DJI Naza-M Lite Flight Controller with my ESC's and motors question

[davethepitch]

Hello all

I am now giving the DJI Naza-M Lite Flight Controller and GPS system a lot more thought and my question is which may sound really daft is would this system work with my Rctimer 20 amp ESC';s with simonK firmware and my Rctimer HP2212 1000Kv motors.

At the moment i am using a KK V2.0 which i have just updated the firmware to 1.6 and been out for a test and it is flying well but i am only using the signal wire and the negative wire coming from M2, M3 and M4 ESC';s as M1 has all three wires connected.

I have a DX6i TX and does this have enough switches for a Naza system to operate fully and is there anything i should be aware of just in case i press buy now button as my fingers are hovering over that button.

Dave

[Cozp83]

should work with all esc';s man. im running a v1 with the new firmware and non simonk esc';s. its Rock solid man. as soon as i get my gimbal ill put a video up;)

[KK1W]

Hello all

I am now giving the DJI Naza-M Lite Flight Controller and GPS system a lot more thought and my question is which may sound really daft is would this system work with my Rctimer 20 amp ESC';s with simonK firmware and my Rctimer HP2212 1000Kv motors.

At the moment i am using a KK V2.0 which i have just updated the firmware to 1.6 and been out for a test and it is flying well but i am only using the signal wire and the negative wire coming from M2, M3 and M4 ESC';s as M1 has all three wires connected.

I have a DX6i TX and does this have enough switches for a Naza system to operate fully and is there anything i should be aware of just in case i press buy now button as my fingers are hovering over that button.

Dave

Dave,

I';ve been flying with an APM, just bought a Naza-M and put it on the same quad. A RCTimer 450 clone. I';m running the same motors with the RCtimer 30A SimonK ESC';s with the Naza without a problem.

FWIW I only connect the signal wire to the FC (both the APM and the Naza). No ground, no +5. Some may argue the ground is necessary? That may be so but I';ve had no problems with either FC connected this way. As they say, YMMV

With the Naza-M Lite I';m not certain how they power it. If it uses the same VU (versatile unit) the regular ';M'; does than you won';t need the +5 wire, if not then reading the manual is a good thing to do.

I think the DX6i only has one 3 position switch? edit - It does not have a 3 position switch (thanks for catching this Steve) . This would mean you would have to think about how you use the IOC (Intelligent Orientation Control) as that seems to require a 3 position switch too. Something could probably be achieved with mixing between two switches, there';s a lot of info out there on how to do that. The Naza is easiest to configure with a seven channel system. But you can fly just fine with a 6 channel, you';ll just need to decide what is important to you and set it up accordingly.

I had good results with the APM but have to say the Naza just worked out of the box with very little screwing around. Stability has to be seen to be appreciated. It is really easy to fly in Atti or GPS mode. You can see how it is possible for them to market it to people that have not flown R/C before, it is that stable.

Good luck with your decision, it seems the new ';lite'; version is priced right and a good value.

Hope this helps,

Jim

[Gav]

Yes will work.  Using a naza v1 myself with rc timer 20a escs reflashed with simonk.  Hope to get a ';lite'; myself for another fpv quad and will probably use 20a rc timer esc';s again as I';ve got a pack of 4 in the goodie box

[Balders]

OK, the Dx6i does NOT have a 3 position switch.

What you have to do is use a mix, to effectively get those 3 positions.  I do this with mine on my naza, and it works a treat, although I do not use the IOC mode (can';t really see the point).

If you pull the trigger, you won';t be disappointed. The V1 is an awesome piece of kit.

[davethepitch]

Thank you to everyone as i was not sure if by using the +5 wire on the ESC';s it would upset the Naza unit and i guess the time may have come for me to change to a DX7 or maybe an 8 i will have to see. 

Dave

[rsmith21]

I wondered if I should replace the IFLY-4 F\C with the Naza lite and GPS because IFLY are just not producing the goods or communicating very well ( if at all) when the product will be ready.

I don';t see it listed for sale yet so are they also trying to sell something that doesn';t exist, anyone know if its in stock anywhere. 

[davethepitch]

OK, the Dx6i does NOT have a 3 position switch.

What you have to do is use a mix, to effectively get those 3 positions.  I do this with mine on my naza, and it works a treat, although I do not use the IOC mode (can';t really see the point).

Hello Balders

How have you set up your DX6i with your Naza as all i would want is a switch for altitude hold and a switch for loiter thats if it could be set that way.

I would be thinking of purchasing the Naza lite and GPS combo if the above could be done with my DX6i.

Thanks Dave

[Balders]

Hi dave, make sure you don';t confuse attitude mode with altitude!  There is no such thing as altitude hold on naza, it just does it when in GPS mode.

Tricky to explain on a forum how to set it up. I have mine set on one switch to select between manual mode and gps (which is the same as atti, apart from it stays where you left it) and another switch effectively mixes in to set failsafe, and I also have that switch position set in the Rx, so if the Tx looses signal/gets turned off, that position defaults and the thing just fly';s home.

I followed youtube videos to sort the mix out but it';s not rocket science once you are used to the sliders in the naza assist software.

[davethepitch]

Hello Balders

So in theory i could use the GEAR switch on my DX6i to switch between manual mode and gps and i guess in GPS mode the quad fitted with a Naza would stay at the height i have the throttle at for example if i had the throttle so the quad was 10ft off the ground and left the throttle stick at that point the Naza would stay at that altitude and sort of loiter if you like.

Dave

[KK1W]

Dave,

I ran across this video today. If it is correct (and he says it is) it should answer your questions about setting up a DX6i with the Naza.

http://youtu.be/3AmsDv_cKOM

Hope this helps,

Jim

[dp106]

Hi dave, make sure you don';t confuse attitude mode with altitude!  There is no such thing as altitude hold on naza, it just does it when in GPS mode.

Tricky to explain on a forum how to set it up. I have mine set on one switch to select between manual mode and gps (which is the same as atti, apart from it stays where you left it) and another switch effectively mixes in to set failsafe, and I also have that switch position set in the Rx, so if the Tx looses signal/gets turned off, that position defaults and the thing just fly';s home.

I followed youtube videos to sort the mix out but it';s not rocket science once you are used to the sliders in the naza assist software.

I thought attitude mode did hold the altitude also, it uses the barometer?? It';s not that accurate on mine but if I center the throttle stick it does try and maintain its altitude.

[eyeflying]

I wondered if I should replace the IFLY-4 F\C with the Naza lite and GPS because IFLY are just not producing the goods or communicating very well ( if at all) when the product will be ready.

I';m not sure this would work. I believe that I-Fly ESC';s use non-standard firmware that';s designed only to be use with their FC. You';d need to replace the ESC';s as well to be sure it will work.

[davethepitch]

Dave,

I ran across this video today. If it is correct (and he says it is) it should answer your questions about setting up a DX6i with the Naza.

Hope this helps,

Jim

Hello Jim

Thank you for that video and i have saved it for future reference but with the Naza system what do some the flight modes actually do.

Manual  = I take it this means flying without any Naza assistance.
GPS = Not sure exactly what features this gives.
Attitude = No idea at all what this does.
Failsafe = I guess this is loss of signal.
Compass = I know what a compass is but how necessary is this function.

Thanks Dave

[KK1W]

Hello Jim

Thank you for that video and i have saved it for future reference but with the Naza system what do some the flight modes actually do.

Manual  = I take it this means flying without any Naza assistance.
GPS = Not sure exactly what features this gives.
Attitude = No idea at all what this does.
Failsafe = I guess this is loss of signal.
Compass = I know what a compass is but how necessary is this function.

Thanks Dave

A few quick answers below. You may want to spend some time looking through the Naza support videos at: http://www.dji-innovations.com/tutorial/naza-m-lite-tutorials-en/ and the wiki at: http://wiki.dji-innovations.com/en/index.php/Naza-M There';s a lot of good information in there in much more detail too!

Quick attempts at answers:

Manual  = I take it this means flying without any Naza assistance.
Yes, exactly. The Naza will fly the copter where ever you point it. It won';t self level or hold altitude. If you bank it ten degrees and let go of the stick it will stay in that bank until you move it back the other way. Very difficult to fly in this mode, especially if you';re new at this, more a mode you would use if you were stunt flying.

GPS = Not sure exactly what features this gives.
This adds position hold to the Attitude mode noted below. Obviously requires the GPS unit 

Attitude = No idea at all what this does.
This mode makes the copter very easy to fly. It has altitude hold. After takeoff if you center the throttle stick it will attempt to stay at the same height. There is some movement up and down but not bad. It also self levels. If you get into trouble and aren';t sure which way the copter is moving just let go of the stick. It will level itself. If there';s wind it will drift with the wind but if you have GPS it will pretty much stay where it was when you let go of the stick.

Failsafe = I guess this is loss of signal.
Yes. It can be programmed to land where it is or if you have GPS return to where it took off from.

Compass = I know what a compass is but how necessary is this function.
Used with the GPS. Although a GPS knows where it is, unless it is moving it doesn';t know which direction to go. A compass is built into the GPS unit. Also necessary for the IOC (Intelligent Orientation Control).

I';m pretty new at this myself but I think most of my comments are accurate. I';ve had limited experience over the last 6 months with the opensource APM 2.5 and the last few weeks with a Naza-M. I have to say the Naza is indeed easy to fly in both Atti (attitude) and GPS (Atti mode with GPS).

Good luck with your choice of controller. Spend some time with the DJI wiki, especially the setup parts of it and you';ll get a better idea of how it all works. Here';s another document that could be of help too: http://download.dji-innovations.com/downloads/naza/en/NAZA_Quick_Start_v1.08_en.pdf Although it shows the Naza-M V2 it has specific pages at the end covering things that are different with the V1.

Jim

[davethepitch]

Hello Jim

Thank you for the above information which has told me a lot so i will now look at the links and take it from there.

Once again thanks mate. 

Dave

[rsmith21]

Well I';ve bought the New Naza M Lite and GPS, it should arrive tomorrow.

I';m going to strip out a second hand IFLY-4 that I bought and fit it out with the NAZA.

Knowing nothing about the NAZA kit I would appreciate some of your help with a shopping list and how to do it best.

My thoughts are strip the Ifly, fit some kind of power interface new ESCs and new motors that will suit the frame.

So, any ideas.