Drone Tuning

Status

The initial tuning (battery voltage range, MOT_THST_EXPO, PID starting values, filters, harmonic notch setup) is part of the setup guide — see Initial Setup. In-flight fine tuning (manual PID refinement or AutoTune) requires a flying aircraft and is still open: the drone is grounded since the 2026-08-21 incident.

Planned tuning path (once the aircraft flies again)

1. Verify the basics — vibration levels (VIBE in the dataflash log below 30 m/s², no clipping), motor order/direction, MOT_THST_HOVER learned in a stable hover.
2. Manual rate tuning — if visible oscillations appear, halve ATC_RAT_{RLL,PIT}_{P,I,D} until they stop, then raise in 10 % steps (see the troubleshooting list in Initial Setup).
3. Harmonic notch verification — with bi-directional DShot RPM telemetry (INS_HNTCH_MODE = 3), check the pre-/post-filter batch-sampler FFT in the log.
4. AutoTune — only outdoors or in a large netted hall, one axis at a time (AUTOTUNE_AXES), with plenty of altitude — not an indoor exercise.

Sources

• https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/tuning-process-instructions.html
• https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/autotune.html