Auto Land Testing and a sad APM

I tested the auto landing feature on the APM I've installed on my Nova. Unfortunately, something has gone awry with the APM (the ADC may have failed) and the APM couldn't load the accelerometers or gyroscopes, causing a stabilization and auto flight mode failure.

I'll be repairing that as soon as possible, and work on getting the Nova back in the air. Meanwhile, I'll do some FPV flights to see if I can't start getting the hang of that.

See you next week!

-Trent

Equipment Used:

Airplane: Scratch-built Nova, see http://www.MyGeekShow.com for plans and build instructions

Main Camera: iPhone 4s

Airplane Camera: FlyCamOne2

Motor: http://www.hobbypartz.com/75m55-optima450-2220-1800kv-2.html

ESC: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=13429

Battery: http://www.hobbypartz.com/77p-sl4400-3s1p-30c-3333.htmlidProduct=6306

Servos: http://www.hobbypartz.com/topromisesg9.html

Prop: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=5437

Stats:

Weight: 32 oz

Thrust: 21 oz

Wing Area: 3.33 square feet

Wing Loading: 5.3 oz per sq ft

If you're interested in building the Nova, I've got free build instructions and plans on my website: http://www.MyGeekShow.com.

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Comments

Rigel March 6, 2012 at 11:10pm

Try reloading ArduPlane from scratch and see if it works.
Rigel March 6, 2012 at 3:02pm

That's not looking too good. You should be getting a stream of data.
Trent at MyGeekShow March 6, 2012 at 5:02am

Rigel: Thank you for your quick response. I tried what you recommended, but it still isn't responding. I tried ADC test while in CLI mode and got all 0's, not sure if that means the adc isn't functioning...
Rigel March 6, 2012 at 1:02am

Rana, don't you have the ground control log?
Rigel March 6, 2012 at 1:00am

Trent, switch your APM to CLI mode. Using APM planner, connect to your APM via USB and select the Terminal tab. Type "setup" <Enter>, then "erase" <Enter>, "y" <Enter>. When done, and before disconnecting, switch your APM back to flight mode and press the APM's reset button...let it do its thing and your done. Don't forget to save your PIDs before all that and to reload them after clearing your EEPROM.
Trent at MyGeekShow March 5, 2012 at 2:42pm

Another update (sorry!) I found this on the CLI: http://code.google.com/p/arducopter/wiki/CLI

It details how to reset the APM... I'll try that!

Thank you for your patience.
Trent at MyGeekShow March 5, 2012 at 2:32pm

I found this: Right drop-down -> Initial Setup -> Initialize EEPROM

Does that sound right? I'll try it when I get home tonight...
Trent at MyGeekShow March 5, 2012 at 2:11pm

Rigel: Thank you for your help! I've been searching on how to clear my EEPROM, but can't seem to find a "how to" in any forums, would you be able to point me to a post that has some ideas on how to do this?

Thank you again for your help!
Rana March 5, 2012 at 10:12am

Hi Rigel !

I was not using the airspeed sensor, infact the wind was quite calm. I suspect, the APM taken reboot, this I am suspecting due to the reason that there was not log recorded during the last crash journey.

Crash happened around 400 meters away from home and the range of the X-Bee we were using had been tested for 2km range, so no link faliure.

Trying to dig more and find the possible reason of reboot.
Rigel March 4, 2012 at 11:32pm

@Trent: Try clearing your EEPROM and reloading your PIDs and mission.

@Rana: Were you flying with an airspeed sensor?

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