Hello Newbie here having an issue setting up my new turnigy 9xr with xjt module and x8r receiver.
It;s been several weeks now i've been stuck and any help would be greatly appreciated.
My issue is i've never set up a radio let alone for a copter such as a 3dr Y6 with pixhawk.
Any guidance in initial setup would be amazing as i've manage to calibrate most other parameters within pixhawk (or to the best of my understanding) and am very much so looking forward to take it out for my first flight.
I'm very new to this whole TX/Rx situation so any and all knowledge is welcome.
Replies
Glad I found this thread. I too will be using a 9xr with the exact same tx/rx as you and also on a 3dr Y6. Please keep this thread updated if you figure it out.
Not sure if you've managed to solve the problem, but for temporary basis I did managed to get functionality with a ppm encoder, although I'm pretty sure this shouldn't be required, it seems to be a hit and miss with compatibility in some instances, which 3DR support did also confirm. They're reasoning is that its open source thus isn't a for a situation were it should or should not work but rather could or could not.
I've yet to actually fly though, as i've been doing a lot of research on lipo's (there seems to be a lot of concern for risk, perhaps some slight hysteria?) in order to learn how to charge them properly ect...
Hope this helps.
So I eventually got around to running the test you suggested, and you were 100% correct, the motor did spin with no issues when bypassing the pixhawk. So maybe a binding issue with the pixhawk or? I also seem to not be able to find my telemetry radio port (com) in order to connect using a macbook air? the only options in the drop down menu seem to bluetooth modem or bluetooth incoming ports? Perhaps theres firmware for a mac in order to locate it or maybe a setting i have yet to administer?
Thanks for the advice by the way, you were right on the money.
The receiver will bind with the transmitter, and the Pixhawk will get the signals from the receiver. The Pixhawk doesn't actually bind with anything. It just looks for those signals. Since the motor was controllable when wired in to the Reciever (RX), you proved the binding is done.
On Windows machines, it is often the case that you have to do a fresh restart of the computer to get Mission Planner to cooperate. Sometimes i Have to plug in the USB cable with the Mavlink receiver on it a couple of times before I hear the sound the computer should make when some USB device is plugged in. I wouldn't know if any of that is true of a Mac. Also, the very latest Mission Planner seems to do much better (this week's release).
If none of that is working right, I don't see the com port I need in Mission Planner, just like your symptoms.
You were very much correct as after a good restart once it did show up and it wasn't labelled "com" but rather "usbserial" instead but glad to have gotten it working now to resolve this sbus to pixhawk nightmare once and for all...
Seems as if I am in a similar situation. A Taranis with an X8R in mode 4 connected to the RC port of the pixhawk. Everything is recognized perfectly in in MP, except that I cannot calibrate the Radio, it seems as if no signals go over the s-bus to the pixhawk. (I tested the same receiver with a naza, and there it talks...)
What i do not understand is, that some users get it working with this config, others like me not??
Does the pixhawk need to have the esc connected? For first tests I only have the pixhawk with gps on my desk, power by usb and/or power module....
To get the SBus signal out of the X8R, be sure you are using the port on the side of the X8R beneath the servo connectors. Do not use the port on antenna side of the X8R.
Connect a servo extension wire from that to the RCIN port on the end of the Pixhawk that has nothing but servo connector pins all the way across it. Black wire up. Signal wire down. Do not plug it into the SB port - that's an S.Bus output from Pixhawk to an S.Bus device. It is not implemented at this point, and you want an input to pixhawk, not an output.
Just checked your photos of your Y6. It looks like the X8R is plugged in correctly, but I can't see the Pixhawk side.
If you want to test the TX and RX separately from the Pixhawk, you can hook up one of the motor ESC's to any of the X8R's servo outputs. The motor should go from zero to full throttle as the channel goes from down to up (or off to on, or whatever). That would at least tell you whether a given channel is doing what you want it to.
Beyond these sorts of issues, you will just need to ask a more specific question to clarify what your current status is and what you need help with.
Check in with these guys for better information about the physical X8R to Pixhawk connection(the first page had some misinformation on it that gets cleared up on pages 2 and 3):
http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/what-frsky-receiver-for-pixhawk?g...
Well I never programmed the Radio itself in anyway such as channel or mixture or settings wise, merely a stick calibration beyond that its all factory settings. So I'm thinking its a programming of channels ect.. that I have just not done as a result of not knowing to do so or where to begin?
And just thought I should mention when doing radio calibration I'm only powering the Y6 off the usb of a mac and not the lipo itself, so not sure if that helps any?
Thanks.
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Ok, so what is the Y6 doing or not doing at this point? I don't think you can arm it with the USB connector connected, and the motors surely won't spin. Plug in the battery, and see if flipping any of the switches changes the flight mode. You can see what flight mode it is in on Mission Planner's "Flight Data" screen, I think it is called. If none of your switches are controlling that, then you will need to pick a 3-way switch and program the Taranis to use that switch for Channel 6. That will give you three modes. There are tutorials out there on how to use a two-way switch mixed with the three-way switch to provide 3x2=6 flight modes, but you can do that later. For now, at least set up Stabilize, AltHold, and Loiter modes. Make sure you see the mode it is in on the "Flight Data" page in Mission Planner. Once you get the switch assigned to Channel 6 at the Taranis, you should be changing modes. Assigning modes to a given switch position is done on the "Configuration" tab of Mission Planner under "Flight Modes".
Before you try to fly, do a compass calibration (see videos online), and maybe an ESC calibration. Search for "Y6 ESC calibration" videos or write-ups. It is pretty easy once you have the instructions in front of you.
Before you do any flying, make sure you have the battery alarm voltage and behavior set (set it to RTL on low battery and 10v for a 3S battery) and have the GeoFence enabled, set to Altitude and Radius, and give it a reasonably small Geofence radius like 100m to start. Set it to RTL when it hits the fence. Chose an RTL altitude that will keep it above nearby buildings, fences, and maybe even trees.
Put it in Stabilize mode, take it outside, arm it, and let it sit there about two minutes to get the GPS sorted out. Gently raise the throttle to spin the motors. You can also do this step with the props removed, whic his a lot safer. Don't leave the ground, yet. Push the right stick from left to right and see if the copter tries to lean in the appropriate direction by spinning motors faster and slower. Push forward on the right stick and see if the copter tries to lean forward. Just do slight little bumps or you'll flip it over. Doing this test will tell you if you have to reverse some channels. There are demos on youtube of how to do that on the Taranis. Once you have the right stick moving things in the right direction, put it in AltHold mode and throttle up. At about half throttle (half-way forward on the left stick) it should fire up the motors and start climbing/takeoff. Center the left stick to stop climbing. Use the right stick to lean into the wind or whatever you need to do to keep it still. It will quickly try to learn to keep itself level, but you will have to help with that to even get it off the ground the first time. It helps if you can take off with a little bit of a hop to get it up above 10ft or so so it has room to sort itself out. You will have a bit of work to do for the first few seconds. Don't be within 20ft of it. If the CG of your build is pretty well centered, it won't have as much to learn.
Now move the left stick left and right and see if it rotates (yaws) CW when you push right, and CCW when you push left on the left stick. If you have to reverse that, do so. Once those things are setup you should be able to do some basic flying.
The first thing you want to do is takeoff in a spot that has no obstacles within about a 15 yard minimum radius. Put it in Loiter mode, and see if it stands still. It might wander around in a large circle at first. If it runs out of room you can use your sticks to correct it a little, but mostly you want to leave it alone if it isn't going to hit anything. During this time it will try to learn how to keep itself still. If it is bad, you can look up how to use "Autotune" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js2GzeRysAc. Once Loiter is stable, that becomes your "Oh S@#T" switch. Whenever the Y6 has you disoriented or you think it might get close to hitting something, bang it into Loiter and let go of all the sticks. It should stop in ten feet or less from most conservative speeds, so don't wait too late!
Once you get that far, look up proper orientation for the Taranis PCB antennae. Your arrangement is pretty far off the mark. You won't have trouble flying it around you, but you might not even reach the end of a 100m by 100m GeoFence with it set the way you have it. Get the antennae properly aimed and as far away from the main wiring, VideoTX, and Data TX as possible. I have a Spektrum satellite, which is a pretty small antenna, and it is mounted to the back of the tail boom right behind those two motors, so it is as far from the electronics as possible (except the motors, with which it apparently doesn't mind). I keep my transmitter antenna leaned over so it stays horizontal, and have the receiver antenna horizontal, as well. Look into what to do with your second antenna. It should be also horizontal and about 90 degrees rotated from the first one. Mounting them low so the signal doesn't have to punch through the battery, frame, and electronics would help, too, unless you plan to fly the Y6 below you all the time.
It wouldn't hurt to check your battery placement to make sure your CG is right in the middle of the Y6. I had to move my big 6000mAh 4s pretty far back to offset the GoPro weight.
Well first issue with this is I have a Turnigy 9XR and not a Taranis unfortunately. And I have not touched any of the settings within the radio itself (images below), with the except of the stick calibration.
As for trying to arm the pixhawk with the lipo and no usb cable well i am unsuccessful at that as i get a double blinking yellow led (big one) and the three little led's (blue,pink,green) all go and stay solid, same with my safety button it goes solid red or completely off and the start up when plugging the lipo into the drone itself sounds like a quick less quiet series of tones followed by a louder like a successful firm ware update with a series of tones relatively quickly with a quick pause and a double beep.
In apm planner i see absolutely no changes occurring when moving or switching all buttons and switching on the 9XR.
I could not complete the initial pixhawk firmware setup (frame,compass/gps, accelerometer) due to not having any response from the Rc portion i've not been able to calibrate the accelerometer although the gps and frame time seems to have been correctly calibrated.
I will most definitely move those two antennas for better reception. Possibly beside the main component tower somewhere. Thanks for the advice! And yeah I also have had to move my battery for better weight distribution although i feel 3dr could have made the velcro strap slots go back a little farther for a more even securing of the lipo.
As for setting my battery alarm i'm not to to sure how to go about that I think I've come across the setting in apm planner but can't seem to find it anymore?
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