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NMEA sentences from APM 2.6-ublox GPS to Tetracam ADC Lite camera

Posted by E_Luna on June 23, 2014 at 7:42am

Hello,

I want to get GPS position for each image I take with Tetracam ADC Lite camera without having to analyze the log file after each flight. This camera has a dedicated RS-232 to capture the NMEA GPS sentences.

I´m using APM 2.6 with u-blox GPS. I want to know if someone has used the dedicated input (RS-232 to capture the NMEA GPS sentences) directly from the autopilot-gps connection? Which wires should I used for passing this information to the camera? Any hint on how to do it would be great!

Thanks!

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adc, apm, gps, lite, nmea, tetracam, u-blox

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Replies

Tarmo Remmel June 13, 2016 at 9:40am

Great question; I too am looking for a similar solution. I have a Phantom 2 and a Tetracam ADC Snap camera. Wondering whether the flytrex cable could be used to read NMEA sentences from the built-in GPS to the camera. Hope to give this a test, but wondering if anyone has tried this? Can the Phantom GPS cable be spliced for this type of thing? I don't really want to but the Tetracam Firepoint GPS (extra cost and weight) if I can at all avoid that.

http://www.flytrex.com/support/flytrex-core-2/manual/#8
David July 23, 2015 at 8:39am

Are you planning on stitching the imagery after you geotag it? If so, what stitching software to you plan on using? Its worth noting that the ADC Lite uses a rolling shutter sensor and most stitching software does not like that.
Gatts June 23, 2015 at 2:44pm

Hi guys, has anyone had any success connecting a GPS receiver to a Tetracam? Either via RS232 from an existing receiver or from a stand-alone receiver?
- Joseph > Gatts July 15, 2015 at 5:11am
  
  Checking in, trying to figure out a solution for the same problem.
Jaime August 28, 2014 at 7:55pm

Any luck with this? I also have an ADC Lite which would benefit from this. A question for you, how are you currently geotagging? Mission planner is not working for me since it seems pixel wrench strips the EXIF information and changes the file time when converting RAW to TIF or JPG?
Stuart Brookes June 24, 2014 at 12:23pm

or just get another gps that is rs232 and feed the camera with that...cruder heavier but a bit simpler to implement.
Stuart Brookes June 24, 2014 at 12:21pm

Is the camera expecting true RS232 voltages? If so the ublox is ttl voltage level. You could build a level shifter such as with a max232 chip, tee the tx and gnd signals from the gps to the level shifter circuit, and feed the output of the level shifter to the camera.

I don't know if the ublox can drive 2 sources well, but I would think it would, just beware...if not then it will need buffering, and the output of the buffer sent to the apm and level shifter.