Replies to This Discussion

DeveloperPermalink Reply by John Arne Birkeland on June 12, 2012 at 1:37pm

No longer with the APM2.

Signal chain is Receiver->PPM Encoder->APM2->Servo/ESC, so there is no longer a signal mux for manual control. This might not be the ideal solution for a plane that you can control manually, but the mux no longer makes sense when you also want to fly a multicopter where manual control is impossible.

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Permalink Reply by Charles K Taylor on June 20, 2012 at 12:28am

Is there a reason the signal mux was removed? I understand it doesnt make sense for multicopters but for fixed wing it could be useful.  This is probably beyond the scope of most users but I think the FAA would like to see a way to switch to manual if the autopilot "locked up."  I know there are some external ways to bypass the autopilot so it's not a big deal either way.

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DeveloperPermalink Reply by R_Lefebvre on June 11, 2012 at 1:52pm

Great post.

My personal opinion:  I would not yet put an APM on an airplane that I spend 2000 hours building.  Or on a helicopter that cost $1000+.  It's just not there yet.  I'm using it on Hobby King helis, and $200 ARF airplanes.

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Permalink Reply by Crasher on June 11, 2012 at 3:17pm

If you are looking for something (relatively) cheap and very reliable, check out Attopilot. Ok,it's wayyy more than APM but in Autopilot terms it's very cheap for a commercial grade solution and has a hardcore fan club.

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Permalink Reply by Crasher on June 12, 2012 at 9:45am

@Monroe
Whatever makes you say Attopilot is immature? It has thousands of hours of real-world testing?

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Permalink Reply by Crasher on June 12, 2012 at 10:21am

Firstly, the suggestion is made in the context of the above question ($1000 dollar aircraft, 2000 man hours) not versus a Boeing.

But now you ask the question, yes, I think it probably has tonnes more testing than Ardupilot:

Let's not mistake users for testers. Let's ignore users for a second, they may report back, they may not, they may be inexperienced, they may not know what to expect. So testing, i.e what the devs do before something goes for download in APM planner, yes I think it's entirely feasiblea corporation, who has paid full time staff and structured testing and criteria could test something beyond Ardu* whose volunteers honestly and openly test to the best of their ability and then release.

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Permalink Reply by Crasher on June 12, 2012 at 12:19pm

Please see my PM.

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Permalink Reply by Crasher on June 12, 2012 at 2:13pm

You really make no sense at all. You Opine on a solution you clearly know nothing about, then point to a full-size autopilot that isn't certified and uses MEMS Gyros, exactly the same as most RC Autopilots. Oh, which also costs the same as an Attopilot.

DistributorPermalink Reply by Martint BuildYourOwnDrone.co.uk on June 12, 2012 at 10:49am

@Monroe,

 

You are way off base here with your AttoPilot assessment, I’m not sure what your experience is with the AttoPilot Autopilot systems, however I think you might need to take a little time out to see what the system offers, how it is put together and the testing and calibration that each and every system passes through before it can leave the factory. Can you tell me the amount of hours the APM gyros are calibrated for before leaving the factory to the end user? I know on each AttoPilot it’s about 70 hours of calibration….. I also know that you can place an AttoPilot in water for hours on end, pull it out and then just go fly it as if it had never seen a drop! AttoPilot is the “PRO” option in most peoples budget, while the APM is the DIY option in everyone’s budget, I guess it’s the same as the DJI WKM Vs. the ACM posts you see here from time to time, DJI is the “PRO” Multi Rotor option which works time after time after time, AttoPilot is the same, time after time after time…... I sell all of these systems, APM, Attopilot and DJI so have a good understanding of each and everyone of them, I will choose the best tool for the job, AttoPilot is the tool here!

 

@ Ludovico

I would say that the Atto is the solution here, the cost of the build and the man hours invested is way too high to leave it to an open source controller, while the APM in a plane is “good”, and I build and use the APM on many projects, the AttoPilot is just “outstanding” and the additional costs of the unit over that of an APM is more than justified. I would not work on this project, spend the money and time to then install an open source controller, I would not advise my customers to either!

@ Ludovico / Monroe

I will just leave this final thought on the AttoPilot, if it’s “immature“ then I can’t wait to see what comes next from the Atto Team, they have already proven the AttoPilot is the Autopilot of choice to hunt Whaling Fleets in the Southern oceans of out planet, which I doubt I will see anyone disagree, taking off from a ship and then coming back home is not an easy task in this environment…… More can be read here on the AttoPilot doing the whale protection w...

 

Regards

 

Martin.

www.buildyourowndone.co.uk

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Permalink Reply by Norman Sanchez on June 13, 2012 at 12:43am

APM is a work of art. I have had countless flights and luckily no accident than sorry. I have invested more than 5 thousand dollars in equipment and accessories do not regret. aeroquad since the beginning of this guy I fell in love. my first girlfriends were Canadian, I have been with Chinese and German but I married a mix of Mexican American. and as every marriage has its ups and downs. and a lifetime to learn. thanks to all

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Permalink Reply by Norman Sanchez on June 13, 2012 at 12:59am

My first girlfriend (Draganfly vti). a Data I had very interesting, I wonder why not to add to apm. when the battery voltage down to levels of failure. the quad down the height. The same was true when he lost the radio signal down gently to the ground. It may put this function in the apm?.

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Permalink Reply by Ludovico Antonio on June 13, 2012 at 3:48am

I looked up attopilot and yes that seems to me a notch up from ardupilot as regard reliability BUT it costs more than 10 times more, which is waaay too much for my budget, so I still stick with Ardupilot because I love its incredible price to functions ratio and the fact that its open source.

I think I`ll make, using some simple cheap and small cmos logic ports, an external bypass thing in order to be able to cut out ardupilot from the control line and gain manual control of the solar drone that, by the way, I never send out of range of sight.

I`ll keep you updated with my progress and eventually make the bypass board design open source :-)

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