Replace Naza with another flight controller

[RogerClark]

Hi,

I'm curious if anyone has replaced the Naza with a different flight controller?
I've read that some people swap the stock Naza unit in the phantom for a "Naza 2", but I'm not sure if thats just for early Phantom 1 users, or what the Phantom 2 uses.

The APM 2.6 or PixHawk running Arducopter seems very interesting and has a stack of features that Naza doesn't have, however perhaps the flight dynamics are not as good with either of these two.

I'm also not sure whether the ESC's on the Phantom 2 are compatible with any other APM's (as they are DJI's own)

Radio control would not be an issue for me, as I'd probably use a futaba rc system.

Thanks

 

[rilot]

I played with APM in my P1 for a short while. Yes, it's very powerful but I just got fed up with all the fiddling about with PIDs etc to get it to fly right. I never did get it as dialled in as with the Naza so eventually I just popped the Naza back.

 

[netphreak]

I played with APM in my P1 for a short while. Yes, it's very powerful but I just got fed up with all the fiddling about with PIDs etc to get it to fly right. I never did get it as dialled in as with the Naza so eventually I just popped the Naza back.

rilot, the newest version of the APM software has an autotune feature that makes it easier to tune the PIDs. If the craft mostly flies, then use autotune to make it stable. I had problems with magnetic interference with my APM inside the P1 shell, did you have the same issue?

 

[Droid]

Annoyed with NAZA V2 flyaway, I wanted to upgrade my Phantom 2 to A2 controller. Then I decided to get rid of Phantom and build a proper copter. I think Phantom platform is very good! But NAZA is terrible and so is the radio controller.

 

[netphreak]

Annoyed with NAZA V2 flyaway, I wanted to upgrade my Phantom 2 to A2 controller. Then I decided to get rid of Phantom and build a proper copter. I think Phantom platform is very good! But NAZA is terrible and so is the radio controller.

The NAZA is a good basic FMU, but the software on the OEM radio receiver doesn't seem to work well. The recent firmware for the NAZA has a signal failsafe built in too. You definitely need to upgrade the transmitter to make a usable craft.

 

[RogerClark]

I had problems with magnetic interference with my APM inside the P1 shell, did you have the same issue?

I presume that an external magnetometer is needed. I'm not sure whether the existing one on the leg of tha phantom would be compatible with the APM or the Pixhawk.

I'm probably going to upgrade by FMU to Pixhawk as it looks like its a really powerful hardware platform and will get better and better as the community enhances the software.

Does anyone know what make or model the compass is on the Phantom 2?
It looks like a well made module

 

[netphreak]

I had problems with magnetic interference with my APM inside the P1 shell, did you have the same issue?

I presume that an external magnetometer is needed. I'm not sure whether the existing one on the leg of tha phantom would be compatible with the APM or the Pixhawk.

I'm probably going to upgrade by FMU to Pixhawk as it looks like its a really powerful hardware platform and will get better and better as the community enhances the software.

Does anyone know what make or model the compass is on the Phantom 2?
It looks like a well made module

An external magnetometer does work, I have tried that with the APM. I'm not sure what protocol DJI uses for their compass, most are I2C (four wires) whereas the DJI compass has five.

 

[RogerClark]

Umm

Shame the DJI compass doesn't use I2C

I wonder if its CAN bus.

 

[Mo of Pocatello]

Last summer I crashed my P2V. Now the left front rotor doesn't spin right, but the other 3 seem OK, at least on idle. I replaced the left front ESC, but the result seems exactly the same. I meant to replace the motor too, but ordered the wrong-threaded one so I didn't solder it on. Instead, I soldered the old motor back on. I probed the signals driving the motors using an oscilloscope, and the left-front signal (I think I probed the red wire) is different from the corresponding signals on the other 3 arms of the quad. Since the left front ESC is new, I suspect the main flight controller itself has a bad left-front channel. (The signals between the flight controller and the ESC are hard to reach, and so I haven't probed them.)

Anyway, it just so happens that I'll be teaching a class on microcontrollers this coming Spring semester, and since I like quadcopters, I might as well try to figure out how one works, especially how a microcontroller controls a quadcopter. So, I'd like to know if I can replace the flight controller, which may be defective, with a different one that has open-source code that I can study or reprogram. Thanks!!

 

[ken ferg]

Last summer I crashed my P2V. Now the left front rotor doesn't spin right, but the other 3 seem OK, at least on idle. I replaced the left front ESC, but the result seems exactly the same. I meant to replace the motor too, but ordered the wrong-threaded one so I didn't solder it on. Instead, I soldered the old motor back on. I probed the signals driving the motors using an oscilloscope, and the left-front signal (I think I probed the red wire) is different from the corresponding signals on the other 3 arms of the quad. Since the left front ESC is new, I suspect the main flight controller itself has a bad left-front channel. (The signals between the flight controller and the ESC are hard to reach, and so I haven't probed them.)

Anyway, it just so happens that I'll be teaching a class on microcontrollers this coming Spring semester, and since I like quadcopters, I might as well try to figure out how one works, especially how a microcontroller controls a quadcopter. So, I'd like to know if I can replace the flight controller, which may be defective, with a different one that has open-source code that I can study or reprogram. Thanks!!

In case you didn't know: If the upper part of your old motor is functional you may be able to pull off the lower retaining clip and exchange uppers. Then wire it for the direction you need.
here's a good vid showing what you need to really test motor windings.

 

[Mo of Pocatello]

Thanks for the tip about the motor direction! Here's my thinking about this repair now, in April, 2017: I can now get the original flight controller for the P2V for just $40 at AMainHobbies and other places! Could the defective part be the main board or something else other than the flight controller? I know $40 isn't much, but I still don't want to waste money on a part I don't need.