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New toy - Ardupilot

Thanks to Jordi (thank you for this possibility :) ) I started play with Ardupilot . The main goal is to connect it to remzibi OSD (poor man's OSD) -http://www.happykillmore.com/Software/faq.asp?LANG=Englishhttp://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=921467in simplest way to Ardupilot , all advantages of both devices must be keeped autopiloting and custom layout config of OSD .s6301014.jpghttp://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s6301014.jpgArdupilot is device designed for autopiloting and was not made for any FPV flight - so GPS originally is very close to autopilot board and VidTX probably also (VidTX is jaming GPS) , but using Video and GPS should be mounted at distance to each other .Ardu by his self are greate source of noise also - so any separation ( LC and RC lopass filter) must be considered for coupling RC RX signals .There is not possible (I do not know why probably IDE reads USB device VID or PID) to made and Ardupilot software update by USB OTi cable (belongs to OSD) - but original USB works OK (however can better) .I already concider to compile bootloader for mega328 as Megaload - will take from memory only 1k , as original ardu bootloader takes 2k now , also any USB-uart or rs232-uart cable will able to use for firmware update . In this case will be possible to use even mega168 Ardu with 2.2.3 software .OTi cable works great as serial monitor for Ardupilot or as debuging or whatever .Will test it more with PC GPS emulator .It is possible to connect remzibi GPS - but must be done some config in software like serial.begin(9600) for older GPS module or serial.begin(38400) for last relase , so in fact is very easy . Hardware change is a one diode on bottom of adru board . The config file changes are very simple .In total - Ardupilot is very nice and flexible device even using Adru IDE for programing - for beginers is even much more easier to use then raw GCC .Ardupilot team made really good job till now - in fact that sources are open - so this solution is real future having autopilot solution .For now ardu 2.2.3 firmaware takes only 14,4k (NMEA GPS) so not even 50% of total memory (32k at mega328) .Next soon .
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3D Robotics

Update on DIY Drones projects

Jordi and I have been hard at work at some projects over the past couple weeks, which has led to some light posting. My project is my book launch (FREE: The Future of a Radical Price), for which I've been on book tour for the past two weeks and will be for the next two weeks, too. Press stops have included NPR's Fresh Air show with Terry Gross and CNN, and will take me to The Colbert Report (yikes) and the Charlie Rose show over the next two weeks. Jordi's project is still secret (and awesome! announcement in a few weeks, I hope) but in the meantime the good news is that he's now started making the XY and Z sensors and should have them for sale in the DIY Drones store in the next day or two.
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Looking for Help!

I am looking for help to build a plane similar similar capabilities found in the BAT 4 UAV (http://www.spyplanes.com/pages_new/products.htm) but on a shoe-string budget.Payload 30 lbs + fuelGPS Guided for route and altitudeRugged and Smart Design for CraftManual or Automatic Takeoff and Landing2-stroke engine11k Foot CeilingFixed Landing Tundra Gear100 Mtr Run WayI have a small gold mine that I am starting up in Ecuador, South America. I would like to co-develop a UAV that could transport super-concentrates and gold ingots from the mine to a secure location for refinement and to market. I have spent most of my budget on the project so we are very limited, until we are in full production.Our problem is that we will have to drive our gold through long winding dirt roads in the Andes Mountains. Roads and assault are a risk for any vehicals driving from a gold mine, even in safe countries like Ecuador. Like the majority of mining companies, a private helicopter is not in our present budget.I do have access to a fairly high tech machining shop and would be glad to fly a tech down here, cover expenses and perhaps forge a partnership to develop a UAV company specific for the needs of precious metals and gems sector. Many developing countries have more relaxed laws concerning drones and are more open to market. I also have friendships with high level military personal involved with government contracts in Ecuador. With the right developer, we might get their attention.I also have many connections in the mining sector including Africa, South America, and Asia. I would be interested in developing a UAV with specific intent to market for the transport of precious minerals and gems from small and medium miners.If you are even remotely interested, lets talk.Cheers!
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Developer

ArduPilot Config Tool Fixed!

After reading several posts from our community describing the issues involved with the ArduPilot confiq. Tool, I guess I’ve spotted (with your help) all the possible problems. Is not just one issue, is a combination between hardware, drivers, settings and software problems. You may experience more than one issue, but only one is enough to make the “Confiq. Tool” not usable.The mistake number one is not enabling the “Set RTS On Close” option located on device manager. One way to know if this option is disabled is when you are able to upload something the first time but the second time will not work!! There’s an explanation for that. This situation may confuse a lot of people, just keep it in mind because happens all the time. Detailed instructions to find this option can be located here.The second mistake is not using the correct drivers. I always install the drivers located inside the Arduino IDE folder (\\arduino-0016\drivers\FTDI USB Drivers), works great and never gave me problems.The third and fourth problem, one of them is Sparkfun mistake(I guess), I do believe this because the first company that used a separated FTDI device to program an Arduino compatible system was Adafruit Industries (Even before DIYdrones was created and Arduino PRO/mini and FTDI Breakout basic exist). They do this because is a lot cheaper to use only one FTDI system to program several Arduino compatible boards, is better than using one +-$15 chips in every board that you may burn!! (I have burned like 10 ardupilots so I have saved more than $100 bucks!).Well this is the big deal; is obvious that SparkFun tried to imitate the FTDI cable because is using exactly the same pin order and labels like “BLK” and “GRN” to indicate the polarity, but wait! There are no black and green lines in their FTDI board, only the original FTDI has the Black and Green cables! If you check the original FTDI cable schematic you will see that they are using the pin “RTS#” to reset Arduino, they have no choice; FTDI will not change this just to satisfy a small group of microcontroller amateurs.

Now Sparkfun (that came’s later) uses the pin “DTR#” instead the “RTS#”, but why? So maybe I’m wrong and they don’t tried to copy the FTDI cable (but I still not understand the wrong labels (BLK and GRN) in their arduino boards).

Anyway I did 30 seconds of research and look for the mother of all the little ducks, the original Arduino board! And I’ve discovered this:

Italians are smart! They use both pins!!! If you see the schematic they are using “DTR#” and “RTS#” connected to reset! Now, I already mention it, FTDI corp. will not change the FTDI cable but… would be nice if SparkFun adds a jumper or something to make it more “universal”. But they don’t have too and is not really necessary, because this issue can be solved by software which means a fixed version of the Confiq. Tool.Now we are imitating 100% by software what Arduino IDE does, and I’m talking about pulling down both signals: “DTR#” and “RTS#”. Thanks to Damon Pipenberg, he was able to change the code and test it in his hardware (Claps Please!). The new fixed utility can be downloaded from here and your problem should be gone. Or you can buy the heavy duty, official and original FTDI cable.Thanks for reading![UPDATE from Chris: 7/11/2009]:Nathan from Sparkfun wrote in with some more explanation, which I'll copy here:"The pro was designed very closely with the Arduino Team. From the beginning, the team wanted to support the DTR reset trick of the Arduino USB boards.Background: Two lines on the Arduino USB board are wired from FTDI to Atmega Reset: DTR and RTS. However, only one of the capacitors is populated - the DTR line. So all the Arudino software (IDE) has been written to wiggle the DTR line to get the ATmega to reset.http://arduino.cc/blog/?p=13To retroactively support this feature, and to attempt to support the (then) growing use of the FTDI cable, team Arduino decided to abandon flow control on the FTDI pinout (CTS/RTS) for the backwards compatible support of the DTR reset trick.Does all that make sense? All of this is noted in the product descriptions of the Pros:http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9220Point: We specifically designed the FTDI Basic to work with Arduino IDE out of the box. You do not have to meddle with windows to use the Arduino USB, Arduino MEGA, or Arduino Pro series. The FTDI cable is a hack. You have to change windows settings to get the FTDI cable to work with Arduino.Jordi - I am not entirely sure what problems you are still running up against. The FTDI Basic works fabulously with all the Pro hardware, and a lot of my own side projects. Do you just need to build in a DTR toggle when your config tool? This would coincide with the way the Arduino IDE resets the ATmega.One solution from the SparkFun side, may be to attach both DTR and RTS to the same pin on the connector through 100ohm resistors. That way if either line goes low, it will pull the 'reset' line low."
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We are getting started with ArduPilot and a R/C car to slowly warm up to the autonomous stuff and getting acquainted with ArduPilot. So to keep costs low, we will use my rooted T-Mobile G1 to provide GPS coordinates, accelerometer data, to make a movie, transmit over WiFi or GPRS/UMTS etc. Because I'm lazy I'll just cross-post from xda-developers. The beauty of it is that the serial output from the G1 is 2,8V TTL, so it should very likely work with the ArduPilot, which is 3.3V TTL (I actually haven't tested it yet, just got it working yesterday night). Please see the original post for links and the kernel config.---Okay, I got it working! Instructions are for Ubuntu only, sorry. I believe you need a rooted phone with engineering (or hardspl or comparable fastboot-enabled) bootloader and macpods serial to usb cable (or something comparable).1) Compile Android source with Dream-specifics as described by this. You probably only need prebuilt and kernel, but I'm not very familiar with git and just got everything.2) cd into the kernel directory, copy macpods serial9600config from above as .config there3) "make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=../prebuilt/linux-x86/toolchain/arm-eabi-4.2.1/bin/arm-eabi- oldconfig" I don't remember if this asks for anything at all, if it does, go with the suggested answers4) "make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=../prebuilt/linux-x86/toolchain/arm-eabi-4.2.1/bin/arm-eabi-" - You now have a kernel image for Android 1.0 (I think), but for me it works with JFv1.51 as well5) You can now compile fastboot in $ANDROIDSOURCE/system/core/fastboot or grab the precompiled binary from http://android-dls.com/files/linux/fastboot6) Hook up your phone, power off, start with camera+power. Press back when the skating androids appear to switch to fastboot mode.6) Do ./fastboot boot $ANDROIDSOURCE/kernel/arch/arm/boot/zImage and wait. This takes a moment, then it should start.You know should have /dev/ttyMSM2 which you can echo into (echo "hello world" > /dev/ttyMSM2) or listen to (cat /dev/ttyMSM2). For instance, I'm building an Android app that passes GPS coordinates over the console to an ArduPilot board and will provide telemetry to a ground station. Testing it with "Serial port terminal" from the Ubuntu repository works as well (remember to choose 9600 bauds and the right port).Thanks to to macpod for his excellent work, kernel config and help with building the cable, Google for providing such a kick-ass (somewhat) open phone and all the kernel hackers and rooters for their work.I just wrote this from the top of my head, just post if you have trouble getting this to work.
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T3

Barometric altitude sensor

www.aerialrobotics.eu/altigps/altigps-en.pdfwww.aerialrobotics.eu/altigps/altigps-it.pdfWorks as a GPS translator or standalone.17x28mm.the output is ASCII, NMEA or binary.Contrary to the other solutions, this is the ALTITUDE SENSOR, not just a pressure sensor.The whole job of callibrating, calculating reverse formulas and sensor testing has been done.The idea is that you might have hard time trying to fit altimeter and all associated arithmetic inside current ArduPilot. Nothing easier than parsing ASCII or plugging the module as GPS translator.PLS contact me on kbosak@box43.pl for details.
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WWB UAV Team Introduction

Hello,While I am a teacher at a local high school (Cypress Bay) in Weston, FL, this summer I presented an idea to a small group of motivated students to build a UAV.We were initally motivated to begin this project by Chris Anderson's awesome video from the Maker Faire about the Google campus & UC Berkeley flyovers.We also were fortunate to currently be finalists for a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams grant. This team was also able to compete successfully at the state level and travel, all expenses paid, to the National Science Bowl in Washington, DC in April 2009.We have one major question: how can we contribute to help others further their research or activities?Our first step was to decide what type of aircraft to employ; we have initially decided to go with a helicopter. This would enable us to achieve our first major goal: videotape or take aerial photos of the campus, football games, etc.However, if anyone can think of a better use for our skill set, we would love to hear how best we can contribute to this fairly nascent field.
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Moderator

Ive started as well

Just as reminder to myself, when looking back at blog posts in many years time, (am I milking this)Ordered my Ardupilot and Xbees from Cool Components, here in the UK.Bring on integration to an airframe capable of an hours flight with HD on board!I will order a shield and sensors when the later become available.
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Penn State University ArduPilot Project

I'm an undergrad EE student at Georgia Tech and this summer I'm working in an aerospace research lab at Penn Sate University, headed by Dr. Jack Langelaan. My project is to outfit a Zagi THL glider with an autopilot system. The reaserch is being funded by the NSF, and the aim is to work on developing open-source autopilot hardware and software, with a goal of having the drones do useful work, such as monitoring meteorological conditionsWe want our autopilot to be based around an IMU. We're using an IMU because we need a system that is more robust than the IR sensors that the ArduPilot is based around. This system will need to be able to stabilize the aircraft in heavy clouds, near mountains, and in other conditions that are likely to fool the IR sensors.We were initially planning on using the Sparkfun 6DOF V4, but due to the availability of the Vectornav VN100, we have decided to use that instead. Connecting either module to the ArduPilot presents a challenge because of the limited IO ports on the ATMega microcontroller. However, while the Sparkfun module only has a UART interface, the VN100 also has SPI, which should make it relatively easy to interface with.The VN100 implements an extended Kalman filter onboard, so we will get an attitude solution from the module, which we will use on the ArduPilot to stabilize the aircraft.Navigation will be accomplished using a GPS, in our case the u-blox 5 module from Sparkfun. This seems to be one of the best chipsets available today, and unlike NMEA, the ubx protocol provides vertical velocity data, which is useful for aircraft navigation.Our airframe is a Zagi THL glider. This is a flying wing, with elevons as the only control srufaces. This makes control of the aircraft slightly more difficult than with an Easystar, as it requires mixing of the control surfaces to execute a level turn. I've attached a photo below.I'll keep this post updated with my progress throughout the summer, and add more details about some of the pieces I'm working on.

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Developer
The utility was written in Visual C#. I hope somebody familiar with C# is able to test the code in his failing setup and figure out the problem, nothing else, please don't ask me about of how integrate this code to another project because certainly I'm not an expert in C#. This code is intended for dudes that really have a basic knowledge in programming and believe can help. Just remember this code works perfectly in my PC, running Vista and using the Official FTDI cable.ArdupilotConfigTool.zip
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Adding RSSI signal monitoring for Xbees

In my SIG Kadet Senior "near future" UAV, I've a nice feature in my video OSD: there's a RSSI connector to which one can apply a 0-5V tension and the OSD then displays a graph bar with RSSI signal strength.On Xbee side, I knew I had a RSSI output in form of a PWM signal on pin #6. I configured the Xbee RSSI/PWM0 timer to 99 (which translates in the Xbee to retain the last valid Signal Strength measure for 99 x 100ms, ie approximately 10 seconds. I also activated the PWM0/RSSI pin with the Xbee config tool (It is not active by default, I think).The task was to convert that signal to a 0-5V scale for my OSD. I used my Arduino Pro Mini, in charge of parsing data to my OSD, to receive the Xbee PWM signal on its digital pin #2. This board then computes the PWM (pulseIn function of Arduino). I experimented a maximum pulse length of 32us by placing both Xbee's at 30-40cm distance. so I figured out an RSSI in the formMeasured pulse length / Maximum pulse lengthThis gives me an interval of 0-100% signal strength value.I then just had to map this interval from 0-255 for the output on pin #3 in PWM form, which translate in a 0-5V tension on the pin.On the OSD (Inspire OSD), I plugged in the RSSI cable from Arduino Pro Mini (pin 3 / GND). Now I have an Xbee signal strength in the graph bar of the OSD. If there's no signal received from the ground Xbee during 10sec, the RSSI signal bar shows 0. When signal is good, the graph is oscillating between max and just below.I will finally try to stabilize the RSSI value on the graph bar, probably with some averaging of the read pulse widths. Maybe I'll also limit the reading of the Xbee RSSI pin every second instead of a continuous reading.Well that's a nice add-on for inflight monitoring of signal, especially since it is well known that the Xbee RSSI signal is directly proportional to distance between the Xbees! Maybe I will one day do some empirical measurement about the relation between RSSI and distance.
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Autonomous flag 4 U

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No match for North Korea's 7 missile salute, but we tried.All flights have to take off pointing North & turn into the wind because of the 3DOF IMU. Managed to pull off some stiff wind without blowing string into the propellers. Forget about underslung payloads unless everything from takeoff to landing is automated.
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Moderator

UK RCAP meet

Managed to maiden a new version of Airframe3 today ahead of the weekends aerial photography meet at Leamington Spa, twenty plus aerial photography types flying camping and perhaps some tall stories. Heres the RCgroups link if you fancy joining us. I reckon this will be one of the biggest meetings of RC photographers in the world.

The kit of parts

All together

Robert from Flying Wings

The first couple of flights were pretty shocking, after some ballast on the nose things improved, still as ever a work in progress. Went like stink though ;-)Still 1kg for 1 hour as a target.
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Admin
Hi all, I have been a System Engineer for over 30 yrs and have gone from tubes to ICs during my time in the Aero Space industry. Tubes were virtually immune to ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) and could be handled just about any way we wanted to. But when it comes to ICs, ESD can damage or destroy an IC in an instant. Many of the boards offered for sale in kits by DIY Drones contain static sensitive parts/components that can be damaged even when attached to their respective circuit boards. Therefore it is extremely important for all of you who have built or intend to build DIY Drone kits to exercise basic ESD handling procedures: 1) Buy a static safe pad/mat and attach it to the closest earth ground that you have access to. This will help to prevent static discharge from destroying the static sensitive parts on the DIY Drone boards. 2) Buy a metal wrist strap and attach it to the static safe pad to insure that you are at the same potential as the work pad so that you can pick up a static sensitive board and not risk destroying it with a static charge on your body. 3) Keep all of your completed boards in static safe packaging. Try to minimize board contact with the foam in the foam aircraft. 4) Buy a temperature controlled solder iron with a grounded tip. If you follow these simple tips concerning ESD and your static sensitive circuit boards, you will most likely have a project that works the first time and will not suffer a latent defect while your plane is high in the sky! Just a thought. Regards, TCIII
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Hi,I am currently using a Linux based system and was wondering if the source code for the Ardupilotconfig tool (beta3 version) was available as I can't upload the waypoints on the board at the moment. I'm extremely interested in writing a platform neutral clone of ardupilotconfig, and would be quite happy to share the results. Is there any other way/method of uploading the waypoints manually assuming I am using the latest ardupilot code (Version 2.2.3) for the easystar ? Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.Regards,Mikil
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