Hoverfly Hoverfly Gimbal Controller?

[hoverben]

Is there anywhere in the US that has the Hoverfly gimbal controller in stock?

We should be getting new stock this week. If you have a back-order with us, you will receive shipping details as soon as they come in.

When I use the mode to maintain position (at start up of the hoverflygimbal, velocity was it I think), I can not use my turning knob to change the tilt's position. It only corrects movements from the heli.

You are not doing anything wrong - this is how Mode 0 operates. The tilt and roll axes are on auto-compensation only, and the pan axis is on stick-control only.

 

[thijmen5]

We should be getting new stock this week. If you have a back-order with us, you will receive shipping details as soon as they come in.



You are not doing anything wrong - this is how Mode 0 operates. The tilt and roll axes are on auto-compensation only, and the pan axis is on stick-control only.

Hmm, that's a pity. Could that be an option for next firmware upgrade? I often have unequal underground which is really anoying . My gimbal off-horizon to often.

 

[hoverben]

Hmm, that's a pity. Could that be an option for next firmware upgrade? I often have unequal underground which is really anoying . My gimbal off-horizon to often.

I don't understand what you're asking here. Mode 0 is intended mainly for take-off and landing - the features of this Mode are intended to keep the user from inadvertently damaging their equipment. For in-flight photography, you should be using Mode 1 or 2.

 

[thijmen5]

I don't understand what you're asking here. Mode 0 is intended mainly for take-off and landing - the features of this Mode are intended to keep the user from inadvertently damaging their equipment. For in-flight photography, you should be using Mode 1 or 2.

Ok, I will try to explain it better then previous 'explaination'.

When you power on the multi the hoverflygimbal starts initialising. It sets horizon level. But it sets horizon level pertaining to (google translate, don't know the exact word) the surface where I take off. So every time the heli sets horizon on a somewhat unequal surface the gimbaltray is a bit off-horizon. That is what I ment.

I just tested it, by initialising inclined and then remove the incline it isn't just as straight as initialising on a complete horizontal surface (it is not really that much).

I thought that was what people were asking for, because there were vids with complete off-horizon because of initialising on sloping surface.

 

[RancherPete]

Ok, I will try to explain it better then previous 'explaination'.

When you power on the multi the hoverflygimbal starts initialising. It sets horizon level. But it sets horizon level pertaining to (google translate, don't know the exact word) the surface where I take off. So every time the heli sets horizon on a somewhat unequal surface the gimbaltray is a bit off-horizon. That is what I ment.

I just tested it, by initialising inclined and then remove the incline it isn't just as straight as initialising on a complete horizontal surface (it is not really that much).

I thought that was what people were asking for, because there were vids with complete off-horizon because of initialising on sloping surface.

In my experience there may be more to your problem; When I initialize my Multirotor and the Hoverfly Gimbal controller I do so on perfectly level ground, and YES, it is a hassle to do so. To confirm this I even have a built-in bubble level fixed to the top plate of the Multirotor. But guess what: my Hoverfly Gimbal controller still gives me a crooked horizon no matter what I do and this all happens very shortly after take-off. I have agonized over this. I have tried every suggestion that has been offered via the threads and the one and only suggestion from Hoverfly; "Revert back to the 1.03 firmware". Needless to say, I can't make any use of my new Hoverfly Gimbal board in its present configuration and there does not seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel or company assistance. Good luck.

 

[bhockenstein]

HFG and PS1 3XPro

Ok, so who here has the HFG and PhotoshipOne 3XPro setup going?

I just got my HFG and need some help setting it up.

A few questions I have are:

Does the HFG need to have it's own power supply or can it get power from the main system (I have a cablecam system, not a multi)?

What settings do I need to change from default?

The first time I plugged it in, nothing happened other than the roll axis trying to roll all the way over, ie. it just went forever in one direction.. any tips there?

Thanks so much in advance, I look forward to getting this going!

BH

 

[S11D336B]

Hopefully you have resolved the problem by now, but incase you haven't.

You may want to check the pot in the roll axis of your gimbal. I have seen these go bad or not attached correctly which causes a crooked horizon. 99% of these cases are related to the pots.

If that doesn't work, I recommend flashing v1.07 of the firmware and hitting the factory reset button. Then you should carefully re-do the gyro calibration and the accelerometer calibration. The horizon should not be noticeably off if your HoverflyGIMBAL is setup properly.

In my experience there may be more to your problem; When I initialize my Multirotor and the Hoverfly Gimbal controller I do so on perfectly level ground, and YES, it is a hassle to do so. To confirm this I even have a built-in bubble level fixed to the top plate of the Multirotor. But guess what: my Hoverfly Gimbal controller still gives me a crooked horizon no matter what I do and this all happens very shortly after take-off. I have agonized over this. I have tried every suggestion that has been offered via the threads and the one and only suggestion from Hoverfly; "Revert back to the 1.03 firmware". Needless to say, I can't make any use of my new Hoverfly Gimbal board in its present configuration and there does not seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel or company assistance. Good luck.

 

[southernbill]

Gimble Mode Switch Questions

Two questions on HF Gimbal Mode Switch for Yaw function:

1) Position 1 (Angle Position Mode) will not return to neutral when TX stick is centered, and it appears to function the same as Position 2 (Angle Velocity Mode). The three position switch is working correctly and each position is within proper pulse width band range. Position 0 is working correcty and centering when the stick is released.

Note: Position 0,1,& 2 are working correctly for pitch control.

2) When switching from either Position 1 or 2 to position zero, the Yaw servo snaps back to center too quickly. Can't seem to find a setting in HF Configurator to control this, and changing servo speed in the TX only impacts servo movement speed, not this return switch speed.

Thanks​

 

[S11D336B]

When you say yaw snaps back to center, what do you mean? The HoverflyGIMBAL is built to control yaw on only continuous rotation servos.

Gimble Mode Switch Questions

Two questions on HF Gimbal Mode Switch for Yaw function:

1) Position 1 (Angle Position Mode) will not return to neutral when TX stick is centered, and it appears to function the same as Position 2 (Angle Velocity Mode). The three position switch is working correctly and each position is within proper pulse width band range. Position 0 is working correcty and centering when the stick is released.

Note: Position 0,1,& 2 are working correctly for pitch control.

2) When switching from either Position 1 or 2 to position zero, the Yaw servo snaps back to center too quickly. Can't seem to find a setting in HF Configurator to control this, and changing servo speed in the TX only impacts servo movement speed, not this return switch speed.

Thanks​

 

[GGoodrum]

In my experience there may be more to your problem; When I initialize my Multirotor and the Hoverfly Gimbal controller I do so on perfectly level ground, and YES, it is a hassle to do so. To confirm this I even have a built-in bubble level fixed to the top plate of the Multirotor. But guess what: my Hoverfly Gimbal controller still gives me a crooked horizon no matter what I do and this all happens very shortly after take-off. I have agonized over this. I have tried every suggestion that has been offered via the threads and the one and only suggestion from Hoverfly; "Revert back to the 1.03 firmware". Needless to say, I can't make any use of my new Hoverfly Gimbal board in its present configuration and there does not seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel or company assistance. Good luck.

Pete --

I am now experiencing exactly the same problem and the only change in this setup is that I decided to try v1.7v2. Bad mistake. :upset: In the video below, I'm using a completely stock F550, with our AG600 gimbal and a Hero3. I have a second GoPro mounted off one of the back legs, which is used to capture what is going on with the gimbal. You can clearly see two problems, right after takeoff. First of all, there is a twitching in the roll axis, and this is not being caused by the acceleration value being set too high (it is set to 250...). The second problem is that right from the beginning, the roll axis starts tilting to the left. This is clearly evident in the main H3 video (horizon tilts...), and in the inset view from the rear GP. After I set it down, and shut the motors off, you can clearly see it slowly go back to level. I tried it a second time, just basically keeping it in front of me, hovering, and same thing. I then decided to shut off the 2nd GoPro, just to make sure it was not part of the problem. In the 3rd flight, you can see it made no difference.

Al, come on, dude! You need to get someone on this, once and for all! :livid: This is ridiculous, and just ignoring these posts is just bad business.

Tomorrow I will go back to v1.03, and retest. Before, this was all it took to eliminate the problem. Well, once we moved the board away from the camera at least.

View attachment 7672

 

[S11D336B]

We are not seeing this on any of our test rigs. We have been trying very hard replicate it and just aren't seeing it. Have you tried resetting to factory default and re-doing the setup? Have you double checked your mounting position in the configuration? Is the artificial horizon in the configurator level when your gimbal is level? How does the diagnostics screen look? Do all of the accelerometer / gyro values change when you move the gimbal?

You might also change the mounting orientation. It's possible your particular orientation has a problem. None of our setups have the HoverflyGimbal mounted level, it is always mounted on it's side. Perhaps this is a contributing factor.

We really need all of this information to help figure out why this is happening to you. The problem is most likely a combination of some firmware problem and some configuration specific to your setup. If we can get your help to isolate it, we can fix it pretty quickly.

Thanks,
George

Pete --

I am now experiencing exactly the same problem and the only change in this setup is that I decided to try v1.7v2. Bad mistake. :upset: In the video below, I'm using a completely stock F550, with our AG600 gimbal and a Hero3. I have a second GoPro mounted off one of the back legs, which is used to capture what is going on with the gimbal. You can clearly see two problems, right after takeoff. First of all, there is a twitching in the roll axis, and this is not being caused by the acceleration value being set too high (it is set to 250...). The second problem is that right from the beginning, the roll axis starts tilting to the left. This is clearly evident in the main H3 video (horizon tilts...), and in the inset view from the rear GP. After I set it down, and shut the motors off, you can clearly see it slowly go back to level. I tried it a second time, just basically keeping it in front of me, hovering, and same thing. I then decided to shut off the 2nd GoPro, just to make sure it was not part of the problem. In the 3rd flight, you can see it made no difference.

Al, come on, dude! You need to get someone on this, once and for all! :livid: This is ridiculous, and just ignoring these posts is just bad business.

Tomorrow I will go back to v1.03, and retest. Before, this was all it took to eliminate the problem. Well, once we moved the board away from the camera at least.

View attachment 9909

 

[GGoodrum]

We are not seeing this on any of our test rigs. We have been trying very hard replicate it and just aren't seeing it. Have you tried resetting to factory default and re-doing the setup? Have you double checked your mounting position in the configuration? Is the artificial horizon in the configurator level when your gimbal is level? How does the diagnostics screen look? Do all of the accelerometer / gyro values change when you move the gimbal?

You might also change the mounting orientation. It's possible your particular orientation has a problem. None of our setups have the HoverflyGimbal mounted level, it is always mounted on it's side. Perhaps this is a contributing factor.

We really need all of this information to help figure out why this is happening to you. The problem is most likely a combination of some firmware problem and some configuration specific to your setup. If we can get your help to isolate it, we can fix it pretty quickly.

Thanks,
George

I have tried resetting, re-calibrating, etc., but with v1.7r2, I even get yaw coupling with everything off except power to the Naza flight controller and the HFG board. Withe board basically pointing north, at initialization, if I manually yaw left, the gimbal rolls to the right. Yawing back through north, it levels out, but if I continue yawing to the right, now it tilts back. Very repeatable. :dread:

I went back to v1.03, and bingo, the problem went away. The video below was shot this morning. The only change to the setup was the switch back to v1.03. I've had these same issues with every version from v1.5 on.

So, until you guys figure this out, I will continue to recommend to our customers that they use v1.03.

-- Gary

 

[cobda]

Hi,

i have the PH AV200/360 and had problems with the horizon going off while jawing. In tried all Firmwares available but there wasnt any change at all.
I tried different mounting positions and nothing changed.
Then finally i mounted the board exactly like you can see it in this video from HF. Now the horizon stays pretty much the same while yawing.

I dont have a camera mounted yet and the copter is not ready to fly, so it might change with everything set up.
For right now it is ok.

But why is it like that? For some people it works for some not.

 

[RancherPete]

I have tried resetting, re-calibrating, etc., but with v1.7r2, I even get yaw coupling with everything off except power to the Naza flight controller and the HFG board. Withe board basically pointing north, at initialization, if I manually yaw left, the gimbal rolls to the right. Yawing back through north, it levels out, but if I continue yawing to the right, now it tilts back. Very repeatable. :dread:

I went back to v1.03, and bingo, the problem went away. The video below was shot this morning. The only change to the setup was the switch back to v1.03. I've had these same issues with every version from v1.5 on.

So, until you guys figure this out, I will continue to recommend to our customers that they use v1.03.

-- Gary

I had all of these very same problems and explained this numerous times in the threads as well as to Hoverfly over a period of several weeks. During this time they offered no solution or suggestions other than to revert to 1.03 despite my constant begging. I went back to 1.03, this is where I am now, but it still did not solve the issue I was having with a crooked horizon. I mentioned on the threads that I was waiting for a small shielded box to arrive to see if EMI and/or RFI might be contributing to this horizon issue. The box came, I installed the HFG board in the box, I mounted it on my Hexa and the problem was completely resolved, I posted photos and informed HF of my results. Hoverfly didn't bother to ask for a single detail about this box or what I had done to seemingly resolve an issue that has simply been driving people nuts, including myself. This is the reply I received:

Thank you for the update on your situation. I am glad to hear that you are seeing improved performance with the addition of the case.

The HoverflyGIMBAL, like our flight controllers, is offered as an OEM part rather than consumer goods. That said, we do have plans to include protective cases for the next iteration of our product line as we shift towards consumer-oriented electronics.

"An OEM part"? Are they kidding? Is this to suggest that it is up to someone else to put this thing in a proper enclosure because it is an OEM part? This just gets better by the minute.

Here is the bottom line (in my experience): The HFG board now does an average job of stabilizing the AV200 gimbal on my DJI S800 Hexa. Since I added the shielded box the HFG now seems to function "properly" although not fast enough with this gimbal to provide acceptable results. Post stabilization in Adobe Premiere Pro can resolve much of it but the horizon problem is gone and it left the moment I put the HFG in a shielded box. It is not great but I will live with it until the Spring and then buy whatever is the best thing out there at any price with hope that I can stop farting around with this and get some work done. For a few buck you can all prove me right or wrong but I can't imagine that it is not worth a try to put the thing in a shielded box or wrap in in MU-metal and see if you have the same surprisingly satisfying results that I had. It's the cost of an APC prop and a few minutes of your time. Good luck.

Like Forrest Gump said; "and that's all I have to say about that".

View attachment 7676

View attachment 7677

 

[DucktileMedia]

Can you give us the part # and where you got it? I had someone come by the shop the other day and just decide to grab my Heli by the gimbal to feel how heavy it was without asking first. He grabbed right where the gps board was. I still don't understand the thinking behind leaving out a nice plastic enclosure when manufacturing sensitive electronics. But clearly "we" are the paying test pilots for all of this stuff. For a company to acknowledge that you may have found a solution would be an insult to the company. So don't expect a thank you. In the next 5 years you may see precise GPS holds and plastic boxes. For now we get an awesome flight controller. And I am happy enough with that.

 

[RancherPete]

Can you give us the part # and where you got it? I had someone come by the shop the other day and just decide to grab my Heli by the gimbal to feel how heavy it was without asking first. He grabbed right where the gps board was. I still don't understand the thinking behind leaving out a nice plastic enclosure when manufacturing sensitive electronics. But clearly "we" are the paying test pilots for all of this stuff. For a company to acknowledge that you may have found a solution would be an insult to the company. So don't expect a thank you. In the next 5 years you may see precise GPS holds and plastic boxes. For now we get an awesome flight controller. And I am happy enough with that.

Hi Yuri:

I bought my box from this company listed beneath. They were great to deal with but the are a wholesale injection molding company so I don't know if they will offer individuals a one-off. Just go to their site and look for the box like the one in my attached photo and be sure to opt for the shielding and go from there with Mike. The ironic part is that they are right there in Florida (like HF) so I had visions of putting the two together simply as a favor to all. That is what I do. I put the right people together to the benefit of all parties and while it has been very lucrative over the years (in more traditional business circles) it takes the right kind of people to make it work. If one doesn't really want to approach their problem with an open mind, and then be open minded about the solution, they will never agree to engage someone from the outside to help solve that problem. I deal with it every day and I watch companies go under for this very reason. In the real world you just solve the problem in any way you can out of respect to your customers and to the benefit of your bottom line. I have had the best solutions come from the most unlikely people and places. I was going to send 10 of these boxes to HF for their general testing but the reaction I got to my email just did not warrant any further comment or consideration, just this last one because you and others have helped me on this forum. Regarding HF and others like them; as soon as I get even a whiff of arrogance, especially after having problems with their product, I'm gone.

Good luck and thanks again for your help along the way.

SIMCO - Standard Injection Molding Company, Inc
Phone: 1-800-780-9090
Fax: 1-863-452-6200
URL: simcobox.com

 

[S11D336B]

Hello,
I'm sorry to hear that you are frustrated. I think that email was communicating to you that we eventually plans to sell boxes for the HoverflyGIMBAL rather than making the customer purchase them. Probably just not worded very well.

We did release a new version of the firmware specifically address this issue, we are working on it. I'm sorry that this didn't fix the issue for you.

As an engineer, here is my 2p. I don't think EMI has anything to do with the problem you are seeing on the HoverflyGIMBAL. Here's why. The sensors used to make the correction for roll/pitch aren't affected at all by EMI. Here's how you test this. Hold a magnet (a very strong source of EMI) about 1" from your HoverflyGIMBAL with it powered on. Look for any change in pitch / roll.

Bottom line is we need your help to figure this out as we haven't been able to make it happen on any of our test setups.

If this is something that you can make happen simply by holding it, it is most definitely related to a combination of a problem with our firmware and the specific configuration of your HoverflyGIMBAL.

The first thing I would do is to flip your HoverflyGIMBAL to a different mounting orientation, then test it just with your hands using v1.7 firmware. I've noticed that all the people who have issues with roll/yaw coupling have their HoverflyGIMBAL mounted horizontally. All of our camera mounts require a vertical mount. If you can use the mounting orientation used in this video, it would make for a good data point. If this fixes the problem, then we know where to look in our firmware.

Thanks for helping
-George

Hi Yuri:

I bought my box from this company listed beneath. They were great to deal with but the are a wholesale injection molding company so I don't know if they will offer individuals a one-off. Just go to their site and look for the box like the one in my attached photo and be sure to opt for the shielding and go from there with Mike. The ironic part is that they are right there in Florida (like HF) so I had visions of putting the two together simply as a favor to all. That is what I do. I put the right people together to the benefit of all parties and while it has been very lucrative over the years (in more traditional business circles) it takes the right kind of people to make it work. If one doesn't really want to approach their problem with an open mind, and then be open minded about the solution, they will never agree to engage someone from the outside to help solve that problem. I deal with it every day and I watch companies go under for this very reason. In the real world you just solve the problem in any way you can out of respect to your customers and to the benefit of your bottom line. I have had the best solutions come from the most unlikely people and places. I was going to send 10 of these boxes to HF for their general testing but the reaction I got to my email just did not warrant any further comment or consideration, just this last one because you and others have helped me on this forum. Regarding HF and others like them; as soon as I get even a whiff of arrogance, especially after having problems with their product, I'm gone.

Good luck and thanks again for your help along the way.

SIMCO - Standard Injection Molding Company, Inc
Phone: 1-800-780-9090
Fax: 1-863-452-6200
URL: simcobox.com

 

[GGoodrum]

That's all well and good, George, but why don't you try orienting the board in a horizontal position, to see if that causes the same issues we are seeing. Also, it doesn't explain why, for instance, that I don't have the same problem with v1.03 What's up with that?

I've been an aerospace systems engineer for 40 years. I started out life as an assembly language software engineer, working on a number of army and navy helicopter programs. I used to chase these same sorts of inertial-based issues going back to the early '70s. I've seen this exact sort of weirdness and some of it never was completely defined. We'd change the code, in some case, to get around the problem, but more often than not, it was EMI-related. I know you have no explanation, at this point, but what irks a lot of us is that you keep expecting us, your customers, to do your trouble shooting. I believe it is your setup(s) that might be the exception here. Just look at the number of people here who have reported these same issues. It is unacceptable, in my mind, that you don't take a more pro-active position in doing everything it takes to solve this continuing problem.

CLearly, something changed when you went to v1.5, and upward. The clue, in my mind, has to be in that area. Regardless, there is clearly something that is hardware-related. Our hope is that even if there is design "anomaly", that you guys will be able to come up with a workaround in the firmware. I've already sold a pile of these boards for you guys and I'm hoping that can continue.

Gary Goodrum
TPpacks.com

 

[DucktileMedia]

I do have to say that for some reason my hovergimbal/av200 has worked amazingly well right out of the box. I just stuck some double stick tape to the side of the frame and did some checks in the software but it works MUCH better than what Hoverfly's demo video shows. I was actually surprised to see how slow the gimbal reacted in this video compared to mine. I have nothing special, just running at 6.5 volts as most of us are. As for orientation, what happens when we start using the board on the camera tray and ditch the pots? Is having the board horizontally mounted tot he bottom of the tray going to be an issue? I know thats down the road but just curious if the same issues will arise.

At least HF doesn't have 200 pages of firmware issues like the Skyline does. Thats just insanity.

 

[RancherPete]

Hello,
I'm sorry to hear that you are frustrated. I think that email was communicating to you that we eventually plans to sell boxes for the HoverflyGIMBAL rather than making the customer purchase them. Probably just not worded very well.

We did release a new version of the firmware specifically address this issue, we are working on it. I'm sorry that this didn't fix the issue for you.

As an engineer, here is my 2p. I don't think EMI has anything to do with the problem you are seeing on the HoverflyGIMBAL. Here's why. The sensors used to make the correction for roll/pitch aren't affected at all by EMI. Here's how you test this. Hold a magnet (a very strong source of EMI) about 1" from your HoverflyGIMBAL with it powered on. Look for any change in pitch / roll.

Bottom line is we need your help to figure this out as we haven't been able to make it happen on any of our test setups.

If this is something that you can make happen simply by holding it, it is most definitely related to a combination of a problem with our firmware and the specific configuration of your HoverflyGIMBAL.

The first thing I would do is to flip your HoverflyGIMBAL to a different mounting orientation, then test it just with your hands using v1.7 firmware. I've noticed that all the people who have issues with roll/yaw coupling have their HoverflyGIMBAL mounted horizontally. All of our camera mounts require a vertical mount. If you can use the mounting orientation used in this video, it would make for a good data point. If this fixes the problem, then we know where to look in our firmware.

Thanks for helping
-George

George: I guess I misunderstood this part of your manual as seen in the screen shots below that makes reference to magnetic interference. There are also many individuals who have commented on the fact that the placement of the board relative to their camera and other electronics effects the operation of their HFG. A shielded box seemed to make sense. I was so desperate for a solution that I would have waved a dead cat over it if I thought it might help. In any event: I just re-tested the HFG with and without the shielded box. If I fly with the unit contained within the box I have no issues with my horizon. As soon as I attempt to fly without the box I am right back where I started: a horizon that is very quickly off by more than 10-15 degrees.

I appreciate your comments above, George, but they would have meant a whole lot more if they had been made to me directly and at any point during the past 3 months when I was desperate to get some assistance with this prior to the end of my Fall photo season. I contacted your company through Ben many times voicing all of the issues I was experiencing and always expressed the urgency of my situation. The only "tip" I was offered was to go back to 1.03 and then, just last week, to go to 1.7. Nothing in between. I know that you are now trying to help me with your comments above, and I appreciate this, but it is too little too late and this is no way to conduct business and still expect any customer loyalty. In very simple terms: I am a guy who bought your product. It did not work as advertised. I practically begged you people for help. I never got any. I'm done. What other outcome could you possibly expect?

Here are two screen shots from your user manual that specifically make reference to interference:

View attachment 7691
View attachment 7692