Hi my APM 2.5 arrived today and I have just fitted to a new build frame, loaded new 2.7.3 and all running fine with the usb but when I try and power the board from the esc's I get the blue light flash 2 times then amber once then nothing.
If i connect the usb to the board with the battery connected all is ok and the board boot's up and then I can arm.
If i then unplug the usb with the battery still attached it remains in boot mod and I can arm.
there is a jumper on J1 I have checked and the board was fully assembled one
can some one please assist in this problem
Replies
Well just to put my penny's worth in, I too am having the same fault with my new APM2.5 "BUT" my ESC's are giving out a stable 5.6v (Turnigy plush 40A) Also with two external Becs (both profesional and adjustible from 4.8v to 6.2v) with JP1 in and out, with wired bridge and with Esc on output and Bec on input, upstairs, downstairs, hot and cold.
The same Esc's work fine with my APM1, APM2, Crius and Wii controllers.......So any ideas ?
let's assume that the voltage is really to low
step 1. I power the board up with just the ESC on the output rail.
step 2. The board fails to boot (only 2 blinks of leds and then it stays off)
so now if I connect let's say phone charger to the microUSB of the APM it should boot. But it's doesn't.
If I change the order, and connect the USB prior to conecting ESCs the board boots fine
can anybody confirm?
You all sound like a bunch of broken records. Multiple boards have been back to 3D Robotics and have tested just fine. The root of the issue seems pretty clear to a bystander. The boards are not getting the power they need which is what I suggested a month ago.
That's not 3D Robotics' problem nor is it something they can control. To be nice maybe they could examine a complete setup exhibiting the problem instead of just the APM. Though that would be going above and beyond on 3D Robotics' part if they did that since the APM that have been sent back work fine. I sincerely hope everyone gets their stuff working and can enjoy it!
Hello, I have had the same problem as it was portrayed here.
Hardware: APM 2.5, with SimonK ESC.
My solution: New install the software 2.7.3 and use of new ArduCopter ESC 30 Amp
J1 removed and 1 (power) cable from output to input.
Everything works fine now.
Greetings from Cologne, Germany
Klaus
Hi Guys,
after receiving my replacement and attaching to the same setup as the 1st APM 2.5 that didn't work the replacement one did !!!! I never changed anything either :-)
I have had a reply from Craig here is a copy of the email I received:
Graham, the power supply input section on the APM 2.5 is not the same as either the APM2 or the APM1 and just because an ESC will work with one version of APM does not mean it will work with any of the others.
I'm sure you are also aware there are manufacturing tolerance ranges in all electronics so one system will work within one set of voltage ranges and another will work within a different set of voltage ranges. There is a range where they are guaranteed to work, but it is a mistake to assume for example that just because one unit will work 0.1 or 0.2V out of that range that another one will also.
Your board worked correctly when it was originally tested at 3DR before shipping and it worked correctly again here when it was returned and re-tested. Likely the only appreciable difference between the two locations is the power supply combination of ESC, PDB, and wiring used to power the APM.
We have a lot of users that have issues like yours related to supplying power to the APM from various ESCs. We are actually going to start manufacturing our own power regulator that will run independently from all of the various shapes and sizes and quality of ESCs that people try to use with the APM and provide clean, adequate power all the time.
That power supply will be available by the end of October but in the meantime I would appreciate you passing this information on to the people that you are advising in your forum that they should read the wiki
https://code.google.com/p/ardupilot-mega/wiki/APM2board and they need to pay close very attention to the power supply requirements to avoid the kinds of problems you and others have had.
Regards,
Craig
Just to set the record straight Craig I am NOT "advising" anyone in this thread ;-)
Now I would like to know how much these power regulator's are going to cost ? I'm all for this going forward but when is this going to end ? I am NO expert on this but why have all these board got to run differently as I dont know what the figures would be but I would say that 90% of the people that buy these boards will use off the shelf esc's or flashed ones.
I would have said it would be better if the development team sat down and thought about this a bit more than "O" we have a problem lets manufacturing our own power regulator to fix it. As its me Joe blog's that has to then buy this. Do we have a price that this is going to cost us? Are the members that have already bought the APM 2.5 going to get these free? at a discount?
Please dont think that I am angry NO I am just miffed as to why!!!
Lefebvre, for some reason it wouldn't let me reply inline to the discussion, but what about a general purpose adjustable switching power supply like this one?
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/products/de-swadj3
I have the Castle Creations adjustable BEC on a helicopter and haven't had any issues and wasn't aware they had a bad reputation.
Guys, I've read through all of this, and want to try to help though I haven't experienced this problem myself. I haven't talked to Craig about it, but the fact that you guys are powering the board as instructed, as far as I can tell, and using typical ESC's, or even the 3DR ESC's... something is obviously not right.
The wiki states that you must power the board with 5.37V +/-0.5, which is almost impossible for any common ESC since you cannot adjust voltage. It's pretty clear to me that you guys are supplying 5.0V on the output rail, which is within spec in the wiki, but it's not working. I think that obviously some combination of temperatures, etc is causing more voltage drop across the diode than it does in the 3DR lab. Or it may be possible that what is happening is the ESC's drop below 5.0V in the colder temperatures, and of course you have no ability to adjust the voltage in the ESC's.
Fact is, the typical 5.0V is very near the 4.87V minimum in the spec. Too close, IMO. It would not take much to cause a brownout, which is probably what's happening. Maybe you're really close to the limit, and then when the GPS chip starts booting, that little extra bit of processing power is causing it to blackout. Or maybe it's when the Rx boots. I don't know.
One solution to this problem (which is not a 3DR recommended hack) is to place a jumper wire from the positive voltage output rail to the positive voltage input rail. Basically, you are bypassing the diode. I'd like it if one of you could give it a try. Make sure you understand what I'm saying. If you break it, you get to keep both pieces. You are bypassing the diode, and taking the 5.0V from the ESC directly onto the input rail. The APM should now be powered with 5.0V from the ESC, and I bet you it will boot and run perfectly fine no matter what the temperature.
But, the thing to know about this is that if you plug your APM2.5 into the USB port with this jumper in place, you might have problems. You would have to remember to remove it anytime you plug it into USB. I myself have forgotten this a few times, and my computer has some protection circuit, if the USB power goes too high. It shuts something down inside and I have to reboot. Then it's fine. I would think most computers have this protection, so forgetting to remove the jumper should be an annoyance at worst.
I have for a long time disagreed with the power recommendations of this system and actually argued against what's in that Wiki. I don't think we should be powering them from the ESC's, we should be powering them with a separate, dedicated 5.00V linear voltage regulator. Period.
On all my helis, I use an LM7805 linear regulator to power the board. It is routed to the input side, and it supplies it with EXACTLY 5.00V, clean power, reliably. This has the additional benefit of allowing me to boot up the board before the ESC's or servos. It also means that no power fluctuations caused by the servos have any effect on the APM. No brownouts, nothing. It is reliable, and it just works. My servos are powered by a seperate 6V 10A BEC.
This is something else you could look into. An LM7805 or similar should be available at any small electronics store. Remember you need a capacitor and resistor hooked up to it to make it work right, this detail should come from the manufacturer of your regulator.
If you go the route of an external regulator, you MUST remove the JP1 jumper so that that power is not fed to the output rail, and there is no way that you can backfeed that power into the servos or ESC. This has the additional benefit of eliminating any problem for the USB. I can plug my USB into the board with the LM7805 connected and it's fine.
On my 3DR quad, I have an APM1.4, and I power from the ESC just out of convenience. But, there is no diode, so it is still getting 5.0V from the BEC.
Graham, I just tested your board one of the quads on my bench.
It worked perfectly fine right out of the package you sent to be powered off of the USB cable to load the firmware and calibrate the radio, and then off the battery to arm, respond to the stick inputs from the RC equipment to operate the motors, and then to disarm.
I made no changes to your jumper setup on the board.
Please read the section in the wiki on powering your APM and ensure that your ESC is providing the correct voltage and is plugged into the correct position on the board.
Regards,
Craig
Is anyone using VM on a mac to connect to their board? if so the solution is right here.
http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/warning-firmware-verification-fai...
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