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Is Hoverfly Controller Sensitive To Heat? — Parallax Forums

Is Hoverfly Controller Sensitive To Heat?

I've had problems with my Elev-8 on hot days - temps in mid 90's. I usually have problems arming, but when I do, the aircraft will yaw counterclockwise as I throttle up. I've had to power cycle the aircraft several times. Finally, got it to arm and take off, but when hovering about 7 feet high, it suddenly pitched over and crashed, breaking two props.

Took it home, replaced the props and checked for any other damage (none), and tried flying it again later in the evening. It flew fine - no problems. Temp was in the mid 80's.

Comments

  • GlassKNees,

    It's possible that the heat, combined with direct sunlight, affected the gyro on HoverFly OPEN, but I consider that unlikely (I haven't noticed a correlation in all my flight hours). Covering the OPEN with an opaque material to shield it from direct sunlight could help, but that usually only makes a difference on more sensitive components such as barometers.

    What transmitter and receiver are you using? Do you know what firmware version you OPEN is running?

    PS - Tag posts with "multirotor" to get better/more targeted responses more quickly!
  • I seem to remember a temperature related post some time back, but I think it was related to cold temperatures. I've been trying to search for the forum link all day but cannot find it.

    The gyroscope min/max temperatures are -30 C and +85C, and since it does have a temperature sensor on board should be able to compensate but I don't think it's implemented in software on the hoverfly open board..

    Yes, barometers do not like to be left out in the light.
  • The gyro readings on the HoverFly can vary a decent amount if the temperature of the board changes during a single flight. For example, taking off in shade and then flying to direct sunlight might cause a noticeable shift in the "zero position" of your gyro, and HoverFly doesn't compensate for it as far as I know.

    That said, it's next to impossible for that to be the cause of a sudden flip - for that, I would look over your board to see if there are any loose connections, or possibly cold solder joints. If something warmed up and expanded, and that caused a connection to pop, that could do it.

    A low battery can also cause that - if you took off and were close to empty, when the ESC cutoff triggers, it won't necessarily do so on all ESCs at exactly the same time. The effect is that one side of the quad drops, which looks like a "downward flip".

    Jason
  • Thanks Jason. I had problems before with cold solder joints, and am pretty sure I worked them out. I've had plenty of flights without problems before and since - though that doesn't necessarily rule out another cold joint someplace....
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