LitterBug's dRonin / iNav / Aura5 / ArduPilot / *Flight FC enabled Wingy Thingys

[LitterBug]

I've been doing bench work and indoor testing (no props of course) and am getting ready for outdoor season to begin. Been pretty wet and windy around here, so haven't done any real world testing. I have a DTFc set up with an R9 Mini and dRonin with full telemetry. Will be nice to get battery alerts on this wing rather than flying based on time only. Here's a pic from the initial trial fit. I've since cleaned up a loose strand on the - bat terminal, added silicon grommets to the mount holes, and bolted the FC down to the tray. Have all firmware all configured and set up TxPID which will allow me to adjust the PIDs in flight.

I've also been playing with ArduPlane on a PixFalcon that will go on a 650 quad. I've been using that to re-familiarize myself with APM Planner and QGroundcontrol. Will be using what I've learned with the PX4 based FC to configure ArduPlane on the F405-Wing FCs.

I'm playing with the FlightDeck Lua script on my X9D and it is unbelievably responsive. True Real time feedback on the display.

Cheers!
LB

EDIT: Link to MatekSys Chibios/ArduPilot information http://www.mateksys.com/?portfolio=f405-wing#tab-id-6

 

[LitterBug]

More play today with ArduPilot running on the Matek F405-Wing. I now have full bi-directional Telemetry over the LR FrSky R9 RX. Needed an inversion cable to make the S.PORT work correctly since F4 controllers do not natively do inversion like the F3/F7 controllers do. The F4 processor is actually OLDER than F3, and inversion was added AFTER the F4 came out. Most F4 FCs have one port's RX inverted for SBus input, but no inversion on a secondary port for S.Port telemetry. Rather than building my own inversion cables, I sourced them from Craft & Theory who's LUA script I'm also using on my Taranis. It took me a bit to figure out that UART6 is not powered when on USB power.... So I was left scratching my head trying to figure out why the telemetry didn't work. Fortunately I wised up and added power to the bench test and all is working great.

So all this good LR/Telemetry stuff will be going in to the Strix StratoSurfer that I picked up from @BridgeInspector last year at Flite Fest. Need to figure out which GPS/Compass to throw at it, and start Pluggin-and-playin with the bird.

Cheers!
LitterBug

EDIT: patience.... It has take a bit to get to this point as firmware for the F405-wing and R9 pieces are becoming stable and reliable... :-D

 

[LitterBug]

Playing with a GPS today, lights were on but nobody was home. Turns out that UART3 and UART4 are both enabled for GPS by default, but it was only looking on UART3. Guess which UART I picked? Disabled GPS on UART3 and magically GPS on UART4 started working. :-D I'm using a combination of APM Planner 2 and QGroundControl to do the config and testing. I'm starting to get the hang of the different interfaces again, and think that QGroundControl is the way to go for configuring ArduPilot. I like the flight interface of the older APM Planner, but probably won't be using it much when flying FPV and using FrSky Telemetry. Maybe for playing with planned routes.

Now if I could just find the colorful pin-headers that came with the other F405-wing so I can get them both built up and in the air. Went ahead and Flashed ArduPilot on it, and "fixed" the GPS and telemetry settings. If I don't find the colorful headers tomorrow, this board will get all black. Probably be a cleaner build with three row pin headers instead of single row anyway. Will also make it easier to tell which FC is which (beside which vehicle they're in).

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[PsyBorg]

Yer soooo nerdy

 

[LitterBug]

Yer soooo nerdy

I resemble this remark and run everything on linux. This has kept me from running Mission Planner which currently is only "supported" in windows. Mission planner is the replacement for APM planner and has new features that I've been looking for. I just found a way to run it on ubuntu linux here: https://discuss.ardupilot.org/t/running-mission-planner-on-linux/19100
Will give it a try today. Already found my pins and got my other F405-Wing soldered up and bench tested.

 

[LitterBug]

Finally got around to maidening the Nano Skyhunter last night FPV. It has a DTFc FC running dRonin, but flew mostly under full manual control. Need to bump the rates up on the FC assisted modes. 250 degrees per sec is way too slow. LOL

Also got some time in with my Nano Goblin which is running the same config. it's quite a bit lighter and I had to cut that flight short at 30 minutes due to gusty winds rolling in from pop up storms in the area.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

Been a crazy/busy year with job hunting and family stuff without much time to hobby. Lately I've been doing much more bench testing and config of arduplane, and inav with all sorts of parts collected over the years. I've also been playing around with 1.3ghz and 900mhz Long Range gear. I've updated the Nano Skyhunter to 1.3ghz with OSD and a runcam to replace the AIO 5.8 ghz camera. Have iNav on a BetaFlightF3 with a gps going in a CF racing wing. I'm currently flying in full manual mode with no stabilization. Played around with dRonin stabilization a bit with mixed results. Going to be diving deeper into this as time goes on.

Projects currently going on with all this good stuff:

Strix Nano Goblin (Flying)

FC: AirDTF DTFC​

Firmware: dRonin​

RX: FrSky R-XSR​

VTX: AIO 5.8ghz 100mw​

​

RMRC Nano Skyunter (Flying)

FC: AirDTF DTFC​

Firmware: dRonin​

RX: FrSky R9 Mini (900mhz)​

VTX: RMRC 1.3 Mini 200mw (usa)​

Camera: RunCam Mini​

OSD: OSDoge (mwosd)​

SonicModell CF Race Wing (building)

FC: BetaFlightF3​

Firmware: iNav​

RX: R-XSR​

GPS: RMRC mini​

VTX: RMRC Cricket 5.8Ghz 200mw​

Camera: TBS ZeroZero V2​

Strix Stratosurfer (building)

FC: Matek F405-wing​

Firmware: ArduPlane​

RX: FrSky R9 (full size with diversity)​

Camera: RunCam Eagle​

VTX: RMRC 1.3ghz 400mw (usa)​

GPS: RMRC Mini​

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

Been to the field the last two nights. Some quads, some wings, almost one of my tricopters. (wouldn't arm)

Here's the "nano" buddies at the field Monday night:

Have the BetaflightF3 set up with the Latest iNav, bench tested, and ready to go in the SonicModell CF Race wing

Initial fitting into the frame

Buttoning things up, getting ready to put the wings on:

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

Going to upgrade the Strix Nano Goblin. Have the guts all wired up and ready to transplant.

Part	New	Old
FC	BetaFlightF3	AirDTF DTFb
VTX	RMRC Cricket 200mw 5.8Ghz	AIO 100mw
Camera	Runcam Mini	AIO
RX	FrSky R9 mini	FrSky R-XSR
ESC	20A ESC 2A BEC	10A ESC 2A BEC
GPS	RMRC MINI	None
OSD	iNav Character	None
Firmware	iNav 2.2.1	dRonin
Battery	2S 18650 Li-Ion	2-4S 18650 li-Ion & LiPo

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

Screenshot from the Nano SkyHunter tonight. OSD, camera, and 1.2Ghz vtx have replaced the AIO camera used in the maiden video above. Need to disable the artificial horizon.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

Made some good bench progress the last few days on the Nano Goblin, Nano Skyhunter, and ground station.

The Nano Goblin is now sporting iNav as outlined a post or two back. All the bench config and testing is done so time to re-maiden in full manual mode. After that, it's time to play with the Servo Auto-Trim, Autotune, autolanuch, RTH, etc... :-D

Made a few tweaks to the Nano Skyhunter. Got rid of the artificial horizon, re-arranged OSD fields, and added RSSI to the FrSky link and OSD.

Rebuilt my ground station around a FuriousFPV Dock-King. Now I can swap out the Goggle module on the Dock-king to easily switch all my gear between 5.8 <-> 1.3. One tuner for all my gear. YAY! This will allow me to use my True-D and 1.2Ghz models with any display via a cable, including the Transformers which is my currently preferred headset.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

Tried to do some maidening out at the field the last two nights.... and it has been maddening.. :-( It wasn't all bad as the dRonin Nano Skyhunter has been a solid build and flyer (it better be, I'm on my third) Wanted to re-maiden the Strix Nano Goblin with a BFF3 FC running iNav Monday night... didn't have velcro for the 3S pack, and the 2S pack wasn't heavy enough to get the CG far enough forward. Took it again last night, but it was too windy to put it up. (it gets really gnarly in gusty wind).

Took the Strix Stratosurfer with a F405-Wing running Arduplane, but was having thrust issues, so no go on the one attept we tried to launch. Switched to a different prop, and am going to check the ESC settings to see wuht up wit dat.

Almost ready to maiden the Sonic Modell CF Race wing with a BFF3 FC running iNav. Need to finish mounting the RX, VTX, Camera, and GPS then double check throws, ESC calibration, and initial config.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[man-bot]

Isnt it more simple to just use the sticks on the radio to fly?

You may now return to regularly scheduled programming. Ill be over there >

watching you

 

[LitterBug]

Isnt it more simple to just use the sticks on the radio to fly?

You may now return to regularly scheduled programming. Ill be over there >

watching you

There are days where I think so! :-D I've only been working on these how long now??? LOL

 

[LitterBug]

I initially flew the Nano Goblin and Nano Skyhunter with just a Spectrum RX and AIO camera. Over time i've been pushing the boundary of battery health which "killed" quite a few packs. (ie they have been turned into puffy sag monsters that barely push enough current to light an LED). I had a handful of FCs laying around, so it was easy for me to plop them in and get telemetry/OSD. With the flight time that I get from these birds (over an hour a pack on the nano goblin just cruising around), it has also given me the opportunity to push out further than 100 yards from the field. Now RSSI and battery health need to be closer monitored to prevent the really long walk of shame. Being the geek that I am, I actually enjoy adding the "dashboard" to my birds. Adding GPS just adds more "data" and enables me to get speed, altitude, heading, etc... more data. =-O

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[man-bot]

Id probably do all that too if I could slow down and just cruise around. Still a speed addict atm.

Someday when I can put a plank in the air and keep it there Ill be goin full on hud myself.

 

[LitterBug]

iNav Nano Goblin maiden tonight... but forgot to take my 5.8 Ghz RX for my ground station, so no vid.... >sigh<.... Did get a dusk shot on the table at the field. Should have screenshot the stats page in my goggles too. Max speed 71mph, 14.8 total miles on a charge, 40mah/km.

Need to double check the current sensor calibration. Either I didn't launch with a full battery, or it is off quite a bit.

Cheers!
LitterBug

EDIT: It did AWESOME considering iNav is loaded on a BetaFlightF3 4 channel quad FC. LOL

 

[LitterBug]

>sigh< Pilot error. Make sure you remember which switch gets you back to full manual mode before engaging iNav autotune in case something goes wrong. I got out of autotune, but not back to manual..... spiral of death. Could have been much worse. I can probably revive it with a good deal of Foam-Tac. noze is a bit knocked off.

found 95% of the pieces. Missing a small part of the belly. Will go look for it in better light tomorrow. RX RSSI in the video is 50% of what it should be. It's a known "setting" bug... have fixed it by setting RSSI_max to 50 (sigh) The video RSSI fields are overlaid by the FuriousFPV Dock-King with a True-D 3.9. 5.8ghz clear as day compared to my 1.3ghz setup. But, I don't have any diversity or high gain antennas on 1.3 either.

Gear as flown:
Strix Nano Goblin PNP with alternate 20A ESC
FC: BetaFlightF3
firmware: iNav 2.2.1
RX: R9-Mini f.port 100mw
Vtx: RMRC Cricket 200mw 5.8ghz
Ant: VAS Minion
Batt: Strix 3S 18650
Prop: APC 4.1x4.1
GPS: RMRC mini 180

Ground:
FuriousFPV Dock-King fw 2.8
FuriousFPV True-D FW 3.9
Patch: ImmersionRC LZR Spiro Net (13dbi)
Omni: Menace Pagoda
DVR: HMDVR 720x480

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

Fly, Crash, glue, Crash, glue, fly, rebuild, crash, glue, upgrade, rebuild fly.....

I'll start with a pic of the Nano Goblin with the pieces parts glued back together with Foam-Tac (GREAT STUFF!). For a 70ish MPH hit into a tree trunk, this is a remarkably easy rebuild. There is one chunk of the belly that I have not found. I may just fill it in from scrap from my obliterated nano Skyhunter. The nose was knocked completely off in front of the battery compartment, and the tub was smashed and torn back to that hole that is still there:

All of the wiring is intact. Every connector popped loose rather than ripping wires. (ie battery, camera, VTX)

I am adding yet another iNav build to the fleet. When going through all my tubs, bins, and organizers in a mad fit of reorganization, I found an Omnibus F3 Pro which is perfect for this build. It's going in to my RMRC Franken Nano Skyhunter. This bird is a combination of the remaining usable parts left from the first two Nano Skyhunters that I have obliterated and rebuilt many times. This iNav build has been one of the most Pain in the axe builds I have ever done. If it could go wrong, it did. I have literally pulled everything out of it at least 10 times and re-assembled it, only to find something else at the very core of the build that had to be tracked down. I've gotten it down to the point where I can coax the core out without having to disassemble it. Here's a pic of the core electronics:

Build Specs:

Bird: RMRC Nano Skyhunter PNP​

FC: Omnibus F3 Pro​

Firmware: iNav 2.2.1​

RX: FrSky R9 mini​

GPS: RTFQ Mini 8 (has a compass, but not needed with GPS in plane)​

VTX: RMRC Cricket 200mw 5.8ghz​

Ant: VAS something-or-other. (probably not what is pictured)​

Cam: RunCam micro swift​

Motor: Edge Racing (sunnysky) 2206 kv2100 (Snapped the stock bell tightening the prop. (bottomed out the nut))​

Prop: APC 6x4 pusher​

​

Here it is bench testing. YES!, the Smokestopper did it's job on this build as the VTX wiring had an inversion fault (being colorblind with brown and red wires of similar shade is tuff). Hopefully I'm on the last triple quadruple recheck... The FPV camera is now wonky after getting everything back in the frame. LOL

Cheers!
LitterBug

EDIT: Seriously thinking about building a 3S2P 18650 pack for this build. Should significantly increase Flight-time without knocking max power down too much. Have a bunch of cells recovered from various packs that have plenty of life in them.

 

[LitterBug]

Three packs, and two successful maidens tonight! Two 3S 1300mah packs through the iNav Nano Skyhunter. Got a successful autotrim AND autoTune between the two packs. Flight time is a tad shorter on this one compared to my other skyhunter, but I was flying faster and higher throttle than normal. Had my buddy try out autolaunch on the 2nd pack, and he was thoroughly impressed that it worked. You enable it, arm it, then set the trottle where you want it to start the motor. When iNav detects you threw the model in the air, it waits a predetermined amount of time, then kicks the motor in and autolevels the craft till you take it over.

Thought I had fixed the max_rssi bug on this build, but appears I forgot to save it.... It's 50% what it should be.

Looks like I have the A/Mah dialed in pretty good for this build. 973mah is pretty close to what I put back in the pack. Just need to tweek the iNav Lua script, because it was complaining about 30% earlier than I had told it to.

Now, for the stratosurfer on ArduPlane. I ran it totally on stock config and did not do any autotune or autotrim. Ran about 50% of a 4200mah 3S pack in 20 minutes of flight time. I used the trims on my radio, which I can transfer to the FC settings via Mission Planner. It looks at the Radio values before and after you zero the trims, and makes the appropriate adjustment. It flew so good in full manual mode, I decided to test a few auto modes. leveling, Loiter, Althold, and RTH. All worked flawlessly. So now I need to do a few tweaks on my FPV setup, and then study up on how to do the autotrim, and autotune. Going to test out using waypoints and a scripted flight too.

I never have liked the camera that is currently on it. It is very pixelated. I also get better results with my 5.8Ghz True-D Diversity ground station than the 1.3ghz dipole setup that is on it. So I'll be swapping out the FPV gear in the next day or so and adjusting the OSD to my normal layout. Developing film at the moment. Should get flix posted up later.

Cheers!
LitterBug