Task modes - GPS control all the way?

[Scott_in_Colorado]

Got a nice day in Colorado - took the Breeze out for a bit more testing. In Journey mode, I went out 100', 120' 140' and then noticed I lost the Wi-Fi signal - at which time I had no idea what the little drone would do. I had no camera link back to my phone. It completed it's task and came back home with no problem. I did this several times with no issue. When I got home I contacted Yuneec and ask them if "once programmed to do something in a programming mode" (Journey, Orbit, Selfie,...) will the Breeze carry out that task and return home EVEN IF the Wi-Fi signal was lost. The answer was "yes" - the GPS will guide the Breeze through the task and back again. The Breeze WILL NOT land in a Program mode (Journey, Orbit, Selfie,...) when the WiFi is lost - BUT if in Pilot mode and WiFi is lost it will land when and where the WiFi is lost. Makes sense.

I'd just like confirmation of the above from some of you seasoned pilots that may have done this. I will keep testing on my part but perhaps some of you have done similar and already know the answer (that the above is true)??

Thanks

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

I just talked with Yuneec again -- asking the same as above;

Hi Andrew - I texted earlier today and just want to verify the following.. Hello, Can you confirm in a Programmed mode (Journey, Orbit, …) that the GPS is the pilot under these conditions? I mean by this, I lose WiFi at about 100+ feet, so I get no video to my cell phone, but the Breeze is still under automated flight via the program settings I had when the Breeze started its flight path. So let’s say I have the Journey mode distance set to the max distance and in 100’ I lose WiFi, but the Breeze will continue to fly as far as I had it programmed to do when it took off – let’s say it was 200’ – there will be no loss of control and the Breeze will fly out to 200’ and return back to the starting point. Is this correct? (ie. The Breeze is under GPS guidance throughout the flight and loosing WiFi does not matter once it starts the Journey)

The answer - this is correct. (I hope so as I will rely on this!!)

 

[DoomMeister]

I’ll check journey mode as soon as I get the chance. In orbit it will keep orbiting until you send an RTH or Land command, but if WiFi is lost it should do an RTH after one minute. Selfie should be no problem as the Breeze should only be a few feet from you. Follow me mode is a bit hinky in my opinion. It does ok if you are moving fairly straight and a constant speed, but changes in speed and direction seem to throw it off.

I’ll get back to you as soon as I have the chance.

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

Thanks Steve. I'd just like confirmation before I send the Breeze on it's way to the max distance. I plan to use the Journey mode for fishing - it will be perfect, but I can't risk loosing it over the water - so I'll be testing for a bit. I'll be trying this tomorrow over ground, sending it as far as it will go with little altitude change - basically going 10' or so above ground (and eventually over water). I just found it interesting that once a Programmed mode is initiated it completes the task regardless of WiFi signal. I did fly Orbit mode and noticed it kept going until you told it to stop - but as you say, normally it's closer to you than the max distance.

Can you believe the Breeze is now $149! To me this is amazing as I thought $199 was a good price. I'm telling all that may be interested about that price. I can't help but wonder what Yuneec will bring out to replace the Breeze.

Oh, I tried the follow me mode in GPS not 'follow the person' and it worked "OK" - tracks your cell phone - did you try that mode?

 

[DoomMeister]

I don’t think they will. They have a new racing drone coming out and some sort of fixed wing craft. Not my cup of tea. I’m into the photography/videography from the air.

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

Yea, I saw those, but not in the same ball park as the Breeze. The "selfie" drone is kind of neat I think - as airspace becomes limited flying for more than LOS - becomes dangerous. I hope they do come out with another, but hey, I'll be happy with the Breeze for a while. Are you looking at the new (unknown release date) Autel EVO? Looks good from the specs. Intro at CES but production issues I think??

 

[DoomMeister]

I’m not sure right now. I’ll be doing more serious research later on. After I get back to Michigan for the summer and sell a few things to finance the new bird I’ll know more.

 

[Steve Carr]

basically going 10' or so above ground (and eventually over water)

I would suggest a bit higher altitude. 10' doesn't give much of a cushion for a barometric altimeter.
In order for the auto return home to work properly, it needs a good GPS fix before you take off. Just make sure the Breeze has an open view of the sky to get home point memorized.

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

Thanks Steve and Steve - I'm in a huge soccer field, nothing around may.. I did 4 Journey flights today, here's what happened.. I always check satellites and normally 16-17 before I take off.

This is what I sent to Yuneec tech support: I was out flying the Breeze today in Journey mode, flying out about 160-185 feet. The last time I flew (4 times total) the Breeze stopped on the way in and hovered. I was not sure what to do so I got out of Journey mode, into Pilot mode, and did a RTH – and it came back and landed fine. However, I’ve been told twice by this chat link (Yuneec - with Andrew) that once the Programmed mode is initiated the GPS starts and stops the Task – meaning the Breeze should NEVER stop partway back and hover. I’m trying to figure out what happened. Any Ideas?

They had no ideas and suggested I send it in for repair - no way, I'll take it back to Walmart before I send it back. As it only happened one time, I'm going to do more extensive testing the next few days.

 

[DoomMeister]

I am sure that the Breeze will hover in it's current position if the connection with the phone is lost. If connection is not regained, the Breeze will perform an RTH after one minute has elapsed. Here is the link to the Breeze FAQ on the US Yuneec website Breeze FAQ. Refer to questions 15 thru 17 and see how you interpret the answers.

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

Thanks. In talking to Yuneec tech support they did not mention this for Journey mode. It should follow the pre programmed path for any programmed mode (journey, orbit, ...) via GPS program. I plan to test again the next few days. The RTH did work when I initiated it. I did not wait a full minute to do this. If it happens again I’ll wait a minute and see what happens.

Thanks.

 

[DoomMeister]

Not to knock Andrew, but I've been on live chat with him and while courteous and understanding, he did not seem overly knowledgeable of the Breeze. I hope to have a chance to test connection loss reactions tomorrow. I'm sure the hover on LOS is a safety feature so the pilot has a chance to regain direct control of the aircraft.

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

Ok. Maybe we figure it out together. When you mention LOS are you talking GPS or WiFi? I lose video and I think WiFi at about 160 feet - not exact. GPS signal should not be lost.

I’m planning 10 flights just back and forth in journey mode.

I’ll post results and plan to fly to max range.

 

[DoomMeister]

I am referring to wifi. If GPS is lost, I'm not sure what the Breeze would do, that is what it uses to do an RTH. You may have to switch to pilot mode, with GPS switch off, and manually fly it.

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

My goal is to see what happens if WiFi is lost in a programmed mode. I will lose Wi-Fi for sure flying at max range in journey mode. But, according to Yuneec, the GPS guideance has already been stored in the Breeze and it should follow that flight path with or without Wi-Fi. That’s the theory. May not be like this actually but I need to check that out.

I may shut off Wi-Fi after launch to see what happens. GPS should then guide the Breeze. But I’m going to find out.

If Yuneec is wrong all credibility will be gone!

 

[DoomMeister]

That's how I planned to test it.

I'm not sure about all credibility, but their customer support needs better training from the engineering department. Guess I got spoiled working at ACSparkplug as a maintenance electrician. We worked closely with engineering and had excellent tech support from manufacturers of some of the high tech equipment we had to maintain.

I would love to see them improve in this area. I feel they have some good products.

 

[Steve Carr]

their customer support needs better training from the engineering department.

That would be a problem with all of their products. The development team is in China and they don't share information well, if at all. Like all other drone companies in China, everything is secret.

 

[DoomMeister]

Point well taken Steve. We had some on-sertion (surface mount technology) equipment in a circuit board manufacturing area that was from a Chinese company. The equipment was of acceptable quality, but the documentation sucked. The translation from Chinese to US English was horrendous and the electrical prints were only readable by standard symbolism.

 

[Steve Carr]

The H520 is the only manual not written in Chinglish. They hired a US company to write that manual and it's the only descent one. One of the members from this forum wrote it.

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

You both have much more Yuneec experience than I so I’ll listen close to what you say. If the US factory is passing out wrong info the word will get out - as maybe it has - but I’m too new to make that judgement. I’ll be the first to scream ‘foul’ if this is the case. Anyone that’s worked in high-tech knows the shortcomings of overseas communications but at least I can talk to the US factory easily. I’d hope the US guys go to China every so often to get training. Whatever the case, I’ll assume they know more than I do about their products. What I do know is that I’ve got a Breeze and I want / need to learn as much as I can about it so it doesn’t ‘fly away’. I need to understand “what happens when (...)” scenarios.

I was thinking, my iPhone 6 has a protective case; rubber surrounds the phone then an aluminum ‘snap-in-place outer structure over the rubber. As I look at the iPhone screen the aluminum backing faces the Breeze when in flight. I’ll have to bet this shortens the Wi-Fi range a bit. I’ll be removing the aluminum backing for testing the limits of the journey mode. (I have no idea where the iPhone Wi-Fi antenna is located)

It makes no sense to have a software distance setting that would cause any drone to lose connection because of excessive distance as it’s very easy to limit that setting to something less and have the pilots keep total control.

Explaining the few fly-a-ways posted here will remain a mystery to me as it’s either operator error OR some production models have issues. While ANY production unit of ANYTHING can have issues, doing testing in a known environment will hopefully tell me if my Breeze has issues and, as important, let me understand the limitations of the product.

I watch a few drone forums; DJI, Autel, and Yuneec. We all know competitive drones have issues too and factory communications in most (all) cases is difficult.

What I can say definitively is that at the current price point of $150 with Bluetooth controller, it’s a great buy. No drone I’m aware of has this feature set for that price.