400' Altitude Limitation

[davidnclearlaketx]

As Sticks said it is the computer GUI that you can load the settings into the Q as far as what you want the max altitude will be. No special firmware needed.
Now if you are in a NFZ (no fly zone- 5 miles within major airport) that is what Yuneec firmware on all their UAS's limit you to and you won't be able to even start the props. There is no way to bypass this unless you get the NFZ disable firmware from Yuneec support (which is possible by signing a couple of wavers) and they will email it to you.
Then you take full responsibility for flying too close to a major airport. Even with the GPS turned off the Yuneec branded UAS's won't start up if you are in their NFZ areas.

 

[Grimsin]

The gui no longer works. Now what...

 

[Ari]

The gui no longer works. Now what...

Bad connection?

 

[Grimsin]

No the latest firmware overrides GUI altitude settings and your stuck at 400 period. 390 actually.... itll go to 400 but then levels itself out at 390. Once leveled at 390 thats it. Does not mater what mode. Does not mater what you do with the GUI software.... weve been locked at 400. period...

 

[Grimsin]

I posted elsewhere... possible fix is to rollback the firmware. I am messing with that at the moment so far the latest update seems to prevent me from rolling back. At least currently tried methods... I am far from done... literally moving the SD from the comp to the st16 as i type for another rollback attempt.

That attempt did not work. Right now I am at a loss for ideas on how to rollback the firmware. Simply changing the file name wont do it. It knows better then to rollback on everything else it seems to. An older update file will have to be edited to have a newer version number. That may still not work. Ill have to sit and rack my brain for a bit on some of the ways i used to do this for phones... Its not much different... granted the version of the android OS on the st16 is not anywhere near the same as what you would find on any phone or normal tablet lol... at least not that I have seen. I wish we had the sdk... I am about to go start posting for help on this mater in an android forum lol. We need one of the android phone gurus to come put in his/her two cents on the mater.

 

[Blaster]

Hey Pharkas, by now you may have already "bumped into" the Part 107 Chapter 5.10.2 section "Determining Altitude".
Hope you've revisited this section, and discovered that it will offer you "clarity" on your inquiry of March 01, 2016.

Happy Altimeter Flying......

 

[Ren57]

The way I see it; if they're going to make rules, they should be very specific! Is it 400 ft from where you're standing or 400 ft from the ground under the drone or 400 ft frome the ground in any direction? We don't live in a 2 dimensional word!

Trust me on this. It's 400ft from the point of take off. So if you're 6000ft up a mountain you can fly to 6400ft legally. For those elsewhere in this thread who want to increase their altitude limit where it is legal to fly higher than 400ft. Just connect your Q500 to your computer. You'll need to download the GUI (Graphical User Interface) software from Yuneec's website. You can increase the altitude in the GUI, just type in how high you want to go...

 

[Grimsin]

Trust me on this. It's 400ft from the point of take off. So if you're 6000ft up a mountain you can fly to 6400ft legally. For those elsewhere in this thread who want to increase their altitude limit where it is legal to fly higher than 400ft. Just connect your Q500 to your computer. You'll need to download the GUI (Graphical User Interface) software from Yuneec's website. You can increase the altitude in the GUI, just type in how high you want to go...

That does not work after the latest firmware update.

 

[Ren57]

I didn't know that and it's one of the reasons that I never rush to do a firmware update as soon as a new one is released. I always wait and see what the reaction is to firmware updates before I go ahead. So many firmware updates these days (not just with Yuneec) seem to do more harm than good. If it's flying alright and you can fly it OK, then why fix something that isn't broken? I wonder if hitting the factory reset button might solve this? Just a thought.....

 

[Wingshooter]

Which Firmware Version changed this (Grimsin)?

And what Factory Reset Button (Mr. Ren)

 

[Grimsin]

I didn't know that and it's one of the reasons that I never rush to do a firmware update as soon as a new one is released. I always wait and see what the reaction is to firmware updates before I go ahead. So many firmware updates these days (not just with Yuneec) seem to do more harm than good. If it's flying alright and you can fly it OK, then why fix something that isn't broken? I wonder if hitting the factory reset button might solve this? Just a thought.....

No, Factory reset will not wipe the updates.

 

[Grimsin]

Which Firmware Version changed this (Grimsin)?

And what Factory Reset Button (Mr. Ren)

It was the most recent one... it is possible to use the TyphoonGUI to downgrade just the part that imposes the limit. You can find that on this site in another thread....

 

[Ren57]

Which Firmware Version changed this (Grimsin)?

And what Factory Reset Button (Mr. Ren)

The reset seems to be only for the ST10+ controller. You can find it in the system settings Menu 3rd one down in the list. I had to do a Reset (for another reason) a couple of weeks ago. You have to re-bind your aircraft with the controller afterwards, which is a bit of a pain but easy enough to do. One thing I found after doing my reset was that my Q500 seems to fly better since I did the reset and definitely lands better. That bouncing thing that Q500's seem to do when they land has all but disappeared!

There must be a way of re-installing a previous version of the software? Has anyone got a previous version saved on their computer? If anyone has, just try re-installing it as if doing a firmware update and see what happens. Got to be worth a try?

 

[Wingshooter]

When I upgraded my Firmware in my ST10+ Yuneec CS told me to rebind the aircraft. It was not acting right after the upgrade and they told me to rebind. After I did that it was fine.

 

[PilotRichard]

How does the Q500 calculate altitude? Is it based on the take off altitude or is it based on the GPS altitude of the current position of the aircraft? I don't have a Q500 yet, but I fly all my planes and copters from a hilltop on my property that is 300' above my lower property. I ascend about 100 feet or so to clear the trees on the hill and then fly out over my pasture land. From were I am standing the copters are just a little above me but they are easily 400+ feet over my horses and barns. All manned aircraft fly at least twice that high over my property due to the terrain. If I would fly a Q500 from that spot and fly off the side of the hill and it was programmed with a 400' ceiling what would happen? It's only about 100' above where it took off from but it would quickly be at the 400' limit. Would it dive down to stay under 400'?
​

It's all based on relative Above Ground Level, not MSL Altitudes. Wherever you live, say East Washington at 3200'MSL, as Factory Settings for USA Typhoons are, you will be able to fly 400' above your ST10+ or ST12 Transmitter, say 3600' MSL. There is an Automatic AGL Altimeter on the TX Display, along with GPS, , Distance Away and Return to Home Arrow, it's a no brainer Aircraft, everything is automatic even landing.

 

[Jafo]

Just use some common sense people.
It's really a no brainer.

Happy flying,
Jafo

 

[DSLeach81]

Just use some common sense people.
It's really a no brainer.

Happy flying,
Jafo

Looks great!