... DIYDrones member Pieter
Pieter was kind enough to send me this Bluetooth adapter. As it turns out it was trivial to add support for using this device to talk to APMs. Instructions are included below...
So, why would you want to do such a thing:
- You currently have no telemetry - in which case this is a definite step up (though I still think you'd be better off buying the 3dr radios)
- You have an android device that doesn't support USB host mode (list of tested devices here). Just attach this little bluetooth adapter to a battery and your radio. If your device supports USB host mode (especially if it has the rocking fast USB of Android 4.2 or later) I think you are better off just plugging your 3dr radio into your tablet directly.
- You have a XBee radio - I suspect that using XBee on Androids older than 4.2 would find that going through the bluetooth adapter to reach the tablet would be much faster.
Step 1: Send Deal Extreme $9 for this.
Step 2: Configure bluetooth adapter
These adapters come preconfigured for 9600 baud, you'll need to change them to 57600. To do this, temporarily connect the provided cable to a FTDI serial adapter, connect to the device at 9600 baud and then paste in the following string "AT+BAUD7"<return>. If the device responds with OK57600, you are good to go, otherwise try again.
Step 3: Connect bluetooth adapter to either a 3dr telemetry module (recommended) or directly to an APM board
To connect to the APM or a 3dr 900MHz radio, using the provided cable. Pieter has reported 100 meter range and I tested it yesterday morning and sure enough I could remotely monitor my plane/make config changes as long as it was close.
Step 4: Go to Android settings and pair your device with the bluetooth adapter. The PIN is 1234.
Step 5: Fire up Andropilot 1.2.00 or later. See our discussion group for download links etc...
Comments
I had a problem aat first in trying to alter the baud rate using Windows Hyper terminal until I found this
http://www.diymulticopter.org/?page_id=1140 and then downloaded the the Sketch program.
I am about to give up trying to get the b/t bridge to link with the 3dr(type) ground radio throught my phone. The phone have no USB host. All the youtube vids and bits on forums dont show the wiring connections on how to connect a 3dr radio with a USB plug to the b/t bridge module.There is only a description on how to do it with the radio that has the 4 pin connector.
I have changed the baud rate on the b/t module and my phone connects with it ok but thats all.
I only wanted to be able to use my phone for "Follow Me" but i thnk will settle for using the netbook instead until I find a solution.
make sure you use capital letters.
I had a similar problem and it took me about a day to figure that out
When giving the special command to change the baud rate, it is important to copy and paste it into the terminal program rather than just typing it - because the device seems to have a very short time limit between new characters. If it doesn't reply with OK57600 it is not yet set and you'll need to try again.
FTDI Cable should be just fine, although make sure your BT Board is compatible with the output voltage and the logic level of your cable (my FTDI cable, provides a 5V supply with 3.3V logic levels). With my JY-MCU BT_Board (V1.04 3.3-6v) I did not have to do anything complicated. Just wired it up to the arduino and it changed the config to what I wanted.
No luck, no response to AT, even using the BT configurator, "module is not found". Do I have to pull pin34 high? (read that somewhere). I also tried with a FTDI breakout board.
Thank you, I will have a read through that, I was using a FTDI cable - tried the lines both ways.
Graham, this web page may help, it has heaps of good info on configuring these BT devices. http://wiki.openpilot.org/display/Doc/Serial+Bluetooth+Telemetry
Basically you need a rs323 to ttl converter of some description. Personally, I used a Arduino for this purpose.
P.S. try swapping Tx & Rx lines, that's something I always manage to get mixed up with serial comms.
I can't get any of my JY-MCU BT modules to respond to any AT or other command. I have two, they'll pair with each other (apparently - LED's stop blinking and go solid), one will pair with my phone, the other not, neither will talk to AndroPilot, connections are correct.
Hi Kevin, Good News! It's working! Thank you! I unpaired all the (many) devices in my phone and paired my BT module again. After that it's now working.
Thanks heaps!
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
of 4 Next