Picloc 3x setting experience etc.

[redridinghood]

Received my unit yesterday. I am having some trouble geting it connected to Picloc toolz. I managed to get it connected once.
I just browsed the toolz pages no changes were made, I didn' even press eprom save.
Now I cannot get it to connect. All I get is a light sequence that finishes with no lights on. The white led does not turn on.
Tried to enter bootloader with a toothpick and I get no change. Same light display.

 

[GeorgeM]

@ PeterD, Don't worry about the voltage issue, It is not being used for anything right now. However I would like to Have a quick Skype with You later this evening and get it working,

@ George(redridinghood)... Can we have a Skype too... this evening ?

does anybody know if it is possible to connect PICLOC 3X via WI232

@Derek.. I have purchased some new bluetooth modules and will try to get this working as well. It would be connected to Port 1 or 2 using a 4 wire connector. Should be the same for WI232 module.

 

[dr ray]

Hi George

Is there a chance to slow the pan servo down, when you go back to home position, or back from the panstabilisation?

2. When i switch the panstabilisation off, i can not move the pan axis any more. The servo makes lots of ugly sound, like, it can`t decide to turn left or right.
Just tell me if its "normal", on the other hand i drive myself crasy, searching for the right setting...:dejection:

not the beauty surgeon

dr ray

 

[aircam4u]

@George... Please help...

and again... :upset:

Hi George,
my Problem:
http://www.multirotorforums.com/sho...-experience-etc.&p=23449&viewfull=1#post23449

I talked to Jochen Braune and he told me that he had the same problem with one of his Picloc's!
You told him a way to repair?

I have the acc cooled with ice spray and was able to find the fault on my Picloc Pro.
Then I tested my second Picloc (only the standart version), and the problem did not exist... It works perfect...
So I think it's a hardware problem on my Picloc 3X Pro! But I need it!
What should I do now?

Please help me...

 

[aircam4u]

Picloc 3X TEMPERATURE DRIFT PROBLEM ?!?

What is with post 406, 407 and 408 ?

 

[Hanson]

Hello everyone,

I received two 3X Pro today. Tried one of them, it was great on tilt and roll axis at the begining, since the pan axis was a bit funny(When I connect the pan servo to the piclock, it kept spinning no matter how I tried, probably I didn't get the right way to do it. and I tried to go back to default settings. then I found that the version became STD(STANDARD) and something like 0055 below on the options page. The unit is PRO, still dont understand why. And the stabalization for all axis were gone, when I ticked them, they will disappear(auto un-ticked).

I also tried to use flashmagic, but for some reason I couldn't make there due to an error stated that autobaud.

And I tried the second unit, the same situation as the first one. It's painful!!! Very!!! Please could anyone help? And I have connection problem with one of the unit as well.

Goerge, if you could see this post by change, please help!!!!!!!!!


Best Regards,
Hanson

 

[airworx]

Hanson.....was your gimbal sitting on the table or hanging from the copter? i had a similar problem but then realized that the pan axis' sensors make the copter spin if the gimbal is sitting on a surface withaout any stick input...once its hanging from the copter it stops and you can adjust the pan settings.
When it starts spinning try lifting the copter up by its booms and see if it continues to spin.

 

[Garagelars]

I´m loosing faith....

My effort to get the best possible setup for my aerials is killing me.
I have gone way way beyond my first thoughts of investment in this, to get where I want, and what I aim for is "perfect"

I´m furious that I cant get better result with this 10.000 dollars equipment..

Sudden jerky tilt and roll moves ruins all video.. My friends get better result with GoPros strapped to the frame on simple quads.

As I aim for perfect, the setup now consists of CineStar 6 DJI WK.M with Cinestar SLR mount, Picloc 3x STD and a NEX-5 on the stand..

The Cinestar flies perfectly with WK-M, no oscillation or vibrations, the mount runs real smooth on the ground but plays tricks with me in the air.

Exactly the same problem that made me discard the mk setup from the beginning.

I am getting short of idéas now... crying for help..
Here is an example from todays test flight, calm wind.. (Password "crap")

 

[GeorgeM]

Im working on a higher resolution firmware... hang on...

 

[Bartman]

I´m losing faith......................................

Garagelars

What is the overall weight of your kopter and what size props are you using? Video quality isn't solely the domain of smooth camera gimbals. Also, is that the bigger cinestar mount?
You may have a combination of too much lift and not enough weight on your mount. Combined, it would be nearly impossible to have things settle down to the point where the video output would be mellow and smooth. I'd guess your whole setup weighs about 9 1/2 pounds and if you're hovering very easily at half throttle then you're going to have to be an awfully good stick to keep the heli from being too floaty and quick to want to bounce around on the props. Which props are you using?
I'm just taking a stab at this but maybe it's part of your problems?
Regards,
Bart

 

[Garagelars]

Thanks for all the suggestions, but I really think we can rule out the copter itself for now..
I believe I have found a real "sweet spot" in the CineStar with WKM combo, and its like standing on a tripod.
No vibration, no oscillation, no matter if hovering, flying around, PH or Atti... The gimbal itself and picloc unit is very well isolated from the frame. Everything is perfectly tuned. I don't use any optical stabilization, since it produces a "slip stick" image when panning or tilting.
The whole idea with a separate unit for gimbal stab, is to and get dedicated gyros from the copter..
I have flown a couple of years with the mk Okto , with different gimbals and got about the same result after hours of tuning.. I also have a thought about the very light NEX, but don't really want to put extra weight on the heli, total weight now is 4.4 kg with everything.
Camera is also perfectly balanced in the gimbal, for optimized servo behaviour..
May be George latest ideas, will aim for this particular issue, we will see.....
//Lars

 

[Garagelars]

Garagelars

What is the overall weight of your kopter and what size props are you using? Video quality isn't solely the domain of smooth camera gimbals. Also, is that the bigger cinestar mount?
You may have a combination of too much lift and not enough weight on your mount. Combined, it would be nearly impossible to have things settle down to the point where the video output would be mellow and smooth. I'd guess your whole setup weighs about 9 1/2 pounds and if you're hovering very easily at half throttle then you're going to have to be an awfully good stick to keep the heli from being too floaty and quick to want to bounce around on the props. Which props are you using?
I'm just taking a stab at this but maybe it's part of your problems?
Regards,
Bart

Hi Bart!
I will for sure play a bit with camera weight before I give up testing.
It is the 2 axis mount as it comes from quadrocopter.us.
I run 11x5 Graupner e-Props that works really well, and are balanced.
I have up till now with previous setups blamed the poor mk cam stabi for the same issue, especially in fast descending when the gyros gets crazy and sends the same disturbed signals to the gimbal. Now with a standalone stabi unit, I hoped to get rid of the copters influence over the gimbal, once and for all.
I have however maybe not figured out the best setting for the picloc yet, since it's impossible to determine if I should use IMU filtering, some smooth or not in this setup.. Not obvious in the instructions anyway..
Any feedback on this would be really nice..

//Lars

 

[graham_newton]

Any thoughts on this device? would need it to work up to 8 volts

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110827369543

 

[Garagelars]

Hi Bart!
I will for sure play a bit with camera weight before I give up testing.
It is the 2 axis mount as it comes from quadrocopter.us.
I run 11x5 Graupner e-Props that works really well, and are balanced.
I have up till now with previous setups blamed the poor mk cam stabi for the same issue, especially in fast descending when the gyros gets crazy and sends the same disturbed signals to the gimbal. Now with a standalone stabi unit, I hoped to get rid of the copters influence over the gimbal, once and for all.
I have however maybe not figured out the best setting for the picloc yet, since it's impossible to determine if I should use IMU filtering, some smooth or not in this setup.. Not obvious in the instructions anyway..
Any feedback on this would be really nice..

//Lars

Here is another short clip showing the problem even better..

Keep in mind that from the pilots view, it looks super smooth! and the gimbal moves visually perfect.
This fact even more boosts my big frustration.. :dejection:
Gimbal and Picloc is separately powered by a CC BEC PRO, set to 6 volts.

(Password "crap2")

 

[Garagelars]

Im now thinking "electrical or electromagnetic interference" from ESC, motors and cables, since it always looks good without motors running (hand held).

How sensitive are the gimbal servos and picloc unit? And what is IMU filtering intended for?

//Lars

 

[Bartman]

lars,
how old are the servos and how much tension do you have on the belts? i'd recommend you turn off the servos and secure the mount so it can't move. fly again and see to what degree the mount is vibrating when it isn't being controlled by anything. i'm guessing, just a guess, that the servos are buzzing the mount. also, you'll fly more smoothly if you put the transmitteer lower against your body and use your thumbs and pointer fingers on each hand. more guessing but it looks like you're flying with your thumbs which make smooth flying more difficult to achieve.
turn off the mount and fly again, let's see how much mechanical energy is actually coming from the helicopter half of the equation.
good luck!
bart

 

[holco]

My experience with the picloc is when using acceleration, less (ore none) is better, in the video it looks like you are using way to much.

 

[Garagelars]

lars,
how old are the servos and how much tension do you have on the belts? i'd recommend you turn off the servos and secure the mount so it can't move. fly again and see to what degree the mount is vibrating when it isn't being controlled by anything. i'm guessing, just a guess, that the servos are buzzing the mount. also, you'll fly more smoothly if you put the transmitteer lower against your body and use your thumbs and pointer fingers on each hand. more guessing but it looks like you're flying with your thumbs which make smooth flying more difficult to achieve.
turn off the mount and fly again, let's see how much mechanical energy is actually coming from the helicopter half of the equation.
good luck!
bart

Hmm.. I am in these situations playing around with the copter for experimental purposes to all extremes in order to reach all thinkable scenarios.
After that, I examine the video and try to determine where I get the most out of the stabilization.

(Dont get me wrong, but Im an experienced pilot and now exactly what Im doing..no offence taken

That is why I turn to the forum with the fact that the jerky spontanious twitches on tilt and roll also appears when hovering, or slowly moving..

The whole setup is brand new, and belts are just tensioned to be "straight" without slack.

-Holco-
I would reply that I have been tuning the Picloc to be somewhat better than the built in stabi in mk (and WK-M), that Ive been using so far.
Since neither mk or WK-M has the accelleration feature, that is the first aspect to crank up a bit.. I have been close to oscillating, but then moved quite far away back from that point almost to nothing on roll, and a little higher on tilt.

Myself, I´m more and more on the theory that the stabi is disturbed in some way, electrical-magnetical or some invisible high pitch vibrations that have unfortunate interference with the sensors..

I will as step one electricaly isolate the whole stabi unit, with a separate battery and preset angles for tilt and roll..(no input from RX), then try something else..

//Lars

 

[holco]

Garagelars,

If you have a Gopro ore simmular wide angle small camera, try recording the mount in action from one of the legs, this will give you lots of info about the behavior of the mount that you normally can not see.

Greetings,

Mario

 

[Bartman]

great idea Mario.

Lars, I trust you know what you're doing so sorry If I came across poorly. Maybe an isolated power supply would help, good luck with it.
Bart