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3D Robotics

APM boards now available in the DIY Drones store!

Posted by Chris Anderson on December 24, 2010 at 11:00am

3689383080?profile=originalWe now have the ability to make the APM boards ourselves, so we can offer the full set of ArduPilotMega gear from the DIY Drones store. APM boards are now in stock (we'll be replenishing supply daily, so check back in a day if the current supply runs out). Starting next week, we'll be offering all-in-one packs of APM electronics.

 

Note that this is the new 1.4 version of the board, which makes several improvements/changes:

  • RC ports are now numbered according to RC convention: 1-8 (rather than the previous board's 0-7)
  • Now comes with right-angle connectors for your RC and servos at no extra charge!
  • New protection circuitry should make it impossible to blow out a MUX, not matter how wrong you plug in your cables.
  • Because of this new protection circuitry, the USB cable will not power the RC/servo rails. You MUST supply the board with its own power (an ESC or other power source) on the benchtop if you want to connect a RC receiver or servos. This is not an issue in an aircraft, where the whole board is powered by the RC connections.
  • The onboard regulator was replaced with a better one (more power handling, lower dropout voltage, better heatsinking). If you are supplying power directly from a battery (and removed the SJ1 solder jumper), you should supply between 6 and 9v. A two-cell (7.4v) LiPo will work fine.
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Comments

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson December 28, 2010 at 11:38am
    APM boards are now back in stock. We're making 30-40 a day, so they should stay in stock now.
  • Ron Holley December 27, 2010 at 3:55pm

    Tried DIYDRONES superstore a couple of times today, no success in adding APM to cart. Any idea if this a software glitch or out of stock.

    Thanks, 

    Ron

  • MarioLucich December 27, 2010 at 2:09am

    Do you have any plans for adding other stuff like the XBee to your list?

     

    Regards,

     

    Mario

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson December 25, 2010 at 11:25am
    Tom: As long as we're not shipping complete finished autopilots we're okay. We've had legal advice that just selling components are acceptable.
  • Rana December 25, 2010 at 9:56am

    Thomas, probabaly it was because no one in US is allowed to export complete autopilot.

    The same thing was confirmed to me by Jordi when I requested him to locally get one APM for me from Sparkfun and send along with the IMU board of APM.

     

    regards

     

    Rana

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson December 25, 2010 at 7:27am
    ionut: stay tuned for a range of new products coming from DIY Drones in Q1 ;-)
  • ionut December 25, 2010 at 4:20am
    So when you'll make a only one board by
    merging 2 boards?
  • Rana December 24, 2010 at 8:01pm

    Merry Chris mas Anderson !

    It is really nice to hear this as lot of people were paying two time shipping, even I did that.

  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson December 24, 2010 at 6:02pm
    Sebastian: yes, we removed it. Very few people were using it, and it was creating problems when people put too much drain on the system, leading to brownouts and in-air reboots. Safer and simpler to let the ESC handle all the power issues.
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson December 24, 2010 at 1:22pm
    I don't know when Sparkfun will have them back in stock; they run their own production. The safe bet is to take the bird in the hand and cancel the SF order and order it from the DIY Drones store. It's a better deal, too, since the DIY Drones one comes with the right-angle connectors that you need, and the SF one doesn't.
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