New YTH Pilot - Needs Help

JimBobNW · Oct 22, 2016

I've just picked up a new YTH. This is my first Yuneec drone (coming over from the dark side of DJI).

First - I'm getting a flashing white status light every 3 seconds or so on the drone. I get the same thing in both Angle and Smart modes. Web search has a lot of conflicting info, but most say it is something to do with Advanced modes. I have never turned on any of the Advanced modes, so I am at a loss on how to stop the white light from flashing.

Second - Record video is extremely jumpy (unusable). I inserted the memory card into camera did a couple of test runs around the neighborhood. I throw the memory card into my PC and the video extremely jumpy. Looks like satellite TV during a heavy rain storm. It was recording at the default setting (1920x1080F30). Do I need to upgrade the memory card (this is the one the YTH came with), or is there some wrong with the camera.? I plan to try some different camera setting today, but I would of thought the default setting would of worked fine.

Last - And this one I have not researched yet, but the Take Off function does not work. I can not remember the exact message I got, but to do with GPS lock. I was reading around 15 or so satellites, so I confused about this one. Not a big deal, I really do not plan to use this feature, but would still like to know if/how it works.

Help keep me from going back the Phantoms....

Thanks Guys
JB

BobW55 · Oct 22, 2016

Jim Welcome to the Forum:

First - I'm getting a flashing white status light every 3 seconds or so on the drone.
This is NORMAL, it means the aircraft has a GPS fix that is suitable for flight. You should have received a card, or electronic manual (on the SD card that Yuneec supplied) it is not up to date for the status light on the tail of the aircraft.

Second - Record video is extremely jumpy (unusable).
This one is a bit tricky. Did the down link video, (the one recorded on the ST-16) look stable?
If that video looked ok, I would tend to have a look at the SD card in the CGO3+ camera. Possibly not seated properly even though it was clicked into place.
Possibly one of the others with more experience can jump in on this one.

Last - And this one I have not researched yet, but the Take Off function does not work
I have not used this but once when I got my H. You must have a solid GPS lock for it to function.
the tail light on the H will blink with a white light intermixed with (Red, Green, Purple) depending on your chosen flight mode. It has been months, but I also think it may only work in SMART mode (green light). Most of us recommend to NOT take off in this mode. The aircraft may suddenly and violently fly away from you as it tries to reach the 26 foot safe distance. You will see it referred to as the circle of death.

Hope this helps, let us know what you find, or not find with the video.

BobW55 · Oct 23, 2016

Jim,
Forgot to add:
On the SD card that came with your H, there should have been some PDF files on it that are the operating manual and such. They use to come with a card that explained the blinking light patterns of the tail light.
here is a link to the Yuneec site for the manual download.
http://download.yuneec.com/manuals/manual/Typhoon H/TYPHOON-H-USER-MANUAL-V1.1.pdf
There is a thread that has the card for the tail light patterns on it, it is out of date, Yuneec has yet to update it. If I can find it I will post it back here.

Brandon Lowe · Oct 23, 2016

JimBobNW said:
I've just picked up a new YTH. This is my first Yuneec drone (coming over from the dark side of DJI).

First - I'm getting a flashing white status light every 3 seconds or so on the drone. I get the same thing in both Angle and Smart modes. Web search has a lot of conflicting info, but most say it is something to do with Advanced modes. I have never turned on any of the Advanced modes, so I am at a loss on how to stop the white light from flashing.

Second - Record video is extremely jumpy (unusable). I inserted the memory card into camera did a couple of test runs around the neighborhood. I throw the memory card into my PC and the video extremely jumpy. Looks like satellite TV during a heavy rain storm. It was recording at the default setting (1920x1080F30). Do I need to upgrade the memory card (this is the one the YTH came with), or is there some wrong with the camera.? I plan to try some different camera setting today, but I would of thought the default setting would of worked fine.

Last - And this one I have not researched yet, but the Take Off function does not work. I can not remember the exact message I got, but to do with GPS lock. I was reading around 15 or so satellites, so I confused about this one. Not a big deal, I really do not plan to use this feature, but would still like to know if/how it works.

Help keep me from going back the Phantoms....

Thanks Guys
JB

When you say the video is jumpy do you mean it looks like the gimbal is shaking is is play back bad like it is skipping frames?

JimBobNW · Oct 23, 2016

Quick Update:

We had some nice weather Saturday, but I did not have a lot of time to fly.

Problem #1 - Working as designed. Thanks for pointing me to the update in the manual. This seems like a rather important feature to warrant a footnote. Just happy that this is not an issue.

Problem #2 - I flew with a different SD card and a lower resolution (1920x1080F24). I came back with perfect video. I the problem appears to be solved, I just need to research this a bit more to figure out which of the two changes actually fixed it.

Problem 3 - Auto-Take Off worked without a problem. I'm sure this was just something I was doing wrong.

Conclusion - I do not have to go back to my Phantoms Yippie...I still have a lot to learn about the YTH, but it is going to be well worth the effort.

JimBobNW · Oct 23, 2016

Brandon Lowe said:
When you say the video is jumpy do you mean it looks like the gimbal is shaking is is play back bad like it is skipping frames?

Skipping Frames. The problem was solved by lowering the frame rate and using a different SD cards... Still need to research this one some more.

PatR · Oct 23, 2016

Question;

If you were shooting in 4K did the machine used for playback have 4K capability? If the monitor or TV playing back video has 720 or 1080 resolution the playback of 4K video will generate issues with too much data. What can confuse things is everything 720 and above is labeled HD, or variations of HD with another prefix letter.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JimBobNW · Oct 24, 2016

PatR said:
Question;

If you were shooting in 4K did the machine used for playback have 4K capability? If the monitor or TV playing back video has 720 or 1080 resolution the playback of 4K video will generate issues with too much data. What can confuse things is everything 720 and above is labeled HD, or variations of HD with another prefix letter.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That was one of my thoughts as well. All I have are HD TV, and basic consumer laptops/tablets. I did have the same skipping when I played it back though the ST16.

But, come to think of it, I never had an issue playing back any 4K video recorded from my Phantoms, so I really don't think it is the player.

Next nice day I have, I'll do some more testing.

whitelaw · Oct 24, 2016

On problem 2, you need a fast SD card. A slow card will present problems like the one you outlined.

whitelaw · Oct 24, 2016

Here's a reference to SD card speed

C-GO3 - SD Card - Which card to use

Rayray · Oct 24, 2016

JimBobNW said:
Record video is extremely jumpy (unusable). I inserted the memory card into camera did a couple of test runs around the neighborhood. I throw the memory card into my PC and the video extremely jumpy. Looks like satellite TV during a heavy rain storm. It was recording at the default setting (1920x1080F30). Do I need to upgrade the memory card (this is the one the YTH came with)

This is puzzling to me. You said later with a different card and resolution, results were OK. Did you retry the card that came with the H at the new setting? Maybe that card is damaged.

Elsewhere you see recommended cards for various situations. Yuneec recommends a Class 10 card with a UHS rating of 3 Those cards have a 3 inside a small circle written on the card. Some UHS 1 cards seem to work, especially running less than 4K.

Here is a cost-effective 32 GB card with the 3 rating, come already formatted. I just got 2 of them and they work fine with any camera settings.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015A9YYSO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

JimBobNW · Oct 24, 2016

I am starting to think the card itself is damaged. It is a UHS-3 card (best on the market at this time), so it should of worked fine. I'll try picking up a new UHS-3 card and test it out, if the weather ever decides to cooperate again. I have a couple UHS-1 (class 10) cards. I'll test them as well. They have always worked just fine with my Phantom 4Ks.

It is not very clean, but here is a sample of the jumpy video I was able to load to youtube

Rayray · Oct 24, 2016

Thanks. You'll get it sorted out, just go slow and have fun. Keep us in the loop on your findings.

RiverRunner · Oct 24, 2016

JimBobNW said:
I am starting to think the card itself is damaged. It is a UHS-3 card (best on the market at this time), so it should of worked fine. I'll try picking up a new UHS-3 card and test it out, if the weather ever decides to cooperate again. I have a couple UHS-1 (class 10) cards. I'll test them as well. They have always worked just fine with my Phantom 4Ks.

It is not very clean, but here is a sample of the jumpy video I was able to load to youtube

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Upload the original file to youtube. This is a video of the file playing on your computer. I think your computer and your media player cannot handle the data. If you are trying to use something like Widows media player to play 4k, forget it. It won't work. You need a better video player program and maybe a better computer/video card. I use MPC-HC.
Home · MPC-HC

al coffey · Oct 25, 2016

i have a pc running windows 10 it won't play any video that is mp4 , i put the same sd card in my IMAC
and it plays fine

JimBobNW · Oct 25, 2016

I just purchased an adapter to be able to play files to my TV. We'll see if that clears up the problem.

PatR · Nov 1, 2016

al coffey said:
i have a pc running windows 10 it won't play any video that is mp4 , i put the same sd card in my IMAC
and it plays fine

That pretty much tells you the computer is the problem. You'll need to download a player that will handle the file format. Try VLC Player. Works great on W-10.

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JimBobNW · Nov 12, 2016

Solved this video issue with a combination of things. First I switched to a laptop with more "horsepower". My old window XP machines were not up to the task. Second, I installed a new piece of video software, VLC Player, recommended by PatR. I can now rePlay video at full resolution.

Thanks everyone.

Robert007 · Mar 2, 2017

I also had jumpy video. Then I lowered my resolution, specifically the last numbers - fps , frame per second , to 30 fps and film in turtle mode . And bought a U3 class SD card . Works great now.

Old Dude · May 17, 2017

I'll have to check my settings again. Have the same problem. Don't think it's the card, as I have smooth playback at the highest setting, but lowered it for file size and to see thumbnail on PC and Monitor. video link below. I really hope its not the camera, really getting to like this Quad.