LitterBug's dRonin / iNav / Aura5 / ArduPilot / *Flight FC enabled Wingy Thingys
- Thread starter LitterBug
- Start date
Matek HAS provided us with a patch (V2.5.0) for their CRSF-PWM boards and we have had no more issues while we tested it. Make sure if you pick up any of those boards you update to at least that version.
On another note, I have also added bluetooth to my TX16S so that I can forward telemetry wirelessly to a tablet/PC. Have also been playing with a telemetry viewer on a tablet. https://github.com/RomanLut/android-taranis-smartport-telemetry So telemetry data from the plane goes back over the radio link to the transmitter. It is then forwarded via bluetooth to the telemetry viewer on the tablet.
FYI Matek Just dropped patch 2.6.0 which fixes some of the current monitoring issues.
On another note, I have also added bluetooth to my TX16S so that I can forward telemetry wirelessly to a tablet/PC. Have also been playing with a telemetry viewer on a tablet. https://github.com/RomanLut/android-taranis-smartport-telemetry So telemetry data from the plane goes back over the radio link to the transmitter. It is then forwarded via bluetooth to the telemetry viewer on the tablet.
FYI Matek Just dropped patch 2.6.0 which fixes some of the current monitoring issues.
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Latest project: Olde Surfer 2000 which I've flown exclusively LOS up till now with a non-leveling AS3X receiver.
Bird: Surfer 2000 (sold by RMRC without the Sky Surfer stickers )
Controller: Matek F765-Wing (owned forever, discontinued for eons, but never put it in anything.... till now)
Firmware: Ardupilot Plane 4.4.4
RX: Matek RP1 ELRS
GPS: FT EZID
ESC: STOCK
Motor: STOCK
Servos: STOCK
Prop: Stock.... Needs replaced (8x#)
To use the FT EZID as a GPS with Ardupilot, configure the Serial port to 115200 baud, MSP and GPS as MSP.
Cheers!
LitterBug
Bird: Surfer 2000 (sold by RMRC without the Sky Surfer stickers )
Controller: Matek F765-Wing (owned forever, discontinued for eons, but never put it in anything.... till now)
Firmware: Ardupilot Plane 4.4.4
RX: Matek RP1 ELRS
GPS: FT EZID
ESC: STOCK
Motor: STOCK
Servos: STOCK
Prop: Stock.... Needs replaced (8x#)
To use the FT EZID as a GPS with Ardupilot, configure the Serial port to 115200 baud, MSP and GPS as MSP.
Cheers!
LitterBug
Mr NCT
Site Moderator
Ouch‼️
That must have been exciting 😲, brother Bug.
Put that puzzle back together again.
You know you can do it!
This bird puzzle is toast. I retrieved all the servos and electronics to throw at other stuff down the road. I may revive a Strix Stratosufer that I replaced and retired a while ago after it nosed in. It has a very good chance to fly again. The power pod has the most damage.That must have been exciting 😲, brother Bug.
Put that puzzle back together again.
You know you can do it!
Drop in and go options would be a surfer 1500 or the plane this FC was originally bought for, a RMRC Skyhunter.
LB
Reduced my Wingy-Thingy count by two Thursday at Flite Fest 2024.
What remained of my 3 RMRC Nano Skyhunters made it through morning combat on thursday with battery giving up the ghost just before the final pushes for destruction. I had a battery in it charged for the final combat last year but didn't get to fly it then. Had 94% charge after a year of sitting charged for nearly a year. LOL Lasted surprisingly long with no sag and still has good resistance. Picked it up out of the field with a trophy embedded in the wing.
Franken Skyhunter only lasted about one minute into the second Thursday combat and I FINALLY experienced the dreaded DSMX failsafe of doom causing probably the first lawn darting of that session. No reglueing. Every piece had been severely stressed and repaired many times before, and the intent was just to finish it off in combat. Only wish it would have been air-air rather than air to ground.
My Original Nano Goblin (from 2017) Lawn darted at an even higher impact rate but for a completely different reason..... Dead glue. Was still flying INAV, BrainFPV, R9, but LOS rather than FPV. Had been ripping it around a lot, put it in a high speed dive from high up, went to pull out...... Nothing. D'OH! The glue on the elevon control horns had let loose letting the control horns pivot around the elevon spars rather than actuating them. This was an original initial release PNP built at the factory model with an unknowwn glue which had hardened, turned yellow, and become brittle. Not the first time I have had glue come apart on this bird over the many years, countless hours in the air, and probably 1000-ish miles. The nose had been completely ripped off and reconstructed in it's INAV maiden. I used Foam-tac for that reconstruction which held up remarkably well in this impact. Many pieces that had not been re-glued over the years of abuse popped. It plausibly could have been repaired and used for combat, but the decision was made to let it rest in pieces and make room for a new flyer in the hanger. Rescued 1 servo, ESC, Motor, Prop and all electronics except for the camera that found a rock at impact obliterating the lens.
Still have Nano Goblin #2 which I built as a kit with Foam-Tac after #1's nose exploded off in the INAV maidening many years ago. #2 is still ripping strong. Still have plans to replace the Aura5/FrSky D16 with an ArduPilot FC/ELRS setup. FPV upgrade from dead AIO TBD....
What remained of my 3 RMRC Nano Skyhunters made it through morning combat on thursday with battery giving up the ghost just before the final pushes for destruction. I had a battery in it charged for the final combat last year but didn't get to fly it then. Had 94% charge after a year of sitting charged for nearly a year. LOL Lasted surprisingly long with no sag and still has good resistance. Picked it up out of the field with a trophy embedded in the wing.
Franken Skyhunter only lasted about one minute into the second Thursday combat and I FINALLY experienced the dreaded DSMX failsafe of doom causing probably the first lawn darting of that session. No reglueing. Every piece had been severely stressed and repaired many times before, and the intent was just to finish it off in combat. Only wish it would have been air-air rather than air to ground.
My Original Nano Goblin (from 2017) Lawn darted at an even higher impact rate but for a completely different reason..... Dead glue. Was still flying INAV, BrainFPV, R9, but LOS rather than FPV. Had been ripping it around a lot, put it in a high speed dive from high up, went to pull out...... Nothing. D'OH! The glue on the elevon control horns had let loose letting the control horns pivot around the elevon spars rather than actuating them. This was an original initial release PNP built at the factory model with an unknowwn glue which had hardened, turned yellow, and become brittle. Not the first time I have had glue come apart on this bird over the many years, countless hours in the air, and probably 1000-ish miles. The nose had been completely ripped off and reconstructed in it's INAV maiden. I used Foam-tac for that reconstruction which held up remarkably well in this impact. Many pieces that had not been re-glued over the years of abuse popped. It plausibly could have been repaired and used for combat, but the decision was made to let it rest in pieces and make room for a new flyer in the hanger. Rescued 1 servo, ESC, Motor, Prop and all electronics except for the camera that found a rock at impact obliterating the lens.
Still have Nano Goblin #2 which I built as a kit with Foam-Tac after #1's nose exploded off in the INAV maidening many years ago. #2 is still ripping strong. Still have plans to replace the Aura5/FrSky D16 with an ArduPilot FC/ELRS setup. FPV upgrade from dead AIO TBD....
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NEW plane in the hanger. ZOHD Drift.
Bought, built, and maidened at FF'24 with an ER5a ELRS PWM rx. It's kind of a mashup of the Nano Goblin and Nano Skyhunter that I exploded. Can fly under 250g with minimal equipment on board. Thought about throwing the BrainFPV Radix Li wing and all the other electronics out of Nano Goblin #1 into it, but space may be a bit tight for that FC. Weighing options including something that runs Ardupilot..... (ie Omnibus F405 nano v6.xx)
Have some "fun" mixes of the Elevator with the ailerons. No, positive, and negative mixes for some different aero maneuvers that can be switched in flight.
Bought, built, and maidened at FF'24 with an ER5a ELRS PWM rx. It's kind of a mashup of the Nano Goblin and Nano Skyhunter that I exploded. Can fly under 250g with minimal equipment on board. Thought about throwing the BrainFPV Radix Li wing and all the other electronics out of Nano Goblin #1 into it, but space may be a bit tight for that FC. Weighing options including something that runs Ardupilot..... (ie Omnibus F405 nano v6.xx)
Have some "fun" mixes of the Elevator with the ailerons. No, positive, and negative mixes for some different aero maneuvers that can be switched in flight.
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I have been testing the electronics from Nano Goblin #1's lawn darting incident. Looks like the camera is the only real loss. Didn't have a VTX in it at the time, so that will be safe too. Should fit in the upper compartment below the GPS. Lower compartment is a no-go with the ESC down there. Will need to Remove the ESC from the Radix Li Wing PDB and put a XT30 in it's place.
Updated INAV to 7.1.2 on the BrainFPV Radix Li, Straightened the servo and GPS pins, and have been bench testing/configuring it for when the time comes to switch from ELRS PWM to INAV. it currently has a R9 RX, so may leave that in, or switch to a ELRS serial RX.... Haven't decided.....
Updated INAV to 7.1.2 on the BrainFPV Radix Li, Straightened the servo and GPS pins, and have been bench testing/configuring it for when the time comes to switch from ELRS PWM to INAV. it currently has a R9 RX, so may leave that in, or switch to a ELRS serial RX.... Haven't decided.....
@LitterBug I started on page one... With you list of planes and system tests. The. Skipped to pg7 to see where you have gotten to. I am on a similar, slightly less organized version of your journey here. Can you link the list with the relevant start post covering the system.
It could help us get to the system we have, to learn your successes and pitfalls. (Before we learn them too, the hard way.)
Awesome work here Sir. Much appreciated
It could help us get to the system we have, to learn your successes and pitfalls. (Before we learn them too, the hard way.)
Awesome work here Sir. Much appreciated
@FoamyDM,
This thread has been more of a journal of key findings which I have refferred back to numerous times to remember how I have done X in the past. Some things early on are now less relevant with new features being added, new hardware (elrs), new protocols etc. What I can do is break it down in more detail to the individual components and show the wiring and configuration steps for things like the RX, VTX, GPS, TX, etc....
I do use "non-standard" TAER radio channel mapping from most non-spektrum based protocols. It has been best for me to build all my fleet around a common mapping rather than trying to remember how I mapped every model. Since the BNF models I started with have been TAER, that is what I stuck with. Especially since Spektrum can't be remapped.
This thread has been more of a journal of key findings which I have refferred back to numerous times to remember how I have done X in the past. Some things early on are now less relevant with new features being added, new hardware (elrs), new protocols etc. What I can do is break it down in more detail to the individual components and show the wiring and configuration steps for things like the RX, VTX, GPS, TX, etc....
I do use "non-standard" TAER radio channel mapping from most non-spektrum based protocols. It has been best for me to build all my fleet around a common mapping rather than trying to remember how I mapped every model. Since the BNF models I started with have been TAER, that is what I stuck with. Especially since Spektrum can't be remapped.
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Got some good raw RX flying of the ZOHD Drift and Aura 5 Nano Goblin at the field this week.
Moving forward with the FCification of the ZOHD Drift. Here's the crashed camera vs new, and most of the other electronics. Need to remove the hardwired ESC and replace it with a XT30 to use the stock Drift ESC.
The 20x20 BrainFPV Radix Li and WPB (wing power board) stack will fit OK, but I may need to switch to right angle pin headers. The 900mhz antenna is large, so it would be placed out on the wing somewhere unless I switch to a 2.4 elrs RX...
The top hatch has a built in location for the GPS.
Removing the ER5a from the bird. Wings have quick connects for the servos, and I have it wired with individual servo control rather than a Y for the ailerons.
Firmware will be INAV since the Radix Li does not have enough memory for Ardupilot support.
Moving forward with the FCification of the ZOHD Drift. Here's the crashed camera vs new, and most of the other electronics. Need to remove the hardwired ESC and replace it with a XT30 to use the stock Drift ESC.
The 20x20 BrainFPV Radix Li and WPB (wing power board) stack will fit OK, but I may need to switch to right angle pin headers. The 900mhz antenna is large, so it would be placed out on the wing somewhere unless I switch to a 2.4 elrs RX...
The top hatch has a built in location for the GPS.
Removing the ER5a from the bird. Wings have quick connects for the servos, and I have it wired with individual servo control rather than a Y for the ailerons.
Firmware will be INAV since the Radix Li does not have enough memory for Ardupilot support.
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Space constraints are a real issue for this 20x20 Radix Li MPB transplant.... It will require depinning the MPB straight servo pins and replacing with right angle pins... I may order a replacement power/servo board from BrainFPV to save the time/hassle of repinning. The board is on clearance, so maybe that is a sign!
I have already switched the GPS header on the Radix FC to right angle. Removed the R9 RX and soldered in an ELRS RP1. Need to reduce the overall stack height by at least 5mm. Will need a hole in the fuselage for plugging in the USB port. Will shorten the GPS wires last after everything else is working. Going to re-configure INAV for the RX change and give the GPS another test with the new header. About the only thing that won't need to chane is the FPV wiring. Everything is just the right length..... If I even use it on this bird. (Probably)
LB
Was flying the FT Aura 5 Nano Goblin last night. It's been needing re-trimmed for a very long time. I forgot how easy it is to have the Aura 5 copy the trims from the transmitter.
1) Fly in manual mode and trim the plane out with the transmitter
2) hold the trim button till the light starts blinking
3) hold it again till the blink changes
4) reset trims on radio to 0
5) hold trim button till the light stops blinking. The board reboots after trimming completes
1) Fly in manual mode and trim the plane out with the transmitter
2) hold the trim button till the light starts blinking
3) hold it again till the blink changes
4) reset trims on radio to 0
5) hold trim button till the light stops blinking. The board reboots after trimming completes
New BrainFPV Wing Power Board arrived. Yeah even a 20x20 setup is very tight 8n there. Right angle pins were indeed the neater way to get everything crammed in the tiny upper bay. Bailing on analog FPV wiring to the FC for now. Should not be too bad to add it in later should I decide to use the OSD. With telemetry back to my TX, I can do shout outs for warnings.
Need to bench test everything before buttoning everything down and getting it out to the field.
Need to bench test everything before buttoning everything down and getting it out to the field.
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Well nutz.... Everything was mapped right, gyro responding right, Accelerometer responding right.... all balance out nicely. . . . .
Figured I'd give it a go....
Carbon tail boom broken, and front end broken. Foam-Tac will fix the nose, ordered a replacement rear boom.
Appears I should have launched in manual mode. Leveling mode did not have enough authority.... (has not been autotuned yet....)
Figured I'd give it a go....
Carbon tail boom broken, and front end broken. Foam-Tac will fix the nose, ordered a replacement rear boom.
Appears I should have launched in manual mode. Leveling mode did not have enough authority.... (has not been autotuned yet....)
Fixed up the fuselage /nose with Foam-Tac, made a few adjustments to the FC/WPB mounting, added a hole in the side of the fuselage for USB access, and am now just waiting on the tail/boom. Re-checked all the INAV config. All appears good. Think I will add it to my TX16S so I can make use of more INAV features. been using the Radiomaster Pocket up to this point. need more switches/ flight modes.
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