Installing a Benewake TF Mini Plus Rangefinder (for automated landings in INAV 7.1)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- www.3dxr.co.uk...
www.thingivers...
Read more about the upcoming 'fixed wing landing' stuff here: github.com/Sca...
NOTE: To use the sensor in INAV (covered in the autolanding video to come), then you also need to setup a few CLI commands to set the max detectable height to use as 10m - i.e.
set nav_max_surface_altitude=1000
Thank you for taking the time to watch the video. You can find me on social media at / painless360
/ painless360
www.thingivers...
R/C is one of my hobbies and I do this for fun. I don't do this to replace a day job so if you have found the content useful then and want to support the time I spend helping others and creating content then please consider liking the video and subscribing. It helps a lot!
If this video helped you and you want to support the channel you can use these links:
/ painless360
paypal.me/pain....
Remember that reviews are subjective. Don't rely on one persons opinion - watch reviews and make your own mind up. Where-ever you can support your local R.C resellers and shops, they need your support more than ever.
If you liked this you can see more R/C related videos on the channel - / painless360 , use the playlists to find entire series on topics you might find interesting.
Be aware that any comments that are rude, disrespectful or use bullying or threatening language will be deleted. Pedantry isn't encouraged either. This channel is all about helping others and passing on advice and ideas so please comment in that spirit. Comments that don't adhere to these simple rules will be deleted.
Thanks again for watching, support each other and the hobby as we have enough external drama without making more for ourselves.
LIKE and SUBSCRIBE and above all - Happy Flying!
#INAV #rangefinder #setup
Ok now you’ve done it. I have never wanted to use the auto lander on my Inav set ups because of the way it slides into the ground but now with this rangefinder, the plane could actually flare, wow.
Very interesting device indeed, Lee! 😃
Thanks for the review! And I'm definitely looking forward to the testing!
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thanks so much for this! I have installed TF Mini Plus rangefinders in an AtomRC Dolphin and a Heewing T2 (build in progress). I eagerly await your reporting on iNAV 7.1 auto-land.
Still waiting for the tweaks coming in V7.1.1...
@@Painless360 Very good. For now, I will try to work up the courage to try landing while wearing my goggles. ;>) So far, I am reverting to LOS for that.
It can be a little scary the first few times but once you get used to it, it's super easy to land with a 'pilots eye view'
Best of luck
@@Painless360 You were correct! Once I finally tried landing with goggles, it wasn't as hard as I expected. As of yesterday, I am two-for-two successful landings. Thanks again. Looking forward to more INAV autoland info.
I'm a bit surprised this plugs into a UART rather than I2C such as a compass or airspeed sensor. That said, I'm no programmer and don't really understand those nuances. It's very cool to see these functions make their way into iNav. I do appreciate setting up a complex model just for sakes of understanding how it works and the sheer gadgetry of it.
Other sensors use the UART too.. Until 7.1, their benefit on fixed wing has been limited.. Happy flying
You have the option on 3dxr to choose either UART or I2C interface
Thanks for this one. The last meters of Autolanding a quad with INAV is not so critical because you can slow down the descending speed a lot for the last few meters and motors will stop after autodetecting landing. For planes it is a different situation in INAV because of the baro/gps drift as you explained. I'm manual landing in INAV mostly 2 to 3 meters below ground level because of this drift 😊 That's too much difference for flaring in Autolanding. This Lidar / Rangefinder seems a good option.
th-cam.com/video/42JBUP0k2Vg/w-d-xo.html should help (preview for you!)
Great Video as Always!!!
very nice video, do you think that the rangefinder can also be used in other mode than landing mode for a fixed wing / airplane ? (for example altitude hold mode ?)
Thank you for this video!!
Awesome. Many thanks.
Thanks for the video and 3D files!
Did you ever complete a video on inav auto landing ?
There is one in the works! Stay tuned!
@@Painless360 thanks its needed!
That’s crazy how quickly flight controllers have developed. Definitely a nice touch but takes the fun out of flying. Would be a great aid for beginners to save their models.
It depends where you get the 'fun' from in the hobby... Happy flying
very cool, I got the matek one but should be fine for my application. See how this all goes lol.
FYI: If you have a spare 4.5V pad you can also connect the range finder to it and it will be powered by USB power as well
Be careful doing that. Trying to power too many things from the USB port can cause problems... Happy flying!
@@Painless360 Absolutely true :) when problems arise plugging in a battery is always the first step to debugging :D
I presume the last part of the landing zone would have to be pretty level to avoid confusing iNav. It would be interesting to know how long that critical part really is. Could the plane land over a hedge without flipping out?
We will see. I'd expect that the area needs to be nice and flat as this is less about terrain following and more about detecting the point where a 'flare' needs to happen...
Very very nice thank you so much!
Hi, I just purchased one of these sensors but I need to mount it 90° to how you have it mounted to make it fit in my model. Will it work in this orientation? I assume it will since it is only measuring distance but I didn’t see any information on orientation in the user manual.
Yes, it'll work fine... Happy flying
Thanks for the reply and thanks for all the great videos.
How do you deal with the angle of the range finder changing with bank angle, and pitch?
Stay tuned for the landing video... Happy flying
Hi. This work only on UART on INav ? The I2C version can be configured ?
I'd use the one shown here. Both should work though... Happy flying
Would I be right in thinking this is only going to make a bice landing if your aporoach is over flat level ground? I'm thinking that approach over undulating/uneven ground will produce strange behaviour. I wonder whether flying over a hedge or bush would even cause odd effects?
Stay tuned for when V7.1 is released. I'd suspect that needing a nice, open and flat ground is important for auto-landing to work well..
Hi there nice to know, would you be able to use this to help you to fly low and level over short grass or a carm lack say 1 to 2 m
See SURFACE flight mode.. :D
How well does this track for althold and/or terrain following?
Rangefinders can be used with the 'Experimental' terrain following (Surface) flight mode activated with SURFACE and ALTHOLD flight mode... Happy flying
wonder if this device aids in some way for quadcopters...
The Matek unit that combines a range finger with an optical flow sensor is popular... Happy flying
@@Painless360 thanks !!
Thinking it might be cheaper to cannibalize a cheap laser tapevmeasure and get greater range... how I passed electronics, tearing things apart to use in different ways. Crazy but fun.. take care.
ze
If you figure out how to do that and then add something like an arduino to be able to transmit the values to the flight controller using the right protocol, that would make an interesting video. Best of luck
Thanks for all your great videos. I love your channel - great help for newbies like me who are just getting into the hobby. I have learned quite a bit from your videos and successfully built and flown my very first RC plane which was a foamboard scratchbuild (th-cam.com/video/eUMpBzy3olY/w-d-xo.htmlfeature=shared). I'd love to see a video from you on INAV 7.1 autoland feature.
Plans for my autoland video covered this one... Stay tuned!