What GPS Status is showing on the ST10+?
Can you upload a picture of your ST10+ main screen?
I assume you charged the battery?
Hello from Sausalito, CA
- Thread starter Dennis B
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Can you upload a picture of your ST10+ main screen?
I assume you charged the battery?
The 1.04 version refers to the drone firmware, not the GUI.
And trust me. This is the WRONG time to even think about messing with firmware. There is a long list of long stories behind that statement. And it is almost certain none of them are associated with your issue. We can always come back to firmware later if our understanding of your system condition changes.
Hi-
I used my other ST10+ since the battery was almost fully charged. I did the binding first. We are finally getting a break in the weather, so I thought I might get more satellites but nada. I didn't want to leave it outside because we just had a huge downpour about 15 minutes ago, so the controller and drone are both inside. I waited 4-5 minutes and no sats were acquired. If it dries out some more in the next few hours I will try outdoors.
I assume that the fact that the motors turned during the GUI test is a good thing?
Here is a photo of the ST10+....O Sats.
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Oh, I certainly trust you! I would be totally in the dark if it were't for you and this forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would leave the aircraft powered up near a window if you are unable to leave it outdoors with an open view of the sky. It may take several hours for the small battery on the GPS board to charge enough to retain almanac data from the GPS satellites.
After an hour power up the ST10+ and see if you are picking up satellites.
After an hour power up the ST10+ and see if you are picking up satellites.
The GPS is the apparent culprit at the moment. For the reasons mentioned by @DoomMeister.
The first is that the system often can't see GPS while inside. That's easy enough to explain. The other is the tiny little GPS battery and the GPS almanac.
The almanac is the data from the satellites telling all the ground units where the satellites will be at any given time, and the adjustments to that information. It is broadcast by the satellites every 12 minutes. But if the ground units are indoors or turned off, they can't grab the information.
The battery is on the GPS board and is related to the almanac. It is the power source for storing the Almanac when the unit is not powered up. The battery goes dead if stored for a long time. It is only recharged from the main flight battery when the drone is powered up. And it takes a long time, depending on how dead it is. And you can't tell when it is charged without removing the top shell and measuring the voltage manually. Sometimes a couple of hours is all that is needed to charge. The maximum time is about three days.
The drone can acquire satellites without the help of the battery. It just takes being powered up for long enough to grab one of the 12-minute updates. Could be just a couple of minutes. If it hasn't grabbed one by about an hour, it's not going to grab one at the current location. The bad thing is you have to wait for it to grab an almanac every time you turn it on until the little battery gets charged enough to retain the data while the drone is turned off.
The first is that the system often can't see GPS while inside. That's easy enough to explain. The other is the tiny little GPS battery and the GPS almanac.
The almanac is the data from the satellites telling all the ground units where the satellites will be at any given time, and the adjustments to that information. It is broadcast by the satellites every 12 minutes. But if the ground units are indoors or turned off, they can't grab the information.
The battery is on the GPS board and is related to the almanac. It is the power source for storing the Almanac when the unit is not powered up. The battery goes dead if stored for a long time. It is only recharged from the main flight battery when the drone is powered up. And it takes a long time, depending on how dead it is. And you can't tell when it is charged without removing the top shell and measuring the voltage manually. Sometimes a couple of hours is all that is needed to charge. The maximum time is about three days.
The drone can acquire satellites without the help of the battery. It just takes being powered up for long enough to grab one of the 12-minute updates. Could be just a couple of minutes. If it hasn't grabbed one by about an hour, it's not going to grab one at the current location. The bad thing is you have to wait for it to grab an almanac every time you turn it on until the little battery gets charged enough to retain the data while the drone is turned off.
OK, I left it by the window for an hour and it picked up 10 satellites. It still said "acquiring". I took the attached photo of the ST10+.
By the time I downloaded the photo and sent it to myself so I could post it, it showed 13 satellites and still said "acquiring" and it still won't start.
At least I think we are making progress.
Thanks
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Thanks. I think I'll just leave it on for a whle as I want to drop the battery voltage anyway and I can't mstart it to do that. By the way the drone battery dropped from 12.2 volts to 11.7 volts in a little over an hour. That sounds like a lot since the motors weren't turning. Does it sound like a lot to you? I hear a beep every once in a which which I think is a satellite being found or being dropped.
OK, I left it by the window for an hour and it picked up 10 satellites. It still said "acquiring". .....At least I think we are making progress.
It sounds like progress. Please be aware there is more to the story than just detecting the presence of the satellites. That's all the numbers on the front screen represent. Just the number it "sees".
The calculation also looks at the quality of each signal. It evaluates how strong, clear and consistent each signal is. Some, or all, the satellites it "sees" are discarded if the calculation does not deem them sufficiently reliable. There is no real substitute for a big open field with a clear view of the sky and nothing metal nearby. On days like now, you do the best you can with what you have to work with. Which might mean waiting a long time.
I notice the controller satellites are still showing zero. Did you have the controller near the window also?
By the way the drone battery dropped from 12.2 volts to 11.7 volts in a little over an hour. That sounds like a lot since the motors weren't turning. Does it sound like a lot to you?
Not too bad. But if the batteries have been in storage for a long time, it will have some consequences.
I hear a beep every once in a which I think is a satellite being found or being dropped.
Not sure what you are hearing. But the drone beeps every once in a while, just to remind you it's there and turned on.
You can also use the GUI to see something of how many GPS satellites are seen and how many are actually used. How well this works kind of depends on how deep your computer is within the walls of your house.
I think you are looking at the previous photo. The next one says SAT 10 and it was up to 14 a few minutes after that. I still have it on near a glass door and it was 14 the last time I checked. It's been several hours. I may just let it keep going over night.
Thanks again (fingers crossed)!
I suspect we are talking about two related but different things. The controller screen shows two different satellite counts. The Drone satellites and the Controller Satellites. The drone satellites were showing 10 in the photo, but the controller satellite count was zero. The system needs good satellites on both if GPS is enabled.
Does the Start/Stop button (B3) change state on the Hardware Monitor when you press the button?
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I see what you mean now. When I went to bed last night it had 14 sats on the drone, but I didn't notice the controller. That was after probably 4-5 hours with the drone on. My wife came up about an hour later after watching something on tv and said the drone was beeping!!!!!! I came down and under Mode it said EMER, which I'm thinking meant emergency? So, I turned it off. I turned it back on this morning with a different battery and with t stting near the window again it still says "acquiring" and there are 6 sats so far on the drone, but still Zero on the ST10+.
You asked if the controller was also near the window. It is. Should it be? I have it off most of the time and just turn it on once in a while to check sats.
Thanks again!
When I go to Hardware Monitor the start button is on 1 and when I push it in it goes to Zero
Have you tried to start the motors by turning GPS OFF?
1.) Bind to the drone.
2.) tap the Settings icon (gear wheel) near the lower/right edge of the screen.
3.) Click OK to the "Warning!!!" message.
4.) Slide the GPS icon to the left to turn it OFF.
5.) Return to the main screen.
6.) Ensure the drone GPS box says "Disabled" in red letters.
7.) Try to start the motors.
Don't try to fly with GPS off unless you are experienced with it. It's a whole different animal without GPS.
1.) Bind to the drone.
2.) tap the Settings icon (gear wheel) near the lower/right edge of the screen.
3.) Click OK to the "Warning!!!" message.
4.) Slide the GPS icon to the left to turn it OFF.
5.) Return to the main screen.
6.) Ensure the drone GPS box says "Disabled" in red letters.
7.) Try to start the motors.
Don't try to fly with GPS off unless you are experienced with it. It's a whole different animal without GPS.
THAT WORKED!
I was wondering if there was a way to start it without the satellites.
The motors turn when I do the above.
At least I can now run the batteries down to50% to try to save what's left of them.
So what do I do now, keep tring to charge up the tiny gps battery with the drone by the window?
It's another terrible weather day here . I had 10 sats on drone and zero on ST10+ when I ran your test.
Thanks so much!
Mainly give it time, but I think there is a problem somewhere. The controller should have long since picked up satellites. There may be an issue with the GPS antenna inside the controller.
It might be a good idea to upload a screenshot of a couple of your GUI and controller pages to see if it contains any clues we have not thought of:
1.) GUI "Sensor Information"page. Look at the image and value associated with YAW. If they are constantly moving at any rate, let us know. (You may notice that 0 degrees is EAST for a Q500 instead of North. That seems odd, but it's normal for a Q500.)
2.) GUI "GPS Information" Page. That will help us understand a little about the drone Satellites.
3.) Controller Satellite Page. (System Settings. "OK" to the warning> tap ONCE on "About Flight Mode Control" at bottom of screen" > Rapid tap "Android Version" > Tap ONCE on "Controller Test" . Tap ONCE on "Enter" directly under "GPS Test" (alignment kinda sucks).
I don't know much about the controller satellite page, but maybe someone does.
It might be a good idea to upload a screenshot of a couple of your GUI and controller pages to see if it contains any clues we have not thought of:
1.) GUI "Sensor Information"page. Look at the image and value associated with YAW. If they are constantly moving at any rate, let us know. (You may notice that 0 degrees is EAST for a Q500 instead of North. That seems odd, but it's normal for a Q500.)
2.) GUI "GPS Information" Page. That will help us understand a little about the drone Satellites.
3.) Controller Satellite Page. (System Settings. "OK" to the warning> tap ONCE on "About Flight Mode Control" at bottom of screen" > Rapid tap "Android Version" > Tap ONCE on "Controller Test" . Tap ONCE on "Enter" directly under "GPS Test" (alignment kinda sucks).
I don't know much about the controller satellite page, but maybe someone does.
EUREKA! (ALMOST)!
Well it showed 13 satellites and said READY. However still zero on controller.
I pushed the start button and it started!
But, it would lose sat contact every few minutes, sometimes seconds, and then say ready again.
I'm hoping that this means the gps battery is starting to reach charge.
As for the antenna, I will try it again with my other controller in a few hours as I have some things I have to get to today. I will also try the GUI again when I have time, hopefully later today.
Meanwhile I will leave the drone on near the window.
Attached is a photo with READY displayed.
Thank you very much!
Dennis
Well it showed 13 satellites and said READY. However still zero on controller.
I pushed the start button and it started!
But, it would lose sat contact every few minutes, sometimes seconds, and then say ready again.
I'm hoping that this means the gps battery is starting to reach charge.
As for the antenna, I will try it again with my other controller in a few hours as I have some things I have to get to today. I will also try the GUI again when I have time, hopefully later today.
Meanwhile I will leave the drone on near the window.
Attached is a photo with READY displayed.
Thank you very much!
Dennis
