Normal Orientation versus IOC Course Lock?

[GadgetGuy]

I think the app's description is correct. What you suggest would be the equivalent of Home Lock, not Course Lock. In Course Lock, forward is set to the nose direction (and stays locked in that direction even if you change the nose direction).

If you locked in the Course Lock direction when the nose of the 'copter was facing you - as is likely when you take off and the initial Course Lock direction is automatically set - then the Course Lock "forward" will be away from you. But, you can point the 'copter in any direction then reset the Course Lock (Orientation Lock) and the new forward direction will be set in the direction that the nose is pointing. It will remain the forward direction even if you point the nose a different way unless you switch out of CL or reset the CL direction.

-- Roger

Clearly, it has confused me! I haven't used it yet, so I appreciate the attempted clarification. However, I do believe I have interpreted it correctly, if you look at the diagram with the red and green arrows on the transmitter and the aircraft. If I use your interpretation, the green and red arrows over the aircraft would need to be rotated 45° clockwise to correspond with your description of the effect. With the red and green arrows over the aircraft in their current orientation, I still believe I am correct, but please correct me, if I still have it all wrong! Either the diagram is wrong or the text is confusing in its use of the words "current nose direction of the aircraft." I agree that the best way to use Orientation Lock for a flyby of a monument would be to first point the nose of the aircraft in the intended direction of flight, which is best if it is directly towards you or away from you, then activate Orientation Lock with the switch changed to F, and simply keep the camera pointing at your monument with the rotation of the left stick, as you fly by on the same line that will bring the craft directly back to you when needed! Then, no matter who is right, it will not mess either of us up!

 

[envisionabove]

For Idiots like me seeing is better than reading...
Take it out to the largest field you can find and play.
It's a weird feeling at first, you'll catch on rather quick and nothing can get hurt.
It's a whole other ballgame, Muscle memory all over again... Like speaking 3 languages practice.

You'll see what I mean about muscle memory...
And the need for a big open area...
Hope this helps you guys...
One last tip! Don't watch the Video Screen watch the Bird in the beginning.

((( And to the OP thanks for bringing this topic up again, when the P3 came out not much info was available. )))

 

[pipman]

And that mode also works with the flight simulator inside the app . . . safe way to see how it works.

 

[N017RW]

Remember resetting and enabling OC/HL are two different things.

It's frustrating that you admit confusion, have never tried it, and then want to debate it's use and functionality.
"Clearly, it has confused me! I haven't used it yet, so I appreciate the attempted clarification."

So why not go out today or ASAP and TRY it.

 

[Hessam]

I learned something here, thank you guys. Now I'm going to test the simulator before actual field test!!

 

[jadebox]

Any time you want to bring the aircraft straight back to you (say to restore FPV when at range extremes), no matter which direction the aircraft nose is pointed, just turn on Orientation Lock and pull back on the right stick until FPV is restored, or until the aircraft is above you again!

That will only work if the Course Lock's "forward" direction is set pointing away from you. This will be the case if you took off with the nose facing away from you.

If, however, you were to turn on the 'copter and take off with the nose pointed towards you, then turning on Orientation Lock later followed by pulling back on the right stick will cause the 'copter to fly away from you.

The Course Lock's forward direction is set when you take off or when you manually reset it later through the app.

-- Roger

 

[dysan911]

Would you even need to turn on CL anyway if you were already orienting the nose to face away from you? Just pull back on the right stick and it will come back with or without CL turned on.

 

[N017RW]

It will return at that heading but it may or may not intersect with your location.

Only Home Lock would guarantee a direct intercept.

 

[dysan911]

It will return at that heading but it may or may not intersect with your location.

Only Home Lock would guarantee a direct intercept.

That's what I was thinking and why everyone is still waiting on HL. Seems some are confusing HL and CL basically.

 

[jadebox]

Would you even need to turn on CL anyway if you were already orienting the nose to face away from you? Just pull back on the right stick and it will come back with or without CL turned on.

Course Lock keeps the same heading in spite of the orientation of the aircraft. For example, if you set CL's forward direction to be pointing away from you, you can then yaw the 'copter around to look in a different direction and the controls will still work as if the nose were still pointing away from you. No matter which way you orient the 'copter, the same movement of the right stick will still move the 'copter the same direction.

Orient the 'copter with the nose pointing away from you then reset the CL's lock using the app. Pull back on the right stick and the 'copter will move towards you. Now, rotate the copter so it is pointing towards you - the opposite direction it was pointing when you reset CL. Now, pull back on the right stick. With CL on, the 'copter will still move towards you. Turn CL off then pull back on the right stick and the 'copter will now fly away from you.

-- Roger

 

[jadebox]

It will return at that heading but it may or may not intersect with your location.

Only Home Lock would guarantee a direct intercept.

That's a good point ...

Using CL the right stick moves the 'copter around in a grid rotated base on the 'copter's orientation when the CL forward direction was set. Using HL (which the P3 doesn't support yet), the right stick moves the 'copter through sort of a polar grid wrapped around the home point so that pulling down on the right stick moves the 'copter towards the home point.

When the CL is set to be pointing away from the home point, and you are facing that direction, and the aircraft is reasonably far from you, CL acts much like HL ... which is what is causing some of the confusion, I think.

-- Roger

 

[N017RW]

That's a good point ...

Using CL the right stick moves the 'copter around in a grid rotated base on the 'copter's orientation when the CL forward direction was set. Using HL (which the P3 doesn't support yet), the right stick moves the 'copter through sort of a polar grid wrapped around the home point so that pulling down on the right stick moves the 'copter towards the home point.

When the CL is set to be pointing away from the home point, and you are facing that direction, and the aircraft is reasonably far from you, CL acts much like HL which is what is causing some of the confusion, I think.

-- Roger

I agree.
CL is an orthogonal function as you described like a grid.
HL is more a radius function visualized by me like spokes on a wheel where you (Home point) are the hub.

 

[jadebox]

CL is nice for situations where you want to control the position of the aircraft independently of its orientation - something that may be useful when filming or taking stills.

HL is the real "get out of jail free" card for situations when you aren't sure of the aircraft's orientation. I didn't use it often enough with my P2 to really miss it. But, I'll welcome it's addition to the P3.

-- Roger

 

[GadgetGuy]

Remember resetting and enabling OC/HL are two different things.

It's frustrating that you admit confusion, have never tried it, and then want to debate it's use and functionality.
"Clearly, it has confused me! I haven't used it yet, so I appreciate the attempted clarification."

So why not go out today or ASAP and TRY it.

Thank you for working through your frustration with me, and contributing to the discussion and my understanding. Out of confusion comes clarity. I think we all now better understand the use and functionality of this feature through all the clarifications, and corrections. I wanted to fully understand it before using it. I thought I did understand it, but that the description was faulty. Turns out, thanks to you and others, that I didn't yet fully understand it, and the description now finally makes sense! Progress and another successful ground school lesson! Now for some flight time to apply all that learning!

 

[N017RW]

Well done GG.
It was a bit frustrating at times but we kept at it.

If this is your first introduction into r/c flight I can tell you there is no platform easier to learn on.

Get confused, anxious?, just let go of the sticks and it will sit and wait there for you.


Anyways, enjoy, Cheers.

 

[snowghost]

Yes I too wanted a thorough understanding before messing with it even though I've used it with the P2 on a few occasions.

 

[pedrombracho]

Yesterday I crashed My p3p at the beach. Was using ioc. The crash was my fault, and I want to explain it to you (in my bad English) so maybe you can have a better use of that function. I was flying in P-GPS mode for a while taking shots of the beach. There was a lot of windy and at first I thought the phantom wound be able to fly, but it stand it like a champ. It has passed 15 minutes flying perfect, and I thought maybe will be a good idea to use the ioc to fly by next to a very tall palm tree at the middle of the bay. So, at the beginning of the bay (by the way, no line of sight) I set the ioc in which I thought was a straight line Parallax to the curve shape of a bay, and started to fly. This is a long bay, so I had to fly a lot to get to the stupid palm tree. With the time, and with the excitement/ normal stress of fly a 1300$ machine at the beach, I forgot I was flying in ioc, and I didn't set the mode in the perfect direction (in a long direction, any little change will affect tremendously at the end) so, slowly the bird was getting close to a lot of palmtress, and, I totally forgot I was in ioc and trying to correct the course with my left stick, and obviously the phantom just rotates, but not correct the direction. And the crash came... Now I have a bird with sand in the 4 motors that all of them grind, and not sure how to correct it. How could I have avoided the crash? Well, obviously correct the course with the right stick, but also, just stop going forward would help, or go up. But my advice? Use the ioc when you're near the subject you want to shoot. At least for me, is too easy to forget. We need to be aware to a lot of things when flying and this is another important one. Thanks for reading!!!

 

[pedrombracho]

one of the shoots!

 

[Skylark]

Yesterday I crashed My p3p at the beach. Was using ioc. The crash was my fault, and I want to explain it to you (in my bad English) so maybe you can have a better use of that function. I was flying in P-GPS mode for a while taking shots of the beach. There was a lot of windy and at first I thought the phantom wound be able to fly, but it stand it like a champ. It has passed 15 minutes flying perfect, and I thought maybe will be a good idea to use the ioc to fly by next to a very tall palm tree at the middle of the bay. So, at the beginning of the bay (by the way, no line of sight) I set the ioc in which I thought was a straight line Parallax to the curve shape of a bay, and started to fly. This is a long bay, so I had to fly a lot to get to the stupid palm tree. With the time, and with the excitement/ normal stress of fly a 1300$ machine at the beach, I forgot I was flying in ioc, and I didn't set the mode in the perfect direction (in a long direction, any little change will affect tremendously at the end) so, slowly the bird was getting close to a lot of palmtress, and, I totally forgot I was in ioc and trying to correct the course with my left stick, and obviously the phantom just rotates, but not correct the direction. And the crash came... Now I have a bird with sand in the 4 motors that all of them grind, and not sure how to correct it. How could I have avoided the crash? Well, obviously correct the course with the right stick, but also, just stop going forward would help, or go up. But my advice? Use the ioc when you're near the subject you want to shoot. At least for me, is too easy to forget. We need to be aware to a lot of things when flying and this is another important one. Thanks for reading!!!

Thank you very much for your reply. I am so very sorry that you flight ended up biting the dust (sand). Your advice is very well taken and understood and I shall bear it in mind when next using IOC. Another lesson I have learned is that altitude is everything to avoid obstacles whether they be trees or buildings. I agree that IOC is best use short range and within line of sight. If far away, at least rely on FPV until you are sure you are clear of obstacles before switching to IOC, assuming that your heading will not be a problem. I do hope you are able to clear out all the sand from the motors. Perhaps get a can of compressed air obtainable from a good photographic shop. Others reading this may have better ideas. Other than sand in the motors, was there any other damage? Love the pic you took of the bay. All the best, Skylark!

 

[Jimmykjimmy]

Clearly, it has confused me! I haven't used it yet, so I appreciate the attempted clarification. However, I do believe I have interpreted it correctly, if you look at the diagram with the red and green arrows on the transmitter and the aircraft. If I use your interpretation, the green and red arrows over the aircraft would need to be rotated 45° clockwise to correspond with your description of the effect. With the red and green arrows over the aircraft in their current orientation, I still believe I am correct, but please correct me, if I still have it all wrong! Either the diagram is wrong or the text is confusing in its use of the words "current nose direction of the aircraft." I agree that the best way to use Orientation Lock for a flyby of a monument would be to first point the nose of the aircraft in the intended direction of flight, which is best if it is directly towards you or away from you, then activate Orientation Lock with the switch changed to F, and simply keep the camera pointing at your monument with the rotation of the left stick, as you fly by on the same line that will bring the craft directly back to you when needed! Then, no matter who is right, it will not mess either of us up! View attachment 25558

Don't let course lock confuse you. I used it for the first time last night. Just remember point the nose, in the forward direction. Everything then is a grid. It worked great, seems easier to fly this way. BTW; I also have a pair of binocs handy if I get disorientated. I take my hands of the sticks and check on the position of the quad, works great!