PixHawk/ArduCopter for Beginners (2023 series): 2. Installing the PixHawk 6C and full setup steps
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- www.holybro.com/product/pixhaw...
www.holybro.com/product/pixhaw...
www.3dxr.co.uk/search/holybro
ardupilot.org/planner/docs/mi...
ardupilot.org/copter/docs/com...
ardupilot.org/copter/docs/ini...
ardupilot.org/planner/index.h...
Holybro X500v2 frame build and overview video: • HolyBro X500 V2 Develo...
Time Codes:
0:00 Introduction
1:50 Setting up the Power Module
5:45 Installing the pieces onto the X500v2 frame
8:56 Connecting the ESCs to the flight controller
11:38 Testing the motors
15:20 Setting up the failsafe
17:34 Installing the optional telemetry radios
20:47 Testing for GPS lock and arming on the bench
25:35 Summary
Thank you for taking the time to watch the video. You can find me on social media at / painless360
/ painless360
www.thingiverse.com/painless360
R/C is one of my hobbies and I do this for fun. I don't do this to replace a day job so if you have found the content useful then and want to support the time I spend helping others and creating content then please consider liking the video and subscribing. It helps a lot!
If this video helped you and you want to support the channel you can use these links:
/ painless360
paypal.me/painless360.
Remember that reviews are subjective. Don't rely on one persons opinion - watch reviews and make your own mind up. Where-ever you can support your local R.C resellers and shops, they need your support more than ever.
If you liked this you can see more R/C related videos on the channel - / painless360 , use the playlists to find entire series on topics you might find interesting.
Be aware that any comments that are rude, disrespectful or use bullying or threatening language will be deleted. Pedantry isn't encouraged either. This channel is all about helping others and passing on advice and ideas so please comment in that spirit. Comments that don't adhere to these simple rules will be deleted.
Thanks again for watching, support each other and the hobby as we have enough external drama without making more for ourselves.
LIKE and SUBSCRIBE and above all - Happy Flying!
#drone #painless360 #review
Just watched episode 2
Well done. It told me things I have been battling with for a while.
Thanks for your time.
Fantastic! Thanks a bunch for the tutorial, Lee! 😃
It's amazing how powerful the hardware and firmware are!
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Many thanks, happy flying!
I really like this style of quad and as a learning curve it's great to get into the basics of quadcopters. I was also a fan of open-libre pilot back when it was in development for this style of quad and IMO they have a great GUI but Ardupilot is fully featured and supported so it look like it ticks all the boxes here. I like what they have done with this kit and for education it's a great step into the tech that makes quadcopters work! I think they might have gone for a different protocol to PWM conmectiors for the motors but it works well enough. Thanks for the detailed step-through guide.
Great video. thank you Sir for the effort and excellent explanations.
Superb 👍 thank you for the lesson. Happy maiden flight. Looking forward to the next one. Best part was the safety switch bit,. 😂😂 "but I disabled that" 😂😄
You can preview the maiden now by using the playlist (zero drama as normal with the setup the way I've shown). Happy flying!
Love it.
Thank you!
looking good
Wicked ! I can't wait until you show the video of your drone
Maiden flight and tips video in the play... happy flying!
Hey! Love your series-super helpful :) Was it my imagination, or was there a 3rd video in this series? I'm almost ready to fly...
It is out this weekend... Happy flying!
Got my kit yesterday, now waiting for the radio.
Hi mate, your video always great. Anyway may i know what type of ESC u are using, cos u never show in your video...
I have a Pixhawk 2.4.8 build back many years back, may i know can i use those all in one ESC for my Pixhawk 2.4.8?
See the build video linked in the description.. Best of luck.
Immediately after assembly, the problem is FS and the level of the throttle stick - 982.
Thanks a lot.
Solved the problem right away.
Thanks for the video!
I stick a piece of painters tape to the motors to see their direction of rotation.
AMAZING VIDEO! So useful and informative. Just wondering, is there any restriction on the type of ESCs that we plug into the Pixhawk 6C PWM? For instance, would there be any issue using a Spectrum Avian 45 Amp Brushless Smart ESC, 3S-6S ?
If it supports the standard ESC protocols, I don't see why not... Best of luck
Your videos are great source of knowledge. Do you have any about pixhawk and rtk heading or rtk jaw? If not it would be great if you could make one for us. Working on a lawnmower with rtk heading with um982 chip but I am bit lost. Thanks.
I have a video on RTK setup, check that out in case it answers your question... Happy flying
Greeting Lee. Amazing videos full of great information on the Pixhawk/ArduCopter first build. I have followed all the three video and am getting ready for the first-maiden flight. As a novice drone operator - I would like to buy the RadioMaster TX16s. What would be a good receiver to buy with this unit - which would be not so difficult for a beginner like me (using Pixhawk 6c & 6X FCs ).. Any recommendations ? Thank you
Any receiver that can talk SBUS, or CRSF directly to the FC. See ruclips.net/video/fpnbJPU3hU0/видео.html
thank u very much for your good video's , can I use pixhawk for mapping , how can I control camea for doing that
Yes you can. See ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-cameras-and-gimbals.html and videos in the Big Boys Toys playlist.. best of luck
Hi and congrats on your channel and content. After watching your video I ordered the Pixhawk 6c as a midrange decent solution. I am planning on building a dodecahexa custom drone (coaxial hexa 12 motors). Will the pixhawk 6c be able to drive the 12 motors of the dodecahexa? Will I be able to have dshot on the 12 motor outs?
Thanking you in advance for your help,
JimBril.
I'd check with the seller, I've only used one in a quad here... best of luck
Wich is the inner diameter of the arm tube? Is it possible housing a flycolor 45 amps esc that has about 15.5 mm width?
Lee .. if can find or print Toroidal props it would be fun to see what your thoughts are on them .. wanna use them for my new endurance F405 build not sure they are retail at all yet .. cheers !!
I'm keeping my eyes open for them to be offered for sale. Not sure how well a 3D printed set would last in real world flying here... Stay tuned
Thank you for making these videos. I really like the Pixhawks, but it has been a few years since my last build which uses a Holybro Pixhawk 4. I used to do the arming by holding the stick in a corner for few seconds but I see your configuration uses a specific switch on the radio for arming. I wonder what happens if you accidentally flip that switch mid air? Will it fall down like a brick?
Yep
You can always set it up to require pressing two switches at the same time in order to arm/disarm. I use the two extra trim switches on the TX16s. I do use a single switch for “emergency motor stop” as it leaves the model armed and can be instantly corrected if toggled accidentally.
Hey Lee how are you tweaking and tuning your pids? Are you doing that manually, using stock arducopter pids, or are you using the arducopter auto pid calibration once in the air?
On a larger frame like this the default PIDs will normally work very well out of the box (smaller frames - 5" class - need a little work). See the maiden for how rock steady this thing is on defaults.. Once the maiden is done, I'd run an autotune to dial things in even more. Happy flying!
@Painless360 thanks Lee, this will be my first full pixhawk setup on an old 10 inch Sky Hero Spyder frame with all new electronics, it's about time I ditch the old and unreliable Naza V2 flight controller, Frsky receiver and analog video setup for this flight controller, DJI digital fpv, and expresslrs control link.
Amazing video, Thank you so much.
I'm wondering if there is any QAV250 + Pix32 v6 tutorials or any source of information how to setup the drone and flash the firmware?
is it good to test a small drone light show (5 drones) ?
one last question: do I need RC Controller for each drone or how to set one controller to launch the show.
i know that the questions aren't organized but excuse my poor english.
Again, Thank you for your time and effort for making this great content.
I'm not an expert on the whole drone show thing. Sorry I can't help this time.. Best of luck
Hi there. Thanks for the step by step instructions. I have a strange issue which has to do with RCOut ports.
- My set-up: Pixhawk 6c + Tx16S controller + RadioMaster R81 Receiver (Holybro PX4 Development Kit - X500 v2),
- using ArduPilot.
I followed your step-by-step instructions, however my RCOut changes PWM ports every time I reboot the flight controller (Pixhawk). Some times it shows the correct PWM ports (RCOut: PWM:1-4 DS600:5-8) and I can set my servos to positions 1-4 and run the motor tests successfully. But as soon as I turn Pixhawk off and on (power off/on), then my RCOut shows different ports for PWM ports (RCOut: DS600:1-4 PWM:5-16). Any ideas what is goin on?
Frame: QUAD/X
IMU0: fast sampling enabled 2.0kHz
RCOut: DS600:1-4 PWM:5-16
IOMCU: 410 2003 411FC231
Pixhawk6C 00350041 31335114 39373732
ChibiOS: 6a85082c
ArduCopter V4.5.3 (ee14ff38)
PS: I have posted on different discords but so far I am just being asked to post on other discords :)
I've never seen that. I'd maybe try another version, and report the results to the devs... Best of luck
Hello friend! The FMU port on my pixhawk 6c is not delivering 5.0V or 3.3V signal. The wiring is correct, the mission planner is receiving radio commands, but the signals are not being transmitted to the FMU PWM out. Is there any other configuration I should do to enable the FMU PWM out? Please help me. Thank you for your time!
Not sure, if you figure it out, please let me know what you need to do.. best of luck
Hey there Lee another quick question to a problem I'm having after watching and mimicking your setup, and I can't quite seem to find the answer to. So I couldn't get the motors to spin up or anything in the motor test tab, nor would they spool up after the system armed. So I switched my Holybro pwm breakout board from the FMU PWM OUT over to the I/O PWM OUT on the 6c flight controller, and now the motors spool up when armed, but still do not work in the motor test tab. Is there some parameter that needs to be adjusted to get everything to work correctly, or am I just doing something wrong? My hardware is the Sky Hero 2806 950kv motors and Sky Hero 40amp opto esc's.
I'd suspect the ESC protocol is wrong... Best of luck
@Painless360 yeah the esc's are kind of old school and run the old SimonK firmware, but you'd think they would still work as I have the esc protocol on the fc set to 0 or normal, all of the other options look like they're for dshot150 and above. Maybe it's time to upgrade the esc's to a newer version and firmware if I can't get these working correctly.
@@steelrainfpv3383 I have the pixhawk 6c with the M8N GPS on the bench, connected via USB-C to PC. I have (2) HS-55 servos hooked to the PWM board and powered by a 2A benchtop power supply (no ESC's). I used mavproxy with the servo set command. I couldn't get it to work with FMU out either. Holybro support said, "the main output on the 6C is not FMU output but I/O output". So I switched the cable over like you did and now it works. Suspect it's in the config settings. I'm using Frame Type Undefined in Mission Planner (building a rover).
In my current build I originally was going to use an old DJI Naza M V2 as the FC, but due to the lack of support for that particular controller I opted to use a Pixhawk 6C instead. When I set up my blheli esc’s I just calibrated them the old fashioned stick method as PWM , since I was going to be using them with a relatively ancient FC. But the esc’s are D Shot compatible, and I want to setup the Pixhawk with that protocol. Since I already calibrated the esc’s with the stick, do I need to do anything special when setting up the Pixhawk other than choosing D Shot in Mission Planner? Thanks.
Selecting a digital protocol for the ESCs should just work... I'd check it Al. With the props off... best of luck
Thanks Lee.
Is there a way to know for sure what flight mode you are in? I start off in stabilize Mode and it seems like whatever I do it flies off in whatever direction it feels like. And not even close to level on take off. Either the whole right side comes up first or sometimes the left side.
Yes, osd, lua script and others.. Happy flying
I would like to do an Ardupilot build this summer, flight controller such as the H 743 is my thought. Have you built anything with that?
Yes, lots of non Pixhawk ardupilot builds on the channel... Happy flying
I have never been a fan of having the arming button enabled. For something that is supposed to increase safety, in my mind it does the opposite, having to put your hand over the props in order to push a button to arm it could be asking for trouble!
I feel exactly the same. Maybe on the huge models there is a place but not on the hobby sized stuff... Happy flying!
I have the latest update on my radiomaster tx16s but i have nothing like that screen to set my "no pulses". Any suggestions?
Depends on the radio reciever and protocol you're using. See how to set Failsafe for the hardware you have... Happy flying
How does this compare to the hex cube orange? Does it perform better or does not have ADS-B? I’d like to know how they compare.
Hex Cube Orange is the gold standard and comes with ADS-B on the carrier board. This is a cheaper option as covered in the videos.. Best of luck
Wonderful informative video! Speaking of telemetry, have you ever got a minimOSD working with a pixhawk?
I have. Check out my videos on it.. Best of luck
@@Painless360 Thanks! I saw you got it working on Naze32, multiwii, APM, and CC3D. Do you reckon APM is closest to pixhawk?
APM is old, unsupported 8bit hardware that you shouldn't be using now. Use a modern 'Pixhawk' style FC or a modern 'open-source' alternative. Best of luck!
@@Painless360 Thanks for the advice! But I think I misspoke. I meant to ask which of your videos I should follow if I'm trying to do it on pixhawk? Is APM is the most similar? Love your videos!
After a couple of months of working with the Pixhawk 6C, do you have any thoughts on the vibration isolation claims? Have you had any problems that you think may have been caused by vibration?
Not yet...
You can mount your flight controller on a damper plate with dampers. It significantly reduces vibrations that may cause issues like accelerometer clipping.
Nice video!
I have trouble calibrating the ESC’s so I can get the motors running. The steps im doing are:
1- Flight controller (FC) is connected to the computer thru USB and battery is plugged in, motors are beeping.
2- Click the Calibrate ESC button in Mission planner under mandatory hardware dropdown on setup section. I’ve tried Normal, Oneshot and Oneshot 125.
3- Disconnect Battery and usb from FC
4- Connect the FC to the computer thru usb again
5- The FC is ON and the ESC is off since the Battery is disconnected from the PDB (should the -,+,s cables be connected or disconnected?)
6- I disable the safety switch holding the “switch” button on the GPS until the red light is solid (immediately after plugged in switch light is solid so i hold it till it blinks and then till is solid again, if i let it solid since the begging it doesn’t work either)
7- Arm the drone in the transmitter corresponding switch (I’ve even tried
8- Put throttle at maximum position
9- Plug in the battery
The problem is from step 4 on.
After this, I understand that I should be hearing 2 beeps from the ESC registering maximum throttle and then I put throttle at minimum so the ESC can read the lowest throttle. However, instead of the ESC, only the motor start beeping every 2 seconds or less. The compass light is either yellow blinking twice every second like shown in the video OR alternating between green, red and blue.
In both cases the switch red light on the compass is solid right after plugging it in. In the second occasion (when blinking in 3 colors) the FC would make a long beep immediately after plugged into the computer thru USB but it would not connect to mission planner at first try displaying a “no heartbeat packet received” popup or simply the connection failed one that in the details says “the semaphore timeout period has expired” and a bunch of other stuff i have a picture of. When I try again unplugging and plugging back thru USB connection is no longer displaying the red blue and green light but the yellow one again.
The MOT_PWM_MAX and MOT_PWM_MIN values are within the range reflected on the Radio calibration section; right now they are 960 and 1960 and in the radio calibration max and min are 988 and 2008. These values used to be 1000 and 2000 on the ESC calibration section but didn’t work either.
The transmitter is ON and it connects to the receiver every time no problem during the whole process. I calibrated the radio before doing this too.
I don’t know how to set manual mode which Is something I think I should do between step 5 and 6. I do it in Stabilize mode instead, but Im not sure if that is the problem.
If I do this right, the next step would be test the motors on the Motor test section under Optional Hardware dropdown on Setup section, right?
Before doing this I tried to test the motors right after calibrating the radio and it didn’t work. I got a popup window saying “action stopped by autopilot” now When I try it only makes the two sounds at the end of the video when I click “Test all in sequence” and “Stop all motors” buttons.
•Flight controller: Pixhawk 6C •Power Distribution Board : PM07 •Motors: T-motor store.tmotor.com/h5/#/product?id=939 •ESC: DH 60A 2-6S Waterproof Brushless ESC Electronic Speed Controller with 5V/6V 8A BEC and X60 a.co/d/7qHXerv •GPS: MN8 •Transmitter: Radiomaster XT12 ELRS •Receiver: Radiomaster RP1
[Edit:] I have been using ardupilot ESC calibration website as reference but no success.
I hope you or someone can help me solve this problem, i don't know what else to do!
ESC calibration is started with the ESCs unpowered by the battery. If your ESCs support a digital protocol then use that to avoid the need to calibrate.. Best of luck
I've been having this same exact issue. Everything is calibrated and gps has a working fix, my motors beep in rhythm which shows they are connected properly and being read properly, but when i try to motor test, they just don't spin. I get beeps indicating that the drone is attempting to test the motors, but they dont move. My servo output also shows that they are connected and configured properly.
Have you found a fix to this yet?
Would it be worth using TBS crossfire with "RC by mavlink" enabled and your laptop connected via wifi to the crossfire module? You wouldn't need telemetry radios then
MAVLINK is only sent at short ranges on Crossfire so not useful for anything but close in flying.. Happy flying
This power module says it's rated up to 12S but I can't find any rating for the motors & ESCs other than a recommended 4S. If I need to run a minimum of 6S for my project, where could I go to find recommended alternative motors and ESCs rated for the higher voltages? Thanks for all your help!
I normally look at the T-Motor website... Best of luck
@@Painless360 awesome, thanks!
Will this run with 3 cell batteries? I can't get the motors to work. they beep slightly but don't turn.
It should do but 4S is better. If the motors won't turn at all I'd recommend following the series to see all of the steps I follow... Best of luck
Have you come across “Your compass configuration has changes, check missing compass”? I recalibrated the compass and now neither the one in the Pixhawk 6c or external M10N will work.
I've not seen that here. I'd report it to the developers.. Best of luck!
I keep getting a pop up saying ‘Raw Param Warning” “All values on this screen are not min/max checked. Please double check your input.”. Any ideas for some help with this??
The message is normal. You can un-tick the box if you don’t want the reminder every time.
Hello
I have a Pixhawk 6C Mini and I want to mount it in a fishing boat;
I have to connect 4 servo motors to it;
my question is do i have to feed the servo line with 5V?
THANK YOU
I'd expect so. Pixhawks don't tend to power up the servo pins... Best of luck
@@Painless360 ESC provides 5.7v is much or is it good for servo output, thanks
Depends on the servos..
Is there a way to get imperial measurement on distance/altitude?
Yes, you can change between metric and imperial and others. See ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-osd-overview.html for example.. Best of luck!
pixhawk 6c and herelink 1.1 with eft616 is that a good system ?
Pretty solid hardware.. Depends on what you want to build. Best of luck!
Want to build a medical kit or maybe first aid dropper that weighs around 10kg
And thanks for the fast reply
I've not used that frame but best of luck!
So many options of firmware and hardware that it gets kinda confusing. Especially as things continue to evolve or become obsolete
(
OpenPilot->Librepilot , DRonin
Multiwii->Baseflight->Cleanflight->Betaflight
MissionPlanner -> QGroundControl
)
But Is there any one set of hardware that could run both both Ardupilot / Pixhawk (PX4) and Betaflight (iNav)? Except for the Pixhawk, many of the electronics I've seen are similar (STM32F/H7) and have similar form-factors (ex. Speedybee F7V3, Mateksys H743, Kakute H7 V2)
I understand Betaflight is popular among FPV racing, and iNav for autonomous/waypoints, however would love to experiment with both FPV and autonomous flying!
Decide how you want to fly and what space you have in the model and then the choices are easier. ruclips.net/video/ZwCLdkjqM-Y/видео.html
How can I set a any sticke to arme and disarm
Only two ways with the radio. Stick arming or switch warming.. Check out the Ardupilot docs for details. Best of luck
When I get to the motor test step, Mission Planner tells me "Command was denied by autopilot", and announces with voice "Motor test safety switch" - what do I do?
Lots of great detail on how to fix in the forums.
See discuss.ardupilot.org/t/motor-testing-failure-command-was-denied-by-autopilot/92146/3
I could not get my ESC's to calibrate with the BRD_SAFETY enabled, even when pressing the safety switch.
Took me an obscene amount of time to figure that one out.
I'm a developer, how hard is it to program a button ffs
That's why I always disable the safety switch. Happy flying
Does this thing work with 6s battery? :)
If the PDB, ESCs, Motors and Props are rated for 6S, then yes. ;)
is there any proper reason for showing the error like ' compass 2 not found' ?
Is that something you have on your build? What troubleshooting have you already done?
@@Painless360 I have already did the testing of my drone, but now when I connect Pixhawk through USB cable that time its showing 'compass not calibrated'. When I connect through telemetry that time the error is 'compass 2 not found'
Hello, very nice and helpful video. I have designed a heavy lift UAV and need to work with someone on the flight control/autopilot system. Would you be interested in working with me or can you pass along info on a person or company I could hire to do this part for me.
Thank you,
Steven
Hi Steven, See my Big Boys Toys Playlist for the larger stuff on the channel. Most professional rigs use Ardupilot and a PixHawk flight controller (like I used in this video).
what camera are you usnig?
No FPV on this build. I do have videos showing how to add analogue or HD FPV to Ardupilot flight controllers. Happy flying
@@Painless360 is it possible to connect dji air unit camera to it?
Yep, I have videos on that - ruclips.net/video/0XKp9qNuizg/видео.html
best of luck
Lee, please allow me to give a piece of advice on these telemetry radios.
*BUY THE NAME BRAND ONES, NOT THE CLONES. YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.*
I'm sure that for those with a little more experience the clones are fine, but for a beginner they just suck.
Agreed - anyone that is happy to put their brand-name onto the radios is far better than the eBay specials. These HolyBro units work well with no messing about. You can get far more expensive and more range with more cash - See ruclips.net/video/VakhFXMNp98/видео.html
Rather than one battery running all four motors on my Quadcopter, can I run four battery packs, one batter pack on each motor and if so, how would you hook that up? Thank you
You could but that is a very heavy way to do it. Best of luck
@@Painless360 Is there a video that would show me how to do that on a quadcopter design with the cube+ flight controller/auto pilot? Thank you
Can you pass along the knowledge on how to do it?
Sorry to hear you're struggling to find a video or series you need. All of my videos are carefully organised into playlists and every video has a number of text tags on them to make them easy to find if you use a search. This video should help and explains a few tips for finding the video or playlist you're looking for - ruclips.net/video/CIuUNdVfBJQ/видео.html or ruclips.net/video/P4soR6QgOk0/видео.html. Happy flying!