Hoverfly Hoverfly setup questions

[Bartman]

This guide is very handy in order to make sure you've doen everything you need to do to have your Hoverfly Pro flight controller all ready to go.

https://hoverflytech.zendesk.com/entries/21202158-how-to-setup-autoleveling

My question (for Ben ) is, is it normal when going through the steps to have to reset everything multiple times throughout the process even where it's not spelled out that a poweer cycle is necessary? I find that when I go from tab to tab in the Setup client, the status will go from Connected to Not COnnected. In trying to follow the directions in the above link (for example), I find that if I first disable the Accelerometer Calibration, I can't just go to the next step without cycling power, closing the setup client, and then restarting everything yet it doesn't mention this in the guide. If this is just kooky HF stuff and the heli ultimately flies very well then that's fine and I'll just do what I have to do. But if these quirks are avoidable, especially for people that are both new to Hoverfly AND new to multi-rotor heli's then let's get this worked out and keep the head scratching to a minimum.


on another topic is there a list available yet regarding acceptable servos to use with the Gimbal?

THanks (Ben),
Bart

 

[dckiteboards]

That is a big help!
Also a setup video for your radio, when i go into travel /gains in my dx8 it only goes to zero and everything is saying to set it at -25 and 25, if i just get the radio setup im sure ill be flying right away. As of right now im still grounded with everything responding just no ail,rud,elevat control whatsoever. Its all showing perfectly in the setup utility.

 

[Bartman]

for anyone new to Hoverfly, it's important to remember that when the USB cable is first plugged in (without a battery connected) the FC will power up and need a minute to get itself to the blinking purple LED. after that is done and the board is stable it can be connected to the Setup Client (Can I coin the term HoverClient? Maybe HoverFlient? ) and it will need another 30 seconds to go through the routine to show it's connected. It looks to me that if you rush this you may be able to show it as connected but it won't accurately represent the information regarding your flight control board. I'm also getting into the habit of hitting the disconnect button before changing tabs in the Setup Client (Hoverclient) just to make sure that it is following along with what I'm trying to do.

 

[Photronix]

This should help.

https://hoverflytech.zendesk.com/en...sing-firmware-update-client-and-setup-utility

 

[Bartman]

THanks Al! I'm going to give that a good read.

 

[Bartman]

This is an important tidbit

Proper Sequence: In order for you to use the receiver and be connected to the Setup client you must first connect the USB cable with the aircraft power OFF. Then connect to the Setup Client using the Connect button. Once the connection is made you may then power your aircraft/receiver/transmitter. If you power the aircraft first and then try to connect the HoverflyPRO may not enter the connection mode (flashing purple LED) and a connection cannot be made.

 

[Bartman]

That is a big help!
Also a setup video for your radio, when i go into travel /gains in my dx8 it only goes to zero and everything is saying to set it at -25 and 25, if i just get the radio setup im sure ill be flying right away. As of right now im still grounded with everything responding just no ail,rud,elevat control whatsoever. Its all showing perfectly in the setup utility.

have you tried flipping the switch while having the channel open for adjustment? sometimes radios won't let you adjust a value unless the switch is in the position that you are trying to adjust. can you maybe take a picture of the radio's screen while trying to make that adjustment so we can see what options you may have?

 

[dckiteboards]

what its doing

heres where im at

 

[DucktileMedia]

I think you got mud in your tires.

but seriously, I think you are in the right spot onthe radio to adjust that function but behold, it does not go negative. Does the other side go negative?

 

[Bartman]

Chris,
I think part of your problem is that the helicopter is sitting on the ground. When the helicopter is close to the ground it sits on its own prop wash and it make it harder for the flight controller to do its job. Can you at least sit it on a cardboard box or something that would put the props higher off the ground? The other option is to just jam some throttle in and see if the helicopter will pop up and settle into level flight a few feet off the ground. The helicopter doesn't appear to be falling off in the same direction every time so that's probably a good thing.
I saw a video fo yours with you holding the center of the helicopter while the props were spinning. The HF doesn't love being constrained like that and could freak out leaving you all cut up and bleeding so i wouldn't recommend doing that again.
As for the Autolevel feature and getting a negative number, like Yuri said, can you get the other box to scroll into negative numbers? You should be able to fly temporarily with only positive numbers but you'll be looking at not having Autolevel. I sent your problem to one of the guys at HF and maybe he'll pay this thread a visit again and give some guidance to get you moving again.

Bart

 

[dckiteboards]

neither go negative ill try getting it off the ground a bit right now. thanks

 

[dckiteboards]

doesnt change i placed it three feet off and gave her some beans and right over it went

 

[DucktileMedia]

I honestly didnt think it would fly from that video. You can tell when it is ground effect and when something is off. I actually like to do my test flight on a concrete floor so I can see if the cyclic and yaw work. You can tell without lifting the heli off if the controls do what they are supposed to. I have done this with every heli. Then after I know the controls work I go to the grass. Sorry you are having so many issues with this. I hope it ends up being your esc's or something simple we are all over looking. Maybe it's that stupid frame you have.

 

[Stacky]

What Im seeing in your video is behaviour that is typical of a motor being connected to the wrong port or even the wrong configuration loaded in the firmware setup.
What firmware are you running?
Double check that you have the correct esc's connected to the correct pin ports on the HFP board.
With respect to checking if the AL is operating take all the props off and start up the motors, then you can lift the machine up and see if the green led changes to blue. when you flick on the AL switch.
Cheers

 

[Photronix]

Setting Primary Gain and Autolevel Gain on the DX8

The HoverflyPRO manual suggests setting the Primary Gain and Autolevel Gain to a "starting value" of +/-25%. The "-" is the opposite side sometimes an actual negative number for transmitters like the JR9303 which is shown in the manual. However, on the Dx8 it is the opposite side but a positive number. The Primary Gain should be on the Gear channel. To adjust it move the Gear switch to "0" and adjust the gain value to +25%. For Autolevel gain you must move the switch (do this with the aircraft on the ground during setup) to "1" and you will now have the option, in the servo settings, to change the value. Make the value +25% to start with.

Fly on Gyro only mode and adjust the gain as described in the HoveflyPRO manual. Once you find a suitable value, land and set the Autolevel gain to the same value. If 55% Primary gain works well then make your autolevel gain 55%. It is possible to make the Autolevel gain a different value but do this based on feel after you gain some experience. Some people like a higher value and some like a lower value than the Primary gain.

IMPORTANT: The exact value displayed in the Setup Utility is irrelevant. Adjust these values using feel. The value that feels best is best. Higher values are not better than low values. It depends on your arm length, propeller diameter, and motor power.

 

[Bartman]

Like Al said, it's set based on how you feel the helicopter should fly. FOr example I flew yesterday with 11" props and had it dialed in really nicely. With new 13" props this morning and a camera mount it was a little wobbly. So I'll have to fly it again with the adjustment window open and reset the Autolevel gain for whatever my final configuration is going to be.

I'd like to experiment with a three position switch that would allow me to have manual mode plus two Autolevel gain settings like one for mellow flying and one for wind, or something like that. Looking at my radio though it doesn't appear to be possible as the one switch I could do it with only has two internal settings (even though the actual switch has three positions) and the 2nd and 3rd positions of the switch would rely on the same gain setting.

 

[RotorFilms]

Hi dckiteboards,

I've had something similar, question I have for you is do you have you "gear" channel plugged into the HFP board?

Mine did something similar when I had to steal a channel to run my Gimbal as my Transmitter only has 6 channels, I unplugged the gain channel as I still wanted AH and AL, but the Multirotor was uncontrollable after that. Only when I plugged the "gear" channel back into the Gain port on the HFP did it fly as it should. Pretty obvious now but back then not so obvious to me.

I hope this help, if it does not help you it might help someone else.

Andre

 

[dckiteboards]

alright hoverfly is fixed. i must be colorblind because the ESC wires were all in the wrong spot and then I reflashed the firmware and its amazingly stable now, however i do have a yaw issue which i though was in my dx8 radio but i switched radios and it still does it in the other radio too. soo ill mess around with it for a while and get another video up if need be. it just yaws left

 

[Photronix]

alright hoverfly is fixed. i must be colorblind because the ESC wires were all in the wrong spot and then I reflashed the firmware and its amazingly stable now, however i do have a yaw issue which i though was in my dx8 radio but i switched radios and it still does it in the other radio too. soo ill mess around with it for a while and get another video up if need be. it just yaws left

Make sure your ESCs are all calibrated. Then check that all motors are aligned properly. If that doesn't fix it then you probably need to increase your gain.

 

[Bartman]

Al,
FOr what it's worth, when I was trying to fly my first Hoverfly XY8 a couple of months ago I had it in my head that the props should continue spinning even when the throttle was zero. The problem was, the helicopter kept rolling over when I'd land. After a few tries I finally readjusted it to be the way it's supposed to be and it stopped rolling over. But.....two of my four motor mounts were out of whack from the props hitting the ground and I didn't realize it until after it had already flown a bunch of times and I thought it flew great!! It flew even better when I got the motors straightened out!

I installed the latest beta firmware version, is that ok or is it highly experimental?

Thanks,
Bart