TMAC FPV

Tuning Guide
For
Micro FPV Quadcopters
Setup Checklist
Complete PID & Filter Setup Checklist!

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TMac FPV

TUNING GUIDE FOR MICRO FPV QUADCOPTERS!

Before you get started, make sure you’re subscribed to
my channel: YouTube.com/c/TMacFPV
so I can keep you “up to speed.”

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knowledge, for more FREE Resources, to check
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TMac Diamondback “Rattler” Hybrid Micro FPV Frame!

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CAUTION! For safety reasons, anytime you’re working on your quadcopter (especially indoors), remove its props
prior to providing it with a power source

DISCLAIMER: Any changes you make to your default quadcopter’s flight controller settings are your responsibility
as is any damage to persons or property

WARNING! After making any flight controller settings to your quadcopter, place quadcopter on the ground and
stand a safe distance away (at least 30 feet) before arming the quadcopter. Be prepared to disarm the quadcopter
immediately

This is a PID-Tuning “Guide.” It Is not a set-in-stone answer to “all” micro quads. It is intended to be
used with the Micro FPV Drone Tuning Guide video series at this site:
Click here: https://bit.ly/MicroFPV_Drone_Tuning_Guide_Video_Series

The following chart has guiding principles for both “low-authority” whoop-type quads and “high-
authority,” non-whoop type micro quads which spin 2 – 4 inch props. The chart below, at the time of its
production, depicts the Betaflight 4.2 default values in black text. The green arrows with the text to the
right of them depict how the default values are suggested to be changed for “low-authority” whoop-
type quads. The purple arrows with the text to the right of them depict how the default values are
suggested to be changed for “high-authority” non-whoop-type micro quads.

These principles are derived from Betaflight Release Notes version 4.1 and 4.2, both of which can be
viewed at the following sites:

Click Here: Betaflight 4.1 Release Notes: https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight/wiki/4.1-Tuning-Notes

Click Here: Betaflight 4.2 Release Notes: https://github.com/betaflight/betaflight/wiki/4.2-Tuning-Notes

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The following charts describe the general PID Tuning process concept graphically through
flowcharts. The concept described applies to both “high-authority” and “low-authority” (and
actually, all) quadcopters requiring adjustments to their PID and filter settings from the default
values. Specific procedures to implement these graphical concepts are listed later on in this Guide

Always a good place to start your tuning process is with the Betaflight Tuning notes available through
the links shown in the diagram below (and on the previous page). These notes describe quads in 3
general categories: 1. those using Betaflight default values for “medium” high-performance quads such
as quadcopters running 5-inch props using a 6S LiPo with a thrust-to-weight (T/W) ratio between 8.5
and 10 (8.5<= T/W <= 10), 2. low authority quads such as whoop-types or ducted HD whoops, heavy
4S GoPro machines, etc., and 3. high authority quads that are lightweight and have high thrust. The
quads are broken out into these 3 categories because the tunes for category may be slightly different.

For any quad requiring changes from the default PID and filter settings, I recommend starting with your
filter settings, specifically by enabling RPM filters. A video describing the complete RPM filters setup
is available (click here): https://bit.ly/RPM_Filters_Setup

You’ll then want to adjust your dynamic notch filter settings (as indicated later in this Guide) from their
original defaults as these defaults are for use without RPM filters. Then, adjust your Master Multiplier
slider as indicated for “low authority” or “high authority” quads, perform a test flight, and observe your
quad’s performance through your goggles display, DVR and/or Blackbox Explorer. If you’re happy
with your quad’s performance, great! You’re done! If you want/need to improve its performance, you’ll
want to continue.

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Here’s where you’ll adjust your PIDS (and perhaps your Low-Pass filter) settings to get your quad to
respond to your stick commands the way you want, while minimizing any significant oscillations
and/or response delay you may have encountered with its first test flight. Then, after making the
necessary adjustments (specifics described later in this Guide), take it out for another test flight and
observe (through our FPV goggles, DVR footage, and/or Blackbox Explorer) its performance. If your
quad is performing as you like it, you’re done! If you would still like to make further improvements,
continue this same cycle of making adjustments, performing a test flight, and observing your quad’s
performance until you ARE satisfied with it.

The following chart explains what specific values in your PID settings you should consider changing
based on your observations of your quadcopter’s performance, how to change them (in what direction),
and why.

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This last chart is a basic PID controller diagram. You command your quadcopter to fly in a certain way with
your transmitter sticks. In Blackbox, your stick commands are known as “setpoint” and your quadcopters flight
motion is described by its “gyro” on the 3 axes of roll, pitch and yaw (in terms of degrees per second).

In reality, your quadcopter doesn’t fly exactly how you command it. Its actual motion is different. That
difference between what you command it to do and what it actually does is called “error.” You’ll want to keep
that to a minimum.

You can do that by adjusting your three variables of P Gain, I Gain, and D Gain.

If you increase your P, it “pushes” the quadcopter to its desired commanded motion more quickly, but, if you
increase it too much, it will overshoot its target, causing it to bounce back to its intended position and could
result in shuddering-type movements.

If you increase your D, it’ll dampen or slow down the P term, reducing overshoot as well as prop wash
vibrations and that shuddering effect. However, too much D can result in hot motors, potentially damaging
them without sufficient filtering.

If you increase I, it should inhibit any consistent error your quadcopter may have between your commanded
motion and its actual motion.

Feed forward is another variable you have control over which actually is like a “P term helper” in that it works
with the P term (in the same direction) to get the quadcopter to its commanded motion more quickly.

There are other “more advanced” variables within Betaflight you can adjust to fine-tune your quadcopter for
your specific needs. These include (among others):

D Min: provides a way to have a lower level of D in normal flight and a higher level for quick maneuvers that might cause overshoot,
like flips and rolls. It also brings D up during prop wash

Feedforward Transition: reduces Feedforward term near the center of the sticks, which results in smoother end of flips and rolls.

Vbat PID Compensation: Increases the PID values to compensate when Vbat gets lower. Gives more constant flight characteristics
throughout the flight.

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That’s the overall concept of the PID tuning process. Let’s get into the specific
steps!

Since we’ll be using RPM filters, ensure your flight controller is updated with the latest Betaflight
firmware (version 4.1 or newer is required) and ESCs are updated with firmware that supports RPM
filtering – see Betaflight RPM Filters video (click here): https://bit.ly/RPM_Filters_Setup

❑ Connect quadcopter to Betaflight and go to PID Tuning Tab – Filter Settings

❑ Toggle ON RPM Filter
❑ Keep Gyro RPM Harmonics = 3
❑ Set Gyro RPM Filters Min Freq = 100
❑ Change Dynamic Notch Filter Settings as follows
❑ Dynamic Notch Width % = 0
❑ Dynamic Notch Q = 200 – 250 (your choice)
❑ Dynamic Notch Min Hz = 100
❑ Dynamic Notch Max Hz = 200
❑ Keep Sliders for both Gyro Filter Multiplier and D-Term Filter Multiplier at “1”
After initial flight and checking motor temperatures, you can move the sliders (together is
recommended) one notch (or increment) at a time, perform a test flight, and check temperatures of
motors by gently grasping motor bell with two fingers. If you can keep your fingers on the motors
for about 10-seconds without wanting to pull them away due to excessive heat, motor
temperatures should be fine:
❑ Move sliders to the right for less filtering, less signal delay, and better prop wash handling
(motor temperatures will increase)
(to get power to receiver)
❑ Move sliders to the left for more filtering and cooler motors (this will add some signal
delay which you may not even notice)
❑ Hit the SAVE Button in the lower right-hand corner of the screen

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❑ Go to PID Profile Settings

❑ For “high-authority” 2-3 inch non-whoop quads,
❑ Toggle OFF D Min under PID Controller settings section on right-hand side of screen
❑ Move Master Multiplier to the left to 0.7 - 0.8
❑ Hit the SAVE button in the lower right-hand corner of the screen

❑ For “low-authority” whoop-type quads,

❑ Toggle OFF D Min under PID Controller settings section on right-hand side of screen
❑ Move Master Multiplier to the right to 1.5 setting, then hit the SAVE button in the lower
right-hand corner of screen
❑ Move Stick Response Gain to the right to 1.6 setting, then hit the SAVE button in the
lower right-hand corner of screen
❑ Move PD Balance to the right to 1.5 setting, then hit the SAVE button in the lower right-
hand corner of screen
❑ Type in the following for each I Term
❑ Roll = 34
❑ Pitch = 34
❑ Yaw = 90 (this is the original default value – try leaving it here before reducing it any)
❑ Hit the SAVE Button in the lower right-hand corner of the screen

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❑ Once you have set up both your filters and PID settings, perform a test flight of your quad for about
30 seconds beginning with a “hover test” standing at least 30 feet away from quad prior to arming
it. Then, check your motor temperatures to ensure they are not too hot. You should be able to
press your fingers around the motor bell for at least 10 seconds without feeling the need to remove
them. If your motors temperatures are not too hot, you’re ready to perform a full test flight to
include rapid 180-degree turns (to identify any potential prop wash vibrations), flips, and rolls (to
determine any wobbles, “bounce-back” after sharp maneuvers, and/or “shuddering” fo quad in
flight). You can identify flight performance through the following two methods

❑ Visually through your FPV goggles (you may be able to see prop wash vibrations, however it is
sometimes difficult to see high-frequency wobbles or bounce-back)
❑ Using Betaflight Blackbox Explorer (this is the most accurate method to fine-tune your quad).
Easy-to-follow procedures for using Betaflight Blackbox Explorer for this purpose can be found at
the Betaflight Blackbox Explorer Playlist (click here): https://bit.ly/Blackbox_Explorer_Playlist

❑ If you have identified any performance deficiencies in your quadcopter, return to Betaflight and
adjust PIDs and filter settings as necessary using the following as a guide
❑ For low frequency prop wash vibrations alone or together with high-frequency oscillations (i.e.
shudders, shakes or bounce back after sharp flips and rolls) try increasing your D-term by moving
the PD Balance slider in the PID tuning tab to the right (this should increase D Term only) one
“notch” or “setting” at a time. As you increase this D-term, your motor temperatures will also
increase, so take care not to increase this too much. Perform the same 30-second hover test and
full test flight as mentioned above to determine the effectiveness of increasing your D-term

Note: PID values can be changed without using Sliders,

however, Sliders will be disabled when doing so

1 “notch” at a time

❑ This increased D-term should help both with prop wash and also “dampen” the P-term
from “over-shooting” the desired response of your stick commands (high-freq oscillations)

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❑ For high-frequency oscillations (i.e. shudders, shakes or bounce back after sharp flips and
rolls) without prop wash try moving the P and D Gain slider to the left one notch at a time (for
the purpose of reducing the P-term), however, this will also reduce the D-term. So, if you start
to experience more prop wash oscillations when you reduce the P and D Gain slider, you may
need to move the PD Balance slider back to the right the same number of notches you moved
the P and D Gain slider to the left (thereby increasing the D-term back to its original position
prior to decreasing both P & D with the P and D Gain slider). If after doing this, you are still
having prop wash, you may need to increase your D gain term further to counteract it (check
motor temps each time!). Perform the same 30-second hover test and full test flight as
mentioned above to determine the effectiveness of increasing your D-term

1 “notch” at a time
1 “notch” at a time

❑ For “excessive delay time” between your commanded stick (“set point” in Blackbox
Explorer) movements and the actual movement of your quadcopter (“gyro” in Blackbox
Explorer for each of the 3 axes), without increasing your P-gain, try increasing Feed Forward
to reduce this delay time

❑ For other “peaks of noise” identified through Blackbox Explorer, consider:

❑ Checking your quadcopter for physical or mechanical issues such as a loose flight
controller-not mounted securely, damaged frame, missing motor bolts, etc.
❑ Modifying notch filter settings to cover peak noise
❑ Adding an additional notch filter to cover peak noise
❑ For a higher than normal “noise floor” identified through Blackbox Explorer, consider
❑ Adjusting D Term Lowpass filters to reduce this noise floor
You should be well on your way to a smooth, high-performance FPV quadcopter!
I’d love to hear your success stories using this process!
Shoot me an e-mail at: tmac@tmacfpv.com
Until then, Journey to Better and Clear Skies friend!

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TMac FPV
About TMac . . .
I love FPV flight! I am a retired United States Air Force
Officer with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical
Engineering and a Master of Engineering degree in
Aeronautical Engineering. I’m FCC certified, FAA
registered, a member of the Academy of Model
Aeronautics (AMA) and a Founding Member of the FPV
Freedom Coalition (FPVFC).

I’m an Honor Graduate of Undergraduate Space Training

and have had years of experience as an Instructor on
numerous topics, as a Professor and Department Chair at
the University of Miami, FL and I’ve created courses and
curricula throughout my career which are still in use
worldwide today.

My mission is to get you "IN THE AIR" having FUN FLYING

FPV, in MIMIMAL TIME, at LESS COST, in a SAFE &
RESPONSIBLE manner! I’ve helped countless FPV pilots
do just that! Clear skies!
“I found the course easy and informative.
“The course was great. I think if you are new to hobby TMac was always there for help when I
this should be a mandatory course.” – Lawrence Esposito needed. I would recommend the class to
anyone interested in FPV!” – Paul Reiter

“TMac's Fast Track FPV Course will shorten your “I have been learning so much . . . thank you
learning curve and get you flying!” – Vincent Sica so much for all the work you have done to help us.”
- H2O Lobo

“Great tutorial! You're always making great instructional videos. “Love your work!” – Martin Lanza
Keep up the good work man!” – Jason Lumbattis

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