Prop balancing and tracking before PID tuning

[msouthcott]

I learned something today about my quadcopter. I have had it flying for a few weeks now and I could never get the PID tuning right. It was always wobbling and was hard to control, flyable but a little hard to work with. I had crashed a few times and went through a few props. All the props I used were gemfan style plastic props. I finally ordered a set of 10x4.5 carbon fiber props. Tried flying it tonight and it was amazing, stable rock solid no wobble. All that wasted tuning (not completely wasted I now know what to change and what to expect), but wow.

Almost all of the sets of plastic props have had at least 1 or 2 props with tracking issues and all of them required balancing. The carbon fiber props were perfectly balanced. Probably because they weigh nothing, but there are no tracking issues with these so I think that is what makes a big difference.


TL/DR
Get a good set of blades make sure they track straight and balanced.

[tovrin]

+1

to be honest, i have only used gemfan due to my inability to fly when i started this project, but now that i am competent and confident now is when i need to up my game, i think ill try that!

my bird flies well with the props balanced as i have done myself (usually 1-2 out of a pack of 4) ill look for a difference.

[felixrising]

What carbon fibre props are you using?

[PatrikE]

You can test the Dynamic balancing Ver.
/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3294

[msouthcott]

What carbon fibre props are you using?

RC Timer 10x4.5. Best Price I could find.