Yeah, the hard bit's of getting the flight controller wired up, and camera gimbal setup looks just about there! Just the motors/escs, and the software tweaking... though the software tweaking / tuning can be the most time consuming. What size battery are you going to use? I can't wait to see the "follow me" functionality if you try it out...
Well this is me testing how well I can build a project up on a budget vs buying something like a 350 QAV.
Chris and I touched on this briefly during the FTAH podcast.
A little work done last night.
Installed some connectors and wires on the power board.
This allows me to power the APM and not the ESC.
The 2 outputs are for the gimbal and the fpv tx.
I put a XT60 and the feed to the power board connectors on the esc quad board.
And finally went to work on the wiring harness. Combining the OSD and FPV gear.
Installed some connectors and wires on the power board.
This allows me to power the APM and not the ESC.
The 2 outputs are for the gimbal and the fpv tx.
I put a XT60 and the feed to the power board connectors on the esc quad board.
And finally went to work on the wiring harness. Combining the OSD and FPV gear.
ExperimentalRC
Senior Member
I love my s500 frame for AP. What kind of motors and battery are thinking about using?
DT-750's because I have them. Battery will be a 3S 4000.
Sweet Tablet Interface & Progress
Ok I'll have to setup the camera better and record a video but that is fun.
More to follow on that for sure.
Got a little more work done over the weekend.
Put the bullet connectors on the DT-750's. I still need to trim the shafts down but that can be done later.
Had run all the ESC leads then discovered they were in the way of the top plate.
So everything had to redone
I've ordered a damping plate so once that shows up I can finish off mounting the flight controller.
I did switch over to shorter 3mm mounts so the boards do not sit so tall.
Ok I'll have to setup the camera better and record a video but that is fun.
More to follow on that for sure.
Got a little more work done over the weekend.
Put the bullet connectors on the DT-750's. I still need to trim the shafts down but that can be done later.
Had run all the ESC leads then discovered they were in the way of the top plate.
So everything had to redone
I've ordered a damping plate so once that shows up I can finish off mounting the flight controller.
I did switch over to shorter 3mm mounts so the boards do not sit so tall.
External Compass Trace
So this week has been a wild one. And adding to my grumpiness was the Micro APM stuff.
After I installed an APM Flight Controller Damping Platform
I decided it was time to be brave and cut the trace for the internal compass. WELL.
From that point on the APM went nuts. Bad Compass Health. No magnetic field readings. Oh boy.
No matter what I did I simply could not get the compass to be read.
I tried the internal, external, changed computers, flashed the board.
Finally I stripped the whole unit down.
First I soldered the trace back just to see if I was getting any data. No.
So I removed the solder with my solder vacuum and presto.
I guess that cleaned everything up nice and tidy because all of a sudden I was seeing the compass and a magnetic field.
A small relief as I feared this was going to be an RMA case.
With some luck and time I might have a chance to get this thing in the air this weekend.
So this week has been a wild one. And adding to my grumpiness was the Micro APM stuff.
After I installed an APM Flight Controller Damping Platform
I decided it was time to be brave and cut the trace for the internal compass. WELL.
From that point on the APM went nuts. Bad Compass Health. No magnetic field readings. Oh boy.
No matter what I did I simply could not get the compass to be read.
I tried the internal, external, changed computers, flashed the board.
Finally I stripped the whole unit down.
First I soldered the trace back just to see if I was getting any data. No.
So I removed the solder with my solder vacuum and presto.
I guess that cleaned everything up nice and tidy because all of a sudden I was seeing the compass and a magnetic field.
A small relief as I feared this was going to be an RMA case.
With some luck and time I might have a chance to get this thing in the air this weekend.
Just saw your update (been busy trying to change jobs). Looking good! Glad you got that internal compass vs external compass thing sorted out. I'm a little disappointed in HK not just leaving that compass off the board. Sure, I could see the utility of the onboard compass in a fixed wing application -- which is actually how I have one of my APM setup (see below my first flight of 2015 with the Versa Wing and the latest APM/OSD software which finally works well together).
As much of a PITA the OSD setup is, it's nice having the telemetry on the goggles.
As much of a PITA the OSD setup is, it's nice having the telemetry on the goggles.
Last night I finally had a chance to work on the S500.
The goal was to program the 4 modes.
Stability
Alt-Hold
Loiter
And RTL (Return to launch/land)
I'll get some photos of my settings on the 9X but found an example online which worked for me.
I'm using the aileron switch to trigger the RTL and the 3 way to jump between the other modes.
Basically you have 6 modes on the APM, The first 3 are setup with Stability, Alt-Hold & Loiter.
When I toggle the aileron switch that shifts the value of the 3 way switch which hits 4,5 & 6 on the APM modes.
All are assigned to RTL.
Clear as mud eh.
The goal was to program the 4 modes.
Stability
Alt-Hold
Loiter
And RTL (Return to launch/land)
I'll get some photos of my settings on the 9X but found an example online which worked for me.
I'm using the aileron switch to trigger the RTL and the 3 way to jump between the other modes.
Basically you have 6 modes on the APM, The first 3 are setup with Stability, Alt-Hold & Loiter.
When I toggle the aileron switch that shifts the value of the 3 way switch which hits 4,5 & 6 on the APM modes.
All are assigned to RTL.
Clear as mud eh.
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