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Iris+ acting bizarrely after upgrading Pixhawk 4 firmware-- need advice--

Posted by Bob Vanderlinde on June 20, 2022 at 4:42pm

Hi,

I bought an IRIS+  in 2015 with a Tarus camera gimbal and flew it a few times-- including some auto Missions.  Then I discovered 3DR had gone out of business and the copter has largely sat on the shelf for 7 years.  I just bought 3 new batteries for the copter and one for the radio  and the copter flew fine for 5-6 times--including 1-2Missions loaded on from Mission Planner.  

--Then I began getting the blinking yellow light instead of the blue green light sequence indicating successful pre-arming checks and GPS lock.  Also, every time I hooked the copter to Mission Planner (Ardupilot), I got a message about updating the firmware on the Pixhawk-- so I followed the instructions on the arducopter website and installed new firmware.  The instructions said the parameters would remain unchanged, but after the upgrade, it has been nothing but trouble-- one arming message after another: "needs accelerometer calibaration", "Arming light problems" etc.  Also, the safety button/arming light acts very bizarre, and other things.  For example: LED on copter after plugging in battery turns blue (after red/blue flashing pre-arm checks), I get a solid blue light and a message about the arming button,-- I push the arming button and it goes from flashing red to solid, and the other led goes from blue to flashing green, then solid green (supposed to mean GPS FIX), but down/right on the radio does not start the props.  Also, camera gimbal no longer responsive to radio controller.  

--Sorry about the long rant-- but it's a mess.

I tried loading the stock prams back on the copter from the drop-down menu in Mission Planner, but that didn't help.

---Bottom line: I am grounded and don't know how to proceed:  --how can I just get this copter back to the original configuration-- which worked?

--Obviously I'm no expert at this, but I can follow instructions.

Thanks in advance,

Bob

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Replies

                    • John Molnar > John Molnar June 23, 2022 at 3:13pm
                      Hey Bob - try this: Under Full Param List in MP, find SERVO6_FUNCTION. Try VALUE 7 (Mount Tilt). There is also a Mount Pan option in there...
                      John
                    • John Molnar > John Molnar June 23, 2022 at 3:01pm
                      Hi Bob - OK, you need to set up battery monitoring. MP -> SETUP -> OPTIONAL HARDWARE -> BATTERY MONITOR. ( The SIK telemetry radio link is in OPTIONAL as well - I previously sent the ardupilot link...)
                      John
                    • John Molnar > John Molnar June 23, 2022 at 2:19pm
                      Bob, got your .bin....my bad, disregard the latter part of my previous!
                    • John Molnar > Bob Vanderlinde June 23, 2022 at 2:12pm
                      Hi Bob - Not professionally! But I'm a technology freak and can't believe how much the RC world has advanced in the few yrs. I've been out of it...candy factory. Anyway, I think I know where the tilt parameter is lurking; let me check before opening my mouth. As far as telemetry goes, I'm assuming you're using the IRIS controller - yes, I see you are. What you'll need to do is sync the 3DR (SIK) data radios. The only thing to check after the sync is to insure the 'net ID' is identical on both radios. Right now, don't change anything else in there.
                      https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-configuring-a-telemetry-ra...
                      I'm checking the CH 6 stuff now...
                      ---- What I need is the .bin file from the PX4. In MP, with the drone connected, scroll over to 'Dataflash Logs', select 'Load log by Mavlink', then pick the flight log from the popup. Then, say 'Review a Log' and it'll take you to the MP folder, select Logs -> Quad-> 1. In the resulting files, there will be a .bin file. That's what I need! Later, John!
                      Configuring a Telemetry Radio using Mission Planner — Copter documentation
                    • Bob Vanderlinde > John Molnar June 23, 2022 at 1:41pm
                      Hi John, I've gotten the log bin files off the iris and finally found them on the PC.
                      --what follows might be a link to a dropbox folder with three sets of logs-- lots of files you would understand but are definately Greek to me.

                      https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/u6uuwlhu4xy6fhdeqo9pa/h?dl=0&rlk...

                      -if this doesn't work I don't know how to get the logs to you-- as you noted, there is no option for adding a file in the "messages" or at lease I don't know how to do it!
                      --Yes, I am getting somewhere with this drone--it now passes all the pre-arming checks (I had to calibrate just about everything to get this to happen). Only a few problems remain: one is this camera "Tilt" knob on my FS_TH9X Controller that came with the iris. Using Mission Planner, I was able to re-program the "Flight Modes" switches and the joysticks. Yes, I'm pretty sure I read that channel 6 on the controller is used for the gimbal "tilt", but I can't figure out how to do this in MP.
                      Also, while I have full control of the drone with the controller, I have no data feedback from the drone to the small screen on the controller-- it used to give me battery voltage, # of sattelites and other things--now nothing.
                      Thanks for all your help. I read your profile and apparently you do this professioally--is that right?
                      Best,
                      Bob
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