Hoverfly 4.8 and AH observation

[JZSlenker]

Well the PA weather finally cooperated to do some thorough testing on the new firmware. I think it goes without saying that this is the best version yet for our X-8. I flew 10 sets of batteries through it doing various tests in moderate and light winds. In manual mode this thing flies like a dream. After tweaking the gains a little bit I was getting the smoothest flight characteristics to date. 90% of the time I fly in manual when shooting but since this was a new firmware version I decided to test all the other features as well. AL when set to a low percentage (30) is quite nice. We run it with mag hold turned off. I was surprised at how well it worked in the wind. With the TX control rates at 100% it's actually quite usable for shooting finally. (Thanks HF!) GPS PH is significantly better form the previous versions. I would say I was staying within 5 feet of the hold location. RTH also works quite well now. We are using the internal mag and getting great performance so I don't see any reason to setup the external one that we purchased.

Before testing AH I put the EPA values back to 100% as suggested by Al. When I first switched AH on the X-8 started to drop pretty quickly. I increased the throttle stick significantly and she started to climb again. I got it settled back down and it held altitude quite well. Upon further experimentation, I have concluded that for me to use AH I need to be ascending slightly before enabling it. I suspect that this is due to the fact that our X-8 hovers at a little below center stick. It seems like if I enable when I'm at hover that HF thinks I want to descent. I wish there was a way to adjust where the actual hover point is with respect to AH. Perhaps wherever the throttle is when AH is activated HF takes that as the altitude to hold. If the stick increased from that point it ascends, if the stick decreased from that point it descends. I don't typically use AH for shooting so it's not a big deal to us, but was curious if anyone else has a similar issue due to a slightly lower than center hover point.

Well done Hoverfly!

 

[Stacky]

I have an X8 which also hovers at about 45% and generally the AH works fine when I enable it when hovering but I have noticed a couple of times it searches for the hold point if its windy. I havent noticed any drop or climb on switching AH on but will check it out when I fly next, probably a short hop tomorrow.

 

[DucktileMedia]

Man. I just yanked the GPS off today since I never used it. Maybe I should put it back. I had to wait a good few minutes to acquire sats and the hold diameter was 30+ feet at best. So I only had it on there as a Rth fail safe. I am gonna stick it on my long range y6 where having the safety of GPS would be nice. After reading this maybe I will finally jump to the new firmware.

Im curious how it can fly any better than it was before. It just flies so freaking smooth its unreal. And yes, the AH is the one thing I wish could be safely useable. I have read quite a few stories of the Heli jumping in altitude when activated. I don't get why they can't copy how the Dji AH works. It's always on and buffers the throttle when not active. I do find it very hard to stay at one altitude. It's always going up or down.

 

[Stacky]

With mine, the searching for an altitude is only about 2 meters at its worst. Most of the time its holding within 1 meter. Pete has seen mine at its best and worst. In all honesty if I am up about 40 meters up the 2 meter variance isnt even visible to me on the ground but most of the time its within 1 meter.

 

[Efliernz]

I don't have the GPS but like Stacky, have a couple of boards.
I have found the best option (for me) for AH is to hold an approximate hover for a couple of seconds before engaging AH. Mine goes up and down 1-2M at most which is more than accurate for what I shoot - when shooting solo.

4.8 rocks for me. My quad and hexa rock!

Pete

 

[JZSlenker]

The old AH worked just fine for us. I liked having the gain adjustment.

 

[DucktileMedia]

1 meter is too much! Look, the chinese steal everything from other countries, why cant we steal their AH and GPS hold algorithms? The problem is that 1 meter variance will show in the footage. So if you are flying around for fun, sure that maybe great, but the idea is to increase have a smooth and graceful throttle control that is not solely reliant on the radio's throttle curve or d/r. It sounds like they are on the right track by getting rid of the AH lock but more an active assist. But I still havent seen or heard of anyone that has been thrilled with it. I know they can and will eventually make it work.

 

[Stacky]

I only use AH for stills. I havent had a need to try it for any video.

 

[JZSlenker]

Yup Stacky, I've said it many times, we don't use AH, AL, PH for shooting. We just fly well. Those options are just "bells and whistles" in my book. HFP flies so much better than the competition. DJI and Naza need good AL and AH cause the don't handle that we'll.