RCExplorer.se Baby Tricopter Kit Build Log

[LitterBug]

PB,
I won't disagree that it needs more tuning. I've been trying to run "DEFAULT" settings and this is "beta" testing. I have done some messing around with tuning, but haven't posted much of that up. One thing I've been meaning to do is reduce deadband to 0 and reduce rates. My shaky hands may be contributing some, and I'm not sure how to adjust the PIDs on my fingers... :-O

LB

OH, and whatever you do, DON"T PANIC!!!!!

 

[LitterBug]

Really glad I managed to hit the field with the Baby Tri between storms last night for some more beta testing. @lauka was able to find a bug using the BlackBox log provided. It appears that the servo only had 60 steps of resolution instead of 1000. Might explain some of the notchyness.... Looking forward to the next beta release for some more testing!

Cheers!
LitterBUg

 

[LitterBug]

More TriFlight testing....

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[PsyBorg]

What is your roll pids set to? I am wondering if loosening the I gains on roll would make the tail tilt fight less and soften that waggle a bit for you. Other then that that thing zips around nicely.

Are you bringing them to FFE? Id like to see them lil buggers in action live.

 

[LitterBug]

Oh yeah the Baby Tris will be at FFE. I thought you weren't gonna make it. I already have one potential test drive lined up. Will you be next in line PsyBorg?

Part of the problem was wind yesterday. Still trying to run defaults so @lauka can get an idea how it flies on different setups out of the box. Was too windy to get an in-flight tail tune which can impact it too. Capturing Blackbox logs now too so he has even more data to work with. Testing some 5152 props on the original undermotored Baby Tri payed off. They woke the 2100 motors up.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[PsyBorg]

Yeah I was not due to transportation but someone offered to swing by on the way there and drag me kicking and screaming. Things worked out and I can swing it. I will let the other person claim credit if he wishes but I don't want to say if he does not want to advertise in public should he not want to.

I would love to see it in action and yes I would love to try it but I don't want to risk Bills Law rearing its ugly bald head and doing something evil with your gear. I will have my goggles with me so I can ride along while you rip up the wild blue as I poke you in the ribs with a stick though.

5152 props? that is seriously aggressive. How much torque do them motors put out that they got better with them? You batteries must fully hate you now though I d be willing to bet. My batteries are getting angry with me using 5046 cyclones when temps are above 80 ish.

 

[LitterBug]

The motors on Baby Tri #1 are Edge Racing 2206 2100kv. Not sure at this point why I went with 2100kv instead of 2300kv, but it was one of my first builds. Maybe I wanted it to be tame. LOL. Hindsight my friend tells me I should have gone with 2300s. On the other hand Baby tri #2 has Cobra 2207 2450kv motors. MEH. They RIP but not my favorite motors. Debating upgrading Baby tri1 to F40 2300kv or my current favorite, Edge Racing Light 2205 2480kv. Have a set of those on my AWK210, and absolutely love them paired up with Strix 5x4.5x3 props.

FWIW I am not afraid of Bill's law and LitterBug's law says it's nice to share. Especially with cool peeps like PsyBorg! Think you have seen the way I Fly crash.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

MMmmmmm.... look how nicely the BBlog shows roll oscillation in the motor 1/2 traces 180 degrees out of sync from each other...


Going to drop roll P/D before heading to the field tonight. Hoping for non windy conditions and to actually do some tuning rather than just running defaults. Waggle-B-Gone!

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[PsyBorg]

So I am on the right track thinking I see roll wobble that makes the tail do wonky over correcting and chasing the roll wobble?

 

[LitterBug]

Roll wobble appears cross linked with some pitch wobble, but no servo wobble. Since the rear motor is almost never straight up, that feeds into yaw wobble as well. Need to knock out the roll wobble to get a better idea of what the tail is doing in order to tune that.

 

[JimCR120]

Are you running on BF or CF?

I was on DW's RCE site and he was suggesting the migration over to BF. I haven't done it on my V4Tri yet but with more exposure to the geekspeak of multirotors I'm feeling a little less apprehensive about it.

Thoughts?

Btw, your little tri looks very clean. You'll be in Ohio next month with it, right?

 

[PsyBorg]

Yeah but with the tri any wobbles in the front the tail will chase if my perception of how they would work is correct. Those would have to kind of be fixed before the tail could be set properly I would think. They Really are for mad men hehe .. chasing a tune like that hehe.

And yes Jim LB will be there Wednesday evening as well I believe.

 

[LitterBug]

I'm running TriFlight0.7Beta2 NewYawControl V6, which has been based off BetaFlight 3.1.7. After going to the field tonight and having no correlation to changes made and flight performance, I realized that Motor 1 is the tail motor not one of the front motors, so the coupling is not what I was expecting and was adjusting the wrong stuff in the wrong directions. LOL LOL LOL LOL HA HA HA HA HA

I truly have become a TRI MadMan LOL LOL LOL LOL
HE HE HE HE

Cheers!
LitterBug
HO HO HOHO

EDIT: Jim, I live in Ohio. FFE is 2 hours from my house. The babies will be there unless I blow them up between now and then...

 

[JimCR120]

Wow that close? It's like law that you have to go I think. Looking forward to it.

 

[LitterBug]

A look back from Baby Tri #1

Need to figure out where to move the VTX Antenna when doing this.... and add DOWN tilt....

Next pack facing forward

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

Well nuts. Was trying to redo a few things on Baby 1, check servo slop, bump up the servo voltage, etc... It seems I botched something up. Not sure if I was unsuccessful moving the 000 ohm resistor back on the F3FC, messed up the servo, or who knows what. Thought everything was going fine after getting it back together. Did disarmed tail tune, Tail speed increased as expected. Had it out back, got a good inflight tailtune, landed, disarmed, turned off tailtune, and then started doing some easy flying around LOS acro, then stabilize. At some point it started acting like it was getting blown around while in a hover yet it was dead calm out. Next thing I know, it starts a yaw spin. Dropped throttle, no reaction. Starts heading for the sky. Disarmed... still nothing. At some point it decided to stop and dropped straight down on the other side of the house in the middle of the street. Unfortunately did not have the OpenLog hooked up. Would be real interested to know what actually happened. Knocked tail mech off and creamed the battery. Frame appears OK.
Have a complete backup Baby PDB and F3FC. Think I will order another servo and tail pivot since these had some slop, then start over from scratch. Been meaning to swap the 2100kv motors out for something better. Guess this is the nudge I needed. Glad I have baby 2 as a backup.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[PsyBorg]

Man that is some bad luck mate. It couldn't have been a fail safe as I believe you set them up like quads to just drop. You haven't angered a neighbor who hijacked your signal did you? (bad joke sorry) At least it came down in the street and not someones car window or worse. Possible you pinched a wire when doing the changes and when it rotated one direction shorted or broke a control wire?

 

[LitterBug]

Servo is pretty much borked unless I can get a new top case section. Main output shaft got bent when it hit the ground and the top part of the case that holds the upper bearing got knocked out. Had a set of replacement gears on hand so threw those at it for mocking the rebuild. Can get Baby #1 95% back together and tested on the ground. Hopefully servo will arrive before leaving for FFE. Will get pics and document the rebuild.....

 

[LitterBug]

Baby Tri #1 COMPLETE REBUILD anticipated specs....

Frame: RCExplorer Baby Tricopter
FC/PDB: DTFc (for better native dRonin support)
RX: LemonRX LM0037 diversity
OSD/VTX: Diatone SP3. MinimOSD/VTX MWOSD 1.7
Camera: Runcam Swift with GoPro style lens
V/antenna: TBS triumph
ESCs: Spedix IS 30A
Motors: Edge Racing Light 2205 2480kv
Props: Strix 5x4.5x3
Servo: 25 spline TBD. Turnigy? Blue-Bird? Depends on which arrives in time for FFE
Serial Data logger: OpenLager

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[LitterBug]

BT#1 Scratch Rebuild Time!

So this is the BT1 servo. It is toast in my book unless I can get a new case for it. It was completely locked up after the recent flyaway and smack into the ground. The main shaft was bent and I had a spare set of gears for it. Unfortunately the case is a bit cracked and the top bearing shield area broke off. I'll use it to get everything in place until the new one arrives, but I will not fly with it.


Started the scratch rebuild of RCExplorer Baby Tricopter #1. Got the motors on and the ESCs wired for correct rotation over the weekend. Debating on using a DTFc flight controller or going with the "stock" F3FC Racing and Baby PDB. I'll have native dRonin support with the DTFc. The F3FC is only supported in dRonin by one of the developer's side builds. Both have support with the latest TriFlight (BetaFlight)


Have a variety of servos ordered in addition to the "stock" RCExplorer servo. Takes a while for parts to come from Sweden some times, and I want to have it back together before FliteFest next week. Plan on testing some of the other servos on one of the babies at some point too. Two of the potential servo candidates have faster stats, so it will be interesting to see what affect that has on the overall feel.

Cheers!
LitterBug