After seeing Tim's post I'd like to express to MK that perhaps it is time to simplify your user interface and setup! I really feel bad for Tim. I've crashed my CS three times (real good), broken arms, and motors. Every time was either a wrong setting in either the MKTools, or the Transmitter (IOC switch backwards). I can't even count my minor tilt flip overs. Set up as a Quad but somehow changed to a Hex when I updated firmware.... You would think that the MK with all it's settings would know "not to crash land". MK: Maybe there are just too many settings.... If I lose signal bring it closer. If I lose orientation bring it closer. Emergency time=As long as possible Emergency gas= bring it home and set it down. Take it up higher if you need to so it doesn't that that tree. Don't bring it down so fast it crashes. And then you get crap like this: "INFO: The set value (Manuell or Automatic) should be chosen so that the UAV to quickly lose altitude. Decreases the copter too slow, the emergency gas time can flow during the fall and the engines put off!" So we are supposed to figure out what percent to use, based on the weight? I have mine on 90%, but no clue what it really should be. I just got a DJI S900, with an A2. After 10 flights: not as stable, but 10x easier to build and setup, and much longer flight times. I've been flying MK for 2 1/2 years and have set so many "wrong" values, only figuring it out after my heli did something unexpected. To calibrate the A2 you have to move a Tx switch 5-6 times fast, hard to do by accident. Can't even tell you how many times I've accidentally gone into calibrate Gyro or compass on the MK. I've gotten so I have to take a compass and level to the field with me. Re: Graupner antenna, MMX-20 antenna plastic broke, but it was still attached. I could see where it pinched the cable, so I ended up replacing it. I did a range check and it worked fine, but it is a coax, so I was worried about a short. FYI: Lipo fires My son, the Fire Protection Engineer, say ABC is fine for Lipo's. He also said it is best just to let it burn, not get close, because they can explode. D is for burning metal fires, sodium. He said you can look it up in NFPA 10, what ever that is. (FYI: he is an "engineer", with a degree, I know I paid for it..lol)
Gary: Best place for your comments about MK would be the English Language forum at mikrokopter.de -- not sure whether Holger or Ingo read this forum regularly. NFPA, the National Fire Protection Association sells NFPA 10 here: http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/document-information-pages?mode=code&code=10 -- yours for $46.50. Andy.
I can't log on to post on the MK site. I've tried at least 10 times. It won't take my email, or I've done something else "verboten"..lol 11 now: "The email address glmccready@gmail.com is locked because this email provider generates too much spam on the forum. Please select a different email address." Tried my hotmail too. No clue how to get past the Gate keeper. See even the website is too complicated! lol
Yeah, using gmail, hotmail etc. is tough -- it's the Tragedy of the Commons. Free email services get abused by spammers because they're free email services. The next best thing would be to get an email account on, say, iCloud or or some other for-a-fee service, I'm afraid. I realize that's not the answer you wanted, but... Andy
MK needs front-end designer for sure. Not only for the software, also for the hardware itself. They added "Easy" tab a long time ago but it's just for assigning switches to AH and PH. Especially the Misc tab needs some user friendly touches. I'll post the topic to Mk.de for you Gary.
Ozkan: I agree with you. MK Tool needs to protect the user/pilot from him or herself...it should not be possible to have contradictory settings without a warning. i had a situation where pitch and roll were being assigned to the same RC channel! That is, no pitch control, only roll on the right stick. Fortunately I discovered this in a test flight only a few feet above ground -- but that's the kind of "rules" that MK Tool should double check. It's the difference in mind-set between RC hobbyist and RC professional: backups and safety interlocks. I'm not saying you shouldn't be able to actually set crazy values, but MK Tool should at least saying: "Warning -- this is very odd setting. Are you sure?" Andy.
Andy and Qzkan: Thanks! Yea, I wouldn't mind if they made the calibration steps harder to duplicate with the sticks too. It must be my big belly that pushes that left stick up and right as I bend over, there by requiring Acc re-calibration once again, or a crazy copter. And the whole other issue of outdated wiki pages that are just plain wrong or have such poor translations you can't even understand them. I just got a DJI S900 and had it built and flying in one day. At $2150, for the heli and the A2, I'm betting MK is feeling the competition. I can say my two MK birds have MUCH better position hold, esp after the ext. compass. I just think the whole MK mess has gotten unnecessarily complicated. re: Forum :I haven't tried signing up on the MK forum with an iCloud email, maybe I'll give it a try before they anti-spam it? lol Finally got an iPhone last week, after my 7 year old clam battery gave out. It was so old it was cheaper to buy a reburb iPhone 4 than a new battery...
Mikrokopter is an engineer company, and they do the technical part pretty well IMO. If we email MK team about what is needed for competition, I think they will listen. I have been using MK almost 5 years now and for the hardware site I have always wanted more robust, more reliable, self locking cable sockets for connecting the hardware to each other. I am tired of hot glueing every single cable on the MK hardware. If I don't hot glue they come out in mid flight. I am also tired of soldering extra I2C lines and power lines between PDB and FC just in case the thin 5-pin molex cable fails. An enclosure for MK hardware with labels on them will also make the installation process easier. Why don't we have a GPS enclosure like the SuperX or DJI with integrated compass. It will be so easier to place them various positions. For the software side, I think everything should be designed from the beginning. I'm sure some of you changed the MK profile (normally it's set to 3) to sport mode mistakenly and wondered the weird behaviour of the copter. Most of the new users wouldn't notice the small "mode" selection at the bottom of the screen. User interface designer is something MK needs. If they hire me, believe me you will have perfect interface both for software and hardware just in 6 months
I agree with you Ozkan. The good news is that you could always write a separate program with a good simple interface that imports an existing .mkp file, allows you to adjust the parameters, and saves it as a new .mkp file. You then use MK Tool just for importing/exporting .mkp files and writing to the NC/FC boards. The .mkp files are, as you probably already know, just plain ASCII text files. Not as good as a functional replacement for MK Tool, but it would be a start. Andy
Wow, 5 years. I did have to solder ESC to my first power distribution ring, about 3 years ago now. Yea, enclosures would be nice. I fried a FC, and NC when the side of my USB card (with the pins sticking out) hit the Power Distribution ring.Talk about "ouch"... The "mode" thing, I never change it, it just changes itself. I just started cloning every mode so they were all the same.