naza failsafe )..any help

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
if you haven't flown your heli yet and this is a first build meant for first flights I'd recommend you not set up the failsafe mode or any of the other advanced functions. i'm in the process of writing a review article for the NAZA-M V2 and, after spending a lot of time with the manual, I'm more and more convinced that the advanced functions have a big potential for causing more problems than they might fix. In fact without them I think a new pilot is going to be more careful and take things more slowly giving them time to get settled in and really learn how their stuff works. then when they decide to try the advanced functions they'll be less likely to panic if FailSafe does trigger or if they have to switch to MANUAL mode to stop a bad event from getting worse.

the advanced functions (some of them at least) are nice to have but they really require the pilot to know what to expect as they take time to play out and do what they're intended to do. some things though, like dropping below the required satellite count, can cause the functions to just stop working without warning other than a change of the flashing LED but does anyone really have all of the possible LED combinations memorized?

just a though, keep it simple at first.

bart
 



poseidon2

Member
Thanks for that chaps. I hear what you say Bartman re. advanced settings and complication but does it not make sense to have failsafe set up and if I did lose signal I would at least have a chance rather than no chance at all?
 


Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
Just a quick PS. Bartman, when's the review ready?

the write-up is mostly done, just have to make a couple of videos to wrap it up.

fwiw, i don't think signal loss is a very common occurrence with any of the modern name brand radios unless you're flying very far from your position. but who should be doing that and relying completely on the NAZA's failsafes to save their butt? what chaffs me about the Advanced Functions is that they aren't as simple as they first seem and if they do kick in it can be a lot for any new pilot to just let go and assume that the failsafes are in control. we've had one recently where he thought it was a flyaway but in the end it was pilot error.

there is a big big big big big tendency to think that the flight controllers are fool proof and will save a hapless pilot from any bad situation that they might cook up for themselves but i don't think that that is realistic. i think failsafes should be for pilot that went into a known situation and found something unexpected rather than a green light for pilots to get themselves into all sorts of unknown situations with the failsafes as their Save-My-A$$-Please switch.

just my opinion but there are a lot of people flying very competently that never had a failsafe switch in the first place and probably never lost a heli either.

bart
 

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
Thanks for that chaps. I hear what you say Bartman re. advanced settings and complication but does it not make sense to have failsafe set up and if I did lose signal I would at least have a chance rather than no chance at all?

If you can set up the FailSafe and know without a doubt that it's been set up correctly and know under what circumstances it will trigger (or how you can trigger it) and what you've got to do to allow it time and freedom to do what it does, then maybe set it up. :)
 

Kind sir,

I am new to this hobby and soooo fascinated. I am currently building an F550 with heavy lift kit.
So far I am still buying parts. I am learning to solder which is a lesson in humility lol.

Thank you so much for outlining the fail safe stuff for us newbs. Very much appreciated...

THERE IS SO MUCH TO LEARN
 

bpbat21

Member
So...if I have the fail safe set...and the throttle set at 50%, or even 40%...does this mean if I forget and turn off the transmitter first, the motors will spool up to that setting?
Thanks
Ben
 

chipwich

Member
So...if I have the fail safe set...and the throttle set at 50%, or even 40%...does this mean if I forget and turn off the transmitter first, the motors will spool up to that setting?
Thanks
Ben

Your question is a little confusing. How would your NAZA go into Failsafe if you didn't turn off your transmitter, engage a switch that you had configured for Failsafe, or have flown out of range of your transmitter, in which in any of those cases you would have intentionally engaged or entered into a Failsafe mode while flying? Regardless, the way I understand it, the 40-50% throttle setting is merely used to enable Failsafe on a Spektrum receiver and the NAZA commands the aircraft to fly the Failsafe flight profile, which is climb to 20 meters AGL if necessary, return Home, land, and disarm motors. Does that make sense?

Edit: BTW, if your motors are disarmed and you engage Failsafe, they will not spool up, because they are disarmed. It's easy to tell if they are armed, because they are spinning.
 
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buckers

Member
The throttle on a spektrum receiver does not have to be 40-50% to engage RTH. If using the preset failsafe option of a spekky receiver, the throttle can be anywhere. Mine is at zero, because it doesn't matter where it is, the Naza just takes over and uses whatever controls are required to get it either to 20m in height, (or if higher than that initially, then keep it at that height), and fly it back home.
The RTH function is a separate function of the transmitter/receiver combination, ie a separate switch.
 

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
does anyone see how this can be confusing if someone is setting it up for their first RC aircraft? in a panic it would be even more confusing and the temptation to start flipping switches would probably be too much to resist.

IMHO.
Bart
 

buckers

Member
does anyone see how this can be confusing if someone is setting it up for their first RC aircraft? in a panic it would be even more confusing and the temptation to start flipping switches would probably be too much to resist.

Most definitely confusing to set up, but once its done, if the sh!t hits the fan, you simply throw the RTH switch, and in theory, you can then forget about it. It will come home!! Doesn't get much simpler than that :)
 

bpbat21

Member
I guess you kind of answered it...I was asking, since the Rx has a memory that we set the throttle to 50 % when signal is loss in order for the RTH to work...if we are done flying and the quad is on the ground with power...and we shut off the Tx first, won't the Rx think signal is lost and advance throttle to 50%? But I think you said the motors have to be armed. Is this correct?
 


Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
Most definitely confusing to set up, but once its done....................

"if" it is set up correctly, and if it isn't then there's a false sense of security that leads people to fly too far or too high where they end up losing their heli when the failsafes don't come to their rescue. it is not nearly as confusing to set up if it's done at a later time when the whole is system is more understood and there's a level of competence in their flying. then it's an advanced function that won't be relied on as much when basic skills are still in development.

just my $.02 but it's kind of hard to read about fly aways that could probably be avoided.
 



chipwich

Member
"if" it is set up correctly, and if it isn't then there's a false sense of security that leads people to fly too far or too high where they end up losing their heli when the failsafes don't come to their rescue. it is not nearly as confusing to set up if it's done at a later time when the whole is system is more understood and there's a level of competence in their flying. then it's an advanced function that won't be relied on as much when basic skills are still in development.

just my $.02 but it's kind of hard to read about fly aways that could probably be avoided.

IMO, another point that should be emphasized is to be patient and wait until you get a good > 6 sat GPS fix before takeoff. My F550 gets them fairly quickly, but the Phantom can take a while depending on the environment. It's sometimes challenging to sit there and wait it out while others have launched, but it is one of the keys to making the whole system work successfully.
 

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