Phantom 2 Vision + and Taranis RC with FR Sky X8R

[Rickoz]

Hi All,

I am looking for any HELP PLEASE on setting up my Phantom 2 Vision+ with a Taranis X9D and FR Sky XBR.

I am very new to this and it was suggested by one of the DJI dealers in Australia that I immediately get rid of the stock RC and replace it with a more professional reliable RC, no, really he actually insisted, suggested that the stock RC was a joke and 90% of the reason why people have so many problems with the Phantoms. ( His comments not mine, HE said great Quad, but the cheap RC was put in to allow them a Quad at the price point. )

Anyway enough of that, let me explain how far i have got.

I have got the X8R Receiver bound to the Taranis remote and all works well. ( As far as the binding part )

I then plugged the Taranis into the computer and ran the DJI "PT2" Software while the Phantom is connected via it's USB Communication port.

I then went to the Basic RC set up page and did a calibration ( which seemed to go all right ) I can see the Aileron, Rudder, Elevator and Throttle moving and I can get them to centre.

ok, at this point I can hear you saying to yourself, ok, so whats wrong then.

So I disconnect the Taranis from the computer Restart everything and I try to start the Phantom !!!!

Nothing, nada, nix, absolutely nothing, :evil: :twisted:

I can't get the motors to start. I have now pretty much spent 23 hours over 3 days on this issue and can't seem to find the problem.

Along the way i have however found a number of issues that we all need to know about if we can solve this problem.

I found these out by simply disconnecting the X8R Receiver and doing some tests on the Phantom with the stock RC, so here are some

1/. You can't start the Phantom unless the USB is disconnected from the computer
2/. You can't start the Phantom unless the GPS is Plugged into the control board.

Anyway, some more detail, I have tried a number of different eeprom files for the Companion 9x software that is used to program the Taranis Remote but still no luck.

Can anybody PLEASE PLEASE help with this issue.

I would even be happy to pay somebody to provide a working EEprom for the Taranis and Phantom 2 Vision+

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

Ok a few questions?

Is your "insisting" dealer an *******?
Is your new transmitter 5.8ghz?
Are you really gullible that you listened to him?
What are you trying to achieve from all this?
Did he tell you to buy that exact transmitter? If so he should be sorting your problems out for you.

I will laugh my hole off if the transmitter you have is 2.4ghz

Edit: the only **** thing about the pv2+ is how frail the gimbal is. No problems with the stock tx getting up to 1km control signal for a few people???

 

[Rickoz]

Hi,

Thanks for that, I can't comment on whether He is a A hole or not !! Gullible, hmm, well, maybe your just smarter than I am.

Hey, I made it clear in my post that I'm new to all this....

Im simply just looking for some help, if your not interested in helping why are you on this forum ?

My new Receiver and Transmitter is a Taranis as I put in my post, and yes it is 2.4 Ghz. I have been told that this would not be an issue, as it has frequency hopping and is a digital system.

Now the reason I am trying to add a different RC is the fact that I can't currently get any further than 200m before I lose control with the standard supplied radio. This is supposedly a know issue, and I have had absolutely no help from DJI, 55 emails and 4 phone calls tho their Hong Kong office and basically no response.

Unfortunately for me I bought it direct from DJI, which I found out was a mistake because they offer no service was so ever.

So all i am trying to do is dig myself out of the hole I'm currently in.

If you can't say anything useful or give some assistance then I would suggest you know what you can do with your comments.

And hey at my expense, laugh your HOLE off, I hope it hurts.

 

[Rickoz]

Hi All,

So with no help from Mal from Ireland, I have managed to at least get a little further.

A few steps forward, but some steps back as well.

So I have now managed to get the Phantom starting up. When I connect it to the computer and run PT2 it looks like the calibration works and everything is fine.

Thats when it all goes wrong though. So after testing with no props, I re attached them and headed outside for a test, powered up and then the Phantom started behaving very erratically and if i had not had a hold on it it would have flipped upside.

The motors seem to rev up and then the different motors seem to be all our of sync.

No Idea whats going on.

 

[Dirty Bird]

The problem you are going to have is you have a Vision+, where the controller frequency runs on 5.8 Ghz and the FPV/telemetry operates on 2.4 Ghz. Now you are installing a 2.4 Ghz radio control system. I'm NOT saying it absolutely won't work, but you are certainly muddying the frequency waters by having dual 2.4 Ghz systems in such close proximity on both ends (in the Vision+ and your controller/extender rig). I cannot imagine why your dealer would have recommended this? If you are getting the short ranges you stated with your stock controller, then something is wrong with either the controller, the receiver, or antenna. If the unit is new and otherwise undamaged, I would suggest sending it in for exchange or repair. I typically get 2000' control ranges even with lots of trees, and have been out to 4800' over open terrain.

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

To get further distance you need to get your original transmitter and change it from CE mode to FCC Mode. It will make a huge difference. Read the last part from this link http://wiki.dji.com/en/index.php/Phanto ... Controller

The phantom vision works on 5.8ghz for the transmitter which is completely different to the normal 2.4ghz thats why your new transmitter wont work. The guy who sold yout the pv2+ shouldn't be selling them because he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about, there are no problems with the stock transmitter especially when you change from CE to FCC which gives much further range, 1.2km distance in my case.

 

[HunterSK]

Hi Rickoz,

I'm in Australia too, so trying to help out a fellow user.

I don't know what Australian provider gave you that information. I spoke with multiple DJI dealers before ordering my Vision+, and I had both great customer service and interaction from most, as well as absolutely terrible service and biased advice from one retailer. That one retailer whom I won't name, told me that the DJI stuff were Chinese garbage and they can't be trusted, mind you if DJI was that bad why are they selling it?

I decided to order my Vision+ from RiseAboveAerial who will be shipping tomorrow and who sound honest and I developed a good rapport with.

My new Receiver and Transmitter is a Taranis as I put in my post, and yes it is 2.4 Ghz. I have been told that this would not be an issue, as it has frequency hopping and is a digital system.

The DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ uses 5.8GHz for the control link.

Your transmitter is 2.4Ghz.

Frequency hopping isn’t going to help you here.

Now the reason I am trying to add a different RC is the fact that I can't currently get any further than 200m before I lose control with the standard supplied radio. This is supposedly a know issue, and I have had absolutely no help from DJI, 55 emails and 4 phone calls tho their Hong Kong office and basically no response.

Sorry for the lack of response. You should be getting more than 200m, make sure that the DJI controller is set to FCC (clockwise) not CE (anti-clockwise).

Try and stay away from any form of phone, TV broadcast, microwave ovens and any other potential sources of interference.

Anyway, hope I made thing s a bit clearer and helped a little bit.

If you can find other Phantom flyers in your area I'd see them and see if some troubleshooting assistance can be provided.

 

[Rickoz]

Hi All,

Ok, well thanks for the responses guys.

I have tried most things on all they forums.

I have the unit on FCC mode.

I have attempted to get assistance from DJI, the mistake I made was purchasing direct from them, they simply have no customer service. ( i'm at over 45 emails and i have called the Hong Kong office on 5 occassions now ) They are simply not interested in providing any support.

Every dealer i have spoken to in Australia has said the same thing DJI are really bad at support.

I have spent over 24 hours researching and reading forums and discussions on this issues.

The major problem I have is as follows, it will cost me around $400 to ship the Phantom back to Hong Kong and take around 6 weeks.

I have even tried to purchase a new RC from DJI and Receiver to see if that fixes the issue. I made the suggestion that if I purchased them and they shipped them out I would return the fault parts and then they could credit me for the returned items. They said no. I have to ship the unit back to them in Hong Kong.

Re the two systems on 2.4 Ghz, I can't really comment as I don't know the issues. One of the dealers made sense however, by saying that if two 2.4 Ghz transmitters could cause problems then how do you think multiple hobbiists can fly in the same field at the same time with out issues. Again I can't comment as I know nothing about frequencies and possible issues.

Anyway, if anybody can come up with a suggestion I would appreciate it.

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

Hi Rickoz,
Yeah I'd nearly forget about getting any help from dji.
I think you need to lose the idea of using the new 2.4ghz transmitter, its just not gonna work and concentrate on the stock transmitter. Maybe the antenna is faulty? Might be worth opening it up and seeing if all connections are ok or swapping the antenna out for a third party one. Have a look through the pv2 mods section on tx control extending. Have a look on forums and Fleabay to see if you can pick up a second hand stock transmitter, there have to be loads of them out there with all the reported "flyaways".

 

[HunterSK]

Hi Rickoz,

Sorry to hear of your predicament.

Which state do you live? You might have tried already, but give these people a call and explain to them that you need to get your Phantom serviced, and see if they can help:

http://www.riseaboveaerials.com.au/

+61 498 003 034

[email protected]

I ordered my Phantom from them, and I'd be interested in seeing how helpful they are for support.

I agree with Mal_PV2_Ireland, I think it might be something wrong with your antenna setup. Make sure you have the correct orientation of that antenna when in use.

Re the two systems on 2.4 Ghz, I can't really comment as I don't know the issues. One of the dealers made sense however, by saying that if two 2.4 Ghz transmitters could cause problems then how do you think multiple hobbiists can fly in the same field at the same time with out issues. Again I can't comment as I know nothing about frequencies and possible issues.

Anyway, if anybody can come up with a suggestion I would appreciate it.

OK well I really question the dealer's knowledge.

The way modern transmitters operate on the same (or similar) frequencies is because of a technique called "Spread Spectrum". It was developed a while ago for military communication, and it is now widely used in mobile phones, WiFi, and model RC transmitters. It is used because it is much harder to jam and less prone to interference compared to just plain frequency-hopping.

Sounds like magic but basically what happens is this: when you transmit information from your model RC transmitter to your Phantom, the transmitted signal is sent and spread out over a wider frequency band. All of the other model RC transmitters do the same on the same wide frequency band (in our case 5.8GHz for the control link). Then on the Phantom, there is a receiver that basically performs the reverse operation (called signal correlation), to get the original signal back. The fact that multiple transmitters are transmitting on the same frequency band doesn't matter, the correlation that occurs on your Phantom rejects the other signals as noise. There is some clever mathematics to allow this to happen, and it's the stuff of sci-fi only a few decades ago.

The Phantom Vision+ uses 2.4GHz for the video and telemetry and 5.8GHz for the control link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_spectrum

You can also apply frequency hopping and spread spectrum techniques together. Frequency hopping as a technique (on its own) is an older technique which I don't think modern model RC transmitter use anymore because of the potential for jamming and interference.

Anyway sorry for the long explanation.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Re the two systems on 2.4 Ghz, I can't really comment as I don't know the issues. One of the dealers made sense however, by saying that if two 2.4 Ghz transmitters could cause problems then how do you think multiple hobbiists can fly in the same field at the same time with out issues. Again I can't comment as I know nothing about frequencies and possible issues.

It works on the field because the transmitters are a good distance apart. In your Phantom, there is only inch or two separating the transmitters. As I said in my first post, I am not saying definitely this will not work, but there is a reason why combination control/FPV systems place the control & FPV on different frequencies. Unless the system is specifically designed from the ground up to perform all of the functions on a single frequency (i.e. Lightbridge), I think you are going to have problems.