ArduPlane 2.60 released

The main new features in this release are:

wind estimation
long term dead reckoning support
wheeled takeoff and landing support
optional new roll/pitch/yaw controllers from Jon Challinger

For a description of the first 3 new features have a look at my previous post. All of these features have been test flown on my PulseXT 40 and have performed very well.

The new roll/pitch/yaw controllers from Jon can be enabled by building with

#define APM_CONTROL ENABLED

in your APM_Config.h. If you enable the new controllers then I strongly suggest you read Jons blog post about the new controllers and how to tune them. These controllers are still experimental, but if we get good feedback on them from users we will quite likely adopt them as the standard controllers in a future release.

Other changes in 2.60 include:

a new RECEIVER_RSSI_PIN compile time option, to allow you to display receiver RSSI via MAVLink. This should be useful for FPV flying.
an important fix from Jason Short for an erase bug in the dataflash. If you use dataflash logs then please erase them after loading this release to ensure the pages are properly initialised.
support for the new features in the new MTK GPS firmware
updates to the configuration parameters for the Mount code. If you use the mount code, then please check your parameters carefully, as some things have changed.
a fix to the JUMP command in missions, which solved a problem where the wrong command could sometimes be run
a fix to the initial yaw from AHRS when using a compass
new FENCE_ACTION_REPORT value for FENCE_ACTION
new "OBC" failsafe code as a compile time option
new RST_MISSION_CH option
new STICK_MIXING option
support for dual stabilisation mounts (eg. one camera and one antenna)
removed old CLI switch and dip switch support
fixed a derivative filter bug that could have a small affect on AHRS attitude
fixed LOITER_TIME to match MAVLink spec (time is in seconds)
added FBWB_ELEV_REV option

Happy flying!

Replies

Mike Mac August 25, 2012 at 9:10am

One of the developers said that they had the RES_MISSION_CH working on beta firmware so I am assuming that there is something that we are doing differently. Perhaps the RC7_FUNCTION needs to be set to something other than 0 but that’s not in the documentation.

Hoping to get a response from one of the developers. That way I will know if it’s a procedure problem it I will just have to wait for the next firmware update.

Has anyone has success with the RES_MISSION_CH or am I the first one to give that a try?

　

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Mike Mac August 25, 2012 at 5:37am

RST_MISSION_CH I need help!

I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. It sort of works but It is no doing what I want. I set it to channel 7. I flew an AUTO mission then switched to FBW_A. I used channel 7 switch and the WP indicator change to 1. Then I switched back to auto and the WP indicator immediately went to 0 and it started a loiter around that point. I tried it again and this time when I reset the WP indicator stayed 0 and it just loitered around home.

I tried several flights and could not get it to fly to WP 1. What am I doing wrong?

　

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James masterman August 25, 2012 at 1:17am

I'm having an issue with channel 5 & 6 outputs. Previously, I was using channel 5 for manual flaps and 6 for manual camera panning. In Arduplane 2.5, it worked fine, but now I am having a weird bug.

If I set channel 5's function to manual, I get no response on the flaps when I flick the switch. If I set it to mount_roll (or something other than manual), then write the params, then set it back to manual and write params again, it works fine. Each time I restart the autopilot (ie. change the battery) I have to go through this process. It only appears to affect channels 5 & 6.

Anyone else having this problem? It didn't occur in 2.5
Mike Mac August 24, 2012 at 10:30am
I just loaded V2.60 had have a couple of questions:
1. Is there a way to test if the RET_MISSION_CH is working correctly before I make the first flight? I was expecting something like Mission Reset to flash on the HUD but I got nothing.
2. Can I just load my V2.50 PID’s or should I start with defaults and do the tuning all aver again?
3. I went to erase all the old logs but it says no dataflash installed. What’s that all about? I have one of the last APM2’s and Mission Planner 1.2.8.
　

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Paul Marsh August 23, 2012 at 6:54pm

Hi Andrew,

Thank you very much for the updates. I gave things a quick look this evening in simulation and had an issue with the joystick. I'm wondering if MP is not loading the HIL sim version, but it might be a firmware issue. The joysticks work fine in MP initially, can be calibrated, etc. However, as soon as you connect to the simulator, the joysticks are not operative any more. No joystick data from ArduPilot on the sim page in MP, and they are no longer functional on the configuration page in MP. What makes me not so sure that his is an MP problem is that I was using an earlier version of MP where they worked fine before. When I loaded the sim firmware, it did note it as version 2.6.

Thanks,
Paul
Mike Mac August 23, 2012 at 4:46pm

Where can I find more information about the "support for the new features in the new MTK GPS firmware" new feature?
Gábor Zoltán August 23, 2012 at 9:11am

Thank you Andrew! :)
James Court August 23, 2012 at 9:02am

I usually let Mission Planner do my updates, but under firmware it is only showing v2.5 (i have MP v1.2.6)

How do i maunually install v2.6?
Mike Mac August 23, 2012 at 3:13am

If I load V2.6 will I have to redo the level or will it save that for me?
Jonathan Washburn August 22, 2012 at 5:51pm

Hello, can someone shoot me a quick answer if they happen to know. Does the software still support hooking up 2 current sense boards? In the manual it shows that A1 and A2 are for volt and current sensing, but it also shows A3 and A4 can be used too. I do not see the parameters available to set up a second sensor or where it would be displayed. Any ideas??

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ArduPlane 2.60 released

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