Had a CLOSE CALL today!!!

Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

Fascinating story. I feel like I read the book first, then went and saw the movie. I'm glad you were heads up enough to be able to find it in the end. I agree that it doesn't neccesarily sound like a "flyaway" in terms of what myself and others (bellumgessi by his account in this post) have experienced. Either way, thank you for this informative post.
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

Pull_Up said:
At about 7:58 it suddenly goes the other way for a revolution, before back into the anticlockwise stuff. Did that correspond to any input from you, do you think?

I don't think so. I wasn't doing anything with the left stick because I couldn't see it and didn't know its orientation or altitude.

Pull_Up said:
9:15 - you can almost feel it fighting there, or is it just me? Looks like it's really leaning in but not getting anywhere. About 9:40 it seems to start getting a tiny bit of headway.

I'm wondering if I did have a control signal at that point and the RTH was trying to send it home but it couldn't fight the wind also.
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

Yeah probably not a flyaway but I didn't see the video until after I did the original post so to me it looked like a FLYAWAY from my point of view. It was more like "I don't know where you are and even if I did it too windy to get to you".
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

I'm curious in IOC mode, doesn't the Vision determine which way you're pointing the TX/Controller by using the GPS compass in your phone or tablet; the same compass your app uses? And if that's so, doesn't that info get relayed to the Vision over 2.4Ghz WiFi, the same link as your FPV? So what happens if you lose your 2.4Ghz link? See where I'm goin' with this? ...the floor is open.

iDrone
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

iDrone said:
I'm curious in IOC mode, doesn't the Vision determine which way you're pointing the TX/Controller by using the GPS compass in your phone or tablet; the same compass your app uses? And if that's so, doesn't that info get relayed to the Vision over 2.4Ghz WiFi, the same link as your FPV? So what happens if you lose your 2.4Ghz link? See where I'm goin' with this? ...the floor is open.

I think that IOC will work even if you don't have the Smartphone on meaning that it gets it GPS location from the HOME point it hopefully marked. I would think the FCU does calculation to just bring it back to that GPS location when Home Lock is on and the right stick is pulled down.

I think the Radar pointing location is gotton from the SmartPhone's orientation sensor.

I think we all need to try to learn all the ins and outs of how all this stuff works instead of just guessing. I did my experiment. Who is next? ;)
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

One thing just came to mind... are you sure you were in Home Lock, and not Course Lock? The latter would possibly have got you going in a direction that you weren't expecting as it gets its idea of what the "course" is by its orientation when it has set its home position. I'm sure you were, but it's another potential gotcha for people using IOC at the limit of, or beyond, visual range.
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

I believe that you can change the title of the thread by editing the "subject"
of the thread's first post... if you wanted to make it something like Blown-Away
instead of Fly-Away.
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

From the video, it looks like the control program was searching for a compass direction
that it was not finding, and it was pretty much stuck in that logic loop for quite some time.
Apparently it was not smart enough to get its bearings by moving a bit and watching the
GPS location change, even though it was fairly clear that it was maintaining its
current position by using the GPS high resolution input.

When it finally took off, upwind, it was headed back toward Home, right?

But, then it got stuck over the pond for some reason.
Perhaps the RTH was canceled by regaining RC control, and it
just hung there because there were no control instructions?

With an integrated flight recorder (internal memory or a micro-SD card), which
would allow the control software to write a log of the flight controller's logic
states, inputs, and logic decisions, one would have a chance of determining how
the flight controller got confused, and have a chance to improve the firmware.

Without such a log of the flight controller's decisions, a critical real-time system
like this is very hard to test, debug, and improve. But, it saves a few cents.
Too bad that thus low cost feature was not included.
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

garygid said:
From the video, it looks like the control program was searching for a compass direction
that it was not finding, and it was pretty much stuck in that logic loop for quite some time.
Apparently it was not smart enough to get its bearings by moving a bit and watching the
GPS location change
, even though it was fairly clear that it wss maintaining its
current position by using the GPS high resolution input.

That's a dangerous logic to implement.

1. It may not have a reliable means to detect compass malfunction mid flight. The craft might be changing direction due to the environment (wind, etc) which triggers this behavior.

2. Say the user (rightly) assumes that RTH will always fly back toward home point, so he keep a clear path toward home at all times, yet in front of the quad is a wall (trees, building, etc). With that logic, there's a chance the phantom will fly into objects just to get its bearing. (Or due to the false trigger on point #1)

Without such a log if the flight controller's decisions, a crutical real-time system
like this is very hard to test, debug, and improve. But, it saves a few cents.
Too bad that low cost festu

I agree that it would be nice to have a log. In the past it could due to cost saving (vs the number of ppl who will actually use it's feature, vs implementation (another microsd?). But with the existence of DJI Smartphone app, this could be an app upgrade away. (Ya hear that, DJI?? )
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

LeoS said:
I agree that it would be nice to have a log. In the past it could due to cost saving (vs the number of ppl who will actually use it's feature, vs implementation (another microsd?). But with the existence of DJI Smartphone app, this could be an app upgrade away. (Ya hear that, DJI?? )

Today... I would prefer an app DOWNgrade... At least the Fiazuckin' thing would work properly... :roll:
 
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Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

gunslinger said:
LeoS said:
I agree that it would be nice to have a log. In the past it could due to cost saving (vs the number of ppl who will actually use it's feature, vs implementation (another microsd?). But with the existence of DJI Smartphone app, this could be an app upgrade away. (Ya hear that, DJI?? )

Today... I would prefer an app DOWNgrade... At least the Fiazuckin' thing would work properly... :roll:

Eheh... good thing I'm still grounded then (waiting for parts).. I'm not as eager to update things ASAP :mrgreen:
 
Re: Had a FLYAWAY today!!!

Pull_Up said:
One thing just came to mind... are you sure you were in Home Lock, and not Course Lock?

I was in Home Lock. S2 switch's bottom position.
 
This is pretty funny. Just for the heck of it I pulled up Google Maps to look at my Landing Spot from yesterday's ordeal and this is what I saw. Hope they aren't looking for me :)



I can laugh about it now.
BTW I grounded the P2V for a week for not listening to me.
 

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Again, your a v good narrator ;)

Did u try the radar function as someone else suggested?

Also I don't see many flyers do this but I ALWAYS test that my P1 has a solid home (GPS) lock on. I do this by as soon as taking off I simply fly out over 20ft away and switch to HL. Then pull back on the right stick. If it flys back while facing a different direction then I know it has recorded the home location. Only takes 5 seconds to do and if it doesn't fly back then I land and diagnose.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've noticed that flying in Home Lock results in unpredictable speed. Mostly because you don't know the orientation of the P2V, but I also feel like it's simply limited (less of a maximum lean angle in this mode than in others.) I too have been nervous a few times after losing VLOS and switching to HL, pull back on stick and waiting for what seems like a LOT longer than the last time I saw the P2V. When in GPS or ATTI I can easily and reliably do 32 to 36 mph (not accounting for any wind.) In HL I regularly seem to max out at about 12 to 15mph (typically flying at some angle.) So if there is a 15mph tailwind and I do 32mph + 15mph for say 15 seconds I'll be 1000 feet away at 400ft above agl, this is likely outside VLOS (and stock FPV), if I go 30 seconds I've probably exceeded the stock controller range. If I then switch to HL and pull back on the stick it is very possible that I will not make any progress toward home (unable to overcome the headwind).

Luckily (and where your video of the P2V spinning in place certainly seems to suggest a problem) is that when RTH is engaged, typically the P2V will turn nose towards home and fly in that direction (again at a reduced maximum speed of about 20mph in my experience.)

Lesson to learn is to be conservative about wind speed, although the internal desire to fly can push us to rationalize ourselves into trouble ("a little game I like to call "just the tip"").
 
hi themosttoys, those speeds seem quite high, my phantom 2 does around 10 metres per second, which i believe is around 22mph, i know what you mean about homelock though, mine too is alot slower
 
Meluk said:
Again, your a v good narrator ;)

Did u try the radar function as someone else suggested?

Also I don't see many flyers do this but I ALWAYS test that my P1 has a solid home (GPS) lock on. I do this by as soon as taking off I simply fly out over 20ft away and switch to HL. Then pull back on the right stick. If it flys back while facing a different direction then I know it has recorded the home location. Only takes 5 seconds to do and if it doesn't fly back then I land and diagnose.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's excellent advice, but it has to be over 30 feet away... (I know this from painful experience) :D

-slinger
 
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