First Test Flight
- Thread starter Victory Pete
- Start date
FlushVision
Premium Pilot
Is it necessary to do ALL the calibrations prior to flying each time I take the H out to fly? Not after each flight but after each session say a week apart?
No, it is not.
But if you travel a long distance to your next take-off you best wait 15 minutes for your GPS to lock in.
I travel often about 1000 km's and I recalibrate compass and wait looonnnggg for GPS each time but only for the first take off on the other location.
FlushVision
Premium Pilot
No. Calibrations need to be done before the first flight, whenever you do a firmware update, if a long period has elapsed between flights. Compass if you move location since the last flight by several miles and when the system indicates the need. Also, calibrations should be done in the first instance if the aircraft shows any odd behavior. That said, there is nothing stopping you from a compass calibration on a more regular basis...some folk do it every time they take their TH out, but be mindful that doing so may increase the risk of a bad calibration occurring.
There is also an argument to let the aircraft stand for a while after it is powered up but without the motors running in order to allow the GPS almanac to update if you've moved location a good distance or it's been a while since the last flight.
Thank you!! Good to know. I flew in S. NV then took the H to Duck Creek, Utah about a month later to film my grandkids on their dirt bikes. Forgot to do the calibrations but the H flew very well. The only anomaly was it tended to drift. Now I know why.
CraigCam
Premium Pilot
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When you have a good compass calibration, the amount of flips needed for each axis can drop to one good slow roll. If you pick s consistent location you know is free of interference and calibrate the compass there over several days, I’ve found you can increase reliability and help the H “learn” its localized area. I do this post any updates, repairs, crashes, and rebuild tests. After a week of this, I don’t have to calibrate compass anymore unless I move to a new location outside my normal spots. I travel over 110 miles every weekend and the compass I calibrate in Tucson is fine for Scottsdale. I suspect our very open sky helps.
Bottom line is check your H in hover and watch how it holds. If it’s not drifting around in circles then the compass is good. If it bounces up and down the redo the accelerometer. I keep a torpedo level in my kits for every drone I own and always make a level spot for initializing and subsequent take off. If I have to calibrate accelerometer, I know it’s really because I’m level and at 0 altitude.
I then shoot lots of video of non movement hover holds at different altitudes and watch it post flight for any quirks and yaw drift. The minor movement the H can exhibit is reduced the higher and further away you are from your POI. The real test is holding on lower and closer objects which is difficult with all drones. I also test if it flys out straight forward as left or right deviations is a sign of compass inaccuracies. My hard drives are full of test shots but I’ve learned something from every one whether it’s camera settings, gimbal behavior, ST response, or flight characteristics.
There are 2 small rubber plugs on the back of the ST-16. I looked in and could see small holes, but couldn't confirm there were screws in them. On Spektrum radios these are for adjusting stick tension. Can anyone confirm that is what these are for?
I have yet to do the accelerometer Calibration, I was under the impression that it had to been done outside and it will hover by itself. I just copied this from Yuneec's site concerning the update for the ST16. This doesn't say anything about it hovering.
"ATTENTION!
To gain the features above, make sure your Autopilot Version is 1.29 or above and Gimbal Version is 1.25 or above. After
updating, we recommend performing an accelerometer calibration by following these steps:
1. Place the Typhoon H on a level and stable surface. Switch on the ST16 and the aircraft and wait until the RC and WiFi are connected.
2. Tap the "Setting Calibration" button, select "Calibration", then select "Accelerometer".
3. Keep the aircraft stable during the calibration process. During calibration, the main LED will blink red, green and blue slowly at first
and rapidly afterwards. If calibration succeed, the main LED will turn green and the aircraft will restart automatically."
"ATTENTION!
To gain the features above, make sure your Autopilot Version is 1.29 or above and Gimbal Version is 1.25 or above. After
updating, we recommend performing an accelerometer calibration by following these steps:
1. Place the Typhoon H on a level and stable surface. Switch on the ST16 and the aircraft and wait until the RC and WiFi are connected.
2. Tap the "Setting Calibration" button, select "Calibration", then select "Accelerometer".
3. Keep the aircraft stable during the calibration process. During calibration, the main LED will blink red, green and blue slowly at first
and rapidly afterwards. If calibration succeed, the main LED will turn green and the aircraft will restart automatically."
This is from the manual:
ACCELEROMETER CALIBRATION
STEP 1) Place the TYPHOON H on a level and stable surface. Switch on
the ST16 Ground Station and the aircraft and wait till the RC and WiFi
connected.
STEP 2) Make sure the FLIGHT MODE switch is in the middle position.
Tap the GPS Calibration button, and choose 'ACCELEROMETER'.
STPE 3) Keep the aircraft hovering during the calibration process.
During calibration, the main led will blink red, green and blue slowly
at first and start the motors and take off the aircraft, then the LED will
blink rapidly af terwards. When the LED blink s slowly , land and aircraft
and stop the motors. If calibration succeed. The copter will restart
automatically.
ACCELEROMETER CALIBRATION
STEP 1) Place the TYPHOON H on a level and stable surface. Switch on
the ST16 Ground Station and the aircraft and wait till the RC and WiFi
connected.
STEP 2) Make sure the FLIGHT MODE switch is in the middle position.
Tap the GPS Calibration button, and choose 'ACCELEROMETER'.
STPE 3) Keep the aircraft hovering during the calibration process.
During calibration, the main led will blink red, green and blue slowly
at first and start the motors and take off the aircraft, then the LED will
blink rapidly af terwards. When the LED blink s slowly , land and aircraft
and stop the motors. If calibration succeed. The copter will restart
automatically.
rdonson
Premium Pilot
Okay, I can go ahead with the calibration but I am distracted with something: I have set up the GUI and I am trying to change the default height limit. The Update button just slowly changes its blue shading and nothing happens.
PatR
Premium Pilot
Yes, I am looking at the Pitch and Roll after I did the calibration on my desktop. They are 0. So is this accelerometer calibration basically just calibrating how level the copter is?
Another thing that is strange is the temperature is 41 degrees C, about twice what it should be.
Another observation is that the motors all have a different feel when rotated when the H is off. Some, especially one, has more of the brushless "notchy" feeling. When it is powered on they all have a consistent resistance feeling without the "notches".
Tried this again and now it works, a mystery but I suppose that is what happens with GUI's and Computers. What is funny is I accidentally "restarted" my computer, maybe that cleared out the Gremlins. Also I see the temperature started at 20C and is now at 34 C, I guess it is measuring the heat inside the H.
