Betaflight V3.2 Overview and Feature Summary

For quadcopter enthusiasts, the Betaflight 3.2 October 2017 release date (est.) cannot come soon enough. Many pilots have been installing the pre-released beta version and experimenting with some of the new features, some with unstable results.  While we can’t confirm all the features that will be incorporated in Betaflight 3.2, we are able to provide solid insight into what we can expect.

As of August 1, 2017 Betaflight RC2 (release candidate!) is now out which means no more risky nightly builds. This also means no more run around with downloading the development build of the Betaflight configurator. We will go into this a bit further below, but for now, lets see what Betaflight 3.2 has to offer.

So, what new features are we anticipating in Betaflight 3.2?

Dynamic Notch Filtering

Dynamic notch filtering provides tailored filtering to further reduce the noise of your gyroscope. Doing so allows better dampening without compromising the responsiveness of the PID controller.  This feature aims to eliminate the need for manual tuning.  In the current testing phase, there have been reports that certain quadcopters don’t respond well to this feature.  We are optimistic that this will be remedied by the release date. This being said, this feature is amazing and why most people are jumping on Betaflight 3.2 ahead of the full release.

We recommend to turn this feature on under the Configuration page but check for hot motors just in case your set up doesn't play nice. To go beyond this, setting the default Gyro Notch Filter 1 and 2 and the D term notch (In PID Tuning > Filter Settings) to a setting of 0 (off) can really make this feature shine. Be sure to test for hot motors between each setting change and if something goes wrong, reset to defaults.

F7 Support

Full F7 support, allowing the ability to have features previously only available on F3 boards along with higher clock speeds of an F4 chip.  It is easy to see why the the F7 is growing rapidly in popularity.  The F7 has a faster processor, offers more UART’s with built-in hardware inversion and is a platform for future development that allows  developers to further optimize  flight controller algorithms.

RunCam Split

RunCam Split is now an option under the peripherals tab. What this means is that you should be able to control your RunCam Split via your TX switches. This option would allow you to turn wifi and power on or off and toggle between video and photo mode. There isnt anything official on this yet so we will wait and see.

On Screen Display (OSD)

The OSD has been significantly improved.  It will display information such as the ESC temperature, actual motor rpm with the up and coming BLHeli_32 features which is exciting to see. You can also enable a stat screen to show some great stats, including the flight blackbox number that is recorded in the DVR (when using an SD Card).  This allows you to easily pinpoint what flight you are looking for after a long day of flying.

Customizable Settings

The “beeping" alert feature can finally be customized! You can turn it off entirely or customize the settings.  For example, if you don’t want your quadcopter to make noise when you plug it in via USB but you want it to alert you when your battery is low, simply change the setting.

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Anti-gravity Mode

You have the option to turn anti-gravity mode on or off.  Anti gravity mode helps with handling and provides a "boost" when needed in a zero G situation for instance (i.e. a punch out and then chopping the throttle).  While we suspect most will choose to leave it on by default, it is nice to have the option. You can select this in the Configuration page under "Other Features"

ProShot1000 Protocol

New ProShot1000 (experimental) protocol allows a higher update rate, uses a filtering capacitor on the signal line to reduce noise and utilizes the CPU less than Dshot.  Although ProShot1000 has several positives, the flip side of this is that it limits your maximum speed.  The speed cap cannot be altered until the filtering capacitor is removed. There still isn't much out there on ProShot1000 yet but i'm sure we'll start to hear more about it in the coming months.

Blackbox Storage

The blackbox storage has been modified to be more compact allowing you to record at higher rates or longer logs on the flash storage.   This is helpful as the blackbox is a great way to diagnose flight controller, motor, power system or the radio transmitter/receiver issues.  It also is handy when tuning PID and other flight performance settings.