I just hooked up my immersionrc fpv system to the alta and I'm getting video downlink, but no osd overlay. I tried adjusting the border settings in the app and on the monitor, no luck. I toggled the osd on/off/on, no luck. I changed the video setting from ntsc to pal, no luck. Anyone encountered this problem, or have any idea what I might be doing wrong?
I'm having the same issues. I did end up getting the OSD to turn on, but still having some buggy issues. It almost seems like a video sync issue, so I may be trying another FPV cam.
Alex: I've got a working theory that says that the regardless of what you see (or don't see) on the screen at power ON is whatever you have set to when you power OFF. Can you try this: 1. Power up the ALTA and wait 60 seconds. 2. Toggle the OSD off/on ....and leave it ON. 3. Power off the ALTA. 4. Power ON the ALTA. 5. See if the OSD comes up. I'm just using a ReadyMadeRC 700 camera and I'm not seeing the kinds of problems you're having: I power up the ALTA, the FPV video comes on, and a few seconds later the OSD. Andy.
I did some more testing. When I boot the Alta, (OSD is set to "on"), there is no OSD. Once I go into the app, when I change the video mode from NTSC to PAL, OSD shows up but is somewhat transparent (PAL signal, this is normal on NTSC monitor), I then switch the video mode back to NTSC, everything works fine. However, if I turn the OSD off in the app, and back on right away, the OSD will not reappear. Even switching video modes won't fix it. If I wait another 60-120 seconds, and try switching video modes again, the OSD will turn back on. Software glitch? Any other thoughts? FYI - Andy, the buggy part was sometimes the OSD would come back on its own on boot-up, but most times it did not, and I would have to reset it be switching through video modes.
Interesting. So it's toggling from PAL -> NTSC that seems to kickstart the OSD into life. I think Gary observed the same behavior.... Understood. Sounds like it might be a firmware issue, although with video it's sometimes hard to tell. But do you now have a workaround -- albeit somewhat inconvenient? Andy.
Hmmm. I've not seen that before. Just to be sure I understand, are you saying that when you arm the props, the video changes mode from NTSC to PAL -- but when you start the motors it reverts back to NTSC? I've watched your video a couple of times and that seems to be the message. Gary: Got any ideas? Andy
Very odd. I presume you've double checked your wiring? It's almost as though when you arm the props there is a brief reset signal to the OSD that causes it to default back to PAL....I'm speculating wildly, of course... Andy.
Yes, I've triple checked my wiring. I'm thinking of installing a different FPV cam. I'll keep you posted on updates.
Certainly worth trying a different camera, but it seems odd that the camera could induce that effect, but... Andy.
Hi Andy, Yeah I did try that sequence. Gary Hynes suggested I do that. No luck. I had another curious incident on my maiden flight. I had mapped the pitch control the wrong way so forward pitch made the ALTA go backwards. Before my flight, while on the ground, I checked the controls and noticed this error. I then turned the ALTA off, took out the jumper cable, reversed the pitch control in the configurator, waited for a bit for the ALTA to update, turned it off/on. When I engaged the motors and checked the controls and they were still reversed. I tried this a couple of times with no luck. It wasn't until I saved the settings as a preset, that the ALTA actually recorded the change in configuration. I thought this might have been the answer to the OSD, but that didn't work either. One question about compatibility of fpv cameras. If you are getting video signal, surely it won't make any difference changing the camera?
Hmm. That suggests something else is the cause, then. That sounds like it might be an unrelated issue. I'd open a support ticket on that with Freefly by sending an email to support@freeflysystems.com. That was my thinking when I wrote "but it seems odd that the camera could induce that effect,..." Andy.
Alex, I have also had troubles with the app not writing the settings. Exactly the same happened to both me and a friend of mine. We both got our Alta the same day, and went out to test it. My friends Alta had the pitch control the wrong way, even tho he had checked it carefully. He lifted the machine a couple of feet but got it back down really quick. After that I carefully checked mine, removed the jumper, set it up in the app and waited for it to save. But the same thing happened to mine. It was reversed. We both reversed the stick on the Futaba instead of doing it in the app. After that I had problems with the Mode switch. The app did not save my settings. Tried several times, but after I turned the Alta on/off it as back to how it was. I also ended up reversing it on the Futaba itself. At least I learned to always check the stick commands while on the ground! Even
You're right Even...having the pitch control reversed and discovering it when the copter's airborne "focuses the attention" doesn't it? I'll see if I can reproduce this failure of not preserving the state of parameters... Andy
Ok, so after testing a few more things I was able to find a solution to the whole OSD not appearing issue. I was using a FPV camera that only had 650 lines of resolution. FreeFly recommends using ReadyMadeRC cameras with 700 lines of resolution. There appears to be a syncro issue with cameras at 650 lines of res, depending on their shutter speed. I noticed that when I was in darker situations (under trees), and the FPV cam would slow the shutter speed down to compensate for the low light, the OSD would disappear, and when in brighter conditions, the FPV camera would increase shutter speed, hitting the proper sync to allow for the OSD to re-appear. Odd for sure. Anyway, after installing a 700 lines FPV cam, the issue was been solved.