Hi All,
Before posting an issue or a problem in the ArduRover Discussion Forum, please check the wiki table of contents, review the firmware release notes in the subforum, and search that subforum for existing answers to your question. Help avoid duplicate threads by finding other members with the same issue and their solution.
When formulating your post, use a descriptive title such as "rover will not navigate to waypoints in the Auto mode" (not "HELP!" or "Problem").
Please include the following information to help diagnose your query:
- Describe the problem you are having. What is the expected verses the observed behavior?
- Provide hardware information such as the brand and version of your autopilot, GPS, radio, and compass, as well as any other pertinent details about your rover setup.
- What version of the APM: ArdurRover2 firmware version are you running?
- For navigation issues, provide your tlog and/or dataflash log. Click here for instructions on retrieving a dataflash log.
TCIII
Comments
Hi All,
The Ardupilot Development Team has been updating the ArduRover code so I am attaching the latest version of the ArduRover V2.30 alpha code.
Regards,
TCIII
Update
2/20/2013
ArduRover_v230_firmware_20120220.zip
Hi All,
The other day I mentioned that I was working some hardware/code to be able to use the Traxxas TQi five channel surface R/C transmitter/receiver combo with the ArduRover APM. I have completed and verified the converter code on an Arduino Nano 328, but plan to use a Pro Mini 328 on my rover.
The code basically reads the TQi receiver channels 4 and 5 in on the Pro Mini D4 and D5 and outputs the correct mode PWM value to the APM input 8 from the Pro Mini D8.
The code is pretty self explanatory for those who are familiar with Arduino programming. When the TQi 3-way switch is closests to the user, it will send out the manual mode PWM value (>1900). When the 3-way switch is in the middle, it will send out the learning mode PWM value (1500). And when the 3-way switch is in the position farthest from the user, it will send out the auto mode PWM value (<1100).
The "Traxxas_ Receiver_ Converter_ for_APM" folder contains the converter code and the Minds-i library which you can put in the Arduino IDE libraries.
Regards,
TCIII
Traxxas_%20Receiver_%20Converter_%20for_APM.zip
Hi All,
The Ardupilot Development Team has been updating the ArduRover code so I am attaching the latest version of the ArduRover V2.30 alpha code.
Regards,
TCIII
Update
2/19/2013
ArduRover_v230_firmware_20130219.zip
@healthyfatboy,
Thanks for the link, but I would prefer to keep the 2-way switch as the waypoint logging switch and just use the Arduino Pro Mini to monitor channels four and five and provide the correct output to the APM channel eight. I know that the Arduino will be more of an effort, but the TQi will stay in its original configuration for other uses.
Regards,
TCIII
Try this out first. You'll get three positions out of the two-way switch after this mod. I tried it and it works. It's a little delicate work but it'll be faster than adding an Arduino to it.
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread.php?8953226-How-to-Convert-sto...
Hi All,
When I purchased my Traxxas E-Maxx as a bunch of parts off of eBay I purchased the TQi five channel transmitter and accompanying receiver. I purchased the TQi transmitter because I thought that it had a 3-way switch that could be used for the rover mode control. Unfortunately the 3-way switch is really two 2-way switches that control the receiver channels four and five. When the switch is closests to your hand it sends out a 1020 value on both channels four and five. When the switch is in the middle position it sends out a value of 1958 on channel four and a value of 1020 on channel five. When it is in the position away from your hand, it sends out a value of 1958 on both channels four and five.
However, I have figured out a way to use the two 2-way switches as a 3-way mode switch. It will require the use of an Arduino Pro Mini 328 5v/16MHz mcu to monitor the receiver channels four and five and send the appropriate PWM signal to the APM channel eight (Rover mode control).
So if any of you would like to use the Traxxas TQi transmitter/receiver combo to control your rover, it shouldn't take me more that a couple of weeks to get a prototype working.
Regards,
TCIII
@Josh,
Your video is very impressive. I might consider using my E-Maxx as well as my 6WD rover for the RoboMagellan contest. Both rover chassis have plenty of room for an object recognition processor and are definitely fast enough.
Regards,
TCIII
@Josh,
Great video, I was there too (watching)! I hope to be there competing this year.
Your 'bot certainly ran it well. I'll investigate your references.
Thanks!
Alan KM6VV
We did RoboGames last year (http://joshp.no-ip.com:8080/blog/robots/20121029-savage-solder-robo...), and yeah, they give you WGS84 GPS coordinates. However, the coordinates are just surveyed in using a handheld GPS, so the accuracy isn't that great. You do have the ability to walk the course ahead of time and survey it yourself, so you can measure using whatever techniques you like. Some teams had distance rollers and compasses. We just used our phones to survey with GPS, as the accuracy was going to be not that great no matter what.