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Mode switch at mid in airborne mode, what is it made for?

Discussion in 'MōVI M5' started by Kari Ylitalo, May 13, 2014.

  1. Kari Ylitalo

    Kari Ylitalo Member

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    Hello,

    I'm really happy with M5 and we made first work with it yesterday, fantastic results and super easy setup. Great job FreeFly! But one thing i didn't really figure out yet, what is mid switch mode in airborne mode made for? I know it locks roll and tilt which makes sense and i would expect it to lock Pan also for takeoff and ground spooling. But it does not seem to lock pan, it starts rolling copter when spooling up so we just skip it and take off gimbal switched off, and then cam operator switch it on right after take off.
     
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  2. Gary Haynes

    Gary Haynes Administrator
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    EDITED

    Kari the mid position is Kill Mode. It parks the gimbal for takeoff and landing.

    Remember that the MoVI pan does have a 'front' position. I took a marker and marked where front was on the pan attachments. On the M5 with the Toad in the Hole just put a mark where you can see it on the 'hole' and when you connect to the copter make sure boom 1 is aligned with the mark.
     
  3. Kari Ylitalo

    Kari Ylitalo Member

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    Thanks Gary, that makes sense. I just assumed it would set the front alignment automatically in booting, maybe i should read the manual once ;)
     
  4. Tim Joy

    Tim Joy Active Member

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    I thought when in airborn mode, the majestic setting turns into hold/lock, so it keeps the camera still but doesn't do any stabilization?

    At first I mistakenly thought it had enabled majestic on the roll. If you take off with the movi off it tends to blow around all crazy-like, so I think the cure is to use majestic-airborn.
    Now if you actually want majestic mode in the air then you need to set it handheld mode. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.
     
  5. Gary Haynes

    Gary Haynes Administrator
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    That's what I get for multi-tasking. Tim is correct.

    Gimbal Application - Configures the gimbal for either Handheld or Airborne use. In Handheld use, the center position of the Dual Operator Mode Switch enables Pan Majestic operation. In Airborne use, the center position of the Dual Operator Mode Switch parks the Gimbal for takeoff and landing.

    I run mine in handheld mode since I am single operator. I takeoff in Majestic mode with boom 1 and the MoVI center axis aligned. Small Pan Window and copter rotation for all pan movements. Still have tilt working. On landing I reduce throttle and go to the Kill mode.
     
  6. Kari Ylitalo

    Kari Ylitalo Member

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    Tim that's what i thought at the beginning as it "follows" also the roll axis.

    FreeFly team, i have a suggestion: i think it would be very useful to have mid mode user selectable between lock and majestic mode as many of us like to use mövi as a one man band sometimes. Also would be great safety feature that mid mode (either it is) always centers pan axis back to boom 1, this most useful when loosing an orientation.

    Actually this all could be achieved in same majestic mode if majestic smoothing value could be assigned to knob or stick just like remote rate in airborne stabilized mode. Then if it locks also roll axis when smoothing parameters at zero it would be all axis "locked" mode.
     
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  7. Kari Ylitalo

    Kari Ylitalo Member

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    How have you guys actually used majestic mode in air? I tested it today and yes stabilization works fine but without possibility to adjust tilt makes it useless. Is there a way to get Majestic stabilization work in pan only so that tilt does not "follow" but is controllable via RC instead? Or is only way to do single operator shots with my trusted alexmos gimbal which works fantastic well for one man operating too.
     
  8. Gary Haynes

    Gary Haynes Administrator
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    Kari I use it all the time. Make sure you are in Handheld and not Airborne mode. Dial the pan window down if you don't want it to swing very much and tilt away. If you are in in Airborne mode then you won't have tilt in the center 'Lock' position.
     
  9. Kari Ylitalo

    Kari Ylitalo Member

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    Yes i'm in handheld mode. I'll try playing with values tomorrow. So dialing tilt window up will disable tilt following? Any idea how to enable radio command for tilt in majestic mode, now it works fine when in dual operator mode but does nothing in majestic. I guess proportional tilt adjusting is not possible either, only "slew" type commands? Also is there any difference in dual operator mode in airborne mode versus handheld mode?

    Cheers,

    Kari
     
  10. Gary Haynes

    Gary Haynes Administrator
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    Kari

    You don't need to really change anything if you are in handheld mode. You can try it on the stand. Turn on the remote with the switch in kill position. Power up the MoVI and wait until you get the steady lights. Move the remote switch majestic, center spot. The tilt stick will be all that works. You can pick up the MoVI and it will follow pan just like normal Majestic mode. Tilt will work but remote will not control pan unless you switch to Remote. On the copter to reduce how pan reacts if you want to keep it close to following boom one dial down the pan window and smoothness from the settings you might use while handheld.
     
  11. Kari Ylitalo

    Kari Ylitalo Member

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    Gary,

    sorry maybe i wasn't clear enough. I have played with it and tested in air. I still think we need different kind of majestic mode for airborne than handheld. Majestic settings are just too limited at the moment and in my opinion we need different kind of majestic for airborne.

    Mode: Handheld / Majestic (mid switch)

    - Pan works like it is, only some minor dialing was needed> OK
    - Roll works like it is > OK

    - Pitch majestic needs to be disabled for using in air, otherwise it will tilt (follow) camera when accelerating copter for fast flight. (Dialing pitch window setting should do the job)
    - For some reason my sbus tilt do not work at all when in majestic mode, works fine in dual operator mode. I'll try playing with it to find out what's the issue if it's working for others.
    - Tilt control in majestic(air) should be possible to choose proportional instead, it's really difficult to use it like it's now when operating single op. It was same issue with radians, it neved had the proportional mode so it was really difficult to control tilt with them.

    For now, my alexmos based 3axis system works like charm for single operator setup too, so it's just much easier to use that instead.

    Best,

    Kari
     
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  12. DFMotion

    DFMotion New Member

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    Kari, I have to agree with you.

    I have been operating an old alexmos on a heavy octo since 2013, never had any problem and the most important, all the switch and slider were on one 14SG, always have been flying single operator, so the gimbal pitch was on the right slider.

    Recently I have been more than curious about the Mimic option and the M5 quality, but for now I am only facing problems. (Alta 6 + M5 + Futaba 14 SG)

    1. The obligation to kill the gimbal before the take off. This is simply saying good bye to the super thin HMDI cable, as the gimbal heavily swings in all direction until the MODE switch is flipped to the middle, this is a perfect way to look unprofessional in front of the client.

    2. The obligation of having a switch for the mode. Seriously, changing a mode is something you do between 2 different set or use of a gimbal, I don't see one reason why it has to be on the remote, why not having a mode box on the app.

    3. Still not solved, to make the Alta-M5 single OP, the PAN has to be in follow mode (or Majestic), the TILT has to be remote controlled, and the ROLL has to be level locked. For now, I didn't find any way to make the roll level lock, and I didn't find any reason why someone would fly an MR with the roll in follow mode..

    I would be grateful if anyone can help me with one of these 3 problems, thank you !
     
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  13. Sergi Medina

    Sergi Medina New Member

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    Same problem here, I love my M5, but this one issue makes it imperfect...

    The yaw axis SHOULD be firmly locked by the motor while on the floor for safe takeoff. Right now it's so loose it moves when it's windy or when starting up the drone motors.

    Also, it should be rocksteady where you put it, but it keeps drifting, especially when you try to position it by hand. It would be something like when you set your pitch/tilt angle by hand in Majestic mode...

    Right now, the only thing I can do is put Kill mode, put the drone in its place, put “Park/takeoff” mode and hope the drone doesn't start spinning by some little gust or something...

    It is a matter not only of convenience (annoyance and time, especially in front of a client), but safety when taking off.

    I could firmly lock the yaw axis, place it by hand and without any angular correction with an old SimpleBGC controller, so...

    I really hope Freefly listens to us and implements this feature. I can't believe they neglected to do it just after all these years, being as basic and convenient as it is...
     
  14. DFMotion

    DFMotion New Member

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    @Sergi Medina

    I agree. Before the Alta I had a custom build 8 with a custom build xl SImpleBGC, then I took off the SimpleBGC to put under the Alta 6 and made custom skid for it, when the gimbal was on the ground, powered on, the alta was moving only 2-3 inches and stayed centered, that was just perfect. So basically, even if a gimbal is on the ground and have an handlebar or a multirotor on top of it, it shouldn't start spinning.

    I am pretty sure that a simple software update on the MOVI could solve this..
     
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  15. Sergi Medina

    Sergi Medina New Member

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    Indeed it could, and it should be very easy. I hope Freefly listen to us. I'm in talks with them about the issue. Let's see what we can do.
     
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