Discussion Beta85 ELRS quad and General Discussion Thread

[cst3x6]

Thanks iFly4rotors and Lemonyleprosy !

All I had heard until just recent was the diff all, then I saw all these others and was a bit confused.
Indeed the "save backup", wasn't sure if it had anything different then the cli commands..

All sorted

[Lemonyleprosy]

It’s also worth the time to use some UV glue to reinforce the usb jack and any other board mounted connectors.

You’re probably gonna find yourself plugging and unplugging things multiple times, especially in the beginning- and breaking a jack off of your board sucks, even if you’ve got a hot air station and some smd skillz. Apply it on the outside edges where the jack meets the board on two or three sides. Make sure you don’t get any glue on any pads or on the inside of the jack.

It’s not necessary, but it could save you from having to buy a new board.

[iFly4rotors]

+1  on securing the USB connector. 

I have done this on all my FC boards for some time now.

[Pathfinder075]

It’s also worth the time to use some UV glue to reinforce the usb jack and any other board mounted connectors.

You’re probably gonna find yourself plugging and unplugging things multiple times, especially in the beginning- and breaking a jack off of your board sucks, even if you’ve got a hot air station and some smd skillz. Apply it on the outside edges where the jack meets the board on two or three sides. Make sure you don’t get any glue on any pads or on the inside of the jack.

It’s not necessary, but it could save you from having to buy a new board.

+1  on securing the USB connector. 

I have done this on all my FC boards for some time now.

Thanks for that, I will need a glue gun I guess, or maybe a dash of Stixall/Sikaflex would suffice.

It makes you wonder why the boards don't come with Bluetooth, Wifi or NFC as a secondary/backup method of connecting to them.

[Lemonyleprosy]

No glue gun. Just some uv glue and a uv light.

[iFly4rotors]

Hi Pathfinder,

Agree with Lemonyleprosy, NO glue gun. That stuff is HOT which you don't want on you FC.

Probably any glue would work. I have used UV curable glues in the past with GREAT success.
These glues cure when exposed to UV light for about 5 to 10 seconds. Although I have use
BONDIC a lot in the past, I have just used   UV curable "glue" {thanks Lemony} and it
works GREAT as well. I like that you can work or position things and only "set" the glue 
when you are ready. Bondic has been my past glue of choice for USB connectors, but I may
move to this new glue that Lemonyleprosy recommended. 

[Pathfinder075]

Ok, just looked it up, never heard of that before. I was thinking of going with a blob of this.

https://www.toolstation.com/stixall-adhe...ant/p77137

In many ways its totally overkill. I used it to stick a solar panel on the roof of my van last year. Nigh on impossible to get things off afterwards without a chisel and hammer. The USB connector would probably never come off even in a crash.

[Lemonyleprosy]

That would work fine. Just take a toothpick or a pin and apply a tiny little bit on the sides of the connector where it meets the board.

[Pathfinder075]

Well tomorrow is the day for faffing. I have the drone, controller, goggles and batteries. Haven't got the charger yet, but the drone came with a random USB charger. Tomorrow will be glue the usb, sort out the reflash, sort out the controller, charge a lipo and try and fly. Well that's the theory anyway.

[Lemonyleprosy]

Are you excited?

It can be a bit frustrating at first. Worth sticking it out though.

[iFly4rotors]

Go for it. Have some FUN 

[Pathfinder075]

TBH, I've watched loads of videos and intend to just start with simple stuff like hovering, turning, moving backwards and forwards, probably in my bedroom initially. When I have a couple of hours of that in the bag I will try some other stuff. As much as i want to learn to fly and just go out and do power loops, it's probably unwise, until I learn some basic control.

A lot of the videos I watched said to go straight to acro mode and never use angle mode. I'm guessing that ramps up the difficulty a bit. Probably in a couple of weeks when i get some more batteries and maybe a 6 way balance/charge board so i can charge up a few batteries at a time, I will head out and find somewhere outside to fly. There's a few places I've discovered that should be good for flying and well away from people. I'll head to one of those with 10 batteries and fly for a bit. Places with hazards ideally, like tree branches, or a playground. I know of a couple of those thinking about it that would be ideal.

A number of videos have said to limit the throttle to 50% or fly on 1S indoors. If flying on 1S do you need to make any changes to betaflight? Also if using 1S, could you use a battery in it that weighs the same as a 2S, so basically run a 660mah 1S (weighs 16g, much the same as the 300mah 2S). Would that give longer flight times but with reduced power?

[iFly4rotors]

Hi Pathfinder,

You know, as with everything, there are different philosophies and approaches.
The "Fly Mode" is one of these. Yes, I have seen those videos about only flying in
ACRO mode and there are members here that agree with that approach. On the 
other hand, personally, I DO NOT agree. That just simply is not the only way and
not even necessarily the best way. It is just one way. 

You will hear someone say that ANGLE mode teaches you bad habits, however,
I have never figured out what those perceived "bad" habits are and NO one has
yet said what they are or why they perceive these to be bad. 

If a person has never flown before (that was me in the beginning), then perhaps
just learning to fly is not a bad thing. Just getting used to it and how the quad
works. Plus, it is EXTREMELY difficult to hover in ACRO mode. And... if you start
in the house, it is nearly impossible for a beginner to get any type of feel for it
as the space is simply too small. Yes, some people fly ACRO in the house, but not
many and they are super experienced. In fact, many ACRO pilots switch to ANGLE
or HORIZON indoors. Plus, it seems that many whoop pilots actually RACE in ANGLE
mode. Very interesting 

With most things that move, when you actuate the forward motion control, the vehicle
or craft moves forward. When you release the control, it returns to an "original" position
and the craft reduces forward motion...generally to a stop. For example, when you take
your foot off the accelerator in a car, the forward motion slows to a stop. Normal. 

On a quad, in both ANGLE and HORIZON modes the right stick exhibits this behavior. 
Push forward, the quad goes forward. Release and the spring centers the stick. As the 
stick centers, the quad's forward motion returns to a level state. The quad mirrors the
precise movement of the stick. Doesn't this seem normal? Intuitive? Manual?? 

On the other hand, when the quad is in ACRO mode, the right stick moves forward,
the quad moves forward, but when the stick recenters, the quad continues to move
forward. {kind of like a continual cruise control...automatic forward motion}. In order
to reduce the forward motion, you pull the stick back from center. Now this does not
necessarily bring the quad back to level nor even stop forward motion, it just reduces 
the forward motion by how much you pulled the stick back. If you pull the stick back
enough the quad's motion will cross from forward to reverse...but where is that exactly.
Right?? It isn't "exact". It depends on the quad's forward motion angle. Is this more
intuitive??

1) ANGLE (the easiest mode):  Normal, intuitive behavior, but the Angle is limited so 
    that you can't do flips, rolls, spins, etc. 
2) HORIZON: The right still has normal, intuitive behavior, but the angle is not limited
    so you can do flips, rolls, spins, etc.
3) ACRO: The right stick behaves as explained and does not bring the quad back to 
    level when centered.

Here is the thing. Why should a quad pilot only fly in one mode 
Why is one mode better than the others 

From my perspective, each mode has its usefulness and is appropriate for different things
and situations. I have the fly modes on a 3 position switch so that I can change the mode
at any time...even during flight. Consequently, I can change modes to fit my mood and 
the situation. You don't have to fly ACRO all of the time. ACRO sort of needs a bit of space.

Consider learning to fly in your living room in ACRO mode. You take off from a table and
push the right stick forward just a little. Before you know it, you have hit that TV across
the room. Yeah, just letting the right stick re-center doesn't stop a thing. You have to 
anticipate that TV and start pulling the right stick back...how much...who knows?? I guess
if you have an olympic  size room. Keep in mind that the perspective in the goggles is 2D
and the field of view is very narrow; like looking through a tube. Even if you think you know 
where everything is at, you can't really tell how close you are until you are there. You have
absolutely No side or back vision.

In my case, I fly mostly high  altitude and enjoy the scenery of cruising. There are very few
places where I can even do proximity flying and no "bandos". If I have the space, I might
flip to ACRO, push the right stick forward a bit, and let it cruise on "autopilot". When I am
ready to come down, I will switch back to ANGLE mode, take control of the craft, and come 
in for a landing. 

You know, it sort of depends on where and how you want to fly. If you want to be a super
stunt pilot, then perhaps you will only need ACRO. If you just want to fly, well, you might or
might not. You might want to fly in the other modes. If you just want to learn to fly, your space
is inside, and you find ACRO more than a bit challenging, then try HORIZON mode. It is all
about having fun. Figure out what YOU want to do, what style of flying you are interested in,
and where you will be able to fly. There is NO RIGHT WAY. 

By the way, the default mode is ACRO. IF you want the other fly modes, they need to be 
set up in Betaflight.

Just my thoughts on it    

[iFly4rotors]

...

A number of videos have said to limit the throttle to 50% or fly on 1S indoors.  If flying on 1S do you need to make any changes to betaflight?  Also if using 1S, could you use a battery in it that weighs the same as a 2S, so basically run a 660mah 1S (weighs 16g, much the same as the 300mah 2S).  Would that give longer flight times but with reduced power?

Hi Pathfinder,

Since the Meteor 85 appears to have an XT30 connector, you might consider throttle limiting.

You could use a 1S battery, but might need to make an adapter. Very workable, but you still
have to do it. You shouldn't have to make any changes in Betaflight to use a 1S battery.

Regarding Betaflight...the factory tune will likely be just fine. If the quad flies fine, then don't
mess with the tune. You only need to "tune" it if there is some issue, characteristic, or reason
that you need to change it or "fix" something. Mostly, the tune will be fine. Only change the tune
if you need to, not just because you can.

On my 1S tiny whoops, I have run everything from a 150 mAh to a 650 mAh without changing
a thing. Are the flight characteristics different, well sure, but that is expected. You fly the battery
that gives the characteristics that  you want for that flight. 

On my larger quads, I don't notice any appreciable difference between battery sizes, but then,
I am not an ACRO stunt pilot so minor differences just don't affect me much. As long as the
quad is stable in flight, I am good to go. Yeah, I don't seem to experience the "propwash"
effect that bother stunt pilots. 

So far, every single one of my quads whether bought or built is running the stock, default, 
factory, tune. Not a change on any of them. Even all of my builds are running factory tunes.
Every one of them flies fine, so I just don't see the need to "tinker" with the tune. Maybe,
one day, something will come up where I need to doe some tuning, but so far it has not.

Regardless of what others might say, if you have trouble learning to fly in ACRO mode, then
you might want to consider switching to HORIZON mode; at least until you get a handle on
flying. Just a thought 

[Kevin2112]

It’s also worth the time to use some UV glue to reinforce the usb jack and any other board mounted connectors.

You’re probably gonna find yourself plugging and unplugging things multiple times, especially in the beginning- and breaking a jack off of your board sucks, even if you’ve got a hot air station and some smd skillz. Apply it on the outside edges where the jack meets the board on two or three sides. Make sure you don’t get any glue on any pads or on the inside of the jack.

It’s not necessary, but it could save you from having to buy a new board.

That’s a great idea! I ruined my meteor 65 usb jack and the quad is now useless. The usb sticks straight outta the board it’s on so real susceptible to being ripped off!