Jerky and unstable Typhoon H Pro - need your comments

[Skyler King III]

Drifting a foot or two is pretty good for any drone. My Typhoon H drifts now and then at low altitudes but I just snap it back in place and then it behaves (it's not a concern to me at all). You'll never get the Typhoon H to behave like the Phantom & vice versa.

I'm wondering if the jerking motion you speak of is what some would consider normal. Since the craft has six blades and can look long with the landing gear down, it will look as if there is more tilt movement than a Phantom 4 would give when moving in any horizontal direction. Of course, once you are flying in any direction all should be smooth until you stop or abruptly change direction.

Check out the two photos below. These are snapshots taken from a video I was putting together on a fun day flying. In the first one with the Typhoon H, you would think it was moving to the right, but actually I was slowly moving it to the left and when I released the sticks it tilts in the opposite direction for a fraction of a second to stop all movement. The photo of the Phantom 4 Pro is exactly the same but I moved it in the opposite direction... I moved the Phantom 4 Pro slowly coming in from the left and then released all sticks.... it tilts very little and tends to control itself differently than the Typhoon H (possibly due to weight, size, balance points & having only 4 very large blades). The Phantom 4 Pro does not have the appearance of jerky movements at slow speed.

View attachment 4545

View attachment 4546

Thank for taking the time to respond. For real estate shots and nature, I move very slowly, at low altitudes. 3 or 4 make 6 feet or so. When I change direction from a stop even with the Phantom, it greases it. On the Typhoon even with a wicker tweak, it jerks. I am hoping (and I'm optimistic) that between this forum and Yuneec, it'll get dialed-in. With making professional diode a jerk is not acceptable. Even for met own stuff it isn't.

 

[Skyler King III]

In Angle Mode, GPS on and locked with 12-20 Sats, hovering at 15' or 20' without touching sticks, regardless of wind, the H's will slowly drift vertically and horizontally inside a "box" of several feet to several yards, depending on the GPS resolution and Barometric Pressure changes.

Some owners want the sticks very responsive, others do not want them twitchy.

If a drone is nothing but a continual source of aggravation rather than being a joy to fly, the obvious thing is to sell or trade it and fly what you like.
Our sister Phantom Forum will be happy to have you join them.
DJI Phantom Drone Forum

UPDATE: My bad, I see you're already a member there. Good luck with your business.

I completely agree with you when you say "If a drone is nothing but a continual source of aggravation rather than being a joy to fly, the obvious thing is to sell or trade it and fly what you like.".

It's hasn't gotten to that point yet an it's a sort of challenge I want to conquer. Surely this $1000+ Typhoon H Pro should be rock solid in low winds. I don't fly in winds of 12 mph or more. And I flow 3 to 6 feet from the ground usually, 75% of the time. I leased my Typhoon H Pro for the tax deduction of the lease expense so I just can't simply dump it but I guess that someone could assume the lease.

I got the Typhoon H Pro for three basic reasons: 1) Finally had good obstacle avoidance, 2) 6 rotors mean a but more safety/reliability, 3) 360 camera pan. This was a very important factor.

Thanks for the reply to my post.

Happy New Year!

 

[Tiburon]

My Typhoon usually is absolutely rock solid when hovering and not moving an inch. But there are some occasions when it is also drifting trying to find it's place in space as I am calling it

I found out that this is happening when only having around 11-12 satellites locked, the sky is cloudy and there's some wind.

Cheers

T

 

[Skyler King III]

Thank you for your input. Yes, I usually get only 9 to 11 sats even when I'm airborne and in the clear. My Phantoms get 11 to 15 or so. Don't know why they get more. I assume Yuneec support is closed today January 2nd but I'll call them about this tomorrow and post what they say. For serious photography, it needs to be rock steady. Anyone want to assume my lease, 32 or months left at about $110/month? Must have good credit. Talk to your tax advisor re possible benefits of leasing.

 

[RiverRunner]

If you are flying 3 to 6 feet from the ground, you are going to have some ground effect from the down draft as air from the props is hitting the ground. Without visual positioning, this will cause some drift. If the H is drifting at higher altitudes, you may need to recalibrate IMU and compass.
The twitch as you start to move seems to be part of the design. They have improved but not eliminated it. It usually does not show up in the video.
You can try turning off GPS. This will give you very smooth movement. I often use the cruise control as well.
I have designed and built many multirotors, both hexes and quads. All of them are smoother than the H when starting to move. This is one area where I wish that Yuneec would improve.

 

[Dragonflyerthom]

I agree with RR. Try a calibration of your compass, and calibrate your accelerometer. And then make sure that you are at least 6 feet above the ground and check out any drift. I've noticed that whenever I am 15 to 20 feet above the ground there is no drifting at all but when I am at three or 4 ft there is.One of the big advantages of a TH is when the wind is about 12 mph or above it does not affect your TH at all.

 

[Skyler King III]

Thanks. As to ground effect, it happens within 1/2 of the wingspan, which I would not know how to measure in a quad. Is the total width of the props the wingspan? However, I doubt this is the issue as it would be the same with my Phantoms. Yes, I will do a calibration of Compass and IMU as soon as weather clears here in CT, and report back here on my results. I'll also check drift at 8 feet and 20 feet. Thanks again.

 

[Skyler King III]

If you are flying 3 to 6 feet from the ground, you are going to have some ground effect from the down draft as air from the props is hitting the ground. Without visual positioning, this will cause some drift. If the H is drifting at higher altitudes, you may need to recalibrate IMU and compass.
The twitch as you start to move seems to be part of the design. They have improved but not eliminated it. It usually does not show up in the video.
You can try turning off GPS. This will give you very smooth movement. I often use the cruise control as well.
I have designed and built many multirotors, both hexes and quads. All of them are smoother than the H when starting to move. This is one area where I wish that Yuneec would improve.

What is "cruise control" ?

 

[RiverRunner]

What is "cruise control" ?

Start at minute 2:43 in this video:

 

[Skyler King III]

Thanks. I'll try using trim. I never have used it. (yet).

 

[slate8288]

I totally understand what your saying about the twitchy movement. I too am a long time rc pilot. I tried turtle mode, messing with the expos. Nothing helps. I know the dji does not do it but the dji is a quad, not a hex. I think it's just the nature of the beast. I know i have used my hex in 40mph gusts. And it was amazingly handling it. I am not sure if the quad would do as well. It is one of those things that is not a deal breaker, rather just a bit annoying because we know it could be better. As far as your drift, if you have 10mph on the ground, you may have 15mph or more at altitude.

 

[samsflite]

The typhoon is very 'jerky' in gps mode, I think it is set to very aggressively stop itself when letting go of the sticks. However, if you playback the video you would never ever notice, Yuneec did an amazing job with the gimbal.
If you switch out of gps and fly manual you'll notice it's smooth as anything. It's just a different gps flight characteristic to the DJI, I bet if you were using both forward at a speed and let go of sticks the typhoon would stop way quicker. Probably what you want in an emergency. It's something you get used to and learn to fly with.

 

[Mizamook]

I am annoyed by this problem with my H too. But it also does very well sometimes in crazy adverse conditions. While I expected it to do terrible in the shot I post here, and yes, I did stabilize it (but not much!) you've got to consider that it was almost more stable in wind than not ... go figure. This with the Peau 8.25 lens, too ..

 

[Tom C]

I am en experienced aircraft pilot and have gotten into drones about a year ago. I have had a Phantom 3 and now have a Phantom 4, 4 Professional Plus, the Typhoon H Pro and several Parrot drones including Disco.

I have my Typhoon for about 3 month. From the get go, after all calibrations etc, my Typhoon H Pro does not hold a "place" with stability. Despite appropriate satellite reception, it drifts around from about 1 foot to 3 feet. Also, when I initiate a move left, right forward, back, even with just a wisker of a stick move, it jerks into the move. I have it in turtle mode, Angle. I've tried almost everything. Wind not a factor. I even tried having it hover over a round table with blatant markings so vision positioning would help. It did not help. Same drift.

I have sent it back to Yuneec twice, just getting it back 2 days ago. The returned drone has no difference in this issue.

I am comparing the Typhoon H Pro that I have to what I experience on the same day, same place with my Phantom 4s. They are ROCK STEADY and can stealthily "sneak" or creep in any direction, 1/2 inch my 1/2 inch. SO I think that I should not having the results I see with the Typhoon H Pro.

Comments ? (Thanks)

When I first bought my drone about 6 or 7 months ago all I did was simply bind it & the camera but did Not do any calibrations on it. I have flown my H to many times to count & then I believe it was an update right around the end of October where it was first made a lot more apparent & public (cuz members made an entire thread about what you HAVE to do in order to update it this time that was a bit different then last) it was when we all kept seeing a YouTube Video of a guy telling us that we Must Erase all of our previously saved data in order for the update to properly work & it should a step by step first loading the firmware update onto our ST16's then erasing all prior saved info & then he told us that we should calibrated our GPS, COMPASS & GIMBAL. So I did all that & didn't touch my gimbal cuz it's still perfectly straight but I did go through the other 2 calibrations & ever since my H has flown randomly in small circles when its supposed to be sitting still hovering right above me. So if there is any possibly way to factory reset everything so the ST16 , the H & the Gimbal & then just go through the updates but without calibrating anything unless it absolutely needs it, then I personally think many of us would have alot less issues. But maybe that's just my superstition idk. Thanks Tom C

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[Tom C]

I am annoyed by this problem with my H too. But it also does very well sometimes in crazy adverse conditions. While I expected it to do terrible in the shot I post here, and yes, I did stabilize it (but not much!) you've got to consider that it was almost more stable in wind than not ... go figure. This with the Peau 8.25 lens, too ..

Wow that doesn't look like you had any whether at all & if it weren't for the tree tops swaying a little I would argue that this may have been recorded on a perfect winter day with no wind at all.

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[Mizamook]

Exactly ... it is very surprising sometimes ... (and by "swaying a little" you understand it blew my hat off in the yard and it would have been a really bad day to walk in the forest!)

So given that, it's surprising it's not a steady rock "skypod" when calm!

Wow that doesn't look like you had any whether at all & if it weren't for the tree tops swaying a little I would argue that this may have been recorded on a perfect winter day with no wind at all.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

[photis]

Recently I discovered something interesting. I went to fly on Christmas day, and noticed that my Typhoon H was very unstable during hover in low altitude. The drone seemed to drift to both sides and it took me a lot of effort on the controller to land it after 2 minutes. The weather was cold but there was no wind at all. The battery on ST-16 was at 40%. I always fly with GPS enabled and in angled mode. That day I had the drone locked to 15+ satelites, and the controller was locked to 7 satelites. During the short flight, the main indicator led was purple with white flashes, indicating that "follow me" mode was available.

After a couple of days I took the drone for another flight in the same location. Again the weather conditions were very good. This time the battery on the ST-16 was fully charged. Then I remembered that I had changed the UV filter of the camera lens with a CP/ND-32 filter I had purchased a month ago. During the Christmas flight, I had placed the original UV filter in front of the lens. What I didn't do is a gimbal calibration prior to take off. So I calibrated the gimbal, and then there were no instabilities during flight or hover.
Thus, my advice to all TH pilots is:
1) allways calibrate the gimbal prior to take off, each time they change a filter in front of the lens. Especially if the filter is heavier than the original UV filter supplied with the CGO3+ camera.
2) always have the ST-16's battery fully charged prior to take off.

 

[aerovisionUSA]

That twitchyness when making slow simple moves is a flaw. Mine does the same thing. Its really annoying. Im thinking by changing the expos in the controller maybe it can be tweaked out.

Bill W.

Mine does this also and I CAUGHT IT ON VIDEO!!! will upload soon. The Typhoon is a piece of ****!!!

 

[aerovisionUSA]

I totally understand what your saying about the twitchy movement. I too am a long time rc pilot. I tried turtle mode, messing with the expos. Nothing helps. I know the dji does not do it but the dji is a quad, not a hex. I think it's just the nature of the beast. I know i have used my hex in 40mph gusts. And it was amazingly handling it. I am not sure if the quad would do as well. It is one of those things that is not a deal breaker, rather just a bit annoying because we know it could be better. As far as your drift, if you have 10mph on the ground, you may have 15mph or more at altitude.

It's definitely a flaw! I've flown quads, hex, Octas and never have experiencedone the jerkiness. On top of that, the 5.4GHZ camera has a horrible range and the Camera is absolutely crappy out of the box. I'm so disappointed, especially when my buddy is flying a Mavic that kills my H+ on all accords. I will never buy from this company again!!!!

 

[Mizamook]

This is a useful post , thanks!

I wonder about one thing though .. why do you think the ST16 battery level has anything to do with drone behavior? I do charge my ST16 often, but frequently enough have flown more than one battery's worth (like three or four) before charging the ST16 again. I have had anomalies (people near me witness me muttering "It's not acting right, I'm bringing it down!" to reboot and reassess the conditions .. but that is also with full ST16 battery.

So, there are so many factors (not least of which being that the technoilogy and implementation of which in this case is not quite mil-spec!) but I do find strange things happening often enough that I'd like some more information ...

Recently I discovered something interesting. I went to fly on Christmas day, and noticed that my Typhoon H was very unstable during hover in low altitude. The drone seemed to drift to both sides and it took me a lot of effort on the controller to land it after 2 minutes. The weather was cold but there was no wind at all. The battery on ST-16 was at 40%. I always fly with GPS enabled and in angled mode. That day I had the drone locked to 15+ satelites, and the controller was locked to 7 satelites. During the short flight, the main indicator led was purple with white flashes, indicating that "follow me" mode was available.

After a couple of days I took the drone for another flight in the same location. Again the weather conditions were very good. This time the battery on the ST-16 was fully charged. Then I remembered that I had changed the UV filter of the camera lens with a CP/ND-32 filter I had purchased a month ago. During the Christmas flight, I had placed the original UV filter in front of the lens. What I didn't do is a gimbal calibration prior to take off. So I calibrated the gimbal, and then there were no instabilities during flight or hover.
Thus, my advice to all TH pilots is:
1) allways calibrate the gimbal prior to take off, each time they change a filter in front of the lens. Especially if the filter is heavier than the original UV filter supplied with the CGO3+ camera.
2) always have the ST-16's battery fully charged prior to take off.