STS16S event log ??

[BrianA.]

My last time out flying, I didn't notice the event log data. After looking back, I noticed a lot of the following: "Manual control lost: 4, change to auto loiter". Seemed to have several of these with the same time stamp. Then, I get several more a few seconds later. None of these statements seemed to have any effect on the aircraft and none were in yellow or red to signify importance. Since I'm fairly new to the drone arena, can anyone tell me if I should be concerned with this? I've been flying in the same place but haven't noticed this in the past.

 

[PatR]

There are many things than can interrupt or interfere with radio systems. The big question is how long such events last. Fractions of a second are nothing to worry about, while multiples of seconds or minutes are big deals. It’s quite normal for information “packets” to get lost with any of the unmanned systems.

Bear in mind the the H system records data every 1/20th of a second. If you put all the consecutive time stamps together and add them up I’ll bet consecutive timestamps total up to be only a fraction of a second.

 

[BrianA.]

There are many things than can interrupt or interfere with radio systems. The big question is how long such events last. Fractions of a second are nothing to worry about, while multiples of seconds or minutes are big deals. It’s quite normal for information “packets” to get lost with any of the unmanned systems.

Bear in mind the the H system records data every 1/20th of a second. If you put all the consecutive time stamps together and add them up I’ll bet consecutive timestamps total up to be only a fraction of a second.

After looking through the data, it appears that there are multiple (4-5) events that are marked with the same time stamp. Then about 4-5 sec later, there is another cluster of them. I did notice once or twice the aircraft halted it's forward flight, hovered for a second or so, then continued. I never lost control but did notice several pauses in forward flight. I have about a dozen or so flights and this is the first I've noticed these events in the log.

 

[PatR]

It’s quite possible you blocked the antennas with your body or had them in an orientation less than deal. If the H loses connection with the controller it will momentarily stop. If comms are regained the mission continues. If comms remain lost the H will return to the last known position of the controller and hover, awaiting signal acquisition.

To assist future diagnostics where similar telemetry is repeated it would be helpful if more detail was provided related to various factors that could have an influence. Body position relative to the controller and aircraft, antenna orientation, flight location; open unpopulated area or suburban populated, short wave radio or cell towers, metal structures and proximity, elevation of aircraft above visual obstacles, etc.

 

[Steve Carr]

I never lost control but did notice several pauses in forward flight.

It sounds like the latest firmware update was written just for you. Give it a try.

 

[BrianA.]

It’s quite possible you blocked the antennas with your body or had them in an orientation less than deal. If the H loses connection with the controller it will momentarily stop. If comms are regained the mission continues. If comms remain lost the H will return to the last known position of the controller and hover, awaiting signal acquisition.

To assist future diagnostics where similar telemetry is repeated it would be helpful if more detail was provided related to various factors that could have an influence. Body position relative to the controller and aircraft, antenna orientation, flight location; open unpopulated area or suburban populated, short wave radio or cell towers, metal structures and proximity, elevation of aircraft above visual obstacles, etc.

I've been flying at the nearby high school practice football field. It is two football field lengths with a baseball diamond at the end of that. Plenty of open area. Controller position is always facing the aircraft. Mushroom antenna is pointing straight up and longer antenna are at 45 or also straight up. Altitude varies but rarely goes above treetop height. I'm not sure if anyone in the neighborhood has short wave radios or where the nearest cell tower is located. I haven't looked back at all the files but this is the first I've noticed these events since I bought it.

I think I'll wait to see how the new update works out for anyone that tries it. I'm in no hurry and want to take the learning curve cautiously and slowly. Invested hard earned money in this aircraft and would hate to see it end up in a pile of parts.