing it. Yep... privacy setting. Somehow, whether I inadvertently changed the Live Streaming setting from PUBLIC to PRIVATE while in the settings screen for the firmware upgrade, or it's something reset during a firmware upgrade, my setting for Live Streaming was set to PRIVATE. Everything was working like it should, I just didn't realize it was set to PRIVATE. Talk about feeling stupid.