After about 2 weeks of tinkering I finally got Mission Planner working and let the Iris fly a mission. After everything I tried, I wondered if the process could be a lot simpler. So I'm going to post my guess on how someone could fly right out of the box with the fewest amount of steps possible.
0) Follow all the steps in the printed manual that came in the box with the Iris, and make sure you're comfortable flying manual mode. During the mission make sure you're ready to flip the switch back up to STB and fly the Iris to safety.
1) Install Mission Planner and DO NOT RUN THE WIZARD
2) Use the USB cable to connect the Iris to your laptop. Keep clicking the port dropdown in the upper right until it shows COM3 or COM4, then click connect. (you shouldn't need the LIPO battery connected for this)
3) Click initial setup, set frame type 'V' and load Iris.param from the drop down menu
4) Click flight plan and setup a simple test mission. TAKEOFF, WAYPOINT, WAYPOINT, RETURN_TO_LAUNCH (worked well for me).
5) Click "Write WPs" on the right side of the screen.
6) Click Disconnect in Mission Planner. You no longer need your laptop at this point.
7) Set your transmitter to STB/STB with both left and right sticks down.
8) Plug in the battery on the Iris, turn on the transmitter, and wait for the green LED on the Iris
9) Push the red blinking button on the Iris, hold the left stick down/right on the transmitter until the props start to spin.
10) Set your transmitter to AUTO/STB and raise the left stick until it's centered. (if you don't center it, your Iris will drop like a rock if the Iris leaves auto mode)
If any new users want to try this, I'd love to know if it works. If any pros out there want to proofread, please comment!
Replies
This is so helpful! I would love to see someone provide similar detailed instructions for DroidPlanner 2. I cannot get it to work for the life of me and it's driving me bonkers!
only 2 GCS apps I have gotten work so far are APM Mission planner for OSX and andropilot for android other android GCS I have tried have USB issues and cant make the connect to the IRIS.
Droid planner 2 just would NOT connect when I tried it yesterday.. android ICS 4.03 on gtp3113
hzl
hint try them all something else may work for you..
UH.. I WOULD definitely have telemetry setup and working in case something is off with HDOP and your IRIS goes you know not where, its critical as a few IRIS(s) like moi are having problems with HDOP too high caused by a bum GPS and some near flyways have been reported as well as some complete flyaways(which can be caused by GPS malfunctions). You can easily load your flight plan with the radio and alter it also.
HZL
ps who will try his next autonomous mission when the replacement GPS gets here friday or monday
I would just like to add that if it is not your first mission, make sure after you have sent the mission to IRIS, load it back into your Mission Planner to make sure it was successfully loaded.
I had an incident using DroidPlanner (still in beta) where I could have sworn the mission was sent to the drone, and when I started the mission it darted off in the wrong direction due to the fact that the old mission was still loaded in IRIS.. obviously my fault (i think), but it could have been a lot worse. Double check your mission was sent and accepted.
Feedback,
1) You cannot write this big enough! This should be at the top of all IRIS forums in big bold.
2) Mine is on Com 5, it would be hard to spec this.
Excellent!
Although, if this is to be literally "right out of the box" with no test-flights, I'd have to say "don't let the IRIS leave your sight". I know its implied, but some people might not think about it.
just my 2C
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I found another tip for Mission Planner users, if your PC can't find the USB link to the Iris or can't find the radio, try rebooting. Normally I don't have issues with USB devices on my laptop, but for some reason MP works best after a fresh reboot.
I also had to install the driver for the radio "CDM20830_Setup". It didn't work in Windows 7 with only the MP software installed.
Good luck to all the Droid Planner users out there.
-Joe