Hi everyone,

I'm new to all of this ,I mean complete Noob. :(, but i'm working on a project to explore the potential largescale benefits of these drones. I have a good amount of experience with software design and am not shy of electronics. But have very limited equipment available. Just the ones my sponsor provided. I don't even have a multimeter or a soldering iron, so you get the idea....

I received the hardware from a sponsor. It was already assembled.

But when i received it, nothing worked.I assumed it was gonna be "ready to fly", but never  have i been so wrong (insert the over used meme). I have been scouring the forums and the wiki for a few weeks now, trying to figure it out myself. But, there are just too many variables.

I know that it doesn't work, and i'v been involved in extensive trial and errors, to try and figure out why , but the more i learn, the more ways i see how it could go wrong.

Equipment: 3dr Hexacopter, Spektrum DX8 Tx, AR8000 Rx, 3dr radio, CCD camera,Video Tx MinimOSD, APM2.5 with latest firmware, JP1 connected., all powered by a 3dr power board. powering APM only on output pins

If anyone has the same equipment i'd greatly appreciate help in setting up.

Issues:

1. When i power up the APM, i hear the musical note, followed by 3 beeps, a pause then a long beep. (hope that's normal). and i see the orange light flickering inside the APM, no red/blue lights.

2.According to the manual, the receiver should show a blinking light when it is powered on. I don't see any lights on the AR8000. The connections on it look fishy though. I have a 6 pin connector on the APM input side,connected on the signal pins of first 6 channels, and a 2 pin combo, on the 7th channel, on signal pin and + pin. this 2 pin combo is connected to the gear channel on the Rx, on + pin and signal pin. fishy: nothing connected on throttle channel. Can't figure out why the Rx isn't getting power.

I tried changing this so that on channel 7 i connected to the + and - pins, and on the other end, connected this to the + and - pins on the throttle channel. When i connected the battery, it started beeping continuously. not sure if it was the APM or the ESCs beeping. but it sounded like the drone was in pain so i disconnected :\

3.Tx issue. When i switch on the RX8 it just vibrates continuously and LCD is blank. I tried starting it up with different configurations, with the throttle joystick on minimum , set on different flight modes etc. but it has no effect. Any1 using an RX8, Plz Help..

4. The camera connector cable was frayed (attached photo1), I'm pressed for time and can't wait to order a replacement. Basically, the 3- point female jack which connects to the camera has torn off from the rest of the cable, with little bits of the plastic still inside it.There are no bits of the wire sticking out of the jack. Is there a way to repair it, even if only temporarily? I found out that inside the jack there is a metallic tube which is clamping onto the cable. If this sheath connects with the pins inserted into the jack, i can stick the wires in so they make contact with the sheath.  I need it urgently for testing purposes so any way to just get the camera to connect would be great.

5. I have ordered an Ezcap from their official site, Ezcap.tv . I'm planning on streaming the video feed i receive from the drone directly to an online server. Has anyone done something like this? or used Ezcap generally, i'v heard all sorts of reviews about it, but its a quick and dirty kinda solution. Works for me.

6. I also want to try bypassing the minimosd and directly transmitt the feed from the camera (granted that issue #4 is resolved) i'd appreciate any wiring diagrams which can show what connections are to be made(including the power source). Since, the camera has a 3 pin connector and the Video Tx, has a 5 pin combo and a 2 pin combo, so it's not just a matter of finding the right hole and shoving my connector in ^^.

Thanks for reading everyone. (tell your friends to read too, tell them this post has a cookie in it.)

Even if you only answer one of the questions, heck, even if you just sympathize with my plight, you can have my cookie.!!

oh, and here's the cookie.

(:)

DSC_0077.jpg

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Replies

  • Hi Everyone, 

    I just wanted to thank all of you for all the assistance with my hardware issues, which now stand resolved.

    I was working on this project to analyze the feasibility of a business based on UAV solutions.

    Please read this post http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/guaging-diy-community-interest-in...

    and visit our facebook page. (link in post)

  • All other issues resolved.

    Thanks for all the support everyone.!!

    Last question:

    If anyone is using the 3DR micro CCD camera (3 pin output), and a TS352 Video transmitter. could you give me the wiring diagram for hooking the two of them up directly, and bypass minimOSD.

    A wiring diagram including MininOSD would also be nice.

    Thanks :)

  • I forgot to mention this,

    Whenever i connect to the APM in CLI,

    i get this message:

    "3No Dataflash Inserted3COMPASS INIT ERROR"

    tried running test/ins command in CLI just now. 

    It says "INIT Gyro". But after that nothing. Waited 10 minutes now.

    Also tried, test/altitude. No response at all.

    My question is,

    1.does this affect my ability to arm and fly the drone in RC mode? (since i can't arm it right now)

    2.What can i not do if the compass ,GPS, Gyro are defunct. (Please say i can atleast make it take off, do a round and set it back down through RC control. Since that's all i need for now. I need the RC system to demonstrate a proof of concept. I'll have other equipment on the drone as well.)

  • Issue now:

    Arming!!!!!!

    in MP, set all modes on stabilize.

    ESC calibration went smoothly.

    tested motor's response to throttle during second last step of calibration.

    Unplugged Lipo.

    Reconnected, moved yaw to right/throttle down hold for 4 seconds. Motors don't arm. moved throttle stick up, no response.

    moved to right(in case i had the yaw reversed)  no effect.

    trimmed throttle all the way down to 50% , tried arming, no effect.

    Any suggestions?

  • Thanks for all the inputs guys,

    Got the DX8 and AR8000 setup correctly.

    Tested by plugging in one of the ESCs into the throttle port and running the motor. Works well.

    But, i have it all connected to the APM now as per the directions on http://copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/connecting-your-rc-input-and-motors/. in addition, +and - pins of channel 8 APM input, connected to + and - pins on gear channel of Rx. (thought Rx would need to be powered somehow)

    performed a reset on APM just to be safe. Loaded the firmware again.

    So i plugged the APM via USB, mavlink connected.

    ISSUE:

    But in mission planner when i try to run the radio calibration, i don't see any response of the green bars when i move the sticks. Actually, i don't see any green bars at all, just the blank boxes for the different channels.

    Can some1 shed some light on where i might have gone wrong?

    I noticed, that the blue red lights don;t come on at all on my APM module. could that mean something?

  • Issues 1,3 and 4 resolved. 
    For getting power to the Rx, just one question, on which pin should i provide the power. as in, i have the signal pins on the first 6 channels on the APM input connected to their respective connectors on the Rx. 
    The order is Aile, Elev, throttle,Rudd,aux1 and aux2. connected a 2 pin on the input channel 7's + and - pins to the + and - pins on the Rx on gear channel. Does it even matter which channel i provide the power on?

    Other issue,

    I have a 5.8Ghz video Tx , (TS352 available from 3drobotics.com) also got a 2.4Ghz BosCam RC802 AV receiver. (But, with an antenna that says 5800 on it.) My understanding is that the receiver and tx have to be working on the same frequency to be able to do anything. But can the setup i have actually work? or should i buy a new 5.8Ghz, Rx? probably a BosCam RC805.  Also, does anyone have a video of the RC802/RC805 in action? i need to know if the lights come on, when you plug in the charging cable.(with everything else disconnected.) i'm looking for a 5V adapter to power it, and can't find the exact amperage it needs.

  • Issue number 4 resolved.

    Thanks for the input everyone, keep it coming!!

  • Wow -- you are in a fix, especially if this is your first experience with setting up an RC system of any kind.

    Do you have a deadline?

    Regarding your line items:

    #1 -- the musical notes you are hearing are the ESCs. After the initial '1-2-3' tone the number of beeps indicate the battery type. 3 beeps means a 3S battery, 4 beeps, a 4S battery, etc. Orange LEDs are normal but no red or blue could indicate other issues not related to the APM.

    #2 -- There are 4 basic connections from any RC RX to the APM: Throttle, Aileron, Rudder, Elevator. These may be noted as Chan1, 2, 3, 4, etc on the RX. The markings on the RX will vary with manufacturer. The RX power will be the center row of pins across the set, usually a red wire if conventional marking is used. The ground (-V) could be black or brown depending on the cable used. (The electrons don't care about the covering color but we need to be able to tell the difference). HERE is a pretty good layout diagram to guide you. Also scroll down that page for more information. Some of the diagrams are APM2.0 but they apply to 2.5

    #3 -- The DX8 should power up fine. Check your battery charge level if it is a recharge type. If not, try fresh batteries. This is a show stopper if you cannot sort it out.

    #4 -- This cable may, or may not be repairable. You have analyzed it correctly but I would need to see the other side to determine if the contact pins are removeable.

    #5 -- This step/application is well down the list of things to do. If the hex won't fly, you won't need this yet.

    #6 -- See #5 above. There are several tasks to accomplish before worrying about video applications at this point.

    It sounds like you have a semi-mess on your hands. Do you have any experienced RC builders/flyers near you?

    -=Doug

  • Have you laoded code into the APM, using Mission Planner ?

  • Ohh and the camera cable if you want I can send you a pigtail version you can splice to the wires you have now by cutting off the remainding wire and attaching the new one to those wires for $3 postage only


    they are available at various sites online including ebay also

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