Developer

ArduCopter-3.2 beta testing

Warning #1: PX4/Pixhawk users upgrading from AC3.1.5 (or earlier) may need to re-do their compass and accelerometer calibration because AC3.2 also uses the backup compass and accels.  Pre-arm checks have been added to ensure this has been done.

Warning #2: on the APM2.x the logs must be downloaded using MAVlink instead of the terminal.

AC3.2-rc14 is now available for BetaTesters through the mission planner’s Beta Firmwares link.  The full release notes can be found in ReleaseNotes.txt and changes from -rc13 can be seen below.

     Feel free to raise issues found during testing on this discussion or in the new support section in the APM Forum.

     It’s a big release with “the onion” restructure and a bunch of new features (including these 57 closed items) so we need to re-test almost everything including all flight modes, all mission commands and all the new features.  Marco and I will be maintaining (and adding to) this testing list.  Issues reported will first be checked by Jonathan, Marco and I and then confirmed bugs/issues will be put on the github issues list (and then hopefully fixed).

     Thanks especially to the beta testers who put their copters at risk testing each release.  Enjoy!

Changes from 3.2-rc13
1) Safety Features:
     a) fail to arm if second gyro calibration fails (can be disabled with ARMING_CHECK)
2) Bug fixes:
    a) DCM-check to require one continuous second of bad heading before triggering LAND
    b) I2C bug that could lead to Pixhawk freezing up if I2C bus is noisy
    c) reset DCM and EKF gyro bias estimates after gyro calibration (DCM heading could drift after takeoff due to sudden change in gyro values)
    d) use primary GPS for LED status (instead of always using first GPS)

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        • Yes I get that too. It has been a bit frustrating for me as I spent a great deal of time building a waterproof quad so I could get low level high definition video over water but because of this issue it was impossible. The copter would go up and or down 20 meters on high speed runs. I was better off in stabilize mode. I left the battery door open to see if it was the equalization vent but it was not. What would happen with me is on a high speed forward run it would drop to the point I have to increase the throttle then as I slowed down it would shoot up 20 meters. It seems like there could be a firmware solution for this. If forward speed created a lower altitude seems like this could be automatically be adjusted. Might not work going in reverse real fast but I'd say that would be a decent trade off. 

  • i test arducopter 3.2 rc12

    apm

    2 different gps with nmea output (38400 baud VTG GGA 5Hz)

    in mission planner show "no gps"

    blue led off

    i test different gps settings 1 (auto), 5(nmea) - no difference

    when i use AC 3.15 firmware - all work fine

    • hi please find attached log at 2.5 mins roughly my pixhawk quad in loiter veered to the left quite sharply then restabilized with 3.2.rc 12 two gpss plugged in main one 3dr 6h and neo 7 as second using neo7 compass as its

      at the front don't know if this would affect ant thing

      about fourth flight with rc12 no probs but at the 2.5 min mark I got

      err gps2 and  err gps 0 could this be a flaw as pixhawk switch from one to another ?

      or does this err mean something else ?

      tried loiter and rtl both worked fine after

      stuart

      • i test gps modules separatly

        as primary gps at APM controller

        NMEA protocol on APM is not work

        • Developer

          Alexey,

          Yes, you're right.  Due to flash space constraints we dropped NMEA and SIRF GPS Support in AC3.2.  It's possible to re-enable them if you're compiling the code yourself.  It should work by simply commenting out this line from AP_GPS.h:

          #if HAL_CPU_CLASS < HAL_CPU_CLASS_75 && defined(APM_BUILD_DIRECTORY)
              #if (APM_BUILD_TYPE(APM_BUILD_ArduCopter) || defined(__AVR_ATmega1280__))
          //        #define GPS_SKIP_SIRF_NMEA            <---- comment out this line.
              #endif
          #endif

          Although in my testing I found I needed to comment out this line in AP_GPS.cpp where the GPS_SKIP_SIRF_NMEA definition is checked.

          These two GPS drivers consume 4k of flash and we're simply out of space on the APM2.  We could potentially create an alternative set of binaries for people to load themselves with the "Load custom firmware" link of the mission planner.

          • Randy,

            thank you very much for your help!!!

            of course i will compile hex file for myself and for my friends

            all modules ublox, sirf & mediatek  is support nmea protocol

            maybe select it by default for compatibility in next relises ?

            • Developer

              Alexey,

              No problem.

              SIRF and NMEA are available by default on Pixhawk but we just couldn't fit it on the APM2 without dropping support for something else that seemed equally important.

              So I won't be able to enable it by default for the next release.  What I can do is sacrifice some other feature (like Sonar) and create a special binary for a limited number of frame types (like quad, tri, hexacopter and octacopter).  I'd probably put those into the ardupilot.com/downloads area.

              • of course!
                maximum 1-2% of APM users use sonar.
                support of lots types GPS is more important!

      • sorry cannot upload log too big

        stuart

  • Hi Randy,

    This is my logs from a flight i did while chasing a ship. Seem to be an EKF issue or maybe the boat was too rocky. Maybe you would want take a look if there is an issue as im not too sure. 

    And also, I want to mention, the loiter on RC12 is rock solid. I was about 70 meters up and wind was quite gusty. Seem like someone paste a drone sticker in the sky. *thumbs up*

    Thanks!

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