Here's the plane I will install my Arduimu and Ardupilot(legacy) into. I still need to build a motor mount and wind the motor. It should be stable as it is based on a previous version which was very stable. I'm aiming for 10-12 ounces AUW and around 50W.
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Hi Harry,
I have the Ardupilot legacy and the Arduimu+V3, I can't get them to work with each other using the most up to date codes. How did you manage to get them to work with each other?
Thanks,
-Victor
I made the motor mount this morning. I took some modeling clay and shaped it the way I wanted and stuck the motor shaft end in the clay and then laid some carbon fiber over it. I used an excess of epoxy to get that carbon sheen. It doesnt have the molded look in some spots but it looks good. I also hid a magnet under the carbon and made a flat area for the EM406. I'll cut an opening for the GPS cable. I might make it water resistant by heating some soda bottle plastic and laying it over the GPS. Still need to wind the motor, but the hard part is done. No pictures yet since the batteries on my old camera died.
I took the plane out for another glide test this morning. This time I had the Ardupilot/IMU connected. No GPS, although I didnt make that change in the firmware. I threw it in manual and it glided nice with some small corrections here and there, but it was rock solid stable. I repeated that exercise a few more times and then got bold and hit the stabilize switch. With the stabilize mode on, I threw it again. It didnt wander in heading or pitch one bit, looked like somebody who knew how to fly was at the controls. The difference though between flying in manual and stabilize, with no motor to maintain airspeed, was that the stabilize mode wanted to keep the nose level and as airspeed would bleed off, that is the beginning of a stall. So, I needed to nudge pitch to keep the airspeed up.
Another thing I noticed was that the connection between Ardupilot and IMU on the D6 pin doesnt seem to do anything. When I went to disconnect the battery, that connection had come off and yet stabilize still functioned. I need to figure out why that connection is there.
Good News. After many hiccups with the wiring and with the code, I got the IMU and Ardupilot to connect. At first I had Tx on IMU hooked to CTS on Ardupilot, so I finally got that right by moving it to Rxi on Ardupilot. That was stupid, the picture in the manual had it and I still got that wrong initially. The next problem was the baud rate of the IMU/EM406 was at 56700, but the Ardupilot was expecting 38400 because in defines.h of Ardupilot that is how it was set. I changed it to 56700
I was having a problem getting the Blue Led to stay solid when it has a fix. I tried a bunch of craziness and finally got it to work by modifiying the arduimu.pde section that deals with GPS fix indication. It now works, blinks when there is no fix, solid when there is a fix. I got the modification from this discussion:
http://www.diydrones.com/forum/topics/arduimu-not-getting-a-fix?xg_...
Thanks for the compliments. The airframe is my own design, made the mold for the fuselage pod and used a form to mold the V brace for the tail. I have plans for a balsa wing, but this $8.00 foam wing is the right shape and span and wont mess the apartment up any more than it is.
It passed the glide test this morning. Needed some minor trim change, but the CG was good and glide was nice..
As for the original Ardupilot, that's available from Sparkfun for $25.00 and the ArduIMU V3 is in the diydrones store for $78.90. My budget was $100.00 and I busted it by a whopping $3.98. No shield this time around.
I've got the latest IMU firmware loaded after getting an "out of sync" wont upload. I finally turned off antivirus and it went in fine.
I need to get cracking on the motor mount.
What platform is that? +1 on the looks, very snazzy! It must be a pusher powered unit.
I have considered the APM<2 as a first step but it seems the pricing is not competitive with APM2. It might be if you are building your own shield or using another. What part numbers/prices are you considering?
That looks like a very nice platform! Will be nice to see your progression and first flight. Its also cool that you are still using Ardupilot legacy.