Initial setup of arducopter

Use the wkii and do the cli set up. The esc calibration under the new apm is different. Search and find esc calibration on the wikii site. The trick for this part is you have to switch to the fly mode. If the radio is not calibrated it means you have to start over.

ESC calibration

One of the things that's trickiest with quadcopters is calibrating all four ESCs so that they respond the same to APM and your RC system.

There are two ways to do this:

1) Auto ESC calibration

This method works once you have all the ESCs connected to the power distribution board and have connected all your RC cables as instructed earlier in the manual.

For this portion of the setup, you'll have to switch to the Terminal, which can be found in the Mission Planner drop-down menu. The APM slider switch should still be in the CLI position--towards the RC pins.

Safety first - Remove props!

In the CLI, enter Setup Menu, type "esc"
Unplug USB and Battery. This will power down the APM board (don't worry--it has save a special code in EEPROM that will tell it to reboot in ESC setup mode)
Move the CLI slider switch to FLY position (away from RC pins)
Turn on your RC transmitter and put the throttle stick in High position.
Plug in your ArduCopter LiPo battery as usual. The ABC lights will flash in sequence
Drop your throttle stick to the lowest position
Unplug the battery. Your ESCs are now calibrated. No further action is required.

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Bot_1 June 24, 2011 at 9:51pm
Use the wkii and do the cli set up. The esc calibration under the new apm is different. Search and find esc calibration on the wikii site. The trick for this part is you have to switch to the fly mode. If the radio is not calibrated it means you have to start over.

ESC calibration

One of the things that's trickiest with quadcopters is calibrating all four ESCs so that they respond the same to APM and your RC system.

There are two ways to do this:

1) Auto ESC calibration

This method works once you have all the ESCs connected to the power distribution board and have connected all your RC cables as instructed earlier in the manual.

For this portion of the setup, you'll have to switch to the Terminal, which can be found in the Mission Planner drop-down menu. The APM slider switch should still be in the CLI position--towards the RC pins.

Safety first - Remove props!
1. In the CLI, enter Setup Menu, type "esc"
2. Unplug USB and Battery. This will power down the APM board (don't worry--it has save a special code in EEPROM that will tell it to reboot in ESC setup mode)
3. Move the CLI slider switch to FLY position (away from RC pins)
4. Turn on your RC transmitter and put the throttle stick in High position.
5. Plug in your ArduCopter LiPo battery as usual. The ABC lights will flash in sequence
6. Drop your throttle stick to the lowest position
7. Unplug the battery. Your ESCs are now calibrated. No further action is required.

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