Orientation

[JJM]

Thanks JJM, that finally sunk in....

The one caveat is when you get to that 10m circle around the home point while in home lock. The phantom will switch to course lock and, depending on which way the phantom was facing when you took off, it might shoot of into another direction.

 

[Monte55]

Monte are you sure you don't achieve the same result in atti mode. In atti mode, you have no GPS to assist in controlling but you still have the IMU functioning to keep the craft oriented correctly. And you can still fly it home without the GPS.

That's a good thought. I have never tried to take off in atti. Will do. Thanks

 

[PsychopathRC]

Hey Drifter,

You managed to try out IOC yet? There's no harm in asking questions so don't feel put off, even if it seems silly. We're here to help

Just an FYI - Course Lock can be great to get to grips with. If you orientate the Phantom accordingly, it can be used like Home Lock. Only, it'll not require GPS to come back to you. Some people say you shouldn't use Home Lock too much, as it relies on GPS and we shouldn't rely on that really.

 

[knowonecares]

Thanks JJM, that finally sunk in....

The one caveat is when you get to that 10m circle around the home point while in home lock. The phantom will switch to course lock and, depending on which way the phantom was facing when you took off, it might shoot of into another direction.

So to use IOC, it's very important when you first power on your Phantom that the craft front end is pointing where you want it to generally fly. On the ground as the Phantom gathers info on its surroundings it will lock onto its orientation (for Course Lock flight) with rapid green flashes, then it will continue searching for satellites and lock onto its Home Point with a second set of rapid green flashes (for Home Lock flight, GPS Return to Home/Failsafe modes as well). Patience in Pre Flight is probably number one in safe flying.

 

[MacCool]

You're exactly describing Course Lock. When you also state that you want to just pull back on the stick and have it return to you no matter which way it's pointed, you're describing Home Lock. Choosing one or the other is a matter of middle or lower position on the S2 switch. You do have to reconfigure your Phantom to Naza-M mode rather than Phantom mode. I can't imagine why people don't do this right after taking the thing out of the box.

 

[Meta4]

Drifter ... are you looking at your virtual radar display on the app?
That shows you the orientation of your bird at all times so you can tell where it's pointing and know which way to steer.

 

[Meta4]

I asked about what was going to be the best choice to select manual or failsafe when I got my first Phantom 1 in April 20114. I felt that if I lost gps or signal from tx to quad at least I might have a better chance to save the quad if something went crazy. I may be wrong in my thinking but I would rather have some control than none at all. Hell if you do and hell if you don't kind of thing.

1. If you lose GPS, the Phantom defaults to atti mode and you still have full control but no 2D position holding ability.
2. If you lose signal, you have no control at all and your Phantom will attempt RTH.

 

[justin00]

I was playing with CL the other day.. don't use it often... but I noticed she was going in a diagonal direction... Last time I had played with it, it didn't do that.. it just flew as it was meant to... i.e... if phantom was facing me (so reversed) and I went into CL.. and did forward right stick it went away from me as it should (instead of towards me if CL was not enabled) but it went diagonal... did it in all directions / all times I enabled and disabled CL... HL worked like a champ....

is something possibly wrong... or user error ?

I understand how it works..but maybe not... its just its never gone diagonal in the past.. always flown straight... Is CL based on the home point or something initially... and if I move away from that.. or take a step to the right :/ it changes and get the results I experienced ?

 

[rickasaurus]

Justin, CL is based on the heading (direction of the front of the craft) that the Phantom is pointing when you first turn it on, and get the rapid flashing green lights, then the slow flashing RTF green lights. If during flight you move the Phantom around, perhaps going in circles, moving it behind you, it will still refer to the same original heading that it locked in before takeoff. So that can result in flying in a diagonal way with CL. However with HL, it will always come towards you.

 

[justin00]

Cool thanks for confirming that. Figured it must of been something to do with HP but good to have confirmation

Flew at a new spot the other day when I tested and if I recall it was initially pointed in a diff position so makes sense.. my normal spot its usually infront me and flown that way.. but yeah thanks for confirmation. BTW will send out GPS ant on tues

 

[BlackTracer]

CL is a grid and the phantom flies along those grid lines. The orientation of that grid is established when the phantom establishes course direction. So that grid could be off slightly from normals from where you are standing. Hence the perceived diagonal flying.

 

[rickasaurus]

CL is a grid and the phantom flies along those grid lines. The orientation of that grid is established when the phantom establishes course direction. So that grid could be off slightly from normals from where you are standing. Hence the perceived diagonal flying.

CL gets tricky when you fly the Phantom around you, so that you are now facing the opposite direction. However the Phantom still has it original heading recorded by CL. So in that case, pulling the stick back will cause the Phantom to fly away from you, not towards you. Similarly if you have flown the Phantom in a direction to the side of you - you may need to use left/right stick to bring the Phantom towards you. Fortunately, if you get confused, you can flip to HL.

 

[knowonecares]

Remember, Home Lock only works 30m or more from the pilot. Less than 30m, and the Phantom will go into Course Lock mode.

Edit: 30ft

 

[MacCool]

Remember, Home Lock only works 30m or more from the pilot. Less than 30m, and the Phantom will go into Course Lock mode.

10 meters. (30 feet)