Hi everyone,After spending almost my entire Sunday trying to get this work, I finally thought that asking here might be wise...Here is my problem:I can't get to control my tarot gimbal tilt from my RC through the Pixhawk.I think the Pixhawk is running the latest apm version (I updated it a month ago).I've found two different wiring instructions.- Here, using 3 cables: http://3drobotics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Tarot-gimbal-kit-quady6x8.pdf- Here, with 2 cables: http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-tarot-gimbal/None would work for me.With the 3 wires option, the gimbal turns and locks facing up/left.With the 2 wires option, the gimbal behaves like it's working independently (i.e. stabilizes nicely, keeping the camera straight, but now way to command it).I checked in APM PLANNER, RC calibration, the knob (pot) I want to use seems correctly mixed to channel 6 and I can see the gauge moving on the calibration page.So it seems that it is not something on the RC side or the Rx.Btw, I use a turnigy 9x flashed with the er9x firmware. The receiver is a FrSky D8r-II plus flashed with the XP firmware to get PPM.I also followed the wiki instructions to configure the gimbal in the mission planner.I uploaded the 3dr settings to the gimbal with the tarot flashing software.And the gimbal is running the 1.4 firmware.So please, can anyone help me find where I'm messing up?And as a starting point: is it a 2 or 3 cables wiring needed to the pixhawk?Many thanks for your help,Mathieu
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Yes exactly, I'm using a goodluckbuy alexmos board, which I now know to be an unauthorised clone (you pay an extra $15 for the 'official' firmware which turns out to be b*llocks). The board itself seems to work very well, certainly better than the cheap rubbish that the tarot 2d comes with, but my problem at this point is simply getting a signal out of the aux port. My ch6 from rc (taranis/x8r) is coming through fine as I can see it on the rc calibration page, but it doesn't seem to pass through to aux1 even though I know I've set it up properly through APM Planner/MP. Ive tried setting MNT_MODE and BRD_PWM_COUNT and I see a difference now, but I can't get more than .34v. I would expect to see up to the full 3.3v. My problem lies at the moment at the pixhawk end, rather than the gimbal controller end.
Neal Connolly > Chris LewickiAugust 17, 2014 at 3:40pm
This solved my issue as well! Thank you for posting this.
nickthecook > Chris LewickiJuly 15, 2014 at 11:38am
Thanks Chris. I have everything I need to set this up except an adapter plate to mount it on my Y6, and I have done a "point camera here" in APM planner just for fun.
This would really have stumped me once I got it all set up if I hadn't run across this post.
You have probably tried this, but connect a normal servo to the gimbal control channel on your receiver to make sure it has a signal and that you have mapped it properly from your TX
I rewired everything, reinstalled the tarot firmware (gimbal + motors), tweaked the gimbal configuration in APM mission planner, and... it's now working.
Also, maybe I was so impatient to have the gimbal tilt command work that I didn't turn the knob enough.
The gimbal starts to tilt after I give the knob a 1/4 - 1/3 turn.
Anyway, now I need to fine tune the gimbal to get rid of the vibrations.
And now I'm considering mounting a gimbal "front faced" on my TBS Discovery.
Not sure if I can reuse the tarot controller with other motors to use this one.
I am just about to try this week. my X8 arrives and i am hoping its not a total bun fight trying to get working.. as i have not yet seen the pixhawk i am still a little confused as to wether i can power my gimble straight from it? or if i have to get another battery like the instructions say.. any suggestions..or help aprecaited
As far as I understand, the gimbal can not be powerd by the Pixhawk.
Some prefer using a separate battery to power the Gimbal, in that case, a small 3s or 2s LiPo battery will do the trick.
I chose to use only one battery for powering everything (pixhawk, motors, fpv...).
Here is how it works:
The Gimbal works with "DC 7.4V ~ 14.8V (Recommended 12V, three lithium battery)", and "working current: 200mA-500mA" meaning if you have a way to connect the gimbal to your main 3S battery in parallel , it will work.
I think he was asking more about how to control the gimbal with the transmitter, not power the gimbal. I'm in the same boat, got my Tarot gimbal powered just fine, trying to figure out how to get Pixhawk to send a command from the Aux2 knob on my Spektrum Dx7s through to the gimbal to control tilt angle on the fly.
Darryl Cannon > Darryl CannonApril 3, 2014 at 10:39pm
I figured it out. The pin layout for that gimbal control board is tricky...9 pins, 3x3. I was putting the servo connectors on it the wrong way...sideways 90 degrees from the orientation they were supposed to go on. I used the 3 wire connection, put the white/signal wire in the middle for Tilt, and that may be all you need to do, but I also put the red wire on the left side of that one, and the black wire on the right side. (Using lettering printed on circuit board for orientation) Then my Aux2 knob (again, Dx7s) controls channel 6 on the Pixhawk, and therefore the knob now tilts the camera up/down. It's not a linear control like I was hoping, may do some research into that and see if I can make that happen, but for now it moves the camera up or down indefinitely when you move the knob away from center until the gimbal hits the angle limits you set up in software. Centering the knob stops movement, it's still free to self-level of course, and the center section of the knob is kind of fat with a beep to let you know.
Replies
Yes exactly, I'm using a goodluckbuy alexmos board, which I now know to be an unauthorised clone (you pay an extra $15 for the 'official' firmware which turns out to be b*llocks). The board itself seems to work very well, certainly better than the cheap rubbish that the tarot 2d comes with, but my problem at this point is simply getting a signal out of the aux port. My ch6 from rc (taranis/x8r) is coming through fine as I can see it on the rc calibration page, but it doesn't seem to pass through to aux1 even though I know I've set it up properly through APM Planner/MP. Ive tried setting MNT_MODE and BRD_PWM_COUNT and I see a difference now, but I can't get more than .34v. I would expect to see up to the full 3.3v. My problem lies at the moment at the pixhawk end, rather than the gimbal controller end.
This solved my issue as well! Thank you for posting this.
Thanks Chris. I have everything I need to set this up except an adapter plate to mount it on my Y6, and I have done a "point camera here" in APM planner just for fun.
This would really have stumped me once I got it all set up if I hadn't run across this post.
Chris,
You have probably tried this, but connect a normal servo to the gimbal control channel on your receiver to make sure it has a signal and that you have mapped it properly from your TX
Did you try checking the wiki??
http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-tarot-gimbal/
Sorry Jaime it took me so long to reply,
Yes I had.
For some reason, I finally got it to work.
I rewired everything, reinstalled the tarot firmware (gimbal + motors), tweaked the gimbal configuration in APM mission planner, and... it's now working.
Also, maybe I was so impatient to have the gimbal tilt command work that I didn't turn the knob enough.
The gimbal starts to tilt after I give the knob a 1/4 - 1/3 turn.
Anyway, now I need to fine tune the gimbal to get rid of the vibrations.
And now I'm considering mounting a gimbal "front faced" on my TBS Discovery.
Not sure if I can reuse the tarot controller with other motors to use this one.
http://klinkeraerospace.com/ffblg-gimbal.html
It just looks awesome.
Anyway, thanks, problem solved :)
I am just about to try this week. my X8 arrives and i am hoping its not a total bun fight trying to get working.. as i have not yet seen the pixhawk i am still a little confused as to wether i can power my gimble straight from it? or if i have to get another battery like the instructions say.. any suggestions..or help aprecaited
Hi Chris,
As far as I understand, the gimbal can not be powerd by the Pixhawk.
Some prefer using a separate battery to power the Gimbal, in that case, a small 3s or 2s LiPo battery will do the trick.
I chose to use only one battery for powering everything (pixhawk, motors, fpv...).
Here is how it works:
The Gimbal works with "DC 7.4V ~ 14.8V (Recommended 12V, three lithium battery)", and "working current: 200mA-500mA" meaning if you have a way to connect the gimbal to your main 3S battery in parallel , it will work.
If you use a 4S battery, then you'll need, like me, a UBEC to reduce the voltage between your battery and the gimbal. Here is the one I use: http://mikrokopter.altigator.com/ubec-12v-45a-p-40518.html (sorry, the page is in French).
Not sure if that's crystal clear, but feel free to ask if there's anything I can do to help :)
Cheers,
Mathieu
I think he was asking more about how to control the gimbal with the transmitter, not power the gimbal. I'm in the same boat, got my Tarot gimbal powered just fine, trying to figure out how to get Pixhawk to send a command from the Aux2 knob on my Spektrum Dx7s through to the gimbal to control tilt angle on the fly.
I figured it out. The pin layout for that gimbal control board is tricky...9 pins, 3x3. I was putting the servo connectors on it the wrong way...sideways 90 degrees from the orientation they were supposed to go on. I used the 3 wire connection, put the white/signal wire in the middle for Tilt, and that may be all you need to do, but I also put the red wire on the left side of that one, and the black wire on the right side. (Using lettering printed on circuit board for orientation) Then my Aux2 knob (again, Dx7s) controls channel 6 on the Pixhawk, and therefore the knob now tilts the camera up/down. It's not a linear control like I was hoping, may do some research into that and see if I can make that happen, but for now it moves the camera up or down indefinitely when you move the knob away from center until the gimbal hits the angle limits you set up in software. Centering the knob stops movement, it's still free to self-level of course, and the center section of the knob is kind of fat with a beep to let you know.
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