4. Normal Operating Procedures
This Section contains checklists and describes extended procedures for the normal operation of the SIGMA25G, using standard equipment and standard payload.
4.1 System Assembly and Pre-Flight Inspection
To set up the SIGMA25G for flight, take out the aircraft from the case and set it up on a flat, non-obstructive surface. Perform a visual check to look for any flaws
Once the vehicle is out, mount the propellers in the correct orientation as shown in below fig.
Propellers must be checked before each flight for nicks or cracks and installed securely.
Ensure the propellers are installed in the correct orientation and are spinning in the correct direction. Failure to install the correct propeller in the correct position and orientation will result in an aircraft crash.
4.2 Normal Procedure for setting up the S25G
4.3.1 Powering on the Radio Controller
Do NOT power on the Radio Controller without connecting the antennae that came with it.
When preparing to fly, always turn on the radio before powering on the drone as a safe practice.
Make sure the antennae are connected to the RC properly.
Press and hold the Power button on the radio controller, the radio controller system will boot up.
Once it's powered on it will start beeping slowly. This is to indicate that the drone is not powered up yet.
4.3.2 Powering on the Aircraft
Make sure the battery is fully inserted by attempting to remove the battery without using the battery-locking latch.
Then push the battery pack firmly inward, carefully aligning the battery pack plate with the slots in the rails, you should hear a clicking sound that indicates that the battery pack is locked in place.
Lift and flip the vehicle such that you can see rails present on the bottom side of the vehicle.
4.3.3 Connecting drone to GCS
Once the radio is turned on open Bluetooth settings on your PC and click on Add new devices and pair the device named T12_XYZ as shown in the below image.
Now, open the mission planner window, set the COM port to auto, and hit connect.
Then it should assign a com port automatically and will connect.
Ensure connection to the aircraft by looking at the telemetry percentage or try switching modes and see whether the vehicle responds with a beep sound and mode changes in HUD Window.
Refer below video for instructions
4.3.4 Accelerometer calibration
Accelerometer Calibration is done in factory settings and it must only be performed after consultation from Indrones representatives.
If the aircraft is placed on a flat surface and then the horizontal line in your HUD should align with the horizon.
If the horizontal axis is misaligned, the aircraft will need an accel calibration to work properly.
For Accel Calibration please go to >> setup >>Mandatory hardware>> accel calibration>> Calibrate Accel and then follow the mission planner guide for calibration.
Click Calibrate Accel to start the full 3-axis calibration.
Mission Planner will prompt you to place the vehicle on each axis during the calibration. Press any key to indicate that the autopilot is in position and then proceed to the next orientation.
The calibration positions are: level, right side, left side, nose down, nose up, and on its back.
The vehicle must be kept still immediately after pressing the key for each step. This is more important than getting the angle exactly right, i.e. left being 90° to horizontal, etc. Except for the first “LEVEL”, the positions can be within 20° of being exact. Being still in each position as you press the key is much more important You should calibrate the board mounted in the vehicle if possible.
However, you may need to calibrate the board before it is mounted if the size/shape of the vehicle makes this difficult.
The level position is the most important to get right as this will be the attitude that your controller considers level while flying.
You can recalibrate this Level position using Mission Planner after you have installed the flight controller and are ready to fly.
Place the vehicle in its level flying attitude and use the Calibrate Level button.
[VIDEO URL HERE]
4.3.5 Compass Calibration
To calibrate the compass, follow the steps given below:
Under SETUP | Mandatory Hardware select Compass.
Under Onboard Mag Calibration, click on Start.
Hold the vehicle in the air and rotate it so that each side (front, back, left, right, top and bottom) points down towards the earth for a few seconds in turn. Consider a full 360-degree turn with each turn pointing a different direction of the vehicle to the ground. It will result in 6 full turns plus possibly some additional time and turns to confirm the calibration or retry if it initially does not pass.
As the vehicle is rotated the green bars should extend further and further to the right until the calibration completes.
Upon successful completion, three rising tones will be emitted and a “Please reboot the autopilot” window will appear you will need to reboot the autopilot before it is possible to arm the vehicle.
[VIDEO URL HERE]
4.3.6 GCS Screen Monitoring
A more detailed view of the HUD (with legend) is given below.
Airspeed (Groundspeed if no airspeed sensor is fitted)
Cross-track error and turn rate (T)
Heading direction
Bank angle
Telemetry connection link quality (averaged percentage of good packets)
GPS time
Altitude (Blue bar is the rate of climb)
Airspeed
Groundspeed
Battery status
Artificial Horizon
Aircraft Attitude
GPS Status
Distance to Waypoint > Current Waypoint Number
Current Flight Mode
4.3.7 Mission Planning and Geo-Tagging Guide
[Link for Geo-tagging guide]
4.3 Normal Operating Checklist
Wind speed (It should be below 25kmph for safe flight)
Drone battery fully charged (16.8V).
Radio Battery has sufficient charge
Check if All the propellers are mounted correctly
Battery is locked in its position properly.
Battery connector is inserted properly.
Vehicle and radio antenna are mounted and oriented properly.
Check CG of vehicle
Connect to GCS and wait until HDOP ≤ 1
Check if flight modes are set as: AltHold, Auto, Loiter
Calibrate compass
Manually lift the vehicle to the height of 1m. & check camera trigger.
Alt hold Hover test for 2 min for any weird behaviour (3-5mtr. Altitude)
Gentle control check (To ensure vehicle is responding as per command given to it)
Once all this is done, reboot and proceed for the mission.
4.4 Handling Errors and Alerts
4.4.1 About Error Messages
Low Battery
Battery failsafe has triggered, should land immediately
No GPS Fix
Warns pilot that the GPS can not get a satellite fix
Telemetry Lost
Warns pilot that the telemetry signal has been lost
High GPS hdop
GPS signal quality is insufficient
Throttle Below Failsafe
Ground controller has lost connection to the vehicle
Gyro Calibration Failed
Failed to calibrate the IMUs on the vehicle
Mode Not Armable
Operator is attempting to arm the vehicle in a mode which does not allow arming
Rotor Not Spinning
FC has detected an error attempting to run one or more motors
Vehicle is Leaning
Vehicle orientation is not suitable for takeoff
Throttle Too High
Current throttle setting is too high to arm safely (could result in spontaneous takeoff)
Safety Switch
Operator attempted to arm, but hardware arm-safety switch is engaged
Compass Calibration Running
Cannot arm, currently calibrating the compass
RC Not Calibrated
Ground control radio has not been calibrated for use with the vehicle
Barometer Not Healthy
Barometer is experiencing an error
Compass Not Healthy
Compass is experiencing an error
Compass Not Calibrated
Compass requires calibration
Compass Offsets Too High
Compass calibration has resulted in unusable offsets
Check Magnetic Field
Vehicle is near a metallic or magnetic object which is interfering with compass operation
Inconsistent Compass
Compass readings are determined to be erroneous
Check Geo Fence
Vehicle is outside of a defined fence area, not allowed to fly
Inertial Navigation System Not Calibrated
IMU calibration is needed
Accelerometers Not Healthy
IMU calibration is needed
Inconsistent Accelerometers
IMU calibration is needed
Gyros Not Healthy
IMU calibration is needed, or vehicle needs to be moved to an orientation matching the powered-up orientation
Check Board Voltage
Problem detected with power supplied to the autopilot
Inconsistent Gyros
IMU calibration is needed, or vehicle needs to be moved to an orientation matching the powered-up orientation
Check Max Angle
ANGLE_MAX parameter set to an in appropriate value
RC Failsafe
Ground controller has lost connection with the vehicle
Need GPS Lock
Operator is trying to arm vehicle in a mode where GPS lock is needed, and there is no GPS lock
EKF Home Variance
EKF has detected a difference between expected and actual home points
GPS Glitch
GPS readings indicate an error (e.g. multipathing) - GPS signal cannot be trusted
Waiting for Navigation Alignment
FC is initializing and not ready to launch
Altitude Disparity
4.5 Operating the S25G
Please adhere to the 2. Operating Limitations section and do not try to operate beyond the limits.
4.5.1 Arming the S25G
Let's start with arming the S25G safely.
Follow these steps for Arming the drone:
Turn on your transmitter.
Plug in the LiPo battery. The red and blue lights should flash for a few seconds as the gyros are calibrated (do not move the copter)
The pre-arm checks will run automatically and if any problems are found the RGB LED will blink yellow and the failure will be displayed on the ground station.
Check that your flight mode switch is set to AltHold, Auto, and Loiter.
Switch the vehicle to Loiter and wait until the LEDs blink green indicating a good GPS lock.
Arm the motors by holding the throttle down, and the rudder right for 5 seconds. Do not hold the rudder right for too long (>15 seconds) or you will begin the AutoTrim feature.
Once armed, the LEDs will go solid and the propellers will begin to spin.
Raise the throttle to take off.
4.5.2 Gentle Control Check
A gentle control check in Loiter Flight Mode is required to gauge the performance of the drone and frame.
Take off to eye-level altitude for about 10-15 seconds.
Look for any imbalances or irregularities.
Listen for abnormal sounds.
Pitch, roll, and yaw to test control response and sensitivity.
4.5.3 Mission Planning
[Video Link]
4.5.4 Landing and Disarming
Follow the following steps to manually land and disarm the S25G:
Bring the aircraft at an altitude of 2-3 meters and slowly decrease the throttle such that the aircraft slowly loses height and touches the ground.
Move and hold the left RC-Stick to the bottom left for 5 sec as indicated in the below image.
4.5.5 Post-Flight Instructions
Post-Flight Checklist:
Flight Mode Switch
Loiter
Flight Battery
Disconnect, Remove and Inspect for Damages, Check Temperature and Voltage
Aircraft Condition
Inspect
Propeller Condition
Inspect
Motor Condition
Inspect for temperature and dust
Clean Aircraft
Dust using kit
4.3.6 Flight Modes
Alt Hold
Holds altitude and self-levels the roll & pitch
Auto
Executes pre-defined mission
Loiter
Holds altitude and position, uses GPS for movements
Stabilize
Self-levels the roll and pitch axis
RTL
Returns above take-off location, may also include landing
Land
Reduces altitude to ground level, attempts to go straight down
4.3.7 LED Status and Meaning
Flashing red and blue
Initializing gyroscopes. Hold the vehicle still and level while it initializes the sensors.
Flashing blue
Disarmed, no GPS lock found. Autopilot, loiter and return-to-launch modes require GPS lock.
Solid blue
Armed with no GPS lock
Flashing green
Disarmed (ready to arm), GPS lock acquired. Quick double tone when disarming from the armed state.
Fast Flashing green
Same as above but GPS is using SBAS (so should have better position estimate).
Solid green - with single long tone at time of arming
Armed, GPS lock acquired. Ready to fly!
Double flashing yellow
Failing pre-arm checks (system refuses to arm).
Single Flashing yellow
Radio failsafe activated
Flashing yellow - with quick beeping tone
Battery failsafe activated
Flashing yellow and blue - with high-high-high-low tone sequence (dah-dah-dah-doh)
GPS glitch or GPS failsafe activated
Flashing red and yellow - with rising tone
EKF or Inertial Nav failure
Flashing Red, Blue and Green
Copter ESC Calibration mode entered. See Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) Calibration
SD Card missing (or other SD error like bad format etc.)
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