The UAV Devboard is back in stock at SparkFun, with a new design.The reason for the design change is that Analog Devices no longer makes the gyro that we were using on the previous board, so we have switched the design to the LISY300AL. Paul Bizard and I have thoroughly tested the new board on fixed-wing aircraft, the LISY300ALs work just great with DCM.We have modified all of our existing firmware to be able to run on either board, and will make sure that all future firmware will also work on either board. If you have written firmware for the UAV dev board, you will only have to make a few minor changes to run it on the new one. The two board designs are nearly identical. The only differences are:1. The new board uses LISY300AL gyros instead of the ADXRS401, and the 6g range instead of the 1.5g range for the accelerometers. This will allow you to provide aerobatic control without saturating the sensors.2. The gyros, the accelerometers, and the A/D reference voltage are all tied to the 3.3 volt regulated supply. This will totally eliminate drift of gyros and accelerometers due to supply voltage changes.Each firmware project now has both a "green" version for the previous board and a "red" version for the new board.
That $150 price drop is astounding! I have mixed feelings--happy for Bill and the many new customers who will now get to use this great board at this price, and a slight feeling of regret for buying two of the older boards at price that could have bought four of the new ones.
I have done some more testing this week, I am still satisfied with the choice of sensors, though I caution that anyone who wants to use the new board in high-vibration applications (such as helis), should test them first.
One of the improvements we made to the board is to run the sensors and the A/D reference all off the same regulated 3.3 volt supply. That completely eliminates drift due to power supply variations. So the firmware no longer has to make a correction for supply voltage drift.
I have revised all of my firmware so that it will run on either my old board (the green one), or my new board (the red one), and tested it out. As soon as the new boards come out, I will release the new firmware. Each file will come with two projects in it, a "green" one and a "red" one.
SparkFun has told me that the new board may be out before the end of May, but we will see. I will certainly make an announcement as soon as I know.
SparkFun is now taking back orders for the board. I notice that the price is still listed as $299, but I am pretty sure that will come down as soon as they are ready to sell the new boards. My guess is the price will change when they put up the picture of the new board, but I do not know what the new price will be.
I'm eagerly awaiting your next devboard release! Have you gotten to do any more testing this week? Are you still satisfied with the choice of new sensors? How is the early June ETA looking at this point, for the board to be available for purchase from sparkfun?
The IDG-650 and ISZ-650 look good on paper, but the only way to know for sure is to test them. I think it is certainly worth trying them out.
I think that 2000 deg/sec is overkill. That is 5 revolutions per second.
There is a price to be paid in going to a range that is too high, you lose resolution unless the A/D has a lot of bits, and you are more susceptible to noise and drift. You should use a range that is just high enough to cover the requirements of your mission.
I'm hoping to hear good things about the IDG500. Combine that with an ISZ 500 (or any other gyro out there, really) and you won't need vertical boards any more.
Hey Bill,
Paul's findings would be consistent with a friend of mine who had a terrible time taming the drift of the IDG300. We're working under the assumption that the new series will have fixed or at least minimized the issue and that is why the IDG300 is being replaced by the IDG500/600.
I have access to a rate table for testing and I'll be sure to keep everybody posted on what I find. I hope to be running hardware by the 15th.
Comments
I have done some more testing this week, I am still satisfied with the choice of sensors, though I caution that anyone who wants to use the new board in high-vibration applications (such as helis), should test them first.
One of the improvements we made to the board is to run the sensors and the A/D reference all off the same regulated 3.3 volt supply. That completely eliminates drift due to power supply variations. So the firmware no longer has to make a correction for supply voltage drift.
I have revised all of my firmware so that it will run on either my old board (the green one), or my new board (the red one), and tested it out. As soon as the new boards come out, I will release the new firmware. Each file will come with two projects in it, a "green" one and a "red" one.
SparkFun has told me that the new board may be out before the end of May, but we will see. I will certainly make an announcement as soon as I know.
SparkFun is now taking back orders for the board. I notice that the price is still listed as $299, but I am pretty sure that will come down as soon as they are ready to sell the new boards. My guess is the price will change when they put up the picture of the new board, but I do not know what the new price will be.
I'm eagerly awaiting your next devboard release! Have you gotten to do any more testing this week? Are you still satisfied with the choice of new sensors? How is the early June ETA looking at this point, for the board to be available for purchase from sparkfun?
The IDG-650 and ISZ-650 look good on paper, but the only way to know for sure is to test them. I think it is certainly worth trying them out.
I think that 2000 deg/sec is overkill. That is 5 revolutions per second.
There is a price to be paid in going to a range that is too high, you lose resolution unless the A/D has a lot of bits, and you are more susceptible to noise and drift. You should use a range that is just high enough to cover the requirements of your mission.
Link: http://www.invensense.com/products/idg_650.html
Link: http://www.invensense.com/products/isz_650.html
The IDG 650 is $40.00, no price info on the ISZ650 yet.
They can do 2000 deg/sec. Or is that overkill?
I am very impressed with your board, I must say it is very sophisticated and complete. Good luck with it.
Bill
Paul's findings would be consistent with a friend of mine who had a terrible time taming the drift of the IDG300. We're working under the assumption that the new series will have fixed or at least minimized the issue and that is why the IDG300 is being replaced by the IDG500/600.
I have access to a rate table for testing and I'll be sure to keep everybody posted on what I find. I hope to be running hardware by the 15th.
thanks,
Brian
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