MFD setup questions please

[Coyote]

You set the MFD up with me so I don`t know why your settings are wrong. When you say you have the RTH on the wrong switch then all you need to do is go into your mixer page, go to where we saved Manual/Stabilize/RTH mixes.

Edit the so the Switch : value in the mix is which ever switch you want it to be. Same as what you did when you initially set it up.

[Billy_boy_2010]

Mate you very kindly set the fy31 up with me not the MFD.

I don't think its quite right tbh. In the mix on the Tx I just ported the values across from the fy31 but still struggled. I have fiddled about with it like a fool since then. I could never get the fy31 stable/RTH to work but that's either user error or its half broken- it was second hand.

In the mix on the Tx for MFD I have them set up correctly I believe. I think my replacement switches will be a few more days so tonight I will put it back together and try the settings Mark uses.

I love the Taranis but it is fairly complex to understand :)

[Coyote]

Ah I do apologise, it was Flyboysee I went through the MFD radio settings with, I thought it was yourself.

[Billy_boy_2010]

Ah I do apologise, it was Flyboysee I went through the MFD radio settings with, I thought it was yourself.

No probs mate- I would still be scratching my arse surrounded by foam and solder if it wasn't for you :D

Well it seems I was way off with the autopilot.

As a source I had "max" for all inputs on ch5 and 6
As a value I had 100 for everything. Plus or minus in a few areas.

Anyway- I have now mirrored marks settings (different switches) but now the plane is stuck in CIRC mode as soon as I turn it on.

Any ideas? :s

[MarkLloyd]

Hi Billy,

Sorry to hear the settings aren't working.  I can't think why, but to be honest I'd have a problem thinking why.... I spent about 3 days pulling my hair out getting it to work on mine and still didn't fully understand why I was having problems.

on mine I get

Switch C   pos 1    MAN
                pos 2   STB
                pos 3   RTH

Switch  D  pos 1   -
                pos 2  ALT
                pos 3  Circle 

I'm using a cppm input from a D8R - Xp   receiver,   but I'm not sure whether that would have any bearing on settings.
I've got a clip of it cycling throughthe modes from when I was trying to sort the gps problem.
mfd modes

What I did do whilst setting it up was just cycle up and down through the set values around +200 to -200 I think and see how the modes changed on my DVR display as I went.   

If I can think of anything I'll let you know. 

Regards

Mark

[Coyote]

Ok here how I have mine set :

Ch 6
Mix Name : Flight Modes
Source : SC ( Switch you want flight modes to be on I choose Switch C )
Weight : 100
Offset : 0
Trim : Tick
Switch ---
Warning : Off
Multiplex : Replace
Add Delay up : 0.0
Delay Down : 0.0
Slow Up : 0:0
Slow Down : 0.0


Ch5
Mix Name : Stabilized Modes
Source : SB ( Switch you want flight modes to be on I choose Switch B )
Weight : 100
Offset : 0
Trim : Tick
Switch ---
Warning : Off
Multiplex : Replace
Add Delay up : 0.0
Delay Down : 0.0
Slow Up : 0:0
Slow Down : 0.0

On servo page both Ch5 and 6 are

0.0
-100.0
100.0

[Billy_boy_2010]

Thanks so much guys. Between you I have now got the mfd autopilot fully working :)

I did a test flight today and it worked great too. I only really tested RTH and stable but both were pretty good. I had to do a bit more trimming and then I saved everything on landing so the next time it should be damn reliable :)

Thanks again guys. So far I'm dead impressed with it :)

[BigT]

Don't forget one very important feature of the mfd that can have a big effect if not done is remembering to run calibrate joystick if you ever touch the trims during a flight before you try ny auto flight modes. If you don't none of the auto flight modes work properly.
Ask me how I know😊

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Billy_boy_2010]

hi guys

Fantastic weather today so I had 3 great flights with the Zephyr. It was a hoot and many of the features of the MFD were flawless. I didn't need the RTH feature but it was very useful to have it there and I tested it all nicely.

I have a few more questions please

1) Stablity mode is really good with hands off- but changing direction/elevation is very difficult with stability mode. It fights me. Is this normal? I had thought stability mode would work great hands off, but also allow me to perform smooth banking turns in wind by allowing me to control the plane- with the autopilot keeping everything smooth? Even gaining hight in stability mode is near impossible. The only way to move the plane at all in stab mode is to switch to high rates (which makes the plane almost unflyable normally they are that extreme) and this gives me enough servo movement to climb at a decent rate with the stability mode keeping her level or bank the plane much. This cant be right surley?

Also in stability mode she dolphins quite a bit at low-medium throttle. What value should i change to reduce this?

2) heading/attitude hold mode is very handy- but it has a lot of control over the throttle. It was really hammering the throttle a few times but this may be because i have set the min speed too high......It seems altitude mode is much the same as stability mode- except it controls the throttle?

3) RTH is great- although it pulses the throttle a lot. Again I may have set the min speed a bit high- but it seemed to do it a fair bit even when it was on a straight path?

4) for both RTH and heading/attitude hold the autopilot seems to place emphasis on GPS speed rather than the pitot tube when matching its min cruise speed (which i probably have a little too high at 60km/hr). This meant that is was pulling very high current at times and wasn't that efficient.

5) the pitot tube isn't the most accurate i suspect. When i first turned the plane on it was registering 220kmhr but after calibration it did seem off by 20-30k a few times. It may have been windier higher up i suppose. Stuopid question but does the entire tube, including the flexi rubber bit, need to be 100% straight? I have a very slight kink (snigger) in mine i believe.

Phew- it was a fantastic day and the plane is 90% there now- I would love some advice on the above to get it to 99%

Thanks :)

[Coyote]

1) Stability mode is really good with hands off- but changing direction/elevation is very difficult with stability mode.

Go into OSD menu of AP and change, Max-Roll, Max pitch-up, Max pitch-Down to give yourself more movement.

2) heading/attitude hold mode is very handy- but it has a lot of control over the throttle.

In Heading lock mode your throttle input only trims the cruise speed. As you move the stick up and down from center stick you will see the cruise speed increase or decrease.

3) RTH is great- although it pulses the throttle a lot. Again I may have set the min speed a bit high- but it seemed to do it a fair bit even when it was on a straight path?

That`s your settings and your values you have entered. If your minimum throttle spins the prop that slow it actually creates drag and slows it down then it will be constantly fighting your min throttle value to keep at cruise speed.

4) for both RTH and heading/attitude hold the autopilot seems to place emphasis on GPS speed rather than the pitot tube when matching its min cruise speed (which i probably have a little too high at 60km/hr). This meant that is was pulling very high current at times and wasn't that efficient.

With airspeed plugged in it should be following the airspeed values not the gps values, but having said that it sounds like you had the airspeed wrongly calibrated anyway so it wouldn't have worked anyway.

5) the pitot tube isn't the most accurate i suspect. When i first turned the plane on it was registering 220kmhr but after calibration it did seem off by 20-30k a few times. It may have been windier higher up i suppose. Stupid question but does the entire tube, including the flexi rubber bit, need to be 100% straight? I have a very slight kink (snigger) in mine i believe.

The pitot tubes are accurate, as long as you have installed it correctly and there are no kinks in the tube. The tube does not have to be perfectly straight, as long as air pressure can pass unobstructed down it it will function. If it has not been positioned correctly then buffered air can hit the static inlet and knock your reading out. Calibrating it in windy conditions will also give a false and inaccurate calibration. 

[Billy_boy_2010]

Ian that's fantastic thanks so much. Will make the adjustments and report back :)

One more question- what causes the dolphin-ing at low-medium speed?

Weather was just fantastic today. 5-8mph wind and pure sunshine :)

[Coyote]

That could be pitch P value or alt P value bud

[Billy_boy_2010]

Great will have a tinker!

[BigT]

You will find a lot of tuning advice here
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1982275

Big tip calibrate the asi before every flight but only after it warms up and we made a transit cap to go over ours so it didn't get blocked up in transit, we use this the block the pitot when we calibrate


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Billy_boy_2010]

Thanks for the link and the Petot tip- will make a cover for it as you suggest.