Hi jeff your Videos 1 to 4 are the best tutoring programs for the Yuneec Q500 I have seen and heard, your calm and slow talking gives the viewer confidence that they can complete their tasks. I have used the videos at meetings with other enthusiasts and your tutoring is much more precise than I cane ever accomplish. Thank again Ray Jay
Hi Jeff I will be having one of your country men coming to New Zealand next month Hope to do some flying with him if you would like to see some footage of NZ have a look on you tub search (Raymond Jenkin Fussell ) by for now Ray Jay :)
thank you Jeff I haven't flown the Q 500 for over a year. and your reviews are great. very easy to understand and clear. you save me a lot of heart aches. love your refresher course
Hi Jeff,want to thank you for your fist 4 episodes, absolutly helped, being a first time drone owner i really appreciate it, I recently purchased a Typhoon Q5004K.planning to watch all your videos. After watching your first 4 videos i had a very successfull first flight with no problems Thank you Thank you
That's great to hear! I remember how nervous I was before my first flight, and I hope my videos give new pilots a better sense of confidence. If I can get over this flu bug I'm battling, I should have a couple more videos posted soon!
I, like other New Yuneec Typhoon owners, are finding this UA-cam User "Jeff S" articulate well thought out, informative instructional tutorial videos, the best to view if you need help setting up or calibrating your Q500 drone. I mean the shear thought of trying to upgrade Firmware on this Quad, is ridiculous, for real ! If we find it's needed, where else will we turn other than the nearest RC Hobby Shop, or an insightful video from a civilian, non-Yuneec employee who just likes his drone enough to share his Tech savvy. I'm sure I'm Not alone in this ridiculous situation, I think myself upgrading Firmware will have to wait, but also very grateful some out of the blue "Jeff S" spent the time to do what Yuneec should have done, give us comprehensive step by step videos without missing anything. I think Yuneec should consider the User perspective more seriously, with these issues, as some Drone Pilots turn to DJI to avoid the Firmware nightmare of Yuneec, sad.
I appreciate your post. Thanks for your kind words about the channel - I do try to create educational videos to help people, particularly new pilots, with various tasks like this one. I don't disagree that the update process for the Q is difficult . . . I think this is the only video I ever did where I used the phrase "pain in the ass" - and I did it twice. But let me say a couple things in Yuneec's defense. First, this process was created three or four years ago, which is eons for drone technology. At the time the Q500 first came out, none of the drones on the market were as easy to update as they are now. And Yuneec's Typhoon H has a much simpler drone to update . . . I can't speak to the H520 or the H Plus, but I'm betting they're also much better than the Q500.le Second, while the process to update the Q500 was a . . . well, a pain in the ass as I said before, the firmware itself was remarkably stable and reliable. And Yuneec put out updates very infrequently because the drone itself was so stable. DJI has always put out way too many firmware updates that had way to many problems and this continues even today. So the DJI update process is great, but the updates themselves - to the firmware and the Go 4 app) are more problematic. One thing you said that I agree with completely, and this is true for DJI, Yuneec and most other drone companies. They really need to think about what they expect their customers to have to go through to maintain and operate their drones. I just went through the process of updating the Evo and the Anafi, and both of these were very simple, and the apps have worked perfectly so far. So maybe the competition from them will compel the other companies to take user perspective more seriously in the future.
Oh, and by the way I just purchased and received the Q500 4K. Waiting to takeoff to the skies in the next few days after I study up on your videos. Thanks again. Frank
Thank you. Mine Sat in it's case for a month because I was to nervous to fly it. I just kept flying my other quads. Mainly my X380. But you made it easier for me to understand. Thank you
Well after almost two years of waiting (weather and wind) I finally see a couple of days coming up when I can actually fly this thing. In that time, we opened a Drone Park in Naperville, IL which is really nice. Anyway having trouble figuring out your compass calibration. What they guy in the video is doing is not turning the drone using the cockpit as a reference point. He seems to turn the cockpit 45 degrees but then turns the drone side ways. I realize I am late to the party here, but could you please explain how you should be turning the drone for compass calibration. Can't really tell what's going on in the video. Can you also explain what an accelerometer does, and why we need to calibrate for compass when there is no directional gyro or even mag compass readout for the pilot to use. So other then making sure the drone can "come home" if you're not using angle mode, what do these calibrations actually give you and what do you lose if you don't do them? Thanks for the time you put into these videos. I know I know, use of the work "cockpit" gives it away. Yes I am a pilot still trying to figure out what axis the "Slide" is rotating around!!!! (Just kidding!)
Hi Mr expert glad we have people like you well a little question what is the difference between radios ST 10 - ST10+ screen are the same size.....other differences maybe.......
Hi jor - I almost overlooked this. The ST-10 has a smaller screen than the ST-10+. I think that's the only real difference. At one point you couldn't access camera settings for the Q500 4K with the ST-10, but I think Yuneec did a firmware update to address that. The size difference is important - as in many situations, an extra inch can make all the difference. ;-)
Late to the party but I also believe the ST-10 does not have 'Haptic Feedback'. In essence, the ST-10+ will vibrate when the battery gets low or other warnings are triggered, whereas the ST-10 does not.
Do you mean the slow speed of the Q500? If so, I agree completely. Unless someone is chasing cars or boats to make recordings, I just don't understand the need to fly fast with a quad designed to be an aerial video device. I have a TX with an Itelite antenna on it but I never use it. I go out as far as 1100 - 1300 feet, and at that point I can't really see it anymore, so I don't go further.
for the Q500, they're decoration. LOL They left them on the transmitter for possible future use but never did anything with them. They did use them on teh Typhoon H, however.
*whew* Thanks Jeff! I thought I was about to go crazy for a sec. lol! I almost convinced myself that they were there to move the drone incrementally, but quickly tossed that idea out. Your vids tutorials are very informative and simple and gave me the confidence to take it out the box and try this sucker out. Had a great test flight today, thanks!
LOL is right, do you know how many people are going to waste time pushing the wrong buttons over, and over - lol Please incorporate this reality into a video, as you've been covering everthing else.
Hi Jeff, thank you for sharing your videos, they are very useful, I have problems with the reception of videos in my ST10+, the image is often distorted and there is a great delay in the transmission of it, this does not happen using the steady grip with the st10+, it happens only when the camera is connected to the drone.
This is episode 4 in a series of videos designed to help you complete a safe and successful first flight with your Yuneec Q500 4K, Q500+ and Yuneec Typhoon G quadcopter. This episode explains how to calibrate your accelerometer and compass.
+deezorama Good question. I watched Ryan with Yuneec tech support doing a calibration and he turned it to the right, or clockwise. That said, I don't know if a counter clockwise rotation would work or not.
+Mark Webb I have a sneaking hunch that either direction works. I saw the conflict in instructions between the manual an what Ryan with Yuneec Tech Support posted on his video, and went with Ryan's approach. He is "the man" regarding Q500 tech support. I may give them a call to discuss this, but so far we have feedback that clockwise works (from me) and counter clockwise works (from you) so for now I think either approach is safe.
I don't think so. The manual says to turn one way but Yuneec's tech support video goes a different way. I think either direction works . . . I've had people tell me they've gone one way or the other and not had a problem.
It's flying great! Upgraded to the 4k camera after the first flight. 4k camera is so much better. Might take it up this afternoon. Been having rain off and on all day but it's clearing up now. I picked up a soft bag for it and set it up to haul on my ATV when I go on some mountain rides this summer. Plan to get some areal shots of the places I ride to. Plus there's some small lakes up there that might be worth filming around as well.
Nice video.Very helpful.I have a q500+on the table next to me.Itcame yesterday.Ihaven'tflownmitbyetnbecause of thunderstormlsI'm hoping to get good weather to fly in the next couple of days.Thanks for the vierlò
+Scott Gibson Glad you found it helpful! The thunderstorms are actually helpful - it gives you time to do your battery charging, firmware updates and calibrations.
Very helpful videos indeed. My Q5004k came yesterday, and I'm done charging everything but the trans. Good demonstrations. Thanks so much. You're very clear in your vids. I'm not sure about doing the firmware though. I'm not that good on this computer, and am afraid I'll do something wrong. If you have , or anyone has any good advice on doing the firmware . I'd appreciate it.
+go fly a kite I'm glad you found the videos helpful, and I have several more planned - one of which is a walkthrough of the firmware update process. That will be a little while before I get it done, however. If you're really anxious about it you can wait until I get that posted - the last few firmware updates have been enhancements to the system as opposed to "critical fixes" . . . otherwise, Ryan at Yuneec Tech Support did a video that shows how to do the calibration update process. Watch that one at ua-cam.com/video/VZ6r-2yvDo4/v-deo.html If you have any questions post them here and I'll try to help. I almost didn't get the Q500 because of the firmware update proccess, which looked difficult to me. It really isn't too bad. The hardest part is putting the media card in that stupid card slot inside the transmitter. Sliding that door shut can be frustrating. Once you do it the first time, you'll never have a problem with it again.
Thanks, Matthew! I agree, the Q500s are great aircraft. I hope to have a new espisode out soon; I'm pushing to complete it over the July 4 weekend. I saw on your channel that you'd posted drone footage 10 months ago. Are you an experienced RC flier? If so, does the slow speed of the Q500 bother you? I'm collecting some information for a future video and I'm interested in people's thoughts.
enjoyed watching all your how to do vids on the yuneec q500. but can you tell me how to get the extra settings on the screen that say auto,sunny, cloudy and the record and pic buttons on the screen. Is it a update or is something in the settings i can change so i have extra options on my screen.
+ShawnPnKC Hi Shawn - you must have the CGO3 camera on your 500 to access these settings. Then, make sure your firmware is up to date. Still don't see the extra settings. Go into your flight settings (I think it's flight settings) and choose camera. You will see a choice for CGO3 and CGO3 Pro. Select the CGO3 Pro option. You may be prompted for the password. Once you bind the camera with the Pro option, you should see the extra options.
I may have answered this on another thread, but no, I wouldn't recommend removing the camera before calibration. I'm not even sure the calibration would function properly if you did. I've never heard of someone messing up the camera with the calibration process - just keep your movements slow and you'll be fine.
hey Jeff I tried it today for the first time n it was exactly what I'm looking for....your video helped alot.. but for some reason it wouldn't play my videos... it will show the pictures on my windows laptop but everytime I click on the video a blue screen with the music icon comes on.. do I need to download a program to view my videos?
If you shot at 4K, that puts a lot of demand on your computer and some notebooks in particular will struggle with that. Try downloading the program MPC-HC from mpc-hc.org/ - don't download from other sites because some people attach spyware to the program on other sites. The link I provided is for the actual creators of the program. This program is free and it does a good job of displaying video, far better than windows media player. Did you have fun flying?
got it.. that works but my videos are in slow motion.. I probably have to play with the settings to take it out of that mode (slow motion). what is your recommendation for video setting? oh boy...I had a lot of mixed feelings between excitement and nervousness ..pilot mode is a Lil harder to control. I turn the nose away from me.. that makes it easier as it goes in my direction. I practice the different types of landing. but I noticed it better better to land it yourself as it is more stabilize unlike the "home landing " is more shaky because it jumps and that can be dangerous to both the quad copter and yourself. but I always tried this knew dangerous trick where i catch it up in the air on angle mode and turn off the motor in case its of a uneven plain or a really windy day and I wanted to land it . I know it's very dangerous
Slow motion - it almost sounds like you recorded at 60 frames per second and it's trying to play at 30. Under the play menu, choose increase rate and see if that doesn't speed it up for you. Smart mode is easier than Angle mode because front is always front no matter which way the drone is pointed. But Angle is important to learn so you can manage your aircraft at farther differences and in situations where you lose GPS and have to fly manually. Landing it yourself is usually preferable - home mode can be pretty bouncy. Hand catching is not a bad idea at all - I have an episode that explains how to do that safely.
Hi deezgata - many of the things I discuss on these episodes apply to the blade chroma (particularly the 4K). The transmitter is almost identical for each platform. The camera settings are the same for the Q500 4K and the Chroma 4K - the Typhoon H is about the same but it has a couple extra features. Where you will find differences would be things like calibrations, firmware updates, GUI, those sort of things. I only flew a Chroma a few times so I can't speak with any authority on those topics, unfortunately. Bottom line, 90% or more of my content will work for the Blade Chroma 4K so hopefully you'll find a lot of good info on the channel!
Hey I have a question what is the best Compass or achrelometer. And if I do compass my camera makes a sound when I turn my drone bacause it CAN'T go upside down Can you help me?
Hi Mark - no, not at all. Calibrate after you do a firmware update . . . and you probably will never have to update the firmware because they've stopped creating updates. Or, calibrate if you travel a few hundred miles from your last place of calibration. Finally, calibrate if you see the drone hover in a circular (toilet bowl) fashion or if it is not responding accurately to your stick commands. You should have to calibrate very rarely.
Hi Jeff I am a novice with the Q500 4 K so please excuse my somewhat dumb question. What are the buttons below the joysticks used for? I have watched a few videos for beginners but don;t see their use mentioned. The manual that came with it doesn't explain their use. Thanks!
Hi John - Those buttons do nothing, believe it or not. Most quadcopters have buttons like those by their sticks to allow the pilot to fine tune how the aircraft is hovering . . . it might be drifting left slowly in a hover, and you use the buttons to correct for that drift. That's called trimming the aircraft. With its GPS connectivity, the Q500 really doesn't need to be trimmed. If you see a drift you probably need con calibrate the accelerometer and compass. So Yuneec built those buttons in for a function it never needed. They probably left them in place in case they decided to add some new function in the future, but that's never happened. Apparently they like havin those buttons on the transmitter; the new ST16 TX for the Typhoon H also has those buttons.
Thanks Jeff, It was driving me nuts trying to figure it out!...LOL, Thanks for the GREAT Videos! I can;t tell you how much they help a beginner like me!
YET AGAIN BRILLIANT TUTORIAL, THANKYOU....ERRR, PLEASE CAN YOU DO A TUTORIAL ON HOW TO UPDATE FIRMWARE. I THINK THIS IS THE ONE THAT I MYSELF AND MANY OTHERES BECOME COME CONFUSED.....LOL. WELL I DO ANTWAY...THANKYOU VERY MUCH JEFF
Hi Jeff. Really enjoy and appreciate your videos. They're helping me greatly since I'm a nubie to drone flying. But I do fly RC aircrafts which helps. The question I have is in the production of your videos. What software and equipment are you using to make your productions? Is that expensive? Cool videos! Thanks. Frank
Hi Skyleap - I've been battling the flu so I'm slow to respond. I'm glad to hear the videos are helping you out! I first used Sony Movie Studio to make my videos - that came with an audio editor (the name escapes me) that I use to create and clean up the narration. I moved up to Sony Vegas - you probably wouldn't need to do that because Vegas is a very expensive program. My first episodes used a really awful clip-on mic . . . I had to record the narration in my wife's closet because all her clothes baffled the reverberation in a normal room. I've since "come out of the closet" (so to speak) and purchased an audio-technica cardioid USB microphone that sounds better and is more consistent. I've got more cameras than I know what to do with LOL. Panasonic G7 is my primary video camera now. I've got a powerful computer system but it may be overkill. You want a newer processor, lots of RAM and a dedicated video card with lots of VRAM.
Hello there Jeff! So, I'm having the dreaded "gimbal drift" intermittent, and I suspect it has to do with the magnetometer, as yawing L/R causes drift angle up/down... thoughts? I JUST got my q500 4k back from Yuneec for a bad motor (right out of the box...) and am very hesitant to send it BACK in.
Hi CW - So when you yaw L/R your gimbal drifts up and down? That's a new one on me. I've experienced drift of the entire quad when it should be hovering, but never a gimbal drift. On occasion my gimbal will tilt on its own, just slip down or up; I've never thought much about it, just put it back to where it was and kept going. Is that what you're describing? If so, I've had that happen many times and it's never presented a problem with regards to flying, just a minor irritation that I can address on the spot. Can you describe what you're experiencing in a bit more detail?
My mistake, yes, horizontal tilt with L/R yaw. It's not as prevalent at the moment as others have experienced, though I fear it may get worse. I've been perusing the boards and it appears it's not only a known issue by Yuneec, but a pretty common one with owners of the Q500 4K CGO3 specifically, in the air or on the hand set. As I said, I suspect it has to do with the gimbal's magnetometer (slider on top next to circuit board, like in a mobile phone)
when calebrating when finished 4/5 degree turns and place back on ground does the nose need to point toward north again and whats the color of the light when finished Thanks a lot
Hey Jeff do i need to calibrate motor after replacement? I replaced type A motor and now i see it is pulling it towards this new motor - like it would have more power. What do you think?
I got one it flies good but i see the controls are reversed i push up on the stick it goes back pull back on the stick it goes forward. Can that be fixed
Hi Jeff, just subscribed, great helping video for us Q500 beginners. I have one question/clarification though. I received mine yesterday, and manual says for compass calibration to keep turning 45 degrees and rotating once, but do this till 360 degrees are completed. Is this correct, or am i missing something? Keep these great videos coming my friend. Great !!!!
Glad you signed up! I don't think it would work to do a full 360 degree rotation. Once you perform the number of rotations I describe, you'll see the indicator light change, which is telling you to put the aircraft down on the ground. Give it a try my way and see if it works for you. If it fails, you can always do it again to get it right. BTW, Yuneec instruction manuals leave a lot to be desired. They're incomplete and sometimes just wrong. Read the manual for sure, but be prepared for . . . adjustments LOL
Hey Jeff.. I'm having some trouble calibrating the accelerometer. I tried calibrating it but I don't end up with the right LED lights. Maybe I'm standing too close to the quad when I try to calibrate it?
Hi Derek. You could try stepping back further . . . I'm betting there is some kind of interference where you're doing the calibration. Have you tried moving the aircraft to a different spot and then doing the calibration?
Jeff, do I understand correctly that you have 30 seconds to complete the entire compass calibration process...with all the 45 degree rotations?? Thanks.
That's my understanding. If you take too long it is supposed to time out. It sounds like you have to rush but time how long my calibration took in this video - it's actually a lot of time. If you do time out, don't worry. Just start the calibration over and try again.
I just got my Q500 4k back from the shop after it had the GPS and compass replaced. First flight was problematic in that the craft would fly off in different directions on its own regardless of stick input. I recalibrated the compass and the craft was all over. I recalibrated the compass again and it still flew all over the place. I guess I give the shop a call again tomorrow. This thing has spend more time in the shop than in the air.
Hey Jeff, waiting for part 5 of your class, my Q500 arrived two days ago. I've done all the charging (damn that transmitter took forever!) and updated firmware for transmitter. My Q500 had a little label under it's belly that stated the firmware version and mine has the latest, so I won't be doing quad updates. I don't think I need the latest gimbal update as my quad came pretty much up-to-date. What I do need is a compass app like the one you use. What's the name of that app and was it free? Thanks for all of your informative videos and assistance. DJ SOUL FORCE
I was actually working on episode number five this evening so it should be posted very soon. I don't believe Yuneec has worked out the details for doing the gimbal update yet so you're good there. The compass app I use on my iPhone is the compass that actually came with the iPhone. I didn't add that to my phone at all, not that I remember anyway. The transmitter does take a long time to charge. Fortunately, once you get it charge that last for several flights. Which Q 500 did you get?
Jeff Sibelius Thanks Jeff, I'll have to search for a compass in Google play store for my android phone. I bought the 4K version. Man, this thing is a beast, should do the maiden flight tomorrow, weather permitting. Thanks again, looking forward to next "class!"
Jeff Sibelius I did the maiden flight and all went well. Just wondering if there is a setting for speed or velocity? I read all the manuals, just wondering if I overlooked it or it doesn't exist. So far, I'm very pleased with the Q500 and it's ease of use. I also own a Phantom 3 Standard and XK Detect X-380. One thing I'm missing from the Q500 is an auto panoramic mode, but I'm thinking that'll come with a simple firmware update! Keep up the good work Jeff, thanks.
+DJ SOUL FORCE the circular slider on the right side of your transmitter allows you to change speeds - it has a turtle on one side and a rabbit on the other. You can slide that forward or back to change speeds. The Q500 is a slow aircraft. The P3 is much faster and I imagine the x380 is as well. The last firmware update for the Q500 increased the speed of rabbit mode but it's still slower than any other major brand of aerial video quads. Auto panoramic mode? I'm not familiar with that one. I didn't see it listed as a planned feature of the new Typhoon H coming from Yuneec in the middle of 2016 either. The only thing I can think of would be for still photos - the aircraft is so stable that you can get a good panorama video simply by yawing the aircraft.
Hi Mohamed - I understand how you feel exactly. I bought my first drone and let it sit for over a month because I was afraid I'd crash it. LOL You're doing the right thing in researching how to fly on UA-cam. Seeing other people do it and explain what they're doing will give you confidence. Some ideas to make sure your first flight is a success: Do your flight on a day that has very little wind. Check the website weather.com or uavforecast.com to see what wind predictions for your area will be. Try to fly when winds are below 5-7 miles per hour. Pick an open park or field so you've got plenty of space. Follow the preflight steps in my videos 1-2 to make sure the aircraft is ready. Keep your first flight simple. Plan on pracicing take-off, hover, test what each stick does separately, landing. Short flight of a couple minutes. Then do the same thing again. Build your confidence. Have a plan on what you want to try before you take off. If you fly in smart mode, be sure to stay more than 26 feet away when you launch. Keep your first flights within 100 feet or so so you can keep a close eye on it. Also, fly higher than 10-15 feet to give yourself some vertical safety space. Keep the drone in front of you during all flights. Flying it directly overhead or behind you can be a little trickier. In subsequent flights, add new techniques - using both sticks together, follow me / watch me, etc. Record your flights so you can practice working on video editing as well as flying. Be confident and give it a try! And do me a favor - post back here and let me know how things went. Good luck!
Hi Jeff! i wonder if you could give me a solution on why my Yuneec q 500 4k won't even start the engines when i carry it to a higher elevation spot in order to fly it (eg 3000 ft high on the mountain). Screen goes totally blind on ground station monitor and then nothing. Have in mind, that all firm. updates are done. Thanks in advance. Gabriel.
Wow, that's an odd problem. Looking at the user manual, it says that if you try to take off above 8,000 feet MSL the motors won't start. That doesn't explain your transmitter's behavior, however. Check to make sure you're not trying to fly above 8000 feet above mean sea level, and then I'm going to have to refer you to Yuneec tech support. Let me know what you find out, please. I'm curious on this one.
Thank you very much! i ll try to get in touch with Yuneec tech support, and i will let you know! (altitude when i tried to fly the bird was not more than 3000 ft according to my garmin GPS)
No, as a matter of fact I'd discourage that because the compass calibration process is kinda tough on your gimbal. (spinning the aircraft around flops the camera around quite a bit.) I fly all over the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex and don't recalibrate. I've driven from DFW to San Antonio (250 miles?) and didn't calibrate. Always calibrate when you first get your drone and after a firmware update. Calibrate if you travel long distances. One more tip - every time you launch your drone, pop it up in the air and let it hover for 15-20 seconds. Watch it. Does it sit in place or does it circle around in a slow circle? If it does the circle motion - this is called toilet bowl effect - carefully land the aircraft and do a calibration. I test my aircraft this way every flight. Give it 20 seconds to make sure it's locked in on its GPS and calibrated properly, and you can fly with confidence.
I would encourage you to do both calibrations before the first flight. Remember, the aircraft was originally set up and calibrated in China, then shipped to your location. It might fly with no problem, but that's quite a distance from its previous calibration point (unless you live in China, that is). The calibrations for the Q500 are pretty simple, and it fails the drone will give you an audible warning. If that happens, just do the calibration again.
Thabks again jeff.. I know Im bombarding you lots of questions.. one more thing.. do I have to register this specific drone(yuneec Q500 4k) with FAA? Cuz best buy told me I don't have to get it register..
Ask away, I do this channel because I enjoy helping out new pilots. Yes, you definitely have to register the Q500 with the FAA if you live in the US, whether you fly for fun or fly commercially. It's easy to do and costs only $5 so it's not a big deal - and if you don't want to mark up your nice looking drone, you can put the registration number on your battery or inside the drone. As long as it can be accessed without the use of tools, it's legal. Ahhhhhh, Best Buy. I'm going to do a video on where you should and should not buy drones, and this is one reason why I steer people away from big box stores. They gave you false information that could have earned you a fine because they don't know what they're talking about.
Yes, you can do the accelerometer calibration indoors - I typically do mine that way because I have a surface I know is extremely level. You should receive your Q500 already bound - the camera / drone and transmitter should all be connected when you take it out of the box the first time.
Hello Jeff, I have a problem with my ST10+ interface since i've buy the Q500 4K. No indication of the distances of the drone ( Height and distance) Do you think it could be an accelerometer calibration problem or compass ? i've done compass well, but accelerometer do not know...thanks for help me Jeff.
Hi, Just flew my Q500+ for the first time today. Calibrated compass before flight. The first battery I flew about 18 minutes and decided to change batteries. After powering off, installing new battery and powering back on I made sure I had 14 satellites on transmitter and 10 satellites on drone. It flew about 2 minutes then I got a warning on transmitter screen saying "Warning GPS signal lost". The drone was only 35 feet away. I lost complete control and the wind carried it off. The transmitter was unresponsive. The drone crashed about 60 feet away. All batteries in drone and transmitter had power. Any ideas on what went wrong. I was also in an open area.
+generac43 Sorry to hear what happened. :-( I'm glad you were flying in an open area for your first flights. Frankly, the potential for a mechanical issue is another reason why I encourage people to do that to begin with. The Q500 has a terrific reliability record but ANY mechanical device can have defects, so doing first flights with no one or no thing around is a good idea. Just reading what you posted, it sounds like a mechanical issue with the transmitter or the quad itself. The fact that you flew a full battery with plenty of satellite connection right before the problem indicates that you weren't blocked from GPS signal, and your problem doesn't sound like it's environmental. Especially if you were only 35 feet away when everything went bad. You should not lose control of the aircraft if you lose GPS - you should still be able to fly it manually. If you're an inexperienced pilot you might have trouble flying manually, but you said the tx was nonresponsive - that's not a question of skill. Were you recording video at the time? Do you have a media card in your transmitter to record telemetry? If you have video of the incident, put it up on UA-cam so people can see and maybe help diagnose. I encourage you to post your experiences on the following discussion forum to get feedback from other pilots: www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2272622 Also, you should call Yuneec tech support immediately. Their support team is great. How bad was your quad damaged in the crash?
+Jeff Sibelius Hi Jeff, Thank you for your quick response. I did not have an SD card in the transmitter and the video I was recording during the crash was corrupted. All video prior to the battery change was fine. Thankfully the Q500+ wasn't up more then about 20 feet as it descended diagonally downward into small some small desert shrubbery which flipped it on it's back. It was about 90 ft from me by the time it crashed. There were 2 broken propellers and some dirt which wiped off. I called Yuneec and their tech had very little info. I did most the talking and suggested maybe a Firmware update and re-binding the unit. (I read somewhere some guy had the same problem and this helped him). The tech said he would suggest the same thing. But didn't think it would fix the problem. He had nothing else to add. I had to pump him with questions. I also had the 4 second green light on then 1 second off in Safe mode and 4 second purple light on and 1 second off in angle mode. He said it was normal. I will cautiously fly again and see what happens. Thanks again and I will check out the forum link.
+Jeff Sibelius Hi Jeff, Thank you for your quick response. I did not have an SD card in the transmitter and the video I was recording during the crash was corrupted. All video prior to the battery change was fine. Thankfully the Q500+ wasn't up more then about 20 feet as it descended diagonally downward into small some small desert shrubbery which flipped it on it's back. It was about 90 ft from me by the time it crashed. There were 2 broken propellers and some dirt which wiped off. I called Yuneec and their tech had very little info. I did most the talking and suggested maybe a Firmware update and re-binding the unit. (I read somewhere some guy had the same problem and this helped him). The tech said he would suggest the same thing. But didn't think it would fix the problem. He had nothing else to add. I had to pump him with questions. I also had the 4 second green light on then 1 second off in Safe mode and 4 second purple light on and 1 second off in angle mode. He said it was normal. I will cautiously fly again and see what happens. Thanks again and I will check out the forum link.
+generac43 Try putting the SD card back into the camera, boot up the TX and quad, and then just start and stop the video a couple times. Your last video clip is corrupted because you probably didn't hit stop record button when it crashed. Sometimes - not always but sometimes - if you put the card in and do the stop/start once or twice, it can still salvage the last recording. That would be helpful for the tech support if needed. Check it out on that forum - I post there as "websiteauthor" so I'll see your posts. If you don't get clarification there, I would encourage you to call Yuneec back and state that the aircraft is malfunctioning and you want a ticket to have it checked out. I'll be watching for your posts.
My q500 4K has a problem when is time to record I'll record only the sound but the video won't show up but, I don't understand why taking pictures will show up can you please help me I have send the drone to be fix about the camera because I was flying the drone and crash it to a tree causing the cables of the camera totally disconnect from the camera but I don't think they fix it right can u please help me
Hi Jonathan - It sounds like the camera was not fixed right but it is strange that it records photos but not video. The only other thing I can think of is that your computer won't play 4K video but that's really a stretch. I'm afraid you need to call Yuneec and ask about this problem. One other idea. Try disconnecting the cable between your camera and the body of the drone and reconnecting it. Make sure it is fully connected. Then see if it will do the video.
Hi there! im planning to buy this yuneec q500, but i just wanted to ask do i really need to calibrate the drone after it gets out of the box? or is it calibrated already so you can fly it right away?
You really should calibrate it before the first flight. Chances are its previous calibration was done in China, and that's a long way away from where you are most likely. Once you've completed the calibration you probably won't need to do it again unless you travel considerable distance to your next flight location.
I always wanted to visit the Philippines when I was in the military . . . I got as far as New Jersey. LOL The Q500 is not a long distance flyer. I think I got mine out to 1500 feet once, but never tried to go past that. You should be able to get it even farther if you get away from cities and out in the wilderness.
i see.. thanks for the info sir.. you can always visit our country anytime sir.. guess your're already aware that some areas in our country are now in conflict but not all of it.. like for instance in my own hometown i can say our place is a lot more safe.. :)
Some people say you should calibrate the compass first, but I asked Yuneec CS about this and they told me the order didn't matter. The calibrations don't have to be done at the same time or even in the same place. I do my compass outside at a flight location, but usually do the accelerometer indoors on a surface I know is level.
Definitely not. If your camera is facing down while the aircraft is powered up, there is a mechanical problem that needs to get fixed OR the camera is not getting power. With the aircraft shut off, unplug the little cable that connects the camera to the drone . . . unplug it from the drone and re-plug it in, making sure it's fully connected. Then boot it up and see if that fixes the issue. If not - do you see any indicator light on the camera while powered up? Do you see the video signal from the camera on your transmitter? You'll need to call Yuneec CS and they'll want to know if the camera is receiving power and sending its signal to the transmitter or not.
I bought mine from a fella 30 miles away. He is the second owner. He bought it from the original owner, a pilot. . I don't know how far it traveled from the original owner. It has never crashed to the best of my knowledge and it maintained the original gimbal wire until I lost control with it when I lost SAT LOCK and the wind pushed it into the side of my house at 6' and when it dropped, the gimbal rolled away from the crash scene LOL.... The craft is in perfect condition, except for some scrapped up paint stained blades and I installed the supplied spare wire to the craft and gimbal that states' HA! THIS IDIOT CRASHED! HA HAHA! LOL..... MY questions are do we have magnetic interference and lose SAT lock often?? Wouldn't this scare folks from flying??I had 12 SATS lock at first. It was when I rose to 6' TWICE, that I lost lock. I must always assume I will lose LOCK. I don't want to be 300 feet up and lose 'LOCK' and then control. My main question is>> SHOULD I CALIBRATE etc. just to be safe? I don't think it would hurt. Maybe the original owner lives in Texas or California for all I know. Maybe the original owner mailed it to the guy in Daytona Beach. I think IF I DON"T KNOW the history, I should calibrate. BUT, should I have too?
Hi modex - this has been discussed previously . . . the instructions say to turn counter clockwise, but Ryan, the guy in charge of Yuneec USA tech support, demonstrated the calibration and turned it to the right. Given the quality of the written instructions (or lack thereof) i prefer to go with Ryan's instruction. I've done many calibrations turning to the right and they've all worked.
Did Ryan demonstrate this via video? iPhone videos filmed in "selfie" mode (screen pointing towards yourself) are inverted horizontally, swapping left and right.Was there anything in Ryan's video that had text so you could see if this was the case? What about his shirt - which side were the buttons on? Did he have one or two shirt pockets? Single pockets are always (mostly?) on the wearer's right.Men's and Women's shirts button on opposite sides. Then again, if he's a cross-dresser, that's not really helpful LOL
Yuneec's official video shows rotating the aircraft to the left during calibration, and your video shows & states to rotate to the right... Does it matter which direction? .... And this guy shows an extra 45 & spin! ua-cam.com/video/niBU6IUf-Gg/v-deo.html
Five years later your Q500 videos are still helping us die hard Q500 users! I like their lifting capability & video quality. Thank you Jeff!
I appreciate that! Man, I can't believe it's been 5 years . ..
@@JeffSibelius Time flies as you know Jeff. I'm 72 & think I'm 22...until Iook in the mirror to shave! Ugh! Take care buddy & thanks for all you do!
@@billcallahan9303 My pleasure, Bill. I topped 60 and time is definitely speeding up for me as well.
@@JeffSibelius Yes Sir! A day becomes an hour. A week becomes a day etc. Like you said, time flies.
Gotta give this thumbs up because you carefully showed the controller screen selections instead of glossing over fast!
Thanks!
Hi jeff your Videos 1 to 4 are the best tutoring programs for the Yuneec Q500 I have seen and heard, your calm and slow talking gives the viewer confidence that they can complete their tasks. I have used the videos at meetings with other enthusiasts and your tutoring is much more precise than I cane ever accomplish. Thank again Ray Jay
Well thanks, Ray Jay! I love hearing that the tutorials are helping folks out . . . I appreciate your sharing my videos with others as well.
Hi Jeff I will be having one of your country men coming to New Zealand next month Hope to do some flying with him if you would like to see some footage of NZ have a look on you tub search (Raymond Jenkin Fussell ) by for now Ray Jay :)
thank you Jeff I haven't flown the Q 500 for over a year. and your reviews are great. very easy to understand and clear. you save me a lot of heart aches. love your refresher course
Thanks Terry!
Hi Jeff,want to thank you for your fist 4 episodes, absolutly helped, being a first time drone owner i really appreciate it,
I recently purchased a Typhoon Q5004K.planning to watch all your videos.
After watching your first 4 videos i had a very successfull first flight with no problems Thank you Thank you
That's great to hear! I remember how nervous I was before my first flight, and I hope my videos give new pilots a better sense of confidence.
If I can get over this flu bug I'm battling, I should have a couple more videos posted soon!
I, like other New Yuneec Typhoon owners, are finding this UA-cam User "Jeff S" articulate well thought out, informative instructional tutorial videos, the best to view if you need help setting up or calibrating your Q500 drone. I mean the shear thought of trying to upgrade Firmware on this Quad, is ridiculous, for real ! If we find it's needed, where else will we turn other than the nearest RC Hobby Shop, or an insightful video from a civilian, non-Yuneec employee who just likes his drone enough to share his Tech savvy.
I'm sure I'm Not alone in this ridiculous situation, I think myself upgrading Firmware will have to wait, but also very grateful some out of the blue "Jeff S" spent the time to do what Yuneec should have done, give us comprehensive step by step videos without missing anything. I think Yuneec should consider the User perspective more seriously, with these issues, as some Drone Pilots turn to DJI to avoid the Firmware nightmare of Yuneec, sad.
I appreciate your post. Thanks for your kind words about the channel - I do try to create educational videos to help people, particularly new pilots, with various tasks like this one.
I don't disagree that the update process for the Q is difficult . . . I think this is the only video I ever did where I used the phrase "pain in the ass" - and I did it twice.
But let me say a couple things in Yuneec's defense. First, this process was created three or four years ago, which is eons for drone technology. At the time the Q500 first came out, none of the drones on the market were as easy to update as they are now. And Yuneec's Typhoon H has a much simpler drone to update . . . I can't speak to the H520 or the H Plus, but I'm betting they're also much better than the Q500.le
Second, while the process to update the Q500 was a . . . well, a pain in the ass as I said before, the firmware itself was remarkably stable and reliable. And Yuneec put out updates very infrequently because the drone itself was so stable. DJI has always put out way too many firmware updates that had way to many problems and this continues even today. So the DJI update process is great, but the updates themselves - to the firmware and the Go 4 app) are more problematic.
One thing you said that I agree with completely, and this is true for DJI, Yuneec and most other drone companies. They really need to think about what they expect their customers to have to go through to maintain and operate their drones. I just went through the process of updating the Evo and the Anafi, and both of these were very simple, and the apps have worked perfectly so far. So maybe the competition from them will compel the other companies to take user perspective more seriously in the future.
Oh, and by the way I just purchased and received the Q500 4K. Waiting to takeoff to the skies in the next few days after I study up on your videos. Thanks again. Frank
How are your flights going?
Thanks Jeff again for your videos I review them time to time, as a refresher to keep my head straight.
Thanks! I actually go back and watch some of the videos for things I don't do often as well. Nothing wrong with a refresher!
Thank you. Mine Sat in it's case for a month because I was to nervous to fly it. I just kept flying my other quads. Mainly my X380. But you made it easier for me to understand. Thank you
+Randy Combs Glad to help!
Awesome! Thank you! I just got this drone. This very helpful.
Glad it helped!
Well after almost two years of waiting (weather and wind) I finally see a couple of days coming up when I can actually fly this thing. In that time, we opened a Drone Park in Naperville, IL which is really nice. Anyway having trouble figuring out your compass calibration. What they guy in the video is doing is not turning the drone using the cockpit as a reference point. He seems to turn the cockpit 45 degrees but then turns the drone side ways. I realize I am late to the party here, but could you please explain how you should be turning the drone for compass calibration. Can't really tell what's going on in the video. Can you also explain what an accelerometer does, and why we need to calibrate for compass when there is no directional gyro or even mag compass readout for the pilot to use. So other then making sure the drone can "come home" if you're not using angle mode, what do these calibrations actually give you and what do you lose if you don't do them?
Thanks for the time you put into these videos. I know I know, use of the work "cockpit" gives it away. Yes I am a pilot still trying to figure out what axis the "Slide" is rotating around!!!! (Just kidding!)
Hi Mr expert glad we have people like you well a little question what is the difference between radios ST 10 - ST10+ screen are the same size.....other differences maybe.......
Hi jor - I almost overlooked this. The ST-10 has a smaller screen than the ST-10+. I think that's the only real difference.
At one point you couldn't access camera settings for the Q500 4K with the ST-10, but I think Yuneec did a firmware update to address that.
The size difference is important - as in many situations, an extra inch can make all the difference. ;-)
Thanks again take care
Late to the party but I also believe the ST-10 does not have 'Haptic Feedback'. In essence, the ST-10+ will vibrate when the battery gets low or other warnings are triggered, whereas the ST-10 does not.
thanks man
Hi jeff , I find the speed great for filming, only problem is it's not real good in the wind. I'm also getting antena upgrade atm
Do you mean the slow speed of the Q500? If so, I agree completely. Unless someone is chasing cars or boats to make recordings, I just don't understand the need to fly fast with a quad designed to be an aerial video device.
I have a TX with an Itelite antenna on it but I never use it. I go out as far as 1100 - 1300 feet, and at that point I can't really see it anymore, so I don't go further.
Great Video!!! Quick Question: What are the directional buttons on either side of the sticks for?
for the Q500, they're decoration. LOL They left them on the transmitter for possible future use but never did anything with them. They did use them on teh Typhoon H, however.
*whew* Thanks Jeff! I thought I was about to go crazy for a sec. lol! I almost convinced myself that they were there to move the drone incrementally, but quickly tossed that idea out. Your vids tutorials are very informative and simple and gave me the confidence to take it out the box and try this sucker out. Had a great test flight today, thanks!
LOL is right, do you know how many people are going to waste time pushing the wrong buttons over, and over - lol Please incorporate this reality into a video, as you've been covering everthing else.
Awesome video Jeff
Thanks!
Very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to produce this video.
+Lou Aymard I appreciate that Lou. I have several more videos planned in the series and I hope you'll find those helpful as well.
Hi Jeff, thank you for sharing your videos, they are very useful, I have problems with the reception of videos in my ST10+, the image is often distorted and there is a great delay in the transmission of it, this does not happen using the steady grip with the st10+, it happens only when the camera is connected to the drone.
Excellent video. Thanks!
Thanks, Jeff!
This is episode 4 in a series of videos designed to help you complete a safe and successful first flight with your Yuneec Q500 4K, Q500+ and Yuneec Typhoon G quadcopter. This episode explains how to calibrate your accelerometer and compass.
+Jeff Sibelius I thought it was supposed to be turned counter-clockwise. Does it matter?
+deezorama Good question. I watched Ryan with Yuneec tech support doing a calibration and he turned it to the right, or clockwise. That said, I don't know if a counter clockwise rotation would work or not.
+Mark Webb I have a sneaking hunch that either direction works. I saw the conflict in instructions between the manual an what Ryan with Yuneec Tech Support posted on his video, and went with Ryan's approach. He is "the man" regarding Q500 tech support.
I may give them a call to discuss this, but so far we have feedback that clockwise works (from me) and counter clockwise works (from you) so for now I think either approach is safe.
Let me know how that works!
I don't think so. The manual says to turn one way but Yuneec's tech support video goes a different way. I think either direction works . . . I've had people tell me they've gone one way or the other and not had a problem.
I just bought one tonight! Yay...so excited :)
So how's it flying?
It's flying great! Upgraded to the 4k camera after the first flight. 4k camera is so much better. Might take it up this afternoon. Been having rain off and on all day but it's clearing up now. I picked up a soft bag for it and set it up to haul on my ATV when I go on some mountain rides this summer. Plan to get some areal shots of the places I ride to. Plus there's some small lakes up there that might be worth filming around as well.
Nice video.Very helpful.I have a q500+on the table next to me.Itcame yesterday.Ihaven'tflownmitbyetnbecause of thunderstormlsI'm hoping to get good weather to fly in the next couple of days.Thanks for the vierlò
+Scott Gibson Glad you found it helpful!
The thunderstorms are actually helpful - it gives you time to do your battery charging, firmware updates and calibrations.
Very helpful videos indeed. My Q5004k came yesterday, and I'm done charging everything but the trans. Good demonstrations. Thanks so much. You're very clear in your vids. I'm not sure about doing the firmware though. I'm not that good on this computer, and am afraid I'll do something wrong. If you have , or anyone has any good advice on doing the firmware . I'd appreciate it.
+go fly a kite I'm glad you found the videos helpful, and I have several more planned - one of which is a walkthrough of the firmware update process. That will be a little while before I get it done, however.
If you're really anxious about it you can wait until I get that posted - the last few firmware updates have been enhancements to the system as opposed to "critical fixes" . . . otherwise, Ryan at Yuneec Tech Support did a video that shows how to do the calibration update process. Watch that one at ua-cam.com/video/VZ6r-2yvDo4/v-deo.html
If you have any questions post them here and I'll try to help.
I almost didn't get the Q500 because of the firmware update proccess, which looked difficult to me. It really isn't too bad. The hardest part is putting the media card in that stupid card slot inside the transmitter. Sliding that door shut can be frustrating. Once you do it the first time, you'll never have a problem with it again.
+Jeff Sibelius Thanks Jeff. I'll check that video out.
Great vid. Had mine for a couple of weeks and love it.
Thanks, Matthew! I agree, the Q500s are great aircraft. I hope to have a new espisode out soon; I'm pushing to complete it over the July 4 weekend.
I saw on your channel that you'd posted drone footage 10 months ago. Are you an experienced RC flier? If so, does the slow speed of the Q500 bother you?
I'm collecting some information for a future video and I'm interested in people's thoughts.
Jeff your video helped me so much thanks
enjoyed watching all your how to do vids on the yuneec q500. but can you tell me how to get the extra settings on the screen that say auto,sunny, cloudy and the record and pic buttons on the screen. Is it a update or is something in the settings i can change so i have extra options on my screen.
+ShawnPnKC Hi Shawn - you must have the CGO3 camera on your 500 to access these settings. Then, make sure your firmware is up to date.
Still don't see the extra settings. Go into your flight settings (I think it's flight settings) and choose camera. You will see a choice for CGO3 and CGO3 Pro. Select the CGO3 Pro option. You may be prompted for the password. Once you bind the camera with the Pro option, you should see the extra options.
I'm always worried I might damage the gimbal or camera during calibration. Would removing the camera before calibration be ok?
I may have answered this on another thread, but no, I wouldn't recommend removing the camera before calibration. I'm not even sure the calibration would function properly if you did. I've never heard of someone messing up the camera with the calibration process - just keep your movements slow and you'll be fine.
hey Jeff I tried it today for the first time n it was exactly what I'm looking for....your video helped alot.. but for some reason it wouldn't play my videos... it will show the pictures on my windows laptop but everytime I click on the video a blue screen with the music icon comes on.. do I need to download a program to view my videos?
If you shot at 4K, that puts a lot of demand on your computer and some notebooks in particular will struggle with that. Try downloading the program MPC-HC from mpc-hc.org/ - don't download from other sites because some people attach spyware to the program on other sites. The link I provided is for the actual creators of the program.
This program is free and it does a good job of displaying video, far better than windows media player.
Did you have fun flying?
got it.. that works but my videos are in slow motion.. I probably have to play with the settings to take it out of that mode (slow motion). what is your recommendation for video setting?
oh boy...I had a lot of mixed feelings between excitement and nervousness ..pilot mode is a Lil harder to control. I turn the nose away from me.. that makes it easier as it goes in my direction.
I practice the different types of landing. but I noticed it better better to land it yourself as it is more stabilize unlike the "home landing " is more shaky because it jumps and that can be dangerous to both the quad copter and yourself.
but I always tried this knew dangerous trick where i catch it up in the air on angle mode and turn off the motor in case its of a uneven plain or a really windy day and I wanted to land it . I know it's very dangerous
Slow motion - it almost sounds like you recorded at 60 frames per second and it's trying to play at 30. Under the play menu, choose increase rate and see if that doesn't speed it up for you.
Smart mode is easier than Angle mode because front is always front no matter which way the drone is pointed. But Angle is important to learn so you can manage your aircraft at farther differences and in situations where you lose GPS and have to fly manually.
Landing it yourself is usually preferable - home mode can be pretty bouncy. Hand catching is not a bad idea at all - I have an episode that explains how to do that safely.
Just watched the first 4 eps, thanks for the tips! Can this also apply to the blade chroma?
Hi deezgata - many of the things I discuss on these episodes apply to the blade chroma (particularly the 4K). The transmitter is almost identical for each platform. The camera settings are the same for the Q500 4K and the Chroma 4K - the Typhoon H is about the same but it has a couple extra features. Where you will find differences would be things like calibrations, firmware updates, GUI, those sort of things. I only flew a Chroma a few times so I can't speak with any authority on those topics, unfortunately.
Bottom line, 90% or more of my content will work for the Blade Chroma 4K so hopefully you'll find a lot of good info on the channel!
Hey I have a question what is the best Compass or achrelometer. And if I do compass my camera makes a sound when I turn my drone bacause it CAN'T go upside down Can you help me?
does the compass need calibrated everytime you fly it. i just got mine yesterday and havent flown it yet
Hi Mark - no, not at all. Calibrate after you do a firmware update . . . and you probably will never have to update the firmware because they've stopped creating updates. Or, calibrate if you travel a few hundred miles from your last place of calibration. Finally, calibrate if you see the drone hover in a circular (toilet bowl) fashion or if it is not responding accurately to your stick commands. You should have to calibrate very rarely.
@@JeffSibelius thanks
Hi Jeff I am a novice with the Q500 4 K so please excuse my somewhat dumb question. What are the buttons below the joysticks used for? I have watched a few videos for beginners but don;t see their use mentioned. The manual that came with it doesn't explain their use. Thanks!
Hi John - Those buttons do nothing, believe it or not. Most quadcopters have buttons like those by their sticks to allow the pilot to fine tune how the aircraft is hovering . . . it might be drifting left slowly in a hover, and you use the buttons to correct for that drift. That's called trimming the aircraft.
With its GPS connectivity, the Q500 really doesn't need to be trimmed. If you see a drift you probably need con calibrate the accelerometer and compass. So Yuneec built those buttons in for a function it never needed. They probably left them in place in case they decided to add some new function in the future, but that's never happened.
Apparently they like havin those buttons on the transmitter; the new ST16 TX for the Typhoon H also has those buttons.
Thanks Jeff, It was driving me nuts trying to figure it out!...LOL, Thanks for the GREAT Videos! I can;t tell you how much they help a beginner like me!
Glad to help!
YET AGAIN BRILLIANT TUTORIAL, THANKYOU....ERRR, PLEASE CAN YOU DO A TUTORIAL ON HOW TO UPDATE FIRMWARE. I THINK THIS IS THE ONE THAT I MYSELF AND MANY OTHERES BECOME COME CONFUSED.....LOL. WELL I DO ANTWAY...THANKYOU VERY MUCH JEFF
Hi Brian - it's on the list to do!
cheers jeff, That will be very welcome, And by many i,m sure..........can,t wait....ATB Bri
Hi Jeff. Really enjoy and appreciate your videos. They're helping me greatly since I'm a nubie to drone flying. But I do fly RC aircrafts which helps. The question I have is in the production of your videos. What software and equipment are you using to make your productions? Is that expensive? Cool videos! Thanks. Frank
Hi Skyleap - I've been battling the flu so I'm slow to respond. I'm glad to hear the videos are helping you out!
I first used Sony Movie Studio to make my videos - that came with an audio editor (the name escapes me) that I use to create and clean up the narration. I moved up to Sony Vegas - you probably wouldn't need to do that because Vegas is a very expensive program.
My first episodes used a really awful clip-on mic . . . I had to record the narration in my wife's closet because all her clothes baffled the reverberation in a normal room. I've since "come out of the closet" (so to speak) and purchased an audio-technica cardioid USB microphone that sounds better and is more consistent.
I've got more cameras than I know what to do with LOL. Panasonic G7 is my primary video camera now.
I've got a powerful computer system but it may be overkill. You want a newer processor, lots of RAM and a dedicated video card with lots of VRAM.
Hello there Jeff! So, I'm having the dreaded "gimbal drift" intermittent, and I suspect it has to do with the magnetometer, as yawing L/R causes drift angle up/down... thoughts? I JUST got my q500 4k back from Yuneec for a bad motor (right out of the box...) and am very hesitant to send it BACK in.
Hi CW - So when you yaw L/R your gimbal drifts up and down? That's a new one on me. I've experienced drift of the entire quad when it should be hovering, but never a gimbal drift.
On occasion my gimbal will tilt on its own, just slip down or up; I've never thought much about it, just put it back to where it was and kept going. Is that what you're describing? If so, I've had that happen many times and it's never presented a problem with regards to flying, just a minor irritation that I can address on the spot.
Can you describe what you're experiencing in a bit more detail?
My mistake, yes, horizontal tilt with L/R yaw. It's not as prevalent at the moment as others have experienced, though I fear it may get worse. I've been perusing the boards and it appears it's not only a known issue by Yuneec, but a pretty common one with owners of the Q500 4K CGO3 specifically, in the air or on the hand set. As I said, I suspect it has to do with the gimbal's magnetometer (slider on top next to circuit board, like in a mobile phone)
when calebrating when finished 4/5 degree turns and place back on ground does the nose need to point toward north again and whats the color of the light when finished Thanks a lot
Este Drone dispoe de GEOreferenciador?
Hey Jeff do i need to calibrate motor after replacement? I replaced type A motor and now i see it is pulling it towards this new motor - like it would have more power. What do you think?
definitely replace all of the motors! The new motor will be brand new and have no deterioration in the performance and the old motors will.
I got one it flies good but i see the controls are reversed i push up on the stick it goes back pull back on the stick it goes forward. Can that be fixed
Hi Jeff, just subscribed, great helping video for us Q500 beginners. I have one question/clarification though. I received mine yesterday, and manual says for compass calibration to keep turning 45 degrees and rotating once, but do this till 360 degrees are completed. Is this correct, or am i missing something? Keep these great videos coming my friend. Great !!!!
Glad you signed up! I don't think it would work to do a full 360 degree rotation. Once you perform the number of rotations I describe, you'll see the indicator light change, which is telling you to put the aircraft down on the ground.
Give it a try my way and see if it works for you. If it fails, you can always do it again to get it right.
BTW, Yuneec instruction manuals leave a lot to be desired. They're incomplete and sometimes just wrong. Read the manual for sure, but be prepared for . . . adjustments LOL
Hey Jeff.. I'm having some trouble calibrating the accelerometer. I tried calibrating it but I don't end up with the right LED lights. Maybe I'm standing too close to the quad when I try to calibrate it?
Hi Derek. You could try stepping back further . . . I'm betting there is some kind of interference where you're doing the calibration. Have you tried moving the aircraft to a different spot and then doing the calibration?
+Jeff Sibelius i will try to calibrate from a ferther distance away, and Im going to see if I can find a more open space.. thanks.
Jeff, do I understand correctly that you have 30 seconds to complete the entire compass calibration process...with all the 45 degree rotations?? Thanks.
That's my understanding. If you take too long it is supposed to time out. It sounds like you have to rush but time how long my calibration took in this video - it's actually a lot of time. If you do time out, don't worry. Just start the calibration over and try again.
Could I Calibrate the accelerometer inside the house or does it have to be away from buildings like the GPS calibration
You don't have to be outside to calibrate the accelerometer. I typically do mine inside on a table that I know is level.
Jeff Sibelius 👍
I just got my Q500 4k back from the shop after it had the GPS and compass replaced. First flight was problematic in that the craft would fly off in different directions on its own regardless of stick input. I recalibrated the compass and the craft was all over. I recalibrated the compass again and it still flew all over the place. I guess I give the shop a call again tomorrow. This thing has spend more time in the shop than in the air.
the battery i got with mine feels swelled a little is that a problem and will it still charge
Hey Jeff, waiting for part 5 of your class, my Q500 arrived two days ago. I've done all the charging (damn that transmitter took forever!) and updated firmware for transmitter. My Q500 had a little label under it's belly that stated the firmware version and mine has the latest, so I won't be doing quad updates. I don't think I need the latest gimbal update as my quad came pretty much up-to-date. What I do need is a compass app like the one you use. What's the name of that app and was it free? Thanks for all of your informative videos and assistance. DJ SOUL FORCE
I was actually working on episode number five this evening so it should be posted very soon. I don't believe Yuneec has worked out the details for doing the gimbal update yet so you're good there.
The compass app I use on my iPhone is the compass that actually came with the iPhone. I didn't add that to my phone at all, not that I remember anyway.
The transmitter does take a long time to charge. Fortunately, once you get it charge that last for several flights.
Which Q 500 did you get?
Jeff Sibelius Thanks Jeff, I'll have to search for a compass in Google play store for my android phone. I bought the 4K version. Man, this thing is a beast, should do the maiden flight tomorrow, weather permitting. Thanks again, looking forward to next "class!"
+DJ SOUL FORCE Thanks, DJ - I appreciate your posts a lot.
Jeff Sibelius I did the maiden flight and all went well. Just wondering if there is a setting for speed or velocity? I read all the manuals, just wondering if I overlooked it or it doesn't exist. So far, I'm very pleased with the Q500 and it's ease of use. I also own a Phantom 3 Standard and XK Detect X-380. One thing I'm missing from the Q500 is an auto panoramic mode, but I'm thinking that'll come with a simple firmware update! Keep up the good work Jeff, thanks.
+DJ SOUL FORCE the circular slider on the right side of your transmitter allows you to change speeds - it has a turtle on one side and a rabbit on the other. You can slide that forward or back to change speeds.
The Q500 is a slow aircraft. The P3 is much faster and I imagine the x380 is as well. The last firmware update for the Q500 increased the speed of rabbit mode but it's still slower than any other major brand of aerial video quads.
Auto panoramic mode? I'm not familiar with that one. I didn't see it listed as a planned feature of the new Typhoon H coming from Yuneec in the middle of 2016 either. The only thing I can think of would be for still photos - the aircraft is so stable that you can get a good panorama video simply by yawing the aircraft.
I just bought the yuneec Q500 4k and I'm super nervous to fly it...to the point I wanna take in person training classes first lol...
Hi Mohamed - I understand how you feel exactly. I bought my first drone and let it sit for over a month because I was afraid I'd crash it. LOL
You're doing the right thing in researching how to fly on UA-cam. Seeing other people do it and explain what they're doing will give you confidence.
Some ideas to make sure your first flight is a success:
Do your flight on a day that has very little wind. Check the website weather.com or uavforecast.com to see what wind predictions for your area will be. Try to fly when winds are below 5-7 miles per hour.
Pick an open park or field so you've got plenty of space.
Follow the preflight steps in my videos 1-2 to make sure the aircraft is ready.
Keep your first flight simple. Plan on pracicing take-off, hover, test what each stick does separately, landing. Short flight of a couple minutes. Then do the same thing again. Build your confidence. Have a plan on what you want to try before you take off.
If you fly in smart mode, be sure to stay more than 26 feet away when you launch.
Keep your first flights within 100 feet or so so you can keep a close eye on it. Also, fly higher than 10-15 feet to give yourself some vertical safety space.
Keep the drone in front of you during all flights. Flying it directly overhead or behind you can be a little trickier.
In subsequent flights, add new techniques - using both sticks together, follow me / watch me, etc.
Record your flights so you can practice working on video editing as well as flying.
Be confident and give it a try! And do me a favor - post back here and let me know how things went.
Good luck!
I most certainly will back. thanks Jeff.. you made it a lot easier now... you're the man..
Happy to help!
Hi Jeff! i wonder if you could give me a solution on why my Yuneec q 500 4k won't even start the engines when i carry it to a higher elevation spot in order to fly it (eg 3000 ft high on the mountain). Screen goes totally blind on ground station monitor and then nothing. Have in mind, that all firm. updates are done. Thanks in advance.
Gabriel.
Wow, that's an odd problem. Looking at the user manual, it says that if you try to take off above 8,000 feet MSL the motors won't start. That doesn't explain your transmitter's behavior, however. Check to make sure you're not trying to fly above 8000 feet above mean sea level, and then I'm going to have to refer you to Yuneec tech support. Let me know what you find out, please. I'm curious on this one.
Thank you very much! i ll try to get in touch with Yuneec tech support, and i will let you know! (altitude when i tried to fly the bird was not more than 3000 ft according to my garmin GPS)
hey Jeff do you have to do both calibration each time you fly in different locations?
No, as a matter of fact I'd discourage that because the compass calibration process is kinda tough on your gimbal. (spinning the aircraft around flops the camera around quite a bit.) I fly all over the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex and don't recalibrate. I've driven from DFW to San Antonio (250 miles?) and didn't calibrate.
Always calibrate when you first get your drone and after a firmware update. Calibrate if you travel long distances.
One more tip - every time you launch your drone, pop it up in the air and let it hover for 15-20 seconds. Watch it. Does it sit in place or does it circle around in a slow circle? If it does the circle motion - this is called toilet bowl effect - carefully land the aircraft and do a calibration. I test my aircraft this way every flight. Give it 20 seconds to make sure it's locked in on its GPS and calibrated properly, and you can fly with confidence.
so when you first got it do you have to do both calibration? or you can you just do one?
I would encourage you to do both calibrations before the first flight. Remember, the aircraft was originally set up and calibrated in China, then shipped to your location. It might fly with no problem, but that's quite a distance from its previous calibration point (unless you live in China, that is).
The calibrations for the Q500 are pretty simple, and it fails the drone will give you an audible warning. If that happens, just do the calibration again.
Thabks again jeff.. I know Im bombarding you lots of questions.. one more thing.. do I have to register this specific drone(yuneec Q500 4k) with FAA? Cuz best buy told me I don't have to get it register..
Ask away, I do this channel because I enjoy helping out new pilots.
Yes, you definitely have to register the Q500 with the FAA if you live in the US, whether you fly for fun or fly commercially. It's easy to do and costs only $5 so it's not a big deal - and if you don't want to mark up your nice looking drone, you can put the registration number on your battery or inside the drone. As long as it can be accessed without the use of tools, it's legal.
Ahhhhhh, Best Buy. I'm going to do a video on where you should and should not buy drones, and this is one reason why I steer people away from big box stores. They gave you false information that could have earned you a fine because they don't know what they're talking about.
CAN THE ACCELEROMETER CALIBRATION BE DONE INDOORS?
IS THE BINDING OF THE Q500'S CAMERA & DRONE DONE FROM THE FACTORY?
Yes, you can do the accelerometer calibration indoors - I typically do mine that way because I have a surface I know is extremely level.
You should receive your Q500 already bound - the camera / drone and transmitter should all be connected when you take it out of the box the first time.
Hello Jeff, I have a problem with my ST10+ interface since i've buy the Q500 4K. No indication of the distances of the drone ( Height and distance) Do you think it could be an accelerometer calibration problem or compass ? i've done compass well, but accelerometer do not know...thanks for help me Jeff.
That is not a problem with your accelerometer, Thierry.
When you start up your aircraft does it connect with satellites to give you GPS connection?
Thank you Jeff to answer me. Yes my RC is connected with GPS
I've no indication about drone speed too...i've forgot to say it ! :)
in the maryland area just got mines would love to hook up and fly if your close by
horace thank you
+Horace Dudlex Hi Horace - I'm in Texas, but we may be planning a trip to Delaware / Maryland later this year!
Does a Ready to Fly Q500 need to be calibrated?
Hi, Just flew my Q500+ for the first time today. Calibrated compass before flight. The first battery I flew about 18 minutes and decided to change batteries. After powering off, installing new battery and powering back on I made sure I had 14 satellites on transmitter and 10 satellites on drone. It flew about 2 minutes then I got a warning on transmitter screen saying "Warning GPS signal lost". The drone was only 35 feet away. I lost complete control and the wind carried it off. The transmitter was unresponsive. The drone crashed about 60 feet away. All batteries in drone and transmitter had power. Any ideas on what went wrong. I was also in an open area.
+generac43 Sorry to hear what happened. :-( I'm glad you were flying in an open area for your first flights. Frankly, the potential for a mechanical issue is another reason why I encourage people to do that to begin with. The Q500 has a terrific reliability record but ANY mechanical device can have defects, so doing first flights with no one or no thing around is a good idea.
Just reading what you posted, it sounds like a mechanical issue with the transmitter or the quad itself.
The fact that you flew a full battery with plenty of satellite connection right before the problem indicates that you weren't blocked from GPS signal, and your problem doesn't sound like it's environmental. Especially if you were only 35 feet away when everything went bad.
You should not lose control of the aircraft if you lose GPS - you should still be able to fly it manually. If you're an inexperienced pilot you might have trouble flying manually, but you said the tx was nonresponsive - that's not a question of skill.
Were you recording video at the time? Do you have a media card in your transmitter to record telemetry?
If you have video of the incident, put it up on UA-cam so people can see and maybe help diagnose. I encourage you to post your experiences on the following discussion forum to get feedback from other pilots: www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2272622
Also, you should call Yuneec tech support immediately. Their support team is great.
How bad was your quad damaged in the crash?
+Jeff Sibelius
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your quick response. I did not have an SD card in the transmitter and the video I was recording during the crash was corrupted. All video prior to the battery change was fine.
Thankfully the Q500+ wasn't up more then about 20 feet as it descended diagonally downward into small some small desert shrubbery which flipped it on it's back. It was about 90 ft from me by the time it crashed. There were 2 broken propellers and some dirt which wiped off.
I called Yuneec and their tech had very little info. I did most the talking and suggested maybe a Firmware update and re-binding the unit. (I read somewhere some guy had the same problem and this helped him). The tech said he would suggest the same thing. But didn't think it would fix the problem. He had nothing else to add. I had to pump him with questions. I also had the 4 second green light on then 1 second off in Safe mode and 4 second purple light on and 1 second off in angle mode. He said it was normal. I will cautiously fly again and see what happens.
Thanks again and I will check out the forum link.
+Jeff Sibelius
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your quick response. I did not have an SD card in the transmitter and the video I was recording during the crash was corrupted. All video prior to the battery change was fine.
Thankfully the Q500+ wasn't up more then about 20 feet as it descended diagonally downward into small some small desert shrubbery which flipped it on it's back. It was about 90 ft from me by the time it crashed. There were 2 broken propellers and some dirt which wiped off.
I called Yuneec and their tech had very little info. I did most the talking and suggested maybe a Firmware update and re-binding the unit. (I read somewhere some guy had the same problem and this helped him). The tech said he would suggest the same thing. But didn't think it would fix the problem. He had nothing else to add. I had to pump him with questions. I also had the 4 second green light on then 1 second off in Safe mode and 4 second purple light on and 1 second off in angle mode. He said it was normal. I will cautiously fly again and see what happens.
Thanks again and I will check out the forum link.
+generac43 AFTER Firmware update to v.1.07 and re-bind. My Q500+ is currently v.1.06.
+generac43 Try putting the SD card back into the camera, boot up the TX and quad, and then just start and stop the video a couple times. Your last video clip is corrupted because you probably didn't hit stop record button when it crashed. Sometimes - not always but sometimes - if you put the card in and do the stop/start once or twice, it can still salvage the last recording. That would be helpful for the tech support if needed.
Check it out on that forum - I post there as "websiteauthor" so I'll see your posts. If you don't get clarification there, I would encourage you to call Yuneec back and state that the aircraft is malfunctioning and you want a ticket to have it checked out.
I'll be watching for your posts.
My q500 4K has a problem when is time to record I'll record only the sound but the video won't show up but, I don't understand why taking pictures will show up can you please help me I have send the drone to be fix about the camera because I was flying the drone and crash it to a tree causing the cables of the camera totally disconnect from the camera but I don't think they fix it right can u please help me
Hi Jonathan - It sounds like the camera was not fixed right but it is strange that it records photos but not video. The only other thing I can think of is that your computer won't play 4K video but that's really a stretch. I'm afraid you need to call Yuneec and ask about this problem.
One other idea. Try disconnecting the cable between your camera and the body of the drone and reconnecting it. Make sure it is fully connected. Then see if it will do the video.
Hi there! im planning to buy this yuneec q500, but i just wanted to ask do i really need to calibrate the drone after it gets out of the box? or is it calibrated already so you can fly it right away?
You really should calibrate it before the first flight. Chances are its previous calibration was done in China, and that's a long way away from where you are most likely. Once you've completed the calibration you probably won't need to do it again unless you travel considerable distance to your next flight location.
i see.. thank you sir.. btw im from Philippines.. So how about the range test sir? How far does this drone can fly?
I always wanted to visit the Philippines when I was in the military . . . I got as far as New Jersey. LOL
The Q500 is not a long distance flyer. I think I got mine out to 1500 feet once, but never tried to go past that. You should be able to get it even farther if you get away from cities and out in the wilderness.
i see.. thanks for the info sir.. you can always visit our country anytime sir.. guess your're already aware that some areas in our country are now in conflict but not all of it.. like for instance in my own hometown i can say our place is a lot more safe.. :)
wow that's bad news. Good that you're in a safe area though. Way too much chaos in the world right now . . .
very good video
+paul gilford Thanks!
very helpful
+Richard Quirino Thanks!
Does it matter which calibration you do first?
Some people say you should calibrate the compass first, but I asked Yuneec CS about this and they told me the order didn't matter. The calibrations don't have to be done at the same time or even in the same place. I do my compass outside at a flight location, but usually do the accelerometer indoors on a surface I know is level.
I did both My camera will not face foward always facing down is that normal?
Definitely not. If your camera is facing down while the aircraft is powered up, there is a mechanical problem that needs to get fixed OR the camera is not getting power.
With the aircraft shut off, unplug the little cable that connects the camera to the drone . . . unplug it from the drone and re-plug it in, making sure it's fully connected. Then boot it up and see if that fixes the issue.
If not - do you see any indicator light on the camera while powered up? Do you see the video signal from the camera on your transmitter? You'll need to call Yuneec CS and they'll want to know if the camera is receiving power and sending its signal to the transmitter or not.
wao thanks for the fast reply I'll check it now
thanks for your help all good you earned ny subscription big thumbs up
Was it the loose cable?
I'm glad to have been able to help.
Thank you verry much!!!!
my pleasure - glad it helped!
I bought mine from a fella 30 miles away. He is the second owner. He bought it from the original owner, a pilot. . I don't know how far it traveled from the original owner. It has never crashed to the best of my knowledge and it maintained the original gimbal wire until I lost control with it when I lost SAT LOCK and the wind pushed it into the side of my house at 6' and when it dropped, the gimbal rolled away from the crash scene LOL.... The craft is in perfect condition, except for some scrapped up paint stained blades and I installed the supplied spare wire to the craft and gimbal that states' HA! THIS IDIOT CRASHED! HA HAHA! LOL..... MY questions are do we have magnetic interference and lose SAT lock often?? Wouldn't this scare folks from flying??I had 12 SATS lock at first. It was when I rose to 6' TWICE, that I lost lock. I must always assume I will lose LOCK. I don't want to be 300 feet up and lose 'LOCK' and then control. My main question is>> SHOULD I CALIBRATE etc. just to be safe? I don't think it would hurt. Maybe the original owner lives in Texas or California for all I know. Maybe the original owner mailed it to the guy in Daytona Beach. I think IF I DON"T KNOW the history, I should calibrate. BUT, should I have too?
Instructions from Yuneec say to rotate to the left. Not the right. I will PM you the instructions. Please correct your video.
Hi modex - this has been discussed previously . . . the instructions say to turn counter clockwise, but Ryan, the guy in charge of Yuneec USA tech support, demonstrated the calibration and turned it to the right. Given the quality of the written instructions (or lack thereof) i prefer to go with Ryan's instruction. I've done many calibrations turning to the right and they've all worked.
Did Ryan demonstrate this via video? iPhone videos filmed in "selfie" mode (screen pointing towards yourself) are inverted horizontally, swapping left and right.Was there anything in Ryan's video that had text so you could see if this was the case? What about his shirt - which side were the buttons on? Did he have one or two shirt pockets? Single pockets are always (mostly?) on the wearer's right.Men's and Women's shirts button on opposite sides. Then again, if he's a cross-dresser, that's not really helpful LOL
Yuneec's official video shows rotating the aircraft to the left during calibration, and your video shows & states to rotate to the right... Does it matter which direction?
.... And this guy shows an extra 45 & spin! ua-cam.com/video/niBU6IUf-Gg/v-deo.html
Does calibration help it flys higher could anyone let me know if it does that please thank Graham 😊👍👍👍