Many of you have asked for a side-by-side comparison of ArduPilot Mega and basic ArduPilot, so here it is. Note that with Mega, we moved the servo and GPS connectors to horizontal rather than vertical placement, to make them more robust in the case of a crash.
As you can see, the main processor in ArduPilot, an Atmega328, is just handling RC input and the failsafe function on Mega, while the main CPU has been upgraded to an Atmega1280, with more than twice as many I/O pins. In a sense, every chip has been upgraded to their big brother on Mega to handle more channels, sensors and communications paths. Basic ArduPilot, especially with the Turn-Rate Limiter Shield, will continue to be sold and will be the best plug-and-play solution for newcomers, while Mega will offer more capability for more advanced users.
BTW, it goes without saying that the the users can choose whether to use horizontal or vertical servo headers. The connector that's really fragile is the GPS one, which is why we made that horizontal by default.
It's parallel with the force vector in a crash. When your connectors are perpendicular to the direction of motion, things get ripped off. I speak from WAY too much experience!
Jordi
Thanks for the confirmation! I wasn't sure my calcs would be correct because the sparkfun board pictured on the site is slightly different than the comparison in this photo.
Comments
definitely some evolution going on here! live and learn.
Such a large unit Chris I see in other places that it will probably not be able to defy gravity ;-) In some places size is everything.
Thanks
Thanks for the confirmation! I wasn't sure my calcs would be correct because the sparkfun board pictured on the site is slightly different than the comparison in this photo.
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