APM 2.5 external compass or not?

Posted by Maximiliano on September 8, 2015 at 6:20pm

Hi all! Sorry If my english is not good...

I am new to APM, I'm using an Arduflyer kit (board + Lea 6h GPS + RadioLink). The board is 2.5.2. I tested the kit (with internal compass) and works fine for now with GPS 3d Lock 

In some videos I watched, it's recomended to cut the trace on the board to habilitate the external compass. And about the radios, the firmware can be updated with a Ftdi cable. So i would like to know 2 things:

-Is it really better to use the external compass that comes with the GPS? I will use the autopilot on a Skywalker plane, so there will only be 1 motor and Esc (less interference than a multi), and I am not sure to cut the trace, because right now it works fine. 

-Do I have to update the Radio Firmware? They are working too, the version is 1.7.

I will appreciate your opinions!

Thanks.

Max

You need to be a member of diydrones to add comments!

Join diydrones

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Maximiliano September 10, 2015 at 2:54am

    Thanks iskess and Grant!

    I will use the internal compass and the radios with the actual firmware, as they are working.

    Max

  • Developer
    Grant Morphett September 9, 2015 at 5:01am

    If your radios are working fine I wouldn't bother updating them.

    An external compass is always better as it doesn't suffer interference from other components on the APM board.  However, if you plane is flying fine without it (I use the internal compass on 2 of my APM planes) then don't worry too much about it.  You can always do it later if you want.

    Thanks, Grant.

  • iskess September 9, 2015 at 12:17am
    Your Skywalker will work great with the internal compass. No need to risk cutting the trace.
This reply was deleted.