Flight Controllers Help Lots Of It

[Peter John Robertson]

Have been flying my DJI Mavic Pro and Spark for several years now but recently bumped into a couple of youngster flying racing drones. Anyway to cut a long story short I got interested. So at 69 years young I thought now retired so let’s have some fun with whatever years are left.
Purchased to second hand racers both have F3 boards. Anyway found it not easy to fly these beast. Landed up tuning down all parameters, so now I can just about control them, albeit very slowly but have a great deal of trouble keeping them at any given height, so consequently more crashes then flight.
Best thing I thought was to change the board on one with a board that will allow me to add a gps/compass unit onto it. That way in my old mind will help me learn how to fly the beasts.
So have purchased a Ominbus Betaflight F4 OSD FPV V1 board but now find I am stumped as to how to plumb it in and cannot find anywhere that will help, plenty of stuff on other boards.
So is there anyone out there that can help out, it would be much appreciated and help out an old fart.

 

[RandyDSok]

Just a heads up....

You've posted this in the wrong forum area for the subject of your post... it happens and isn't a big deal but you should know that you should always post in a forum area that matches whatever subject you are posting about so yourself and others can find it easier. So at some point, when a mod/admin gets the time ( and notices it )... they will likely move this to the appropriate forum area ( in the multi rotor area under either the drone or controller subtitle ( since it'd fit in either ).

Most ( if not all ) forums are also setup like that, ie post in a forum area that fits the subject you are posting about. This forum is also a user to user forum... so most responses will be from other users that are familiar with the subject ( even if only in a general sense ).

Just as an FYI...

iRacing is not an RC subject ( which is why it's posted under the RC-Help Lounge which is for other non-RC related subjects ). It is a computer racing simulation game ( subscription based ) that some here like to chit chat about from time to time. If it sounds like a subject you may be interested in, a quick Google search will give you more info.

 

[Peter John Robertson]

Thanks for the heads up rdsok. I did look at the forum titles but wasn’t sure where to post my cry for help, got it wrong first time, probably I am doomed from the outset.
Hopefully one of the masters will see my cock up and put it in its right place for me.
Many thanks again.

 

[Stambo]

Peter, no disrespect intended here but rather than use automation as a crutch, would you not be better off developing the skills to fly what you have.
We all crashed more than once getting to the level we are at, and as you push the envelope be prepared to crash some more.
Stock up on propellers, they are a consumable, buy in bulk.
I found the same as you, maintaining altitude is the most difficult part.
Mavic pro and Spark have all the automated features that give you the ability to fly, but those features also teach you bad habits as you tend to rely on them.
I would liken it to the difference between a top end luxury car and a high performance sports car.
There is a learning curve, possibly made more difficult as you have already been flying with automation.
What do you hope to achieve with these machines?
If it is low level, high speed proximity flight, GPS and baro will not help as the response time is not fast enough at high speed and low altitude.
What do you use for video, goggles or a screen, it all makes a difference.
Do you use self level or acro mode.

Off course we will help with setting up your new board, depending on what is already on there, it will most likely be an improvement.
It will also mean you can run the latest version of Betaflight that has Acro Trainer mode, the best thing since sliced bread for beginners as it has the ability to run acro mode but with a maximum tilt angle. (Learning acro mode is a must for smooth flight)

A little more information is needed though.
What are the quads, home built or bought ready to fly.
What is the existing flight controller.
What transmitter/receiver do you have.
What is your skill level regarding soldering and adjusting flight controller parameters with the PC app, using a PC in general.
What equipment do you have, a good, fine tip soldering iron is a must.
You need good lighting and a space to work that you can walk away from and come back to without having to pack up each time.

 

[D.O.G.]

Hey there Peter. I have the Omnibus F4V2 FC which works great for me. Find your FC and this might help you out some. omnibus pinout - Google Search

 

[Tony]

Went ahead and put this in the Multirotor section under the Flight Controller section.

I'm out of the loop right now on quads, but I will say one thing. If you have not soft mounted your F4 flight controller, you will have issues. The F4 gyro chip (one specific one, can't remember the number) is very sensitive. The F3 is better for just starting out.

If the F3 was hard to fly, check to see if the accelerometer is turned on. If it is off, that will disable Angle and Horizon mode. Angle is an "always up" mode and will always keep the quad level. Horizon is like Angle, but with full stick deflection it will allow you to do flips and such. Whatever you do, do not get used to flying via GPS which is may be too late after having that DJI. Racing quads are not hands off and require some technique to fly and to get that, you just have to practice. And quads are some of the cheapest to learn on. Props are cheap.

Also, when you are learning to fly the quads. you can fly in Rate mode which is like having the accelerometer off and in that mode, it will teach you how to fly a 6 channel helicopter. Just something to keep in mind if you are interested.

And most importantly, welcome to the forum!

 

[Peter John Robertson]

Hi Guys I will reply to you all as one and firstly thank you all for responding.
You are correct in basically saying the best way to learn is with what I have and the Mavic and Spark has put me into a false sense of security. I shall persevere and have ordered many props.
I have now set up both beasties with Angle Mode but have not been out there to try them as yet, a few more hours then I shall be giving it a go.
I have purchased a Turnigy Evolution and a set of Skyzone SKYO2S V+ goggles. Both of which are working fine, have not donned the goggles as yet. Have a hard job seeing where the little beast is with nothing around my eyes. Now that I have tuned everything down and now using 3S batts instead of 4S has given me some form of control ability. Can now get them to hover in more or less the same place, yes I still have to do a little tweak often to keep them in that piece of air, getting better though.
Generally I learn by mistakes I make and taking note of what others say. Tend to jump in at the deep end and tinker. To give you all a little laugh at my expense. I decide to buy a yacht and sail the world, got the yacht, six weeks later set sail. The first few hours was on the engine, the wind picked up and I told wifey time to set the sails, there was this rope on the boom and not sure what it was for I gave it a yank, the boom dropped on my head. We did sail the world.
So life is all about learning and that’s what I shall continue to do with a load of help from you guys. With regards to my equipment some I have already mentioned, the units l could not tell you the make but for sure they are not off the shelf. Both have Betaflight F3 boards, but for them to work with the Evolution I had to change the receivers, put in the one that came with the Evolution. One has a Foxeer camera and the other a Runcam. One has Favourite Littlebee esc and the other don’t know as can’t find any labels. See attached pics. My level of electrics/electronics/mechanics and engineering ain’t too bad. 14yrs in the British Royal Navy as a Control Electrical Mechanic taught me a lot. Having said that I came out at 30, now 69 so things have come a long way since. Have all the necessary tools and more to get the job done. Main tool though is enthusiasm.
With regards to the new board I have, I find hundreds of boards on sites including the one I bought but on non of the sites can I get a pin out of it so would at some stage like for someone to help out on wiring it up.
Many thanks once again. Silly old fart going back to the drawing board.

 

[Tony]

I have that frame and I started a build in it but never finished it. To say that frame is tight with little space is like saying water is wet. It's like trying to build a car in your bathroom... Not sure if I will get back to that project or not, but hoping to.

As for the pinout of the board pictured in the first post, everything is screen printed on the board as to what it is. Of course if you have questions as to what each thing is, let us know which ones you have questions about. I'm working on some servers right now but I will try to get online and get a proper schematic for you on that board soon.

It's all about having fun, just remember that.

As for FPV, the best advice I can give you is, when you have the goggles on, don't try to hover. Hovering is incredibly hard when you can't see the ground. Most times you will be going backwards when you think you are sitting still. So always try to be in some kind of forward flight when you have the goggles on.

 

[Peter John Robertson]

I have that frame and I started a build in it but never finished it. To say that frame is tight with little space is like saying water is wet. It's like trying to build a car in your bathroom... Not sure if I will get back to that project or not, but hoping to.

As for the pinout of the board pictured in the first post, everything is screen printed on the board as to what it is. Of course if you have questions as to what each thing is, let us know which ones you have questions about. I'm working on some servers right now but I will try to get online and get a proper schematic for you on that board soon.

It's all about having fun, just remember that.

As for FPV, the best advice I can give you is, when you have the goggles on, don't try to hover. Hovering is incredibly hard when you can't see the ground. Most times you will be going backwards when you think you are sitting still. So always try to be in some kind of forward flight when you have the goggles on.

 

[Peter John Robertson]

Hi Tony, yes having fun is what I intend to have. Yes and those frames I have are rather tight, had a job fitting the new receivers in them. I think they are classed as a 5” frame. It would of been easier if it were 5” tall and wide ha!
Just got back from testing again, had set it up for Angle mode but like a silly old idiot after a couple of crashes and batttery going flat found out I had never turn the switch on that I had set up for it.
Also took my goggles with me to try them out but landed up not doing so even though they were on my head and that was for the very reason you mentioned. How the hell was I going to keep her hovering.
With regards the new board I have from reading lots I believe I will need a PDB board, is that correct.
Any schematic and pin out will be very helpful when you can.
Thank you all for taking the time.

 

[Tony]

lol, yea. The class as 5" is meaning the prop size. Definitely one of the tightest frames I have ever built in.

I have looked for something more than what is on the board already and I'm coming up empty. Yes, you will need a PDB with a built in voltage regulator or BEC. The board will need 5vDC in the VIN port and of course GND is ground. Man I'm out of the loop on everything quad lol. If you can find a 4-1 ESC PDB, that would be best. Just do a two board stack and you are set.

 

[Peter John Robertson]

Yep I came up blank on the board. I will order a PDB board as you say.
I am living in France at the moment with my brother, we are in the French alps, so lots of snow, the good thing about that is the field I go to to test these things is yes you’ve guessed full of snow so when I crash no hard bumps.

 

[Tony]

Snow will definitely cushion the fall, but you have to be mindful of the water. If you have an air compressor, blowing it off after flying might be a good idea. Or, a can of compressed air will work as well. Water and electronics, well.. you know lol.

If you find some PDB's that you like, post them up and we will try to help out. Just remember though, you need to soft mount that F4 FC otherwise it will be uncontrollable. Let me see if I can find some info on the gyro chip they are using in that one before I put my foot in my mouth...

 

[Tony]

Okay, it looks like that F4 has the MPU6000 gyro chip on it which is the slower but more vibration resistant chip, so that's good. No worry about soft mounting.

 

[Peter John Robertson]

Hi Tony, yes i am aware of the water threat so have coated the boards in silicone conformal coating then when I get them back home I give them a hair drying. So far no problems with the electronics.
I will take a look at the PDB’s tomorrow.
That’s good news about the gyro on the new board.
Thanks.

 

[Tony]

You went further than I would have with the conformal coating. Nice!

 

[Peter John Robertson]

Been using the stuff or similar for years now. Learnt it in my ham radio days.

 

[Tony]

Awesome

 

[Peter John Robertson]

Funny how the old memory kicks in now and then. Mostly the then rather then the now.

 

[Stambo]

A little bit of advice, DON'T TRY TO HOVER, that is the hardest thing to do when flying with goggles on.
Without GPS, trying to get a race quad to hover in one spot is like trying to balance a marble on a sheet of glass.
It can be done but it is not easy.
Get yourself a comfortable height off the ground and keep moving forward, slowly at first, then faster as confidence grows.
While you are moving forward you can see what there is to crash in to and hopefully avoid it.
Altitude is your friend, you can't crash into the air.
I found a fenced paddock was a great help, get a couple of meters above and off to one side of the fence and fly around the paddock using the fence as your reference.
Then fly battery after battery.
If those F3s support the latest version of Betaflight, I think they do, install it on one and enable Acro Trainer mode.
This will give you Acro with a maximum tilt angle so you just cannot tip it over.
You can reduce this angle as low as you like in the settings and increase as you get more comfortable.
Once you fly for a while in acro, any self level modes will feel awful.
The most important thing is ENJOY, my hands were shaking after my first FPV flight with goggles on, but the buzz lasted way beyond that.

EDIT: Ok I just noticed Tony gave you the same advice, "don't hover, keep moving forward."