Multicopter Racer Setup
Last updated
Last updated
This page describes how to setup and configure a racer for optimal performance (in particular for ).
Keep in mind that racers are fast vehicles, specifically designed to be overpowered! You should already have some experience, or let someone with experience help you.
:::tip Many things described here can also be applied to improve the flight performance of other types of multicopters. :::
:::note A racer usually omits some sensors (e.g. GPS). As a result, fewer failsafe options are available. :::
A racer usually omits some sensors.
The minimal configuration is to use only a gyro and accelerometer sensor.
:::note If the board has an internal magnetometer, it should not be used (small racers are particularly prone to strong electromagnetic interference). :::
Racers typically do not have a GPS as it adds some weight and is prone to damage during crashes (a GPS + external magnetometer must be placed on a GPS mast away from high currents to avoid magnetic interference, which unfortunately means that it is easy to break).
There are however some benefits in adding GPS, particularly for beginners:
You can go into position hold and the vehicle will just stay in one place. This is handy if you lose the orientation or need a brake. It can also be used to land safely.
can be used, either on a switch or as RC loss/low battery failsafe.
You will have the last position when it crashes.
The log contains the flight track, which means you can review the flight (in 3D). This can help to improve your acrobatic flight skills.
:::note During aggressive acrobatic maneuvers the GPS can lose its position fix for a short time. If you switch into during that time, will be used instead until the position becomes valid again. :::
Make sure to use balanced props.
Make sure that the center of gravity is as close as possible to the center of thrust. Left-right balance is usually not a problem, but front-back balance may be. You can move the battery until it is correct and mark it on the frame so you will always place it correctly.
:::note The integral term can account for an imbalanced setup, and a custom mixer can do that even better. However it is best to fix any imbalance as part of the vehicle setup. :::
After having built the racer, you will need to configure the software.
These parameters are important:
If you use a GPS you can skip this section and use the default estimator. Otherwise you should switch to the Q attitude estimator, which works without a magnetometer or barometer.
:::note Make sure to calibrate the ESCs before doing any tuning. :::
At this point you should be ready for a first test flight.
The control latency is the delay from a physical disturbance of the vehicle until the motors react to the change.
:::tip It is crucial to reduce the control latency as much as possible! A lower latency allows you to increase the rate P gains, which means better flight performance. Even one millisecond added to the latency makes a difference. :::
These are the factors that affect the latency:
A soft airframe or soft vibration mounting increases latency (they act as a filter).
PX4 software internals: the sensor signals need to be read in the driver and then pass through the controller to the output driver.
Now do a second round of PID tuning, this time as tight as possible, and also tuning the thrust curve.
Happy flipping :)
The following paragraphs describe a few important points when building the vehicle. If you need complete build instructions, you can follow the build log.
There are various mounting approaches to reduce vibrations. For example, the flight controller can be mounted with vibration dampening foam, or using .
While there is no single best method, you will typically have fewer problems with vibrations if you use high-quality components (frame, motors, props) as for example used in the .
Go through the . In particular, set the that most closely matches your frame (typically you will choose the airframe, which sets some racer-specific parameters by default).
Enable One-Shot or DShot by selecting the protocol for a group of outputs during .
Set the maximum roll-, pitch- and yaw rates for Manual/Stabilized mode as desired: , and . The maximum tilt angle is configured with .
The minimum thrust should be set to 0.
To select it, set to 1, and change the following parameters:
Set to 0 if the system does not have a magnetometer.
Set to 0 if the system does not have a barometer.
Configure the Q estimator: set to 0, to 0.4 and to 0. You can tune these later if you wish.
Configure . If you do not use a GPS, set the failsafe to Lockdown, which turns off the motors. Test RC loss on the bench without props attached by turning off the remote when the vehicle is armed.
Make sure to assign a or an . Test it and train to use it!
Assuming the vehicle is able to fly using the default settings, we then do a first pass of . The vehicle needs to be undertuned (the P and D gains should be set too low), such that there are no oscillations from the controller that could be interpreted as noise (the default gains might be good enough). This is important for the (there will be a second PID tuning round later).
in software and on the sensor chip trade off increased latency for improved noise filtering.
The IO chip (MAIN pins) adds about 5.4 ms latency compared to using the AUX pins (this does not apply to a Pixracer or Omnibus F4, but does apply to a Pixhawk). To avoid the IO delay, disable and attach the motors to the AUX pins instead.
PWM output signal: enable the One-Shot protocol to reduce latency. The protocol is selected for a group of outputs during .
Filters trade off control latency and noise filtering, both of which impact performance. For information see:
:::tip You can use the approach described in to tune the frame, but you will need to use the to understand how to tune the thrust curve.
After you have verified that the vehicle flies well at low and high throttle, you can enable with the parameter. This feature makes sure that the vehicle is still controllable and tracks the rate at low throttle.