Megapirate + AIOP v2, first flight disastrous

[rikp]

Hi all,

Long time reader of this forum, first time contributor...

Wondered if anyone could perhaps points me in the right direction. I';m having some problems with my setup; my Crius AIOP v2 with Megapirate 2.9 is causing me some issues. I took it out for it';s first flight today and there were quite a few problems that I am not quite sure how to start resolving:

1. The slightest throttle tap causes the motors to spin up at quite a high rate
2. On stabilize mode, the quad requires full left aileron to stop it flipping right uncontrollably, i.e. it';s like it';s "level" is off

It';s therefore more or less unflyable - if you care about direction, which of course I do

I';ve tried preflight calibration, radio calibration and also setting the trim on my Futaba 6EX TX, to no avail.

Happy to provide more info - but I';m not quite sure where to start.

Thanks in advance!

Rik

[Hands0n]

I';m an APM flier myself so my specific knowledge of AIOP is very limited outside of MPNG being an Arducopter derivative. @DarrellW uses AIOP - he always suggests the Add Ons version of MPNG as it is easier on the processor having had the mostly not used sonar code removed.  I wonder if you';d have more success with that.

In respect to the specific problems.
1. What does the throttle stick movement look like in Mission Planner "Radio Setup"? Have you gone through the routine to calibrate the sticks, switches and dials in MP?
2. Similar for Stabilize mode - in MP what does the HUD look like when the aircraft is standing level on the table? Does the artificial horizon correctly reflect the attitude of the aircraft?

Apologies if these are obvious questions and you';ve already done this - its just somewhere nice and basic to start.

[rikp]

Hi Danny

Thanks for your reply.

Regarding the radio calibration, yes I have completed the calibration in APM. The stick range on all channels doesn';t look particularly large at all, but nonetheless min and maxes are registered seemingly fine. At take off time, the horizon reports all level. Hence my confusion! Nothing seems out of the ordinary until it gets a bit of throttle input, and even on a low throttle just under take off speed, you can see the aircraft tilting towards the right, almost as if it is not powering all props equally. If you whack the throttle up sharp to get the quad in the air, you barely have any control at all... Rudder is about it.

Regarding the firmware, I haven';t heard of MPNG "Add Ons", is it some kind of fork of MPNG?

Appreciate you taking the time to help me get to the bottom of all this.

Rik.

[guest325]

If you have a look here and use the latest date 2.9 add ons files for setup and config you should get something that flies well.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-B7PQy0joGrQUFtRlZ5cWFET00&usp=sharing&tid=0B-B7PQy0joGrUjFmb2pSTFlqcWc
Also have a good look at Peter King';s setup videos on YouTube.
Are you sure that your props are in the correct positions?  Are your motors rotating in the correct directions?  Have you calibrated the esc';s?
All of those could cause the problems you are experiencing.
These are the ones to get:
Crius Quad 2.9.1 addons 2013-05-15.param
Crius v291r6quad.hex
Vids:
http://youtu.be/2xme6VKPfEo

[rikp]

Hi Darrell

Ok, first - thanks! :)

I';ve pulled down the firmware for MegapirateNG V2.9 R6 which you linked to, and flashed that to the AIO V2 Pro. I';ve completed radio calibration (screenshot attached) and ESC calibration. I';ve verified the motor direction is correct, and prop orientation is correct.

Although I haven';t yet been able to carry out a flight test, I';ve noticed I now don';t seem to have a GPS lock. I also cannot find any params to configure the GPS either; so I';m guessing that this firmware doesn';t seem to work with my specific GPS board, but I was hoping to find the GPS Baud Rate param which is missing in this build.

Do you know where I can download the source for the ';add ons'; mod for MPNG?

Can';t wait to get this up and flying... Thanks for your help

Rik

[guest325]

Is the led on your gps unit lighting up? If it is then you will need to take it all outdoors to get a lock, ALWAYS WAIT AT LEAST 3 MINS ON GPS LOCK, if you don';t you can';t be sure it';s a good lock.
Your radio calibration looks ok but I don';t see any input variation on channels 5 & 6, what does your mode select look like? If your radio isn';t programmed correctly it could cause a problem - unfortunately I don';t know anything about Futaba so can';t help. But what I can do is let you know that to get modes it requires mixes (usually associated with a 3 way switch if you have one) to get all possible modes.
If you don';t have a 3 way switch then have a look at dx6i programming to give you an idea what is needed.

[guest325]

Had a look at the 6ex and can see you have a 3 way switch, this tells you a bit more about it
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=638507
I';m not sure of how to configure it to do what it needs to to get the best out of the FC. There are others on here who may be able to help, oh and just a thought  - you need to be in Plane mode not Heli for a multicopter - heli mode doesn';t work.

[rikp]

Hi Darrell

Thanks again for helping. To answer your questions:

1. Yes, the GPS unit lights up (it works with the original firmware), and a lock is established.

2. My radio has only 6 channels (Futaba 6EX). It probably is programmable, but I';m still relatively new to RC. What I have done though is configure channel 6 (which is essentially an on/off switch on the TX) to mode swap on the quad between Stabilize and Land modes.

I think I';ll have a go at resetting the TX to defaults... Your point about operating it in plane vs heli mode made me think, since I was running it in heli after checking the settings - what else could I be getting wrong!

Still experimenting today - hopefully I';ll get somewhere and post an update soon.

Cheers
Rik

[richardg6paj]

With my Crius I was using Afro ESC';s and had to calibrate them also. Have you done that?

Richard

[rikp]

Hi Richard

I have indeed. All calibrated. I have a bit more work to do testing out the new recommended "Addons" firmware, and once that';s done I will post my results.

Thanks,
Rik

[richardg6paj]

Ok Rik, It';s just that I had the same problem with motors running flat out at start up. As soon as I calibrated the ESC';s it was fine and flew perfectly until ....................!!!!!!!!!!!! 
At which stage I ditched the MegaPirates Firmware. 

Good Luck 

Richard

[guest325]

If mpng doesn';t work for you multiwii is a viable option but I have no experience whatsoever so can';t help, I do think that part of your problems is possibly to do with your tx setup. You should find it will work on plane setup rather than heli though; that said I know of people on here that are running multiwii on heli setup.