Controller Refresher

A quick refresher to review the controller's use

As a pilot it is important to be familiar with the function and various features of the hand controlle

Hover over the bubbles in the image above to learn about the various functions

Antennas

The Herelink utilizes 2 antennas to maintain long range communication with the drone.

The hand controller is the transmitter and the drone is the receiver

Position the antennas

• • Point the long omni-directional antenna straight up towards the sky, then lean it slightly toward the other antenna, and slightly outward
  • Point the flat face of the directional antenna in the direction of the main flight path for the drone...Point the flat face straight up towards the sky, then lean it outward slightly

Joysticks and Mode Buttons

VERY IMPORTANT!! During all Flight the Joysticks are live (even in auto). This is standard and required by the FAA. The Pilot in Command must be able to take manual control of the drone for safety purposes

Left Joystick

• • • Left and Right = Yaw (spin)
      • Left = counterclockwise spin
      • Right = clockwise spin
    • Forward and Back = Throttle (altitude)
      • Forward = Increase in altitude
      • Back = Decrease in altitude

Right Joystick

• • • Left and Right = Roll (left and right tilt)
      • Left = tilt to the left
      • Right = tilt to the right
    • Forward and Back = Pitch (forward and backward tilt)
      • Forward = Nose will tilt downward
      • Back = Tail will tilt downward

VERY IMPORTANT!! Before you start an auto-flight mission, ensure the joysticks are centered and not "sticky". If auto-flight begins, and a joystick is not in the neutral (centered) position, the drone will move in the direction that joystick controls and you will experience flight issues

A Button - Auto Mode

• • • The drone will be in Auto Mode for the vast majority of its time in the air
    • The drone must be in Auto Mode to fly the missions that you have planned and uploaded to the drone

B Button - Loiter Mode

• • • When switched to this mode, the craft hold its GPS position and altitude
      • The craft will freeze in space
    • In this mode the craft can be flown using the joysticks to adjust its position and altitude

Home Button - RTL Mode (Return to Launch)

• • • RTL mode causes the craft to rise to the RTL altitude (set in the mission plan), then fly directly to to the takeoff location, at that altitude and land. It will fly directly to launch, not following the mission path

C & D Buttons - Altitude Hold

• • • In this mode the drone will maintain altitude but will not maintain horizontal GPS position 
      • the craft will not stop in space but will not fall
    • This mode is only to be used in the event that the GPS is malfunctioning and the pilot will need to manually bring the drone home and/or land the drone immediately

Power Button

• • • Press and hold to power on and off

VERY IMPORTANT!! PRESS B to switch to LOITER mode if you need to take manual control!

• • If you attempt to control the craft while in "auto" mode, the drone will continually attempt to correct itself back to the prescribed mission path, which can result in unpredictable behavior
  • The only situation in which you don't need to switch to LOITER mode is if you need to make minor adjustments during the landing. During landing, you can simply "bump" left, right, forward, or backward if you need to adjust where the drone will land at the last minute 

Charging

Micro USB Port

• • • Used for charging or connecting to a computer
    • When charging, single-press the power button to see battery charge percentage
    • USB cable & wall plug provided in the accessory case 

Now that we have learned about the buttons and joysticks, let's test our knowledge, then talk about using the controller in the field...