IOC

[pault]

I am a bit confused about IOC. Is this enabled out of the box and if so, how does one enable it ?

Also, could someone confirm that I understand it correctly please. I think that when enabled left = left etc no matter which way the PV2 is pointing.

Is it recommended for a novice or would I be better practicing nose in returns until I can fly with full confidence ?

Edit: can it be used in the gps mode or would they fight with one another ?

Many thanks for any input

 

[LandYachtMedia]

IOC is a GPS mode of flying. It won't be in conflict with the normal GPS mode. What IOC does is when you turn it on whatever direction the craft is pointing when you start the props becomes the reference. Think of it as establishing a grid relative to how the craft is pointing. From there left is always left FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE CRAFT WHEN THE FLIGHT WAS STARTED. It is not necessarily in reference to you. So if the craft was pointing away from you and you turn on IOC then left and right will be your normal left and right regardless of how the craft is turned. If the craft was pointing AT you when you took off then everything will be reversed when you turn on IOC (left stick will be right movement relative to you).

In contrast HOME LOCK is always in reference to the home location (where the flight started assuming you got a full GPS lock before you lifted off). Left stick is always left flight relative to the home location. Forward stick is always away from you and backward stick is always towards you.

These modes can be tricky if you aren't ready for what they do. Be sure to be in a nice large open area when you start working with these modes for the first time.

To answer your other question - these modes are not enabled out of the box. You have to connect the craft to your computer and enable "NAZA" mode on the controller before you have these options available.

 

[Bill_Burkert]

Do you find it interesting that IOC is not set by default? It seems like it would help the beginner, especially the first flights??

It would allow a beginner or new user to get used to hovering, stick control and flying characteristics before using FPV or line-of-site non-IOC flight.

 

[LandYachtMedia]

Do you find it interesting that IOC is not set by default? It seems like it would help the beginner, especially the first flights??

It would allow a beginner or new user to get used to hovering, stick control and flying characteristics before using FPV or line-of-site non-IOC flight.

Home Lock is the easiest mode to fly because left and right are always left and right relative to the home location regardless of where the craft is. BUT that isn't the best thing to learn with in my opinion. As a remote operator you need to have a good spatial awareness and be able to translate the machines orientation into that awareness. I recommend flying close to you in GPS mode (the way it comes out of the box) until flying is second nature. The craft will hover nicely hands off in GPS mode.

IOC and HOME LOCK are modes that can offer easier flights when you are working to do specific types of maneuvers or shots with the camera. They are tools but you should avoid having them become crutches. You need to have a firm grasp on flying remote vehicles without these tools or you risk having a very bad flying experience when these tools fail.

This is strictly my opinion. I learned to fly in the '70s on a simple 3 channel balsa wood and dope airplane. I still have it.

 

[Bill_Burkert]

Don't get me wrong, IOC is not for me either. Out of the box is best.

 

[LandYachtMedia]

I'm not criticizing such a decision. Just sharing my thoughts and my basis for my recommendations.

There is certainly more than one way to get to a destination.

 

[BenDronePilot]

Do you find it interesting that IOC is not set by default? It seems like it would help the beginner, especially the first flights??

It would allow a beginner or new user to get used to hovering, stick control and flying characteristics before using FPV or line-of-site non-IOC flight.

Home Lock is the easiest mode to fly because left and right are always left and right relative to the home location regardless of where the craft is. BUT that isn't the best thing to learn with in my opinion. As a remote operator you need to have a good spatial awareness and be able to translate the machines orientation into that awareness. I recommend flying close to you in GPS mode (the way it comes out of the box) until flying is second nature. The craft will hover nicely hands off in GPS mode.

IOC and HOME LOCK are modes that can offer easier flights when you are working to do specific types of maneuvers or shots with the camera. They are tools but you should avoid having them become crutches. You need to have a firm grasp on flying remote vehicles without these tools or you risk having a very bad flying experience when these tools fail.

This is strictly my opinion. I learned to fly in the '70s on a simple 3 channel balsa wood and dope airplane. I still have it.

I would have to totally agree with you on this. Friend of mine got into two serious crashes with Parrot AR Drone using its "absolute control" mode which is similar in function to Course Lock on Phantom. The Parrots absolute control started malfunctioning and it was not going where it was supposed to which resulted in crashes. The moral of the story is, as simple as things like "Course Lock" are it's really not smart to use for beginners. When and if these systems fail you may end up crashing and burning. It's best to take things slow and easy and learn how to identify the proper orientation of your craft and only fly in a large open area until it's second nature.

 

[Pull_Up]

+1. The other issue is that if you learn to rely on IOC and not basic piloting skill then when you are out at distance and lose satellite reception you'll find that Home Lock doesn't work. The radar function on the Vision phone app is a great tool for helping with orientation but if you lose your wifi link... By all means have IOC available - there are specific times when filming, for example, when it's beneficial for getting accurate tracking shots - but think of it as one of a selection of tools at your disposal, rather than a great default mode for beginners.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Driffill]

If you have a think about IOC, for the vision, it's probably a good idea it's turned off by default. IIRC, the v1 phantom required IOC to be activated via the software too, but it had all the details in the manual. When I bought my phantom my first 5~10 flights were purely LOS (Line Of Sight). Flying LOS has is disadvantages, one being you can lose the orientation of the phantom (it does look very symmetrical), enabling IOC allows the pilot to fly relative to his position.

ENTER PHANTOM 2 VISION!
A new phantom with fpv cam telemetry and RTF! For someone like myself, I feel like I little step backwards going to a vision, not that it's any less than a phantom v1, but the camera quality (and the history of DJI's speed at addressing issues) gave me the feeling it's aimed more for the first time flyer (the older style "kit" builder flyer was still hanging out for the phantom 2 non vision for the extra flight time paired with ZM H3-2D).

One big selling point of the vision was out of the box FPV, this is where the IOC issues comes in! If your a first time flyer and you learn to fly fpv, with the range the controllers are getting, LOS flying is sometimes impossible, flicking to IOC while flying FPV will make the phantom feel unresponsive, or even uncontrollable, that could cause a lot of crashed phantom due to IOC/FPV confusion.

 

[pault]

Now I have half a dozen flights under my belt I got a bit more ambitious yesterday and took her up to 400'. At that height it is impossible to see the orientation of the PV2 and when I panned round taking video, I found myself using FPV to ensure I returned to having the PV2 pointing away from me. Very satisfying ;. I now want to enable IOC so I have Home Lock as a backup and also practice filming in ATTI mode.

Maybe I am being a bit thick but I am still confused as to the difference between Home Lock and Course Lock. As I understand it, when you switch to Home Lock and pull back on the right stick the PV2 will fly backwards towards the point where the home location was set by GPS on takeoff, irrespective of the direction it was pointing when the mode was engaged . I presume Left = Left etc also relative to this home point.

If I engage course lock then it appears to me that exactly the same thing will happen - Left = Left also relative to the home point. There must be a difference so what am I missing here ?

As a secondary question, when one is advised to keep the Range Extender pointed at the PV2, does that mean the largest flat surface at the top or the front of the unit ?

Edit: I think I understand it now. In Home Lock the PV2 will fly on a back bearing towards the point the gps lock was set. In Course Lock the PV2 will fly backwards on the same bearing the gps lock set on takeoff. (Spacial awareness was never my strong point ).

 

[Pull_Up]

Course lock will move the aircraft left=left, right=right, etc, but in relation to the orientation it had when it locked it's position. In other words it's the saved orientation of the Vision's nose that determines which direction left, right, forward, back is.

This explains it visually: http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Phanto ... _You_Start

 

[LandYachtMedia]

Maybe I am being a bit thick but I am still confused as to the difference between Home Lock and Course Lock. As I understand it, when you switch to Home Lock and pull back on the right stick the PV2 will fly backwards towards the point where the home location was set by GPS on takeoff, irrespective of the direction it was pointing when the mode was engaged . I presume Left = Left etc also relative to this home point.

Edit: I think I understand it now. In Home Lock the PV2 will fly on a back bearing towards the point the gps lock was set. In Course Lock the PV2 will fly backwards on the same bearing the gps lock set on takeoff. (Spacial awareness was never my strong point ).

Sounds like you are getting it.

Another way to think about it is home lock movement is relative to a point where it took off so the direction of flight is always front/back/left/right as related to the point on the ground where it took off. That pattern looks like the spokes of a wheel with the center of the wheel being the take off location.

Course lock creates a virtual grid where the machine will always fly front/back/left/right along the grid. This grid has no connection with the take off point but instead the orientation of the grid is in relation to the direction the Phantom was pointed when it took off.

 

[Pull_Up]

Wheel spokes versus grid is an excellent analogy for "getting" the difference. As it was posted on the internet I'm now going to steal it and use it extensively.

 

[LandYachtMedia]

Wheel spokes versus grid is an excellent analogy for "getting" the difference. As it was posted on the internet I'm now going to steal it and use it extensively.

I can already see I'm going to have to watch you!

 

[garygid]

That link (4 posts above) is for the Phantom, not the Phantom 2 or the Phantom 2 Vision,
but there is some good information there.

Here is a similar link to information presumably for the P2V:
http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Phanto ... tup_Wizard

It would be nice if this information was actually correct, and complete,
and was linked to by the main DJI pages. It seems difficult to find.

Is this wiki stuff maintained by DJI, or is it crowd-sourced?

 

[Pull_Up]

I know it's for the V1 Phantom, but it is a clearer visual description of the IOC which is built into the NAZA controller shared by everything in the Phantom range - the operation of which is identical whichever unit you activate it on.

As IOC on the Vision is seen by DJI as an option "for experienced users [or those] guided by a professional only" it doesn't appear in the Vision wiki or other information as yet. If you want to know more about these "advanced" features you need to dig into the NAZA, or V1 parts of the wiki, unfortunately.

 

[pault]

I also like the spokes of wheel/grid analogy. The way I sorted it out in my mind was thinking of compass bearings. If the PV2 took off on a bearing of 90° then in course lock Fwd will always be 90° & back will always be 270°. If the PV2 bears 180 ° from you when you engage Home Lock then back will make it fly 0° back to you.

Any answer on the question about the range extender (which surface should face the PV2) ?

 

[LandYachtMedia]

I'm going to post a drawing shortly.

 

[clarker11]

Does home lock work in atti mode or just in gps mode?

 

[LandYachtMedia]

Does home lock work in atti mode or just in gps mode?

Edit - HomeLock is a GPS mode and will only work in GPS. CourseLock will work in GPS or ATTI mode.