Question about fail safe and signal loss

[98 Snake Eater]

I have yet to test the fail safe and RTH (waiting for a calm day), but after watching a few YouBoob videos, I see folks tend to do their calibration dance differently


Here's one that stands in one spot and swings his Hex around in a circle.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pek6WmU7ZKk




And here's another that holds his quad in the same spot and twirls it with his hands


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt8AxYRSCAE






Which way is correct?

 

[98 Snake Eater]

OK, seems I've run into a little snag with the preset fail safe :cold:

I tested the RTH switch and it worked fine.

It did what it was supposed to and was about to land, but because of the windy conditions, I decided to take control before landing (pretty much how I usually use RTH)

Next, I tested the pre-set fail safe by holding everything at center stick, then I flipped off the power switch and like magic, it stayed in one spot

Flipped the power on again and I was back in control :fat:

Tried it again the same way a few more times and got the same results :frog:

However, on my last test, I decided to give it a little stick and pitched it forward slightly before shutting off the power button.

With the power off, it held the same altitude, but kept moving forward with the last pitch setting :dejection:

It was headed towards a power station, but flipped on the switch and was able to regain control.

So it appears that the preset fail safe only works on the throttle stick :upset:

Had I been flying at a fast pace and lost signal, it would've kept going at the same speed (not good).

So, that being the case, I now want to set the pre set fail safe to RTH.

I would've rather have it hover in place, but in the event of a lost signal, I highly doubt my right stick will be centered :black_eyed:

Flygirl, I tried rebinding with the switches set to RTH as you said and although it bound fine, when I tested the pre-set fail safe, it didn't go into RTH mode :dejection:

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

How does it behave in the assistant when you turn off the transmitter? Get everything working there first before trying in the air.

When you turn off the tx in the assistant does it go into failsafe?

I've forgotten which transmitter/receiver you're using. Please remind me.

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Oh, I see it is the AR8000. A good receiver that has more than just smart safe. I use the same one. I think you're rebinding incorrectly then. Bind with the transmitter set to failsafe and throttle at 50% then check what happens in the assistant.

 

[Motopreserve]

This is a very helpful thread (bookmarked) - I imagine many will need this type of help when setting up a new machine.

After watching the crash video in the first post, I don't know which is more terrifying - the fact that it crashed like that, or that you needed a MACHETE to go retrieve it!!!!

Amazing it was OK after that fall and the terrain it fell in. Hope you find you answer for the proper settings.

 

[FlyGirl]

Oh, I see it is the AR8000. A good receiver that has more than just smart safe. I use the same one. I think you're rebinding incorrectly then. Bind with the transmitter set to failsafe and throttle at 50% then check what happens in the assistant.

+1.... Snake, you don't have to fly to check whether it works or not. While it's on the ground with no motors running but everything powered up on the Tx and MR and in GPS mode, just power off the Tx..... If the LED flashes yellow quickly then it is set up correctly.

 

[98 Snake Eater]

How does it behave in the assistant when you turn off the transmitter?

When I turn off the power switch, the throttle stick goes to center as it should, however, the right stick holds whatever position it was at when the power switch was shut off.

Get everything working there first before trying in the air.

That's what I'm trying to do lol

When you turn off the tx in the assistant does it go into failsafe?

No, it doesn't go into the RTH fail safe.

I've forgotten which transmitter/receiver you're using. Please remind me.

DX6i Tx w/AR8000 Rx

Oh, I see it is the AR8000. A good receiver that has more than just smart safe. I use the same one. I think you're rebinding incorrectly then. Bind with the transmitter set to failsafe and throttle at 50% then check what happens in the assistant.

I set both sticks to center, set the GPS (gear) switch on and the RTH (Mix) switch on before turning on the transmitter for binding.

+1.... Snake, you don't have to fly to check whether it works or not. While it's on the ground with no motors running but everything powered up on the Tx and MR and in GPS mode, just power off the Tx..... If the LED flashes yellow quickly then it is set up correctly.

When I turn off the transmitter, the light still flashes green and red (I'm testing indoors)

When I hit the RTH swtich, it flashes orange.

Here's a short video I threw together while plugged into the Assistant to give you guys a better idea of what I'm dealing with....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DucpVbCVm50

As you can see, when I turn off the transmitter, the left stick goes to original pre-set, but the right stick holds whatever position it was in.

This is NOT good if I lose signal while flying (especially if I'm at full stick) :upset:

I mean, it won't drop out of the sky like my original crash video, but it will keep heading in the same course until I regained control :black_eyed:

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

The video helps. Couldn't quite make out the assistant but it looked like it didn't go into failsafe when you turned off the transmitter. That's the problem. It has not been bound in RTH. Re-bind again. When you turn off the transmitter the little bar should go into RTH (failsafe). If it's not doing that then you're binding incorrectly. I would get rid of ATTI mode and set that to failsafe for binding. So you have GPS and failsafe on that two way switch. Then bind. It could be a problem binding a mix as not all the switches bind. Try it and get back to us.

Don't worry, we all went through this in the beginning. You'll figure it out :02.47-tranquillity:.

 

[98 Snake Eater]

The video helps. Couldn't quite make out the assistant but it looked like it didn't go into failsafe when you turned off the transmitter. That's the problem. It has not been bound in RTH. Re-bind again.

Correct, it doesn't go into RTH mode when I turn off the transmitter.

All it does is go to 50% throttle and hold whatever position the right stick was in when I turned the power off.

I tried re-binding numerous times with the RTH switch on, but it still won't go into RTH mode when I turn the power off.

When you turn off the transmitter the little bar should go into RTH (failsafe). If it's not doing that then you're binding incorrectly. I would get rid of ATTI mode and set that to failsafe for binding. So you have GPS and failsafe on that two way switch. Then bind. It could be a problem binding a mix as not all the switches bind. Try it and get back to us.

Someone would have to walk me through this as I don't have a clue how to swap switches :cold:

I was able to set the Mix switch by watching a video on YouTube, but I don't think there's one for setting the gear switch to GPS and RTH

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Okay. Whilst connected to the assistant I think you go into servo setup on your DX6i. From there you alter the end points for the gyro. Flick the switch down (which is normally ATTI) and change the percentage. As you're changing it the green bar on the assistant should move. When failsafe is highlighted BINGO! You got it! Now you can bind with that switch in failsafe.

I'll check again within the hour mate. Cheers!

 

[COMike93yj]

Outstanding thead! Thanks for cluing me into the AR8000 RX FlyGirl! I was trying to figure out what RX to put into the quad I will be building soon and am still trying to figure things out. You just answered one of my questions!!

 

[98 Snake Eater]

Okay. Whilst connected to the assistant I think you go into servo setup on your DX6i. From there you alter the end points for the gyro. Flick the switch down (which is normally ATTI) and change the percentage. As you're changing it the green bar on the assistant should move. When failsafe is highlighted BINGO! You got it! Now you can bind with that switch in failsafe.

I'll check again within the hour mate. Cheers!

OK, I'm a little confused (make that a lot)

If I setup my 2-position gear switch to ATT and RTH Fail Safe, what do I use for GPS?

 

[FlyGirl]

OK, I'm a little confused (make that a lot)

If I setup my 2-position gear switch to ATT and RTH Fail Safe, what do I use for GPS?

Hi Snake! You only have to set it up that way to bind. After you have set the failsafe you can set the switch back up for ATT and GPS. The receiver will send the proper signal to the flight controller to activate RTH if you lose signal even though you don't have RTH set up for normal flying.

 

[98 Snake Eater]

Hi Snake! You only have to set it up that way to bind. After you have set the failsafe you can set the switch back up for ATT and GPS. The receiver will send the proper signal to the flight controller to activate RTH if you lose signal even though you don't have RTH set up for normal flying.

Sounds good

I'm closing up shop right now, so I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

Quick question on the receiver.

I noticed today that after powering up, both the NAZA was flashing orange and the AR8000 was also flashing, but the satellite LED was constant.

It took a good 40 seconds before the AR8000 LED went solid and the NAZA then started flashing Red/Green

I've never had this issue with the old AR6100E as it was always instant.

That being said, this only appears to happen when cold (I had the A/C blasting all day)

After the initial 40 second wait, I could unplug the power, power up again and it would start working instantly.

If I unplug it for a while and let it sit (again in the cold), when I try to power up again, I'd have to wait the 40 seconds again.

Is this normal and does it have anything to do with the temperature?

 

[FlyGirl]

Sounds good

I'm closing up shop right now, so I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

Quick question on the receiver.

I noticed today that after powering up, both the NAZA was flashing orange and the AR8000 was also flashing, but the satellite LED was constant.

It took a good 40 seconds before the AR8000 LED went solid and the NAZA then started flashing Red/Green

I've never had this issue with the old AR6100E as it was always instant.

That being said, this only appears to happen when cold (I had the A/C blasting all day)

After the initial 40 second wait, I could unplug the power, power up again and it would start working instantly.

If I unplug it for a while and let it sit (again in the cold), when I try to power up again, I'd have to wait the 40 seconds again.

Is this normal and does it have anything to do with the temperature?

Oh you are just rubbing it in with the AC running comment aren't you?? LOL! It's gonna be 19 here tonight.... UGH! I have heard that the flight controller has to warm up first so maybe that is it? I've never had it happen but I have seen posts about a "warm up" period so maybe that's it?

 

[Benjamin Kenobi]

Hi Snake! You only have to set it up that way to bind. After you have set the failsafe you can set the switch back up for ATT and GPS. The receiver will send the proper signal to the flight controller to activate RTH if you lose signal even though you don't have RTH set up for normal flying.

Do what she said! Perfect!

 

[sochin33]

Hi--

I have same setup, NAZA, AR8000, FW550 but I have a DX8. In case you haven't got this sorted out yet, I may be able to help. If you do have it, then just ignore :tennis:

First though, I am confused. You originally said that you have your gear switch set to toggle between GPS and ATTI and a mix set up using that to switch to manual failsafe (RTH), is this correct ? I'm assuming that this is what you have. Mine is similar in that I have a 3 way switch set up for GPS,ATTI and Manual with a mix to go to FS. Here is how I do it:


1) first bind regularly and make sure all controls are working in the assistant. Make sure that when you flip your mix switch to go to manual FS that it shows that the assistant.
2) Power down your NAZA and your radio.
3) Insert the bind plug and power on the NAZA (and Rx), the light on the Rx should be blinking. Radio should be off.
4)Remove the bind plug, the Rx light should still be blinking. At this point, your radio should still be off.
5)Put your throttle up a little .. maybe 15% and flip the mix switch to the manual FS position. Radio still off. If your throttle stick is self centering don't worry about that part since I believe NAZA takes over throttle in RTH FS.
6) Now, turn on your radio in bind mode and wait for the bind … mine takes 10 secs or so.
7) Once this is done, check the assistant and make sure that it indicates FS when you turn off your radio.
Also note that you should make sure your radio and Rx are separated by at least 10 ft when you do the bind. If it doesn't work the first time keep trying !
I have heard that it is a bad idea to test the Preset FS by turning off your radio when you are flying, so I trust what the assistant says.

 

[98 Snake Eater]

Hi--

I have same setup, NAZA, AR8000, FW550 but I have a DX8. In case you haven't got this sorted out yet, I may be able to help. If you do have it, then just ignore :tennis:

First though, I am confused. You originally said that you have your gear switch set to toggle between GPS and ATTI and a mix set up using that to switch to manual failsafe (RTH), is this correct ? I'm assuming that this is what you have. Mine is similar in that I have a 3 way switch set up for GPS,ATTI and Manual with a mix to go to FS. Here is how I do it:


1) first bind regularly and make sure all controls are working in the assistant. Make sure that when you flip your mix switch to go to manual FS that it shows that the assistant.
2) Power down your NAZA and your radio.
3) Insert the bind plug and power on the NAZA (and Rx), the light on the Rx should be blinking. Radio should be off.
4)Remove the bind plug, the Rx light should still be blinking. At this point, your radio should still be off.
5)Put your throttle up a little .. maybe 15% and flip the mix switch to the manual FS position. Radio still off. If your throttle stick is self centering don't worry about that part since I believe NAZA takes over throttle in RTH FS.
6) Now, turn on your radio in bind mode and wait for the bind … mine takes 10 secs or so.
7) Once this is done, check the assistant and make sure that it indicates FS when you turn off your radio.
Also note that you should make sure your radio and Rx are separated by at least 10 ft when you do the bind. If it doesn't work the first time keep trying !
I have heard that it is a bad idea to test the Preset FS by turning off your radio when you are flying, so I trust what the assistant says.

sochin, you tha man!!

Before attempting to change the gear switch settings, I decided to try re-binding one last time and put some distance between the Tx and Rx (sumthin I haven't done before) :cold:

With the Hex in one room an me with the Tx in another, I did a re-bind with the RTH switch flipped and it worked!! :highly_amused:

Here's a short bench test video going through all the settings....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFz6_8wlkCM


I'll be making an RTH test flight video once I get the landing gear situation sorted out




thanks for all the help guys :frog:

 

[FlyGirl]

By jove I think he's got it!!!! Looks perfect Snake!

 

[sochin33]

Cool Snake !! Glad you got it sorted.