💻WattsQGC Overview

WATTSQGC APPLICATION SETTINGS

General Settings

In this menu, the user can adjust the application’s appearance, language, default measurement units, UI scaling, and other settings which affect the user’s interaction with the flight-planning application.

This menu is also where the user will manage flight data for logging purposes, adjust RTK settings, and video output settings for video streaming from the EchoSky Mobile RPS.

Note that the following screenshots are shown with the Indoor color scheme (Dark Mode). WattsQGC by default is set to the Outdoor color scheme which assists in viewing in bright sunlight. The Indoor color scheme may be chosen for operations that take place at night or in low light conditions.

Offline Maps

The user may cache map data for future use by selecting “Add New Set,” defining maximum and minimum zoom levels in the following screen, and downloading the maps to the device. The user may also import or export existing map sets. This feature is useful for mission planning for areas where mobile data and wireless networks are not available.

PRISM VEHICLE SETTINGS

Summary

This screen shows a status summary of the aircraft’s active on-board systems and settings.

PRISM

The PRISM screen displays the real-time status of the vehicle, including the motor configuration (Quadcopter vs. Coaxial X8), aircraft firmware version, total flight time of the aircraft, and total flight time for each motor/arm boom.

This screen shows status indicators for each equipped motor. Since the propulsion system components are hard-coded to operate at specific mounting locations, this screen will indicate if any propulsion systems have been installed in the wrong place (e.g.: If the front-right hard-coded boom arm has been mounted on PRISM airframe’s rear-left location). If a propulsion boom’s mounted location is correct, all motors will be green. If the location is incorrect, or the propulsion system is no longer connected, the corresponding arm location will be indicated in red. This will prevent the user from arming or taking off.

Users will download and update PRISM’s firmware from this screen, and may also change the default camera view on the main Fly screen by choosing between AUX and FPV in the drop-down menu.

FIRMWARE UPDATES: Watts Innovations will periodically release new updates for the onboard PRISM firmware. These updates will include new feature implementations, improvements and bug fixes. It is highly recommended that users continually update both WattsQGC as well as the onboard PRISM firmware to ensure optimal performance and the best user experience possible.

Radio

This menu allows users to select the control Mode for the stick inputs on the EchoSky Mobile. By default, the EchoSky Mobile is set to operate in Mode 2, which designates the left stick of the handset as the throttle/yaw control, and the right stick as the horizontal tilt control. This is the most common configuration for multirotor controls

Users may use this screen to check channel inputs from the buttons, switches, and dials on the EchoSky Mobile, and to calibrate these inputs. It is recommended to perform a calibration after changing the control Mode.

Flight Modes

Users may customize the Flight Modes linked to the channel inputs on the EchoSky Mobile. The three-position switch on the RPS is connected to Flight Modes 1, 4, and 6, and by default these inputs are set to Altitude Hold, Altitude Hold, and Position Hold.

Channel Option 7 is the RTL button on the RPS, and should always be set to perform the RTL action.

The Flight Modes screen is also where to program the control interface for a brushless gimbal or any other accessory that may be attached to PRISM.

Sensors

This screen displays the status of the Accelerometer/Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and Compass sensors. A green dot indicates healthy sensors. Users will perform required IMU and compass calibrations from this screen. IMU calibrations are accomplished by positioning the aircraft in various attitudes while the sensors take readings. Compass calibrations require the user to rotate the aircraft randomly along the major axes until the progress bar fills up, which may take about two minutes.

ACCELEROMETER CALIBRATION

PRISM’s accelerometers are calibrated from the factory and should not require an additional calibration before flight. It is important to note, however, that operations in extreme temperatures may require an additional accelerometer calibration. In order to calibrate the accelerometer, enter into Sensors -> Accelerometer, then follow the on-screen instructions. After placing the vehicle in each position, hold the aircraft still and press “Next”, until complete. Once this is finished, the vehicle must be rebooted before flight.

COMPASS CALIBRATION

PRISM’s compasses are calibrated from the factory and should not require an additional calibration before first flight. It is important to note, however, that users will need to periodically calibrate the compasses for the best performance possible. To calibrate the onboard compasses, enter the Settings -> Sensors -> Compass menu, then click OK to begin compass calibration.

While the calibration is underway, hold the drone in the air and spin it around on all axes slowly in a circular motion. The aircraft may be rotated at random, but should be rotated at least once on each of the major axes during calibration. This may take up to a few minutes to complete, so please be patient. During the compass calibration, a status bar will be displayed.

Once the calibration is complete, a readout will be shown to show the health of all three compasses. NOTE: Because a full battery loadout may be heavy, during a compass calibration it may be easier for the operator to only plug in 1 battery to reduce weight. It may be necessary to use two people to calibrate the compasses.

NOTE: Compass 1 and Compass 2 are the external compasses, mounted on the sides of the vehicle. Compass 3 is the internal compass located in the Cube. Due to its mounting location surrounded by other electronics that may emit EMF, it is not uncommon for the Compass 3 to be displayed as poor health (Yellow to Red). This is completely normal and will not cause any in-flight issues.

Battery

Users should select their battery payload from this screen by choosing from the compatible configurations in the drop- down list. This is a key step in ensuring the battery telemetry on the main flight screen is accurate.

Motors

Users may use this screen to test motors and propulsion configurations by first ensuring the propellers are removed, then swiping the toggle switch to enable the motor buttons. Users may power up motors individually for testing purposes once the buttons are enabled. This is a great tool for ensuring that the motor and propeller direction are correct. This may be useful after a propeller change.

WARNING: During this Motor Test sequence, the motors will be live and the propellers will spin. The RPM will spin quite slowly, but it is always imperative that all persons and property are clear from any spinning propeller during the Motor Test procedure.

Safety

The Safety menu controls failsafe actions and triggers, such as critical battery voltage or mAH thresholds, as well as geofencing behavior and RTL altitude.

SETTING THE LOW ACTION AND CRITICAL ACTION SETTINGS

PRISM is shipped from the factory with Battery 1 and Battery 2 low voltage protections set quite conservatively. This will ensure that an aircraft will return to home when the voltage gets too low.

Users may wish to adjust the Low Action and Critical Action characteristics for their aircraft based on the battery size and payload that is installed. It is highly recommended that these are set conservatively!

HOW TO SET THE OPTIMAL LOW ACTION AND CRITICAL ACTION SETTINGS FOR YOUR PAYLOAD AND BATTERY CAPACITY

For a number of reasons, the aircraft Low Battery voltage warning value may vary. If an aircraft is using older batteries with more cycles on them, those batteries will naturally hover at a low voltage. Also, if a heavy payload is installed on the aircraft, the voltage will naturally be lower in a hover than if it did not have a payload. For these reasons, battery voltage cannot be fully trusted to provide the pilot with fully correct situational awareness.

For this reason, the PRISM system monitors battery capacity in milliamp-hours(mAh) to ensure the full health of the pack is known at a given time. With this information, operators may choose to set the thresholds for their Low Action and Critical Action to allow the greatest time in the air, while ensuring that the the vehicle will return to home safely in the event that the Low Action or Critical Action is triggered in flight.

TUNING LOW ACTION & CRITICAL ACTION TO OPTIMAL VALUES

• Install the heaviest payload that your operation would ever require

• Install flight batteries that have the highest number of cycles on them

• Fly the aircraft and monitor the mAh consumed of both Battery 1 & Battery 2

• When the aircraft has consumed 70% of its battery capacity, note the voltage.

• When the aircraft has consumed 80% of its battery capacity, note the voltage.

The Battery 1 & Battery 2 Low Action value should be the voltage indicated when 70% of the battery capacity is expended. The Battery 1 & Battery 2 Critical Action value should be the voltage indicated when 80% of the battery capacity is expended.

Following these steps will ensure that the vehicle is configured to safely land in if the battery gets too low during flight.

The factory-set values will initiate a RTL at 43.8V and will land the aircraft at 43.5V. At any given time, the user may override the RTL by changing the flight mode to ALTHOLD.

Advanced users may choose to perform low voltage actions by capacity (mAh) instead of voltage.

Camera

This screen will be used to configure a payload gimbal and channels for mounted camera payloads.

Dual Operator

Connect two EchoSky mobile handsets together to allow one operator to fly the aircraft and the other to control the gimbal. To enable Dual Operator mode, go to the "General Settings" page and scroll to the bottom. When configured in "Gimbal" mode, the handset will display it's IP address. The "Pilot" handset will then use this IP address in the "Target IP Address" field as the endpoint to connect to. Both handsets must be connected on the same network. If no WiFi network is available, configure one handset as a Hotspot and connect the other one to it.

Modes of Connection:

Via The Same Network (In the office/testing) : Simply put both handsets on the same WiFi Network and they will be able to communicate with each other for dual operator use.

Via Personal Hotspot (Out in the field): On the Pilot radio, go to the EchoSky's Android Settings Page -> Wireless & Networks -> Tethering & Personal Hotspot. Now enable Personal Hotspot. Then, on the Gimbal radio, connect to the Pilot radio's Personal Hotspot.

Dual Operator Setup

Gimbal Radio: Choose "Enable Dual Operator", choose Gimbal, then restart the app. Upon restarting the app the Gimbal radio will show its IP Address.

Pilot Radio: Choose "Enable Dual Operator", choose "Pilot" then restart the app. Then type in the Gimbal Radio's IP Address.

Dual Operator should now be working.

NOTE: It may be necessary to restart both apps (both on the Pilot and Gimbal handset) at this time for the dual operator functionality to begin working.

When in "Gimbal" mode, you can adjust the sensitivity and polarity of the stick inputs via the "Vehicle Setup --> Radio" page by adjusting the scale factor for each channel.