Final Beta of the Ardupilot 2.5 Airframe Test

I finally had some quality time with the Ardupilot Airframe Tester in the air and would like to report, after a few bug fixes and tweaking, I finally have a nice solution.Why this matters and why you should fly it:- It will help you set up your plane properly and give you vital debugging information.- It will help you adjust your stabilization gains- It is a very nice flight stabilizer- It will let you test your Autopilot setup (more on this below)You can read this post to learn about the debugging aspects.What I really wanted to explain is the new Fly-By-Wire mode. It essentially lets you input the relative waypoint location in space, and the plane will try to go there. Now, other than being fun, it is really helpful for debugging and adjusting your gain settings.The new FBW input is proportional and controlled with your radio:Hard right = waypoint is 35° to the right; centered = waypoint is dead ahead; left = -35°Hard up means the waypoint is below you (hey, you can reverse that if you want.) Centered means the waypoint is at the same altitude.While in FBW, the airspeed controller will try and maintain a constant airspeed.Here is the last beta. After this the tester will be final and appear in the download section.Ardupilot_25_Airframe_test_beta4.zipA note about radios - In the header file you can specify radios. Futaba Faast radios can be scanned at 50hz and others at only 25hz. This has to do with how they setup the signals. So there is an option in the header file to use Fubata or other radios. Default is "other." (Spectrum's won't work with the Futaba setting. You need to specify 'other')The events.pde file contains the code for managing your radio's 3 position switch. Instructions are in there as well.The full version of 2.5 should be right around the corner.Jason

Scott, can you try something for me? Do it again as follows:

1) With the shield off

2) With the throttle set in middle position.

Please post your results, like this (these are my results):

---------
When the shield is on, it gives a weird negative reading on the
throttle

No throttle input detected
R:1498 E:1497 T:-24

With shield removed, and the throttle at the lowest settings,
sometimes you'll get this:

No throttle input detected
R:1497 E:1497 T:1111

and sometimes this, which suggests success, even though the reading is the same:

Waiting for Radio
R:1497 E:1497 T:1111

With throttle in middle position and the shield is off, it almost always works:

Waiting for Radio
R:1497 E:1497 T:1485
-----------------

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Comments

Scott January 3, 2010 at 12:12am

Ok I give it a go and get back to soon
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson January 3, 2010 at 12:05am

Scott, can you try something for me? Do it again as follows:

1) With the shield off

2) With the throttle set in middle position.

Please post your results, like this (these are my results):

---------
When the shield is on, it gives a weird negative reading on the
throttle

No throttle input detected
R:1498 E:1497 T:-24

With shield removed, and the throttle at the lowest settings,
sometimes you'll get this:

No throttle input detected
R:1497 E:1497 T:1111

and sometimes this, which suggests success, even though the reading is the same:

Waiting for Radio
R:1497 E:1497 T:1111

With throttle in middle position and the shield is off, it almost always works:

Waiting for Radio
R:1497 E:1497 T:1485
-----------------
Scott January 2, 2010 at 11:45pm

I have a JR PCM9X2 with a Spektrum DM9 2.4ghz Module the reciver AR7000
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson January 2, 2010 at 11:34pm

Scott, yes, me too. We're trying to debug this. What kind of radio are you using?
Scott January 2, 2010 at 11:27pm

Chris / Jason I have reloaded code and place jumer as per chris drawing opened serial terminal as per request and this is where its hanging now Iam following the instructions and nothings further is happening . Here is a copy of the massage.

Init Ardupilot Airframe Tester 2.5
Waiting for Radio
No throttle input detected
Radio IN: R:1447 E:-24 T:-24 Analog IN: 0:511, 1: 511, 3: 511 S
ensors: ir_max:150 roll:5 pitch:5 airSp:0 PWM OUT: R:1500 E:1500
T:1008
Reading radio limits:

Move sticks to: upper right and lower Left.

Calibrate XY IR sensor now.

To Continue, hold the stick in the corner for 2 seconds.
*FAILSAFE OFF*
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson January 2, 2010 at 7:35pm

Scott, open the serial terminal (38k for uBlok, 57 for EM406) and follow the instructions the board is sending via the FTDI. And if you've selected throttle, you need to solder the jumper referenced earlier in this thread. Full instructions will be coming on the Google Code Wiki in a few days.
Developer

Jason Short January 2, 2010 at 7:34pm

The status light is not used on this version. I think it's on pin 13 which is set to read the throttle. It's not a very useful LED so don't worry. It's set to input instead of output. that's why it never comes back on.

Are you seeing output on the serial terminal when you have the cable connected?

When you reload the 2.4 code, all will be the same as it was before
Scott January 2, 2010 at 7:31pm

Hi
When I load the 2.5beta code it will compile then I get the message that it is compiled,
Then the uploading message, then the loaded message.
The Stat LED goes out at the start of the loading processes but never will come back on even after a manual reboot.
GPS disconnected Telemetry disconnected
Tried through shield, tried direct into autopilot board
If I reload my old 2.4 code all is good. ??
3D Robotics

Chris Anderson January 2, 2010 at 12:41pm

Ah, my apologies for the confusion. So you mean a second jumper, like the yellow line in this pic?
Developer

Jason Short January 2, 2010 at 10:47am

That's because the Ardupilot hardware doesn't normally read the throttle input. It merely forwards it to the failsafe mux.

If you want to have throttle input, you need to hack in a jumper from Ch3 in to pin 13.

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