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HK GCS Joystick support for AttoPilot

Posted by Paul Mather on January 20, 2011 at 10:30pm
Ok, the idea of this freaks me out a little. I added support of the new $E and $F commands on AttoPilot via joystick input.

joystickcalibrate2.gif

It hasn't been tested in the field yet and only elevator and aileron have any function...right now. I'm hoping to incorporate the $H speed command in as well.

Just as an FYI, you want the numbers to go higher to turn right or go up. Lower for left or down. I also put a hard coded limit of 35 degrees on the pitch and roll....

http://code.google.com/p/happykillmore-gcs/downloads/list

Good luck!

Disclaimer: HappyKillmore takes no responsibility for trying to fly your plane with a joystick. Are you nuts? You've got a R/C controller in your hand. It's right there! I can see it! Fly with that thing...not a joystick!
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Comments

  • Paul Mather April 12, 2011 at 6:38pm

    What about the long white wire shown here? If you add the short white wire too you can power your board through the FTDI cable for testing. I don't remember what the green wire was for, but I don't have it on my board anymore (what an awful soldering job!). That's all I can see different between your setup and mine. I downloaded and compiled the same code as you http://code.google.com/p/happykillmore-gcs/downloads/detail?name=Ar... and mine worked.

     

    Wires also shown in the ArduPilot manual: http://code.google.com/p/ardupilot/wiki/SolderingBoard

    ArduPilotBack.jpg

  • george April 12, 2011 at 6:09pm

    This is a great thread, I just found my green board ardupilot so that I can replace all the EZosd and tracker stuff and just run it from the GCS. Johann thanks for posting all the great pics as it will help me get my own ardutracker running.

     

    And ofcoarse, hats off to you happy for a great GCS!

  • Paul Mather April 12, 2011 at 10:33am
    Can you post a picture of your hardware setup and upload your source code for the ArduTracker?
  • Paul Mather April 11, 2011 at 12:51pm

    1) Yes, ArduTracker must be connected. Otherwise there is nothing to calibrate. Set home takes a second for me. What do you have your data rates set to on the Serial tab and what rate do you have Google Earth set to in the settings window? Here's what I use: 5Hz for Attitude, 3Hz for GPS and 2Hz for Waypoints. I typically have my Google Earth set to 3Hz. These settings might need to be turned down based on your computer's performance.

     

    2) Should be fixed in latest build. There was a bug in the "center" button. http://code.google.com/p/happykillmore-gcs/downloads/list

  • Paul Mather April 10, 2011 at 8:16pm

    Not sure what to tell you on that. I did find a bug when you hit the reload port button on the tracking tab that would disconnect you from your main serial connection. Can you duplicate this issue?

     

    Actually, I see the problem as to why your servos aren't moving. Hit the "Set Home" button on the GCS.

  • Paul Mather April 6, 2011 at 8:57pm

    No, that's not the command I thought Doug was going to use. I suspect it will be MANUAL_CONTROL (#69)

  • Seth April 6, 2011 at 8:11pm
    So, is it possible to somehow map the joystick axis to the Mavlink command "MAV_CMD_DO_SET_SERVO," or is this the command that is not yet implemented?
  • Paul Mather April 6, 2011 at 1:13pm
    APM does not currently support joystick support. The command exists in MAVlink but is not yet implemented in APM.
  • Seth April 6, 2011 at 12:57pm
    I'm interested in using a joystick to control a pan/tilt camera with APM. What is the format in which the inputs are sent to the APM? (I just realized I could monitor the Raw Data feed..) I'm planning on either setting the APM to output PWM over Ch. 5 and 6, or to communicate via serial directly to the turret.

    Thanks!
  • Darren February 15, 2011 at 11:48am
    Ya thats what I was hoping since mavlink seems to begining to work, but for now I guess I need to read more indepth on mavlink protocol. but I had assumed it would be similar to mixing (nudging) like in auto mode, where you mix the user input with nav input.
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