Hi!
First of all: Arducopter is a really great an sophisticated project.
This is my fourth multirotor and my first Quad with APM 2.0 (others: Quad multiwii, Tri multiwii, Quad Naza, Blade mqx :) ) and the apm2 flies really well in stab mode - though acro seems to me is still the domain of multiwii, even compared to the - in my opinion - highly overrated naza (btw i will def. not buy another naza unit for several good reasons, but thats only me). I will dig in tuning the GPS-thing after the next FW release because i only use RTH as failsave and that works quiet well for me on stock settings.
After googling and reading the wiki i still have some points:
1. I use the FrSky D4FR in ppm mode (jumper) on my apm2 (jumper). It also puts out the rssi signal as pwm. From my understanding the apm needs an analog voltage as rssi input. Is there a software way without extra components to put the pwm rssi directly into the apm? It would be nice for the OSD.
2. I have the FrSky Ampere Sensor (FAS-100) sometimes connected to my other setup with FrSky D8R-II receiver. This ampere sensor puts out a serial data stream. Is there a way to connect it to some serial port on the apm and get it read out by the software? It also would be nice for the OSD.
3. Info/question
For the first time i use the very cheap Hobbywing SkyWalker 20A ESC in my quadsetups (9,50€). They use the SIL chip - so no flashing at the moment. Sometimes not all of them will arm at 490Hz PWM frequency so i lowered it in the missionplanner to 400 Hz and the issue is resolved. Besides this they fly very well don't heat up (with 12A rated motor) and i didn't notice a different flightbehaviour from the lowered pwm freq. What are your experiences with these ESC at 490Hz?
4. For voltage monitoring of my 3S (max 12,6V) setup i use the diy voltage devider in the picture below. I calibrated it in the missionplanner with a multimeter and it seems to work. Is it ok like this or is it dangerous that way?
Thanks for your patience reading this stuff!
So long
Kraut Rob
Replies
As i can understand- there are no way to make analog RSSI working this way... Pity... My RSSI is analog. Maybe i can get new RX with PWM rssi.
Anyway, great job!
Wow, I can't believe you didn't get any responses to this! Thanks for sharing your research. I am using DORA to integrate RSSI to my MinimOSD, and definately appreciate your work. Thanks, Al
Ok, you don't want it - but you get it now because i know what you don't want :) !
So the warnings first:
1. It is not the official firmware, it is based on the work of Gabor here:
[url]http://code.google.com/p/minimosd-extra/[/url]
2. The codechanges have just been tested by me on my FrSky D4FR.
Now a completely OSD independent tip: I read reports that the successor of D4FR - the D4FR II has sumsignal and PWM RSSI on different pins! So check this out first because in the worst case the falsely suspected sumsignal can arm your copter and make it jump in your face....
Other PWM RSSI signals might be interpreted as well (like Scherrer UHF) perhaps with a slight software change (see below). In any case make sure, that your RSSI PWM signal does NOT EXCEED 3,3V! Otherwise you will risk burning the input circuit of your arduino. In that case a voltage devider (wiki) may come in handy. The levels of D4FR are save.
3. The changes are quick and dirty so the parameter "Throttle" in the GUI is used for the RSSI value display. That means clicking and positioning "Throttle" really does placing the later displayed RSSI value. I don't know why you need throttle displayed anyway, because you have it under your finger.
4. The changes and soldering are done at your own risk.
Compiling the code:
==============
1. Start Arduino 1.0.1
2. Select under files/preferences the folder of my sketchbook as sketchbook and save.
3. Close Arduino and restart it with ArduCAM_OSD
4. Compile and upload. (Arduino promini 5V, 16MHZ)
5. Now start the Gui (MyOSD_PWMRSSI\Config tool for 1.29\OSD_Config.exe). Now you can choose between 2 charsets for upload:
5a.MyOSD_PWMRSSI\DotLineRSSI.mcm shows a dotline as horizont.
5b.MyOSD_PWMRSSI\SolidLineRSSI.mcm shows the regular C64-style horizont - like always.
Choose your charset and upload. The "MBM" at start simply had to be! With this program (]http://www.maximintegrated.com/design/tools/applications/evkit-soft...]) you can make your own charset.
Adjustments for different PWM signals:
============================
A small difference (5 to 7%) between the OSD and your LCD display (in my case Frsky DHT-U) is OK. I would suggest a small alteration of the code if the difference exceeds 10%.
In the main program you can see in line 176:
osd_throttle = constrain(pulseIn(RSSIPIN, HIGH,1000)*10/25,0,100);
The divisor of 25 is arbitrary. My D4FR PWM RSSI returned a value of 250 at 100%. It goes without saying that you have to increase the divisor (for example to 26 or higher) if the OSD - displayed percentages are too high.
Room for improvement:
================
The current readout of the RSSI PWM with "pulseIn" (http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/pulseIn) is rudimentary and never so correct and time effective like a interrupt driven readout. This exceeds my programming capabilities.
Integration into the actual Gabor version.
So long
Rob
P.s.: Here is the link to the German forum: http://fpv-community.de/showthread.php?9891-MinimOSD-Clone&p=19...
Update to point 3: With the new FW 2.7.3 i left the PWM frequ on 490Hz an i had no arming problem with skywalker 20A ESC anymore. I am not shure if the problems i had occured before i upgraded to an extra BEC for my apm 2.0. So no 490Hz issues with skywalker 20A esc. My quad flies stable like a rock. rateP 0.2. If you just fly 3s and don't need flashed esc they are a really good bang for the buck.
No ideas?