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Pan drift on remote

Discussion in 'MōVI M5' started by Alan Lindsay, May 24, 2016.

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  1. Alan Lindsay

    Alan Lindsay New Member

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    Using M5 gimbal and T8J Futaba controller with Canon 5D Mk3.

    Sometimes, on remote, the gimbal pan will slowly drift to the right. Sometimes it will not. It is steady on majestic i.e. no pan but tilts OK.

    If it is drifting, I switch off then switch on again. Sometimes this stops the drift, sometimes not.

    I have tried adjusting the trim. If it is behaving, it needs a slight trim to the left to hold it steady. If it is not behaving then adjusting the trim makes little difference.

    I have had the M5 since October last year with no problems till recently when this drifting started happening.

    Any ideas?
     
  2. Graham Futerfas

    Graham Futerfas Well-Known Member

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    Yep, it drifts. Not just yours, but all of them. Switching back to Majestic mode should reset the drift, then back into Remote and the drift will return.
     
  3. Alan Lindsay

    Alan Lindsay New Member

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    Thanks Graham, what is strange is that it did not drift in the slightest for the fist five months after I bought it. Now it does sometimes and sometimes not. Sometimes it keeps drifting even if I put on a huge amount of trim.
     
  4. Graham Futerfas

    Graham Futerfas Well-Known Member

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    Out of curiousity, what's your Heading Assist set to in the app?

    Also, this could be due to extraneous signal from your transmitter. I was reading about pots going bad with age on them. I'm not an expert in these things, but when I zero out my PLC wheels (they still drift slightly even after zero-ing), I go into the app under Monitor->Charts->Radio, and I look at the Tilt and Pan in micro-seconds. Zero transmission should be at 1500. Not sure how this relates to the Futaba controller or its setup, but maybe there's a way to zero it out in the controller menus?

    Some of the flyers here might have more information about this.
     
  5. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    The convention is that a pulse width sent from the transmitter to the receiver of 1,500 microseconds should cause a servo to go to its center of travel.

    The Futaba transmitter has "trim" switches associated for each of the control sticks (see page 15 of the 8FG manual) -- is there a chance that you have accidentally pushed one so that you have "trimmed" the MōVI to pan slowly. The state of the Trim tabs is shown on the main screen. See page 24 of the 8%G manual.

    Andy

    Forensic Software & sUAV / Drone Analyst : Photographer : Videographer : Pilot (Portland, Oregon, USA): Trees=2, Ground=1, Props=11. :(
    The Ground Is The Limit™
    ---------- Forensic Drone Analyst : Forensic sUAV Analyst : Forensic Unmanned Aircraft Analyst : Forensic Drone Expert
     
  6. Alan Lindsay

    Alan Lindsay New Member

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    Thanks Andy. Usually it sits steady with just a little trim, needing tiny adjustment to keep it motionless. But sometimes when I power up, it drifts a lot and no amount of trim will stop it. Graham, thanks also, alas I have never looked into the app for the Movi - maybe this is something that I need to do!

    Alan
     
  7. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    When you power up the MōVI is it always sitting completely motionless? If not, you might find that it is fooling itself as to what "zero motion" is and that might create an incorrect internal calibration?

    Sorry to keep grasping at straws, but it sound like that's all that's left to grasp!

    Andy

    Forensic Software & sUAV / Drone Analyst : Photographer : Videographer : Pilot (Portland, Oregon, USA): Trees=2, Ground=1, Props=11. :(
    The Ground Is The Limit™
    ---------- Forensic Drone Analyst : Forensic sUAV Analyst : Forensic Unmanned Aircraft Analyst : Forensic Drone Expert
     
  8. Alan Lindsay

    Alan Lindsay New Member

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    Thanks again Andy, any straw to grasp at is welcome!

    Typical sequence:
    - switch on Futaba on majestic
    - connect Movi battery
    - Movi always sits level and lined up OK on majestic. Never pans at all, not even a millimetre
    - Switch to remote. Sometimes it will sit perfectly still, no pan at all. But sometimes, with identical trim settings, it will slowly rotate. Applying lots of trim makes no difference. So I power down and try again. Usually the second or third time it behaves itself.

    I have tried powering up the Movi before the Futaba, makes no difference.

    Another issue (may be related): Sometimes when I power up Movi it does nothing at all, no movement, no levelling, nothing. All three green lights blink rapidly. If this happens I power down and try again. Usually OK second or third attempt.

    I very much appreciate you taking the time to offer your support.
     
  9. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
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    Hmm. The rapid 3-LED blinking suggests an gimbal initialization error.
    See page 06-31 of the manual:

    Restart Gimbal by switching off then on. Allow 5 seconds
    without camera movement for Gimbal to initialize.
    Carefully check all wiring and connectors, especially the
    IMU Puck wire. Re-seat any loose connections. If a wire has
    come completely unplugged, refer to the Wiring Diagram
    for the appropriate connection point.
    (Emphasis added).

    Sounds like you might have an intermittent connection problem and that would explain why you only see this sometimes -- and why it only just started to happen.

    Please post again after you have re-seated all the wiring connectors.
    Andy


    Forensic Software & sUAV / Drone Analyst : Photographer : Videographer : Pilot (Portland, Oregon, USA): Trees=2, Ground=1, Props=11. :(
    The Ground Is The Limit™
    ---------- Forensic Drone Analyst : Forensic sUAV Analyst : Forensic Unmanned Aircraft Analyst : Forensic Drone Expert
     
  10. Graham Futerfas

    Graham Futerfas Well-Known Member

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    Hi Alan.

    If the Movi is moving at all when you power up, then you can get the fast-blinking lights. We usually keep a gentle hand on it until the motors take over (about 10 seconds after switching on). Even a gentle breeze can disturb the initialization.

    I'm a bit surprised you've never connected to the app. How do you tune the Movi motors? I would have several settings to check, but you need to go into the app.

    First, what Radio setting is your Movi listening to for the Futaba? DSMX 2048?
     
  11. Alan Lindsay

    Alan Lindsay New Member

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    Graham, Andy

    Thanks again for your responses. I will try steadying the Movi on power up if it drifts.

    I have never tuned the motors.

    I checked all the connections and found that the co-ax cable was loose on the connection between the receiver and the GPS box. All other connections secure. I tightened it, then tried powering it up on the bench a few times, each time it was perfectly steady in remote.

    I then did not fly for a week or more due to high winds. Today I set up for flight and it pan drifted on first power-up also yawed about ten degrees. Disconnected and powered up again and it was perfectly rock-solid for two flights on remote

    I guess I will need to investigate the app. Then I can see about the radio setting. I still find it odd that it is sometimes perfect, sometimes not. So I am less inclined to think that it is a software fault, a loose connection or other hardware fault is perhaps more plausible.

    Best regards from the windswept Shetland Islands

    AL
     

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