Here it is! Finally, the PixHawk Fire Cape (PXF) is ready for a wider audience and we've launched a crowdfunding campaign so that everyone can get theirs. We've been iterating through different generations over the last year and with the help of many, we are finally proud to announce the PXF starting at $100.
This board was born out Philip's hands and pushed by members of this community so it's just reasonable to try making it as affordable and accesible as possible. Some technical details:
Sensors
- MPU6000: 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer and temperature sensor.
- MPU9250: 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis magnetometer and temperature sensor
- LSM9DS0: 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis magnetometer and temperature sensor.
- MS5611-01BA03: Barometer that includes pressure and temperature sensors.
Connectors
- 3x LED indicators (Green, Amber and Blue)
- 2x serial UART ports (ttyO0 is not active)
- 1x CAN connector and transceiver
- 3x I2C ports
- 1x Buzzer
- 1x Safety switch
- 9x PWM output channels
- 1 PPM/S.Bus in
- 1x Spektrum
- 1x Power brick connector
- 1x Battery backup (1 LiPo cell)
- 1x ADC
- 2x GPIOs exposed (IO)
- 1x analogic pressure sensor (AIR)
Mechanical characteristics
- Size: 88.6 x 54.73 x 20.69 mm
- Layers: 6
- PCB Thickness: 1.62 mm
- Weight: 31 grams
Support the crowdfunding campaign of the PXF here.
Comments
Thanks everyone who supported the campaign. We didn't reached the goal but we've made available a discount code that lowers the price of the PXF from our store.
Cheers,
Hi Chris,
I missed the early bird, but got in on the second tier. I have a BBB just waiting for this kind of navigation cape so I can test it out on either a rover or a boat.
Regards,
TCIII AVD
I agree, they needed to move 180 units to get in the ball park. I was one of the early birds too..... I live in hope it will pan out.
So far only 22% funded with 13 days to go.
I believe that the 25k euro goal was way too much for such a limited market.
Regards,
TCIII AVD
@Elios
The micro minim looks interesting it does appear to have reduced one of the key heating issues. I cant give any view of the yet as I havent played with one or seen many reviews on them. If it has resolved the main heating issue it is something that could be considered for integration.
I'll most likely order one one in the future and have a play.
Regards,
Chris
@Chris,
I guess there is an alternative which is the Witespy Micro MinimOSD, but I didn't try it yet. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2325491
The Micro MinimOSD is the next evolution of OSD minimization. The original MinimOSD was engineered to bring users a very powerful OSD at low cost. This OSD was re-engineered so every useable pin was easy available. (no more surface soldering)
Features:
The issue is I am not expert a lot of DIY. Check it and give me your opinion.
@Elios, Yes MinimOSD is really the only choice at present, MAVLinkOSD is a derivative of it. All I was getting at is the rest of the components on the PXF are stable items. If you put an item that has a known history of issues it wouldn't be a great choice. I like the idea of it all being integrated though, so once a stable OSD exists it would be a good addition.
I find it odd that given the issues we have had with MinimOSD that no one has created an alternative. Having said that, with the Minim on 5V and with heatsinks it seems to perform quite well.
@Victor, from my understanding that the PixHawk Fire cape is like the Pixhawk used in drones and fixed wings, am I correct? but it has more space for future expansion. if it is correct, we are using the minimOSD with the pixhawk as it is the only OSD available to work with the Pixhawk. I was asking is there any alternative of the minimOSD as a new hardware or a built-in OSD inside the PixHawk Fire cape?
@Chris: I was asking of there is an alternative of the minimOSD which can be a built-in OSD.
Yes, we have faced some failed minimOSD before but there is no alternative till the moment. isn't it?
MinimOSD's have had a history of overheating, I'm not sure I'd want one on the PXF, because if it did die then it's a waste of space.
Now I've converted all mine to 5V and whacked a heatsink on them they are now operating at a reasonable temp. It's also nice to be able to change OSD's in the future, its one component that makes sense to be modular.
Chris
Elios,
My bad. I'm not really familiar with devices such as the minimOSD.
The PXF (+ the BeagleBone Black) are actually able to stream telemetry and digital video themselves. I've read a bit about these kind of devices but i'm not really convinced of what's the added value of including this kind of circuitry on the design.
Regards,
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 6 Next