DJI Innovations XP3.1 GPS/INS Autopilot Review

[andrebandre]

Ahmet,
The controls will feel mushy compared to how the heli feels when no DJI assistance is engaged no matter what but 10 seconds to stop from fast forward flight especially when you give it full back elevator is way too much.
It seems to me the swash doesnt respond proprtionally to your stick inputs.
Just play with the gains (increase) to make it more responsive at least when the sticks are released to their neutral positon, make shure the travel of your sticks on the software are proportional and equal to your radio stick deflection and dont use expo.
And in the advanced tab increase the horizontal and vertical speed.
I haven't touched my heli in a while i dont remember exactly how the aadvanced window looks but you will figure it out with patience and a lot of trial.
It takes a while to fine tune it to your liking as much as the DJI is capable to allow it.

[jacobmarble]

Originally Posted by andrebandre

...10 seconds to stop from fast forward flight especially when you give it full back elevator is way too much.

Originally Posted by helicek

Final parameters
Gains roll=120 yaw=270 pitch=140 vert=35
Swash mix=60x60x60
max speed pitch=10 roll=10
max acc pitch=1.5 roll=1.5

From a dead stop to "full speed" (in your case 10 meters per second and 1.5 meters per second squared) takes 6.7 seconds, give or take. 6.7 = 10 divided by 1.5

In firmware versions prior to 40406, when the heli is going "full speed" and you let go of the sticks, it takes 6.7 seconds to stop.

The perceived time to stop can be as long as 15 minutes, depending on how much money you have spent on the heli.

40406 stops the heli much faster than what I just described.

[helicek]

disciple4123, jacobmarble, rerazor, andrebandre
Thank you all.

Like you said 3secs of very mushy control response might have felt like 10secs. I had not actually timed it then. It is the same thing with vertical performance under "attitude mode" and "auto mode" influence.

In page 40 of my DJI manual in section 4.5.1 Pre Flight Examination Process, Under stage 7.
Manual test : "note: it is normal that the swash move in a small range by pushing the stick in auto mode"

Now I know what they mean by that statement. I guess I will try different values until I find the combination that give me satisfactory heli response in "attitude mod" and "auto mode".
Flying (when you are ready) an rc helicopter at your favourite club's site can be a very satisfying and pleasent experience.
You know the typical scenario:
Flying your fully laden ap ship at a construction site with no safe landing zone, wind playing havoc all over, having to fly your heli right against the bright sun shine and temps around 35deg C while you are sweating and shaking and the camera operator asks you to hold it still.

Well, that is why I need DJI to work as best as I can get it to. I also expect to do things like balcony view shots, panoramas and long and steady aerial videos that were very difficult before.

I would like to be able to contribute as I get proficient with this thing. But till then there is going to be a lot of asking

[disciple4123]

You are quite welcome. I will say that it may get some getting used to the way it flies. Apart from that I would try a flight with the following: Lower your swash mix to 40% on AIL and ELEV, and make your ROLL-PITCH gains 180 and 200. For some reason that made a lot of difference on my unit running the 40406 firmware (newest). I can explain how it interprets DJI output resolution via the swash mix menu, but it is all speculation, the proof is in the performance.

The mentioned change will reduce your cyclic authority, adjust travel adjust (ATV) or dual rate to increase if you feel you need it. I doubt your cameraship needs any extra authority for a test flight, but I am not there.

In the coming weeks I plan to post some video of proper DJI operation, but rerazor has some postings that are old but valid as to what you probably want to see.

I had a friend I was assisting with DJI, he advised me he was running a Kenyon gyro at the same time That is something else, I would not run a kenyon gyroscopic gyro (if you are), it may confuse the IMU.

[andrebandre]

Originally Posted by helicek

Flying your fully laden ap ship with no safe landing zone and temps around 35deg C while you are sweating and shaking.

You are not alone.

[andrebandre]

Originally Posted by jacobmarble

The perceived time to stop can be as long as 15 minutes, depending on how much money you have spent on the heli.

I say that is streching it a bit.
Maby for someone who has never seen an RC Aeromodel before in his life and he was handed the sticks of a Yamaha R-MAX would feel that way.

[rerazor]

Firmware 40406 solves any issues. The heli reacts to stick inputs the same way it does in manual mode.

So if you are flying forward and want to stop or back up apply rear elevator and the heli instantly reacts albeit with a little bit of expo feel.

[jacobmarble]

Jeez, I just did some flying with 40406 for the first time today and I can't believe the difference. I think the vertical and yaw axes feel the same as before (I wish yaw wasn't so slow, let me set DR/expo in the radio), but pitch and roll are more reactive. I flew some lazy eights and did some quick stops by pushing the stick in the opposite direction, etc. It feels safer.

Robert, I agree that it feels the way the cyclic stick inputs feel in manual mode. I switched to attitude mode and pushed lots of roll input to see if I could get the heli to roll over, but it wouldn't.

BTW, I fixed the tail bounce issue. It looks like I had faulty hardware; with new hardware (came with new firmware) I can piro at full stick 3 or 4 times and never get a bounce. I'm relieved, to say the least. It's frustrating when you do everything and nothing fixes your problem.

[PatrikR]

So how do one go about upgrading to 40406 and 1.4.3?

[jacobmarble]

So how do one go about upgrading to 40406 and 1.4.3?

Your distributor can ship the unit to DJI for you. Contact them, 40406 is worth the wait.

[tott]

What is the cost of the gimbal update to my current DJI setup. I was going to send it in for the latest update and want to know if it was worth the upgrade price for the gimbal stabilization...

My concern is that I already use the AUX port of the DJI for my second battery input (I use a duralite gemini dual battery redundancy system).

I will be using this with an underslung mount so the wiring woudl inhibit the 360 degree rotation without tangling the wires.

I already use two gy401 gyros on the mount to stabilize it with great success. However, I may switch this DJI system to my front mount helicopter and would like to use the gimbal upgrade there......but only if it is MUCH better than the 2 gy401 gyros at holding the position of the camera for video....

Any feedback or thoughts...If someone is using the gimbal function PLEASE chime in....I would like to get it from those who are using it....otherwise any info is GREATLY appreciated as well....

THANKS,
JASON

[jacobmarble]

I think it's $400. I was planning to try it with Ace One. In theory, an IMU should be better than a couple GY401s... there's my $0.02.

Also, with two battery sources, you are really only using 6 channels. Put y-harnesses on the BATT and AUX channels and plug the gimbal tilt and roll servos in.

Be clear: I have not used this feature.

[ontatye]

Dear friends,

I tested the LTH function of XP3.1SD.
Movie was up-loaded below.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVADvCNqkos&feature=player_embedded[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzcU1Hpbc0E&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

I got excited because the helicopter had returned by the automatic operation.

Thank you.

[sidneyw]

Originally Posted by ontatye

Dear friends,

I tested the LTH function of XP3.1SD.
Movie was up-loaded below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVADv...layer_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzcU1...layer_embedded

I got excited because the helicopter had returned by the automatic operation.

Thank you.

Youtube links don't work, video removed?