Well i did it, went out and bought my second drone.

Apollo11capcom · May 6, 2019

San2C said:
Tap "channel settings" to get to the interface that allows stick input editing. I think it's "J1" and "B1" (they'll be highlighted) that you're looking for on the grid of channels. EVO would be a nearly perfect UAV if Autel Robotics would add this kind of functionality.

As for the camera, I'm picky, but really, if you record in "raw" mode, you just need to add sharpening and color saturation in post and it can look really good. I never liked "gorgeous" mode. It looks over-sharpened to me. On 2nd thought, I might keep my 2nd TH. It really is an awesome drone.

Ive ordered a ND filter 6 pack, which is on backorder so who knows when i'l get it. Ive had my hands to full to even mess around much with the camera. I had a trick cell in one battery that was causing a big drop in voltage under load, causing loss of control, and ultimately 3 broken props. I never caught it while flying, even though I was watching the batteries pretty close, I didn't see it until I downloaded the flight logs.

Anyway, you're right, if autel would have even half as much functionality, features and utilities the TH, ST-16, and the GUI interface has it would be one heck of a drone. It is anyway, but it could sure use more tools for troubleshooting and fine tuning.

San2C · May 6, 2019

That sounds familiar. I experienced a dead fall from 40/50 feet or so that destroyed the aircraft. Even though I gave logs to Yuneec as requested, they never told me what the cause was, but they did replace the aircraft. After that, I always brought the aircraft back after 50% of battery was expended, to be safe.

Apollo11capcom · May 7, 2019

San2C said:
That sounds familiar. I experienced a dead fall from 40/50 feet or so that destroyed the aircraft. Even though I gave logs to Yuneec as requested, they never told me what the cause was, but they did replace the aircraft. After that, I always brought the aircraft back after 50% of battery was expended, to be safe.

You know that's one thing that I haven't figured out yet. I do well with a percentage, such as on the evo, it gets to 50% or so and I bring it in for a fresh battery. But the TH doesn't show percentages, it shows voltage, so how do you really know when you're at any given percentage. All I've been able to find is 'don't go below 14.5v', but I have no idea what percentage that is. I guess it doesn't matter, but it would be nice to see a percentage too.

jcommstudios · May 7, 2019

Apollo11capcom said:
I haven't found that yet (or seen it in the manual), where is that feature located?

I haven't had much time to try the camera much yet, but from what I've seen it doesn't look too bad... not like the evo, but not bad.

Very different look with the H as opposed to the EVO. Here is a test I did with a stock CGO3+ that I picked up a while back. Since then I did the Peau lens hack on H #2.

Apollo11capcom · May 7, 2019

jcommstudios said:
Very different look with the H as opposed to the EVO. Here is a test I did with a stock CGO3+ that I picked up a while back. Since then I did the Peau lens hack on H #2.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

That looks darn good to these eyes... even without my glasses.

When you were changing directions while keeping the camera pointed in the same direction, we're you doing that manually or poi, ccc, something like that?

Ansia · May 7, 2019

Apollo11capcom said:
You know that's one thing that I haven't figured out yet. I do well with a percentage, such as on the evo, it gets to 50% or so and I bring it in for a fresh battery. But the TH doesn't show percentages, it shows voltage, so how do you really know when you're at any given percentage. All I've been able to find is 'don't go below 14.5v', but I have no idea what percentage that is. I guess it doesn't matter, but it would be nice to see a percentage too.

Simple. Record the voltage when the battery is fully charge. you already have the 14.5v as a low (let's call it 10%) if max voltage is 20v, then you know that when it hits 17.5v you are at around 55%.

WayneH · May 7, 2019

Ansia said:
Simple. Record the voltage when the battery is fully charge. you already have the 14.5v as a low (let's call it 10%) if max voltage is 20v, then you know that when it hits 17.5v you are at around 55%.

I was (and still am) under the impression that a Lithium cell does not discharge in a linear fashion. Most discharge curves I've seen show a distinct sideways "S" shape, so the voltage under load does not correspond with the remaining energy. Just sayin'...

Ansia · May 7, 2019

WayneH said:
I was (and still am) under the impression that a Lithium cell does not discharge in a linear fashion. Most discharge curves I've seen show a distinct sideways "S" shape, so the voltage under load does not correspond with the remaining energy. Just sayin'...

True, but if under load it reaches the 14.5v, it will land or fall of the sky? I have never owned a Yuneec, so I'm not 100% sure. What I can tell you from my Evo and Phantom, once they reach certain volt levels under stress, they will RTH and once they land and the load goes out, the voltage goes up.

Apollo11capcom · May 7, 2019

Ansia said:
True, but if under load it reaches the 14.5v, it will land or fall of the sky? I have never owned a Yuneec, so I'm not 100% sure. What I can tell you from my Evo and Phantom, once they reach certain volt levels under stress, they will RTH and once they land and the load goes out, the voltage goes up.

Normally the Typhoons behave the same way the Evos do when the batteries depleted. Mine was losing control because, I guess, how far down the voltage was dipping. Once it stopped moving and just hovered or landed the voltage returned to almost full.

I think the falling from the sky thing is a rare reaction.... I hope so anyway.

Ansia · May 7, 2019

Apollo11capcom said:
Normally the Typhoons behave the same way the Evos do when the batteries depleted. Mine was losing control because, I guess, how far down the voltage was dipping. Once it stopped moving and just hovered or landed the voltage returned to almost full.

I think the falling from the sky thing is a rare reaction.... I hope so anyway.

jcommstudios · May 7, 2019

Apollo11capcom said:
That looks darn good to these eyes... even without my glasses.

When you were changing directions while keeping the camera pointed in the same direction, we're you doing that manually or poi, ccc, something like that?

I was flying manually. The H is a great flyer. I've flown them for the past 2 or 3 years. Once you get comfortable you will also be able to get the moves you want. I'm just starting to adjust to the sticks on the EVO to get the same type of movement. Went out and shot the EVO today and did some passes that are similar to the video I shared with you.

WayneH · May 7, 2019

Ansia said:
True, but if under load it reaches the 14.5v, it will land or fall of the sky? I have never owned a Yuneec, so I'm not 100% sure. What I can tell you from my Evo and Phantom, once they reach certain volt levels under stress, they will RTH and once they land and the load goes out, the voltage goes up.

Absolutely true. My comment was only to make clear that a voltage reading is not the best indicator of remaining capacity. The best practice by far is the tried and true "keep track of your time" in the air (or on land, sea, or how long you've been mowing the lawn). ?

BTW, that voltage rise when load is removed is a result of the battery internal impedance, and can be an indicator of battery health (lower internal impedance equals better battery). Thus, if you have the capability to do precise voltage measurements on a battery while in use, you can make an educated guess regarding remaining life.

jcommstudios · May 8, 2019

Ansia said:
True, but if under load it reaches the 14.5v, it will land or fall of the sky? I have never owned a Yuneec, so I'm not 100% sure. What I can tell you from my Evo and Phantom, once they reach certain volt levels under stress, they will RTH and once they land and the load goes out, the voltage goes up.

All you have to do is be aware of your flight time. The H also gives a primary warning and a secondary warning to bring the drone home iE: remote buzzes and an indicator pops up on the display. You hit the back icon and it leaves the screen, You have about 5 minutes after that point to get back to the launch area prior to a second warning and an auto RTH. Since I don't use my H's as long range fliers, but for cinematic close shots, it's not a problem at all.

jcommstudios · May 8, 2019

Ansia said:
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

@Ansia Most of these incidents are caused by improperly locking the battery and it pops out! lol I went through a couple of faulty reconditioned H's that Yuneec replaced until they got it right.
I saw my first comment of an EVO battery dislodging just the other day. The 2 drones are completely different. I have no idea how an EVO battery would come off but the H takes a fair amount of preflight checking to make sure all is as it should be. All 6 arms extended and locked, props mounted, battery seated, proper number of satellites for both the drone and controller, white balance locked and exposure adjusted etc. That is one reason I bought the EVO to have a quality drone I can get up in the air quickly.

Apollo11capcom · May 8, 2019

jcommstudios said:
@Ansia Most of these incidents are caused by improperly locking the battery and it pops out! lol I went through a couple of faulty reconditioned H's that Yuneec replaced until they got it right.
I saw my first comment of an EVO battery dislodging just the other day. The 2 drones are completely different. I have no idea how an EVO battery would come off but the H takes a far amount of preflight checking to make sure all is as it should be. All 6 arms extended and locked, props mounted, battery seated, proper number of satellites for both the drone and controller, white balance locked and exposure adjusted etc.That is one reason I bought the EVO to have a quality drone I can get up in the air quickly.

The Evo would be even quicker if it retained certain settings like video transmission. I find myself still taking a while going through the Evo settings before I fly, just to make sure. It seems like I always forget something if I don't. Switching from H.264 to H.265 was one of those things I would always forget, now it looks like it holds that setting with the latest FW upgrade.

Apollo11capcom · May 8, 2019

Ansia said:
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

So much for the rarity of them falling from the sky.

Ansia · May 8, 2019

Apollo11capcom said:
The Evo would be even quicker if it retained certain settings like video transmission. I find myself still taking a while going through the Evo settings before I fly, just to make sure. It seems like I always forget something if I don't. Switching from H.264 to H.265 was one of those things I would always forget, now it looks like it holds that setting with the latest FW upgrade.

Apollo11capcom said:
So much for the rarity of them falling from the sky.

I agree. It probably was a faulty battery. He says in the video that they were fully charged and suddenly the volt dropped and it asked to land immediately, but it was to late.

Apollo11capcom · May 8, 2019

Ansia said:
I agree. It probably was a faulty battery. He says in the video that they were fully charged and suddenly the volt dropped and it asked to land immediately, but it was to late.

Yep, I'd bet the farm that's exactly what it was. I'd also venture to say he probably didn't read about the lipos either. Still, I feel for the guy, you could hear the frustration in his voice.

San2C · May 12, 2019

Apollo11capcom said:
All I've been able to find is 'don't go below 14.5v', but I have no idea what percentage that is. I guess it doesn't matter, but it would be nice to see a percentage too.

Doesn't really matter to me as long as there's something indicating battery strength. I think I also landed on 14.5v as the cutoff for flying.