"Official" New V4 firmware update/questions/issue thread

[teamdavey]

Based on quick bench check with the 540 it is apparently still possible for the unit to go into ground mode in the air. Also there is now no access to the PID values as opposed to inadequate access so if your model doesn't share the dynamics of those used by the beta testers you could be screwed.

I guess it will stay on the bench! Total disappointment here.

[georgi UK]

Originally Posted by teamdavey

Based on quick bench check with the 540 it is apparently still possible for the unit to go into ground mode in the air. Also there is now no access to the PID values as opposed to inadequate access so if your model doesn't share the dynamics of those used by the beta testers you could be screwed.

I guess it will stay on the bench! Total disappointment here.

=] sorry to see this? I'm still finding the feel I want for possibly the same dynamic as you, it's not far off by any means, expand if you want to?

[gitbse]

Originally Posted by teamdavey

Based on quick bench check with the 540 it is apparently still possible for the unit to go into ground mode in the air. Also there is now no access to the PID values as opposed to inadequate access so if your model doesn't share the dynamics of those used by the beta testers you could be screwed.

I guess it will stay on the bench! Total disappointment here.

Total disappointment over a "quick bench check?"

One of the major complaints I ran into with the SK units was the difficulty around tuning them. I convinced handfuls of people in my local group to buy 540's, and most of them went other directions, because they couldn't tune them properly.
Now with the early 4.0 testing, it's already incredibly more inherently stable than it was. Everybody I've seen that seemed to have elevator bobbles before that they couldn't tune out, they look to be all gone. Small drifting problems, bobbles, everything.. better. And without the need of end user fine tuning. What more could we ask for?
Plus, with all the positive feedback it's already been getting, you need to at least give it some time to test. I would give Art & the gang a little more credit than that.... they wouldn't get rid of the fine tuning aspect for no good reason.

[teamdavey]

Read the whole post. The ground/air issue is a complete deal breaker for me. Art gave me a beta set to address that which got me going. Now it's gone. I can't be bothered to waste my time without that fix.

On the tuning side, the last version was "better" but without the ability to separately adjust P and D to suit I could never get it as good as a Tarot ZYX (yes really!) for scale model dynamics so I gave up and jumped ship to something I could adjust. I would take a lot of convincing that zero adjustment is going to work fora all but a narrow set of dynamic conditions. If it works for you good luck.

[highjinx]

my Trex 450 pro won't even power up the motor...everything else is fine......previously the 720 would cut power to the motor and fall to the ground (supposedly a align esc problem) now there is no power to the motor......well it won't crash either...but my Align 550 did because now the vibration problems are worse than before.........????

[georgi UK]

Originally Posted by highjinx

my Trex 450 pro won't even power up the motor...everything else is fine......previously the 720 would cut power to the motor and fall to the ground (supposedly a align esc problem) now there is no power to the motor......well it won't crash either...but my Align 550 did because now the vibration problems are worse than before.........????

=] for the esc issue, try resetting the min/max in the drive system.... And would like to see a 550 log?

[Fruitbat]

When I updated my firmware etc to V4 my preflight showed the collective had reversed from the previously installed rev 3.43.
Thinking it was due to a change in the software I reversed everything that needed to be reversed in the Skookum software, and preflighted all directions as OK. I also had to do some channel reassignments which I confirmed on the set up screens (flipping the switch and watching the marker move from cyclic 1 to 2 and back, the GPS switch was assigned correctly etc), and had to use the throttle wizard to set the throttle endpoints as it was stuck on 0
I lifted off OK (and incidentally it looked rock solid!) , climbed to approx. 12 metres and flipped into hard deck mode.
The heli immediately went to full negative and drilled into the tarmac in a dead flat attitude.
TX is a Futaba 14SG.
TX reverses are all set to "norm", apart from the throttle tab, which is reversed for some reason.
Prior to the software update everything was working well
Hard deck was set to 12 metres
The setup file was one that has been copied several times, and may have been used with a Spektrum setup and changed to use S-bus and Futaba (which is where I suspect the reason for the reversed throttle channel in the TX has occurred?)
Unfortunately I had the logging set on vibration rather than flight log.

Given the changes I made during the preflight I am sure this is something I have stuffed up rather than a software problem (so feel free to tell me if I need to make this a new thread)

It was like I had reversed the GPS compensation direction and the heli was driven into the ground as it was attempting to get back above the hard deck, similar to when you have your tail comp set up the wrong way around.

Can anyone tell me what is the most likely cause of this crash, and what I need to check on my other heli?

Is there a way to confirm that the hard deck will correct in the proper direction?

Thanks
Dave

[georgi UK]

Originally Posted by Fruitbat

When I updated my firmware etc to V4 my preflight showed the collective had reversed from the previously installed rev 3.43.
Thinking it was due to a change in the software I reversed everything that needed to be reversed in the Skookum software, and preflighted all directions as OK. I also had to do some channel reassignments which I confirmed on the set up screens (flipping the switch and watching the marker move from cyclic 1 to 2 and back, the GPS switch was assigned correctly etc), and had to use the throttle wizard to set the throttle endpoints as it was stuck on 0
I lifted off OK (and incidentally it looked rock solid!) , climbed to approx. 12 metres and flipped into hard deck mode.
The heli immediately went to full negative and drilled into the tarmac in a dead flat attitude.
TX is a Futaba 14SG.
TX reverses are all set to "norm", apart from the throttle tab, which is reversed for some reason.
Prior to the software update everything was working well
Hard deck was set to 12 metres
The setup file was one that has been copied several times, and may have been used with a Spektrum setup and changed to use S-bus and Futaba (which is where I suspect the reason for the reversed throttle channel in the TX has occurred?)
Unfortunately I had the logging set on vibration rather than flight log.

Given the changes I made during the preflight I am sure this is something I have stuffed up rather than a software problem (so feel free to tell me if I need to make this a new thread)

It was like I had reversed the GPS compensation direction and the heli was driven into the ground as it was attempting to get back above the hard deck, similar to when you have your tail comp set up the wrong way around.

Can anyone tell me what is the most likely cause of this crash, and what I need to check on my other heli?

Is there a way to confirm that the hard deck will correct in the proper direction?

Thanks
Dave

=] Dave so sorry to hear of this, if you set the logging to playback we can now see a bench test, so move the controls around to get a log, this way SK can see where the reverse has taken place,

[Fruitbat]

Thanks Georgi,
I have been digging a little deeper into the setup file and realised that the fore-aft offset had also been reversed from -ve (as it should be) to positive.
Could this be a cause?
If not I'll try to set up a spare RX to do the bench test and send it through.

[georgi UK]

Originally Posted by Fruitbat

Thanks Georgi,
I have been digging a little deeper into the setup file and realised that the fore-aft offset had also been reversed from -ve (as it should be) to positive.
Could this be a cause?
If not I'll try to set up a spare RX to do the bench test and send it through.

=] that parameter doesn't actually do anything at the mo, but will in the future, so dig deeper!

[Fruitbat]

OK, so connected it all back up again.
I attempted to open the flight log of it sitting on the bench and cycling the controls but got an error message saying must be airbourne for at least 15 seconds... hopefully you have a magic way of seeing the data!

-All servos still operate in the correct directions when in normal
-As per Georgi's last post the negative/positive fore/aft made no difference
-When I flick into hard deck mode or position hold, the swash drops to a negative pitch position (I cant really measure how many degrees, things are a bit broken....) and I get the fast red/green flash indicating that the GPS is in control
-The yaw and orientation sensors show all movements in the correct directions
-Gyro motion seems to be correct

edit-
Tried reversing the servo direction of the cyclics in the swashplate menu, and reversing the corresponding channels in the TX, so that Ail, ele, thr and pitch are all now "REV" in the TX (its a Futaba I that makes a difference!)
Now when I bench test the swash jumps up, adding positive pitch as I would expect it to when going into hard deck on the ground
Is this the answer and method of confirming that the GPS hard deck is working in the right direction?

[thefrog]

I posted this in another thread:

Originally Posted by thefrog

I saw the news of the v4 update this morning so slapped it onto both my SK540 birds. I didn't do any tuning beforehand or reading up on the changes. I had a mechanical issue with my nitro so I didn't get to push it at all. My electric 700 felt a bit slow on the cyclic (almost caught me out) but very predictable and linear feel too.

I'm mindful of the placebo effect but I liked what I felt on the sticks and enjoyed the flights. I dare-say if they fly well and tune easily in the next few weeks I won't replace them like I'd been planning (I found other controllers I prefer).

Only issues are elevator bounce on hard stops (more hiller decay needed?) and slow initial cyclic response (more cyclic acceleration needed?). Any idea on numbers, running default at the moment.

[georgi UK]

=] yes the collective is reversed, quite how I'm not sure? but the gps would have been using the wrong outputs...... might need SK to get involved if you can't fathom why?

[Fruitbat]

I just tried my other SK720+GPS heli, and found that after updating the FBL to V4 the collective is also reversed. I have done no changes to either the TX or FBL on this heli from what it was flying nicely with on 3.34.

[georgi UK]

=] def. one for SK then!

[augur]

Hi.

After the update I have an error with the configuration...there is a warning that it is corrupted. I loaded an 3.43 setup again and now everything seems fine again. Is it possible that the update process does not finished correctly? Can I check the status of the firmware somehow? I am afraid that the firmware was not flashed correctly.

Thanks,
Nils

[georgi UK]

Originally Posted by augur

Hi.

After the update I have an error with the configuration...there is a warning that it is corrupted. I loaded an 3.43 setup again and now everything seems fine again. Is it possible that the update process does not finished correctly? Can I check the status of the firmware somehow? I am afraid that the firmware was not flashed correctly.

Thanks,
Nils

=] 4.01 is now on the server, can you please try again using that?

[Fruitbat]

Originally Posted by georgi UK

=] yes the collective is reversed, quite how I'm not sure? but the gps would have been using the wrong outputs...... might need SK to get involved if you can't fathom why?

Is there anything special about setting up the Futaba 14SG, FAAST receiver and S-Bus connection that might be highlighted in the new version?
For example, are all channels supposed to be reversed in a Futaba X before initial setup?

EDIT- OK, there is a problem with reversing TX and swash servo directions so that collective, cyclic and GPS hard deck all react in the correct directions....self level becomes reversed!
I can get around that one by telling the FBL that it is facing backwards not forwards, but then it gets tricky using the orientation sensors as they are showing the opposite to what is actually happening even though the swash is doing exactly what it is supposed to.

[augur]

Hi.

Used version 4.01 already for this. I relaoded the firmware from a backup file and now it seems to be running again. But I am unsure that everything is totally fine even if it is running on the bench.

Cheers,
Nils

[georgi UK]

Originally Posted by Fruitbat

Is there anything special about setting up the Futaba 14SG, FAAST receiver and S-Bus connection that might be highlighted in the new version?
For example, are all channels supposed to be reversed in a Futaba X before initial setup?

=] not sure? maybe 4.01 fixes things, I'm not clear on where the reverse comes from?