Hello DIY Drones!
I am a newcomer to this fantastic hobby, and am hitting a minor (hopefully) speed bump right at the onset.
Any help, suggestions, advise or encouragement would be greatly appreciated.
I am in the process of setting up an ArduCoper 3DR Hexa-B with an Ardupilot 2.5 using a Spektrum DX8 radio and Spektrum AR8000 receiver.
So a quick rundown of how far along the build is:
I have the frame constructed, the motors hooked up to the ESCs, the ESCs and input wires plugged into the PDB, and the outputs and power cables hooked up the the APM 2.5.
I connected the APM 2.5 to the Mission Planner software via USB and updated the board with the hex x software. I then attempted to connect the receiver and bind and calibrate it while connected to Mission Planner but it wouldn't pair.
When I connect a battery to the system, there is a 3 note musical tone, and then beeps every few seconds which correspond with each motor jogging a fraction of a turn each.
Is there something wrong with how the Ardupilot is connected to the receiver, or am I missing something else?
See inserted photos for reference, I have a video of the symptoms that I could upload if need be.
Thanks!
Replies
So that worked! I wasn't providing power to the receiver properly, it seems.
I have now run into a separate issue. After binding the transmitter, I went through all of the calibration steps in mission planner. After setting up all the parameters and confirming that everything was bound to the correct controls, failsafe settings, etc, I hooked it up to the LiPo to test again and verify the prop motors were going in the correct direction.
No dice. No matter what I try I can't seem to get it to send thrust to the motors. I know they are hooked up and piowered, they make a lot of noise when I plug in the LiPo.
Saw a post about booting the APM up first via USB power, then binding the transmitter, then hooking up the battery. Also saw stuff about setting the flight mode to "Stabilize" and pushing the throttle stick down and to the right or left to arm.
Did you experience anything similar, or is there some magical button to arm the props that I have been missing?
You should be able to arm the ESCS by holding your rudder to the right for 5 seconds while throttle is down. Its a long 5 seconds! You can also arm in mission planner. Its
Does the HUD say armed? If it does then you might need to ground an output on the APM to your ESC breakout board.
Shane
Hmm... I hadn't tried to arm it in the mission planner.
Going to try to do that after work. Want to make sure the motors are turning in the right direction so I can start to clean up the cables and lock things down.
I'm going to try to wire a ground to the ESC board, maybe from the power module that has a ground contact unused. Is that an okay idea? Or is there a point to ground to on the power distribution board?
Thanks for all the help you've given me so far. Will post more pics and videos as this progresses.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next