After several flights of my Tarot quad, I found it to be difficult to control due to the motors not running smoothly resulting in excessive vibration. All this time I was thinking that it was due to the aircraft being untuned, but tweaking the PIDs didn’t seem to help. So, I ran a static test where I secured the aircraft to the floor in my basement and throttled up the motors. They were running just as it was in flight. I then tan the Motor Test using Mission Planner, running each motor at 20% for 4 seconds - each motor ran smoothly. This lead me to believe that my propellers are not properly balanced.
Balancing large foldable propellers is a challenge because the hub, which is in two pieces, does not have a hole that runs completely through the center - the top piece is solid. So I took a spare top piece and drilled a hole through it so that I can run the balancing shaft through it.
Testing the first propeller, it would not come to a rest completely horizontal - one end was an inch below the other end. I will have to add a little weight to the light end until it balances completely. I will repeat the process with the remaining three propellers and then run the static test again to see if this solves the problem.
On another note, I found landings to be extremely difficult as the landing struts were almost vertical which allowed the copter to tip over upon touchdown if there is the slightest bounce. I figured out how to adjust the struts so they have a wider stance which should make landings much easier.
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