CX4 WooKong GPS Problems, plus Spektrum DX8 Failsafe settings.

[BorisS]

Which ESCs are you using?

I guess he is using the Gaui ESCs Esc GUEC GE 183.

The manual is not really clear on what you have to do. Switch quickly between 1 and 3 so lets say manual and gps up to 10 times and than last move switch back to manual.
For me it works after switching back and forward 8 times.

That you ESCs are not starting up the motors is more worrying ! Try the calibration again report back and lets see than about the ESCs.

STEP1: Enter calibration mode: quickly slide the control mode switch from Position-1 to Position-3 for
6 to 10 times, and LED indicator will be constantly on in blue;
STEP2: Calibration in horizontal: rotate you multi rotor along with the horizontal surface until the green
light is on constantly, then go to the next step;
STEP3: Calibration in vertical: while green light is constantly on, hold your multi rotor vertically and

 

[wflug]

Problem with compass- calibration and Esc

Boris,

Thank you for your help, I change into the German-language forum, because my English is not the best.

Best regards

Werner

 

[Icarus]

We are having the same issues here in Victoria BC Canada with counter clockwise toilet bowl in GPS mode.

Our Cinestar8 is very clean wire wise, and we obtain GPS lock promptly, usually within 30-60 seconds. We have tried playing with CofG and gain settings with no success so far. We aren't ruling out being able to fix the problem ourselves, through further adjustments/testing....but the more reports I hear like ours, the more I wonder if we our chasing our tail?

It would be nice if DJI would respond. It flies beautifully in Atti.

 

[vislaw]

We are having the same issues here in Victoria BC Canada with counter clockwise toilet bowl in GPS mode.

Our Cinestar8 is very clean wire wise, and we obtain GPS lock promptly, usually within 30-60 seconds. We have tried playing with CofG and gain settings with no success so far. We aren't ruling out being able to fix the problem ourselves, through further adjustments/testing....but the more reports I hear like ours, the more I wonder if we our chasing our tail?

It would be nice if DJI would respond. It flies beautifully in Atti.

I'm very intent on trying to solve this problem and am very pleased that you've posted so that we can hopefully learn from each other. My GPS went completely dead but DJI arranged for a quick replacement by my dealer and I should have the new unit in a day or so. I do plan to move my GPS/Satellite receiver to a higher location off axis from center to see if that helps. Where is your unit located on your Cinestar8?

As soon as I am back in the air with GPS I'll try to carefully record flying behavior under different mounting conditions to see if that makes a difference. Hopefully, others who are struggling with this (or those who have solved it) will also provide input.

 

[Icarus]

No problem, just following the lead of our fearless leaders, Boris and RTRyder. Great community developing here.

Our GPS is on the back boom of the Cinestar8, as far back as the 11.5 Graupner props will allow, pointing forward, mounted on the longest pole provided. Hard to reconcile how quickly we get GPS locked, and the erratic toilet bowl behaviour?

We will take a full day of testing, to try and eliminate the possibility that the issue is on our end. Measuring CofG seems to be a bit of a mystery. I do remember a post from ScotPhoto where he said he solved his toilet bowl by dialing in his CofG?

Any suggestions or your customers DJI?

 

[PapaRomeo]

I remember with ACE ONE and XP3.1 autopilots that the GPS should never be very close to a motor.

You wrote that the GPS is as far back as the prop allows... Maybe you should try to move closer to the center...

 

[Octo NZ]

Toilet bowl in NZ strikes back

Hi there,

I am quite new here and I live in NZ (Tauranga area). I recently purchased an Otco droidworks & WKM from Kim's (photohigher).
The Octo is flying well in Atti mode and I usually get a good GPS signal (no red lights) within a minute.
When I switch to GPS/atti mode, the Octo is behaving exactly as "NZ videoguys" described : It flyes in an anti-clockwise circle pattern, going larger and faster.
I have tried with doing a compass calibration before flying.
I have also tried to change the GPS location :
- On a boomer, between ESC and Motor
- Same location, but elevated (15cm)
- Next to the centerplate (X=-2 ; Y=2 ; Z=-15) and about 12cm over the IMU which is the current location.

I really start to think that there is something about NZ sky.
Though, same as many other users, I did check the GPS in my car (Garmin) and it worked fine.

So may be, there should be a few adjustment to be made by DJI. A new firmware fixing that issue would be more than appreciated.
I am pretty sure that the problem is here.

Anyway, I will let you know if anything new comes up.

 

[AerialCamsNZ]

Hi there,

I am quite new here and I live in NZ (Tauranga area). I recently purchased an Otco droidworks & WKM from Kim's (photohigher).
The Octo is flying well in Atti mode and I usually get a good GPS signal (no red lights) within a minute.
When I switch to GPS/atti mode, the Octo is behaving exactly as "NZ videoguys" described : It flyes in an anti-clockwise circle pattern, going larger and faster.
I have tried with doing a compass calibration before flying.
I have also tried to change the GPS location :
- On a boomer, between ESC and Motor
- Same location, but elevated (15cm)
- Next to the centerplate (X=-2 ; Y=2 ; Z=-15) and about 12cm over the IMU which is the current location.

I really start to think that there is something about NZ sky.
Though, same as many other users, I did check the GPS in my car (Garmin) and it worked fine.

So may be, there should be a few adjustment to be made by DJI. A new firmware fixing that issue would be more than appreciated.
I am pretty sure that the problem is here.

Anyway, I will let you know if anything new comes up.

Hi Octo NZ and NZVideoguys
I too have an Octo down Wellington way (NZ) and I am also having the exact same issues with anti clockwise toilet bowling when in GPS mode. I have asked Kim from Photohigher to follow up on the issue. It is obviously not just me or my settings!

 

[NZVideoguys]

Hi Octo NZ and NZVideoguys
I too have an Octo down Wellington way (NZ) and I am also having the exact same issues with anti clockwise toilet bowling when in GPS mode. I have asked Kim from Photohigher to follow up on the issue. It is obviously not just me or my settings!

No it is most certainly not just you. Kim is having GPS problems with his own Helicopter. DJI needs to step up and address this problem asap on what is otherwise a very good flight controller. Someone in Palm Springs USA is also
having the exact same problem.

 

[Octo NZ]

Hi aerialcamsNZ,

Welcome to the forum.
It is good to know other people using a similar configuration in NZ.
I was wondering if you tried the "return to home " feature.
Personnally, I did not. Till the GPS hold position is not fixed, I don't really trust it.
Also, what are your gain settings ? And does it fly well (wobbles?) ?
My basic gain settings are as follow : Pitch & roll are 220% , elevator & yaw are 100% and I did lower the Attitude gains to 70%.
My octo is flying well and is quite steady if there is no wind. But if the wind is blowing over 10-15 km/h, it's wobbling a lot.
I was hoping that it could be steadier with low wind.

I also contacted Kim for the "toilet bowl" issue. He told me that DJI was working on a new firmware. I hope it won't take too long and that this new update will fix the GPS problem.:dejection:

 

[NZVideoguys]

Hi aerialcamsNZ,

Welcome to the forum.
It is good to know other people using a similar configuration in NZ.
I was wondering if you tried the "return to home " feature.
Personnally, I did not. Till the GPS hold position is not fixed, I don't really trust it.
Also, what are your gain settings ? And does it fly well (wobbles?) ?
My basic gain settings are as follow : Pitch & roll are 220% , elevator & yaw are 100% and I did lower the Attitude gains to 70%.
My octo is flying well and is quite steady if there is no wind. But if the wind is blowing over 10-15 km/h, it's wobbling a lot.
I was hoping that it could be steadier with low wind.

I also contacted Kim for the "toilet bowl" issue. He told me that DJI was working on a new firmware. I hope it won't take too long and that this new update will fix the GPS problem.:dejection:

Hi Guys,

I tried a return to home on my CX4. Bloody near lost the whole thing!! Video here: https://vimeo.com/32381525
The thing is that I took the CX4 to India with all the exact same settings and it performed faultlessly there. No toilet bowl, and return to home worked twice in a row with no issues.
Happy to hear they're working on fixing the GPS.

 

[NZVideoguys]

Hi aerialcamsNZ,

Welcome to the forum.
It is good to know other people using a similar configuration in NZ.
I was wondering if you tried the "return to home " feature.
Personnally, I did not. Till the GPS hold position is not fixed, I don't really trust it.
Also, what are your gain settings ? And does it fly well (wobbles?) ?
My basic gain settings are as follow : Pitch & roll are 220% , elevator & yaw are 100% and I did lower the Attitude gains to 70%.
My octo is flying well and is quite steady if there is no wind. But if the wind is blowing over 10-15 km/h, it's wobbling a lot.
I was hoping that it could be steadier with low wind.

I also contacted Kim for the "toilet bowl" issue. He told me that DJI was working on a new firmware. I hope it won't take too long and that this new update will fix the GPS problem.:dejection:

BTW. I'm also having major wobble problems on my ADX-3. I'm in India for two months so won't be able to recheck settings till mid April.

 

[Octo NZ]

HI NZvideoguys,

Your video is scary, especially when you hit the top of the tree. Good to know that it ended well though.
I did fix most of my wobbling issues by adjusting the Z axis with CoG. I did lower the Z value 1cm each time, and the wobbles got lower and lower (with no wind conditions).

 

[139 jockey]

Hi fella's, this is turning in to a real kiwi thing here! I have just finished building a SJ6 and have had exactly the same issues with the TB effect in GPS hold. 3 Things have helped to sort it, Another compass calibration, acurate COG in puts, and moving the GPS away from the batt. lead to other side. It holds well in calm conditions now but haven't had the chance to try it is the wind as it has been pissing down all day!

Rick

 

[PitchBitch]

Hi guys,

did anyone of you find a fix for the Fail-Safe "toilet bowl" effect? I'm located at Germany, Düsseldorf, and I'm also experiencing the "circle" problem.

I've just finished building a F550 Hexacopter (stock 30A opto ESC's + motors). On the first test-flight the Hex worked fine with the Wookong M. GPS locked in and it descended nicely and slow to the ground while being on fail-safe.

Then on the second day the "toilet"-effect happened when i turned on fail-safe. The Hex was flying back normally to the starting point. Then, while it descended, it was flying large, approx. 6-8 large counter-clockwise circles (about ~ 20 feet diameter). I had to flip back to Atti-Mode to "grab it" just before it would have crashed into the ground. LED was blinking blue all the time, so GPS was locked on.

Did anyone nail the "toilet"-problem GPS-Failsafe down and found a solution that fixed it permanenly? I fave flow on the exact same location a Quad with a different Wookong M and never had any problems with GPS-Fail-Safe. That makes me think that its connected to the F550 setup.

 

[buddyrama]

disturb gain

I heard that people were having sucess with lowering the disturb gain to around 80%. I also heard that 900mhz video dwn link can cause interference. I recently added my 900mhz dwnlink. I also noticed the toilet bowl at the same time. ill see if disconnecting it will help. I haven't tried the disturb gain yet. let me know if it helps.

 

[Waiheke]

Just a thought, try turning/rotating the GPS unit about 20Deg to the right, ie.The arrow points 20deg to the right.
Unit is trying to get to GPS position but GPS/Compass unit is messed up by amount of magnetic declination in NZ.
Thinks it is heading to center but is actualy 20deg out on course heading.

Would be a quick test.


My thoughts are that the GPS works out where it is and works out where it needs to be as a compass course that is TRUE, not magnetic.
By turning the compass unit by 20deg (Auckland Declination) the TRUE course is 20deg to the left of magnetic.

 

[worbc]

I can't tell you exactly how to do it, but I'll get you more or less there! Plug the heli into the PC and fire up the DJI assistant. Power up the heli and the transmitter. On the assistant, you need to be in the TX cali menu, at the bottom you will see "3. Control mode switch" This is where the settings are made. Now you need to set the switch on the transmitter to control the gps, atti and fail safe options, this is done on the transmitter...that's where I sign out!!

Good luck,

Gunter.

Gunter, Et al... I'm new to this and trying to get failsafes set up between my Wookong M and the Specktrum DX8. The Spektrum DX8 manual as well as several other posts have stated the following:
1. Insert the bind plug and power on the receiver
2. When the receiver LED's blink indicating bind mode, remove bind plug before binding the transmitter to the receiver
3. LED lights will continue to blink
4. Move transmitter's control sticks and switches to the desired Preset Failsafe positions then turn it on in bind mode.
5. The system should connect in less than 15 seconds.

My questions about this are the following:

1. How do you set up the failsafes in the "transmitter Cal" Wookong Software window while doing this, do you do it before you start the process?
2. I also have the Telemetry (TM1000) transmitter, when I've tried this, I've had to "rebind" the AR8000 receiver and the TM1000, back to the DX8 losing all the failsafe settings.

Sorry for highjacking the topic here, but I believe this could also help NZVideoguys as well as many others.

Warm regards,

--terry

 

[Tahoe Ed]

You will not be able to set the throttle by moving it when you want to bind. You will get an error message. You have to adjust you end point for the throttle to 0 or there a bouts. 0 will give you 50% throttle on loss of signal from the Tx. You also want to switch your mix switch for Failsafe to Failsafe. Then bind after your remove the binding plug.

 

[worbc]

You will not be able to set the throttle by moving it when you want to bind. You will get an error message. You have to adjust you end point for the throttle to 0 or there a bouts. 0 will give you 50% throttle on loss of signal from the Tx. You also want to switch your mix switch for Failsafe to Failsafe. Then bind after your remove the binding plug.

Thanks Tahoe Ed, that makes sense for leaving the throttle at 0%, but how do you set the GPS, Attitude, and Manual to Failsafes in the Transmitter Cal screen. Am I missing a step?

--terry