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Q500 4k very unstable

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Mar 5, 2018
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Hi all.
Fairly new to flying drones but learning fast.. my q500 4k over the past few days has gone a bit crazy.. I have very little control of it in smart mode.. no backwards movement at all and not going where it should be according to where I push the control stick to.. angle mode hovering is just out of control.. It will drop suddenly up to 1m to 1.5m and has a crazy drift. Angle mode flying is very messy with a lot of jerking wobbling the whole machine is very unstable. I calibrated accelerometer and compass and also calibrated St 10+ but no change. I also noticed that my batteries are draining so fast.. about 10 - 12 mins with absolute zero wind. 12 satellite on each. The drone is practically brand new with about 6 hours of flight in total.
Any help or advice would be great..
Thank you.
 
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Check the sticks on the ST10 in Hardware Monitor. See if they are smooth, go full scale and return to exactly zero. If they appear sluggish, jerky or don't return to zero at center stick they need cleaned.
 
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Thanks for response.. tried that and all seems to be working fine.. They all return to 0. The ST10 is too new to be dirty anyway.. I never put it down on the ground and is stored in the foam cutout backpack after every session
 
Could this problem be a firmware issue. Would it be worth while going back to the older update.. ?
 
Starting to sound like either a bad GPS or compass issue. The part about the battery not lasting very long has me concerned also. This could mean some kind of short making the battery work harder. If it is new and under warranty get a ticket started with Yuneec so it can get fixed the right way instead of us guessing.
 
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Would that happen so suddenly? I will probably have to send it back to yuneec as I live in Ireland that means I will be without it most of the summer.. ****..
 
We can only give you a guess of what might be wrong. Seems you tried everything I would have suggested. Unless someone has a better suggestion like talking to Yuneec about the problem I would say it needs to be sent back.
 
There are so many different things that could be wrong with it. GPS, compass, accelerometer or even something in the ST10+.

When you tried to calibrate the accelerometer did you do it through the GUI? If not that might be worth a try. Also the GUI will show a fault in the compass if it is having problems.
Anyways good luck to ya. I know it sucks being without the UAV for a while but better to get it fix right then crash it :)
 
Hi Agustine
I just connected the drone to the GUI and it showed no faults but I did notice however that the firmware was at the v1.01 but I updated it to v1.07 the latest update when I got it.. I re did the update to v1.07 so I hope this will fix the issues.. I didn't get a chance to fly it as it's dark here at the moment but will try it out first thing in the morning. Swapping back to old firmware on its own accord seems a bit strange to me.. does this happen at all or is it common..
 
Following. I have a really new one and am a new pilot as well. Mine seems to have no reverse all of the sudden and is not as stable as it was for the first two flights.
 
Is that no reverse in smart mode only... or in angle mode also.. mine was no reverse in smart mode only.. right would go forward... left would go right and so on.. I will keep you posted on how my test flight goes in the morning after re updating..
 
I calibrated accelerometer and compass and also calibrated St 10+
Did you keep the rabbit/turtle slider centered during the calibration?

firmware was at the v1.01 but I updated it to v1.07
The v1.01 is probably the version of the GUI not the Q500.

The ST10 is too new to be dirty anyway.. I never put it down on the ground
I'm not really talking about dirt. The potentiometers in the sticks are enclosed in a tiny plastic case so they aren't as likely to get dirt inside. They will, however, get oxidation and it's more common when the controller has not been used in a long time. For example, when it's new and it's been sitting in a warehouse. So don't dismiss that possibility so quickly. It is a common problem.
 
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Lets start with the basics.
Remove the camera and do some test flights without it.
Set the Q500 on a level surface preferably a grassy area (not concrete) away from any metal, underground power lines, building or trees.
Reach underneath and turn it on. Do not touch or move it will it boots up.
Let is sit while it updates satellite information. You should eventually see at least 15 sats on the Q and 10 or more on the ST10.
Stand back 30' and take off full throttle up to about 20'. Let it hover and watch for drift. It should stay within about a 4' circle. If it drifts and keeps moving, there is a problem with the right stick.
While in hoover, gently move each stick and check to see the Q follows each command.

It would be helpful if you have a friend who can video this testing so we can see what kind of problem you are experiencing.
 
How close were you to the Q500? The closest it will get to the ST10 is 25-30' and it will stop.
I Just pulled mine out of the box to check and see it I had accidentally put it into smart mode. Looks like that may have been my problem. So to clarify. if you are in smart mode the drone will not fly to within 25-30 ft of the controller? If that is the case That very well may have been my problem.
 
I Just pulled mine out of the box to check and see it I had accidentally put it into smart mode. Looks like that may have been my problem. So to clarify. if you are in smart mode the drone will not fly to within 25-30 ft of the controller? If that is the case That very well may have been my problem.
Right. In Smart mode there is a geo-fence which limits distance, altitude and proximity to the controller. The minimum distance is set at 26'. It is designed to protect the operator from accidentally flying into himself.
It also puts the Q (or H) in follow me mode. So if you walk while holding the controller, the Q will move in the same direction. Pilots who don't understand this concept will occasionally try to run after the Q. Trust me, you cannot catch it. At least not until it hits a tree or a wall.
 
Right. In Smart mode there is a geo-fence which limits distance, altitude and proximity to the controller. The minimum distance is set at 26'. It is designed to protect the operator from accidentally flying into himself.
It also puts the Q (or H) in follow me mode. So if you walk while holding the controller, the Q will move in the same direction. Pilots who don't understand this concept will occasionally try to run after the Q. Trust me, you cannot catch it. At least not until it hits a tree or a wall.

Oh ****, too funny. I might have chased it a little and panicked at when it seemed to drift away. I hope that is what was going on.
 
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I suspect that is the case. I have managed to "bump" the mode switch many times while reaching for something or swatting a mosquito.
The Q is a solid flyer and very stable. It would be rare to see anything else and when it's flown by a new owner it's usually something on the controller end that is at issue.
 
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