AutoPilot and the Spark

[Chrislaf]

A short question about the camera. When flying AP, how is it possible to make manual settings so the exposure matches the darker parts instead of automatic?

You can set the exposure to manual or automatic by switching to camera view and then tapping the pancake menu. From there you would choose photo and then go down through the sub-menus to change the exposure. It’s not as easy as in GO4 or Litchi but it is there and like them you must be connected to the AC.

Chris

 

[koffe]

You can set the exposure to manual or automatic by switching to camera view and then tapping the pancake menu. From there you would choose photo and then go down through the sub-menus to change the exposure. It’s not as easy as in GO4 or Litchi but it is there and like them you must be connected to the AC.

Chris

Thank you Chris. Now I see. It was not easy to find but now I know how. It is tricky to set, so I think it is best to make a checklist for the routine, so I don't burn much of the Spark battery while fiddling with the commands.

Before you answered I thought it was impossible as the Flight School from Autopilot states that the camera settings should be done in the GO4 app.

I am very greatful for your help.

 

[Chrislaf]

Thank you Chris. Now I see. It was not easy to find but now I know how. It is tricky to set, so I think it is best to make a checklist for the routine, so I don't burn much of the Spark battery while fiddling with the commands.

Before you answered I thought it was impossible as the Flight School from Autopilot states that the camera settings should be done in the GO4 app.

I am very greatful for your help.

Glad I could help.
I usually set the camera settings before I start the motors so that I minimize the battery drain but it is difficult to set shutter speed this way as it often changes once you launch. I just try to get it as close as possible on the ground then once in air I tweek it.

 

[koffe]

I have earlier done some Waypoint and Zip line missions. And they have run flawlessly. Today I tried the Follow mode for the first time. I thought that I would lose my Spark twice. It just flew away after following me quite nice for a short while. Very strange and very frustrating. The second time it seemed to me that the RTH would not work. But I'm not quite sure what actually happened.

This evening I found the Airdata.com and registered an account. After uploading the flights I can see that the signal looks good. But although I had never less that 15 satellites, there were some warnings for Aircraft GPS Weak and Aircraft GPS Bad. The last one ocurred at 1m37s. Then at 2m03s both my pausing and Mode changed to Atti happened at the same time.

Is this normal, 15 sats and weak and bad GPS causing Atti mode? Or did I do anything wrong? Or is the Follow mode unreliable?

 

[VincentEth2018]

I got some missions under my belt. the first couple waypoint missions went awesome. The next few, it seemed like my spark lost its calibration. But even after recalibrating it would go the start point for the waypoint mission but seem like it was trying to figure which direction to go. Even do as much as rock back and forth like the wind was too strong but the wind was minimal. That's the best way I can explain it. After reading some of the others that have used AP and watching some youtube videos I was wondering if maybe my setup of the mission the spark is maybe trying to aim the gimbal in a way that the spark is not capable of doing. Or maybe trying to yaw (if that is the correct phrasing) in a way that the spark can't do. Plus I know a big issue is I am still learning the fundamentals of it all. Are some of the features in AP not spark compatible? Also, any other advice would be appreciated.

I think I may of figured out what was going on. I read some posts that say that using the OTG setup with autopilot causes issues. I removed it and was able to fly more waypoint missions without incident. So I guess that raises the question what is better: OTG for better Wi-Fi reception between the RC and dji but less functionality in the autopilot software or more functionality and the higher risk of losing Wi-Fi reception? My wanting of the waypoint function is to compensate for my lack of flying ability right now and better camera use for better videos/pictures. Another issue is that if I don't complete a mission, it seems for my lack of knowledge of autopilot I need to get back into the dji app but the time it takes to do so so much can go wrong. Can RTH be instantly activated from within autopilot while in a mission? I have to reconnect the RC to the spark, get back into dji to get to the RTH function. Is there something I am missing in autopilot to regain control of my spark when a mission fails or an issue arises? Sorry so long.

 

[Chrislaf]

This is an update to my successful mapping mission I posted about earlier (#115). Today I flew the same mapping mission with my phantom 3 standard (P3S). The gimbal on this drone can tilt down 90 degees whereas the Spark can only tilt down to 85 degees. The P3S flew the mission much smoother. There was no abrupt tilting of the AC down each time a photo was about to be taken (so that it pointed down 90 degrees) and the settings for shooting photos was automatically chosen once I specified it was a P3 camera in Autopilot (interval, 2s, JPEG). It’s interesting to note that if I changed to RAW shooting the interval automatically changed to 10s as the P3S does not support shorter intervals when shooting RAW.

What I have noticed about AutoPilot is that it supports Spark but camera settings must be entered manually and must match the specs of the Spark otherwise photos will not be taken or the mission will not complete properly, whereas with my P3S and likely other phantom drones, camera settings change automatically based on settings selected in software.

Chris

 

[goixiz]

ran my first WP mission today on the spark - need a lot of education to make me comfortable flying with AP

I still have errors - IMU error when in the dji beta dashboard - Any idea how to fix ?
Also in Dji dashboard when i touch the map it shutsdown the AP app and i had to restart while the mission was still running - scared me

 

[Quadular]

Thank you Tom for all the detailed info you have wrote concerning the Spark & Autopilot!
I am new to these forums and was searching for the compatibility of those two.
Has anyone used an iPad 2 with the Autopilot software? I would rather not purchase that app only to find it buggy or incomparable with my older tablet.

Thanks for your time!

Loudn, I have an ipad 2 and plan on getting the AP app for waypoint missions, lets keep each other posted. Thanks

 

[VincentEth2018]

This is an update to my successful mapping mission I posted about earlier (#115). Today I flew the same mapping mission with my phantom 3 standard (P3S). The gimbal on this drone can tilt down 90 degees whereas the Spark can only tilt down to 85 degees. The P3S flew the mission much smoother. There was no abrupt tilting of the AC down each time a photo was about to be taken (so that it pointed down 90 degrees) and the settings for shooting photos was automatically chosen once I specified it was a P3 camera in Autopilot (interval, 2s, JPEG). It’s interesting to note that if I changed to RAW shooting the interval automatically changed to 10s as the P3S does not support shorter intervals when shooting RAW.

What I have noticed about AutoPilot is that it supports Spark but camera settings must be entered manually and must match the specs of the Spark otherwise photos will not be taken or the mission will not complete properly, whereas with my P3S and likely other phantom drones, camera settings change automatically based on settings selected in software.

Chris

Hello and thank you for your response. So if my main interest is to run a waypoint mission and basically focus the camera about 45 degrees down and an occasional focus point what would you say is the best way to accomplish this as far as the camera setting? Joystick, direction etc...?

 

[goixiz]

Is there active support for autopilot - this is not an easy to learn app and i wish there are more tech supt (that replies quicker)

 

[VincentEth2018]

Is it necessary to go thru DJI4 before going into Autopilot and flying missions or can Autopilot be ran on its own and have RTH set and have whatever may be necessary should a mission fail in the way of manually controlling my Spark? I hope this is clear. I've had issue when in autopilot that I had to close it out and get back into DJI4 to regain control which usually is just getting my Spark to RTH.

 

[Formerly450]

Great thread. Thanks to John and all for sharing all this good info.

I've just started learning AP before purchase. Is it possible to store a mission so that it can be flown exactly the same at a later date?

 

[Chrislaf]

Great thread. Thanks to John and all for sharing all this good info.

I've just started learning AP before purchase. Is it possible to store a mission so that it can be flown exactly the same at a later date?

Yes, you can save a mission as a flight plan which you can load at any time and it will fly it exactly as saved.

 

[Tom Croley]

Sorry I have been away from the forum for so long.... I just have not been flying much and I have not been using Autopilot when I do. Well I'm back. We have lived next to a big field for almost 40 years now. The other day, much to our chagrin, they started working on it. It looks like it has finally fallen into the hands of the developers and will soon be filled with new houses and the nice dead end street on which we live will be punched through to the neighborhood on the other side of the field. Progress.

Well, I went out the other day and made a drone flight to record the first part of the work....putting in drainage. I hope to use Autopilot Zipline mode to make regular video so that I will have a nice video when I am done. I will eventually post the videos on my blog......https://grimrodent.blogspot.com

 

[Tom Croley]

Ha..... I have to read some of my own posts to remember how to use autopilot.

 

[Chrislaf]

Sorry I have been away from the forum for so long.... I just have not been flying much and I have not been using Autopilot when I do. Well I'm back. We have lived next to a big field for almost 40 years now. The other day, much to our chagrin, they started working on it. It looks like it has finally fallen into the hands of the developers and will soon be filled with new houses and the nice dead end street on which we live will be punched through to the neighborhood on the other side of the field. Progress.

Well, I went out the other day and made a drone flight to record the first part of the work....putting in drainage. I hope to use Autopilot Zipline mode to make regular video so that I will have a nice video when I am done. I will eventually post the videos on my blog......https://grimrodent.blogspot.com

Welcome back Tom!

I haven't been using Autopilot as much either. It has not been updated in ages and Hangar no longer supports it. I am not sure if Hangar is still in business. You might want to try out Dronelink. It was developed by the original creators of Autopilot.

I still keep Autopilot on my phone since it is still the best software for tracking for low end drones like my Phantom 3 Standard and Spark.

Chris

 

[Tom Croley]

Thanks for the tip, Chris. I was wondering about Hanger. I noticed that their blog does not have proper security anymore and wondered about it. My browser refuses to access it. I'll be trying it again in a few days when the weather breaks a little.

 

[Tom Croley]

Sunny this afternoon after a very foggy morning. I decided to take the drone out and refresh my "autopilot" skills. When you are used to flying RC planes where you have direct control of your craft, it is very strange to push that button and watch your drone take off on its own and zoom to a mission.

Today I practiced up on my Zipline missions. I started in the driveway surrounded by some trees. Set my altitude for point A to 120 feet and point B 180 feet. I made sure that the slider was set to point A then engaged the fight. With these settings on advanced mode, it should fly straight up and hover until I move the slider manually. It did and I did and it flew out to point B with no issues. I had the camera set to "Joystick" focus so the AC kept the camera pointed any direction I indicated with the stick. I tried 3 flights just to get my confidence back up, since I have been flying all manual for the last year.

I did notice one glitch. The Go Home function is a little odd. If you just push the GH button while autopilot is engaged, It pops a message saying something like "Autopilot disengaged, Go home activated"....then the craft just sits there and hovers....it doesn't budge. If you push the icon to make the message go away, the push the GH button to cancel it you can then fly home manually. Or you can push GH again and it will really come home this time. I'll review this again next time to make sure I'm telling it right.

I have never really trusted the GH function, but I've been experimenting with it lately.

 

[Chrislaf]

I rarely use RTH, I just bring it home manually.

Once the lake freezes up here after Christmas, I’ll probably start using AutoPilot some more for some follow missions.

Chris