I am wondered how Mark is answering clearly all the questions guys asked. Now I got why mine is drifting and not returning back to exact spot that took off. I am a new pilot, just 2nd day and already managed to fall 2 times and 1 swim. Thank you dude, you deserve new pilots' respect!
Abdulaziz Abdunasimov Thank You Sir ! If your quad is drifting, can be caused by a couple of reasons. First thing would be your trim buttons are not centered on the controller, or you need to do a controller stick recalibration. Other things that would cause that would be having magnetic metal around the quad while doing your compass calibrations, not having enough GPS satellites acquired on the quad before takeoff, etc. As far as the quad not returning to where it took off from, that is a new feature because you most likely have a H501SS, not a H501S. The SS models are basically replacing the older original h501s. They actually return to home within about 5 to 10 ft of where the controller is. Not where the props were first armed. I would start by recalibrating your controller sticks and making sure the trim buttons are centered for your drifting issue. It's going to return to home close to the controller so that is normal.
Abdulaziz Abdunasimov if you are not familiar with a controller stick recalibration, the way you do it is, hold both control sticks to the upper left and turn the controller on at the same time. Then move both sticks simultaneously up, down, left, right, then do two Complete circles all the way to the outer edges with both sticks and remember to move the sticks exactly at the same time and direction. After that long press any trim button to save your calibration. Then, when you move the controller sticks, the Crosshair reticals in the lower left and lower right of the screen should move in exact correlation with the sticks. If they do then you did a successful controller recalibration. After that make sure your trim butons are centered and follow all calibration procedures properly and you shouldn't have any drifting issues...
Abdulaziz Abdunasimov Sorry ! When I first read your comment, I thought you were having drifting issues and not knowing why the quad is not returning to where the props for first armed. After I read it again, I realized that you were able to fix your drifting issues. I think. Thanks for the Support, Means A Lot !!
And you answer quickly. I am very impressed, bro. I take into consideration your advices about calibration. RTH issue is not only issue, it drifts too. When I stop it quickly while flying, back side goes up and front goes down. Same thing with side flies. Is that drifting or what? Thank you so much. Subscribed! P.S.: Yes, it's H501SS
Abdulaziz Abdunasimov Thanks for the Sub :) What you're describing is Completely Normal. The Quad will Always Do That when you bring it to a stop while in GPS Hold. The reason it does that is because it's trying to basically stop itself and remain in GPS position lock. It happens to every quad there is, while flying in GPS Hold. When you are flying in GPS Hold, the Quad's FCB is receiving information from the GPS satellites to basically tell it where it is supposed to be autonomously hovering. When you pitch forward (Fly Forward) then come to a Stop, the quad is Stopping itself, so it can Remain at that position. When that happens, that is when the quad basically jerks upwards or downwards. Completely Normal Bro. There is a few things you can do that will reduce that big sudden stop jerk effect. You can go into your before Flight menu and change the stick sensitivity to 60%, which is actually normal mode. The controllers come default set at 100% sensitivity which is actually expert mode. By decreasing the sensitivity to 60% can Help. Otherwise, you have to slowly bring the quad to a stop. When you want to stop Flying forwards, slowly let off of the right control stick. (Pitch). Same thing with"Roll" (Flying Sideways). There is another way to completely get rid of what you're talking about, but that requires flying in Altitude Hold Only, No GPS. Very Hard to fly in Altitude Hold because the quad Does Not ever stop itself like in GPS hold. In altitude hold, when you pitch forward, the quad will keep going, if you roll left it will just keep going even if you let off the control stick. It does that for every direction in Altitude Hold. Drifting is where the quad won't autonomously hover in an accurate position while in GPS Hold. Drifting is where the quad kind of Wanders around 2 or 3 feet and doesn't really maintain a position hold like it should. I hope you understand my what I'm trying to say... Yes ?
I've flown 5 times now and calibrated exactly the way you described with no flight problems. My drone case now has a flat piece of 1/4" polyethelyne and a small pocket level as standard equipment. I was surprised how UN-level places are when they looked level. Great advice!
Hi Mark. Got to love Wisconsin weather. What do you think of the latest version 501ss I got the black bnf $99 flies great with black motors. I was going to buy the white one next but if there the same 501ss then why $49.99 for white and $99.99 for black version. Seems I should buy 2 white bnf for better deal . Is the white 1 a piece of crap or what's going on? On Amazon. Thought maybe he was giving me a good deal. Just want to make sure. Sincerely William Horsley
I cannot imagine why non-ferrous metal would have any effect on a compass! I do agree that calibrating with the cell phone or any other wifi device at a good distance makes great sense. Great video and we appreciate it!
archiguitarchi I was referring to ferromagnetic metal objects. Car keys, cell phone, watches, bracelets anything that has magnetic qualities. Metal that is not magnetic will not affect the calibrations. The reason magnetic metal will throw off compass Calibrations is because when the quad is self initiating and especially when you're doing your compass calibrations, it's Geo magnetic compass sensor is trying to find true north and south. And it needs to find that only from the Earth's natural magnetic fields. If you have a magnetic object near the quad while doing compass calibrations, it can cause a magnetic anomaly that will throw off the compass bearings reading.
I have 1 issue with the compass calibration and the metal thing that maybe u can give me a little pointer on. I also want to let u know that I'm completely new to this hobby. Any input from you would be appreciated.
Wonder if that is why mine was drifting a little as first time I just charged.... put battery in but did not connect until out on field, then turned transmitter on, put next to the quad, then connected battery and twisted to close door and put on an old piece of carpet on the grass. Sure I heard the couple of bleeps before I put it down on ground. Then did compass calls etc... Well I am learning slowly with watching videos and asking ;o))))
Hey Mark... I have an unrelated question... what happens if my H501ss is flying and I "un-arm" the quad mid flight? You know how to start flying or turn off the quad you point the the sticks one to the lower left and one to the lower right? Does the quad actually unarm mid flight? I had an incident where my kid was flying the quad and it suddenly dropped from the air... it wasn't battery related so I suspect my kid just accidentally put the sticks on that specific position and it actually turned off... but I didn't want to test my theory jaja... any ideas? Thanks in advance...
Flew my Hubsan 501S today which was given to me as a gift, January 2017. This was the 4th or 5th flight since owning and I experienced a loss of control. It was directly above me at maybe 75 feet and it took off. I used the RTH switch and it returned and then circled me overhead, wildly with no apparent response to my control. It ultimately became inverted and flew straight down into the grass. Not at all sure what happened. Is this possibly what you describe as the toilet bowling? I did the same calibration as I always have done (yes, wearing a metal watch and with my cell phone in pocket). This thread has been interesting so any input is certainly hoped for!
+magentaline +magentaline Yes, when you hit RTH, The Spiralling Was Toilet Bowl Effect. You Have to remember When the quad is in RTH, you cannot control anything, besides throttle up (a little)... To get Out of T.B's you need to quickly switch off RTH and Manually Regain Control (GPS Hold On)...: toilet bowling happens the Most during the RTH descent Downwards, especially if it is windy outside. It sounds like what happened is for some reason your quad lost your transmission signal for a second, then you hit RTH, and it started T.O.D. .. remember to take your keys and your cell phones out of your pocket before you plug in the battery and while doing your calibrations !! Thats Very Important. As for the quad losing your signal, that could be a multitude of different things... I could help you a little more if I knew what type of controller you have and where you were flying and what the conditions were...
+magentaline Thats the FPV2 (Standard) Controller. That controller Definitely Needs External Antennas. (MODS) Very Simple to do... You need to check inside your controller Before you order the Antenna Kits though to make sure the Di-Pole Antenna wires Aren't Soldered to the module. If they're not, Purchase The Antenna Kit. You Will Not Regret it ! And they are Less than $20
I've had my H501S a couple of weeks now. It makes sense about metal objects effecting a compass and sounds like the quadcopters compass is extremely sensitive. What does the term "Toilet Bowl" mean? I never heard of it relating to quadcopters before.
+Larry Conrad A "Toilet Bowl Effect" or known as a "T.O.D." Tumble Of Death, is when the Quad starts to do an uncontrollable Spiral. It starts kind of slow, then gets bad. "Mostly' During Return To Home Function. But can also happen in General GPS Hold Flight, At Any Given Time. The " T.B" effect is very serious. If you don't take Full Control of the Quad Quickly, It Will Crash. The "Spinning/Spiral gave the name " Toilet Bowl" or T.O.D "Tumble Of Death"... Geo Magnetic Sensors Are Very Sensitive in these Quads, and Most others as well. The difference between the Hubsan Quads and Quads Made By DJI, Yuneec, Etc, is that they Are Not Controlled by a Smartphone or Tablet App. Which makes them Ultimately Controlled by the Pilot. No other Influences. Quads Controlled with a controller that Must Have a device attached with an App Running are Different. And when I say " Different " I mean in a bad way. Recently MAJOR Drone Manufacturers are being Slammed by the FAA. So they are cooperating with Airmap in Conjunction with local Authorities to Limit and Basically decide for you if you can fly or not. I like to be in Full Control of My Quads, that's why I Stay Away from any that Run Off Apps ! Apps crash, you need a phone or tablet with a Good Cell Tower Signal, Etc. Which to me is STUPID !!! Hubsan Quads Don't run on apps. Only A Pilot and a Controller. That's the way it should be. But, you have dummies flying their quads into Airspace within 5 miles of an Airport, Going WAY Over the 400 foot (122 meter) Limitation, Etc. In the last year Drone sales have Quadrupled ! That's why FAA Authorities Around The World Are Really Stomping on this Hobby. Also, in 2016 there were Over 2,500 Drones Spotted in Airport Airspace and 250+ Very Close Crashes, which I'm Sure is a low number... Anyways, Improper Compass Calibrations can cause "Flyaways"... Flyaways are when the Quads FCB (Flight Control Board) gets So " Confused " it Doesn't know where to go... So, it just ends up Flying Away until the battery dies. I could explain more, if you need, but if your Quad is flying Correctly, Do Not Mess with Firmware Updates, and Do Good Calibrating. Ok ? Keep in touch !
Thank You for the reply Mark, I will for sure take your advice, no tumble of death for me. The last time I flew, I calibrated my compass next to my car. I'm glade I saw your post before it was too late, Thank You again. Larry Conrad
I just got mine and couldn't get the motors to start after calibrating. However I got it to fly later. I think the problem might have been putting the battery in when it was not level. I also have another drone (different brand) that took off sideways and crashed because I had the drone sideways when I put the battery in.
Wally C Yes. Must be on a Level Surface When you plug in the flight battery. It does a self Initilazation, Don't Move the quad until it needs the Cal's. As soon as you plug in the battery, it is "Checking" the Gyro (IMU's), it's Barometer, Etc. Pitch & Roll "P" & "R" Need to be as Close to 0 degrees as Possible. If not, the quad will not fly level, or sometimes it won't let you arm the motors... Very Important to start on a Level Surface brother !
Good video. Mine was at 60 meters height and took off full throttle in GPS 3 different times. Thankfully it came back when I hit the RTH switch. I was within wifi signal from our house, so I'm guessing that was the culprit??? I don't know. I flew it again in the middle of a field later that morning with no issues.
deere3321 First, Thank You ! I'm guessing it was a Wi-Fi signal or something similar that caused that. As Wi-Fi continues to develop, the routers are getting stronger and stronger for faster download and upload speeds. Even cell towers are giving off enormous amounts of radiation, even illegal amounts. There's actually a guy on UA-cam that has a microwave radiation detector and measures the strength of the signals coming off of these cell towers that are popping up everywhere on a daily basis. They are way over a healthy/Legal limit and can definitely affect a UAV that is being controlled buy a 2.4 gigahertz signal but also trying to have autonomous functions by the way of GPS and a geomagnetic compass sensor. I've never had quite an issue like you had, but I did fly in Park a while back. That particular Park had a massive cell tower with major patch antennas and pagodas and yagi antennas all over the damn thing. It was kind of hidden in the trees so I didn't see it at first. After I started flying around, I noticed the quad was overcorrecting it's GPS position quite a bit. If you ever notice your quad kind of twitching around or really drifting and not maintaining its GPS position lock, you should definitely land because something is interfering with it. Almost every hubsan quad besides the very low-end ones, use an 8 APM processor. That processor controls all of its autonomous functions. It's not a very expensive processor or very high tech for that matter. If you look at something like a DJI NAZE 2 Navigation system, that has multiple processors and even backup processors. The 8 APM Processors in the 501's, can be overloaded quite easily by outside signal interference. When they become overloaded the quad basically becomes "confused" and that's how you get flyaways and all sorts of crazy stories I've heard of... Don't get me wrong, for a quad that has all the functions that the 501's have, it is definitely worth the money and is a very good drone, however it doesn't do very good in urban areas...
deere3321 "Most" yes. Not All but most. Most common fly away is caused by a very bad compass calibration or a very bad magnetic anomaly was picked up during compass calibration and the Quad's processor could not locate Earth's exact true north. When that happens, the quad is thinking it is somewhere it's not and when given commands really overloads the processor which can cause a fly away. So, yes most flyaways happen when in GPS hold.
Thanks again. I'm going to keep flying in the middle of a field and flip the GPS off until I'm confident about flying. I also want to fly headless mode for a while so I get used to it as well. Your explanations are the best.
deere3321 Thanks again ! I'm not so sure if I would recommend flying in altitude hold to get used to how the quad flies. Altitude hold can be extremely tough with the 501's. Orientation is very hard and just remember, every direction you control the quad to fly, it does not stop ! You have to manually turn it with the controller, Roll, Pitch,Yaw, Throttle,Etc. You can't just let off the sticks and expect it to stop or even slow down. If you're going to fly away from urban areas like a field, keep it in GPS hold until you really get familiar with the controls. And be careful if you do fly in altitude hold, it is extremely difficult and I would highly, highly recommend that you go into your before Flight menu and change the controller stick sensitivity to 60% (Normal Mode). The controllers come default set at 100% stick sensitivity which is expert mode. These quads are very fast in altitude hold and you really have to have quick controller response time in order to avoid crashing when flying in altitude hold. And one more thing, when it says altitude hold, that's really untrue because when you pitch forward the quad tends to lose altitude and go straight for the ground ! I did make a video a while back of the 501s in altitude hold, with stick sensitivity at 100% really flying fast and trying to show people that those things will hit the ground if you don't throttle up as your pitching forward, and it's just Very Difficult to master. Lots of practice !
Can I buy only the hubsan h501s without a transmitter, have lost two hubsan h501s one in the water and one that is scratched would want to buy without a transmitter.
Guido Cleys The H501S is now the H501S-S. They made changes by putting a H501A FCB and a H501A Camera Module inside. The SS has replaced the S . The SS models have completely different firmware that is not compatible with the original h501s. So basically, you could technically buy just the quad, but you would have to do some firmware downloading and matching. The Controller's firmware needs to match the Quad's firmware or you will have a lot of problems. The SS has been sold since February of 2017 and has basically Replaced the S.
Hello Marc, thanks for contact, a Hubsan X4 fpv would like the white version, but without a transmitter with a transmitter because my Hubsan x4 has been scratched and dropped into the water I can only buy the device and what is the price, hopefully this is well translated because I work with a translater, I am from Belgium and all speak Dutch.
Guido Cleys You "Can" purchase only the quad itself without a transmitter. However, if you are to do that, whatever firmware versions The Quad has, you will have to make sure that your controller has the same firmware. It's kind of difficult to explain, basically hubsan made all of their products proprietary. Meaning that they only function properly when used with other hubsan products. You would have to go on eBay or something like that and try to find a seller that is selling only the quad. That may be a little hard to do because if you buy the Drone itself without the transmitter, it's going to cost you almost as much as if you just bought another drone with a transmitter. Not only that, the transmitters firmware has to match the drones firmware for it to function properly. So you will have to look up what firmware versions the Drone came with and then make sure your controller is able to find with the Drone and control it properly. Do you understand what I am trying to say?
Chris on the slope For the H906A (Advanced Controller) I use a 11.1v 3S LiPo. Not for the H901A (Standard Controller), I use a 7.4V 2S. It's kinda hard to find a 3S with a JST connector, unless you use an adapter or solder some type of connector with wires, directly to the board. They do make 3S LiPo's with JST connectors, so they can plug right in to the built-in jst connector inside the battery compartment of the controllers. I don't think you are supposed to use a 11.1 V 3S with the Standard Controller. Only the Advanced Controller. Not 100% sure...
I have tried this mod on my Hubsan h501s. I'm now back to stock but now using 4x AA "Energizer Ultimate Lithium" batteries. I kid you not! I got 400m extra range (from the same spot). I have used the same battery set over 15 flights now, each flight ranging from 13min to 23 min. It's still on full bars. Just try them. Their around £5 for a pack of 4.
Chris on the slope No. I use a 7.4V 2S LiPo with a JST connector that plugs Directly into the controller's JST connector that is inside the battery compartment. Newer controllers have a "Built In" connection (JST Type). A 11.1V 3S is too Much Voltage for the Standard Controller.
+Don Poncher Yes, the compass sensor inside the h501s is extremely sensitive. It needs to be very sensitive for a little quad of that size to have return to home function and GPS function. That's pretty much why you need to do to calibrations every time you fly. When you are spinning the quad during calibration it is trying to locate exact North and exact South... (Horizontal Cal necessary so it can "Determine" Longitude) & Vertical Cal Necessary for Latitude. The compass works in sync with flight control board(Mainly GPS Module & Barometer)... In Turn Creating An "Intelligent" Quad and Smooth Flight, also Enabling All its Functions....
Good video. Very informative. If there is one thing I would add, I would like to suggest always taking off from a raised platform, as opposed to the ground. I have found that the ground itself can mess up the compass calibration, thereby causing toilet bowl effects at some point during the flight. Since you took off from that cardboard box, you have very effectively protected the quad from that unwanted ground effect :) .
+CNCmachiningisfun Exactly Correct !! The Explanation is too Complicated for "Some" people to Really Understand, but the reason you get a "Ground Effect" is the way the Earth's Magnetic Field "Wraps" around. Avoiding the "Surface" will help the quad Realize Direct North and South. When Directly on the Ground, you can get a MVRS ( Magnetic Vortex Ring State). Kinda like Toilet Bowling, But Way Different. From Trial and Error, I Learned that the hard way. Plug in Flight Battery, Let It Self Initiate, Above the ground (On a Box or something similar that's Level) , pick it up and do your Calibrations. Set it back down on the "Box" and you know the Rest ! I Should have pointed that out. Thanks For Watching!!
+CNCmachiningisfun Exactly Correct !! The Explanation is too Complicated for "Some" people to Really Understand, but the reason you get a "Ground Effect" is the way the Earth's Magnetic Field "Wraps" around. Avoiding the "Surface" will help the quad Realize Direct North and South. When Directly on the Ground, you can get a MVRS ( Magnetic Vortex Ring State). Kinda like Toilet Bowling, But Way Different. From Trial and Error, I Learned that the hard way. Plug in Flight Battery, Let It Self Initiate, Above the ground (On a Box or something similar that's Level) , pick it up and do your Calibrations. Set it back down on the "Box" and you know the Rest ! I Should have pointed that out. Thanks For Watching!!
Mark Suttner Thanks for the reply. Yes, we are sometimes obliged to learn the hard way about these subtleties in the performance and handling of our quads. While I have never crashed one of these, I have come mighty close to it a few times, and have been forced to fight its inherent desire to go down in flames due to poor compass setup. I use precisely the method you have just outlined in order to be sure that my birds are ready for a safe and reliable flight. If more folks knew about these little things, I am sure they would have a lot more fun when they lift off into the wild blue yonder :) .
+CNCmachiningisfun Yes Sir Indeed ! I tried to Show "Viewers" that Using Any type of "Raised LEVEL Platform Will Keep the Quad from "Ground Effects"... I Appreciate your Insight into These things ! After I First Ever used my h109s box to Initiate from, I NEVER Use Direct Ground Contact as an Initiation Point !!!
Mark Suttner Here's hoping your message will spread among the millions of quad fliers out there, as this little bit of knowledge is so important, yet not as widely known as it really should be.
+Ed Watt Most Surgically Implanted Pins, Rods or Plates are made out of titanium therefore they are not a ferromagnetic metal. Only Magnetic Metal will affect the Geomagnetic Compass Sensor. I have six screws and three plates in my face from an orbital reconstructive surgery. They use titanium in your body because it does not rust or corrode and also it is not magnetic in case you need an MRI. Although, some knee replacements still set off metal detectors at airports, etc. Anyways, I was referring to bigger pieces of metal and or Electronics, not surgical pins...
great job bro! ill be studying these videos and learning the proper preflight procedures on this bird... so that when my "crowcopter' arrives(i ordered the black 501s) ill be able to correctly get her ready to fly...
birdman316 Thanks Bro !! that is exactly what I did before I bought an h501s... I researched and watched a lot of videos about it before I bought it.... I do have other Drones, and have been flying them for quite some time, but it's always a great idea to research a product before you buy it...
very true...ive been flying going on 9 months now... i think im ready for the gps plunge lol...but i still love my x8 birds tho....2 alt. hold and 2 totally manual.. i fly the alt. hold ones from the older x8 radio...wayyy better...no fighting to bring them down safely....rc escape did a vid on it....he gets the credit in my book lol...
birdman316 GPS Capable Drone are Very Nice. If you have a Good GPS Hold, You can Literally set your controller down and just watch the Quad "Fly Itself" ! I've gotten to know the h501s and the h109s X4 Pro So Well, I've actually had them both at 400 feet up and a few Hundred Meters from me, and Set My Controller down !! and Grabbed different cameras, Etc. I'm not sure how many videos you've watched, but you should Always Wait after your Compass Calibrations For As Many Satellites As Possible BEFORE You ARM the props ! 12 is the max for this quad. When You Arm the Props, That Sets It's RTH Spot. Nowhere Else... These are Very Fast in Alt. hold, but you need to be careful and get familiar with the Quad Before you fly in Alt. Hold. They Tend to Fly Downwards when you Full Pitch Forward, and can have Problems if doing Fast Bank Turns....
Thanks dude, my drone took off into some trees and i tried to fly it again and was doing the tbe, propellers dont look to have any damage although the motors look off centre in the housing but i feel like it was like that before. I have prop guards on it so i feel like that helped
Kasam The Motors on the 501's always look a little off centered. It's just because the shell of the Quad isn't always perfect because it's a plastic molding. Thanks for watching !
Kasam That's Awesome Bro ! Yeah, the 501's can survive some good crashes. Newer firmware versions have a "Over Pitch" Fail-Safe. Basically, if the quad picthes or rolls Over 80° , it completely shuts down. That way the propellers don't keep trying to spin, while it's stuck in a tree or upside down on the ground.... They won't survive a hard crash on concrete or something though....
Can anyone explain why after both calibrations, the radio command indicates my drone is at a distance of 26m or 324 or whatever and a speed of several meters a second whereas it is just nearby and motionless? The trim on bottom right is not on zero but below zero. Thanks for your help!
Freddy P The False telemetry problem you are having could be caused by a lot of things. To try and narrow it down, I think these would probably be the most common problems : #1 Your Trims Should Be Centered. You should recalibrate your controller. (If you don't know how to do that properly, I can tell you how to do it), #2 all Telemetry information is received through the 2.4 antenna, which in turn goes through the SMA to Ipex coaxial transmission line and then to the module, you may have a faulty or broken SMA to ipex coaxial cable. #3 your 2.4 Antenna may be faulty. #4 your 2.4 Transmission Cable's Ipex connector Isn't All the way properly connected onto the controllers 2.4 U.fl Connector. #5 not very logical but it is possible, you are getting massive 2.4 GHz Interference from an outside source that is messing with your Telemetry readings. Cell Towers, power lines, Wi-Fi routers, etc. #6 inside the quad itself, you may have a faulty 2.4 antenna transmission line and or the Ipex to UFL connection. There could be some other reasons, which would take forever to explain. If I were you, first I would recalibrate my controller. Second, I would Re Bind the controller to the quad. If those two things don't work, get a multi-meter and test your 2.4 connections inside the quad and inside your controller. If you have continuity between all connections, and you have done a controller Recalibration & A Re-Bind, then you may possibly have a faulty 2.4 gigahertz transmission module inside the quad or a 2.4 gigahertz receiver module inside your controller. I'd be willing to bet it is something simple, like the above-mentioned problems. ua-cam.com/video/VOn46KzOeyY/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/UVNi3X7St0M/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/mT6PY1Hypls/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/fCibtj-YgRI/v-deo.html . If you have the H906A/Advanced Controller, Check your 2.4 SMA to Ipex coaxial cable.
Thanks a lot for the answer: One of the trims wasn't centered so the quad drifted without any action from me. Plus I used to have the battery switched on before switching on the controller. Now everything is OK. Thanks again Mark
Freddy P No Problem ! If you ever have any further questions feel free to ask! By the way, always, always turn on your transmitter first before you plug in the quad battery ! Also, make sure when you plug in the quad battery it is sitting on a level surface, so the IMU's (Gyro) calibrates correctly ! Pitch and roll readings need to be at 0° , "P" & "R"... Very Important !!
Freddy P I don't believe there is a way to put dates on your videos and photos. I was kind of wondering the same thing 2 years ago. It's kind of strange when you put your microSD card in a computer to look at your files and all it says is "Hubsan_Record 128** or whatever. The only way to change the file names on your microSD card it's to rename them with your computer. That is as far as I know about that.
I generally keep my phone away from the quad when doing compass calibration and also disable bluetooth and WiFi. My first video of my Hubsan going out of control I believe now had two issues. One, I did compass calibrate the quad with my Mobius underneath. Two, I was not aware at the time I had a bad 2.4 ghz pigtail. That combination was not good and thank goodness I kept the quad low. I hope with Hubsan fixing the locator on my right stick, I finally have a working H501S..
+MrPolymers So, your Quad is Flying !!?? Yes, Cameras and Anything Metallic Mounted to the H501S Will Throw off the Compass sensor. I tried mounting a camera, even a small flashlight on mine, and it Did Not Fly Correctly. It's Just Not Made For Any Attachments, At ALL... The built in camera is "OK" as long as you have light. It's not good in Low Light Situations. It's Really Not Designed to have attachments. You know what I mean... :)
that must be how i screwed up. i had a small plastic key chain flashlight underneath the camera. i use it for orientation at night. no mistaking it when it is heading towards me. i guess i'll have to figure out something else. the flashlight was all plastic but it had two coin batteries in it.
+Kevin Andy Hey... I forgot to mention I also have 3 titanium plates in my face! Orbital reconstructive surgery.... My entire right eye socket was crushed from an accident. It took three plates six screws and a hundred stitches ! I'm lucky I did not go blind in that eye ! The surgeons did a great job because you can't even barely see the scars. It was supposed to be a four-hour surgery but ended up taking 10 hours. Emergency surgery...
My hubsan x4 pro just does the tip over. I start on a level surface do the calibration wait a couple of minutes advance the throttle and the drone attempts to take off but just tips over I run to the drone and shut it down very frustrating.
Darkwell0071 I'm not sure if you are aware of the number one mistake during takeoff ? Under Throttling the quad. The propwash from the propellers will deflect off the ground and end up pushing up on your quad causing it to tip or flip over. You must give it Full Throttle up when taking off. Full Throttle Up until it is Airborne. If you are giving it full throttle and it is not taking off, you have a problem. Are You full throttling it ?? 100% Throttle Up....?
Mark Suttner no I was not aware of that. Thank you very much. I was advancing the throttle very slowly,just the opposite. As a beginner I appreciate your help.
Darkwell0071 No Problem ! Anytime ! Yes, Must Give it 100% Throttle upon takeoff. After it is Airborne you can let off the throttle and let it hover to acquire its satellites properly. The throttle stick is self-centering so you can just let go of it once your quad is airborne... Ok ? I'm glad I could help you :)
In my experience the best recovery to out of control quad is, stay calm, activate headless mode and pull right stick back. RTH makes is go higher first and then gets caught up in stronger winds. I crashed twice using RTH..
afam58 Yes. RTH should only be used for one purpose if the winds are over 5 miles per hour. You can let it fly back to you but do not let it descend by itself or it'll start a VRS, T.B, and even sometimes wobble so much it crashes. I will usually let it fly back but then switch off rth and control it to descend Slowly, manually. Headless mode isn't always necessary because for that to be accurate, your compass calibrations play a big factor in that as well. If you don't do a good compass calibration the quad is not going to know where you are with the controller and headless mode won't work right either. You are correct, about the RTH issues.
@@MarkSuttner Right The Main feature this Bird, it is not so rebel., its like a kid, it will obey if you teach it. I still love this over others more expensive
@@merlinelmaje I still fly my 501S and SS as well. Even though my mavic air it is by far better, in every aspect of flight, it does have some downfalls because of Google Maps and stupid things like not being able to take off because there's a Brewers game going on, 4.8 miles away, or some stupid thing like that. With the 501's, u can fly anywhere. Just watch out for Wind ! Happy Flying :-)
@@MarkSuttner or Fair Flying my friend, here in Southern Mexico, windings r treacherus, its better to stay alert ever, im glad to learn about all of your experiences.
I like how your LED'S stay on during flights. mine has only done that once. and I dont know what made it do that. i think many 501's have it in the firmware that the LED'S only flash as indicators for various reasons, but they do not stay on during flights!
+anyshitt You can make them stay on, flash or turn them off completely. It's not in the instructions manual, but you can do it... By holding the lower elevator trim button for One Second. You can Cycle through the Light Modes there.... On, Flash Or Off... Nothing to do with Firmware... Lol :) New Tricks !!! :)
I was hoping you would say something like that! heck yea.. but with my battery problems I had better leave them off.. Im stil waiting on a replacement battery.. i got 400 meters the other day. and yea you were dead on with the panal antenna sugestion..man the batteys are $30 in the hobby stores, so I will just have to wait for my ebay delivery..
+anyshitt Ohhh... Bro NO !!! I was looking at the "Supposed" Hubsan batteries on EBay & Amazon. I have NOT seen 1 Genuine Hubsan Made Battery !!! If you Look Closely at the Pictures, They Are FAKE !!! I even Reported that to Amazon and they Removed those from their site !!! I've Only Seen Genuine Hubsan batteries on GearBest Or HubsanUS... Even the one on Bangood Is A COPY !! Look at the Internal Foil Wrapping Showing through the Outer Wrapping... People are Making Fake Hubsan stickers and putting them on Shitty Batteries !!! SERIOUSLY Bro...
+Mark Suttner The Real Hubsan Batteries are $20.00 + Shipping on GearBest. I submitted a ticket to gearbest for a price match because the 501 battery is like $16 on BangGood. They Could Not Match the price, so they gave me 100 points instead. Which if Fine with me !! They actually told me the reason they could not match the price was because their batteries we're coming directly from Hubsan. I took another look at the batteries on banggood and after looking closer at the images they have and enlarging them, I could see they were not made by Hubsan. You can definitely tell the difference... I'm not sure if you watch any of Drone Worship's videos, he actually has a video warning people about all these fake batteries... you could be getting a genuine battery, I don't know for sure but you should definitely enlarge the images if you can and look at the way they are made bro !!
uh ohh,, Yea I orderd one off of ebay for $15.00 only because of the price, and being in the Us I thought it would get hear quicker it was stated to have the hubsan connector and 2700 mah. So i figured what the hell, I would get a clone battery.. I tried entering the diminsions of the battery on Hobby kings web site. and all they had was this dinky 1700 two cell and it was almost $30.. thanks for letting me know. I will order one off of gearbest. in a day or so..
+1 Mark - WOW, I gotta try that! My 501 isn't afflicted with toilet bowl effect, but it's certainly not as stationary in hover in GPS mode like in your video. Yep, my smartphone is usually in my pants pocket while I boot up the 501 and do the compass swings. I'm going to give it a try in a few minutes and report back. Cheers!
+Jimbo in Thailand Great ! Not only is Metal & Phones Very Important to Keep Away, So is the way you do the compass calibrations !! DO NOT SPIN IN A CIRCLE AT ARMS LENGTH !!! IMPROPER CALIBRATION.... Only use your Hands! Slow and Steady Rotate the quad in the Smallest "Circle" you can... Just grab the arms and spin it slow and steady While Remaining Still ! NO "DRONE DANCE" ! That is Also Very Important! I have a couple videos showing the proper way to do compass calibrations with the h501s
+Jimbo in Thailand Hey Man... How did your quad fly after you commented ?? I Did leave you 2 Replies... One about the cellphones and metal And Another one about how to do the Calibrations.... What happened? Any Changes? ?
Mark, haven't been able to try your suggestions yet as it's been raining like crazy off and on and with high winds coming and going for the past few days. Seems the Monsoon rainy season has started about a month early dammit! Hopefully today will get a break although it's still overcast this morning and it rained again last night. I'm really anxious to try the no-metal-nearby startup since sometimes my 501 is fairly erratic in GPS hover, while other times it's smooth. If I take off from the small street in front of my house the hover is usually loose as a goose. It could be because all the houses on both sides of the narrow side street have the traditional Thai-style tall steel decorative fences so lots of metal all around. Come to think of it, whenever I fly out of the large open field at the end of the street the GPS hover is more locked in. Yeah, hopefully I can fly the 501 today. Cheers!
+Jimbo in Thailand Your Correct Sir ! GPS drones (Especially) the H501S Are Extremely Sensitive to Not Only Metal But Also Electomagnetic Fields And Wi-Fi Signals. Flying near houses (or Power lines for example) will Greatly Interfere with its FCB (Flight Control Board). Wi-Fi Signals Are Very Bad for the drone. Ive seen peoples quads Crash because of WiFi... Its best to find an open area or field to fly in. You can fly around houses and such, but your quad is going to have Very Bad GPS Lock... Ive done that before and it was moving around a good 2-3 Feet. That can lead to an Accidental Crash. Hope the weather gets better ! I am also Unable to Fly because of High Winds... Cheers !
Cool video Mark,, Man nothing is sacred, I stumbled onto a quad that is an obvious copy of the 501s with a dash of parret bebop. by an outfitter called dream horse. at $50 there is no way it has brushless motors.. I bet's it's pure garbage.. but man it really is a pretty bird.. It comes in black, white and green. it boast of it's 720 /1080 on board camera and does not really have a name...
So THAT'S what happened to my 501C. Mine flew away a day after Christmas, and would not respond to RTH or controls. It just pitched left and up and away she flew....and, I did NOT wait for 6 Sat connection before taking off. I figured I would do a quick flight. Plus, all the metal garage coverings in my apartment complex AND the cellphone in my pocket. My fault. And a pricey one. Good advice, Mark. Take heed, everyone.
+Mike Dewood Keeping ferromagnetic metal away from the quad is important but if you're going to be flying in GPS hold, or you want return to home function to work, you must wait for at least 6 satellites. It's a lot better to wait for 11 to 12. Actually, I won't even fly in GPS hold without at least 10 to 11. What I was going to say was if your quad didn't have satellites before taking off, it would have been in altitude hold. Even sometimes during flight if it loses satellite reception the quad automatically goes into altitude hold. Which means it will drift with the Wind and if you pitch forward it will not stop you must turn or if you go and roll to the right it won't stop unless you manually do it because it's not being GPS Position held. You can activate return to home but if you did not wait for six satellites before you initiate take off it will not know where to go. Add that to a faulty compass calibration because of metal objects and or a cell phone and that is how you have a fly away. The reason it did not respond to your inputs is probably because you had the controller switched to GPS mode. If the controller is in GPS mode in the quad does not have satellites before takeoff, it will not respond to your inputs unless you switch it out of GPS hold on the controller and take over manually in altitude hold. It's a lot to think about especially when you're having your quad fly away from you... However, if you did switch it out of GPS mode on the controller it should have went into altitude hold and you should have been able to control it. But sometimes that doesn't work if the calibrations were done incorrectly and or satellites were not connected. That sucks that that happened to you, I hope you still like the Hobby and maybe continue to fly !
Steve Bynum My quad does not move on its horizontal axis more than 2 to 3 inches when the calibrations are done properly. It does variate more than two to three inches vertically however. Do to it's barometer. I'm not joking... I don't know what it is about it, but seriously 90% of the time, it does not move more than 3 inches Horizontally in GPS Hold. Of course, with 12 satellites and time to acquire them properly....
+Sylvain Menard Thanks for Watching :) Its Also Very Important to do the Compass calibrations Properly and Wait for As Many satellites as possible Before You Arm the Motors, (12 satellites )... Is Optimal.
LOL, I have a Lot of quads, like 20. Mavic Pro 2, Mavic Air, a couple of FPV CinemaWoops and a bunch of minis. Surprisingly, the last Hubsab bird I bought, the 501SS, has lasted for quite some time. Years in fact, luck ? Maybe. If you're experienced with quads and know what your doing, they can last a long time. I do agree with you though ! Some are just not made the same and yep ! Ticking Time Bomb ! Thanks for the comment Patrick, Fly Fluid !
I sent u a reply, in a different comment. www.mouser.com/Connectors/Board-to-Board-Mezzanine-Connectors/Images/_/N-ay0kr?Keyword=3517&FS=True. Banggood.com. also sometimes has hard to find parts.
If you need a shell for a 501S or SS, I would recommend getting a 501C shell. They are exactly the same shape and size, however the 501C shell, is supposed to be more ridged and sturdier, than a 501S shell.
sorry for taking so long the 3517 i'm talking about is the PCB LCD lights i only require one but they come 4/pack for about 8dolla but cant find any sales outlet ebay 12$ for 2 and 30$ for a shell wrote to Hubsan but they are fighting the flue bug and no body allowed to work regards bob
+Kevin Andy That should Not matter. "Ferromagnetic metal" (Any type of Magnetic Metal) is what you need to keep away from the quad. Surgical Implantations are Usually Titanium. Titanium Is Not Magnetic. Surgeon's don't use Magnetic Metal Inside the Body. Mostly in case you ever need a MRI and Magnetic Metal will cause A Bad Infection / Bodily Rejection of it because Almost All magnetic materials Degrade. (Rust,Corrode,Etc.) I should have Made It Very Clear in this video, that It's Only Magnetic Metal that can cause Bad Calibrations. The Geomagnetic compass Sensor Is trying to Find True North & South. Only from the Earth's Magnetic Fields. If you have Ferromagnetic metal near the quad when it's initiated & Especially during Cal's, it can cause a "Magnetic Anomily" which in turn Can give the quad a False Sensor Reading.
I always remove all my clothes and my gold grill before powering up. Even the metal plate in my head, I just cut it out and sew it back in after calibration, in the mean time it makes a for a nice spoon.
Lord Nilsson the proper name for "Toilet Bowling" is a Vortex Ring State (VRS). That is when the quad starts to go into a Spiralling Circle while in the air. It is a very bad thing. Toilet bowl effect or Vortex ring state, starts out with the quad starting to go into a Uncontrolled Spiral. It starts out kind of large and slow but starts to get smaller and faster very quick which ultimately leads to a very bad crash unless you get out of it by controlling the quad. Toilet bowl effect is caused by many, many things. However the most common cause is bad compass calibrations and high winds. Especially when it's descending during RTH. If you encounter your quad going into a circular spiral, that you are not doing with the controller, that is toilet bowling. Ok ? I hope you understand what I'm saying...???
Geez bro... Generally when you have car keys, you also have house keys and key fobs and other other things attached. Just keep Ferromagnetic metal away from the quad. Trust me.
+Thomas Hippold Ich bin ein Abschleppwagenfahrer und Automechaniker. Meine Finger kommen nicht sauber Sie sind mit Fett gefärbt. Es heißt Arbeit! Du solltest es irgendwann versuchen, weil du saugst!
I am wondered how Mark is answering clearly all the questions guys asked. Now I got why mine is drifting and not returning back to exact spot that took off. I am a new pilot, just 2nd day and already managed to fall 2 times and 1 swim. Thank you dude, you deserve new pilots' respect!
Abdulaziz Abdunasimov Thank You Sir ! If your quad is drifting, can be caused by a couple of reasons. First thing would be your trim buttons are not centered on the controller, or you need to do a controller stick recalibration. Other things that would cause that would be having magnetic metal around the quad while doing your compass calibrations, not having enough GPS satellites acquired on the quad before takeoff, etc. As far as the quad not returning to where it took off from, that is a new feature because you most likely have a H501SS, not a H501S. The SS models are basically replacing the older original h501s. They actually return to home within about 5 to 10 ft of where the controller is. Not where the props were first armed. I would start by recalibrating your controller sticks and making sure the trim buttons are centered for your drifting issue. It's going to return to home close to the controller so that is normal.
Abdulaziz Abdunasimov if you are not familiar with a controller stick recalibration, the way you do it is, hold both control sticks to the upper left and turn the controller on at the same time. Then move both sticks simultaneously up, down, left, right, then do two Complete circles all the way to the outer edges with both sticks and remember to move the sticks exactly at the same time and direction. After that long press any trim button to save your calibration. Then, when you move the controller sticks, the Crosshair reticals in the lower left and lower right of the screen should move in exact correlation with the sticks. If they do then you did a successful controller recalibration. After that make sure your trim butons are centered and follow all calibration procedures properly and you shouldn't have any drifting issues...
Abdulaziz Abdunasimov Sorry ! When I first read your comment, I thought you were having drifting issues and not knowing why the quad is not returning to where the props for first armed. After I read it again, I realized that you were able to fix your drifting issues. I think. Thanks for the Support, Means A Lot !!
And you answer quickly. I am very impressed, bro. I take into consideration your advices about calibration. RTH issue is not only issue, it drifts too. When I stop it quickly while flying, back side goes up and front goes down. Same thing with side flies. Is that drifting or what? Thank you so much. Subscribed!
P.S.: Yes, it's H501SS
Abdulaziz Abdunasimov Thanks for the Sub :) What you're describing is Completely Normal. The Quad will Always Do That when you bring it to a stop while in GPS Hold. The reason it does that is because it's trying to basically stop itself and remain in GPS position lock. It happens to every quad there is, while flying in GPS Hold. When you are flying in GPS Hold, the Quad's FCB is receiving information from the GPS satellites to basically tell it where it is supposed to be autonomously hovering. When you pitch forward (Fly Forward) then come to a Stop, the quad is Stopping itself, so it can Remain at that position. When that happens, that is when the quad basically jerks upwards or downwards. Completely Normal Bro. There is a few things you can do that will reduce that big sudden stop jerk effect. You can go into your before Flight menu and change the stick sensitivity to 60%, which is actually normal mode. The controllers come default set at 100% sensitivity which is actually expert mode. By decreasing the sensitivity to 60% can Help. Otherwise, you have to slowly bring the quad to a stop. When you want to stop Flying forwards, slowly let off of the right control stick. (Pitch). Same thing with"Roll" (Flying Sideways). There is another way to completely get rid of what you're talking about, but that requires flying in Altitude Hold Only, No GPS. Very Hard to fly in Altitude Hold because the quad Does Not ever stop itself like in GPS hold. In altitude hold, when you pitch forward, the quad will keep going, if you roll left it will just keep going even if you let off the control stick. It does that for every direction in Altitude Hold. Drifting is where the quad won't autonomously hover in an accurate position while in GPS Hold. Drifting is where the quad kind of Wanders around 2 or 3 feet and doesn't really maintain a position hold like it should. I hope you understand my what I'm trying to say... Yes ?
I've flown 5 times now and calibrated exactly the way you described with no flight problems. My drone case now has a flat piece of 1/4" polyethelyne and a small pocket level as standard equipment. I was surprised how UN-level places are when they looked level. Great advice!
But I don't understand wont the metal inside the brushless motor screw everything up as well
This is great info Mark, You are right on track with this. Hopefully Spring Wx is coming soon! --Kelly.
Hi Mark. Got to love Wisconsin weather. What do you think of the latest version 501ss I got the black bnf $99 flies great with black motors. I was going to buy the white one next but if there the same 501ss then why $49.99 for white and $99.99 for black version. Seems I should buy 2 white bnf for better deal . Is the white 1 a piece of crap or what's going on? On Amazon. Thought maybe he was giving me a good deal. Just want to make sure. Sincerely William Horsley
I cannot imagine why non-ferrous metal would have any effect on a compass! I do agree that calibrating with the cell phone or any other wifi device at a good distance makes great sense. Great video and we appreciate it!
archiguitarchi I was referring to ferromagnetic metal objects. Car keys, cell phone, watches, bracelets anything that has magnetic qualities. Metal that is not magnetic will not affect the calibrations. The reason magnetic metal will throw off compass Calibrations is because when the quad is self initiating and especially when you're doing your compass calibrations, it's Geo magnetic compass sensor is trying to find true north and south. And it needs to find that only from the Earth's natural magnetic fields. If you have a magnetic object near the quad while doing compass calibrations, it can cause a magnetic anomaly that will throw off the compass bearings reading.
I have 1 issue with the compass calibration and the metal thing that maybe u can give me a little pointer on. I also want to let u know that I'm completely new to this hobby. Any input from you would be appreciated.
Wonder if that is why mine was drifting a little as first time I just charged.... put battery in but did not connect until out on field, then turned transmitter on, put next to the quad, then connected battery and twisted to close door and put on an old piece of carpet on the grass. Sure I heard the couple of bleeps before I put it down on ground. Then did compass calls etc... Well I am learning slowly with watching videos and asking ;o))))
Hey Mark... I have an unrelated question... what happens if my H501ss is flying and I "un-arm" the quad mid flight? You know how to start flying or turn off the quad you point the the sticks one to the lower left and one to the lower right? Does the quad actually unarm mid flight? I had an incident where my kid was flying the quad and it suddenly dropped from the air... it wasn't battery related so I suspect my kid just accidentally put the sticks on that specific position and it actually turned off... but I didn't want to test my theory jaja... any ideas? Thanks in advance...
Flew my Hubsan 501S today which was given to me as a gift, January 2017. This was the 4th or 5th flight since owning and I experienced a loss of control. It was directly above me at maybe 75 feet and it took off. I used the RTH switch and it returned and then circled me overhead, wildly with no apparent response to my control. It ultimately became inverted and flew straight down into the grass. Not at all sure what happened. Is this possibly what you describe as the toilet bowling? I did the same calibration as I always have done (yes, wearing a metal watch and with my cell phone in pocket). This thread has been interesting so any input is certainly hoped for!
+magentaline That Sounds like a 2.4GHz control issue. What kind of controller do you have ??
+magentaline +magentaline Yes, when you hit RTH, The Spiralling Was Toilet Bowl Effect. You Have to remember When the quad is in RTH, you cannot control anything, besides throttle up (a little)... To get Out of T.B's you need to quickly switch off RTH and Manually Regain Control (GPS Hold On)...: toilet bowling happens the Most during the RTH descent Downwards, especially if it is windy outside. It sounds like what happened is for some reason your quad lost your transmission signal for a second, then you hit RTH, and it started T.O.D. .. remember to take your keys and your cell phones out of your pocket before you plug in the battery and while doing your calibrations !! Thats Very Important. As for the quad losing your signal, that could be a multitude of different things... I could help you a little more if I knew what type of controller you have and where you were flying and what the conditions were...
I have the simpler controller with no exterior antennas. I'm flying now so I can't tell you the model
+magentaline Thats the FPV2 (Standard) Controller. That controller Definitely Needs External Antennas. (MODS) Very Simple to do... You need to check inside your controller Before you order the Antenna Kits though to make sure the Di-Pole Antenna wires Aren't Soldered to the module. If they're not, Purchase The Antenna Kit. You Will Not Regret it ! And they are Less than $20
I've had my H501S a couple of weeks now. It makes sense about metal objects effecting a compass and sounds like the quadcopters compass is extremely sensitive. What does the term "Toilet Bowl" mean? I never heard of it relating to quadcopters before.
+Larry Conrad A "Toilet Bowl Effect" or known as a "T.O.D." Tumble Of Death, is when the Quad starts to do an uncontrollable Spiral. It starts kind of slow, then gets bad. "Mostly' During Return To Home Function. But can also happen in General GPS Hold Flight, At Any Given Time. The " T.B" effect is very serious. If you don't take Full Control of the Quad Quickly, It Will Crash. The "Spinning/Spiral gave the name " Toilet Bowl" or T.O.D "Tumble Of Death"... Geo Magnetic Sensors Are Very Sensitive in these Quads, and Most others as well. The difference between the Hubsan Quads and Quads Made By DJI, Yuneec, Etc, is that they Are Not Controlled by a Smartphone or Tablet App. Which makes them Ultimately Controlled by the Pilot. No other Influences. Quads Controlled with a controller that Must Have a device attached with an App Running are Different. And when I say " Different " I mean in a bad way. Recently MAJOR Drone Manufacturers are being Slammed by the FAA. So they are cooperating with Airmap in Conjunction with local Authorities to Limit and Basically decide for you if you can fly or not. I like to be in Full Control of My Quads, that's why I Stay Away from any that Run Off Apps ! Apps crash, you need a phone or tablet with a Good Cell Tower Signal, Etc. Which to me is STUPID !!! Hubsan Quads Don't run on apps. Only A Pilot and a Controller. That's the way it should be. But, you have dummies flying their quads into Airspace within 5 miles of an Airport, Going WAY Over the 400 foot (122 meter) Limitation, Etc. In the last year Drone sales have Quadrupled ! That's why FAA Authorities Around The World Are Really Stomping on this Hobby. Also, in 2016 there were Over 2,500 Drones Spotted in Airport Airspace and 250+ Very Close Crashes, which I'm Sure is a low number... Anyways, Improper Compass Calibrations can cause "Flyaways"... Flyaways are when the Quads FCB (Flight Control Board) gets So " Confused " it Doesn't know where to go... So, it just ends up Flying Away until the battery dies. I could explain more, if you need, but if your Quad is flying Correctly, Do Not Mess with Firmware Updates, and Do Good Calibrating. Ok ? Keep in touch !
Thank You for the reply Mark, I will for sure take your advice, no tumble of death for me. The last time I flew, I calibrated my compass next to my car. I'm glade I saw your post before it was too late, Thank You again. Larry Conrad
+Larry Conrad Anytime bro ! Have Fun Flying !!! :)
I just got mine and couldn't get the motors to start after calibrating. However I got it to fly later. I think the problem might have been putting the battery in when it was not level. I also have another drone (different brand) that took off sideways and crashed because I had the drone sideways when I put the battery in.
Wally C Yes. Must be on a Level Surface When you plug in the flight battery. It does a self Initilazation, Don't Move the quad until it needs the Cal's. As soon as you plug in the battery, it is "Checking" the Gyro (IMU's), it's Barometer, Etc. Pitch & Roll "P" & "R" Need to be as Close to 0 degrees as Possible. If not, the quad will not fly level, or sometimes it won't let you arm the motors... Very Important to start on a Level Surface brother !
Good video. Mine was at 60 meters height and took off full throttle in GPS 3 different times. Thankfully it came back when I hit the RTH switch. I was within wifi signal from our house, so I'm guessing that was the culprit??? I don't know. I flew it again in the middle of a field later that morning with no issues.
deere3321 First, Thank You ! I'm guessing it was a Wi-Fi signal or something similar that caused that. As Wi-Fi continues to develop, the routers are getting stronger and stronger for faster download and upload speeds. Even cell towers are giving off enormous amounts of radiation, even illegal amounts. There's actually a guy on UA-cam that has a microwave radiation detector and measures the strength of the signals coming off of these cell towers that are popping up everywhere on a daily basis. They are way over a healthy/Legal limit and can definitely affect a UAV that is being controlled buy a 2.4 gigahertz signal but also trying to have autonomous functions by the way of GPS and a geomagnetic compass sensor. I've never had quite an issue like you had, but I did fly in Park a while back. That particular Park had a massive cell tower with major patch antennas and pagodas and yagi antennas all over the damn thing. It was kind of hidden in the trees so I didn't see it at first. After I started flying around, I noticed the quad was overcorrecting it's GPS position quite a bit. If you ever notice your quad kind of twitching around or really drifting and not maintaining its GPS position lock, you should definitely land because something is interfering with it. Almost every hubsan quad besides the very low-end ones, use an 8 APM processor. That processor controls all of its autonomous functions. It's not a very expensive processor or very high tech for that matter. If you look at something like a DJI NAZE 2 Navigation system, that has multiple processors and even backup processors. The 8 APM Processors in the 501's, can be overloaded quite easily by outside signal interference. When they become overloaded the quad basically becomes "confused" and that's how you get flyaways and all sorts of crazy stories I've heard of... Don't get me wrong, for a quad that has all the functions that the 501's have, it is definitely worth the money and is a very good drone, however it doesn't do very good in urban areas...
Mark Suttner. Would it be safe to assume then that most fly aways happen in gps mode?
deere3321 "Most" yes. Not All but most. Most common fly away is caused by a very bad compass calibration or a very bad magnetic anomaly was picked up during compass calibration and the Quad's processor could not locate Earth's exact true north. When that happens, the quad is thinking it is somewhere it's not and when given commands really overloads the processor which can cause a fly away. So, yes most flyaways happen when in GPS hold.
Thanks again. I'm going to keep flying in the middle of a field and flip the GPS off until I'm confident about flying. I also want to fly headless mode for a while so I get used to it as well.
Your explanations are the best.
deere3321 Thanks again ! I'm not so sure if I would recommend flying in altitude hold to get used to how the quad flies. Altitude hold can be extremely tough with the 501's. Orientation is very hard and just remember, every direction you control the quad to fly, it does not stop ! You have to manually turn it with the controller, Roll, Pitch,Yaw, Throttle,Etc. You can't just let off the sticks and expect it to stop or even slow down. If you're going to fly away from urban areas like a field, keep it in GPS hold until you really get familiar with the controls. And be careful if you do fly in altitude hold, it is extremely difficult and I would highly, highly recommend that you go into your before Flight menu and change the controller stick sensitivity to 60% (Normal Mode). The controllers come default set at 100% stick sensitivity which is expert mode. These quads are very fast in altitude hold and you really have to have quick controller response time in order to avoid crashing when flying in altitude hold. And one more thing, when it says altitude hold, that's really untrue because when you pitch forward the quad tends to lose altitude and go straight for the ground ! I did make a video a while back of the 501s in altitude hold, with stick sensitivity at 100% really flying fast and trying to show people that those things will hit the ground if you don't throttle up as your pitching forward, and it's just Very Difficult to master. Lots of practice !
Very good info Mark , its rain and snow here in Montana today
Can I buy only the hubsan h501s without a transmitter, have lost two hubsan h501s one in the water and one that is scratched would want to buy without a transmitter.
Guido Cleys The H501S is now the H501S-S. They made changes by putting a H501A FCB and a H501A Camera Module inside. The SS has replaced the S . The SS models have completely different firmware that is not compatible with the original h501s. So basically, you could technically buy just the quad, but you would have to do some firmware downloading and matching. The Controller's firmware needs to match the Quad's firmware or you will have a lot of problems. The SS has been sold since February of 2017 and has basically Replaced the S.
Hello Marc, thanks for contact, a Hubsan X4 fpv would like the white version, but without a transmitter with a transmitter because my Hubsan x4 has been scratched and dropped into the water I can only buy the device and what is the price, hopefully this is well translated because I work with a translater, I am from Belgium and all speak Dutch.
Hey Marc this drone I should have: Hubsan H501S X4 Brushless Drone - WHITE + GOLDEN EU PLUG COLORMIX (Without a channel I've been here)
Guido Cleys You "Can" purchase only the quad itself without a transmitter. However, if you are to do that, whatever firmware versions The Quad has, you will have to make sure that your controller has the same firmware. It's kind of difficult to explain, basically hubsan made all of their products proprietary. Meaning that they only function properly when used with other hubsan products. You would have to go on eBay or something like that and try to find a seller that is selling only the quad. That may be a little hard to do because if you buy the Drone itself without the transmitter, it's going to cost you almost as much as if you just bought another drone with a transmitter. Not only that, the transmitters firmware has to match the drones firmware for it to function properly. So you will have to look up what firmware versions the Drone came with and then make sure your controller is able to find with the Drone and control it properly. Do you understand what I am trying to say?
Guido Cleys Je kunt alleen de drone kopen. De zender die je hebt, moet echter dezelfde firmware hebben als de drone
Do you use a 3s straight to the controller ?
Chris on the slope For the H906A (Advanced Controller) I use a 11.1v 3S LiPo. Not for the H901A (Standard Controller), I use a 7.4V 2S. It's kinda hard to find a 3S with a JST connector, unless you use an adapter or solder some type of connector with wires, directly to the board. They do make 3S LiPo's with JST connectors, so they can plug right in to the built-in jst connector inside the battery compartment of the controllers. I don't think you are supposed to use a 11.1 V 3S with the Standard Controller. Only the Advanced Controller. Not 100% sure...
Thanks very much
I have tried this mod on my Hubsan h501s. I'm now back to stock but now using 4x AA "Energizer Ultimate Lithium" batteries. I kid you not! I got 400m extra range (from the same spot). I have used the same battery set over 15 flights now, each flight ranging from 13min to 23 min. It's still on full bars. Just try them. Their around £5 for a pack of 4.
Chris on the slope No. I use a 7.4V 2S LiPo with a JST connector that plugs Directly into the controller's JST connector that is inside the battery compartment. Newer controllers have a "Built In" connection (JST Type). A 11.1V 3S is too Much Voltage for the Standard Controller.
Avish Shalom Flight #1 ua-cam.com/video/mK65FPO72Lw/v-deo.html. Flight #2 ua-cam.com/video/3ctTn-Xv6v0/v-deo.html.
Excellent advise, thank you Mark! I have had drift issues and this looks to be why.
+Don Poncher Yes, the compass sensor inside the h501s is extremely sensitive. It needs to be very sensitive for a little quad of that size to have return to home function and GPS function. That's pretty much why you need to do to calibrations every time you fly. When you are spinning the quad during calibration it is trying to locate exact North and exact South... (Horizontal Cal necessary so it can "Determine" Longitude) & Vertical Cal Necessary for Latitude. The compass works in sync with flight control board(Mainly GPS Module & Barometer)... In Turn Creating An "Intelligent" Quad and Smooth Flight, also Enabling All its Functions....
Good video. Very informative.
If there is one thing I would add, I would like to suggest always taking off from a raised platform, as opposed to the ground.
I have found that the ground itself can mess up the compass calibration, thereby causing toilet bowl effects at some point during the flight.
Since you took off from that cardboard box, you have very effectively protected the quad from that unwanted ground effect :) .
+CNCmachiningisfun Exactly Correct !! The Explanation is too Complicated for "Some" people to Really Understand, but the reason you get a "Ground Effect" is the way the Earth's Magnetic Field "Wraps" around. Avoiding the "Surface" will help the quad Realize Direct North and South. When Directly on the Ground, you can get a MVRS ( Magnetic Vortex Ring State). Kinda like Toilet Bowling, But Way Different. From Trial and Error, I Learned that the hard way. Plug in Flight Battery, Let It Self Initiate, Above the ground (On a Box or something similar that's Level) , pick it up and do your Calibrations. Set it back down on the "Box" and you know the Rest ! I Should have pointed that out. Thanks For Watching!!
+CNCmachiningisfun Exactly Correct !! The Explanation is too Complicated for "Some" people to Really Understand, but the reason you get a "Ground Effect" is the way the Earth's Magnetic Field "Wraps" around. Avoiding the "Surface" will help the quad Realize Direct North and South. When Directly on the Ground, you can get a MVRS ( Magnetic Vortex Ring State). Kinda like Toilet Bowling, But Way Different. From Trial and Error, I Learned that the hard way. Plug in Flight Battery, Let It Self Initiate, Above the ground (On a Box or something similar that's Level) , pick it up and do your Calibrations. Set it back down on the "Box" and you know the Rest ! I Should have pointed that out. Thanks For Watching!!
Mark Suttner
Thanks for the reply.
Yes, we are sometimes obliged to learn the hard way about these subtleties in the performance and handling of our quads.
While I have never crashed one of these, I have come mighty close to it a few times, and have been forced to fight its inherent desire to go down in flames due to poor compass setup.
I use precisely the method you have just outlined in order to be sure that my birds are ready for a safe and reliable flight.
If more folks knew about these little things, I am sure they would have a lot more fun when they lift off into the wild blue yonder :) .
+CNCmachiningisfun Yes Sir Indeed ! I tried to Show "Viewers" that Using Any type of "Raised LEVEL Platform Will Keep the Quad from "Ground Effects"... I Appreciate your Insight into These things ! After I First Ever used my h109s box to Initiate from, I NEVER Use Direct Ground Contact as an Initiation Point !!!
Mark Suttner
Here's hoping your message will spread among the millions of quad fliers out there, as this little bit of knowledge is so important, yet not as widely known as it really should be.
How about surgical pins ? Any way to shield ?
+Ed Watt Most Surgically Implanted Pins, Rods or Plates are made out of titanium therefore they are not a ferromagnetic metal. Only Magnetic Metal will affect the Geomagnetic Compass Sensor. I have six screws and three plates in my face from an orbital reconstructive surgery. They use titanium in your body because it does not rust or corrode and also it is not magnetic in case you need an MRI. Although, some knee replacements still set off metal detectors at airports, etc. Anyways, I was referring to bigger pieces of metal and or Electronics, not surgical pins...
great job bro!
ill be studying these videos and learning the proper preflight procedures on this bird...
so that when my "crowcopter' arrives(i ordered the black 501s) ill be able to correctly get her ready to fly...
birdman316 Thanks Bro !! that is exactly what I did before I bought an h501s... I researched and watched a lot of videos about it before I bought it.... I do have other Drones, and have been flying them for quite some time, but it's always a great idea to research a product before you buy it...
very true...ive been flying going on 9 months now...
i think im ready for the gps plunge lol...but i still love my x8 birds tho....2 alt. hold and 2 totally manual..
i fly the alt. hold ones from the older x8 radio...wayyy better...no fighting to bring them down safely....rc escape did a vid on it....he gets the credit in my book lol...
birdman316 GPS Capable Drone are Very Nice. If you have a Good GPS Hold, You can Literally set your controller down and just watch the Quad "Fly Itself" ! I've gotten to know the h501s and the h109s X4 Pro So Well, I've actually had them both at 400 feet up and a few Hundred Meters from me, and Set My Controller down !! and Grabbed different cameras, Etc. I'm not sure how many videos you've watched, but you should Always Wait after your Compass Calibrations For As Many Satellites As Possible BEFORE You ARM the props ! 12 is the max for this quad. When You Arm the Props, That Sets It's RTH Spot. Nowhere Else... These are Very Fast in Alt. hold, but you need to be careful and get familiar with the Quad Before you fly in Alt. Hold. They Tend to Fly Downwards when you Full Pitch Forward, and can have Problems if doing Fast Bank Turns....
Thanks dude, my drone took off into some trees and i tried to fly it again and was doing the tbe, propellers dont look to have any damage although the motors look off centre in the housing but i feel like it was like that before. I have prop guards on it so i feel like that helped
Kasam The Motors on the 501's always look a little off centered. It's just because the shell of the Quad isn't always perfect because it's a plastic molding. Thanks for watching !
Mark Suttner did what you said and its fine now, its also quite durable
Kasam That's Awesome Bro ! Yeah, the 501's can survive some good crashes. Newer firmware versions have a "Over Pitch" Fail-Safe. Basically, if the quad picthes or rolls Over 80° , it completely shuts down. That way the propellers don't keep trying to spin, while it's stuck in a tree or upside down on the ground.... They won't survive a hard crash on concrete or something though....
Can anyone explain why after both calibrations, the radio command indicates my drone is at a distance of 26m or 324 or whatever and a speed of several meters a second whereas it is just nearby and motionless?
The trim on bottom right is not on zero but below zero.
Thanks for your help!
Freddy P The False telemetry problem you are having could be caused by a lot of things. To try and narrow it down, I think these would probably be the most common problems : #1 Your Trims Should Be Centered. You should recalibrate your controller. (If you don't know how to do that properly, I can tell you how to do it), #2 all Telemetry information is received through the 2.4 antenna, which in turn goes through the SMA to Ipex coaxial transmission line and then to the module, you may have a faulty or broken SMA to ipex coaxial cable. #3 your 2.4 Antenna may be faulty. #4 your 2.4 Transmission Cable's Ipex connector Isn't All the way properly connected onto the controllers 2.4 U.fl Connector. #5 not very logical but it is possible, you are getting massive 2.4 GHz Interference from an outside source that is messing with your Telemetry readings. Cell Towers, power lines, Wi-Fi routers, etc. #6 inside the quad itself, you may have a faulty 2.4 antenna transmission line and or the Ipex to UFL connection. There could be some other reasons, which would take forever to explain. If I were you, first I would recalibrate my controller. Second, I would Re Bind the controller to the quad. If those two things don't work, get a multi-meter and test your 2.4 connections inside the quad and inside your controller. If you have continuity between all connections, and you have done a controller Recalibration & A Re-Bind, then you may possibly have a faulty 2.4 gigahertz transmission module inside the quad or a 2.4 gigahertz receiver module inside your controller. I'd be willing to bet it is something simple, like the above-mentioned problems. ua-cam.com/video/VOn46KzOeyY/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/UVNi3X7St0M/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/mT6PY1Hypls/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/fCibtj-YgRI/v-deo.html . If you have the H906A/Advanced Controller, Check your 2.4 SMA to Ipex coaxial cable.
Thanks a lot for the answer: One of the trims wasn't centered so the quad drifted without any action from me. Plus I used to have the battery switched on before switching on the controller.
Now everything is OK. Thanks again Mark
Freddy P No Problem ! If you ever have any further questions feel free to ask! By the way, always, always turn on your transmitter first before you plug in the quad battery ! Also, make sure when you plug in the quad battery it is sitting on a level surface, so the IMU's (Gyro) calibrates correctly ! Pitch and roll readings need to be at 0° , "P" & "R"... Very Important !!
Do you know how to get the correct date on the photos and films?
By the way, I am French and it's nice to get your tips from the USA!
Freddy P I don't believe there is a way to put dates on your videos and photos. I was kind of wondering the same thing 2 years ago. It's kind of strange when you put your microSD card in a computer to look at your files and all it says is "Hubsan_Record 128** or whatever. The only way to change the file names on your microSD card it's to rename them with your computer. That is as far as I know about that.
I generally keep my phone away from the quad when doing compass calibration and also disable bluetooth and WiFi. My first video of my Hubsan going out of control I believe now had two issues. One, I did compass calibrate the quad with my Mobius underneath. Two, I was not aware at the time I had a bad 2.4 ghz pigtail. That combination was not good and thank goodness I kept the quad low. I hope with Hubsan fixing the locator on my right stick, I finally have a working H501S..
+MrPolymers So, your Quad is Flying !!?? Yes, Cameras and Anything Metallic Mounted to the H501S Will Throw off the Compass sensor. I tried mounting a camera, even a small flashlight on mine, and it Did Not Fly Correctly. It's Just Not Made For Any Attachments, At ALL... The built in camera is "OK" as long as you have light. It's not good in Low Light Situations. It's Really Not Designed to have attachments. You know what I mean... :)
Still waiting for the transmitter Mark. According to Hubsan, it's fixed.. We'll see;)
+MrPolymers I will definitely be waiting for a video or response to what happens !!! Ttyl :)
that must be how i screwed up. i had a small plastic key chain flashlight underneath the camera. i use it for orientation at night. no mistaking it when it is heading towards me. i guess i'll have to figure out something else. the flashlight was all plastic but it had two coin batteries in it.
+circuitprotector I tried the same thing. The flashlights battery being so close (attached) to the quad made it fly everywhere in GPS hold... No Metal
Ok thanks and thanks for the quick reply! Enjoying yor vids!
+Kevin Andy Absolutely Not A Problem ! Thanks for watching !
+Kevin Andy Hey... I forgot to mention I also have 3 titanium plates in my face! Orbital reconstructive surgery.... My entire right eye socket was crushed from an accident. It took three plates six screws and a hundred stitches ! I'm lucky I did not go blind in that eye ! The surgeons did a great job because you can't even barely see the scars. It was supposed to be a four-hour surgery but ended up taking 10 hours. Emergency surgery...
My hubsan x4 pro just does the tip over. I start on a level surface do the calibration wait a couple of minutes advance the throttle and the drone attempts to take off but just tips over I run to the drone and shut it down very frustrating.
Darkwell0071 I'm not sure if you are aware of the number one mistake during takeoff ? Under Throttling the quad. The propwash from the propellers will deflect off the ground and end up pushing up on your quad causing it to tip or flip over. You must give it Full Throttle up when taking off. Full Throttle Up until it is Airborne. If you are giving it full throttle and it is not taking off, you have a problem. Are You full throttling it ?? 100% Throttle Up....?
Mark Suttner no I was not aware of that. Thank you very much. I was advancing the throttle very slowly,just the opposite. As a beginner I appreciate your help.
Darkwell0071 No Problem ! Anytime ! Yes, Must Give it 100% Throttle upon takeoff. After it is Airborne you can let off the throttle and let it hover to acquire its satellites properly. The throttle stick is self-centering so you can just let go of it once your quad is airborne... Ok ? I'm glad I could help you :)
In my experience the best recovery to out of control quad is, stay calm, activate headless mode and pull right stick back. RTH makes is go higher first and then gets caught up in stronger winds. I crashed twice using RTH..
afam58 Yes. RTH should only be used for one purpose if the winds are over 5 miles per hour. You can let it fly back to you but do not let it descend by itself or it'll start a VRS, T.B, and even sometimes wobble so much it crashes. I will usually let it fly back but then switch off rth and control it to descend Slowly, manually. Headless mode isn't always necessary because for that to be accurate, your compass calibrations play a big factor in that as well. If you don't do a good compass calibration the quad is not going to know where you are with the controller and headless mode won't work right either. You are correct, about the RTH issues.
@@MarkSuttner Right The Main feature this Bird, it is not so rebel., its like a kid, it will obey if you teach it. I still love this over others more expensive
@@merlinelmaje I still fly my 501S and SS as well. Even though my mavic air it is by far better, in every aspect of flight, it does have some downfalls because of Google Maps and stupid things like not being able to take off because there's a Brewers game going on, 4.8 miles away, or some stupid thing like that. With the 501's, u can fly anywhere. Just watch out for Wind ! Happy Flying :-)
@@MarkSuttner or Fair Flying my friend, here in Southern Mexico, windings r treacherus, its better to stay alert ever, im glad to learn about all of your experiences.
Thanks for all of your vids, Mark. Very helpful for noobz like me :)
+Drone Ffanatic Im Happy to help (if i did) !:)
I like how your LED'S stay on during flights. mine has only done that once. and I dont know what made it do that. i think many 501's have it in the firmware that the LED'S only flash as indicators for various reasons, but they do not stay on during flights!
+anyshitt You can make them stay on, flash or turn them off completely. It's not in the instructions manual, but you can do it... By holding the lower elevator trim button for One Second. You can Cycle through the Light Modes there.... On, Flash Or Off... Nothing to do with Firmware... Lol :) New Tricks !!! :)
I was hoping you would say something like that! heck yea.. but with my battery problems I had better leave them off.. Im stil waiting on a replacement battery.. i got 400 meters the other day. and yea you were dead on with the panal antenna sugestion..man the batteys are $30 in the hobby stores, so I will just have to wait for my ebay delivery..
+anyshitt Ohhh... Bro NO !!! I was looking at the "Supposed" Hubsan batteries on EBay & Amazon. I have NOT seen 1 Genuine Hubsan Made Battery !!! If you Look Closely at the Pictures, They Are FAKE !!! I even Reported that to Amazon and they Removed those from their site !!! I've Only Seen Genuine Hubsan batteries on GearBest Or HubsanUS... Even the one on Bangood Is A COPY !! Look at the Internal Foil Wrapping Showing through the Outer Wrapping... People are Making Fake Hubsan stickers and putting them on Shitty Batteries !!! SERIOUSLY Bro...
+Mark Suttner The Real Hubsan Batteries are $20.00 + Shipping on GearBest. I submitted a ticket to gearbest for a price match because the 501 battery is like $16 on BangGood. They Could Not Match the price, so they gave me 100 points instead. Which if Fine with me !! They actually told me the reason they could not match the price was because their batteries we're coming directly from Hubsan. I took another look at the batteries on banggood and after looking closer at the images they have and enlarging them, I could see they were not made by Hubsan. You can definitely tell the difference... I'm not sure if you watch any of Drone Worship's videos, he actually has a video warning people about all these fake batteries... you could be getting a genuine battery, I don't know for sure but you should definitely enlarge the images if you can and look at the way they are made bro !!
uh ohh,, Yea I orderd one off of ebay for $15.00 only because of the price, and being in the Us I thought it would get hear quicker it was stated to have the hubsan connector and 2700 mah. So i figured what the hell, I would get a clone battery.. I tried entering the diminsions of the battery on Hobby kings web site. and all they had was this dinky 1700 two cell and it was almost $30.. thanks for letting me know. I will order one off of gearbest. in a day or so..
Gote both of them love the 501s Nice flying Nice review mate DON
+1 Mark - WOW, I gotta try that! My 501 isn't afflicted with toilet bowl effect, but it's certainly not as stationary in hover in GPS mode like in your video. Yep, my smartphone is usually in my pants pocket while I boot up the 501 and do the compass swings. I'm going to give it a try in a few minutes and report back. Cheers!
+Jimbo in Thailand Great ! Not only is Metal & Phones Very Important to Keep Away, So is the way you do the compass calibrations !! DO NOT SPIN IN A CIRCLE AT ARMS LENGTH !!! IMPROPER CALIBRATION.... Only use your Hands! Slow and Steady Rotate the quad in the Smallest "Circle" you can... Just grab the arms and spin it slow and steady While Remaining Still ! NO "DRONE DANCE" ! That is Also Very Important! I have a couple videos showing the proper way to do compass calibrations with the h501s
+Jimbo in Thailand Hey Man... How did your quad fly after you commented ?? I Did leave you 2 Replies... One about the cellphones and metal And Another one about how to do the Calibrations.... What happened? Any Changes? ?
Mark, haven't been able to try your suggestions yet as it's been raining like crazy off and on and with high winds coming and going for the past few days. Seems the Monsoon rainy season has started about a month early dammit! Hopefully today will get a break although it's still overcast this morning and it rained again last night.
I'm really anxious to try the no-metal-nearby startup since sometimes my 501 is fairly erratic in GPS hover, while other times it's smooth. If I take off from the small street in front of my house the hover is usually loose as a goose. It could be because all the houses on both sides of the narrow side street have the traditional Thai-style tall steel decorative fences so lots of metal all around. Come to think of it, whenever I fly out of the large open field at the end of the street the GPS hover is more locked in. Yeah, hopefully I can fly the 501 today.
Cheers!
+Jimbo in Thailand Your Correct Sir ! GPS drones (Especially) the H501S Are Extremely Sensitive to Not Only Metal But Also Electomagnetic Fields And Wi-Fi Signals. Flying near houses (or Power lines for example) will Greatly Interfere with its FCB (Flight Control Board). Wi-Fi Signals Are Very Bad for the drone. Ive seen peoples quads Crash because of WiFi... Its best to find an open area or field to fly in. You can fly around houses and such, but your quad is going to have Very Bad GPS Lock... Ive done that before and it was moving around a good 2-3 Feet. That can lead to an Accidental Crash. Hope the weather gets better ! I am also Unable to Fly because of High Winds... Cheers !
thank you!
Cool video Mark,,
Man nothing is sacred, I stumbled onto a quad that is an obvious copy of the 501s with a dash of parret bebop. by an outfitter called dream horse. at $50 there is no way it has brushless motors.. I bet's it's pure garbage.. but man it really is a pretty bird.. It comes in black, white and green. it boast of it's 720 /1080 on board camera and does not really have a name...
+anyshitt That's Interesting. Where did you see that ??
www.alibaba.com/product-detail/App-control-2-4G-k300-wifi_60510464388.html?spm=a2700.8267363.0.0.Bloex3
+anyshitt I will give it a look when I get a chance. I'm working right now. Did you get my reply on how to make the LEDs on the 501 to change ??
Yea i did fool,,ha haha ha The Boss told me to tell you to get back to work...
+anyshitt LOL ! I am a "Boss'... It's a Family Business... " Suttner Industries INC. " :)
Always great videos! Thanks so much for sharing your skill and knowledge! God bless! Peace !
Wow! Sounds painful! Glad u
didn't loose your eye sight in that eye!
My 501s a.v as been ok for last 2 yes all ok for now mate nice vid don 👍👍👍👍
Mark,
Dustin Dunhill is having a giveaway away......
So THAT'S what happened to my 501C. Mine flew away a day after Christmas, and would not respond to RTH or controls. It just pitched left and up and away she flew....and, I did NOT wait for 6 Sat connection before taking off. I figured I would do a quick flight. Plus, all the metal garage coverings in my apartment complex AND the cellphone in my pocket. My fault. And a pricey one. Good advice, Mark. Take heed, everyone.
+Mike Dewood Keeping ferromagnetic metal away from the quad is important but if you're going to be flying in GPS hold, or you want return to home function to work, you must wait for at least 6 satellites. It's a lot better to wait for 11 to 12. Actually, I won't even fly in GPS hold without at least 10 to 11. What I was going to say was if your quad didn't have satellites before taking off, it would have been in altitude hold. Even sometimes during flight if it loses satellite reception the quad automatically goes into altitude hold. Which means it will drift with the Wind and if you pitch forward it will not stop you must turn or if you go and roll to the right it won't stop unless you manually do it because it's not being GPS Position held. You can activate return to home but if you did not wait for six satellites before you initiate take off it will not know where to go. Add that to a faulty compass calibration because of metal objects and or a cell phone and that is how you have a fly away. The reason it did not respond to your inputs is probably because you had the controller switched to GPS mode. If the controller is in GPS mode in the quad does not have satellites before takeoff, it will not respond to your inputs unless you switch it out of GPS hold on the controller and take over manually in altitude hold. It's a lot to think about especially when you're having your quad fly away from you... However, if you did switch it out of GPS mode on the controller it should have went into altitude hold and you should have been able to control it. But sometimes that doesn't work if the calibrations were done incorrectly and or satellites were not connected. That sucks that that happened to you, I hope you still like the Hobby and maybe continue to fly !
I always tell people any god drone even if u got sat don't just fly off hover as soon as take off for at least a min or 2
That's a good thing and I do that every flight, with all of my GPS quads. :)
2-3 inches? Hardly. Phantoms move more than that and so was yours. Other than that, your advice was excellent.
Steve Bynum My quad does not move on its horizontal axis more than 2 to 3 inches when the calibrations are done properly. It does variate more than two to three inches vertically however. Do to it's barometer. I'm not joking... I don't know what it is about it, but seriously 90% of the time, it does not move more than 3 inches Horizontally in GPS Hold. Of course, with 12 satellites and time to acquire them properly....
Good advice thanks
Great advice, thanks
Great advice.....thx!!
+Sylvain Menard Thanks for Watching :) Its Also Very Important to do the Compass calibrations Properly and Wait for As Many satellites as possible Before You Arm the Motors, (12 satellites )... Is Optimal.
Well noted....:-)
These inexpensive drones are like ticking time bombs.
LOL, I have a Lot of quads, like 20. Mavic Pro 2, Mavic Air, a couple of FPV CinemaWoops and a bunch of minis. Surprisingly, the last Hubsab bird I bought, the 501SS, has lasted for quite some time. Years in fact, luck ? Maybe. If you're experienced with quads and know what your doing, they can last a long time. I do agree with you though ! Some are just not made the same and yep ! Ticking Time Bomb ! Thanks for the comment Patrick, Fly Fluid !
Thanks for the advice.
Mann bist du Alki? Warum wackelst du so mit der Kamera?
Hi Mark
is there a reliable supplier I I need a shell and a contact board 3517 , EA300251-1 regards bob
I sent u a reply, in a different comment. www.mouser.com/Connectors/Board-to-Board-Mezzanine-Connectors/Images/_/N-ay0kr?Keyword=3517&FS=True. Banggood.com. also sometimes has hard to find parts.
If you need a shell for a 501S or SS, I would recommend getting a 501C shell. They are exactly the same shape and size, however the 501C shell, is supposed to be more ridged and sturdier, than a 501S shell.
sorry for taking so long the 3517 i'm talking about is the PCB LCD lights i only require one but they come 4/pack for about 8dolla but cant find any sales outlet ebay 12$ for 2 and 30$ for a shell wrote to Hubsan but they are fighting the flue bug and no body allowed to work
regards
bob
Duh!!!....I forgot to mention in my first comment that i have a large metal rod in my left leg from an auto accident
+Kevin Andy That should Not matter. "Ferromagnetic metal" (Any type of Magnetic Metal) is what you need to keep away from the quad. Surgical Implantations are Usually Titanium. Titanium Is Not Magnetic. Surgeon's don't use Magnetic Metal Inside the Body. Mostly in case you ever need a MRI and Magnetic Metal will cause A Bad Infection / Bodily Rejection of it because Almost All magnetic materials Degrade. (Rust,Corrode,Etc.) I should have Made It Very Clear in this video, that It's Only Magnetic Metal that can cause Bad Calibrations. The Geomagnetic compass Sensor Is trying to Find True North & South. Only from the Earth's Magnetic Fields. If you have Ferromagnetic metal near the quad when it's initiated & Especially during Cal's, it can cause a "Magnetic Anomily" which in turn Can give the quad a False Sensor Reading.
I always remove all my clothes and my gold grill before powering up. Even the metal plate in my head, I just cut it out and sew it back in after calibration, in the mean time it makes a for a nice spoon.
+Boneyfreak LOL Bro.... It Really is Important to Keep Metal Away from the Quad Though....
Excuse a swedish speaken citizen... what is.. "toilet bowling"...???
Lord Nilsson the proper name for "Toilet Bowling" is a Vortex Ring State (VRS). That is when the quad starts to go into a Spiralling Circle while in the air. It is a very bad thing. Toilet bowl effect or Vortex ring state, starts out with the quad starting to go into a Uncontrolled Spiral. It starts out kind of large and slow but starts to get smaller and faster very quick which ultimately leads to a very bad crash unless you get out of it by controlling the quad. Toilet bowl effect is caused by many, many things. However the most common cause is bad compass calibrations and high winds. Especially when it's descending during RTH. If you encounter your quad going into a circular spiral, that you are not doing with the controller, that is toilet bowling. Ok ? I hope you understand what I'm saying...???
Thanks for your info !
Lord Nilsson No Problem ! Anytime ! :)
Car keys are brass.
Geez bro... Generally when you have car keys, you also have house keys and key fobs and other other things attached. Just keep Ferromagnetic metal away from the quad. Trust me.
Wasch dir mal die Finger, is ja zum Kotzen
+Thomas Hippold Ich bin ein Abschleppwagenfahrer und Automechaniker. Meine Finger kommen nicht sauber Sie sind mit Fett gefärbt. Es heißt Arbeit! Du solltest es irgendwann versuchen, weil du saugst!
Mark Suttner schonmal was von Wasser und Seife gehört ???
Thanks for the info!