AlohaCopter: 2017

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

BetaFlight 3.2 remappable resources and soft serial inversion!

It is awesome. From an F4 flight controller I was able to output smartport telemetry to soft serial 1, invert it, and map it to the ppm input pin. Even on the F3 boards I still had to run a wire from a second uart to the RX. Now the smartport pin can be almost anywhere. I'll elaborate on this later. No more FrSky smart port inversion hack needed.

Hooking up a serial GPS and I2C compass

I have a few "PX GPS with Compass" which is a Ublox neo7 nano with HMC5883L compass.

Hooking up the gps was simple. rx, tx, 5v, and ground and it works. My flight controller, the HGLTech "F4 V5PRO Flight Controller" AIO, doesn't have i2c pins. Specifically I needed SCL and SDA. I read that those are after shared with UART3 on boards like the Omnibus F4. After many hours of trying every betaflight cli command I could research, I discovered I needed 1-10k pullup resisters on both i2c lines. So I hooked up 2 2.2k resisters from the i2c lines to 5v and it works! Some compasses might burnout eventually with the 5v pull-up instead of a 3.3v pullup. Whatever, it works for now. I have more.

Wiring the resistors neatly seems nearly impossible. I need a barometer also. Since the barometer and compass share i2c lines... I ordered a barometer that has built-in pullups. It works! No need to add my own pullup resisters.

The baraometer I got is a BMP280:
https://www.amazon.com/Adafruit-BMP280-Barometric-Pressure-Altitude/dp/B013W0RR6Y/ref=sr_1_1?tag=quadconfig-20

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Wraith32 motor controllers and Omnibus F7 flight controller. The perfect pair.

I just got 5 Wraith32 35 amp motor controllers and an Omnibus F7 flight controller from http://MyAirBot.com.

The Omnibus F7 flight controller and Wraith32 motor controllers are the perfect pair because they can both handle 32khz gyro and motor update speeds.

The Omnibus F7 has dual gyros, an MPU6000 and an ICM-20608. If you don't want to worry about soft mounting, use the MPU6000. If you want the fastest lowest latency control of your motors, then use the ICM-20608. The ICM-20608 is also known as RaceFlight's Super-Secret-Gyro (SSG). AirBot manufatures RaceFlight's boards, so they have had access to the SSG since it was first available. The ICM-20608 uses the fast SPI bus like the MPU6000 but it can run at 32khz instead of 8khz. The F4 flight controllers can barely handle 32khz, so this F7 is much better equipped for the job.

The Wraith32 motor controllers are able to be updated at 32khz. They are the same size as the AirBot's older Super RacerBee 30 amp motor controllers. They are 30x16x6mm and weight 4.8g. They support 3-6s voltages and 35amps current sustained and 45amp bursts. They have some new features such as current limiting and voltage limiting to stop them from burning up. Each has one high powered RGB led that can light up your quad's arm and help indicate which side is forward and which is backward. These are 10x brighter than the leds on some other motor controllers like the superbee. They are already activated and work right out of the box with with DSHOT1200. When updating Blheli32 firmware on them a check will be made of their serial number against an online database for re-activation. Re-activation only took a split second and flashed on the screen with no user intervention while the firmware was written. To use BetaFlight pass-through programming you have to use BetaFlight 3.2 which is currently in Beta but has some amazing new features.

To update these motor controllers you will need Blheli32: http://www.blheli32.com/download/
To use BetaFlight 3.2 you will need a new BetaFlight configurator 3.1.2 or higher: https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight-configurator
To install BetaFlight 3.1.2 Configurator you will need to download it, unzip it, then in Chrome go into Settings, More Tools, Extensions enable developer mode, load unpacked selection, and choose the dir where you unzipped it.
and a BetaFlight 3.2 hex firmware: https://ci.betaflight.tech/job/Betaflight/lastSuccessfulBuild/artifact/obj

Sunday, July 16, 2017

My quadcopter parts

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

RunCam Split

I pre-ordered RunCam split from getFPV and bangGood. I just got the getFPV one yesterday. It is awesome.

By default it starts recording when powered up. It does not record when powered via USB.
On the RunCam3 with auto-record turned on it would record while charging which could fill up your SD card and overheat.

When power is lost it closes the file and only loses the last like 1.5 seconds of video.

With the auto-record and auto-stop defaults, I don't ever need to use the buttons.

The SD card locks in and can't open while in the stack. I don't mind this, I use usb to offload files.

If the SD card fills up it will put a message on the fpv view which could obstruct your view. I think this is fine. It doesn't completely block the view and a 32gb card would take over 100 minutes of video to fill.

The camera comes with 6 or 8 m3 hex head screws. So I can use the same m3 allen wrench on everything on my quad now. Every other camera seems to use phillips screw head.

There is an adapter to make the skinnier camera the same thickness as an 1177. It mounts great on a realacc 214 frame. No motors in the fpv view. They do show up in the HD view. I am trying to extend forward or raise the camera. Higher angle than 40 degrees might work. I don't want to fly that high of angle though. I like to land sometimes.

I had to mount the RunCam split on the bottom of my stack and hgltech v5 f4 pro AIO on top of it because the aio has a big antenna connector on top. I had to make sure the usb is on the correct side so that the battery connector would not block it (coming down from above on the AIO). I used 25mm nylon screws coming from the bottom to the top. So bottom to top is: nylon screw head, 4mm frame, 2 nylon nuts, runcam split, 3 nylon nuts, AIO, 1 nylon nut.

I haven't actually flown with it yet but the FPV feed looks great so far. HD view looks great like RunCam3. I ordered a third Split already direct from runcam. I tend to over order awesome products. I have 4 of the AIO and 4 of the realacc frames.

Update 07/12/2017: I flew it last night and the footage looks great. The only small issue is the fish eye effect. I will try a gopro style lens and see if it gets better. It is mostly visible when on the ground. I crashed into a building and into the ground and the Runcam split didn't break. I was really hard on the camera ribbon cable when I was installing it bending it back and forth and yanking on it trying to get the board to fit under my flight controller and under my esc wires but it didn't break it.

Here is my flight video:
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=OLSS8HqvCkQ

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Trip to China

I'm in China for a month so I won't be posting much. I was able to fly my quad in Shenyang and Benxi but now I am in Beijing and can not fly here. I think someone flew their camera drone too close to the airport and the government banned all drone flight within the 6th Ring road which is like 15km from the center of Beijing. So most of Beijing.

I flew from the US to Shanghai with my 8 quad batteries no problem. Going from Shanghai to Shenyang they took away 2 of my 1000mah batteries because they had no label to show that they were under 10,000mah. My 6 other 1000 and 1300mah batteries are larger and they are ok. Got to watch out for those super tiny 10,000mah batteries I guess...

I went to the China Unmanned Systems Expo 2017 in Beijing.

Check out my flight footage. I got to dive buildings, fly at night, land in water (record under water - no fish were harmed). Lots of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8VYr7iU7713GCmc-3XABHzteleJrpK_q

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Omnibus F7, Micro swift, RealAcc 214 3K, XM+, RaceStar br2205s 2300kv,

I'm still waiting for parts in the mail but my new build should be:

Omnibus F7. OSD, baro, ICM-20608 running 32khz/32khz from MyAirBot.com.
Micro swift cam 2.1mm lens from runcam.com.
RealAcc 214 3K carbon fiber 4mm frame from banggood.com.
FrSky XM+ receiver. Diversity but no telemetry from banggood.com.
RaceStar br2205s 2300kv motors from banggood.com.
Wraith32 35A 3-6S DSHOT 1200 escs from MyAirBot.com.
HQProp Durable Prop 5x4x4V1S PC Clear (2x CW, 2x CCW) quad blade props from GotHeliRC.com.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Will the next RunCam 3 version be the "RunCam 3 Transformer" or the "RunCam Switch"?

Will the next RunCam 3 version be the "RunCam 3 Transformer" or the "RunCam Switch"?
Hints have been popping up at the RunCam shop site:
http://shop.runcam.com/runcam-split/

Maybe it will have a RunCam micro swift embedded in with a RunCam 3 box. So fast fpv video and HD recording also.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

I painted my Taranis

So many parts to take apart. They seem to come apart easy. Hopefully they go back together as easily once it dries. I choose Navy Blue. My favorite color. I covered the ports on the back with tape. I meant to cover the charging led light but I forgot it. Maybe I can scrape the paint off it or just survive without it.

And then I washed my cat. I considered using navy blue but decided against it and left her, her natural color.

The controller turned out great. The cat also turned out well. She has been soft and smelling good for a few days now.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

OpenTX 2.2.0 problems

On my FrSky Taranis X9D+ OpenTX 2.1.6 the "Welcome to OpenTX" file is on the SD card at SOUNDS\en\SYSTEM\tada.wav. Delete that file and you don't have to hear that anymore when you power it up.

I just upgraded to OpenTX 2.2.0 to get Multi-Protocal support and the "Welcome to OpenTX" came back and there is no tada.wav. So I looked around and found SOUNDS\en\SYSTEM\hello.wav. That is the new one to delete.

Also, I am using the XSR s.port inversion hack for an F4 processor. Now that I am on OpenTX 2.2.0 it warns be ever 5 seconds that "Sensor is lost". For a split second the sensor is lost and it tells me about it every time. So I had to delete SOUNDS\en\SYSTEM\sensorko.wav also. My transmitter still buzzes when a sensor is lost though. So I will need to find another solution.

Most likely I am losing sensor for a split second because when I did the XSR hack I connected the non-inverted pad to the ppm pin. There seem to be ppm data collisions with the s.port data around once a minute. I didn't mind that tiny bit of unnoticeable inaccuracy but OpenTX 2.2.0 is pointing it out in a loud way. I reused the ppm pin so that I could easily move my xsr receivers between F3 flight controllers with inversion possible on all ports to F4 ports where secondary (after sbus) inversion for s.port is not available. So my F4 flight controllers are wired s.port to ppm and my F3 board are s.port to s.port.

I upgraded the OpenTX firmware on my Turnigy 9XR Pro and Taranis X9D+ in preparation for a iRangeX IRX4 2.4G CC2500 NRF24L01 A7105 CTRF6936 4 IN 1 Multiprotocol STM32 TX Module With Case that is coming in the mail. It will allow either transmitter to control my DSMX and FrSky receivers. If I had any toy quadcopters, they could control those also. Sounds pretty cool. We shall see.

When I purchased this on banggood I searched around for a while and tested many discount coupon codes. I finally found 13hot that gave me 13% off this product. Another one I commonly use is affiliate6 which gives 6% off of most items. I think these codes will cancel out my affiliate commission on my links (yes, I post affiliate links) but that is ok. Save some money.

I watched a great youtube video from Albert Kim on how to install OpenTX 2.2.0 at:
https://youtu.be/-pcMbzzMQ1w
He explains and demonstrates things very clearly and doesn't waste time.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

RunCam3

I got 1 of the 2 RunCam3's I ordered. It is great. It is much lighter and easier to mount on my quadcopter than I thought it would be. It isn't like a heavy battery that you have to strap in for dear life. It is much lighter. Velcro can easily hold it in place. Here is the way I decided to mount it on my 2 quadcopters.

I crash landed directly on top of the camera 3 times in the first day and it is still ok!

5/27/2017 update: I've been flying and recording with the runcam3 on 2 quads and it is awesome.

WARNING! There are a few problems with the RunCam3 options / firmware they should fix. If you set auto-record, when you plug in any micro usb (power with or without data) to charge it, it turns on and starts recording. I came back an hour later and it was super hot. It was recording the whole time. It probably could have destroyed itself over a few hours from over heating if I hadn't come back.

Also I setup loop recording. The option is 3,5,10 minutes I think. I set 3 minutes. So every 3 minutes it writes out the video file. If it is running out of space it overwrites the oldest files. The problem is that the audio is broken after the first video it creates. So first 3 minutes have audio but the following video segments do not.

These 2 problems were even after I upgraded to the newest 1.1 firmware.

5/31/2017 update: I just received my second RunCam3. This one came with firmware 1.2. The first one came with 1.0 and I upgraded it to 1.1. I just tried to upgrade the first one and no upgrades are available yet. Soon I will test to see if the 2 problems above have been fixed in firmware 1.2.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Taranis 9xd plus M9 hall effect sensor gimbals

I got the M9 hall effect sensor gimbals for my Taranis 9xd plus. They are very smooth. It is taking a little while to get used to the change. At the same time I am trying out dshot 600 for the first time. So it might be hard to tell how things are going. They are going well though. I need to get on a race track to tell for sure. Soon I will get getting the wraith 32 dshot 1200 32 bit escs from myairbot.com to test. Even more smoothness on it's way.

I also decided to remove 6 switches. 4 of them have long arms that get caught on many things in my backpack and I have never used the funky side switches so I removed them too. Now there are "just" 4 3 way switches and 2 pots. That is plenty. I set the remaining 6 up on channels 5-12.

If you want to get some, you can get them from BangGood:
"2 PCS Frsky M9-Gimbal M9 High Sensitivity Hall Sensor Gimbal For Taranis X9D & X9D Plus" for $48.98

"Frsky M9-Gimbal M9 High Sensitivity Hall Sensor Gimbal For Taranis X9D & X9D Plus" for $25.99

or GearBest:

FrSky M9 Hall Gimbal - BLACK 208161601 with Quad Ball Bearing for X9D TARANIS Transmitter $26.78

Friday, April 28, 2017

Cheaper FPV camera

I bought 5 Turnigy 1177 FPV cameras from HobbyKing for around $28 each. I found the exact same camera unbranded on sale on BangGood for $18. I should have bought some. Now they are around $23 and out of stock. Apparently others noticed. I hope in a week they will come back at the sale price.

600TVL 2.8mm Lens 1/3" Super Had II CCD Camera IR Sensitive for FPV Racing Drone PAL/NTSC

Micro 1/3 CCD 600TVL PAL 2.8mm FOV 120 Degree FPV Mini Camera 25*25mm For FPV Racer

This camera uses the excellent 1/3 inch Super HAD II CCD sensor that most $40 FPV camera's use. It has amazing Digital Wide Dynamic Range (D-WDR). The mounting bracket and camera case are bad though. The screws go into plastic that gets stripped out after screwing them in and out a few times. I found 2 foxeer arrow replacement cases on banggood for around $3.26. It says 1190 only but it worked great with my 1177s.

Replacement Case For The Foxeer HS1190 Arrow Camera Case Only

It also has a 2.8mm convex lens which is ok but not great. Some companies sell it with a 2.1mm lens which is also not great because it is too wide of a view for fpv racing and has fish eye effect around the outside. The perfect lens seems to be the (effectively) 2.5mm lens from a gopro2. It is meant for a 1/2.5 inch sensor. That means that the edges of the lens do not get captured on the 1/3 inch sensor. That cuts out the fish eye effect! Sorry for mixing mm with inches, but that is how lens and sensors are measured. The fish eye effect is caused by the convex lens curving more at the edges and less at the center. This lens costs $9-$14. So I'll say $10.

Replaceable camera lens for Gopro Hero 2 ST-35

170 Degrees Wide Replacement Camera Lens For GoPro Hero 2/1 Camera

So $18 for the cam, $10 for the lens, $2 for a new case. That makes an awesome FPV camera for $30. Those $40 cams still need a lens upgrade so they become $50 cams.

Oh it looks like HobbyKing now has a new Turnigy 1177 v2 with improved case for $29 but the banggood one is still a better deal.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

HGLRC F4 V5 Pro All In One Post #1

"F4 V5PRO Flight Controller 5.8G 40CH 0/25/200/600mW Switchable FPV Transmitte w/ 5V BEC OSD PDB" "BetaFlight OSD / Current Sensor / 5.8GHz 40CH 25mW 200mW 600mW FPV Transmitter".

I bought 2 "F4 V5PRO Flight Controller 5.8G 40CH 0/25/200/600mW Switchable FPV Transmitter w/ 5V BEC OSD PDB" on Apr 08 2017 and 1 showed up on Apr 21 2017. I am still waiting for the second one. It is from HGLTech or HGLRC. It is an amazing All In One Flight Controller, VTX, PDB, OSD.

It came with no documentation. There is text screened onto the board but is nearly impossible to read. It is tiny, unclear, and sometimes covered by components. BB+ and BB- look like 88+ 88- and they are the buzzer pins. The motor signals are only available as through hole connections on the 4 corners. Everything else is only available on the 3 ports. The antenna adapter is MCX male to RP-SMA. It is not U.FL like with the V4. I didn't know that and ordered a bunch of U.FL antennas. I ended up making my own super light dipole antenna that connects to MCX. No 7 grams of SMA or RP-SMA connectors. I couldn't find the cam pin until I found THIS documentation online.

I bought from BangGood:
F4 V5PRO Flight Controller 5.8G 40CH 0/25/200/600mW Switchable FPV Transmitte w/ 5V BEC OSD PDB.
Also available at GearBest:
HGLRC F4 V5 PRO Flight Controller

I setup the first one with a 4-in-1 esc. I have test flown it in my kitchen and it seems good. Very compact, very simple wiring. I run the power into my 4-in-1 esc as the bottom board then into the FC. I skipped using the current sensor and XT60 connector. I didn't want to run the XT-60 power connector from the second board in the stack although I think it could work. I will probably try that later. I wish it had a motor signal port and uart 3 or 6 on the same port as sbus so I could get sbus and smart port telemetry from just one port. I haven't hooked up the buzzer yet. I don't know if I will like having the buzzer on a port instead of direct soldered to the board. It might work better. I will setup the second with 4 individual escs. I will write more about it soon.