As promised ("take one for the team") I bought one of the Feiyu FY-3ZT autopilots from Hooks at FPVFlying.com, and it arrived today.
I haven't had a chance to test it (the software only runs on Windows XP right now, and I don't have any XP boxes), but here are the unboxing photos:
The instructions don't look too bad for a Chinese product.
Here are the parts:
--The three boxes in the middle are the (top) IMU, (middle) Remote Adapter and (bottom) Autopilot controller. Only the IMU and the Autopilot go in the plane. The Remote Adapter is for the ground station.
--Hooks also threw in a 433mhz 500 mW long range modem (black modules at left). I have no idea if they're legal in the US!
--There is also an OSD module (FY-OSD); I'm not sure if that's part of the basic kit or Hooks just being generous to me again.
--The GPS module is one of those very small Locosys deals (MC-1513). I'm not a huge Locosys fan, but we'll see how this performs.
--And the thing with the two red Deans plugs looks like a power/current monitor.
--All the rest is all the necessary cables, antennas and mounting bits.
Of course I took the boxes apart. Each one has an AMR7 processor. The IMU has the usual 3-axis accelerometer, a 2-axis gyro and a 1-axis yaw gyro. The controller board has a absolute pressure sensor. All the markings on the chips are obscured with black varnish so I don't know what kind they are.
I've got to fly off to Europe again tomorrow (Paris this time), so I won't get a chance to start testing until next week.
Comments
Actually ArduIMU+ solves the equations onboard with its own atmega328, so it's a true AHRS (thus the "+" in it's name). The IMU shield for APM is just an IMU, as you say, because the processing is done on APM.
Note that I quoted everything from that thread, I'm more curious than anything as some of those comments are just simply bizarre, especially as they attack the hardware ArduPilot have chosen:
"They used such low tech chips for Autopilot???".
This is why I am really looking forward to the flight test of this platform done by Chris, there could be a real opportunity for our projects to learn something and realise we have made a huge mistake with our low tech chips, or possibly there will be another outcome?
I will keep my ass low! I can hear someone shouting his gun in every direction.
David keep up the hard work on the OpenPilot. Don't use all your energy thinking about chips used by other AP's.
My day is too short to start a AP hobby war, so I don't want to go into this.
May you all have a nice day..
You can read more about answers from FY co on RCG
From my understanding, an AHRS has an on-board processor that does the maths and sends the solved attitude equations it to the AutoPilot, an IMU is a sensor suite that does no attitude processing. The FY-3ZT has an AHRS with an Arm chip, the ArduIMU and the Oilpan are IMUs and not an AHRSs as the attitude equations are solved by the autopilot. That seems to be accepted nomenclature for these things but it does get confused often.
It is also what Wikipedia states:
"The key difference between an IMU and an AHRS is the addition of an on-board processing system in an AHRS which provides solved attitude and heading solutions versus and IMU which just delivers sensor data to an additional device that solves the attitude solution."
BTW, Hooks just sent me FY-3ZT software that works with Windows 7, so I should be able to test the autopilot properly. I'm traveling this week, so give me a few weeks.
What I do find is some very odd things in that thread that simply don't add up, varnishing chips is very suspect (then denying it), are they varnished or not? Someone is not being truthful, sorry to be so blunt but it is that simple. I believe you are telling the truth about them being varnished, why would they do this? Of course to stop a competitor borrowing them, this tends to point to the fact they got theirs in the same way does it not.
Then we see their vendor claiming to have never copied anything simple because how could they possibly as no one in their team has ever been outsi... What? I have no idea how that logic follows at all and seems to be clutching at straws. The Chinese don't copy things, no never, how could they if they never leave China.
Then there is this beyond ignorant comment:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15449999&postcoun...
Really they laughed at these "low tech" items? Well, I can tell you one thing, these guys are *ignorant*, to me that ignorant comment reconfirms that they must have borrowed ideas somewhere. Don't you also use these gyros? Why yes. You are using them because they were recommended to you by another project, correct. I find it ironic you are defending them when they seem to be questioning your ability, questioning the hardware in your products and calling it lowend, quote:"They asked, 'They used such low tech chips for Autopilot???'".
Additionally they never even tested these item according to this: "None of the listed chips were ever tested at their company."
Odd, how do they know they are so poor? How odd. You do not even need to be bright to spot the problems with all this. What a tangled web they are creating...
Further, looking at those photos of their AHRS, I would have to state that those chips look very much like the ones stated or at least Chinese copies of them. Even simple things like the choice of some of the parts being different on the AHRS compared to the other products seems to point to a different source of designer as well.
While I agree RCG is not that friendly a place, they do get more freedom of speech which can also be healthy, DIYDrones is not better, just different, there are pluses and minuses to each site. Here you promote your own products mainly and that is a key point of the site, on RCGs I see lots of different vendors promoting their own things, which leads to a lot of the discord as shown in that thread. That thread seemed to have got derailed by the vendors of the Chinese autopilot massively over reacting. It reminded me of Shakespeare's Hamlet "The lady doth protest too much, methinks.".
Looking forward to your review of this product, I'm surprised you didn't look in to it deeper and pick up the inconsistencies that are easy to spot that something is very rotten in the state of Denmark.
Accusing someone of piracy is a serious accusation. The RCG crowd seem to be willing to do that without evidence, but we hold higher standards here.
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