So, I finished buiding the Y6 today. Tried to do the setup, but for some reason, only APM will recognize the Pixhawk, but Mission PLanner will not. Normally it would not be an issue, since I could just use APM, but mission planner is the one that has the wizzard, and APM does not have the firmware for the Y6B setup that I need. Any ideas on how to work this so that I can move on to calibrate my Y6?
Also, since I am asking for help, do any of you know how I can connect the FPV gear (3DR) to the main battery? I would hate to have to use 2 batteries!
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Kit did not come w step down voltage but the RTF version does. At least when I purchased approx. 6 months ago. I have purchased a ubec but have not added yet. I have also bought a camera switching control to have ability to move between fpv and my gopro camera on my gimbal.
Thanks, Brent. I will install MP in my wife's PC (Windows8) and see how it goes. I also bought a SmartFPV (v2.4) which allos you to (1) switch between 3 different cameras (I plan to use one with pan and tilt up front with a head tracker, the main camera in the gimbal, and maybe a backup camera, but not sure on the last one... I am only considering because I already have the camera), and (2) controls your LED and headlamps. I have not yet connected it, but I already have it here... I still got to plug that and the sonar in (the sonar at least is mounted!).
I will let you know how my W8 trials go! Thanks!
Well, the other computer did not help... Still have the same issue. I installed the drivers in W8, but MP will still not communicate with Pixhawk. I have been reading, though, and now I am not sure if I screwed up; I followed 3DR instructions (located here: http://3drobotics.com/learn/calibration-copter/) and they read:
"2 Launch wizard
Open the mission planner application, and connect Pixhawk to your computer using the micro-USB cable. Connect a battery to the power module XT60 connector to power your copter. It is essential that you have no propellers attached to your copter during this process."
Now, in my reading, I have found out that you should NOT connect both the USB and the battery. Could this mean I fried my PX4? It still makes the ALL GOOD sound when I start it. By the way, one thing that DID change between computers is that the USB in the W8 computer will start up the PX4, but the desktop with W7 will not...
Try disconnecting everything from Pixhawk and plug it into laptop via USB. Troubleshoot the issue with nothing connected to see if there is other things interfering with the pixhawk's ability to communicate with Laptop. Also go into Window's Device Manager and ensure that the pixhawk is not in conflict with other drivers/settings.
If that fails, I would recommend contacting 3DR directly for help.
PS. Pixhawk units will fail connection after a few moments when you connect the USB cable to the PC/Laptop. It tends to time out. Recommend you do not connect any battery to the unit but connect only the USB cable to pixhawk. After the USB cable is plugged in, the laptop sounds a connection indicating detection of the pixhawk via the USB driver. Select COM3 or what ever is listed and connect, don't wait too long or it will time out. Again if you don't see it in the list, then the driver is not talking to the pixhawk unit.
You didn't hurt anything by plugging the USB and battery in at the same time.
When you try to connect, what com port and baud rate are you selecting? What are the choices for the com port? With USB it should be COM3 PX4 FMU (COM3) or whatever port is assigned to it. You are clicking on the 'Connect' button correct?
With the 3DR radio it will look like this (may be a different com port)
One more question: where did you get the USB cable from? Some are not compatible with data transfer.
Here's what I get:
First off, Pixhawk IS being recognized:
Now, in MP, I am using COM3, which is the PX4:
The it tries to connect:
Felipe
Ok, so it looks like the drivers installed.
Did the firmware install ok? The correct frame type was chosen?
Try disconnecting all the hardware and only use Pixhawk to see if it will connect using USB cable (try different cable too). If successful, hook up one device at a time and reconnect.
One other thing is to make sure the GPS cable has the 6 wire connector (with 6 wires) and not the 5.....seems like I made that error in the beginning.
I'm digging deep here. This has to be simple, or PIxhawk is defective.
Felipe,
I did some searching and found this thread:
http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/no-heatbeats-from-mavlink-the-sag...
The lights on top of Pixhawk are important too, but I don't have the link handy for that.
What OS are you using? When installing MP it should have installed the necessary drivers IIRC. It seems Windows 8 required special installation of the drivers, but I've had MP installed so long I'm sure. It is installed on 6 or 8 pc's/androids.
See here:
http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/initial-setup/common-install-missi...
If using Windows 7, you should have gotten the security warning and "Install anyway". Windows 8 required another step if I recall.
How are you connecting? USB or telemetry with the copter powered by the battery? For doing compassmot and current calibration obviously the copter must be powered.
USB uses 115200 and telemetry 57600.
For FPV I didn't use 3DR because I wanted 1.3 ghz, but all I did was use a step down 12v voltage regulator and spliced into the battery wires.
I tried the auto connect through the USB, but it timed out every time I did. I did see it installed the drivers when I installed MP, but it seems to be having issues. The computer IS recognizing Pixhawk, but MP cannot read it trhough the USB (APM Planner would, but now, after I installed MP, it is no longer connecting to it).
I think I will try it from another computer to see if that's the issue... By the way, I was running it from W7.
As for the battery, I was thinking along the same lines; just wanted to be sure it was OK to do so. Which stepdown did you use?
Felipe
PS: thanks for your prompt response!!
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