Any suggestions for fail safe

[sturgm]

I have have at last managed to get my quad very close to where I want to be ( special thanks to Rickp on this one).

My vibrations are down to +- 0.3 and my compassmot is at 13%

It hovers great.  Loiter barely moves, even in a brisk wind.  It really does fight to stay in position and hold it';s height.
RTL works like a charm.

So I am looking for a Fail save strategy

Any ideas ?

PS the APM is a 2.6 with separate GPS and compass

[Hands0n]

I would say to look to implement RTL based on manual switch AND signal failure from the TX.  I don';t think it important that RTL causes automatic landing to occur, once you have local sight of the aircraft you should be able to return to one of the manual modes to control what happens next.

But also ensure the aircraft has some identification so that if lost it can be returned to you if/when found. Also a "lost aircraft" audio alarm that activates on loss of or no received input from the TX after a period of time. 

I am not sold on simple Auto-Land strategies - useless if you';re over water or off the edge of a cliff or similar.

[kilby]

As I discovered (if you mean rtl type failsafe) it can also be dependant on the receiver that you are using.

Im using an apm 2.5 and so far no compass problems (just my crappy piloting)

My spektrum 610 does a nice controlled descent to the ground but doesn';t return home (not good if over water)

The Orange rx gives me full rth on signal loss, but poyentally has a bermuda triangle for reception at the flying club that I have started attending

[sturgm]

Thanks for the suggestions.  One of the main reasons I ask is because of this.

http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=553.msg4178#msg4178

I posted this last year.  I really do not what to go there again.

I have not looked yet, but I am guessing that I could do a RTL on loss of signal ?
what about low battery ?.  I have a 3DR battery module fitted as well.

Any idea how long the battery would have left ?  I noticed that the RTL speed was quite fierce
and I was standing too close to ';home'; and had to run out of the way as it over shot by a few feet
to where I was standing!

I have now modified the return speed to 250 from 500.

Any other events worth noting ?

Thanks

[kilby]

In the current Mission Planner version there is an option for failsafe on low battery voltage (user definable value)

However I have not used this and I can';t test it at the moment (my quad is hospitalised because I forgot to disable throttle cut after reinstalling the Orange receiver )

On the current versions RTL on signal loss definitely works because I tried it, but results vary depending on the receiver used.

What receiver are you using (I';m also told that the Turnigy x9 can be a bit funny about failsafe)

Peter King has a couple of videos regarding configuring failsafe on APM quads http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQx4lLeXHIzZPBBDHC50O2w

[Hands0n]

I have not looked yet, but I am guessing that I could do a RTL on loss of signal ?
what about low battery ?.  I have a 3DR battery module fitted as well.

My view is that RTL on Low Battery is unlikely to be too viable.  Depending on what the low limit is set at you are more likely to find that there is insufficient battery to get back to home and land.  So typically a controlled landing is what is required - just make sure you';re not over a loss-potential such as cliff, open water or other hazardous location.

I prefer using one of those low battery audio alarms - you can hear them for miles. Just set it at a sufficient level for you to bring the aircraft back to a safer area and then hit up the RTL or land it as quickly as you safely can.

[peter_a]

I`ve set my battery fail_safe with about 6 minutes of battery life and also via switch , but not set it on Rx going out of range until I get out of the habit of switching my Tx off first , but not sure if that is a problem anyway with the naza if I`ve allowed it to disarm.   

[firey1]

if you use the buzzer on the apm I have mine for arm/disarm it also acts as a low battery warning i used one from a lost plane alarm as it already has the power driver in it and can just be plugged straight onto the pins and if the quad does go down will continue till disarmed or battery goes flat
A good cheap light safety device

[sturgm]

Thanks all for the great ideas.  I will have a good think and see what suits for me.