QQ190 DShot and PID Tuning

Hey QuadQuestions,

I have two questions regarding the qq190:

1. Is it possible to flash the ESCs to DShot?

2. Is there a list of tunes for qq190, I have seen this link: tunes.qq190racingdrone.com pop up but it doesn’t seem to be active?

Cheers

by Anthony Jacobs

Customer build codenamed : Sparrow Hex


 Pilot’s name: Anthony Jacobs


 

Frame:

Frame Type:Sparrow Racing Quad R4 with Hex kit add-on

ESCs:

ESCs:Kiss 18a v2

Flight Controller:

Naze32

FC Software

baseflight

Radio Type

Taranis X9D Plus

Receiver Type:

X4R-SB


Customer Description:

This was a complicated build because it required a custom mix. We used the instructions found here to build the mix.

After building a custom mix, the HEX was very flyable and it actually had no issues on it’s maiden flights.

Ive got more videos and photos coming so stay tuned!


Flight Characteristics:

Observations:

The Hex is a smooth flier with Baseflight and stock PIDS. Building a custom mix really helped this quad fly with ease.

What do you like most about this quad?

I would like to continue to work on the programming behind this quad. It’s all motor and very fast, but I would like to also add some gadgets to make this thing unique, such as Sonar and GPS. I also need to work on the Magnetometer because it is off in the videos and needs to be calibrated.

I also need to replace the VTX with a better one. I have a lumenier tx5g6 installed and I have found that the Hawkeye line of Vtxs work much better.

What would you change or improve about this quad?

I would like to continue to work on the programming behind this quad. It’s all motor and very fast, but I would like to also add some gadgets to make this thing unique, such as Sonar and GPS. I also need to work on the Magnetometer because it is off in the videos and needs to be calibrated.

I also need to replace the VTX with a better one. I have a lumenier tx5g6 installed and I have found that the Hawkeye line of Vtxs work much better.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flashing BetaFlight and Using BLHeli Passthrough

Beta flight, What is it?

Most people involved in this hobby of ours have heard of BetaFlight, but for those that haven’t BetaFlight is an experimental fork of CleanFlight which is optimised for acrobatics and racing.  Betaflight is rapidly changing and advancing, as a result, by flashing it to your flight controller you get a cutting edge experience and access to new and developing features.  Because it is experimental there are occasionally bugs, these are usually fixed very quickly.

BetaFlight is an experimental fork of CleanFlight

Why Betaflight is awesome

Quick summary of main flight performing features in betaflight:
– Gyro sync (always the most fresh gyro data before the loop starts with minimum delay)
– Overclocked i2c bus to speed up communication with gyro
– Gyro FIR filter preconfigured forthe cleanest gyro traces to the pid controller
– Optimized D calculations and filtering for more derivative precision
– Optimized defaults with main focus on PID1 and PID2 (reduced amount of pid controllers for better overview)
– On F1 targets no need to disable acc anymore to get same performance. Gyro readings get priority when in acro mode.
– Optimized scheduling in tasks to minimize jitter to motors
– Fast PWM support in combination with Oneshot125 (This is usefull when you want fixed refresh rate for ESC’s up to 4khz)
– Easy to no tuning. Stock settings for PID1 and PID2 should be very well flyable on most machines. The optimised filters do good job on feeding the cleanest gyro traces to the pid controller loop, which gives better flight experience and easier tuning.
– Cooler motors and ESC’s. Better for equipment due to clean filters.
– Quaternion logic for Level modes. More precision, less drift and faster performance!
– Beeper selectable for different events


More reasons why Betaflight is awesome

Aside from improvements to the control system, two recent features have made BetaFlight very popular:

Air Mode – This makes it considerably easier to do acrobatic manouvers.  Conventionally below mid throttle the effect of stick movements is gradually listened until at zero throttle they have no effect (and frequently the props are stopped anyway).  This is great for landing and slow accurate proximity flying as it prevents stick movement at low throttle causing the quad to move aggressively, however, for acrobatics such as flips and rolls, it is exactly the reverse of what is required, for these, the pilot chops the throttle when inverted so the quad is not driving its self into the ground at full throttle, however he wants the quad to manoeuvre aggressively to complete its flip or roll.  Air mode addresses this with full impact of stick movement being applied even at zero throttle (the quad should have its props spinning even at zero throttle – something not all pilots currently do and takes a little getting used to).  The net result is the quad can flip and roll quickly with the minimum loss of altitude.

ESC Pass through Flashing – BetaFlight and recent releases of CleanFight allow the pass through flashing of ESCS using the USB connection to the Flight controller, removing the requirement to use flashing tools and disassemble the quad to update the ESC firmware.


**WARNING** Betaflight is exactly as the name suggests, BETA software.  This means that it is experimental.  We do not recommend that beginners to the hobby flash Betaflight.  We recommend that newcomers stick with Baseflight or cleanflight.

BETA FLIGHT IS FOR EXPERTS ONLY


How to flash the flight controller with BetaFlight (A Step by Step guide)

This is a step by step guide to flashing your flight controller with BetaFlight including the new Air mode, followed by pass through flashing of BLHeli ESCs.

Details of BetaFlight can be found at the link below, note that this is a very busy thread:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464844

In this blog entry we will go through a step by step flash of BetaFlight followed by a BLHeli Firmware Flash.  The examples used are based on a Sparrow Racing 270mm frame with a Naze32 rev6a acro flight controller, an OSDoge, a FrSky X4Rsb and FVT Littlebee 20a ESCs, other components are irrelevant to the steps shown.

Although the configuration used has Arm and Air Mode on separate switch settings it is possible to activate air mode before take-off as Air mode will not take effect even though enabled until a short delay after the quad receives input on both the throttle and Pitch/roll.

In the interest of safety Props should be removed from the quad during the entire process.

In order to flash your flight controller with BetaFlight you will need the CleanFlight configurator application from the Google Chrome store.

Next the .hex file for your flight controller needs to be downloaded from here:

https://github.com/borisbstyle/betaflight/releases/

Save Betaflight Hex

Save Betaflight Hex

Scroll down to the DOWNLOADS section, right click on the .hex entry for your flight controller and select “Save Target as …”

Select a suitable location to save BetaFlight and click “save”

Once the download completes, plug the PC into the flight controller and start CleanFlight Configurator.  Go to the Firmware Flasher Tab and select “Load Firmware (local)” on the bottom right of the page.  Navigate to the location the BetaFlight .hex file was downloaded/saved and select the file, when the firmware is loaded into the configurator the green “Flash Firmware” button on the bottom right will be enabled:

image003

Select “Flash Firmware”, the task bar will show the progress of the install.

 

image005

Once completed, click “Connect”.  Depending on what was flashed on the Flight Controller the previous settings may be retained or lost, the section below shows the settings used for the Sparrow 270 with the hardware above, they should be adjusted as appropriate:


Basic Betaflight Settings


 

Ports Tab:image007

UART1 is used to talk to the OSDoge, it should be set to MSP.  UART2 is used to talk sbus to the X4Rsb receiver, it is set as a serial RX.  Click save


 

Configuration Tab:


image009

Motor Stop should be disabled (having it enabled removes much of the benefit of Air mode).  Minimum Throttle should be set to the lowest point where the motors idle with the props on:


Board Alignment

image011

The board alignment should be set (in this example the board is facing backwards).  The receiver settings should be set appropriate to the receiver being used (in this case sbus from the X4Rsb)


Voltage Adjustment


image013

If the voltage sensor on the Flight controller is being used the voltage scale should be adjusted until the voltage shown on the setup tab is correct (compared to a meter on the battery) (remember to hit “Save and Reboot” if moving from the config tab to the setup tab (otherwise the change you just made to the voltage scale will be lost)


Set Failsafe


image015

Failsafe should be enabled with an appropriate value for failsafe throttle


Additional features:
image017

Any additional features (in this case LEDs) should be set.  Click “Save and reboot”


Receiver tab

image019

Select the channel map appropriate to the radio being used and if RSSI is being passed in a channel, select the correct channel.  Click Save.


 

Modes Tab


image021

On the modes tab set up the channels as required (it is important if Air mode is going to be used that Arming is on a switch, not by stick).

In the example picture a three position switch (AUX 2) is used for Disarm/Arm/Air mode, a second three position switch (AUX 1) is used for flight mode (Angle/Horizon/Rate) and a third (AUX 3 – not shown) has Beeper and Gtune on it.

Click Save


 

Motors Tab

If the FC is flashed for the first time or throttle settings have changed (eg min throttle on the config tab) the ESCs should be recalibrated


 

CLI Tab

A custom mix to match the physical dimensions of the Sparrow is added as follows:

mixer CUSTOM
mmix reset
mmix 0 1.000 -1.000 0.805 -1.000
mmix 1 1.000 -1.000 -0.805 1.000
mmix 2 1.000 1.000 0.805 1.000
mmix 3 1.000 1.000 -0.805 -1.000

Type save to save the mix


 

Flashing BL Heli Firmware

Betaflight supports pass-through of BL Heli firmware by simply plugging in to the flight controller with a USB lead.

BLHeli suite can be found here:

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/dx6kfaasyo24l/BLHeliSuite

Download the latest zip and extract the contents to an appropriate folder.

Without any other software connected to the flight controller, plug the USB in and then start the BLHeliSuite application.  On the “select ATMEL / SILABS Interface” menu select the appropriate interface (shown is for FVT Littlebees):


image023

Select the correct COM port and click “Connect”:


image027

Connect the battery to the quad and the esc section at the bottom will populate with numbers 1 through 4, “click the check” button and a window confirming the current state of the ESCs will appear:


image029

(Notice the multi version of the ESC firmware is used on multicopters)

Click on “OK” on the dialogue box then click “Flash BLHeli”. The software will then flash each of the ESCS in turn (one after the other).  For each ESCthe same series of dialogue boxes will appear requiring confirmations.

Once the ESCS have been flashed BLHeli suite can be disconnected.  At this point it is generally not necessary but good practice to recalibrate the ESCs (it is only necessary if some of the parameters have changed)


About the Author

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’][/author_image] [author_info]Adam is a Technical Architect IRL and Quad builder and Pilot in his spare time.[/author_info] [/author]


 

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Multi-rotor Motor Mixing and why it’s important

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Motor mixing and why it’s important.

Not all quads are equal, literally. Some have layouts and motor locations different than others and this can mean that the stock motor mix that comes with cleanflight and baseflight isn’t always the best mix for your particular application.  While the stock tuning methods using the boxed motor mixes that comes with these applications is good for most people, Some people tend to have issues with PID Tuning because their motor mix is off.  These issues can become especially apparent when you begin to incorporate hex and octo layouts. The stock mix for all of these layouts assume that all of the motors are equally spaced from a center point.

As you begin to get into advanced multi rotor design, you will probably want to build a custom mix for your quad as it can make tuning a breeze, and make your quad fly much better.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://quadquestions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/standard-mix.png” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_image][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://quadquestions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/standardmix.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

Some examples of multi rotors that don’t have a symmetric design and require a custom mix are the TBS Discovery, ZMR 250, Sparrow, Sparrow Hex  and the QAV250.  They are not perfect X configurations.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Blurb” title=”The Sparrow Hex is a good example of a Multirotor that requires a custom mix” url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”off” icon_color=”#0d6f1e” use_circle=”off” circle_color=”#0d6f1e” use_circle_border=”off” circle_border_color=”#0d6f1e” icon_placement=”top” animation=”top” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”center” use_icon_font_size=”off” header_font_size=”18″ body_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_blurb][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://quadquestions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/IMG_4131.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url=”http://quadquestions.com/product/sparrow-hex-kit/” url_new_window=”on” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://quadquestions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Cmix-hex.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”on” url_new_window=”off” animation=”right” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”on” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ padding_mobile=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

How to figure out the motor mix

I like to use the application that was created by Iforce2D.  This application works really well for setups that don’t have angled motors, And it works for most people except for people that are building tricopters.  Best of all, it’s free.  (thanks Hydra)

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[button link=”https://www.iforce2d.net/mixercalc/” type=”big” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Click here to open the motor mixing calculator in a new tab.[/button]

Pretty much all that you need is a ruler to get started with your motor mix calculations.  You simply have to measure the distance from one motor to another and set those constraints for each motor.  Each motor should have three constraints in order for the mixing calculator to work properly.

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This video shows how to use the mixing calculator:

 

 

Putting it all together:

Once you have figured out what you’re Cmix is, you’ve got to put it into your flight controller application of choice.  I like to use Baseflight for my builds because that’s the official software that is supported by the Naze32 which is my go-to FC.

This is an example of the settings that I got recently from calculating the motor spacing on the Sparrow Hex.

IMG_4129

You can see from the picture that the sparrow hex is not a conventional hexa copter and therefore requires a custom mix because the motors are not equidistant from a center point.

I ran the calculations found at the Iforce2D website and this was the result:

Granted, I did take trigonometry, and pass with flying colors, but this tool really makes all of that time spent memorizing sohcahtoa seem useless.

The next step is to import your calculations into the CLI of you flight controller software:

What we ended up with for the Sparrow hex were these values:

mixer CUSTOM
cmix 1 1.000 -0.567 1.000 1.000
cmix 2 1.000 -0.561 -0.990 1.000
cmix 3 1.000 0.583 0.987 -1.000
cmix 4 1.000 0.567 -0.989 -1.000
cmix 5 1.000 -0.835 -0.014 -1.000
cmix 6 1.000 0.813 0.005 1.000

Put these values here:

paste mix here

If all went well, you should see an OK for your sanity check.

Custom mix sanity check

Now, before you go and try to fly, make sure that your props are removed and then test the motors to make sure that you got them in the right place and right rotation.  If they don’t match your cmix diagram, try again.

If you are using cleanflight, you do not have to change the word cmix to mmix.  Thank goodness there is some congruency between these two platforms.

Here it is in Cleanflight:

cleanflight cmix

cleanflight cmix

Why this works

The way it works is, motors that are placed further away from the centre of gravity will require a greater amount of thrust to travel the same distance as a motor that has been placed near to the centre of gravity.

So if you look at a standard mix you will see this:

cmix 1 1.000 -1.000 1.000 -1.000 (Rear Right motor)
cmix 2 1.000 -1.000 -1.000  1.000 (Front Right motor)
cmix 3 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 (Rear Left motor)
cmix 4 1.000 1.000 -1.000 -1.000 (Front Left motor)

Essentially what we see it that each motor is mixed with 100% of the force applied.

each motor’s individual mix can be viewed as shown:

cmix
[motor number] [throttle] [roll] [pitch] [yaw]

If yaw is negative, the motor will spin clockwise.

When we modify these values, we change the amount of force that is applied to each motor.

I won’t go into more details on motor mixing in this post, Ill save it for the future.

Please subscribe to our updates to get info about future posts!

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Conclusion

After running a custom mix, I was amazed to find out how much better in my Sparrow Hex flew on stock PIDS.   Essentially any quadcopter or multi-rotor that has motors that are not equidistant to a center-point should have a custom mix. Try it for yourself and you’ll see!

 

That should do it,  Go out and fly!

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://quadquestions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/me.jpg[/author_image] [author_info] About the Author

 

 

Anthony Jacobs is a quadcopter enthusiast that has made it his mission to help others find valuable information about these machines. He has found that the learning curve for this hobby is extremely steep, and that you have to sort through tons of forums and blogs and websites to find the right combination of parts. There is no standard for testing of parts, and there is no real science behind what people think is good or bad. Anthony decided to build QuadQuestions so that he can give you a mind dump, and help you find the parts that work well without having to spend an eternity on the forums, or sorting through a mountain of parts. [/author_info] [/author]

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Naze32 Rev 6 flight controller manual

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Finally, it’s here. Naze32 Rev 6 flight controller manual.  I am open to comments, so please leave a comment if you have one, or if we missed some facts.  I hope that this helps everyone get flying a little bit faster and also helps to clarify some things for Naze32 users.  Please support innovation in this hobby by purchasing official hardware. You can purchase an official Naze32 Acro board here, and Full board here.

Another good resource for the Naze32 is the Ultimate manual.   That manual also has some good info, yet it was written for rev. 5 boards so there are some differences.

The preview takes a minute to load, so be patient and the pages should populate.

To download the full Naze32 rev6 manual, scroll to the bottom of the page and join the mailing list.

Please subscribe to our mailing list to view the full version/download.

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Thanks for subscribing!

Open and Download the manual by clicking here

[button link=”” type=”big” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] Open the manual by clicking here[/button]

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Some text from the manual:  WARNING Do not use this hardware for serious business, commercial aerial photography, or anything else where its usage could endanger the end user, spectators, inanimate objects, aircraft flying overhead, etc. NOTE While the flight controller firmware and configuration software is based on the Mul- tiwii system, the processor is not Atmel AVR, and this hardware cannot be programmed through the Arduino development environment or any AVR development tools. For more information on STM32 development, see the following link: http://code.google.com/p7afrodevic- es/wiki/STM32Development NOTE This hardware is provided as-is and end-user is expected to have reasonable technical knowledge to complete set-up and reasonable R/C experience to operate multi-rotor aircraft. Copyright 2015 Quadquestions LLC. All rights reserved R/C inputs CPPM/PWM motor output SBUS RC input LED connection softserial * Optional Battery Volt age Monitor To enable in-flight battery voltage monitoring and alarm, connect this header to flight battery or power distro board. Up to 25V (6S LiPo) can be measured. No reverse polarity protection – connecting battery in reverse will instantly destroy the hardware . The naze32 manual is a static / fi \ sensitive device. Use caution when handling and make sure that you follow proper anti static handling procedures.When “feature softserial” is enabled in the software, it will create software emulated serial ports on pins 5&6, & 7&8. 5=rx 1 6=tx 1 7=rx 2 If a serial device is connected to tx/rx it wont work when the usb is connected and vice versa, if there is a device connected to tx & rx there will be problems with the usb connection, so disconnct devices attached here when connecting the Naze32 manual to USB. Also, Frsky telemetry is connected to this same UART1, if you want to use the tx & rx pins, you will have to move your telmetry to a soft serial port or UART2. If there is no connection to tx&rx, the telemetry will not work when usb is connected. The hardware will not output to the telemtry pins when connected via usb, so if you are using the telemetry pins, you will not see telemetry values until the board has been armed. Copyright 2015 Quadquestions LLC. All rights reserved Echo and trigger Sonar pads w/resistors added for direct connection to 5V sonar.Cortex Debug Connector 10 pin 0.05″ debug connector connected to fSWDJ port of STF132.Download the CP210X drivers by clicking here When connecting to Baseflight the first thing that you need to make sure to do is download the drivers so that your computer can communicate with the board. We also recommend testing the board before soldering so that a return can be made if needed. All Naze32s are tested from the factory before shipping. To connect for the first time., plug in your Naze32 manual to the computer, once this is done, the port should be listed in the dropdown. Look for SiLab port, select it and then click “connect”. If the dropdown shows “no ports” then you havent installed the driver properly or need to check your USB cable. You should see a blue light on the board when there is power applied. Clicking autoconnect is the easiest way to find the right port. If you click auto-connect and then plug in your Naze32, it should automatically connect to the board. The tabs at the top of the screen will not be clickable until you connect to the board. You can also connect to demo under the port dropdown to play around with settings. Copyright 2015 Quadquestions LLC. All rights reserved Set these to match your battery chemistry (initial values are setup for Lipo batteries) ^ CurrentBoard Alignment Looptime can be set here. Min looptime with ACC is 1000. Warning This value effects \/nnn DTHQ To change the board orientation, adjust these settings, fpr example, to rotate the board counter clockwise 90 degrees in the Yaw axis, you could use either a value of -90 or 270. This is the maximum angle allowed for arming. If you have troubles arming your quad in rough terrain, adjust this setting. ’Make sure to set the board alignment before you try to fly for the first time. ’also, calibrate your acc if the board is realigned. ’If you have problems arming on a level surface, ACC calibration Is a good place to start. MINCOMMAND is the signal the sent to the ESC when unarmed. CGNPIGURElTinN TEH3 PGS Enable this for use with ppm receivers. Enable this to allow batt monitoring on vbat pins Enable Level calibration during flight. Enable for use with sbus receiver- utilizes UART2 Stops motors when armed at minthrottle- useful for beginners. Use this to enable gimbal output-uses servo 1& 2 for gimbal** Use this to enable soft serial on pins 5,6 and 7,8 Enables LED ring support-output on pin 5. Enables GPS on Pins 3 & 4 Enables failsave throttle setting on PPM/PWM loss from receiver Enables Sonar Enables Frsky Telemetry output, (inverted on telemetry pins)*** Enables Current monitoring**** Enables vario over telemetry-for audible beeps when altitude changes Enables 3d mode, sets throttle midpoint at 0- use for acrobatic tricks self explanitory set this to enable Oneshot set this if enabling oneshot set your acc roll trim (acc stick commands change these values) Set your acc pitch trim (acc stick commands change these values) set this for your locale (important for accurate GPS Measurements) *Inflight level calibration procedure 1. You arm the function with a stick combo and take off as usual 2. you either trim the hover mode using the trims on the rx until it is perfectly level and not drifting or you use the acromode until it is leveled 3. you now hit the “arm” switch (usually auxl/aux2) and turn off the engine. Don’t worry the code does not turn off the engines – there is a failsafe feature. 4. The copter now takes 50 measurements of the current angle and stores them in ram. 5. After landing you have to transfer the new values into the eeprom with a stick combo. ** When gimbal is enabled, motor outputs shift by 2, so motor 1 is on servo3, motor2 is on servo 4 and so on. *** Telemetry can be output to a soft serial (must be inverted and programmed via CLI) * * * * rc inputs (assuming you are using PPM) or you can use the ADC on the bottom of the board, this way baseflight will keep track of the current and send the data via MSP to the OSD. Serial Receiver GPS ?ct the GPS Type here >ct GPS baudrate (configured in modules settings) Select your serial receiver type here. Not used if “enable serial based receiver” is unchecked. + + * These values should be turned up for acrobatic flying and as you get better. Keep the rates down if you are a beginner We like to set these to around .7 for fast flips and acrobatic quads. TPA or Throttle PID Attenuation- does just that. It attenuates the PIDs at higher throttle levels, so if your quad flies nice, but shakes under full throttle, give it some TPA PID tuning is beyond the scope of this manual, however, some basics are: Start by tuning aero or gyro rate mode, auto level should be tuned last. P- adjusts snappiness of the quad to your input. If it is squishy, increase P until you get shakes then back off 10-20% I- How the quad reacts to outside forces, wind, off-balance weight such as a battery, etc. If the quad drifts when an angle is set, turn this up. The quad shouldn’t drift. If I is too high, it will oscillate a bit more slowly than P. D- The speed at which the quad returns to a position, so for auto level for instance, if D is high, it snaps back to level when you let off the stick. When D is turned down, it slows the response of the reaction back to level when you let off of the stick. D can also be used to tune out oscillation after movement. Typically, if the stock values don’t work or allow you to fly, then you have got some other issues going on that you should look into adjusting. The Naze32 manual works by looking at many factors, sensor inputs, user inputs, and all of these factors are calculated and a motor output is “written” This happens over and over again at a high rate of speed, (loop-time) The PID gains adjust this calculation and tuning the PIDS is essential to really dialing in your quad. Every quad is different, and all require slightly different settings. Also, every pilot’s opinion of how a quad should fly is also different. Be sure to consider this when tuning, it is subjective and there are many different ways to do it. PID tuning videos on you tube, and Google searches should help you get your quad dialed in. Please discuss at quadquestions.com You should set your radio up with no expo and then let the flight controller software setup your expo and rates for you. This is handy because it allows you to have different expos and rates setup on different profiles, so you could for instance have one profile setup for filming, which has smooth expo, rates, pids, etc, and then have an acrobatic profile that is aggressive, and then have a racing profile with another set of settings. Set RSSI on Aux if you port the RSSI in via a servo channel. Be sure to check this page and that your radio is functioning properly before your first flight. Check that all channels are properly mapped and that none are reversed. Check QuadQuestions.com for videos on how to do this. To make sure your servos aren’t reversed, you should see these values when moving your sticks: pitch up (right stick up)=2000 Roll Right(right stick right)=2000 throttle full=2000 \Arm- if not set to a switch, arming will happen with the left stick down and to the right. If the arm switch is set, arming via stick command is disabled. Flight modes: Angle=autolevel- the quad levels when stick is neutral Horizon=autolevel plus Aero mode at edges of stick movements, so hard right would cause flips, centering stick causes autolevel. no angle or horizon selected=gyro rate. ♦Many people have problems when first starting out because they don’t select level mode. Baro=alt hold vario=vario sent via telemetry Mag=heading hold Headfree (Full board only)- orients the quad to the user so no matter which direction the quad is facing, pitch forward is always away from you and pitch back is always towards you This works in conjunction with HEADADD which allows you to set the new yaw origin. Camstab=Camera Stabilization (works if gimbal is enabled) GPS HOME= GPS return to home (use at your own risk) GPS HOLD= GPS hold Beeper= Sounds buzzer when activated Calib- Write in flight level calib to eeprom OSDSW- Turn off OSD (if using minimosd)Atypical switch setup, arm on switch 1, alt hold and heading hold on switch 2, flight modes on 3, and heading hold again /OSDsw on switch 4. You can see that all switches are in the mid position, so this quad is flying horizon with altitude hold and heading hold active. Copyright 2015 Quadquestions LLC. All rights reserved Servos- lets you set your servo movement. You can set it to the throw of your sticks depending on your check-box, so if aux 1 is checked, you can set the servo to follow the switch when camstab is not enabled. To reverse the movements, set the rate % to a negative value. This screen will not be available if Gimbal is not enabled.This page can help you to view and troubleshoot your gps if installed. If the GPS is hooked up but the GPS box on the top right of Baseflight is red, try swapping your TX and Rx lines. Use This page to test your motors. Make sure to remove your props. This is the first place you should go to test your motor rotation. This is also a good place to visually inspect what your motors and servos are outputting. The motor value will take into account your mixing, so if the quad is not level, and in angle mode, these values might not all be the same. You can use the sliders to spin motors individually, or you can use the master slider to spin all of the motors at once.You should use the raw sensor data page to check your sensors. When moving the board, you should see movement on the accelerometer, gyro, magnetometer, barometer, etc. If you have an item that is flat-lined at 0, even with lots of movement of the board, then that is indicative of an issue with the sensor. You can see in the above example that there was rapid movement of the board showing that the sensors were working, followed by the board sitting still which is shown by the flat lines. Copyright 2015 Quadquestions LLC. All rights reserved The CLI is an excellent tool for power users, you can quickly load settings, and configure the quad for your needs. When working with support, you can go to the CLI, type “dump” and the copy and paste all of your settings into an email- this is also a handy way to take notes of your setup. We recommend that you get familiar with the CLI and do some searches for Mul- tiwii CLI commands to find out all of the neat things that you can do.Stick commands can be used to initiate actions without the need of a computer., these actions include things like Calibrate Accelerometer, Change profiles. Calibrate mag and more. In order to use stick commands, the quad must be powered and un-armed. Mode 2 Stick Functions ARM Disarm Profile 1 Profile 2 Profile 3 Calibrate Gyro Calibrate ACC Calibrate Compass (mag) The autolevel mode requires a well calibrated Acc. If it is not calibrated, the quad will drift when it is hovering. You should trim the ACC to make up for the drift and leave your transmitter trims center. To trim the quad, hover 2-3 feet off of the ground and then center your sticks (use throttle to maintain altitude) if the quad is drifting right, land, then disarm, then use this stick command. You will need to hold the stick command and watch the lights on the Naze32. You will have to watch the lights flash several times before there is any noticeable change in the ACC trim. We usually go about 5 flashes, then arm and test again. Repeat as needed. Do not move the Naze32 manual when first plugging it in and during the first few seconds of power up. The GYRO must be idle or the initial calibration will be off. You can watch the lights on the board during power up, they will flash when the initial measurements are taken and then they will turn solid when the board is ready to arm. Copyright 2015 Quadquestions LLC. All rights reserved CLI commands can be found here: https://github.com/multiwii/baseflight/wiki/CLI-Variables The Rev6 hardware is sharing the 5v power from the USB connection and allowing the ESCs to power up as soon as USB is connected. Please be very careful as this can lead to a motor spinning at full speed when the flight battery is connected if you use the old method of calibration. The following workaround will allow you to calibrate ESCs properly and safely. Please note that the flight battery is never connected during this procedure. 1 disconnect all ESCs from the flight control board 2 props off, flight control board plugged into computer, configurator open, flight battery not connected 3 on the configuration tab, set minimum command to 1050 and save 4 go to motors tab, check motor test mode box at bottom, raise master slider to full 5 plug just one ESC into any of the motor outputs 1-4, wait a few seconds for ESC beeps to finish 6 un-check motor test mode box – values should drop back down to 1050 7 wait a few seconds for beeps to finish, unplug ESC from control board 8 repeat steps 4-7 for the remaining ESCs 9 on the configuration tab, set minimum command back to 1000 and save. This hobby is in its infancy and it is supported and developed by a community of open source contributors and innovators that are designing the hardware that goes along with it. PLEASE PURCHASE OFFICIAL HARDWARE— There is rampant copying going on right now and the innovation that has made our great hobby what it is will be lost if the pioneers cannot innovate anymore, so boycott copied hardware, and please contribute to these projects to help the technology continue to develop. If you have any questions, please go to Quadquestions.com and post a question. We are happy to answer, and will be quick to respond. Have fun flying! Anthony & team QuadQuestions.com 412-229-QUAD Copyright 2015 Quadquestions LLC. All rights reserved [/su_expand]

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Naze32 buzzer codes-how to find out why things happen by looking at the code. 

Naze32 Buzzer Codes

Curious what the buzzer beeps mean when you hook up a buzzer to your naze32?

Well, It is easy to figure out what the beeps mean, but you have to be willing to look at a little bit of code to do so.

Here is the latest buzzer code from Baseflight. This code explains what the sounds mean. It may have been updated since the publish date of this article, so I encourage you to read your own code to understand exactly what the buzzer is indicating.

It is always a good idea to look at the code comments to learn more about why things do what they do when dealing with these open source flight controllers and components.

How to find the comments:

You can tell what a comment is in the code because it will either begin with a / forward slash, or a *.

 

 

Example: 

 

There are 2 ways to add comments in the code. The first is to add a forward slash in front of a line.

/this is a line that is commented out

The next line below it will not be part of the comment.

/this is a line that is commented out

This line has not been commented out and is not a comment

Another way to create a comment on multiple lines is to star and end the comment with a /* and a */ with each consecutive line within the comment stating with a *

/* This is a paragraph that

*has also been

*commented out

*/

 

By looking for these comments, you can really learn a lot about what the programmers of the code intended it to do.  Think of it like an investigative backwards user manual.  LOL.

 

 


The Buzzer code:

 

 

/* This file is part of baseflight
* Licensed under GPL V3 or modified DCL – see https://github.com/multiwii/baseflight/blob/master/README.md
*/
#pragma once

void buzzer(uint8_t mode);
void buzzerUpdate(void);

/* Buzzer different modes: (lower number is higher priority)
* BUZZER_STOP – Stops beeping
* BUZZER_BAT_CRIT_LOW – Faster warning beeps when battery is critically low (repeats)
* BUZZER_BAT_LOW – Warning beeps when battery is getting low (repeats)
* BUZZER_TX_LOST_ARMED – Beeps SOS when armed and TX is turned off or signal lost (autolanding/autodisarm)
* BUZZER_TX_LOST – Beeps when TX is turned off or signal lost (repeat until TX is okay)
* BUZZER_DISARMING – One beep when disarming the board
* BUZZER_ARMING – One beep when arming the board
* BUZZER_ARMING_GPS_FIX – Beep a tone when arming the board and GPS has fix
* BUZZER_TX_SET – Beeps when aux channel is set for beep or beep sequence how many satellites has found if GPS enabled.
* BUZZER_ARMED – Warning beeps when board is armed. (repeats until board is disarmed or throttle is increased)
* BUZZER_ACC_CALIBRATION – ACC inflight calibration completed confirmation
* BUZZER_ACC_CALIBRATION_FAIL – ACC inflight calibration failed
* BUZZER_READY_BEEP – Ring a tone when board is ready to flight (GPS ready).
*/
enum {
BUZZER_STOP = 0, // Highest priority command which is used only for stopping the buzzer
BUZZER_BAT_CRIT_LOW,
BUZZER_BAT_LOW,
BUZZER_TX_LOST_ARMED,
BUZZER_TX_LOST,
BUZZER_DISARMING,
BUZZER_ARMING,
BUZZER_ARMING_GPS_FIX,
BUZZER_TX_SET,
BUZZER_ARMED,
BUZZER_ACC_CALIBRATION,
BUZZER_ACC_CALIBRATION_FAIL,
BUZZER_READY_BEEP,
BUZZER_STOPPED // State which is used when buzzer is in idle mode
};
So the thing to be learned here is that if you don’t know why your quad is doing something such as beeping constantly when a buzzer is installed, before you go digging through forums, or spouting out questions on the net, take a look at the code. The developers have put all sorts of comments here to tell you what the code is doing and it can really take some of the mystery out of why things act the way that they do.

For example: Now we know that the quad will beep sos when the to signal is lost.

How?  It’s explained in the code comments.

*BUZZER_TX_LOST_ARMED– Beeps SOS when armed and TX is turned off or signal lost (autolanding/autodisarm)

Let’s say I wanted to know why the quad beeps constantly when I arm the flight controller.

Again the comment in the code provides this answer.

*BUZZER_ARMED – Warning beeps when board is armed. (repeats until board is disarmed or throttle is increased)

So we can see here that the buzzer will beep constantly until the quad is flying or disarmed.  It’s all coming together now. I’m sure that this was done to prevent injury.

Conclusion

I encourage you to check the code and read through it to figure out the inner workings of your flight controller. The beauty of open source is that the information is available to you and you can take advantage of reading the comments. Even if you have no experience with c++ or programming languages in general, learning to read the comments can really help you to understand what the heck is going on.
You can find all of baseflight’s code here:https://github.com/multiwii/baseflight/tree/master/src

Cleanflight’s code can be found here:https://github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight?files=1
To find this buzzer code I just opened the buzzer.h file. Feel free to browse through the othe files such as telemetry or Gps. There are great comments to be read in there!

The People of Las Vegas Underground Drone Racing

The People of Las Vegas Underground Drone Racing

All too often, I focus on the hardware, forgetting that the pilot is what’s most important- more important than PID tuning or proper setup–The pilots are really the key to making drone racing successful.

I had the pleasure of attending the 2015 Las Vegas Underground Drone Race on September 12th, 2015 in the Neonopolios Parking structure off of Freemont street to witness once again, a new sport, fueled by new age thinkers.

The feel of the Underground race was different than the others that I have attended.  There weren’t any big money spenders, or large corporate sponsors in attendance.  This race had a feeling of something better.  This race was about the pilots and straight up racing.  It wasn’t a publicity stunt, it was about doing something new, different and fun.  It was Drone Racing at it’s finest.

The best part about this new emerging sport is the people behind it.

There are so many different characters that show up to these events, and each and every one of them is a pioneer.

FPV Pilots are new age “Rock Stars”, some even rolling with an entourage, sporting their customized FPV drones in the most interesting ways.

This was a hardcore race though.  There was no glamour here, just the fastest quads and thumbs around.  Most of the people at this race were flying custom frames, custom hardware, and reinventing the wheel to get that extra nano-second of speed, or the extra bit of resolution needed to precisely fly amongst the concrete pillars.  The frames, parts and configurations here were pushing the envelope of what is possible, proving that the craftiest innovation is in the hands of the pilots, not the corporations trying to commercialize the sport.

Quads at the Las Vegas Underground Drone Race 2015

Quads at the Las Vegas Underground Drone Race 2015

QAV250s which used to be very popular were few and far between at this race.  I did see more custom cut carbon & 3d printed innovation than ever before. The new racing frame style is light, x and concrete resistant.

These people are not only creating a a new sport, they are inventing a new age of electrical & mechanical engineering that meets the real world.  Soldering is cool again, Command line interface (CLI) is a common language amongst this crowd.  They are using their uncanny gamer/computer programming/ electrical & mechanical engineering skills to shave seconds of their lap times while piloting their avatars around the track in first person. It is akin to what Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen did for Skateboarding after it’s introduction.

These pilots and these events will soon be written into the history books as the roots, beginnings,  or the Underground of Drone Racing.

My time at the Las Vegas Drone Underground race was oriented towards meeting old friends and having fun with the people of this underground racing sport. Without these innovators, there would be no sport of drone racing.

Underground Drone Race Las Vegas people-Innovators and Pioneers at their finest.

How to setup Telemetry with your Naze32 and FrSky D4R-II

How to setup Telemetry with your Naze32 and FrSky D4R-II

It only takes 1 wire.

Telemetry is a great thing,  It essentially puts important vitals about your quad onto your transmitter.  Sure, with an OSD, you get the same thing, but it is nice to have an alarm on your Taranis for when things go wrong with your OSD!  It is also a good reminder to have a radio alarm that talks to you with haptic feedback when your voltage gets low.  Lets face it, sometimes it’s easy to focus on the flying more than the voltage.  I have had this problem before, so creating an alarm in the radio using Telemetry is a great idea.

There are different ways to setup your telemetry depending on whether you are using Baseflight or Cleanflight.

The D4R-II connection is the same regardless of which software you use.  The Telemetry is a one-way communication, and therefore, you only need to connect the Tx (transmit) line from the Flight controller, to the Rx( receive) line on the D4R-II.

Naze32 telemetry setup D4R-II

Naze32 telemetry setup D4R-II

Baseflight steps:

There are 3 ways to get the telemetry data back to your Taranis.

Option 1- Use the telemetry pins on the board

The standard pins on the board labeled telemetry are a good choice if you are not going to run any additional electronics.

Use this option if you are not planning to add other electronics to your Naze32 like a OSD, Bluetooth, etc. With this option you will use a real UART (serial) port to send the data to your FrSky receiver. Note that when you uses this option, you can’t use the regular tx/rx pins anymore since they are shared with the FrSky pins on the Naze32.  The Naze32 UART is shared with the USB port and the TX&RX pins on top of the board so if you choose this method, you cannot use the USB or the TX & RX pins.  If you are planning on using either of these, then you will have to use a soft serial and option 2 or 3 below.

  1. Connect your FrSky receiver (like the d4r-II) to your naze. Connect the External analog telemetry Rx port of your FrSky receiver to the Tx FrSky port on the Naze32 (in the manual indicated as “5”)
  2. Connect your Naze32 to your Computer and open BaseFlight
  3. Go to the CLI tab and type the follow codes:
    1. Disable the softserial ports since we will use the real UART port
      feature -SOFTSERIAL
    2. Enable Telemetry
      feature TELEMETRY
    3. Set the port on which you would like to put the telemetry data out (we use “0”, since that is telemetry output over UART)
      set telemetry_port=0
    4. Set the protocol for the telemetry output (Use “0” to select the FrSky protocol)
      set telemetry_provider=0
    5. Save & Test.

 Option 2- use a software serial port on pin 6 (pair 5&6 rx&tx)

Use this option if you are planning to connect several electronics to your Naze32 that will use serial data like a OSD, Bluetooth etc. We will output the telemetry data through a softserial port. This is a “virtual UART”, so not a real UART (some say this slows down the Naze32.  We have not found there to be a difference in our testing). You MUST use PPM for this to work since we need the RC input pins!

  1. Connect your FrSky receiver (like the d4r-II) to your naze. Connect the External analog telemetry Rx port of your FrSky receiver to RC input pin 6 on the bottom of the Naze32 (See figure 2 in the manual)
  2. Go to the CLI tab and type the follow codes:
    1. enable the softserial port since we will be using softserial port instead of the real UART port
      feature SOFTSERIAL
    2. Enable Telemetry
      feature TELEMETRY
    3. Set the baudrate of the softserial to 9600 to communicate correclty with the FrSky receiver
      set softserial_baudrate=9600
    4. Set the softserial port 1 to inverted, since that is the way the FrSky protocol works.
      set softserial_1_inverted=1
    5. set the port on which you would like to put the telemetry data out (we use “1”, since that is telemetry output over the soft serial rc input pin 6)
      set telemetry_port=1
    6. set the protocol for the telemetry output (we use “0” to select the FrSky protocol)
      set telemetry_provider=0
    7. Save & test

for fast update of fc, you can paste this directly into the CLI then push save:
feature softserial
feature telemetry
set softserial_baudrate=9600
set softserial_1_inverted=1
set telemetry_port=1
set telemetry_provider=0

 

Option 3- use a software serial port on pin 8 (pair 7&8 rx&tx)

This option is the same as above, but it sets the soft serial output on pair 7&8 instead of 5&6.

You MUST use PPM for this to work since we need the RC input pins!

  1. Connect your FrSky receiver (like the d4r-II) to your naze. Connect the External analog telemetry Rx port of your FrSky receiver to RC input pin 6 on the bottom of the Naze32 (See figure 2 in the manual)
  2. Go to the CLI tab and type the follow codes:
    1. Enable the softserial port since we will be using softserial port instead of the real UART port
      feature SOFTSERIAL
    2. Enable Telemetry
      feature TELEMETRY
    3. Set the baudrate of the softserial to 9600 to communicate correclty with the FrSky receiver
      set softserial_baudrate=9600
    4. Set the softserial port 1 to inverted, since that is the way the FrSky protocol works.
      set softserial_1_inverted=1
    5. set the port on which you would like to put the telemetry data out (we use “2”, since that is telemetry output over the soft serial rc input pin 8)
      set telemetry_port=2
    6. set the protocol for the telemetry output (we use “0” to select the FrSky protocol)
      set telemetry_provider=0
    7. Save & test

Cleanflight steps:

The same convention applies with Cleanflight.–If you won’t use the UART for anything else (minimosd, GPS, etc) then you can use the telemetry pins:

you still have to set the output to inverted.  The CLI command is different,  You will have to enter

FrSky telemetry in cleanflight

FrSky telemetry is transmit only and just requires a single connection from the TX pin of a serial port to the RX pin on an FrSky telemetry receiver.

FrSky telemetry signals are inverted. To connect a cleanflight capable board to an FrSKy receiver you have some options.

  1. A hardware inverter – Built in to some flight controllers.
  2. Use software serial and enable frsky_inversion.
  3. Use a flight controller that has software configurable hardware inversion (e.g. STM32F30x).:

 

I like to use a soft serial port, so you should invert the telemetry in the CLI with this command:

set telemetry_inversion = 1

Then setup your ports in the GUI: You have to start with the configuration screen: You must be using PPM or a serial connection to your receiver in order to be able to enable soft serial select SOFTSERIAL and the TELEMETRY checkboxes, Click save.

cleanflight Frsky Telemetry instructions and how to.

cleanflight Frsky Telemetry instructions and how to

Next, open the Ports tab:
Select which UART you want to output the Telemetry signal on. (in our case, we are choosing pin 6 which is softserial1)
pull down the menu to FRSKY and set the baud rate to auto.
click save.

cleanflight Frsky Telemetry instructions and how to.

cleanflight Frsky Telemetry instructions and how to.


Your final screen should looks something like this:
cleanflight Frsky Telemetry instructions and how to.

cleanflight Frsky Telemetry instructions and how to.

Click save and reboot.
If all went well, now when you hold the page button down on your Taranis, you should see some telemetry data.

Conclusion

In conclusion,

  • Telemetry can be easily setup in Cleanflight and in Baseflight.
  •  It's a one wire connection, tx from the flight controller to rx of the d4r-II telemetry pins.  
  • The serial port has to be inverted in order for it to work.  
  • We like to use soft serial ports, which are related to pins 5,6,7,8.
  •  Pins 5 & 6 are related to soft serial 1 and pins 7 & 8 to soft serial 2.  Pin 5 is rx, 6 is tx, 7 is rx and 8 is tx respectively.

We choose to use the GUI in cleanflight because the way that the port setup in the cleanflight CLI is is pretty bonkers.
Baseflight is the easiest to setup, You simply type in the cli commands listed and it works.

We hope that helps you setup telemetry on your quad.

How to enable one shot on a Kiss ESC

oneshotenable

 

The Kiss ESC works well with Oneshot.  In fact, that is one of it’s claims to fame, with Oneshot and active braking (enabled from the factory on the Kiss esc) It is hard to beat.

 

To enable oneshot, you have to bridge a solder jumper on the kiss esc, shown in the photo above.  You should have a nice smooth solder blob that is connecting both of these pads together at 7.

Once Oneshot is enabled on the ESC, you have to enable it in software,

How to enable oneshot in Cleanflight

How to enable oneshot in Cleanflight

basflight enable oneshot in Baseflight

basflight enable oneshot in Baseflight

Keep in mind that Oneshot doesn’t work well on many other escs, and it has been known to cause many problems and reliability issues, so use it at your own risk (unless running the kiss escs 🙂

 

We are an official Kiss Esc retailer, Get them here.

 

FPV Goggle comparison fatshark attitude vs dominator vs skyzone vs hd vs teleporter

 

 

Fatshark vs Skyzone vs Attitude vs Dominator Goggle Comparison.

So what is the difference between the different goggles available for FPV?  Well, there are some important things that you should know. For starters, we don’t recommend any googles that are less quality than the Dominator V2s or Skyzones.  There are some important things to consider when choosing goggles and there are many different factors to consider when choosing your pair.

Consider the following image.  It is a comparison between the major goggles available on the market and each photo shows the same image as displayed through the googles.

The googles shown starting from the bottom are:

  • Fatshark Teleporter v3s
  • Fatshark Predator V2s,
  • Fatshark Dominator V1s
  • Boscam Skyzones
  • Fatshark Dominator V2s
  • Fatshark Attitude V2s
  • Fatshark Dominator HDs

As you can see from the photos below, there are some important factors to observe.  For one thing, the clarity of the goggles below the skyzones is just poor.  You cannot read the OSD information, there is distortion around the edges and color reproduction is very poor.

Because of this, we do not recommend any goggles that are listed  below the Skyzones in the chart below.  Although other retailers sell these sets, they are a very poor choice for FPV and will become a limiting factor for you.

There are some other things to point out below.

The 4 major FPV goggle contenders at the time of writing are:

 

Fatshark Attitude vs Dominator vs Skyzone vs hd vs Teleporter

 

 

fat-shark-goggle-comparison_4

 

Boscam Skyzones

Boscam Skyzone Sky01 goggles with diversity built in. shown with different antenna config (not included)

Boscam Skyzone Sky01 goggles with diversity built in. shown with different antenna config (not included)

What we have found in our testing is that the Boscam Skyzones are a popular choice for beginner pilots.  What the goggles lack in color representation, they make up for in features.  The googles come with a Diversity receiver, so you can tune in the best signal from 2 antennas, a front facing camera, so that you can see in front of you without taking off the googles and a nice IPD adjustment, so that you can fit the googles to you head whether you have a narrow eye set or a pair of wide eyes.

Many people like the Skyzones because they have an HD aspect ratio, so they are very familiar to the normal user because they replicate the standard HDTV aspect ratio.

The goggles have a built in receiver, but it is not replaceable, which is a downside considering that serious pilots fly on many different frequencies.

Personally, I have found that the color reproduction of the Skyzones is not very good. You can see from the image above that the colors have a bluish tinge, with washed out colors, and this is a good representation of our field testing.

Fatshark Dominator V2s

Fatshark Dominator V2 Front view

Fatshark Dominator V2 Front view

The Dominator V2s are a good overall choice.  The Dominator V2s lack the width resolution that the other sets have but they make up for it in color reproduction. As you can see from the image comparison, the colors of the Dominator V2s are crisp and very true to life. Although the advertised resolution is a bit lower than the others, the contrast is better with these goggles than the others that we have tested.  You can see that the blacks are well reproduced, and they definition of the cars is more pronounced.  Also, looking at the trees, the Dominator V2s have a much more pronounced contrast, allowing you to feel the depth a little bit better than with the others.

Looking at the edges, the Dominator V2s have less distortion than the other google sets, making the text at the edges easy to read.  This is an important factor to consider when choosing a set of FPV goggles, and the Dominator V2s don’t have an issue there.

The Dom V2s have a big gorgeous picture with good color representation & low distortion.
Plus a built in DVR, HDMI input, Battery, & case.

The Dominator V2s require a separate receiver to work wirelessly, so you will have to get an additional part to fly with these, but that is a good thing because there are many new receivers coming out for these goggles, and different receivers allow you to do different things,  there is the TBS 5.8ghz Dominator receiver which is renowned in it’s sensitivity, allowing you to pickup all 32 channels of 5.8ghz with ease, and there are many other modules available for you whether you are on 5.8ghz or a low frequency such as 2.4 or 1.3 ghz.

This modular receiver design is a prime choice for many advanced pilots.

The white color keeps the googles from frying your face off in the sun which is an added bonus.

These goggles also have a built in DVR, so you can capture your flights via SD card and then replay them later.  This is a great additional feature, and one that makes the goggles a real contender.

Fatshark Attitude V2s

attitude-V2 Goggles

attitude-V2 Goggles. The complete starter kit for FPV

The Fatshark Attitude V2s are a great choice as well.  When considering resolution, they are higher resolution than the Dominator V2s, but the color reproduction and contrast isn’t as good.  You can see from the comparison image that the trees are darker and the wider resolution comes with the cost of having some severe distortion in the edges.  This makes the OSD info much more difficult to read.  The goggles are also known to produce some wild colors that are not true to life.  If you look at the parking lot in the lower left hand side of the attitude rendering, you can see some increased yellow colors and high contrast areas that are not natural and somewhat difficult to identify.

The attitude goggles do not come with a battery,  they usually are sold in a set along with a camera and a 250mw video transmitter.  These items although nice to have, have proven to be a mediocre replacement for some other, better FPV cameras and Vtxs out there, and that fact puts these goggles towards the bottom of our list.  If you insist on the attitudes, please just get the goggles and run them with a better camera such as the Sony Superhad CCD II camera.  This will greatly improve the quality of the picture that these goggles put out over the stock system.

Another downside of the Attitudes is the fact that they have a built in receiver that only receives fatshark signals, so if you have boscam or other video equipment, you cannot use these goggles with that equipment.  There is a way to change the receiver in these goggles, but it requires a complete tear down and is not recommended for the beginner.

They don’t have a DVR, and they are black, which is not good for sitting in the Sun for long periods of time.

Fatshark Dominator HDs.

Fatshark Dominator HD FPV goggles with DVR

Fatshark Dominator HD FPV goggles with DVR

Alas,  these goggles are the Creme de la Creme of the google world, and sadly, also discontinued.

These goggles have glass optics, huge resolution, excellent contrast, amazing color reproduction, built in DVR, exchangeable receiver modules, 3D SBS support, and much more.

I was very fortunate  to have an oppurtunity to speak with Greg (owner) at Fatshark and he told me that although the Dominator HDs are discontinued, the next line of Dominators and Attitudes (v3) will have a host of features to surpass the Dominator HDs, so time will tell on these.

 

My advice, If you can find Dominator HDS, get them!  If not, the Dominator V2s are an excellent choice for now.  Holding out for the V3s is also an option, if you can wait long enough….. The future is bright.

 

 A resolution comparison:

 

 goggles3
 Here you should see the difference between the resolutions of the most popular FPV goggles.  Keep in mind that Field of view (FOV) also has a factor in determining the best googles.  The FOV being important because narrow FOVs tend to give the pilot more of a tunneled perspective, and wide FOV tend to give the pilot a much more natural feel when flying.  The above image should be viewed at full resolution to give you a good idea of what each set has to offer as these rectangles are the same pixels of resolution that the goggles are.
Hopefully that helps you make a better decision when purchasing goggles.  Please make sure to comment on this thread if you have something to say about it.