Good Day
I have been playing around with the RFD900 and Event 38 BTB, these are excellent products and there are no issues in terms of establishing communication links. The problem is bluetooth connections between Event 38 BTB and a standard 3DR telemetry radio.
The manufacturer advertises that there should be functionality between these two devices, to date I have been unable to establish a bluetooth link.
Yes I have changed the parameters in my setting for Tower, DP and within my PC I have linked all bluetooth devices for MP and APM P. As well I have ensured that the net ID for the 3DR are at 25, is this my problem?
Is there something I'm missing in the settings for the 3DR radio?
Many Thanks
Chuck R
Replies
Hi Chuck,
I saw that you were speaking to Chris about this issue but if there is anything else I can do to help please let me know.
Daniel Cironi
dbcironi@event38.com
R&D Engineer, Event 38 Unmanned Systems Inc.
www.Event38.com
Twitter: @Event38
Hi Daniel
I have changed the Net ID to 20 within MP as suggested but there is still no connection. I have another blue tooth module attached to a 3DR radio and I have connectivity with that (same Net ID).
Any other suggestions, I would like to stay with one system for all my planes and multicopters. I'm in the process of installing 4 RFD900 but still have a short range copter I need to hook up with Event38 BTB.
Many thanks
Chuck
Okay so it seems like the Net ID isn't the issue if you have another module with the same net ID that is able to connect to your radio.
Before we move on though I just want to make sure we are on the same page with how you are trying to connect. Do you have the BTB plugged in over USB to a PC running Mission Planner or do you have it connected over Bluetooth to a phone/tablet running the Tower or DroidPlanner application? Or something else entirely?
Thanks!
Daniel
I do not have it connected to a PC over USB, I'm treating the connectivity as I would a RFD900...stand alone system.
The 3DR radio is connected through either APM or Pixhawk, I have both my PC (running APM P and MP) and Cell & tablet (Tower or Droid P) Bluetooth connected and paired to the BTB.
All is good for my copters and planes with RFD900 for all PC/cell/tablet.
I think we are on the same page.
Chuck
Okay I think I understand now. The only possible problem I could see with your setup is that you have the BTB connected to a PC over bluetooth. With a PC it is better to run the BTB over USB to the PC. So for right now at least, it might be better to only use the BTB over USB to your PC so that we can handle troubleshooting one connection at a time, for right now we will make sure the telemetry connection between the radio on your plane and the radio in the BTB is good.
To do this I think it would be good to check that all of your other settings match on each radio. It seems that the Net IDs match but it is possible that there is another mismatch in the settings such as Op Resend or ECC being checked on one radio but not the other, which can cause issues.
To check this, connect the radio you are using on your APM/Pixhawk over USB to your PC. Open Mission Planner and go to "Initial Setup" and select "3DR Radio" under optional hardware. Make sure you have the proper COM port and a baud rate of 57600 selected and click "load settings". Once all of the settings are loaded unplug the radio and plug in the BTB, making sure it is powered on and that you select the proper COM port again. Then click "save settings". This will copy the exact settings from your radio you are using in your plane to the BTB, which should ensure that they can connect. To verify that this worked you can "load settings" for the radio and the BTB individually and make sure they match. Here is an example of the settings that we use on our BTBs:
After the settings match you should be able to power on and connect the BTB to your PC over USB, select the COM port and baud rate of 57600 and connect to the telemetry on board your plane.
Once it is is verified that we can do this we will look at any other connection problems with regards to the bluetooth connection.
Thanks!
Hello
Little fuzzy on Com port, if I'm over USB with the BTB it's not the bluetooth port I should be using but the USB port selected by my PC which is displayed on the drop down selection listing.
Well it's been frustrating and with no success. I would prefer not to change parameters within 3DR radio just to have it work over USB. I have a bluetooth module that works now so I will stick with that for communicating with my PC.
Understanding the issues related to connecting BTB via PC, appreciate if we can tackle the issue of connectivity between Cell/Tablet and BTB.
For your SA I have a Samsung Note4, with both DP and Tower loaded. I have the Event38 BTB paired and active. Within App's settings I have selected bluetooth and the correct connection device is displayed.
When I load parameters in MP for the BTB the Net ID is 25, but there are some discrepancies with the data from your screen shot,L/R Noise is 73/0 and the 0 temp=-271 not sure how significant these differences are. The version is RFD SiK 1.9 on RFD900P at Freq_915.
Cheers
Chuck
Chuck,
Looking at the screenshots you showed me it seems like the BTB's radio and the other radio should have no problem communicating. So I agree that we should figure out the issue of connectivity between the BTB and the Note 4.
You said the BTB is paired with your Note 4 and setup in Tower. When you click "connect" in Tower what happens? If you don't have an active APM or Pixhawk with a radio for the BTB to connect to then the app will be unable to connect. The BTB cannot connect to the app directly, it creates a bridge between the radio on the APM or pixhawk and your tablet. So when you click "connect" you are actually connecting to the plane or copter through the BTB, not connecting to the BTB directly. Does that make sense?
Hi Daniel
That makes total sense, I never attempt connection unless APM/Pixhawk is live and active and all fail safes have met the protocols. That means I have 3D GPS lock and green light flashing on pixhawk and the safety switch can be engaged. I have an active light on my 3DR radio, green red blinking.
I ensure settings within Tower are set as Bluetooth and in the USB, TCP and UDP settings I have Event38 BTB device selected.
When I try and connect I receive no error message, I would assume I should get some sort of error message... timed out, failed read, no heart beat....etc.
Thanks for all your help
Chuck
Hello Daniel
Have you had any success in the BTB connection with 3DR radio issue to the latest version of Tower? not critical at this point but just curious.
Now that I have 4 airframes operting with the RDF900 my next task is to intergrate OSD. Do you have a wiring schematic that could assist?
Have a Happy New year
Chuck
Chuck,
I just spent the last 30 minutes or so trying to connect to my plane using Tower through a BTB. I have tried multiple BTBs and I used Tower version 3.2.0 and 3.1.6 with no success, and finally on version 3.1.4 I was able to connect. It seems that some of the recent updates to Tower have caused issues. I even tried using a USB dongle with a 3DR radio to my tablet with the newer versions of Tower and even those didn't work. So I don't think this is a problem with the BTB but rather with the application itself.
I was however able to connect easily with Droidplanner 2 and a BTB. Have you tried using Droidplanner 2 to connect? I'm curious if that will work. Meanwhile I am going to look into why 3DR's newest versions of Tower are not working properly.