Starling 2 Drone - RC connection issues, and HITL issues.
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We are reaching out due to critical and ongoing issues with the (4) Starling 2 drones we purchased in September 2024. We have spent months trying to set up and operate these drones but have faced constant technical failures. Thank you in advance for reading.
Since receiving our 4 drones, we have been unable to fly them due to persistent connectivity issues with the Orqa FPV controller (Drone Uber Lite - 24). We have spent countless hours troubleshooting and attempting to connect it via the FPV app on Android, but it never works. The LED light on the drone blinks blue and purple, then it says "Rx not found" when attempting to bind on the app, and then the drone LED just goes constant blue and they never connect. This has been a massive waste of our time trying to trouble shoot every way we could these past months.
Even when we bypass the FPV controller issue and attempt to work in HITL. In HITL simulation, the drones fly properly in position mode, but some of the drones always ascends too high in mission mode in the middle of the mission or before landing, despite our mission settings specifying otherwise. We have already factory reset both drones, adjusted EKF2 height settings, changed "rise to before landing" settings, and attempted other troubleshooting steps without success. We suspect this could be related to QGC setting the drone's simulated location to Switzerland instead of Florida (where we are located), but we have not been able to correct this. Would adjusting the AID MASK to prioritize visual positioning help? Or how can we change it to FL where we truly are?
We need immediate action to:
Resolve the FPV controller issue so we can actually fly these drones.
Provide guidance on fixing the mission mode altitude error. -
@dguido2023 Regarding the HITL issue, is the drone ascending when there is a failsafe triggering RTL? Or just in general it ascends as it is following the mission plan? For the home location did you try: https://docs.px4.io/v1.12/en/simulation/gazebo.html#set-custom-takeoff-location?
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@Eric-Katzfey I am not sure if there is a failsafe triggering RTL, or if RTL being triggered is even causing the ascent. The ascent happens abruptly near the end of the mission typically but it has happened in the middle of the mission, it will just abruptly starting climbing directly vertically unwarranted. I did not try that link to that article or knew that existed, I will try that and see if it helps. Do you have any input on the RC connection issues? Is the Starling 2 made to connect with Orqa FPV controller (Drone Uber Lite - 24)? This is the controller that came with the purchase of the Starling2 Drone so I'd be shocked if it wasnt compatable however the only controller we see in any technical documentation or tutorials from ModalAI is the iFlight Commando 8 Radio Transmitter. We have have spent so much time trouble shooting a failed connection between the Orqa FPV and the Starling2 as described in my initial message. Any assistance or information you can offer to help us get these drones flying that we purchased in September of 2024 would be greatly appreciated.
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@dguido2023 We have used the Orqa transmitters before and, generally, found them to be difficult to setup and use. We have some more information here: https://docs.modalai.com/orqa-ghost/. I will ask around and see if anyone has a better answer. In our experience the Commando 8 units are easier to setup and use with Starling 2.
