Hoverfly PRO/GPS Firmware Update Utility 1.0.0.37

The following prerequisites are required:

- Windows Installer 3.1
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (x86 and x64)

New Features

 - Arming Notification. As an added safety feature the HoverflyPRO now beeps once armed until throttle is increased past 7%. Once the craft is returned to the ground and the throttle is reduced below 7%, the beeping continues until the craft is dis-armed.

- Rate of climb Altitude Slew. Once Altitude Hold (AH) is engaged in flight the throttle stick function changes to rate of climb. Near center stick, with a dead-band from 40% to 60%, the rate of climb is 0 and the current altitude is maintained. From 40% to 0%, the craft descends at a variable rate proportional to the throttle stick up to -10ft/sec at 0%. From 60% to 100% the craft ascends at a variable rate proportional to the throttle stick up to +10ft/sec at 100%. Returning the stick to the center dead-band causes the craft to maintain current altitude.

- Carefree. This is not really a new feature since it has been in previous versions of the firmware. However, many users were not aware that it was available. You must select it in the PRO Info tab of the Setup Client. Once the craft is armed, the elevator stick will always move your craft forward pushing up on the stick and backward pulling down on the stick. Right and Left are coordinated with the aileron stick. The craft can be yawed with the rudder stick but the craft will no longer have a front direction. Remember that the front of the craft creates the new orientation grid when the craft is armed. Please note that Carefree is only active when Auto-Level (AL) is engaged.

Major Fixes

- Position Hold (PH). The GPS Position Hold feature has been completely re-written and now performs well in still, constant wind, and gusty wind conditions. The user should expect operation within a 10 foot (3 meter) diameter circle about the PH target location. In wind, the craft will fall off and return to the target location with the required roll/pitch angle to maintain position. The position of the craft can be slewed using the aileron/elevator stick. The craft will enter auto-leveling mode and allow the user to move the craft to a new location. Once the aileron/elevator stick is returned to center for 1.5 seconds, the craft will maintain the new location using the Position Hold feature.

- Return-to-Home (RTH). The GPS location where the craft was armed is stored as the Home position. At any time the user can engage the Return-to-Home feature and the craft will automatically return to the Home location. Be aware that at this time the user must land the craft manually. This feature has been completely re-written and now performs well in all conditions.

Minor Fixes

- Manual Mode Correction. A change was inadvertently made in v4.6 to the stability algorithm in Manual Mode. The change was barely noticeable in v4.6 but tended to add a minute shake at some throttle values. The change was removed and Manual Mode stability was returned to its previous performance.

Things to Be Aware Of

- There is no change to the GPS antenna module. The HoverflyGPS is compatible with the original Mediatek (small footprint), new Mediatek (larger footprint), DT2523 UBlox Leah-5, GS407 UBlox Leah-5. There is no need to purchase another GPS antenna module.

- External magnetometer. In some craft, the on-board magnetometer on the HoverflyGPS is subjected to a large amount of magnetic bias. The result is that as the throttle is raised and lowered the apparent compass bearing of the craft is artificially changed. This is primarily due to the current flowing in the power harness which in most cases is directly beneath the PRO/GPS stack. Twisting power wires where possible or re-routing them further away from the PRO/GPS can reduce or eliminate this problem. However, it is sometimes not possible to do this. An external magnetometer can be used to easily eliminate the problem. Please see this technical note for more details.

- If the LED on the HoverflyGPS continues to blink purple once it is armed, you may need to replace your GPS antenna module. This will also happen if the SD card is removed from the HoveflyGPS board.

- If you are using an external magnetometer watch the LED on the HoverflyGPS when the craft is first powered. The LED should emit green for a few seconds to indicate the external magnetometer is detected. The LED will then blink purple and solid red if the external GPS antenna is detected.

- You should always wait for the LED on the HoverflyGPS to turn solid green for several seconds before arming the craft if you plan to use the GPS features. You may arm before the LED turns green but GPS functions will not be available until you land and disarm.

- There is no gain adjustment for Altitude Hold. You can return your switch values to their default settings. The Altitude Hold feature no longer needs to be tuned.