Suppose I have a drone equipped with DJI's A2 controller. I am wondering if I can replace the flight controller of DJI's A2 by Pixhawk. More specifically, is there any possibility that Pixhawk can communicate IMU, GPS, and PMU of A2. Or do I need to replace all the electronics except motors and batteries? I would appreciate any suggestion.
I am new to drones and to radio controlled systems, but I have good experience with various robotic systems and programming. So if specs of any protocol or data format are given, I am confident to work with it.
What I want to build by using Pixhawk is a completely autonomous drone.
- Follows a preprogrammed waypoints.
- Lands and takes off by itself for recharging or replacing payloads.
- (Payload is a camera with video downlink. This is electrically isolated from the flight control system.)
If I have to replace all the electronics, are these listed below sufficient? Am I missing anything? Is IMU included in Pixhawk?
- 3DR Pixhawk
- 3DR uBlox GPS with Compass Kit
- DF13 6 Position Connector 15 cm
- Hexacopter Power Distribution Board
Thanks
Iai
Replies
The only electronics you can us are the ESCs.
The DJI IMU, GPS, and everything that goes with it is proprietary to DJI and specially to the A2. Your A2 GPS and IMU won't even work with the DJI NAZA M, the DJI NAZA M GPS won't even work with the DJI NAZA H and so on and so on.
You can use the ESCs with the Pixhawk, but that's about it. Enjoy.
We have done just that about 2 weeks ago. Removed the over priced and faulty A2 and replaced it with a Pixhawk. I doubt that you would be able to use the DJI compass/GPS or IMU unit. Although they also use a ublox GPS module they use their own protocol over the CAN bus. I would just go ahead and get the 3DR compass/GPS unit, as for the IMU sensors, they are already built into the Pixhawk.
I would recommend pixhawk over the A2 anyday. Much much better support and flies just as well, if not better.
Now I am confident to go ahead.
Did you use the ESC from DJI?
No, we used a couple of different brands but if I remember correctly we now use the flyfun ESC.
Some other tips:
- Keep in mind that pixhawk does not yet fully support SBUS and you might need to use a PPM encoder (can also get it from 3DR). But depends on what radio you are using, we use Futaba.
- Also get the longer compass and GPS cables. We found that the ones that come with the compass/GPS unit is a bit on the short side.
- The power module only supports up to 4S input so if you have a large drone that runs from 6S you might need to make a modification here or run the pixhawk on a separate battery (try to keep a common ground)
- Start with the standard gains settings for your airframe, the default ones worked perfect for us.
You are on the right track with the pixhawk, we have now done a number of auto take-offs, auto landings and waypoint flights without a single issue.
Good luck!
It's been a while since your last post on this. Just checking you're still happy? I'm looking to do the same
Hi Todd,
Have never looked back since getting the Pixhawk. It truly is an amazing autopilot, we have now stopped looking for autopilot related issues and started focusing our attention on the reliability of our ESC and mechanical parts because it just keeps working perfectly every time!
We tested it recently by performing 105 flights of about 6 minutes each over a period of two weeks, stretching over 4 different locations without a single failure.Some days we had wind speeds on the ground of about 7m/s so you can imagine what it must have been up in the air! The only thing that sometimes had a hiccup was our links, we are using the 433MHz links from 3DR. Some days they would give us good range and some days not so much. I've heard that the 900MHz (think US only) works much better.
With its open source nature also comes a lot of power if you wanted to do some custom features or extensions.
I would still recommend it above the A2 every time!
Thanks Jan,
As a matter of interest what crafts are you using?
Cheers Todd
We are using Y6 crafts that are custom build by a local company. Will see if I can find a photo or two to post.
I really appreciate your help!!