x450 Alien Quad + Naza M Lite Maiden

[Hands0n]

Having been grounded by this morning';s shenanigans where I broke the props on the Teslaquad on it';s re-maiden (is there such a thing?) and the same with the brand new carbon reinforced 8x4.5 props on the F450 quad I decided to pick up a stalled project.

I had ordered bits and pieces along the past couple of months using any spare cash I could muster. My objective being to find the Flight Controller that I could settle down with. Also wanting one that would take care of my FPV aspirations.  The more basic FCs are okay to lark around with, maybe cut some cunning skills, but I also want the comfy settee of FCs.

The X-450 Alien is a Chinese rip-off of course, well at £15 delivered it has to be. The delivered product is surprisingly strong though, it isn';t bad at all.



The component list comprises the following

• Naza M Lite with GPS
• Turnigy D2836/8 1100KV motors
• Hobbyking Blue 30A ESC with SimonK firmware
• Turnigy 9X8CV2 Receiver
• Turnigy 2200mAh 3S LiPo

The assembly took about two hours, it was a bit fiddly in places as I';ve not got the proper power distribution sorted out. A power harness is on its way to me next week. So I jury rigged a previously used power board to get the thing in the air. It worked 

The maiden flight was probably one of the best I';ve ever had. And even the wind had dropped for me this evening. Which was nice.

I started in Atti mode, tried GPS (hold) and had a try at Manual, when a gust of wind caught it and I had to put it down quick (it was low on the ground).

The only thing I can';t set up on this is the RTL on the Naza M Lite. It is greyed out in the DJI Assistant app, yet all that I read says that the ';Lite does support RTL. More research required. Another late night burning the midnight oil then 

Enough of this, here';s the maiden flight, see for yourself

http://youtu.be/SD7qPMoJOqA

NB: This was also my first use of the 9X transmitter. It was okay to set up, nothing flash.

[peter_a]

The naza lite does have RTL (fail safe), you have to play with servo travel limits and mixes .
When you get fail safe to work , remember :
it going to raise to 20 meters , which because I don`t read the manual was a bit of a shock , fail safe is totally automatic it`s no good switching to gps atti mode or trying to control it , the only way to gain control is atti mode .

You lucky fail_safe didn`t kick in on low battery !!!!!
 

[Hands0n]

@peter_a - The Failsafe is disabled and greyed out in the DJI Assistant app, so I believe that it isn';t going to do anything just yet.  I want to set a switch to manually induce RTL, there are plenty of YouTube videos, but if the option is greyed out then it can';t be established.

I';m just at a bit of a loss right now to know how to set this up.  I have the 3-position switch working, set up a Mix to use the Gear switch and it does move the U pointer but not sufficient to invoke Failsafe.  Thats bizarre, I know, but it doesn';t want to move any further than just at the edge of the Failsafe segment either side.

[peter_a]

I had a similar problem with the dx6i , I had to watch a youtube video before I worked out how to get 3 modes.
gps atti and atti on 1 switch and the gear switch to trigger failsafe .

[Hands0n]

Failsafe Set Up - Success 

The big clue was in this YouTube video - despite any of the many others that simply confused or did not work as presented this one set me on the correct path.

http://youtu.be/yKQd_Vu10lE

Basically the steps are
1. Reverse Gear
2. End Points - set PIT to 120% 120% (maximum) - you have to move the 3-position switch to centre to change the right-hand value
3. Set up Pitch Curve for Nor, ID1 and ID2 (the three positions of the switch) to whatever Flight Mode you want - I have Atti, Manual, GPS Atti in that order.
4. Set Aux Ch5 to Gear
5. Got to last menu item Pro <123> and select Prog Mix1
5a. State = ACT, Master = GEAR, Slave = PIT, Uprate 30 (or whatever works for you to activate FailSafe)
Job Done 

While I was in the menus I decided to set up IOC (Intelligent Orientation Control) - specifically Home Lock as a preferable way of bringing the aircraft back to FailSafe (less chance of a fly away).

1. Reverse = AUX (the upper of the two, or second from bottom)
2. Aux - CH - set CH7 = THRO HOLD

Thats it, moving Throttle Hold switch should make the X2 slider move between OFF and Home Lock.
If it doesn';t or you want Course Lock instead then use the E.POINT menu to set the same AUX channel';s endpoint to suit your need.

[rsmith21]

I had my 3 pos switch set for GPS,Atti,Fail safe , got to the field and realised I couldn';t calibrate the compass  back home to set it up again to include Manual rather than fail safe.

Looks very good, I really enjoy my NAZA Lite its a very good product and so easy to fly.

[Hands0n]

Ha! I didn';t even calibrate the compass on mine before its maiden flight.  It was only later, much later, sitting down to some more on-line reading that I suddenly realised ... Doh!    Yet out of the box the compass seems to have been okay.  I';ll be sure to do a calibration on it today! 

Also have paid zero attention to Magnetic Declination orientation of the GPS/Mag. I only came across that long after I';d fitted the thing to the airframe.  For all that the Naza equipment is that particular aspect is completely Heath Robinson, like a complete afterthought.  The permanent mounting really does not lend itself to being manipulated such as is required when setting up or moving about any significant distance.  Silly really.

Today';s plan, after my chores, is to field test the IOC (oddly I';m most excited about that) and then the RTL capability - hopefully no fly aways.  I have an audio "lost aircraft" alarm that I must fit before I take it out today.

[Hands0n]

Fly away, little birdy, fly away

Well that certainly was some adventure today.  As scary as a very scary thing. I thought that I';d lost my Alien quad on its first real outing. 

Today I returned to a field that I used some time back when I was a rank beginner and flying a KK2 in my F450-alike quad.  It was windy as heck there, it always is because of the flat land bordering the Thames getting on towards the estuary. Cliff in Kent to be precise.  And today was no different, with a variable wind sometimes completely still but gusting up quite strong in moments and without warning.  It was, however, much less than the previous time and so I thought I';d chance it.  I had four 2200mAh batteries to burn up before dinner back home.   The intention was to try out the new Naza M Lite, all of its flight modes and generally have a bit of fun. 

Before going out I calibrated the compass - something that I had omitted to do prior to the maiden flight (above). I didn';t want to take any chances with a more open field than my back garden.

Primary Flight Modes
I have set up my 3-position switch for three modes; ATTI, Manual, GPS and these all worked just fine.

ATTI is a doddle to fly with, the aircraft remains responsive and will level out instantly you centre the centre the Yaw, Pitch, Roll sticks. Good to get a breather if things are getting a bit exciting.

Manual does what it says on the tin - it is all down to you. I';m still not confident nor that capable in Manual mode, but will persist until I can say that ATTI is just for when I';m feeling lazy.

GPS Position Hold is near flawless. Considering the amount of gusty wind the Naza controlled the flight position perfectly. If the wind blew it off position it would make its way back in moments.  Very confidence inspiring for when things get "interesting".

GPS is also used in conjunction with IOC (Intelligent Orientation Control) and I must admit that I did have a little trouble with this. I have mine set up for Home Lock, the thinking is that I can retrieve the aircraft easily just by pulling back (down) on the Pitch stick and it will fly back in a bee line to where I am (or more accurately, from where it took off).  I can';t be absolutely sure yet but it seems to need GPS switched on also. I thought it would simply use the GPS anyway. Certainly, it worked better if the flight mode was set to GPS first, before IOC is switched on.

Goodbye little birdie!
During one of the flights I sent it downwind of me to near the end of the field, with the intention of using IOC to bring it back.  But something went wrong and the aircraft continued to be carried by the wind!  I hit the throttle to give it some altitude while I worked out what to do next.  I tried GPS plus IOC but it didn';t seem to be doing anything - the aircraft continue to get smaller, now a tiny dot in the distance, and eventually invisible!!  I really thought that I had lost it, a fly away 

Truth be told, I was in a bit of a panic for a moment  and I do believe that I started to pray to the RC Gods        - and with little else left to do I hit the RTL switch and we stood there gawping at the blue horizon over the nearby housing estate and trees. It was well over 700m from where we were standing by now!

Suddenly my lad said he could hear the aircraft, I couldn';t. Scanning the horizon furiously I could see nothing. And then all of a sudden I could hear it too, and looking up and closer we could see it furiously fighting against the wind and making its way back to us - by now it was probably 300m away and closing steadily. 

Now feeling brave  I sat down on the ground and set the TX down on the grass. There was nothing much left for me to do  but wait it out as the Naza M Lite brought the aircraft to us and gently set it down nearby.

I';m not sure what the moral of this [long] story is. Maybe there isn';t one  ;D

I';ll close with a piccy of my TX with its relevant switches marked up in electrical tape. It saved me having to remember which switch did what.  Red is RTL.  Green is IOC.  The three-position switch is, from top to bottom, ATTI, Man, GPS.

[rsmith21]

  Wow Danny that';s quite an exciting outing but so glad she came home to you, IOC has worked for me in the past when I lost orientation. I';ve never had the need to rely on RTL but it was close to that for me today too, I was flying at the East coast and the wind was gusting, but the NAZA give you so much confidence I took off to get pictures of a local light house. I was in ATTI and flying about quite the thing when It started to get carried towards the sea, I flipped to GPS and she stopped on the spot giving me time to spin and get orientated and just brought her home on GPS.

The location Barns Ness Lighthouse

Loving the NAZA 

[Hands0n]

Err, wow! Bob. That is a seriously great photograph of the lighthouse and the coastline.  I';m sat here pooping myself at the atmospheric scene wondering if I';d have been anywhere near as brave as you    Respect    Not sure I';m ready to fly over the sea - although if I can muster up more flight time with higher capacity batteries I may man up a bit more LOL.

My first experience with RTH was with the HK MultiWii Pro 2 that I bought from Paul on this forum.  I';ve used it many a time as a safety net as I do seem to end up flying on windy days pretty consistently. I think I';ve had one still day ever. 

My biggest problem with flying the things is that I very rapidly lose perspective of the orientation of the aircraft. Coloured arms silhouette and I';m left with a black shape against a bright sky.  Even coloured props are of only a little help. So I do need some "tricks" to help me recover.

I was very impressed with the GPS Position Hold on the Naza M Lite - it almost nails the aircraft in the sky. As you say, giving time to recover brain and work out what to do next.   And the RTL did its work - IOC probably would have also, but I couldn';t see to get the confidence it was working.  Later, playing with IOC it did seem to work - but seemed to only do so AFTER the GPS Position Hold was enabled.  Is that how it is supposed to work?  I';m pretty sure I couldn';t get IOC to work without the GPS Pos Hold enabled.

[Biffa]

I have to say I am very impressed with the Naza Lite. To see it hover and leaning into a strong wind is something else

RTL is always a little leap of faith but it is well worth setting up and making sure that it works. I have got used to flying models at the point of when I can no longer see which way it';s pointing and just rely on it';s shape or what way/direction/stick movement I did last to bring it home.

So much easier to flick a switch and watch the model gain height and come back by itself

[fruitsalad]

the ioc you do need to have gps mode switched on for it too work..
had enough scary moments too with my naza,flick the switches for ioc and back she comes..

[Hands0n]

Thanks fruitsalad, good to know that is exactly what I should be doing.  It was guesswork today, watching it not do IOC, instead following my stick inputs exactly. Then with GPS on it was making a beeline back to me when I pulled the pitch all the way back, warp factor 9. 

I may see if I can sort myself out a mix in the TX to trigger GPS and IOC together just by flicking the IOC switch (Green).

On another note - with RTL, I noticed that there is quite a lag of several seconds after switching RTL (failsafe) before the quad climbed to 20metres and started to head back home.  On the MultiWii GPS Home kicks in immediately the switch is thrown, the aircraft points to home and makes its steady way back.

Oh, and I also managed to practise getting the Naza out of RTL and back into ATTI or MANUAL. 

A local family came by with a wheelchair-bound disabled son and little girl with an iPhone (!!). They watch my antics for quite a while, asked if I minded if she took photographs of the "airplane". So I brought it in closer for her, hit up GPS Position Lock and left her to it for a few moments. They were happy with that    Hopefully won a few hearts and minds over with that 

[mogwai101]

These are very interesting stories of near misses.
I can see that the RTL is an essential feature to add to my kit when I graduate from the Twister that I collected this morning.  Thanks for posting.

[Hands0n]

@mogwai101 - I would say that RTL, GPS Home or whatever your choice of FC terms it is absolutely vital for a modern day controller.  Better still, the ability for the function to trigger by some means of FailSafe (such as going out of range of the TX or TX power off/failure). 

Good luck with your own experience.

[nub]

looks like a nice setup Danny and some interesting reading too

really thinking about buying myself one of these naza lite';s along with a reptile style frame in a few weeks.

[Hands0n]

looks like a nice setup Danny and some interesting reading too

really thinking about buying myself one of these naza lite';s along with a reptile style frame in a few weeks.

Cheers nub. I think that I am quite happy recommending that style of frame and the Naza M Lite is certainly a breeze to set up and use. And for £15 that air frame is hard to say no to  ::)

If I had a chance to do it over again I would not have bought the RX that I currently have. I';d like to have had an RX with built-in FailSafe to trigger RTL on radio signal loss (as in a fly away).  If the beastie had gone out of range I';d have truly lost it.  Note to self, must perform a range test 

[Cozp83]

looks like a nice setup Danny and some interesting reading too

really thinking about buying myself one of these naza lite';s along with a reptile style frame in a few weeks.

you wont regret it man. ive got a v1, and just ordered my second naza m lite for the teslahex.

[dp106]

Cheers nub. I think that I am quite happy recommending that style of frame and the Naza M Lite is certainly a breeze to set up and use. And for £15 that air frame is hard to say no to  ::)

If I had a chance to do it over again I would not have bought the RX that I currently have. I';d like to have had an RX with built-in FailSafe to trigger RTL on radio signal loss (as in a fly away).  If the beastie had gone out of range I';d have truly lost it.  Note to self, must perform a range test 

I have a 9x as well and have swapped out the Tx/rx for the frysky ones and now have a working failsafe :-)

[fruitsalad]

recommend having the failsafe,used it a few times my self.
had it flying at bottom of the field getting smaller and smaller,glad to know if it loses the signal it gets back..
ive turned the tx off a few times as it was getting a bit hard to know where its going..