What are flight modes?

[ash]

I don't really understand when people talk about GPS or Atti. I obviously know what a GPS is, mine has one sticking up. I've got a DJI 450 with Naza lite and a Devo 10 RC. I only have one switch that does anything (apart from the joysticks). When I flick this switch forwards the VU flashes quickly and I have no control. If the switch is backwards it responds. I just tried using the switch to see if it would fly home but it just started wheeling around the sky, switched the switch again and I had no control at all, so I just had to wait for it to eventually come down and crash into a tree.
Is there any way I can learn what settings to use without watching endless crap youtube videos? I really need an instruction book!
Andy.

 

[akromatic]

first of all you have to assign a 3-position switch on you transmitter for these modes so that you can choose the desired mode with the switch.. then open the naza assistant and by adjusting the end points of that switch in your transmitter you will see that on the flightmode bar in the assistant the flightmodes turn blue/are highlighted when you flick the switch and have the endpoints adjusted correctly, to adjust endpoints read your Tx manual for guidance
gps-mode(the mode to the left on the bar): if you start and fly in this mode you can put the aircraft in a hover on the position/height that you choose and it will hover in that spot / gps-coordinates thanks to the gps-antenna on the multicopter that locks the position.. you can even let go of the sticks and the aircraft will hover until you provide it with new stick input. in gps-mode the aircraft is not so agile and responsive to stick input, you could call it a gentle mode that is good for beginners..you need big stick movements to move the aircraft around..
attitude mode is like gps-mode, the aircraft is highly stabilized by the Naza gyro but without the possibility to keep the aircraft in one spot without stick input, in other words a kind mode that is good for beginners.. but no gps to save you if things go wrong, you have to control the aircraft the whole flight without letting go of the sticks..
manual mode is a mode that gives the aircraft some basic stability but makes it quite responsive to stick input, you could say it is almost as responsive as a rc-heli and almost feels like a rc-heli when you fly.. do not use this mode unless you have some flying skills and with that I mean you should learn to fly the aircraft from you, turn, and fly it towards you without hesitation. If you are not there yet, practise in gps or attitude mode.. if you are a somewhat skilled rc-heli pilot manual mode should be a walk in the park..

 

[ash]

Thanks for that comprehensive reply. I only have one switch that does anything and on the bar, the three positions give me GPS, A and M, however, in the bottom right corner the GPS setting says GPS Attitude and the other two settings say failsafe. None of them are blue on the bar.
If I switch the switch in flight, it just circles around, but if I put the switch back to GPS, I don't regain control, nothing works, and I just have to wait for it to come down anywhere it likes. If I turn the transmitter off then I believe the failsafe does sort of work.
I've looked in the Devo manual but I can't find anything about endpoints. What does that mean?

 

[akromatic]

end points are numerical values that define the "borders/limits/travel limits" within which a switch or a knob on a Tx can move, not physically but virtually. that means that you can adjust the "borders/limits" of every position on your switch in your transmitter so that each mode is highlighted blue on the naza assistant bar when you flick the switch. by adjusting your end points you will be able to highlight all three flight modes in the naza assistant.you need to find a menu in your transmitter where you can adjust the limits. I am not familiar with the Devo but if it is a computer radio that adjusting option must be present..

 

[ProPilotWannaBe]

Ash, I found your manual online and the term they use is "travel adjust" (page 30). You need to adjust the travel adjust of the channel you have associated with this switch so that you get one of the three main areas (GPS, Attitude, Manual) highlighted in blue for each position of the switch. Do not fly your MR until you got this configured correctly. Your next step would be to try and program your Devo so you can trigger with a different switch to get the Failsafe region highlighted.
I also wanted to emphasize what Akro said, and don't try and fly in Manual until you have mastered Attitude. But I encourage you to teach yourself how to fly in that mode, but if you don't know what you are doing in that mode, you'll find yourself flipping the MR and crashing it. Think of it as an acrobatic mode.

 

[ash]

Thanks for the updates. I will have a go at the settings. It actually won't fly at all in anything but GPS mode. When the switch is the other way, i.e. manual, it won't arm the motors, I just get a very rapid flashing amber LED.

 

[gpforet]

That because of yoru travel limits. Sounds it's switching from GPS/Manual/Failsafe.

 

[ash]

Not a clue what's going on here. I can get into the function menu on the Devo to adjust travel but then WTF next? Elevator, aileron, Aux2 Aux3, up to Aux 5? Nothing applies to setting anything in Naza lite, i.e the blue bar. At least I have no manual mode so there shouldn't be too much danger. Do I have to go off and study for a degree in nerdism before I can fly it? Sorry for the rant, but I need to find some clear concise instructions somewhere. I've flown it a few times but the thing that really worries me is that if I accidentally flick the mode switch to what should be manual, I'm stuffed, no control, nothing.

 

[gpforet]

It helps

So, let's start with the obvious. You're going to have to take the time to learn your equipment. Knowing how to program your transmitter is kinda important. Once you've gotten to the travel adjustment screen, with the NAZA powered up and plugged into your USB port and NAZA Assistant running, adjust the channel assigned to the 3 position switch by making changes to the U and D settings (default is 100%) until the 3 positions align in the NAZA software with the way you want the flight modes to function. I don't use failsafe so I adjust mine so position 1 is manual, position 2 is attitude, and position 3 is GPS. It's up to you what modes you want to use.

Many of us have spent months researching, months building and testing, more time repairing and fine tuning, and many, many flights to get things working the way we want them to. It's gonna take time and study and practice to become comfortable. Patience and determination is key.

I sometimes feel that I've got a master's degree in nerdism (as you put it).

 

[CdA D]

As gpforet said, Many of us have months into our equipment. If you take your time it will come to you. In the meantime of you want to learn to fly, an inexpensive way to do that is to get a RTF micro quad. I fly and octo and train with a Blade MQX. Great way to learn and hone your skills. If you crash it isn't as expensive. l've been flying for 4 months and I can't tell you how easy it is to fly the octo after working with the quad, away, towards you and side ways. You need to learn how to fly in any direction since the MR can. You can find them on line or some hobby shops have them. Should be around $150.00 for a RTF. You can learn to fly and take the time that is required to learn your DJI 450. Be patient. We all had to pay our dues.

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

...and please don't just take off and start pressing switches!!!! Know what they do first and check they work.

There is no such thing as 'Ready to Fly' that just means all the parts are included.

These things can still slice your face or that of a kid. Play safe.

Cheers!

 

[ash]

Thanks for some (slightly patronising) replies. Perhaps I should give some more info, maybe I didn't make it clear. I'm flying it quite happily in GPS mode, away from me, towards me, round in circles, different heights. I'm also expecting to do quite a deal of practice before I can get rock solid video from different angles but I don't need Page 1, learning to fly. That's not the issue.

I know how to program the TX, I know how to use Naza Assistant, I know about travel adjust but I still only have one flight mode, GPS. My U channel is connected to AUX1 on the Devo RX but there is no AUX1 on the Devo TX, just AUX2-5. So I'm at a loss to know how I can program the channel if it's not there.

When its powered up and I select either Manual or Failsafe position on the switch, the motors will not arm, I just get a rapid flashing amber.

When I'm flying and select either M or F, it goes to max motor speed and I lose any comms. It just circles until it wants to come down.

I did solve the mystery of losing control after powering the TX off and on in flight. That is because at a distance the auto binding on the Devo doesn't work reliably. Having now set a fixed ID it doesn't have that problem, you can turn off, turn back on again and regain control.

Hope someone might be able to help specifically with travel adjust on Aux1 channel on the Devo10.

Thanks again.

 

[gpforet]

Aux 1 is identified as "Gear" on the Devo10

 

[ash]

Thanks for that. Can I ask how you program that to give 3 modes? Changing the settings for "Gear" in travel adjust doesn't do anything when I'm connected to Assistant. It does move to the manual part of the bar, but it doesn't go blue, should it?

 

[ProPilotWannaBe]

Can I ask how you program that to give 3 modes? Changing the settings for "Gear" in travel adjust doesn't do anything when I'm connected to Assistant. It does move to the manual part of the bar, but it doesn't go blue, should it?

You're on the right track. If moving your three-position switch moves the slider around, all you need now is to adjust the endpoints, or the Travel Adjust as it's called on your transmitter. Moving the switch to the center position is hopefully setting the middle selection ("Attitude") to blue. Or can you describe to us where the slider ends up for each of the three switch positions? Simply put, the switch in 1 position will transmit the maximum number you have set for your Travel Adjust in one direction, position 3 will transmit the maximum in the other direction (again, based on the Travel Adjust setting), and the position 2 of the switch will split the two values. So that's why you're trying to set those Travel Adjust numbers so that positions 1 and 3 of the switch land smack in the middle of the blue regions for those Flight Modes.
I hope this is helping, and I hope you're not feeling like I'm patronizing you. I just trying to understand what you are seeing in the Assistant Software when you move the switch around.

 

[ash]

You're on the right track. If moving your three-position switch moves the slider around, all you need now is to adjust the endpoints, or the Travel Adjust as it's called on your transmitter. Moving the switch to the center position is hopefully setting the middle selection ("Attitude") to blue. Or can you describe to us where the slider ends up for each of the three switch positions? Simply put, the switch in 1 position will transmit the maximum number you have set for your Travel Adjust in one direction, position 3 will transmit the maximum in the other direction (again, based on the Travel Adjust setting), and the position 2 of the switch will split the two values. So that's why you're trying to set those Travel Adjust numbers so that positions 1 and 3 of the switch land smack in the middle of the blue regions for those Flight Modes.
I hope this is helping, and I hope you're not feeling like I'm patronizing you. I just trying to understand what you are seeing in the Assistant Software when you move the switch around.

Hey thanks, that's very helpful, I feel like I'm on the right track now. Thanks for being so patient. My bar in assistant is divided into segments | GPS | Fail-Safe | A | Fail-Safe | M |

With the switch towards me it's bang in the middle of the GPS segment. With the switch in the middle its in the A segment, slightly to the right of centre. With the switch away from me its in the M segment, slightly to the right of centre.

When its on GPS, the bottom right text says GPS Attitude, when its on A the text says Fail-Safe, when its on M the text says Fail-Safe.

At no point are any of the segments blue.

Now if I go into the Devo, to the Function Menu > Travel Adjust > Gear , it's set on +100% and -100%. Changing these values (even dramatically) does nothing in Assistant. The switch is actually labelled Mix, not Gear, so maybe I'm trying the wrong channel.

Thanks again.

 

[ash]

Just gone through the menus and there isn't an adjustment for "Mix"

 

[gpforet]

Now we're getting somewhere. So right now the transmitter is configured that Gear is designated as a mix channel. From the Device Output screen, Select Gear. Where is says MIX, change that to the switch you want to operate the flight mode (I suggest a 3 position switch). Right now is sounds like it's set to MIX, which means it mixes the inputs of 2 controls. Once you've assigned it to the switch you want to use, then you should be able to set travel limits.

 

[ProPilotWannaBe]

When its on GPS, the bottom right text says GPS Attitude, when its on A the text says Fail-Safe, when its on M the text says Fail-Safe.
At no point are any of the segments blue.

Sounds like we're getting there, and that gpforet is the man when it comes to your transmitter. He'll walk you through how to set the adjustments, but you do want to ensure you get the segments turning to blue, and the text below matching it.

 

[ash]

Hey, a million thanks, guys! I worked it out, with generous help from you all. It wasn't the Gear channel, It was the Flap channel. I've managed to set the endpoints and get the blue bars for GPS and M. Still couldn't get the A right so I went into the Flap mix settings and there it was, the midpoint, which I've now adjusted. The upshot being that I now have three modes, I can arm the motors in all modes and all seems to be right with the world. Now, dare I try manual?
BTW, one simple question to end. What's the difference between GPS and GPS Attitude?
Thanks again.