Catching by hand, motors accelerate...

[Bernard]

good morning everyone,

I don't know if this has been asked before, but lately, when I bring my H down to catch it by hand, as soon as I hold its legs the motors accelerate wildly and it takes a very long depress of the red button to stop the bird.
It's on the latest firmware.

Any ideas?

tks

 

[Shadowolf]

Yep.. don't catch by hand. Land on ground

 

[Bernard]

I wish I could but I was on my sailboat and that was the only option for me. While I make it take off from our solar panels, there is just too little space for it to land safely. Halyards, rigging, etc. A straight up take off is possible but landing on the panel would be too tricky. It has to be caught by hand.

 

[kd4pbs]

Hand catching on my boat has always been... interesting. And like you say, it's far safer than landing it on the deck, especially if you're not on smooth water. And I don't have the blow-boat obstacles to deal with.
Sometimes I can keep the stick held down, flying softly into my hand, and it will "relax" where it idles down. Sometimes not. It seems that if I ease it into my hands it idles down. If I reach up and grab it, it hates me and tries to run away. But sometimes it doesn't matter what I do, it just doesn't want to settle easily. Nevertheless, it will always eventually stop with a constant down position on the throttle stick and pressing the red button, but might take 5 seconds or more.
Just keep a good grip on it. Show it who's boss!

 

[BeeRAD56]

good morning everyone,

I don't know if this has been asked before, but lately, when I bring my H down to catch it by hand, as soon as I hold its legs the motors accelerate wildly and it takes a very long depress of the red button to stop the bird.
It's on the latest firmware.

Any ideas?

tks

I'm on the latest firmware and I routinely hand catch. Occasionally the motors will spin up a bit if I'm not steady (meaning raise or lower) with the H while depressing the kill switch. This also happens at times if it's really windy and the H is fighting the wind. I have a shoulder harness for my controller that allows me to be hands free from holding the controller which helps. I position the bird above my right hand over my head with my left thumb on the stick and index finger covering the kill switch. I drop the bird into my hand and simultaneously hit the kill switch.

I know hand catching is a controversial subject but I've had far less issues than conventional landings, particularly in windy conditions and personally feel is quite safe if done properly. I also hand launch fairly often which works equally as well. You just have to time your release so the H doesn't pick you up and carry you away.

 

[CraigCam]

good morning everyone,

I don't know if this has been asked before, but lately, when I bring my H down to catch it by hand, as soon as I hold its legs the motors accelerate wildly and it takes a very long depress of the red button to stop the bird.
It's on the latest firmware.

Any ideas?

tks

It's probably some wind. It's normal. It's still 3 secs but feels longer when it's revving like that. I try to never pull or move when holding leg and but grip enough to prevent pull away when it does that.

 

[Bernard]

It was windy, so it could have been the main reason...

 

[PatR]

Pretty simple really. You commanded the system to hover at a certain height. When you grabbed the landing gear you placed a downward pull on the H. The H tried to counter the downward pull by increasing throttle to maintain the commanded hover position. Being on a boat that likely was not motionless makes this a near certainty.

 

[nechsproject]

I agree with Pat, also I was camping last week and landed on a not so level surface and the motors were not very happy about it. They continued to spin up and down for a few seconds until it finally idled. I did not have sticks pushed down once I was on the ground. I know it is not a hand catch but could be semi related.

 

[Bernard]

Thanks all

Pat, I think you nailed it

I will try not to pull next time, or keep pushing down on the stick, which is always a little scary as I don't want a new haircut

 

[PatR]

You won't hurt anything if you pull down a little, as long as you are aware of what will happen with an increase in motor speed. Of course pushing up a little would cause a decrease Just hold down the red arm button as soon as you grab it.

 

[Bosse_A]

good morning everyone,

I don't know if this has been asked before, but lately, when I bring my H down to catch it by hand, as soon as I hold its legs the motors accelerate wildly and it takes a very long depress of the red button to stop the bird.
It's on the latest firmware.

Any ideas?

tks

Hold your left hand ready on the red button and depress it as you grab the drone.
This works for me, but earlier the drones motor tried to compensate and the done get wild when I did not push the button immediate.

 

[Vegasrobbi]

I almost always hand catch my H. After putting the gear down I hover just above myself about 5 feet out. Let the H settle in a hover then grab one gear leg without disturbing the hover. Do NOT tilt the H make sure it remains level. If the H starts to fight you level it out and it should settle down.

Hold the throttle all the way back and the H should go into an idle mode, you will hear the tone of the motors change. If the H is not level or moving around it will not enter the idle mode.

Once in the idle mode hold the H level and press the red disarm button and the H should power down quickly. If not level, not in the idle mode, moving around or if the H is fighting you can cause it to not power down properly or quickly.

On occasion(not recommended) I've had to loosen my grip on the H to let it "fly" again since holding it tight can cause the motors to spin up as it fights you; once it settles hold level-throttle all the way back-enter idle mode- press disarm button and the H should power down quickly.

 

[Dr Delta]

I am quite sure the H will not be able to get you airborne, so no worrie (yes, I know this is misspelled).

 

[CraigCam]

I've found it's a simple hold your finger on shut off and start pressing once you've got the skid in hand. Done

 

[CraigCam]

I'm never touch throttle as it's in neutral hover and no hands on any sticks save my left cradling St and index finger on motor stop button.

 

[FlushVision]

I'm never touch throttle as it's in neutral hover and no hands on any sticks save my left cradling St and index finger on motor stop button.

Same here. If you are gonna hand catch the H then I recon this is about the safest way to do it.

I will hand catch if the landing area is sloping downwards but on good level ground I let it land on the ground.

 

[Michael Brown]

good morning everyone,

I don't know if this has been asked before, but lately, when I bring my H down to catch it by hand, as soon as I hold its legs the motors accelerate wildly and it takes a very long depress of the red button to stop the bird.
It's on the latest firmware.

Any ideas?

tks

I don't think anyone has answered his question! I have been hand catching my bird for some time now. Not all the time but sometimes, when I get ahold of it, I hit the red button and it tries to fly away. I believe the reason for that is it knows it is still 5 feet off the ground from it's launching position and is trying to avoid dropping out of the air. I also think hand catching is much easier and safer then landing it on the ground. You never know when a gust of wind is going to come by and tip it just as it's touching down.

 

[FlushVision]

...<snip>... You never know when a gust of wind is going to come by and tip it just as it's touching down.

For that very reason I almost exclusively hand catch my Phantom since anything more than a breeze is likely to tip it over on landing. My H480 is better at landing in light to moderate winds having a much larger 'footprint' than my Phantom. Consequently I ground land my H far more often than my Phantom.

 

[madatme]

i read somewhere that a poster said turn it upside down a it will shut down on its own, ive never tried this or a hand catch but its only info that i read