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The Last Straw....

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I've had it with the Typhoon H. Today was the last straw. I'm done...

Yesterday I took it out to ensure the 3.01 upgrade didn't degrade anything and that my "recovery" process from the "H" bricking after the OTA update failed in the middle of updating. Too cold out to do more than a battery pack. But other than a slight drift, everything "seemed" to be okay.

Today, took it out, did all my usual pre-flight checks to include the weather and Kp Index. Ensured everything looked good before taking off. As I powered on my ST16 I heard a loud whining noise. Bad fans! I decided to go ahead and fly. Immediately after take-off, about 4 feet out and 6 feet up, the ST16 vibrated getting my attention, I look down and see something about GPS lost, put in angle mode, return home and perform a CC. I didn't catch all of the message as I looked up to make sure the H wasn't drifting in a bad direction. I could see the status light flashing orange. I landed the H and performed a CC.

Thing is I was in angle mode. Part of my Pre-flight checklist is to ensure all switches and nobs are in my desired starting position which includes being in angle mode.

Flew around. Checked out some of the 3.0 features and exercised different switches and buttons. Everything seemed fine with the exception of a slight drift at about 6' (not prop-wash). Battery got down to 14.6 volts so I started manual landing. I knew the 3.01 was supposed to make landing better, but mine seemed to be a bit super sensitive to stick inputs. As it touched down, with the left stick "full down", the motors started to slow but then suddenly the H tipped backwards and the motors started spinning up. I started to worry it was going to tip backwards, but the motors slowed, the front came down and it idled down. I thought it weird...

So I put the second battery in, did my usual check before doing anything and did several landings. Everything seemed fine. It still seemed sensitive to stick inputs but nothing weird. Flew it around and when the battery reached 14.6 volts I started to land it. As it touched down, it started to tilt forward. I thought WTF? so I gave it "throttle" to lift off and it did. I spun it around then attempted to land again. It touched down and leaned forward without the motors starting to idle down, it was going over. I pulled right stick back in attempt pivot it backwards and gave it throttle in attempt to lift off. No luck. It just went forward breaking the two front props and flipping over. It also put a small crack at a seam in the rear of the bird near the battery housing.

I'm just so done with this drone. You can search my posts and find the issues I've had with this one and the first one I owned which was bad from the beginning. I'm no noob to R/C or drones, I've got an Inspire and a P4 which has not given one serious problem. I've also had a Q500 which was problem free. I've spent more time doing check-out flights with this drone than actual photo opportunities. I can't ever tell how this drone will react to firmware upgrades, some upgrades are fine other degrade it. Its been back to Yuneec to have the GPS Module replaced. I just don't trust this thing.

Its on its way back to Yuneec yet again. I don't know if they'll find anything... Been on this forum for ages. Seems like us early adopters have the problematic drones. Captain Drone, Drone Clone, and myself, just to name a few.

I'm very disappointed in this drone. I really liked everything it has to offer. When it works its nice, I've got some great pictures with it. Yuneec CS is great. We talked and length and they'll take a look. I'm not hopeful though because this tipping issue was not consistent.

But with all that said, I'm done. I need something that I can rely on flight after flight, upgrade after upgrade. I get small issues, but not this.

When it comes back IF they've repaired it, I'm still done, I'm going to see if someone may be interested in purchasing it locally at a greatly reduced price with full disclosure. If its not repaired, I'm going to put in on a shelf as a hard lesson learned. I won't say I'm done with Yuneec. If they can get their quality control sorted and offer a drone that does what I want, I'll be back...

Oh and guess what came today? The RS module.... I don't know if I'll be able to return it. If not stay tuned, I'll be selling it for 250.00 shipped anywhere in the lower 48....
 
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Reactions: eric bee
I only do hand-catch when I find it necessary. And thats not the point. The point is the H is faulty. It is designed to land on its Landing Gear thats why its has landing gear. We shouldn't have to "work-around" a problem or be afraid to use it like it was designed to do...

I much prefer to just grab it out of the air - I could never do that with my single rotor helis or race quads!
 
Last edited:
That's really a bummer you've had so much trouble! I own Phantoms 1-4 and the H as much as I like it barely get used due to range/video lag and image quality. Part of my not using it is I need to use it more to trust it more and that's totally on me. You shouldn't have to hand catch your H. Sounds like some of the motors aren't in sync while landing. I haven't updated the latest firmware I usually only update when new features are added. I wish you luck.
 
QuadBart - Sorry to hear of your ongoing issues. I don't blame you for opting out.

I don't think it's Yuneec that sucks, just the "H" I think got rushed, and should have been held back for more testing. I don't wonder if there is some FC boards on these that are of different generation that may be causing some of the issues.

I know you have kept up on every update, so that rules out skipping updates and having mystery strings of code that cause problems.

I would recommend that you get in touch with either DC or CD ( I can't remember which got the exchange as he was also first gen owner and prolific poster) and see if he can assist you with his channels of communication to get your issues resolved.
 
I have to say I got one of the first Typhoons in the country and it's been rock solid (touch wood).

I guess you did the accel calibration after the 3.0.1 update (you really shouldn't be getting any drift), have you checked the controls on the ST-16? They shouldn't be 'super sensitive' - I wouldn't be flying if I felt the Typhoon was not responding the way it ought to. Go to the 'Hardware Monitor' page in the settings screen and see if your sticks are giving the full range of input and responding smoothly.
 
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Reactions: Dave B
Glad to hear from someone that has a "first gen" thats not having issues (knocking on wood for you). The thing I find interesting is how some of these first gens that worked perfect in the beginning started showing problems later, not immediately, like Drone Captain and myself for example. I have some theories why this is...

Yes, I did the the accelerometer calibration. Part of my post-firmware upgrade routine is to power cycle the H and ST16. Afterwards I do the CC, power-cycle the H; Do the Accelerometer Cal and power-cycle; Do the Gimble Cal and power-cycle. Once I get to my flight location, I'll check that I have good status. I'll let it sit for several minutes with power on to ensure GPS Ephemeris is updated.

I did not check the ST-16 "range of motion" this time. Which I wish I did just for my own edification, but its on its way to Yuneec as we speak. When this stick sensitivity appeared in the past, I've even done this; ST-16 Calibration ( secret menu ) which made no difference.

I did a search on the "tipping over/flipping" on the forum. Seems like its happened to people before so it is not an unknown behavior. The usual questions were asked and it seems it was not a "noob" error in a few of the cases.

Yeah, I've not given up on Yuneec, just on the "H". I agree with the comment that maybe the H was released earlier than Yuneec wanted to and it wasn't completely sorted. If we look way back to the beginning, its release date was supposed to be like late summer/early fall with the RS module as an integrated system. But it was released mid-spring. I think they tried to get to market earlier to compete with the P4. I think from the hardware/software/firmware perspective they had to "decouple" the RS functionality to get to market and in doing so may have caused some of these problems we are seeing.

I have to say Yuneec CS is outstanding. Too bad we actually have to find out just how good it is. I plan on writing Yuneec today while everything is still fresh in my mind.



I have to say I got one of the first Typhoons in the country and it's been rock solid (touch wood).

I guess you did the accel calibration after the 3.0.1 update (you really shouldn't be getting any drift), have you checked the controls on the ST-16? They shouldn't be 'super sensitive' - I wouldn't be flying if I felt the Typhoon was not responding the way it ought to. Go to the 'Hardware Monitor' page in the settings screen and see if your sticks are giving the full range of input and responding smoothly.
 
I'd suggest accel calibration first, so it knows for sure which way is 'up' before you start spinning it around for compass calibration.

It seems to me that calibrating the ST-16 won't get over a sticky control, so the first step is just to check in the normal menu that all controls give you a full range of motion and sit at zero when you're not touching them. In all this digital world they're the one weak link, so knowing that the ST-16 gets the correct information in the first place seems pretty important.
 
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I only have one comment for those that want to "jump ship" for another brand: bye-bye.

I'm another with an early H with no problems. Flies and functions great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I think you have my thread confused with someone else's thread.

I make no mention of jumping ship. I'm going to use other drones I already own. If you call that "jumping ship" what do you call it if you own a couple cars and one is constantly breaking down leaving you stranded, so you decide to park it or sell it and use your other car?

I call it a wise decision.

I'm glad you and Tuna both have early Hs that are problem free. I wish I could chime in and say the same. And its not like I didn't believe in this drone even after it came back from Yuneec. If I didn't believe in this drone, I wouldn't have purchased the RS module this past week...

So call it what you will, I hope your H continues to fly trouble free!


I only have one comment for those that want to "jump ship" for another brand: bye-bye.

I'm another with an early H with no problems. Flies and functions great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Looks like I confused last straw with jumping ship. I agree with one thing for certain, use what you have that works best for the situation. I do the same.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I think we can take brand loyalty too serious sometimes. Totally agree with use what works best for you like pat says. We're all pilots no matter what or how many different brands we use. Even if QuadBart was jumping ship I'd say good luck and happy flying it's not treason :)
 
I've had it with the Typhoon H. Today was the last straw. I'm done...

Yesterday I took it out to ensure the 3.01 upgrade didn't degrade anything and that my "recovery" process from the "H" bricking after the OTA update failed in the middle of updating. Too cold out to do more than a battery pack. But other than a slight drift, everything "seemed" to be okay.

Today, took it out, did all my usual pre-flight checks to include the weather and Kp Index. Ensured everything looked good before taking off. As I powered on my ST16 I heard a loud whining noise. Bad fans! I decided to go ahead and fly. Immediately after take-off, about 4 feet out and 6 feet up, the ST16 vibrated getting my attention, I look down and see something about GPS lost, put in angle mode, return home and perform a CC. I didn't catch all of the message as I looked up to make sure the H wasn't drifting in a bad direction. I could see the status light flashing orange. I landed the H and performed a CC.

Thing is I was in angle mode. Part of my Pre-flight checklist is to ensure all switches and nobs are in my desired starting position which includes being in angle mode.

Flew around. Checked out some of the 3.0 features and exercised different switches and buttons. Everything seemed fine with the exception of a slight drift at about 6' (not prop-wash). Battery got down to 14.6 volts so I started manual landing. I knew the 3.01 was supposed to make landing better, but mine seemed to be a bit super sensitive to stick inputs. As it touched down, with the left stick "full down", the motors started to slow but then suddenly the H tipped backwards and the motors started spinning up. I started to worry it was going to tip backwards, but the motors slowed, the front came down and it idled down. I thought it weird...

So I put the second battery in, did my usual check before doing anything and did several landings. Everything seemed fine. It still seemed sensitive to stick inputs but nothing weird. Flew it around and when the battery reached 14.6 volts I started to land it. As it touched down, it started to tilt forward. I thought WTF? so I gave it "throttle" to lift off and it did. I spun it around then attempted to land again. It touched down and leaned forward without the motors starting to idle down, it was going over. I pulled right stick back in attempt pivot it backwards and gave it throttle in attempt to lift off. No luck. It just went forward breaking the two front props and flipping over. It also put a small crack at a seam in the rear of the bird near the battery housing.

I'm just so done with this drone. You can search my posts and find the issues I've had with this one and the first one I owned which was bad from the beginning. I'm no noob to R/C or drones, I've got an Inspire and a P4 which has not given one serious problem. I've also had a Q500 which was problem free. I've spent more time doing check-out flights with this drone than actual photo opportunities. I can't ever tell how this drone will react to firmware upgrades, some upgrades are fine other degrade it. Its been back to Yuneec to have the GPS Module replaced. I just don't trust this thing.

Its on its way back to Yuneec yet again. I don't know if they'll find anything... Been on this forum for ages. Seems like us early adopters have the problematic drones. Captain Drone, Drone Clone, and myself, just to name a few.

I'm very disappointed in this drone. I really liked everything it has to offer. When it works its nice, I've got some great pictures with it. Yuneec CS is great. We talked and length and they'll take a look. I'm not hopeful though because this tipping issue was not consistent.

But with all that said, I'm done. I need something that I can rely on flight after flight, upgrade after upgrade. I get small issues, but not this.

When it comes back IF they've repaired it, I'm still done, I'm going to see if someone may be interested in purchasing it locally at a greatly reduced price with full disclosure. If its not repaired, I'm going to put in on a shelf as a hard lesson learned. I won't say I'm done with Yuneec. If they can get their quality control sorted and offer a drone that does what I want, I'll be back...

Oh and guess what came today? The RS module.... I don't know if I'll be able to return it. If not stay tuned, I'll be selling it for 250.00 shipped anywhere in the lower 48....


I have a TPH since June 2016.
Never had any issues with it even after all firmware upgrades. It is even beginnen to be a very good multicopter.
Sorry to hear you have issues ...
Marnix
 
Don't ever think about trying to sell your H's. I have been trying to sell, priced LOW, zero interest. Only RC item in 15 years I can't sell.
 
I've had it with the Typhoon H. Today was the last straw. I'm done...

Yesterday I took it out to ensure the 3.01 upgrade didn't degrade anything and that my "recovery" process from the "H" bricking after the OTA update failed in the middle of updating. Too cold out to do more than a battery pack. But other than a slight drift, everything "seemed" to be okay.

Today, took it out, did all my usual pre-flight checks to include the weather and Kp Index. Ensured everything looked good before taking off. As I powered on my ST16 I heard a loud whining noise. Bad fans! I decided to go ahead and fly. Immediately after take-off, about 4 feet out and 6 feet up, the ST16 vibrated getting my attention, I look down and see something about GPS lost, put in angle mode, return home and perform a CC. I didn't catch all of the message as I looked up to make sure the H wasn't drifting in a bad direction. I could see the status light flashing orange. I landed the H and performed a CC.

Thing is I was in angle mode. Part of my Pre-flight checklist is to ensure all switches and nobs are in my desired starting position which includes being in angle mode.

Flew around. Checked out some of the 3.0 features and exercised different switches and buttons. Everything seemed fine with the exception of a slight drift at about 6' (not prop-wash). Battery got down to 14.6 volts so I started manual landing. I knew the 3.01 was supposed to make landing better, but mine seemed to be a bit super sensitive to stick inputs. As it touched down, with the left stick "full down", the motors started to slow but then suddenly the H tipped backwards and the motors started spinning up. I started to worry it was going to tip backwards, but the motors slowed, the front came down and it idled down. I thought it weird...

So I put the second battery in, did my usual check before doing anything and did several landings. Everything seemed fine. It still seemed sensitive to stick inputs but nothing weird. Flew it around and when the battery reached 14.6 volts I started to land it. As it touched down, it started to tilt forward. I thought WTF? so I gave it "throttle" to lift off and it did. I spun it around then attempted to land again. It touched down and leaned forward without the motors starting to idle down, it was going over. I pulled right stick back in attempt pivot it backwards and gave it throttle in attempt to lift off. No luck. It just went forward breaking the two front props and flipping over. It also put a small crack at a seam in the rear of the bird near the battery housing.

I'm just so done with this drone. You can search my posts and find the issues I've had with this one and the first one I owned which was bad from the beginning. I'm no noob to R/C or drones, I've got an Inspire and a P4 which has not given one serious problem. I've also had a Q500 which was problem free. I've spent more time doing check-out flights with this drone than actual photo opportunities. I can't ever tell how this drone will react to firmware upgrades, some upgrades are fine other degrade it. Its been back to Yuneec to have the GPS Module replaced. I just don't trust this thing.

Its on its way back to Yuneec yet again. I don't know if they'll find anything... Been on this forum for ages. Seems like us early adopters have the problematic drones. Captain Drone, Drone Clone, and myself, just to name a few.

I'm very disappointed in this drone. I really liked everything it has to offer. When it works its nice, I've got some great pictures with it. Yuneec CS is great. We talked and length and they'll take a look. I'm not hopeful though because this tipping issue was not consistent.

But with all that said, I'm done. I need something that I can rely on flight after flight, upgrade after upgrade. I get small issues, but not this.

When it comes back IF they've repaired it, I'm still done, I'm going to see if someone may be interested in purchasing it locally at a greatly reduced price with full disclosure. If its not repaired, I'm going to put in on a shelf as a hard lesson learned. I won't say I'm done with Yuneec. If they can get their quality control sorted and offer a drone that does what I want, I'll be back...

Oh and guess what came today? The RS module.... I don't know if I'll be able to return it. If not stay tuned, I'll be selling it for 250.00 shipped anywhere in the lower 48....

Ha had the same thing happen yesterday after 7 flawless flights to go and inspect a roof did auto land to watch it land tip forward and rip the camera vibration rubbers of and loosing the little plastic washers and supports rods male no my bird useless returned it that day and now a proud owner of a DJI phantom 4 with backpack and three batteries sorry yuneec I gave you a chance


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've had it with the Typhoon H. Today was the last straw. I'm done...

Yesterday I took it out to ensure the 3.01 upgrade didn't degrade anything and that my "recovery" process from the "H" bricking after the OTA update failed in the middle of updating. Too cold out to do more than a battery pack. But other than a slight drift, everything "seemed" to be okay.

Today, took it out, did all my usual pre-flight checks to include the weather and Kp Index. Ensured everything looked good before taking off. As I powered on my ST16 I heard a loud whining noise. Bad fans! I decided to go ahead and fly. Immediately after take-off, about 4 feet out and 6 feet up, the ST16 vibrated getting my attention, I look down and see something about GPS lost, put in angle mode, return home and perform a CC. I didn't catch all of the message as I looked up to make sure the H wasn't drifting in a bad direction. I could see the status light flashing orange. I landed the H and performed a CC.

Thing is I was in angle mode. Part of my Pre-flight checklist is to ensure all switches and nobs are in my desired starting position which includes being in angle mode.

Flew around. Checked out some of the 3.0 features and exercised different switches and buttons. Everything seemed fine with the exception of a slight drift at about 6' (not prop-wash). Battery got down to 14.6 volts so I started manual landing. I knew the 3.01 was supposed to make landing better, but mine seemed to be a bit super sensitive to stick inputs. As it touched down, with the left stick "full down", the motors started to slow but then suddenly the H tipped backwards and the motors started spinning up. I started to worry it was going to tip backwards, but the motors slowed, the front came down and it idled down. I thought it weird...

So I put the second battery in, did my usual check before doing anything and did several landings. Everything seemed fine. It still seemed sensitive to stick inputs but nothing weird. Flew it around and when the battery reached 14.6 volts I started to land it. As it touched down, it started to tilt forward. I thought WTF? so I gave it "throttle" to lift off and it did. I spun it around then attempted to land again. It touched down and leaned forward without the motors starting to idle down, it was going over. I pulled right stick back in attempt pivot it backwards and gave it throttle in attempt to lift off. No luck. It just went forward breaking the two front props and flipping over. It also put a small crack at a seam in the rear of the bird near the battery housing.

I'm just so done with this drone. You can search my posts and find the issues I've had with this one and the first one I owned which was bad from the beginning. I'm no noob to R/C or drones, I've got an Inspire and a P4 which has not given one serious problem. I've also had a Q500 which was problem free. I've spent more time doing check-out flights with this drone than actual photo opportunities. I can't ever tell how this drone will react to firmware upgrades, some upgrades are fine other degrade it. Its been back to Yuneec to have the GPS Module replaced. I just don't trust this thing.

Its on its way back to Yuneec yet again. I don't know if they'll find anything... Been on this forum for ages. Seems like us early adopters have the problematic drones. Captain Drone, Drone Clone, and myself, just to name a few.

I'm very disappointed in this drone. I really liked everything it has to offer. When it works its nice, I've got some great pictures with it. Yuneec CS is great. We talked and length and they'll take a look. I'm not hopeful though because this tipping issue was not consistent.

But with all that said, I'm done. I need something that I can rely on flight after flight, upgrade after upgrade. I get small issues, but not this.

When it comes back IF they've repaired it, I'm still done, I'm going to see if someone may be interested in purchasing it locally at a greatly reduced price with full disclosure. If its not repaired, I'm going to put in on a shelf as a hard lesson learned. I won't say I'm done with Yuneec. If they can get their quality control sorted and offer a drone that does what I want, I'll be back...

Oh and guess what came today? The RS module.... I don't know if I'll be able to return it. If not stay tuned, I'll be selling it for 250.00 shipped anywhere in the lower 48....
Quad Bart, i have noticed on the forums that a majority of these issues arise after updates, i have an early H and havent done any updates and havent had any issues with the machine, every time i read someone done an update and had a problem i didnt bother
 
I hear ya, but the downside of not doing upgrades is you don't get new functionality. But I also hear ya, what good is new functionality if my H crashes because of that upgrade?

While I'm sure we'll never know the root cause as to why some Typhoon H's react inconsistently with firmware upgrade, I'm certain it has to do with a bad chip/chipset. Maybe an early production run that passed a nominal set of tests but upgrades which must stack overflows, or reference objects outside an array...

If I compare what I read on this forum vs. what I've read on the GoPro Karma boards and compare them, Yuneec has just a big a problem on their hands but won't recall* the Typhoon H even if it was limited to a the very early production run.

*I understand the word "recall" has a legal meaning in the US and involves different agencies. But "recall" is the term GoPro used.

Quad Bart, i have noticed on the forums that a majority of these issues arise after updates, i have an early H and havent done any updates and havent had any issues with the machine, every time i read someone done an update and had a problem i didnt bother
 
If I compare what I read on this forum vs. what I've read on the GoPro Karma boards and compare them, Yuneec has just a big a problem on their hands but won't recall* the Typhoon H even if it was limited to a the very early production run.

It seems to me that GoPro were in a much worse situation than anyone realises. They had an internal fault that had a reasonable chance of causing the Karma to drop out of the sky - total power loss. That's incredibly dangerous and it seems wasn't a rare event either. In those circumstances, they had no choice but to recall before someone got injured or worse.

I may be wrong, but I don't think there has been a single report of total power loss in the Typhoon that wasn't identified as operator error. There have been more than one reports of the redundancy system saving the machine.

If you search for 'flyaway' or 'loss of control' and any drone name, you'll find reports. It does happen - radio control devices are not 100% perfect. By your criteria, we wouldn't have a single flying drone in the sky right now.
 

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