mikegrundvig
Member
Hi all; I bought a Hoverfly Pro right after it came out and have been using it happily since. I also bought a GPS unit when the pre-order was available. If you have seen a few of my posts on RCGroups you'll know I've not been using the GPS as I've not been pleased with it's consistency. With that said, it's been quite a while since I last gave it a shot (pre 4.x release) so I'm looking to give it a shot again with my Y6. Since lots of people have opinions on how to properly set things up and configure them, I'm posting my plan here and looking for feedback. I figure this might be useful for new HFP users as well. This is my plan, in order:
---Initial Build sans GPS---
1) Build copter, mounting motors and electronics but NOT soldering speed controllers to motor or tying receiver to flight controller.
2) Configure radio as defined in the HFP manual section "4.3.1 Basic Flight Requirement"
3) Flash the HFP with the latest firmware
4) Attach the receiver's throttle channel to the HFP throttle input
5) Follow the directions here: https://hoverflytech.zendesk.com/entries/21447258-throttle-range-setup-for-hoverflypro (skip steps 9 and 10 for now)
6) Solder one wire from each speed controller to each motor
---Speed Controllers/Motors---
7) Temporarily attach the other two motor wires to it's speed controller
8) Attach the throttle channel on the receiver to the speed controller
9) Configure the speed controller using the radio to the settings defined in the HFP manual under "4.5.4.1 ESC Configuration"
10) Configure the throttle endpoints on the speed controller using the speed controller manual
11) Use the throttle on the radio to test the motor direction. If it's direction matches the HFP manual section "4.2 Configurations" then permanently solder the motor leads, if it's wrong, flip two leads and solder them.
12) Repeat steps 7 through 11 for each motor/speed controller pair
---Finish Initial Setup---
12) Wire the receiver into the flight controller
13) Wire the speed controllers into the flight controller
14) Connect the HFP camera ports to camera mount servos
15) Calibrate the camera mount via these directions: https://hoverflytech.zendesk.com/entries/20955538-camera-mount-compensation-setup-for-hoverflypro
16) Setup auto-level via this guide: https://hoverflytech.zendesk.com/entries/21202158-auto-level-setup-for-hoverflypro (skip step 11)
17) Balance props
18) Install props
19) Go fly and set gains as per this section of the HFP manual "5.2.1 Primary and Auto Level Gains"
20) While flying, tune auto-level as the HFP manual "5.7.2.1 How to reduce Drift when using Auto-Level function"
At this point, things should be flying just great with solid AL and silky smooth manual control.
--GPS Setup---
21) Install the GPS board/antenna
22) Flash the GPS with the latest firmware - it must be the same version as used on the HFP
23) Calibrate the compass using the setup client (I assume we can avoid the other two calibrations as they were done previously)
24) Go fly, test position hold, slew, and return to home
The reason for adding the GPS after the copter is already flying is that with my previous GPS problems everyone always wanted to know how it flew without GPS. This way, it will be a fully flying and working copter before GPS is added to the mix.
Anything you pros would suggest to be done differently or in another order? I've built quite a few copters but I usually just wing it and things have generally worked great. But since I've never been happy with the GPS, I'm going to really try and make this work perfectly and miss no steps at all. Thanks much!
-Mike
---Initial Build sans GPS---
1) Build copter, mounting motors and electronics but NOT soldering speed controllers to motor or tying receiver to flight controller.
2) Configure radio as defined in the HFP manual section "4.3.1 Basic Flight Requirement"
3) Flash the HFP with the latest firmware
4) Attach the receiver's throttle channel to the HFP throttle input
5) Follow the directions here: https://hoverflytech.zendesk.com/entries/21447258-throttle-range-setup-for-hoverflypro (skip steps 9 and 10 for now)
6) Solder one wire from each speed controller to each motor
---Speed Controllers/Motors---
7) Temporarily attach the other two motor wires to it's speed controller
8) Attach the throttle channel on the receiver to the speed controller
9) Configure the speed controller using the radio to the settings defined in the HFP manual under "4.5.4.1 ESC Configuration"
10) Configure the throttle endpoints on the speed controller using the speed controller manual
11) Use the throttle on the radio to test the motor direction. If it's direction matches the HFP manual section "4.2 Configurations" then permanently solder the motor leads, if it's wrong, flip two leads and solder them.
12) Repeat steps 7 through 11 for each motor/speed controller pair
---Finish Initial Setup---
12) Wire the receiver into the flight controller
13) Wire the speed controllers into the flight controller
14) Connect the HFP camera ports to camera mount servos
15) Calibrate the camera mount via these directions: https://hoverflytech.zendesk.com/entries/20955538-camera-mount-compensation-setup-for-hoverflypro
16) Setup auto-level via this guide: https://hoverflytech.zendesk.com/entries/21202158-auto-level-setup-for-hoverflypro (skip step 11)
17) Balance props
18) Install props
19) Go fly and set gains as per this section of the HFP manual "5.2.1 Primary and Auto Level Gains"
20) While flying, tune auto-level as the HFP manual "5.7.2.1 How to reduce Drift when using Auto-Level function"
At this point, things should be flying just great with solid AL and silky smooth manual control.
--GPS Setup---
21) Install the GPS board/antenna
22) Flash the GPS with the latest firmware - it must be the same version as used on the HFP
23) Calibrate the compass using the setup client (I assume we can avoid the other two calibrations as they were done previously)
24) Go fly, test position hold, slew, and return to home
The reason for adding the GPS after the copter is already flying is that with my previous GPS problems everyone always wanted to know how it flew without GPS. This way, it will be a fully flying and working copter before GPS is added to the mix.
Anything you pros would suggest to be done differently or in another order? I've built quite a few copters but I usually just wing it and things have generally worked great. But since I've never been happy with the GPS, I'm going to really try and make this work perfectly and miss no steps at all. Thanks much!
-Mike
