Practical PID Tuning - Part 1 | HOW TO TUNE A QUAD

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In this series, I take you through the entire process of PID tuning a quadcopter, from the very first maiden to the final tune. In order to make the process accessible to more people, all tuning is done using FPV video only. No Blackbox analysis is used in this process at all, although we will look at the Blackbox logs that result, just for perspective, after the tune is finished.
In part 1 of the series, I perform the initial maiden flight and get the general feel of the copter. The copter has obvious low I gain. It shows no signs of excess P gain. As a result, I raise both these values. In the second flight, P term oscillation starts to appear, indicating that P gain may be a bit high, or perhaps just right. I gain is still not quite high enough on roll in the 2nd flight, but pitch is close to correct.
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Equipment list:
Frame: Shendrones Mixuko (From Atees.com -- thanks, Atees!)
Motors: RCX 2205/2633kv
Props: KingKong 5040
ESCs: Littlebee 20A
Flight Controller: FPV Model Xracer F303
OSD / PDB: RedRotor RROSD Pro
Receiver: FrSky X4R-SB
FPV Camera: HS1177
Video Transmitter: TS5823
All-up weight with 1300 mAh 4S battery is about 435g.

[@ademczuk]

That was about the best PID tuning lesson I have seen so far. Keep it up!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Andrew Demczuk glad you liked it. More is coming.

[@TomMarvoloRiddle01]

I have a question. When i roll my quad fast then is there kind a lag or however i should say this, it does not make smoth rolls. What could that be and how can i correct that ?

[@alexhancock9738]

I get this too i dont know what it is ?

[@ambermeows150]

Really great guide for PID tuning, a lot more informative compared to other videos on KZbin. Thanks josh! Looking forward to the rest of the series.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Amber Meows Glad it's helpful.

[@Invitingsauce]

My new favorite video. Good stuff. I finally managed to wrap my head around rate mode flying. Now I'm on to Tuning. Nice timing in this video. I have a feeling this is a huge help for a lot of people.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Hope so. Thanks for watching!

[@VikingenMan]

Yes this man tells it so everyone understands it. Love this guy. Im promoting his channel for alot of beginners. If they see his videos they will learn it right away. Instead of watching 20 movies before you got to know what you need to do. So thank you sir! Please keep up the good work. Best of luck from Norway. Peace and wisdom be with you sir.

[@michaelwilkes0]

@Joshua Bardwell I am re-watching these videos to help me tune a new flight controller. Thanks again for the great videos.

[@andrewroos6035]

Thanks, this is the best practical intro to tuning I have found yet. Can't wait for the rest of the series! Looking forward to making use of your insight on my (first quad) ZMR250 (although perhaps with some BB analysis thrown in too).

[@sourlikealime]

there i was thinking you could not possibly explain it any better than you did until now, still amazes me how good you are in explaining stuff :D keep them videos coming!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Chris S. Wow! What a nice thing to say. Thanks!

[@jimilongtube]

Brilliant, as always, I've just built my first 250 quad, flown it yesterday for the first time (having used your previous vids to learn how to fly in FPVfreefider). It flies well but I'm now keen to learn more about the PID's and see if I can't get more out of my quad. Perfect timing :-)

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Hope it helps you tune better.

[@badrulmohdradzi]

This is brilliant Joshua. Your effort to share your knowledge is simply amazing. Number 1 mini quad's guru for me, and a lot of my friends too.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+bard moon thanks. Very glad to hear it's helpful.

[@sayubu]

This PID tuning session is exactly what everyone was looking for. Thanks Josh

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Thanks! Glad to hear it.

[@jester3265]

Joshua, you are a highly talented guy. Thank so much for sharing your experience in words that I can understand and put to practical use. Big fan of this tutorial, patiently waiting for part two. Respect.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Lee Swifty happy flying!

[@th3hunt3r85]

Thanks so much, this is one of the best tuning videos ever ! just waiting for the second part :) hoping to be uploaded soon :)

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Yes, coming soon. I can't remember but today or tomorrow I think.

[@widgets76]

Thanks for doing these videos; makes it so much easier to understand than just reading about it!

[@adamk.3946]

this video has been more helpful than any other pid tuning video I have seen yet! part 2 PLEEASE!!! :-)

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Thanks for the kind words! I am editing part 2 now. It should post some time in the coming week.

[@Lambtoslaughter]

Great work Josh, just started tuning my first homebuilt quad, this is so useful :-)

[@kade426]

great work with the voice over while it's happening and replaying a clip many times to firmly show the oscillation sounds. I have an armattan with integrated fc coming any day now and the best part is its basically the naze rev5 aka the good naze with a 8mb flash chip. looking forward to black box tunning.

[@phildawe7172]

excellent and so practical. another great training lesson. explained well. looking forward to the next one

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Thanks very much.

[@LeakyMeat]

Great video, super helpful, look forward to the rest of the series.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Coming in about a week, unfortunately. Wish I could get them out sooner...

[@likevvii]

When you said "without black box" I clenched my fist and said, "YESSSSSS!!!"

[@HumbleHeartMinistry]

Man, I`ve sure got a lot to learn! Glad I came across your channel! Subscribed!

[@silvaramajere]

I'm still struggling with my first build, but this is a great video hope to see more.

[@piotrpoletajew9615]

How come did I miss this video... you are doing a lot for the hobby man!

[@carsonries7305]

I just wanted to tell you thank you for every bit of information you have given us all. Your time and dedication is much appreciated. I cant wait to see whats in store for the future. Hope to meet you one day. I even subscribed on my wife's account to hopefully help out lol.

[@ArifRahmanMY]

Your have a very intuitive understanding of PIDs! Interesting!

[@captbuscemi]

Great to see, really looking forward to this series going forward.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Part 2 posts tomorrow morning at 9 AM EDT.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Just posted it now, an hour early. Enjoy!

[@djilly75]

Exactly the video I need but wow so intimidating because so much information

[@justabustfpv]

Awesome video, thanks for taking the time to make it.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Hope it's helpful!

[@swarmfpv635]

This will be very popular Joshua, Great work.

[@Quadcopterguide]

I friggin love that yard.. I can imagine Joshua riding a nice riding mower in the zone just mowin' :D. Thanks for another great vid

[@MrSabram07]

I know that is absolutely beautiful

[@TT_R89]

Thank you, this is exactly what I wanted to see.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Awesome!

[@voidfpv]

Exactly the kind of PID tuning series I need! Great work man!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Awesome! Thanks.

[@connerprince1748]

same! I was tuning last night and couldn't figure out why I could hear a loud vibration(so much vibration it vibrated one of my motors screws loose causing it to crash), so now once I've seen this video I think my yaw P is to high. It was shaking really fast immediately after arming once I got in the air it was OK but under 50% throttle it would shake and could hear the oscillation, does that sound like a high yaw P? sorry about the long ramble I just need help.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

It's hard to judge. High P would usually manifest under higher throttle and go away under lower throttle. At a certain point, it's not certain what is causing the issue and it's a matter of trial and error to solve it.

[@connerprince1748]

Joshua Bardwell also one more thing. When should I set my expo? Before or After tuning PIDS

[@JoshuaBardwell]

it shouldn't matter too much I don't think. If the copter is basically flyable, the finer points of setting expo and rates can be put off until later. But personally I try to set the expo and rates right off the bat so the copter flies like I expect it to. Until betaflight 2.8, I have been basically copying the same rates forward since like betaflight 2.1.6. With 2.8, the rates changed (super expo) and I will have to re-calibrate my expectations going forward. Look for a video series r.e. setting rates soon.

[@nachomahn]

Thank you for this series!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Thanks for watching.

[@ryanozrcphoto9135]

Mate awesome video. Very aptly named extremely practical explaining visual effects and audio, so good. FB sharing the crap out if this 😁

[@frostlife]

Thank you for the video! If I understand correctly... Keep raising P gain (on all axis) until you see oscillations. Then lower them very slightly. It should feel locked in. For I gain, do a punch out and see if the quadcopter holds its place and doesn't "drift". How will I know if I gain is too high? For D gain, just do hard turning maneuvers and see if there's any oscillations. Keep turning it up until they're gone. If it's too high, it will feel sloppy.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Generally correct. If I gain is too high, the copter may oscillate in extreme cases. There may also be bounce-back after flips and rolls, although Betaflight has logic to prevent this. Excess I gain on yaw may result in the copter feeling like it wants to "pull into" or "pull out of" a turn at the end. This is because the I term on the yaw axis takes longer to return to neutral than the roll axis, because I gain is too high. For D gain, you can't simply raise D arbitrarily. Eventually you get excess D gain and hot motors. You can destroy a motor or ESC this way.

[@Silvertinge291]

great vid Josh. I started tuning newest betaflight yesterday and am basically where you end this vid. Kept raising P as stick feel is way better but lots of 180 turn prop wash while at speed. ran out of lipos to finish lol

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Betaflight 2.7 and raise D gain a bit.

[@Silvertinge291]

+Joshua Bardwell i am on 2.7. will try that

[@GalihZac]

Hello sir, im from indonesia. I'm your new subscriber. Thanks for your lesson video, i'm loving it 👍

[@MSFloriandel]

Hi Josh, again a perfect vid. I like your scientific approach to explain things. Very Very Professional. Im looking forward to part 2 of the vid You know when its going to come out yet ?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Actually, right this minute!

[@sqwert654]

very much appreciate your work

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+sqwert thanks for saying so!

[@pevle5531]

Great job !! Thanks a lot !

[@tahosrfr]

I totally get that. Keep those Vids coming Josh:)

[@Tigerwilson88]

Here's a summary of this video for those who need it...like me. 1. Punch out full throttle and see if it pitches, rolls, or yaws. If it does, raise the I gain on the corresponding axis. 2. Raise P gain until you see Oscillations, or go high on P gain (create oscillations) and lower until they go away. P gain oscillations in hard turns are even sounds verses hi D gain oscillations which are warbling sounds. 3. Once you get the P gain set with slight oscillations in turns but not in regular flying..up the D-gain to tame them down.

[@puppetx]

Have you ever told Chopper to "sick balls"? Also thanks for this and all the other videos you post, they are a big help to me!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+puppetx that's who he's named after!

[@phoenixfpv9391]

This is exactly what i need to further tune my quad. I have it good right now, but I wonder if I can make it better but not sure what behaviour to recognize and how to correct it. Thank you Joshua!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

First, make sure that P gains are high enough. This is the single biggest thing you can do to give a sharp, locked-in feel. But not too high! Okay... so that's not super helpful I guess. My point is, there is a place where P gains are okay, and the copter seems to fly well, but you still have some small tuning issues to work out. And then you raise P gain another 1-2 points and suddenly it's flying EVEN BETTER. So if you stop raising P when the copter seems to fly well, you may not go far enough. This is why I always raise P to the oscillation point then back down.

[@phoenixfpv9391]

So my P is as high as it can be. It feels stable on hard throttle and when I cut motors to drop down. I enjoy high rates at 0.60. My uncertainty lies in continuous correction when making turns or lining up an obstacle. I'm not sure if it's because of my piloting skills (or lack thereof). I haven't touch the I or the D yet, but I have PID adjustments configured on my Taranis so I can do changes without plugging in. For I and D should they be as high as possible or as low as possible? I haven't watched Part 2-3 yet, so don't answer if that is the case. I'm literally watching your videos with pen and paper. I've watched many videos but yours are easily the most complete and with great explanations. You do it so well.... you must be an instructor for something :-)

[@phoenixfpv9391]

Another aspect as a new pilot, is that I don't know if the configuration in PID are the best that it can be. I feel that this is one of those things that you don't know what you are looking for but once you find it you get it. Does that make any sense? Another question is should I reduce my rates while configuring PID or is that completely unrelated. Thanks

[@blackmennewstyle]

Very nice :) I can not wait for part two :D Hurry up, hurry up :p

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+ABMNS PRODUCTION Sorry to say, it's going to be at least a week. I queued up videos for my business trip, and I haven't even started editing part 2, although it is shot. Videos are currently queued through May 29. I will be back home on Friday, and I know this series is hugely in demand, so it will be my top priority.

[@blackmennewstyle]

Joshua Bardwell No worry Joshua :) I know you are busy these few weeks! You made it pretty clear in the previous videos! Take your time and have a great business trip ;)

[@TheMiley814]

JB...I finally got the nutz to fly my riot 250pro that I showed you at FF east. and I agree with all the advice you and others give with getting something sturdy and flying in acro. I was scared shitless until after 3 or 4 total crashes, then I realized this thing is made to wreck.... I went from nervous to just having fun and went home with alot of info...

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Honestly, the less scared of wrecking you are, the faster you will learn. The flip-side is you may lose a few copters so it's a toss-up.

[@TheMiley814]

I am going to hang my broken props on my wall at work...I think I will need a bigger wall???lol

[@TheMiley814]

I have a special place on my wall at work for broken props. but I think I will need a bigger wall...lol

[@TheMiley814]

thanks dude....yea hovering is good but hitting the throttle is a total new experience. it just go's like a bat out of hell. but I love it. when i try to stop it and bring it back twords me it flips about 3 or 4 times and plants into the dirt.....i will learn..

[@yeboi1972]

Ik I’m late but I was so confused with what to set my pids on and now my quad flies beautifully

[@Cc-nj2zm]

What if on a pilon turn the front dips down too much? What pid should I look at given that scenario?

[@tahosrfr]

Didn't want to put you out, just thought it would be helpful for us Newbs to help get are heads around the theory:) I appreciate your efforts

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+tahosrfr no worries suggestions are always welcome.

[@einsteind]

Hi came across a problem I haven't noticed before with, GF7042's I get hotter motors/cool ESC's and with dal T7056C props I get hotter ESC's and cool motors ? which is worse ? thanks

[@Sqwince23]

Can someone please explain the difference between the cleanflight MultiWII controller settings vs the Betaflight PID in 3.1? I'm just confused between values in the first one being under 1 (ie:4.5) where the P value in Betaflight default is 44. Is there any direct correlation between these numbers? for instance does 4.5 shown in this video correlate to 45 in the new BF PID screen?

[@adammitrani8152]

hi joshua, hopefully i can explain this clearly. a few of my quads have a very ice skating feel when flying. For example, if i were to give pitch forward and let off of the pitch it doesnt brake and stop on a dime like my other quads. sort of if like if you push off on ice skate how even after u stop trying to move your body slide against the ice until its loses energy or i give counter motion. how do i prevent/adjust/correct this? i assume its a pid issue not a rate or somthing else.

[@JT-jy2sy]

I got a zmr250, it wobbles a bit during take off. once it is up wobbles stop. another scenario is I push the throttle up high as it quickly rises I quickly push the throttle stick down. it wobbles as it falls then stablise. with or without air mode made no different. do you think that could be prop wash i.e may be d gain is low?

[@roberterwin128]

Really appreciate you

[@colin300]

After all these years we are still coming back

[@em3mny]

@Joshua Bardwell Talking of puppies... how did you get your dog used to the quad? Mine goes nuts and chases it everywhere.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

He chased it like crazy until he wore himself out and eventually figured out he wasn't going to catch it.

[@propabilityfpv303]

my dog broke a window jumping against it trying to eat my quad. no joke my mom was so pissed

[@shutdahellup69420]

@@propabilityfpv303 lol poor pup

[@StormadoMan]

I live in a terraced house in a village on the edge of a small city, I only have a front garden, it is 2 metres square.. You sir are sooooo lucky :) all that space.. Great video thanks!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Patrick Wilson 2 meters square... you are going to get really good at proximity LOS!

[@StormadoMan]

+Joshua Bardwell :) I can hover my Cheerson CX-10 there, almost..

[@timothyciarlette8250]

Joshua, this is Tim from the Future, nice job on this vid, hope the Baby is doing fine.

[@rodrigolarenas]

Hey Josh!! great videos we are following you for a while, very didactical great quality videos!! congrats from Chile. I you don't mind I Have a question. i'm using Naze32 w/ 5040 props flying nice and neat, yesterday I try a 3-blade 5045 fiberglass props and the bastard starts to fly unstable, like bumping in angle mode I guess it's some PID tunning. i'll apreciate any sugestions. Thanks a lot!

[@frantisekbekes3500]

how do you change PIDs via OSD using your transmitter? I dont want to connect my quad to pc every time.

[@hughhemington9559]

I have a "full" BetaFlight F3 board coming from FPV Model, and what I assume is an abbreviated implementation, the EMAX Femto F3 in a kit from FliteTest. I assume the Femto won't have any data storage onboard, so this video series will be very helpful with that one. Coming from APM, I imagine there will be some similarities but many improvements too as everything now is faster and more maturely designed.

[@marcusmckay8120]

Great video one I'm waiting for for a long time Thanks ... I'm not seeing it much in your video but I will like if you can show how to maintain low level flight and reduce the altitude gain when you do a hard 180 turn. Again Thanks

[@JoshuaBardwell]

That's not tuning. Just practice throttle management.

[@throttlenerd]

Dear Joshua, considering regular 5" quad on 4S and latest (3.2.4) Betaflight -- is it better to tune a quad with Anti Gravity and Dynamic Filter off, get the most out of the quad possibilities to one's liking, and then turn on both Anti Gravity and Dynamic Filtering? Or the right way would be to tune with these features on?

[@gamerpaddy]

is there fpv solution without those flashing connection problems?

[@michaelkoster2869]

Great series, thanks! I'm trying to tune my first build this week and haven't been able to reduce the prop wash much. What should I look at most to reduce the prop wash? Is it possible to eliminate this completely?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5iUm5luat-sp6s

[@jackhammell1926]

Looks like I'm alittle late getting to this party and hopefully this question isnt too off topic but two off my motors are getting hot when the other two are not. The hotter the tune, the hotter the motors. Been trying to tune for wind resistance. Could this be a tuning issue or maybe something else? This is a Pixhawk, medium size AP rig.

[@rl2769]

I can’t get my walkera f210 to connect to beta flight. I’m assuming betaflight won’t work with the f220s flight controller. I’m new at all of this so I’m not sure.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

The internet says the F210 runs cleanflight, so it should connect to betaflight. Try this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2XcmHpsjpqtjqs

[@hansturpyn5455]

as you see Joshua the same rates have different outcomes on other frames. degree/sec seems logical but its not behaving like that ;) nice tutorial about pid tuning, i still keep learnig about it. i also noticed that switching looptime from 1000 microsec to 250 eliminates my propwash by 50%

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Hans Turpyn yup. Definitely different rates of rotation on different frames. I thought of our conversation immediately.

[@limitsizyasam3891]

2020 watching while lockdown :D

[@lanzjeff0]

so I have recently been trying to ton pids on my nigh halk pro 280 and I am giting close but when I am flaying fast and I lower throttle to center the nose pitchs down and than pops back up any help would be great as its scary when flaying fast 5 feet off the ground and it moves so sudden

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Make sure pitch P is high enough, then raise pitch I gain.

[@JT-jy2sy]

I fly in acro mode , do I need accelerometer? ppl said not but I have not tried.

[@Shoeboxchecklist]

joshua! I have a problem that I think you know how to fix. I just installed kiss FC and kiss 24a esc, steele motors, Martian III.. when I punch the throttle and drop it, the copter will roll to the right when otherwise it is under my full control. just after the drop it will tilt to the right almost full tilt. any suggestions?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Use idle_up to increase authority at low throttle? Normally I would suggest enabling air mode and maybe raising I gain, but I'm not sure how that applies to KISS.

[@BryceandKyle]

If I yaw quickly to the right & center the stock but the copter doesn't stop yaw motion but does a slow yaw left & then stop. What would that be? Thanks!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Scrapeddd Media raise yaw P gain.

[@BryceandKyle]

Thank you for the reply Joshua! Much appreciated!

[@JelectricRC]

i am just now starting and i have been flying on a simulator and i have turned my rates up a lot on there... when i go and fly my real quad i find myself moving my sticks around way too much, and flips and rolls are very slow. Will that be someting i can just change in the rates or will i have to also mess with the pids?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+JelectricRC just raise the rates or reduce expo.

[@BarnhartPhil]

Awesome video's. I noticed in my cleanflight the I2C error showing 3, in this video your I2C is showing 5. I've searched and come up with nothing to identify where or how to find the issues. Any thoughts?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+BarnhartPhil there are a few when the system first starts up. If you see it incrementing after startup that would be bad.

[@LightIsBeautyPhoto]

if you know right away which adjustments need to be made, does it make sense to just land after half a battery, tune and takeoff to maximize progress per battery? until you get into the more subtle stuff anyway...

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Yeah for sure. But be careful of making too many adjustments at once, because sometimes you will end up with some weird effect and not know what caused it.

[@anonymousfpv7268]

super helpful video man. A lot of tutorials are kind counterintuitive imo. quick question if you have the time. my quad feels really good with my tune but I'm still not great at tuning. i have this issue where if i come out of say a power loop and free fall with the copter parallel to the ground i get a rapid sort of side to side wobble where it seems as if its fighting itself. this is with kiss fc.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

That's propwash oscillation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5iUm5luat-sp6s

[@die_hertz]

What a good dog!

[@TheCrazyPentagon]

My dog goes insane just hearing the motors

[@GilDev2]

Are you mowing all that grass yourself? Lots of work needed there, and it's always impeccable! =)

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+GilDev2 yup.

[@glenby2u]

howdy joshua, I watched all 5 and thanks. great info in here. I like the sound side of things and the I term. I hadnt caught the idea that throttle effects I as much as it did. a quick question that may be of use for myself and others. As the video starts with tuning the pids, is there a pre-cursor video talking about the other settings you apply? e.g. rates, looptimes etc. I cannot find that sort of thing anywhere. or perhaps one on the effects of the most common settings. cheers and thanks for the videos

[@JoshuaBardwell]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqXOqGqabpyVhdE

[@maxkielbasa3324]

how should I tune it for windy/gusty conditions?

[@pratyusha1588]

Help! My quad is flipping over on takeoff. I have checked everything, my motors, props etc. My gyro is also in correct orientation. I am running it on multiwii 2.4. The PIDs are set to default. My frame is 450mm. I do not know what the problem is. Please help.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

If the quad flips on takeoff, 99% of the time it is: 1) Motors wired wrong. 2) Prop on incorrect (wrong direction). 3) Motor spinning wrong direction. 4) FC aligned incorrect (not aligned facing forward). 5) Incorrect motor mix (if custom motor mix is used). Most often, I say this to people, and they swear up and down they checked all these things, and then later they come back say oops I found it after all. So I would say double, triple, quadruple check all of these things. Or get a friend to do it for you since you may be overlooking something. After these things, if the quad is still flipping out, I say re-flash your FC with "full erase" checked so that you completely default the config and try rebuilding it from scratch.

[@quadbrofpv9727]

I was testing my yaw while tuning, moving the stick left to right, with high yaw rate, when it just falls out of the sky. If you want a detailed description, it flipped backwards about 180° and fell.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

If it flips towards the down-spinning motor, min_throttle may be too low, causing a motor to stop fully and not start again.

[@quadbrofpv9727]

+Joshua Bardwell It started doing that after adjusting PIDS on the pitch axis, it also likes to overshoot in a flip, timing on sticks is right.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Look at Blackbox and see if a motor is zeroing out during the move, and then going rapidly to maximum as the stick re-centers. That's an indication that min_throttle is too low.

[@derkman127]

My drone flies fine, but with the gopro on I get full time oscillations. Just a pid problem because of the added weight?

[@user-qo8js3qk5z]

I have a JJPro P200 that acts really nervous when hovering or descending, and it's even worse if I try to use angle mode. Seems to behave well during throttle punches though. Do you have any recommendations for how to address this?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

In angle mode, reduce level P gain. To improve propwash handling, increase D gain in small increments of perhaps 5 or 10 at most. Fly and monitor for hot motors while raising it.

[@Scootersnmore]

HI Joshua. You have killer videos very Informative . Thank you Job well done Im 52 been flying park flyers and new to drones. My first quad is a Lumenier QAV-R 5" FPV racing quad from GetFPV . Been flying full acro finally . I have not tried flips or rolls .But been flying low, high corners at full speed and fast around trees. Get fpv had set it up before shipping to Me I set up everything else on Beta flight. Im a Little lost On PIDS any suggestions on PIDS or setting up the angle horizon , full acro? I want it to corner fast like its a plane or better. Im going to build one maybe smaller. Thanks Todd

[@funKdatFPV]

You definitely want to stay acro only for your flights. I started this way and couldn't imagine using anything else. Full control of the craft is important.

[@Tom-ls6cb]

When I give a stick input, at the end of the input the copter wobbles. Any idea how to tune this out?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

It depends on the type of oscillation. It could be P term oscillation in which case P is too high. It could be a soft "sloshy" wobbling, in which case P is too low. The simple way to start learning this is to change ONE parameter, such as raising P on roll. See if the problem gets worse or better. Work through a range of values to explore the effects of a single value's change.

[@andreavanni74]

hello Joshua, is it possible that the high vibration you got at 7:35, disappeared after some minute of flight due to battery voltage level decrease ?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+andrea vanni it's possible.

[@finlaywilliams7349]

nice really helpful

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Finlay Williams Awesome! Glad you think so.

[@JT-jy2sy]

Joshua my quad pid is fine when it is not windy. it wobbles a bit during flight when the wind picks up. should I up the I gain ?

[@JT-jy2sy]

I reduced the I gain and it is fix now.

[@rrsalamat325]

Great video. Maybe you can help with an issue my copter is having. I'm running beta flight3.1.6 stock pids and my motors get pretty hot. I checked the screws to the motors and thats not the issue. Any suggestions? What other things could cause the motors to heat up like that. I even tried different props to see if that was it but nothing samething.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Chico300 d gain too high or motors severely unbalanced.

[@rrsalamat325]

Hey thanks for the advise, I watch a lot of your videos and I know your a busy man. I myself was thinking it had to be the motors but their brand new emax motors so I was praying it was something else but I have exhausted all of my trouble shooting and just didn't know what else it could be.

[@jakesouthard9175]

my nose drops pretty drastically when i punch the throttle then bring it to zero. does this mean i should increase my i Pitch?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Later versions of betaflight are significantly better at dealing with this so if you have the option to go to the latest version, you should. Anti gravity gain is designed to deal with this. Raising I gain will help with the problem but you may have to raise it so high that it causes problems elsewhere.

[@mattk205]

Hey Josh, thanks for the great videos man. Any thoughts on the Mixuko?? Andy has some crazy designs!

[@JoshuaBardwell]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXiakGdsgdyZna8

[@mrtokyo1989]

Hi thanks for great videos Joshua, wich osd do you use? I see you have the amp draw and current draw ? I want that too :D

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+mrtokyo1989 redrotor RROSD

[@8alakai8]

whats with the video its like 20fps and glitches i fly 25mw and if i was flying there i think i would not have any glitches

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+8alakai8 the FPS is something my DVR does occasionally. I just failed to catch it before recording this session. The 2nd half of the video should be better.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+8alakai8 also, the DVR is recording with regular dipole antennas, not cloverleaf, so it's reception is worse than I see in the goggles.

[@8alakai8]

+Joshua Bardwell oh oke thats wy i was thinking youre antenna was bad or vtx

[@WackFPV]

I thought it was your SD card class. The write speed might be too low?

[@MrTaz0079]

I have fast oscillation when coming to a Hard stop or quick turn around... , Im using BETA 2.6.1 LuxFloat ROLL P. 4.5, I 0.030 D 18.... PITCH P . 4.5 . I 0.0030 D 18 YAW 9.0 I 0.040 D 0 LUX FC BOARD any help would be great cheers

[@JoshuaBardwell]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5iUm5luat-sp6s

[@ambermeows150]

Hi Josh I started tuning my QAV210 today. Here are the values for Roll and Pitch P 4.0, I 0.03 D 18. Yaw P 9.5, I 0.05 and D 10. When I punch hard and cut the throttle the movement at the pitch axis is so drastic that the copter's nose dips down almost 180 faceplant down to the ground and wobles in the roll axis as well. Are my I gain values too low? and what should be the default values for I that i could start off with. Also what other characteristics should i look for when it comes to tuning I gain? Running betaflight 2.6.1 running airmode, naze32 rev 6 acro.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Amber Meows first work P up. You should see the dip decline as P increases. After you're sure that P is high enough then raise I.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+Amber Meows first work P up. You should see the dip decline as P increases. After you're sure that P is high enough then raise I.

[@ambermeows150]

Thanks Josh!

[@PlainVlogs]

So if im getting relatively heavy oscillations when punching and light oscillations when cruising, do I need to up P gain on all 3?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

If you are getting oscillations lowering P gain or increasing D would be my first thought. Not raising P.

[@PlainVlogs]

Thanks for your replies josh, really do appreciate the quick answers :)

[@az_pit_viper4270]

Do you recommend leaving the PID's as default in cleanflight for the maiden voyage? If not what settings do you recommend?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

+AZ_PIT_VIPER this whole playlist is to help you figure out what PIDs work for you. There isn't one universal set of good PIDs but the defaults are a good starting point.

[@randylachman5273]

thanks

[@jonathane8585]

This is the type of PID tuning guide I have been waiting for. I don't have blackbox so all of your BB tuning guides was hard to follow. Thank you for making this and hopefully more to come. Your RCGroups thread is hard to follow now since it has hundreds of pages. Question - if you mentioned this already in the video I missed it but, around the 10 minute mark while doing pylon turns, I noticed the quad oscillating slightly as you mentioned, but the quad still was drifting slightly for my taste. You raise the P term on roll for that right? This will surely cause more oscillations. Do you tune the oscillations out with D? Other than that, quad is close I think. I guess for a RACE tune, slight oscillations is okay if the stick feels really good right? How does slight oscillations effect the speed of the quad? Basically, what I'm asking is, is it okay to have slight oscillations if the stick feel and quad acts how you want it?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

The drifting may be the result of me not being used to the uptilt and not coordinating the turns perfectly. I agree that a race tune will likely have some propwash oscillation.