PIDC 1 Issue: Quad wont flip in Rate Mode

[anglovirtual]

Hi all,

I'm a newb on here (1st post) and fairly new to multi rotors, but not RC in general.

I'm having an issue with my Emax Nighthawk Pro 280 quadcopter that I could do with some help with.

Since I bought it I have been flying using PIDC 0 in Acro/Rate mode. The quad flys ok (if you can call PIDC 0 'ok' in general!), but I didn't like the oscillations I was getting once I stated to increase roll/pitch rates.

Yesterday I decided to switch to PIDC 1 to get a more 'locked in' feel that people talk about with that. The quad flies fine in this mode and does feel a lot more locked in vs PIDC 0, but I now have one BIG issue:

In Acro/Rate mode the quad wont do flips/rolls anymore! Its like its somehow in Horizon mode again (yuck!), and I cant seem to work out why ??

My PIDC 1 settings in Cleanflight with a stock Nighthawk Pro running 3S are:
(P, I, D settings are left at default)
Roll Rate: 1.0
Pitch Rate: 1.0
Yaw Rate: 0.0
TPA: 0.00
TPA Breakpoint: 1500
Throttle MID: 0.50
Throttle Expo: 0.00
RC Rate: 0.10
RC Expo: 0.00

I'd be really grateful for any help on what I'm doing wrong.
Thanks!

 

[razor02097]

Check your modes tab. Make sure horizon mode is either off or on a switch where the range is set only when the switch is active.

 

[makattack]

Yah, my guess is that you're actually in angle mode. I know that you can still flip/roll in horizon mode if you full stick it. As soon as you center though, it'll level out. Yah, I've been caught in the past with having a mode inadvertently set either with the TX programming or in the cleanflight config. Welcome to the forums!

 

[anglovirtual]

Thanks for the welcome and advice.
I'm pretty sure its not a setting in my TX as I switched back to PIDC 0 when I was having the issues and I could flip and roll no problem.

I double checked my 3-way switch config in Cleanflight and all the flight modes seem to be assigned just the same as PIDC 0, so it looks like I was in rate mode on PICD 1.

Can you see anything in my settings that might cause it? I wasn't sure if my RC Rate and Expo were set too low??

Thanks

 

[Ocean]

Your settings are very interesting, the RC Rate is only at 0.1 (default is 1.0). And your roll at pitch rates are very very high at 1.0, (usually its around 0.5).

Did you get them the wrong way around?

I'd go for RC Rate=1 RC Expo=0.65 and Roll/Pitch=0.5 if you want to do a flip. Be warned it will be twitchy.

 

[anglovirtual]

Your settings are very interesting, the RC Rate is only at 0.1 (default is 1.0). And your roll at pitch rates are very very high at 1.0, (usually its around 0.5).

Did you get them the wrong way around?

I'd go for RC Rate=1 RC Expo=0.65 and Roll/Pitch=0.5 if you want to do a flip. Be warned it will be twitchy.

Thanks for that! I was wondering if I'd got my rates mixed up - i'll try those settings.

Unfortunately my quad has now developed a new problem:

I updated to the latest stable version (12) of the Naze firmware in Cleanflight today and now my nighthawk wont arm. The only way I can get the motors to spin is by resetting everything- but they spin regardless of if the quad is armed or not and wont respond to TX commands either. The MOTOR_STOP function is enabled, but it doesn't stop my motors spinning regardless of arming or not. The only way I can get them to stop is by unplugging the battery (!)
The ESC's dont seem to be responding to calibration either, which is a worry...

 

[Darkback2]

Do me a favor...before you do any more testing please take off your props. I've hurt myself way to many times and I don't want you to experience the same. Another thing is if possible post a video showing all of the things that are happening and give a description step by step of what you have done...

Best of luck!

DB

 

[razor02097]

Thanks for that! I was wondering if I'd got my rates mixed up - i'll try those settings.

Unfortunately my quad has now developed a new problem:

I updated to the latest stable version (12) of the Naze firmware in Cleanflight today and now my nighthawk wont arm. The only way I can get the motors to spin is by resetting everything- but they spin regardless of if the quad is armed or not and wont respond to TX commands either. The MOTOR_STOP function is enabled, but it doesn't stop my motors spinning regardless of arming or not. The only way I can get them to stop is by unplugging the battery (!)
The ESC's dont seem to be responding to calibration either, which is a worry...

Are you using an SBUS or CPPM receiver? Does the Naze see the receiver at all? If you're running SBUS make sure to enable a port for it and the proper protocol is selected.

 

[anglovirtual]

Are you using an SBUS or CPPM receiver? Does the Naze see the receiver at all? If you're running SBUS make sure to enable a port for it and the proper protocol is selected.

I'm using CPPM, but I've managed to fix the problem today. Turns out the Min Throttle was set too low for the motors to spin up. Dough!!

Thanks for the pointers though!