Newbie question with Vision Plus?

[IrishSights]

Re: Hello from a newbie with questions

Another question to PV2+ owners....Do you plan on or want to modify the look of your bird?

The reason I'm asking is because I've seen the beautiful modifications to earlier phantom models. Sometime down the road and once I've mastered controlling my bird in flight, I would like to alter its appearance and change it to an all black bird. I've seen other birds that have been painted and/or stickered to look like a true phantom. Birds that have been painted to be 'ravens' of the sky....they are beautiful! The stock, white, cheap plastic shell of the original quadrocopter leaves little to be desired really...

Thought about, researched and not worried about specific carbon props myself. But, I can see my bird being all black with fake carbon fiber decals on the top half of the shell.

Will this interfere with the compass and/or calibration of the unit?

Here is a video of an older phantom that altered to make it unique with a new paint job:

http://youtu.be/pGf7uTBqufs

Here is a video of a phantom that has been professionally carbon dipped and really a WOW factor bird:

http://youtu.be/84JuiYNdspI

and lastly, here's a bird that is a combination of both...been painted and not professionally carbon dipped but still looking quite good:

http://youtu.be/BsmQ-8REpso

Thoughts on vinyl decals, paint and difficulty with painting a PV2+?

thanks!

Spray painting the top shell is a piece of cake really. Once you get those pesky screws out from the arm tips and disconnect the GPS. I just masked off the vents on the inside. i was going to spray a clear laquer over the colour but it wasn't nessecary. Painting the bottom half is more of a pain though. a lot of masking and removal of camera gimbel, TX, GS etc. (mines a P2) I wanted a daglow orange face for easy spotting even though I have the IOSD mini to see when it is facing me. i was pleased with mine dispite the effort. I dont think my cat is too pleased as it walked in front of me and now has a dayglow orange tip to her tail lol.

 

[wattsn]

Re: Newbie question, can I use Ground Station with Vision Pl

Unfortunately no you cannot use it and will likely never be able to use the current iPad Ground Station app with the Vision+. Real bummer. DJI are apparently testing a version for the Vision+ plus but looking at the features it seems very limited and poor compared to the current version. I am selling my Vision+ because of this and will likely get a P2 with GoPro camera and FPV solution.

 

[Mori55]

Re: Newbie question, can I use Ground Station with Vision Pl

Read this all you need to know !
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2156939

 

[wattsn]

Re: Newbie question, can I use Ground Station with Vision Pl

Read this all you need to know !
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2156939

Sure but that's a pretty crippled version of the current GS app. The features look quite poor. I would prefer to use the full GS app and am trying to find out if I add the Can-Bus option can I then add an iOSD and BTU module and get OSD and GS operation?

Anyone care to comment?

Thanks.

 

[david_r48]

newbie with loads of questions

Hi I am totally new to the phantom scene and have more than a few question's concerning the Phantom vision plus and your help would be appreciated.
I have been flying radio controlled aircraft/helis/gliders electric and ic up to third scale over the last twenty or so years so well familiar with rc aircraft.
However there are a few questions I would answering;
1/ FLYAWAYS - is there a definitive reason for this as this scares me, Ive heard some the go pro is thought to be responsible - if this is the case is the vision plus exempt from flyaways ?? when a fly away happens you can switch right hand switch down a click and regain full control stopping the fly away but without gps lock ?? is this true what is the cure ?

2/ HOME POINT Is this set from the last take off location ?

3/ COMPASS CALIBRATION Should this be done before every flight or just once per visit/session ?

4/what are users settings for the battery should it be left as per the basic settings ?

5/ should the height/radius settings be changed from the basic setting's ?

6/ Altimeter appears to be inaccurate (up to twelve feet out) does this mean upon returning to home will it drill itself into the deck ?

7/does green and amber mean ok to fly but without gps lock ?

and lastly

8/How do I know which fat shark/ monitor will work with my Phantom ?

thanks for your help in advance
Dave

 

[Mori55]

Re: Newbie question, can I use Ground Station with Vision Pl

No you can't , this has been asked on this and other forums. Blu tooth won't work with the + for one thing.

 

[Sasquatch]

Re: Hello from a newbie with questions

Hey IrishSights,

Sorry for the late response but thank you for your answers to my questions. I was thinking about painting the bottom half of the shell black and using a vinyl decal on top shell. This is not something I plan on doing anytime soon, but maybe down the road. Do you have any photos that you can post of your P2 that's been painted?

In other news, I've had my fourth successful flight this morning. My maiden flight didn't record or, I did something wrong. But since then, I've had 3 more successful but pretty tame flights. My dad came over on Father's day and he wanted to see it in action so we went out. Then I have done two other flights on my own. All have gone well mostly, a couple of scary moments but nothing serious AND they were because of my own mistakes.

I've still got one weird issue; the telemetry reporting the height of the copter is always incorrect. It's reporting that the craft is about 15 feet higher than it is. Could this be because when I first calibrated the compass, I did it on the second floor of my house while indoors?

 

[IrishSights]

Re: Hello from a newbie with questions

Hey IrishSights,

Do you have any photos that you can post of your P2 that's been painted?

Here is my latest livery:[attachment=-1]Untitled[/attachment]

Sent from my Galaxy Note 8

 

[Sasquatch]

Re: Hello from a newbie with questions

A nice looking modified bird, Irish! I like it and it's similar to what I envision. Have you thought about painting the props though? The while props look good, but maybe black would be better?

 

[Sasquatch]

Re: Hello from a newbie with questions

I forgot to ask this; is the PV2+ booster app worth it.....does it make any noticeable difference?

 

[Mori55]

Re: newbie with loads of questions

Not to be a ****, but do a little searching , all these questions have been asked over and over , some of these I just read. And read your manual.

 

[tomas99]

Re: newbie with loads of questions

Newbie my self and I got this very good thread recommended before that contain some of the answers,
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4938

-Tomas

 

[yawnalot29]

Re: newbie with loads of questions

1/ FLYAWAYS - is there a definitive reason for this as this scares me, Ive heard some the go pro is thought to be responsible - if this is the case is the vision plus exempt from flyaways ?? when a fly away happens you can switch right hand switch down a click and regain full control stopping the fly away but without gps lock ?? is this true what is the cure ?

There are no definitive answer per se. The consensus is that most of the time it is due to pilot error. Here are some top candidate of reason for fly away:

- No proper home lock.
- Flying before good GPS signal / lock
- Flying while solar activity is strong (K-index > 3)
- Improper compass calibration (I am skeptical about this one).

A good number of features depends on good GPS lock. If you don't have a good "Home" position locked or THINK you have a home position lock and then the quad goes into RTH (Return TO Home) mode, it'll "fly away" to where it think the home is. Or if you suddenly lose signal w/o a good home position lock.

Given you are an experienced pilot, it maybe safer for you to stay in ATTI mode and minimize the reliance on GPS.

On the "right hand switch", I don't know if it can prevent it in midstream of fly away. I suppose it's a good possibility. What you described is going from GPS mode to ATTI mode.

2/ HOME POINT Is this set from the last take off location ?

Manual has a description on this as well as multiple threads on this discussion.

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18360
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=17974
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18346
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18022

The issue is that the manual is ambiguous and that's why you get all these threads discussion about when the HOME POINT is set. You can remove some of the ambiguity by imposing your own constrains. That's safest.

P2V+ Manual here
http://download.dji-innovations.com/dow ... 1.3_en.pdf

On Page 41, under "4 Failsafe Function", the manual stated:

"Home Point: When the Phantom enters 'Ready to Fly' from the 'Ready to Fly status (non-GPS)', the GPS coordinates will be recorded and set as the home point.

SO what if you take off w/o it going from "non-GPS" mode into "GPS" mode and then some where in mid-air it went into "GPS" mode? Instead, simply stipulate to yourself, "Home Point is recorded when you have 7 or more satellite lock". Done. Or better yet, once HOME Point is recorded (or you think it is), move away 50 feet and look at the Vision App to see where it thinks "Home" is at.

Page 9 of the manual will explain the "Ready to Fly" and "Ready to Fly (non-GPS)" mode.

3/ COMPASS CALIBRATION Should this be done before every flight or just once per visit/session ?

Again, it is ambiguous. Why not just do it every time? It takes 30 seconds. So do it every time and get that piece of mind. Technically, you do NOT need to do it before every flight. I don't do it before every flight. I do it before first flight at THAT location. The calibration is to adjust for the magnetic inclination variance. Manual says when you are 50 miles away from your last calibration spot. Again, too many complicated rule. Make it easy on yourself. Do 1 calibration before 1st flight per visit.

4/what are users settings for the battery should it be left as per the basic settings ?

Leave at basic setting until you get more comfortable with the quad couple with your flying style and the battery characteristic. The last thing you want is at 300 feet high and you are down to 5% battery. After a while you'll know how high / far you typically fly, and how many % of battery it'll take you to go from peek to home. Then you can set your level accordingly.

5/ should the height/radius settings be changed from the basic setting's ?

I would leave it for a few flights until you get familiar with your particular quad's characteristic and the general environment you are flying in, and your comfort level. If nothing else, you don't want to set it further then your signal can travel. Maybe set it before the signal dies. This way you don't trigger RTH unnecessarily.

6/ Altimeter appears to be inaccurate (up to twelve feet out) does this mean upon returning to home will it drill itself into the deck ?

No. The propeller provides "upward" lift and it does not provide "downward" push (remember the props are auto tighten?). So the least amount of lift is turning the prop off. And it sits on the deck pretty good with prop off. Hope this makes sense.

7/does green and amber mean ok to fly but without gps lock ?

You can fly in any light situation. You just need to understand what the light means and what you can or can not rely on and fly accordingly.

The light pattern in Phantom mode are different from NAZA mode. So when you switch mode, make sure you are using the right reference.

Most experienced pilot, seems to prefer to fly in ATTI mode.

Please see Page 71 for LED Flight Indicator Status. The link to manual is above.

8/How do I know which fat shark/ monitor will work with my Phantom ?

Call the hobby shop that carries both Phantom and fat shark. I am sure they'll tell you. These video might help, see if you can identify the fat shark they use.

Now I assume you are NOT talking about Fatshark with P2V+.

http://vimeo.com/82325586

http://bestquadcopter.com/install-fpv-system-phantom-2/

Here they are selling a package:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/231241002531?lpid=82

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/231218679620?lpid=82

 

[david_r48]

Re: newbie with loads of questions

Thank you YAWNALOT most useful and informative thanks for your time taken to reply

 

[Jetfixer]

Noob questions

Hello everyone, I'm a total noobie at this, but I am willing to learn! I have ordered, but not yet received my Vision 2+ and have been reading along here for some answers. A couple of questions that I haven't found answers to are:
About how long do good quality, fresh AA batteries last in the transmitter? Is the 4 GB card sufficient, or are you guys putting larger cards in? I've read a lot about prop balancing to eliminate "jello". Have most people been able to fly out of the box without having to balance these props, or do they all seem to need to be balanced first? I'm an aircraft mechanic by trade so I'm used to following exacting directions to great detail. I can guarantee you all that I will be spending many hours practicing the beginner pilot guide!! Please feel free to offer your suggestions. Thanks!

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

Re: Noob questions

Hi Jetfixer, welcome.
I think you should get around 20 flights from your AAs. Simple thing to do is always carry a spare set with you. Get yourself a decent brand name micro usb card, you can get up to a 32gb card and make sure its a class 10. Ive never had a problem with props apart from smashing a few so get some spares, ive never balanced props because ive had no need to. Here's a link to a thread where I posted some must watch videos for new flyers.
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18180&p=166001#p166001

Happy flying,

Mal.

 

[Mori55]

I have flown out of the box with the props , they're pretty well balanced.

 

[IrishSights]

Is the 4 GB card sufficient, or are you guys putting larger cards in?

I'm using a high data transfer rate 64gb Lexmark class 10 in my P2z, not sure the max for the P2V+ . It gets nice smooth videos at the higher resolution of my GoPro Hero 3+. Probably a bit of an overkill

Sent from Samsung S4 via Tapatalk