Pixhawk or Naza - Help me decide!

[DarrenG]

I';ve splashed some hard earned on a Sky-Hero Little Spyder frame which should be here by the end of the month. I went for the FC ready option as I wanted to keep my current Q650.

Now I';m in a quandary about which FC. I';ve always used APM and more recently, Pixhawk. But I seem to find myself spending more time tweaking and fiddling than flying.

So I';m wondering if I might be better going for a Naza M V2 install in the new frame so I can spend more time actually flying it. I don';t need waypoints and all the other great stuff that comes with Pixhawk, just a good FC that gives me GPS support etc and will allow me to add a gimbal later down the line if I choose to.

Is Naza M a good choice for fire and forget set-up or would I just be better installing another Pixhawk?

Thoughts?

[Ynot6]

do you intend to FPV your new multi? if not naza will be good as plug and (nearly) play. if you do, eagle tree vector. same price, ish, as naza 2 but fully integrated OSD for FPV.

[DarrenG]

Thanks for the reply. I';ve no plans for FPV.

[shaun]

Interesting comments about APM / Pixhawk.
When I first started liked the look of them but went for KK for initial simplicity and price...not disappointed, has been good to learn on.
However....gathering bits for a 250 which am thinking might suit the KK nicely and trying to work out what FC to go for on 450....keep coming back to Pixhawk but based on comments above maybe not... (thinking of adding fpv...not sure to which yet, and gimbal on 450)...multiwii (?)....oh dear....I think ive developed a bit of a problem....

[DarrenG]

LOL, you';re not helping!!!  ::)

I think I may end up going with a Naza if only for a change. That way I';ll at least know which one is the better for my needs, or indeed as is most likely, they';re both great.

[flybywire]

Think you hit nail on the head somewhere, when you talked about twiddling.  If it';s pure fit and forget flying you want, i reckon the Naza will win hands down.  I have two of em, plus the Wookong M, solid and dependable.
But like i say, if it';s twiddling you want, go for a pixhawk.  Simple as that really.

[robshaw]

Naza. Without doubt. I was a die hard apm fan, saying I would never go to naza, but spent so much time tweaking, vibration proofing, compass mots, covering the case with sponge and tape etc etc. I hardly flew. My mate gave me a naza lite and I';ve never looked back. I basically throw my quads in the car, fly for the day,  come home and store them for next time. No more tinkering.

[shaun]

GPS too? Just so pricey though. A little put off by such a closed system, but I guess its the flying I enjoy....sorry for hijacking the thread but banging the head trying to decide next step too so interested in any views and insights!

[DarrenG]

A Naza M is, if anything, cheaper than an equivalent Pixhawk and 3DR GPS/Compass.

Pixhawk £160
3DR GPS/Compass £55
3DR GPS Mast £12

Naza M v2 £191 (inc GPS/Compass and mast)

Thanks guys, just ordered a Naza 

[flybywire]

A Naza M is, if anything, cheaper than an equivalent Pixhawk and 3DR GPS/Compass.

Pixhawk £160
3DR GPS/Compass £55
3DR GPS Mast £12

Wow!  That';s pricey.

[DarrenG]

There are clones now of course but then you;re not comparing like with like.  I';ve always favoured the genuine 3DR kit, if only to support the originators rather than the imitators. But RCTimer have the Fixhawk now which is a mirror copy of Pixhawk in almost all respects.

[bigandy]

Naza V2 is pretty much plug and play.  There are 6 gain settings to tinker with, and they are dead easy to tune.  Also, you can do a limited number of waypoints with a Naza V2 as well, you would just need to add on the Bluetooth LED module and/or the DJI data link to hook up to your laptop/ipad.

I like the Naza for aerial photography platforms (little ones) and gentle FPV, as they are so simple to use.  If you want to do any aggressive flying, or aerobatics, I';d go with another flight controller.

I happen to have a Naza V2 for sale at the moment too.  About 50 flights old, off my 550 hex.  In perfect condition, with original box and GPS mount (unused).  Let me know if you are interested :)

Andy

[DarrenG]

I happen to have a Naza V2 for sale at the moment too.  About 50 flights old, off my 550 hex.  In perfect condition, with original box and GPS mount (unused).  Let me know if you are interested :)

Hi Andy, I';m interested, how much are you after for it?  PM me if better?

[shaun]

Sounds like I better start reading up about the Naza (and putting some pennies aside).

[Hands0n]

APM/Pixhawk man entering the room ::)

I';ll mention that I have used Naza M Lite and APM 2.5 with Arducopter software since version 2.8.

So, agree with much all of the above.  If all you want to do is just fly the thing then the Naza M V2 with GPS is probably the best way to go, especially at the price they';ve come to be of late. 

Seriously, I would stay away from the Naza M Lite - that is stuck in a software time-warp at version 1.0 of the code and never, ever, been updated, even in the wake of the big fly away scares of earlier this year.    Clearly, evidently, the Naza M V2 is being actively supported by DJI.

Personally, I love using APM (yet to fire up the Pixhawk seriously) and find that once it is set that I really and truly do not "fiddle" with it.  The APM has become my absolute multi-rotor workhorse, used for FPV as well as LOS, on 450 Firefly and TBS Discovery air frames.  The sheer reliability and robustness of these FCs (none of the APM are 3DR';s own) has been fantastic.  Version 3.1 of Arducopter code has become completely reliable also.

I think that APM/Pixhawk can appear exciting because of all the very many things that you can do with it.  And of course, it is a tinkerer';s dream (or curse!).  But in reality I think that once all the modes are tried out that the user will generally settle on a few to use regularly and thats it.

What is nice is that APM/Pixhawk keeps all of your options wide open for the future use.  That mission, that survey run, the funkier flight modes like Hybrid.  And the relative future-proofing in that as Arducopter develops that peripheral devices such as collision detection and avoidance (sonar, radar, vision) will come to be in the next year or so. Fantastic capabilities that will literally be plug-in for the 3DR (and its clone) stuff.

You pays your money and makes your choice

HTH

[Desmoboy]

You can fiddle with the Pixhawk but you dont have to.


It will work and be very stable straight out of the box.If you dont need all of its toys then dont play with them,simples.

My issues when i started were a complete lack of understanding of any of this subject and not the Pixhawk per se.