I have the APM 2.5+ with telemetry and GPS units. I have a 6 channel receiver and a radio controller. I have channels 1-5 connected to inputs 1-5 of the ArduPilot. I am planning on using it on a hexacopter. I have 6 30A ESC and 6 brushless motors. I am using the ArduCopter V3.0.1 software for the hexacopter.
I connected a servo to the ArduPilot to test the output signal. I am in Stabilize Mode and I move the radio controller sticks for throttle, roll, pitch, and yaw but I am not getting any sort of movement from the servo.
As a little extra information, I connected an Oscilloscope to the outputs and got a signals of ~500Hz pulse width modulation signal with a ~1ms output. So, I am trying to figure out why I am not getting a 45Hz pulse width modulation between 1000 and 2000 microseconds.
Any help or advise would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Replies
The APM won't drive its outputs to anything but idle until you've passed the pre-arm checks and successfully armed it. I'm not sure why you're doing what you are but you're pretty much wasting time by connecting a servo to the ESC controls. Your radio inputs are not directly sent to the ESCs. The APM computes the proper values based on it's sensors and the input commands.
To pass the pre-arm checks, you need to calibrate your radio and compass plus have a valid GPS lock.
Go watch all of Randy's excellent Arducopter 3.0 videos on Youtube then proceed.
Are you powering the servos with a alternate BEC? The APM cannot support the amp draw required by the servos.