Setting up the Futaba T8FGS (or 14SG) with the P2

[xzoticskillz]

Hey Guys,
Problem with my 1st flight with the T8FGS
I just moved to a new house and wanted to take off from the backyard and try to get some video of a menacing neighbors bird that keeps everyone up all nite with it's squawking.

First test flight with the Futaba also.

I did a compass Cal. First. Turned off the P2 then turned it back on and let it fully initialize and acquire 10 sats.
I did a slow take off up to 10' and hovered it making a few yaw checksand pitch/roll checks. After trying to get some bird video, I climbed out to 120' and flew around within a few house away. I let it hover and it held position pretty well. Not much wind at all.

I threw it in FS (Programmed to switch SD lower position) and the yellow indicator lights went on to confirm and a few seconds later the P2 just slid over roughly to the area near Home Point. I didn't notice it climb at all before moving over the Home Point area. It moved over the Home Point area really damm quick. Twice the speed it used to.

It started it's descent and moved a little bit more towards Home Point but still was over the patio overhang. It was off Laterally about 10' from Home point.

I could tell when it was about 10' from the top of the patio that it wasn't going to move closer to Home Point and it was going to drop right onto the corner of the patio.

Imeddiately I took it out of FS and back into normal GPS mode but it didn't come out of FS. I tried giving it throttle but it would not respond. I then tried some hard roll to get it to clear the top corner of the patio. Still no repsonse. It remained in FS.

Battery Voltage on the P2 was still 54%
Futaba Voltage was fully Charged.

I reached up as it hit the patio cover corner, and grabbed the corner bottom of the skid. Immediately I dropped the throttle and held it there but the motors would not shut down. At the same time the P2 rolled over as I grabbed the skid and seemed like it was still trying to auto land. It tilted over and cut up my arm a bit. I kept holding the throttle down as it was fighting and biting me. Finally the motors shut off.

Only damage was Pride, I blade chipped and some blood lost.

FS seemed to activate but didn't seem to want to deactivate. In the P2 Assistant Software, The SD Switch does work just like i programmed it. Top=GPS Middle=Atti Bottom=FS.

Anybody have any ideas?

You can never switch from Failsafe back to GPS, you must first switch back to atti mode inorder to gain control from failsafe. Once you're in atti mode you are then able to switch back to GPS. Hope that helps.

 

[Xrover]

Really?
I've done it many times on the stock DJI Radio. Direct from FS to GPS. It worked everytime.
Is this only with the Futaba?

 

[ladykate]

Really?
I've done it many times on the stock DJI Radio. Direct from FS to GPS. It worked everytime.
Is this only with the Futaba?

If in GPS and failsafe is initiated, you must drop to ATTI and then go back to GPS to regain control. Not a Futaba thing.

http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Phanto ... _Fail-safe

 

[Xrover]

I must have paused a bit at ATT when I used to do it with the old DJI TX.

Thanks Guys for the info.
I will continue my testing of the new Futaba. At a higher altitude this time.

 

[ianwood]

You're talking about two different things. Forced F/S, you don't need to go back to ATTI first. If the Phantom goes into F/S due to signal loss, then you need to switch to ATTI to regain control.

 

[bignick243]

I'm a bit closer to dialing in my 14sg. Thank you for the profile Ian! The home lock,Course lock, and fail safe modes are working.I have the gimbal on the LS for now but I plan on changing to mimic Ian's setup. I called Futaba and they should be sending me a centering spring kit soon.

Maybe I missed it in the manual but is there a way to lock the scroll from accessing the menu while flying. I keep bumping it particularly when I'm flying with my goggles. So far I haven't changed anything in flight that I know of. It's most likely something I easily over looked.

As far as the toilet bowl shuffle goes it wasn't too bad. Still had a pretty noticeable J hook though.

 

[extrememc]

Wanting to know how I could go about taking the profile rename it and loading it and using it to make changes? I thinking this will help me learn the GUI for the T8. Since I have a P 1.1 for a trainer craft. I can used that profile to fly it. I figure since I am going to take the leap and get a bigger rig and possibly build it. Programing the radio better be the next thing I learn. LOL

 

[poma]

Anyone tried to compare stock Rx and Futaba's R6208SB flying range? Should I replace stock Rx to get better range?

 

[wkf94025]

How much range are you looking for? I have stayed with the stock receiver, and can often get 3km to 4km. One of these days I'll spend some time cleaning up the install so the stock antennae have little/nothing near them. Though I think I'm near the useful end of the 5.8GHz range, and would need to go UHF for the next quantum jump. But those would become one-way flights due to battery limitations.

Some have upgraded to the Futaba receiver for telemetry and/or additional control channels, but I've not read any posts saying they got better range from swapping out the stock receiver for a Futaba receiver.

Kelly

 

[poma]

I have Futaba T8FGS 2.4GHz and manage to get only 500-700m. 2-3km will be enough for me. What is your setup? How do you get 3km range?

 

[wkf94025]

All I did was buy a 14SG and install Ian's v4 profile. No special tuning or modification for range.

Kelly

 

[Xrover]

You're talking about two different things. Forced F/S, you don't need to go back to ATTI first. If the Phantom goes into F/S due to signal loss, then you need to switch to ATTI to regain control.

I did a forced FS. So why didn't it let me regain control?

I wrote down the numbers from the P2 software that sowed up when i toggled the the GPS ATTI FS switch when it was linked to the DJI radio and the new numbers showing in the assistant software are much lower when toggling the switch on the Futaba. The Futaba switch still activates the settings correctly in the assistant software. Any way to adjust the numbers on the Futaba to get them closer to the ones shown with the DJI radio?

 

[sar104]

You're talking about two different things. Forced F/S, you don't need to go back to ATTI first. If the Phantom goes into F/S due to signal loss, then you need to switch to ATTI to regain control.

I did a forced FS. So why didn't it let me regain control?

I wrote down the numbers from the P2 software that sowed up when i toggled the the GPS ATTI FS switch when it was linked to the DJI radio and the new numbers showing in the assistant software are much lower when toggling the switch on the Futaba. The Futaba switch still activates the settings correctly in the assistant software. Any way to adjust the numbers on the Futaba to get them closer to the ones shown with the DJI radio?

Yes - go into the Linkage menu and adjust the channel 7 endpoints.

 

[Xrover]

Thanks,
ill give that a try.

 

[ianwood]

I have Futaba T8FGS 2.4GHz and manage to get only 500-700m. 2-3km will be enough for me. What is your setup? How do you get 3km range?

You will get the best range with the stock receiver simply because the antennas are already set up in the optimal positions. You can get the same with the Futaba RX but you'll need the longer antennas. That said, I get 1.5km using a Futaba 8FGS and matching RX with the regular antennas that come with it.

Yes - go into the Linkage menu and adjust the channel 7 endpoints.

You should also be able to calibrate it on the P2 using the assistant software. That way you don't have to readjust endpoints with later versions of the profile.

 

[sar104]

Yes - go into the Linkage menu and adjust the channel 7 endpoints.

You should also be able to calibrate it on the P2 using the assistant software. That way you don't have to readjust endpoints with later versions of the profile.

I couldn't see a way to do that in the Assistant. Neither the X2 nor the U channel seem to have a calibration function option, but maybe I just missed it.

 

[Xrover]

Thx..

 

[golgotha]

I have Futaba T8FGS 2.4GHz and manage to get only 500-700m. 2-3km will be enough for me. What is your setup? How do you get 3km range?

You will get the best range with the stock receiver simply because the antennas are already set up in the optimal positions. You can get the same with the Futaba RX but you'll need the longer antennas. That said, I get 1.5km using a Futaba 8FGS and matching RX with the regular antennas that come with it.

Yes - go into the Linkage menu and adjust the channel 7 endpoints.

You should also be able to calibrate it on the P2 using the assistant software. That way you don't have to readjust endpoints with later versions of the profile.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[golgotha]

Good to know to expect very low distance range with a Futaba transmitter. I was about to purchase one thinking it could give me more reliability then the stock radio, especially after passing the 2.5km mark.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Xrover]

I was under the impression that using the Futaba Radio with the stock P2 Receiver would give the same or better range?