I've been out of the hobby for about 4 years and have forgotten so much of what I'd learned! I now have a lot more time on my hands and can get to the stuff I purchased years ago. Putting the mini APM on a trifecta frame (very 2016!) right now. Your videos are invaluable! Thanks for putting in SO much work helping the rest of us have a bit of fun!
Your approach to teaching is outstanding! Extremely well ordered in your thinking and articulate in your explanation of this material! Honestly, as good as any instructional videos I have every viewed! Thanks and blessings to you!
I'm a beginner at quad-copters, but not to electronics. I recently purchased a HK pilot micro master set... and with the use of your videos, I was able to get it up and flying within a couple of days. Your videos are spot on.. Thanks for posting them... time to start messing with FPV
Painless360 Also I can't find the post where someone said they couldn't connect to their board via computer USB onto the micro USB board connect.. I had the same problem just the other night.. Which is wierd because I have always connected to the board. Turns out that it was a really bad Chinese cable, the USB to micro cable would charge things but it wouldn't allow data transfer... So make sure you have that ace in your card deck. Thanks again ... my deadcat is flying and extremely stable... I changed out the micro PDB for the deadcat one and it seems to get much cleaner power..
Really, this is possibly the best instructional video I've ever seen on youtube. The time put into the camera work, graphics, and the pace of it is really excellent. On to 2/8 now!
Thank you for this nice APM presentation. As for the red/black wires these can be switched in the the small connector (just need a small sharp pin to unlock each wire and reposition correctly). Looking forward for the next episodes.
Claudiu Farcas Hi Claudiu, good tip, I do this later in I the video to make the wiring looms. I was surprised that black and red wires are used in the loom and not connected to the power rails correctly. It's just bad practice and invites power issues. Happy flying!
Hi Painless. I have a APM mini 3.1 set up and working fully in stabilise mode, but in alt hold and loiter mode, after arming the motors the board becomes completely unresponsive to my radio/commands. I can use my radio to arm and disarm the motors causing them to spin at idle speed and stop again, but other than that I have no control over speed, direction etc. Have reset the board, re-installed firmware and done the tx calibration several times but am still stuck? Any ideas would be appreciated
Yes, I can take off in stabilise mode, but when I switch to loiter or alt hold the quad becomes unresponsive and will just float in the air. I've already been through your trouble shooting video several times lol
Hi..first of all, I have learned so much from your videos, they are simply awesome and so detailed. Re the above video, I am having a weird problem of calibrating my radio, I am using a Radiolink AT9 and R9D receiver. During my calibration, the both the sticks on the TX is working the opposite direction. If I put the throttled to its min its showing up on the calibration screen. same with the roll and pitch. but the left right direction for both the sticks are OK. Would truly appreciate your kind suggestion. Thx.
+Painless360 Hi again. I got the throttle direction sorted. Thx. now I got All done as per the instructions. All is OK, but once I connect the copter, I can even do the arming, but the motors are not turning all. all the steps on the mandatory hardware is OK. when I arm the copter the lights on the apm shows solid pink and green. please rescue....
+Painless360 hi there. thanks for your note. could u let me know what r your fees, let me see whether I can afford u or not. but I do understand from your point.
Hi mate, with an open apm board, should it have a dome or enclosure over it on the drone? When I enter a gps mode my drone seems way less controlled. In fact it flipped over and crashed the other day. I did buy it all second hand and in bits so I’m not even half sure that there may have been problems already. Also the blue light on top of the gps, is that supposed to turn solid blue or keep flashing? Thank you for providing some of the best RUclips educational drone videos I’ve come across btw! I’m a trainer myself and have also taken a few teaching pointers from your videos.
Thx for your such a nice instruction! i got a question for the bluetooth module to connect mini apm Is it possible? installing BT module such as HC-05(06) for the wiress connection between APM and Mission Planner?
I saw lots of BT module tutorial for apm 2.5 and 2.7 but there are anything about "Mini apm" if there are... can u tell me where it is? Thx for your kindness
You'll have to use Google I[m afraid. You can use the same process that you've already found with the Mini APM. There is a video on the channel that uses the MAVLink radios and looking at the connectors you can figure out how the wiring works. Best of luck.
This is such a great board for mini quads, maybe not racers but for the 'adventurous type'. Is it possible to have a low voltage buzzer/alarm? I see it has 'RTL' and 'land' but can there also be an audible warning?
Hi Painless360. Great vidio's . My question can you connect external led's on the mini 3.1 as the 2.5/6 I use these on my quad's for arming and gps indicators. I now have a Bix3 with a Apm mini 3.1 hidden deep inside it and I have no visual indication of it being armed/disarmed. Tried looking in the mission planner / apm planner paramiters as with the Quads and googled it. The Mini 3 is loaded with Aduplane firmware all else seems ok not flown due to rotten windy cold weather. Hope you have a solution or is it too new ? :) Keep up the Great Video's Bill Civic
Hello Painless. I've got the most basic questions of all. I purchased this APM/compass combo from BG hoping to follow along with your videos. However, small but important hardware items are not included. Namely, the crimping tool, the "crimps" themselves, and the little black plastic pin connector thingy's which plug into the receivers. Would've happily purchased them separately had I known that was necessary but now I don't know how to find them and my project is stalled. Can you help? How are they named so I might search for them? Have any links to these additional little items? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
+Manuel Nunez those wouldn't be included with the kit, just as you wouldn't expect to get a soldering iron either. Search for DuPont crimps and crimping tool to find them. Many Jo by stores carry them or eBay and Amazon carry then too. Best of luck with the build!
ras4q2001Hi, that board uses the same base APM code and hardware but isn't the same. A lot of what we cover here and in the other APM series apply but, as you already spotted, some of the connections are different.Good luck with the build.
My board came fitted in a case, and the seller stated "no onboard compass" how do I calibrate compass? is it mounted in GPS module? sorry to sound so dim but this is my first apm board and gps.
Thanks, it was supposed to be plug a play but they've supplied a gps with a 4 wire and a 2 wire connection. I've also opened the apm3.1 case and the link is still intact. I did the compass calibration as per your instructions but it came back "not enough date" so I guess there's no on-board compass. Do you have any links for a gps with the six pin connections so I don't have to faf around linking on the board as you described in your video. Thanks for getting back to me I'm following your videos with great interest, thank you!
Ok I know its outdated but I have an APM 3.1 mini that I got a couple years back and I wanted to throw it in my Bixler. I have followed your videos on APM 3.1. I have powered the FC with a Power Module, so I have 5 volts to the FC. I have verified with a multi meter that I have 5 volts at the RC input side and have made up the CPPM connectors as you briefly showed ( IN1, jumper IN2 & IN3, 5v, ground). My problem is I can't get power to the receiver. I have checked the receiver by plugging a ESC into it and the light comes on, but when I plug the three pin connector for CPPM into the receiver I get nothing. I am using a FrSky D8R-XP and Turnigy 9XR transmitter. With my micro quad I am using a FrSky D4R-II receiver and out put CPPM to the FC with no issues.....I'm scratching my head and burning daylight...
So follow up: After 6 + hours of troubleshooting all it came down to was a bad ground wire. The culprit was the ground from the input to the receiver. It was a mechanical connection problem. Shows how important a good ground is.
Hi Jon, from everything I've seen it's been GND, GND, +5v, +5v Current and Voltage pins for the 3.1. (api.ning.com/files/dUBGrCUuK8SW8uQayF0gszX61IzhfrXnND8XxCiPT9O8yhB9riSncOlaOHaCcAevHfJ2RG2XOUDGLPCOAqu2fbCaqhAnQ99M/sku_105379_0.jpg and img.banggood.com/images/upload/2014/10/SKU15964510.jpg) The pins appear to be different on the APM 2.5/2.6 though with the +5v and GND pins swapped (copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-autopilots/common-apm25-and-26-overview/ and copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-measuring-battery-voltage-and-current-consumption-with-apm/) Hope this helps.
Painless360 the confusion is the sense wires for the current and voltage from the APM power module. If you did a short video showing the correct hookups and mission planner setup it would spare others from blowing the sense lines on the APM 3.1. Just a suggestion. No one I know can explain the connections better than you using your skills in video and schematic creations.
Jon Car OK, Jon, let me add it to the list. FYI the 10def board arrived today so I am starting my research and should be putting out videos soon. Any tips?
hello painless very good video but iam finding it very hard to understand how to connect the mini to a helicopter.pluging in the servos to the board hoe do i do this can you send me a link to some one who has done this on a helicopteror wiring diagram that makes it easier to understand.thankyou .chris
I've got one APM mini But the cables aren't as in the video, in the plug it's swapped black and red. Does the video show corret wiring, for servo. I can swap red and black if it's nessesary
In the first set of videos I found the same and wired it up so the black wire was +5v. In the second series I swapped the black and red cables in the loom over as having a black cable carry positive voltage is asking for trouble and very confusing when you are making up custom looms! Hope this helps..
I believe you can but need to flash some special firmware to support the sbus signals (from what I remember). We only use PWM/PPM with APM here and have used S-Bus with Pixhawk. Best of luck!
Hello, I have purchased the mini apm 3.1 board you recommended from banggood, and have been able to connect and flash the firmware, however, upon reloading, it hangs every time on "Got param RATE_RLL_IMAX" I have waited several minutes, and it stays stuck with this message.. the LEDs are blinking in a complicated, but I think repeating, pattern. do I have a dud board, or have I done something wrong?
Hard to say without seeing the setup and getting a lot more detail. Un-connect everything form the board and see if it now works, if all else fails - re-flash and try again. Best of luck.
Hey Pain, Thanks for responding so fast sorry you missed my second post and got my old one. Any ways no matter what mode I put it in none of them control Pitch. One mode comes really close to being correct but when pitch is moved it controls Roll for a second time. Any ideas on what could be going wrong?
+Mokra06 Not really, and this new reply isn't connected to the original so I can't see the history easily. I would recheck all the connections, the settings on the radio and the channel mapping in Mission Planner. Direct support us available if you need more help, but it's not free. Best of luck.
Awesome videos, very informative and extremely easy to understand. Could it be possible to connect the MinimOSD plus a bluetooth module to this board at the same time? or do I need the regular APM to do it. I'm liking the mini more since I can stack different boards on top of each other plus is just smaller.
elpidiovaldez4ever We cover the addition of the radios/BT in this series later on. Let me know if you can't find it and I will post a link.. Best of luck.
+Budi 'van' priyatno looks like some do and some don't. I wouldn't use the onboard compass anyway. Too much interference from the rest of the power circuits. Best of luck!
+Mokra06 The GND pins on a board are all connected together so you can check the resistance between the pins and a known GND pin in another place. You can also power the board and connect the voltmeter to the output, if the voltage is positive then you have it connected the right way, if the voltage shows negative then the you need to swap the cables over.
Hi, i see you had to do some mods to get the GPS to work. Do you know anything about the UBLOX LEA-6H GPS? I am thinking of spending the extra as i've heard they are more accurate. Do you know if the upgrade is worth it and weather or not it would work with the APM mini? I am about to start building my next quad and am considering the APM mini as my FC. Since i live in the mountains i think the more accurate GPS could be the way to go as i've heard it is sometimes difficult to get a GPS lock if the satellites are hidden by the mountains. Also since it will have to navigate around extreme terrain i am thinking the better GPS would be worth the investment. Can you see any disadvantages with the UBLOX LEA-6H GPS other than cost? Thanks again.
The key is to have the GPS mounted with a clear view of the sky and away from any interference from the rest of the electronics on the craft. The GPS I refer to in the video can be found here - www.unmannedtechshop.co.uk/miniapm-gps-module-ublox-neo-6m-with-compass/ This one is made to be a lot easier to setup with the APM 3.1..
I'm thinking to go for the mini APM FC. Regarding the GPS, since i live in the mountains it can be difficult to get a good GPS lock since the mountains around block the view of much of the sky. The valley is narrow and the altitude can vary between 800M above sea level and 4800M. It is why i wanted to make sure i invested in a GPS that will work as good as it possibly can in such an environment. I appreciate the link and obviously want as little headache as possible when it comes to setting up but i'm prepared to go that little bit further if i can achieve better results. A friend of mine was filming at 1900M last year and he couldn't get a lock for 45 mins. 4000M+ peaks all around him!
Dear friend. Would you have a tutorial on how to connect the mini apm 3.1 to the frsky XSR receiver? I have tried in many ways and failed. I'm very grateful. Helyo
i have a ublox m8n with just one plug that plugs into the port beside the micro usb. do i need to cut the internal compass wire on the mini to get just the external compass n gps to work?
Without J1 cut the APM will continue to get the data from the on-board compass. See ruclips.net/video/njrNLWepCbE/видео.html at around 3:22 for more detail. Happy flying!
Hi, I am working on the a Naze32 full version set of videos then a CC3d series after that. I will be able to answer this after I've completed all of those videos. Joking aside, it depends on what you want. If you want a great FPV platform that provides smooth flying but will involve a little work - get the APM Mini. If you want a simple board that's easy to setup and provides only the basic flight modes - try the CC3D. If you are looking for a board that is developing fast and can provide GPS and other functions - consider the Naze32 full version. Happy flying!
Jaikishan Tejwani I do not use FrSky kit at the moment so cannot do this for you. I do plan to get one in the future and a when I do I will post a video. Thanks for the idea.
Have set the apm 3.1 up but when I unplug it from mission planner it won't arm. I've realised that it doesn't matter if it's connected to mission planner or not so it must be a power issue. I'm powering from an esc and have shorted the jumper on the back and I know I have 4.8v from my esc so why won't it arm when I disconnect the usb???
Hi Painless, I got an APM 3.1 just like yours and when i flash the latest version and calibrate the accelerometer it passes fine, but when i am looking at my HUD the artificial horizon keeps on jumping around up and down. And i dont get errors. But when i flash version 3.1 the artificial horizon works fine except that if i tilt my quad it will kind of stay in that position so when im flying forward it will stuck in the forward position and ill have to keep holding it back. I do get Bad Gyro Health errors on mission planner. I read online that the 3.3v regulator might be broken but im not sure how to test that on the mini apm . Any ideas ? Thank you
Malek Darwish I've not seen that myself but it sounds like the board has a problem. I'd check that you can see no bad soldering.. Best of luck with it.
Hello Painless I want to make autonomous quad copter so can i use this for autonomous quad copter if yes please tell me how and if not what i can do to make autonomous quad copter.
Hello Painless, Thank you for all the great videos. Question: when you calibrated the radio, you mentioned that pitch has to upside-down (in this version?) - is it possible that on a APM 2.8 it also has to be that way. Asking because I've got a slightly "over-powerderd" Tarot F690 with with APM 2.8 (cloned), which after lift-off is impossible to control. It is just pure chaos and i throw it into RTL to land again. Now I'm starting to think that this pitch-control might be wrong way round. ... testing this beast is not so easy as I've got no clue what this beast is actually doing when I move the sticks, everything happens to fast :)
My apm mini doesn't seem to control the motor escs. It is sending a 0-5v out along signal wire to motor escs depending a thrust amount. If I plug a LED up to it then the Leds brightness does change. But it won't make motors spin! I'm confused, don't know if my mini is broken somehow? Any help appreciated Painless360
+Painless360 many thanks for the reply. When I arm the apm mini. Mission planner shows output values to motor pins 1000-2000 etc. If I plug a voltmeter to motor out pins and ground then I get a voltage of 0-5v which does change when I increase thrust. But if I connect the output to my escs it's does nothing! My esc and motors are working fine tho, as if I connect the thrust out from the RX directly to each of the ESCS separately then motors spin fine! Also this is from a working quad that I have just swapped a standard apm 2.8 for this apm mini board! I think mini board must be faulty, any other way to test the motor output pins! Many thanks again.
The motors don't work on a voltage they work on a PWM signal. Check you're not connected the servo connectors upside down. You can check the outputs by popping a spare servo on one of them and seeing if it moves.. Best of luck!
I've seen someone update their APM 2.x to work with SBUS directly (no need for inverters or cppm converters) he used the Atmel FLIP software and hex file to update the board controller. Do you think that would work for APM 3.1? That could be a new video for the apm 3.1 series...
that is so cool that you are doing all this stuff for the APM mini too! :D One thing that I thought when I saw the mini was that this is just a smaller and less sophisticated board for smaller craft but this is not true I reckon? Are there some drawbacks or is it as top notch board as its bigger APM brother? I am just upgrading to a bigger quad which will be my first self build one and I am so happy that you do these videos. You make all of it so much easier to understand! :)
Think of this as an APM 2.5 board in a smaller package. Pretty much the same features and options as the APM 2.5 full size version. The next video will cover, GPS, power, ESC and motor connection and then the series will pick up the existing APM 2.5/2.6/3.1 videos (3/8 - 8/8) as they are perfectly suited to this board too. Happy flying!
Thank you for this video. Did you try with the new v2.0.15 ? I did but it's absolutely impossible to upload any firmware with this version. Please tell me if you have issues with 2.0.15 and APM mini v3.1
Hello, painless or anybody else, could you please help me here?First of all great videos. Secondly i cant get my servos to work.Got the apm 3.1 mini and gps. Done the compass calibration and in mission planner i see the movements of the channels via my remote control. This works fine so far.Somehow i can't get my servos to work. I have attached the servo's signal wires to the corresponding motor channels output on the apm. Then acttached the servo to the ground and plus from the same power which is powering the board. (via the gnd&gnd and +5v&+5v (option 3).When i move the controls the servos don't move.Anybody knows what i am forgetting here??I have looked the videos over and over again, looked at other places, but cant find it out.
+Painless360 Are all those boards the same ? Is the 3.1 any better than previous versions ? Do you think that it could be good on fixed wing? Or should I stick to older versions ?
so this mini APM vs the Regular size APM 2.8 which one will have TLC from designer/developer? will the regular size APM get obsolete? I want to get APM but not sure which to get because there are so many version out there and so confusing. Please advise. I like to have the one that I can add all the bell and whistle as I go.
airwolf 09 There are always rumours and news about the boards and the software. The APM is a mature technology but works like a treat because of it. I'd always go for the 2/5/2.6 if you have the space as it's far easier to fit and configure.
Hey there. I've got an issue and Im running out of people to ask :p Im running a hobbyking hkpilot mega micro. If I set channel 8 to execute an RTL, when i flip the switch, the copter falls from the sky. However, if I loiter first and THEN do the RTL, it comes home without issue. what's the deal here? what am I doing wrong? :) thanks for any help.
So I have received the mini APM V3.1 combo with GPS unit from Banggood. Product ID: 977560. I have followed the steps for first setup in this vid till compass calibration. I can see the compass moving in the "flight data" tab. I can see also "Bad compass health". I cant do the onboard/live compass calibration. No points, white ore colered, are comming. It says got + 0 samples. Whats wrong?
+Silberner Surfer You've not plugged the compass in, probably ;) The model uses it's gyros too so even with the compass unconnected it will still 'move' on the screen as you rotate the board.. It can be confusing..
What I found is that there is no more compass on the board. Onboard compass was at early versions.You have to cut the bridge. Dont know if this is necessary when there is no more compass on the board. But i did it. Use a external compass GPS unit. and it will work without issues. In my case I had to use the B port of the compass/Gps unit.
+rio787 www.u-blox.com/sites/default/files/products/documents/GNSS-module-selector_Overview_%28UBX-14000426%29.pdf it's up to the manufacturer of the final GPS module if they decide to add a separate mag (like a HMC5883L) too.
I have this mini APM from Bangood on a zmr250, I have all working the only problem is when I calibrate the compass, accelerators and radio the artificial horizon looks level but the quad flies back and to the right very violent. If I do auto-trim it flies almost perfect but the artificial horizon looks like the quad is banking left and back almost 45 degrees. Any ideas?
If you can get a cable to fit the APM 3.1 then it's case of cutting and soldering the connections. I'd also look online in case someone does an adapter.. Best of luck!
The only thing I can think of is that some external GPS don't power the external mag circuitry without a little work.. I'd triple check power and the settings on the GPS.. Best of luck!
I would install a separate 3A+ switching UBEC and power the servos from that. I would leave the +5V from the BEC in the ESC to power the flight controller and Rx only. That way, a servo pulling too much current briefly won't brown out the control board and bring the craft down.. Hope this makes sense..
thanks for the info m8 ,i have installed a Power supply Module w/BEC but was going to use this for power to the apm/gps/teletry,and use the one on the heli to power the main motor rx and servos as it normally does,,would this be ok
Not sure what you mean. When you say a power supply module do you mean an ESC? If so then powering the APM/GPS/Rx with that and powering the servos with another separate UBEC would work. Best of luck.
hey Painless, Love your videos but i have the hk pilot mini and i have a problem because when i push on the right my quad goes on the left and it's the same to go forward i need to pull the stick back to me. Can you help me out please. I am asking you because i have the same remote which it the tgy-I 10 from hobby king.
+Painless360 thank you, hope it will work but I find it a little stupid to have a quadcopter model already set in the radio and not being able to reverse setting 😓😓😓...
Thanks for all your info. Very clever putting the link in your description, due to it being so easy, I brought one :).. Just a question. For less interference, is it best to break the solder and attach a separate compass? I am wanting long distance FPV plane set up. Thanx in advance :)
This is covered in the next video but in summary - yes it is. The farther away the compass and GPS are from the rest of the electronics the better. Happy flying!
While I have your attention. You mentioned MavLink in a future vid, but was wondering, is this the only way to change the mission mid flight? If not, what are other systems that allow mission change mid flight? Thanx
I've just bought one of these and in having trouble connecting it to APM Planner on my Mac. I've installed the driver that came with APM planner, plugged in the board, but I can't get them to connect. I'm getting a solid yellow light and flashing yellow light on the board. Anyone know what that means or how to fix the problem?
Benjamin King Sorry, I am not a Mac user. The forums are filled with help though - planner.ardupilot.com/wiki/mission-planner-installation/ and forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?14544-HELP!!!-Trouble-connecting-ReadyToFlyer-2-8-to-Mac-running-OSX-10-10-1-(Yosemite) Best of luck..
Painless360, please help I'm a total noob with this stuff. I'm building my first quad, a White Sheep. I did my research and bought what I figured was the best, Turnigy 9X, with a DBR-II receiver and FrSky DJT transmitter. I've spent many hours searching the net and am totally lost. I'm using the APM 3.1 which was probably a mistake due to the lack of info on the net, but liked the GPS and the price. I'm confused on how to wire the receiver to the APM. Dont understand the difference between CPPM which would be just a few wires to communicate and using all the wires for each channel. How do I wire it? You seam to be the only one on the net with real knowledge of the APM 3.1, so I'm hopeful you can help.
You've not searched the Painless360 channel have you? There are a few playlists on here for the APM 3.1 that will answer your questions. We also have a video that covers PWM, PPM and S-Bus that should help too. Best of luck!
You need one or both of two things on a model for altitude hold. A barometer and/or GPS. PixHawk and iNav are the two series I'd suggest you watch. Best of luck!
Im a little confused , but then I'm a rooky . can i ask , does the APM mini replace the APM 2.8 ? Im looking to build an S550 from scratch based on selecting the best advice from youtube , and with all the new stuff it starts to get confusing what s what ...please excuse my ignorance ;-)
john kendall No such thing as a daft question. The APM 3.1 is a new form factor of the 8 bit APM 2.x flight controllers - all the same functions but in a smaller package. The APM is no longer being updated by 3DR and it's successor is the 32bit Pixhawk. There are videos on all of this on the channel. If you don't care about it not being updated (and a lot of us are not ;) then the APM is still a great platform..Hope it helps.
Have a look at our review videos and we list the places we got ours from underneath them. Places like HobbyKing, Banggood and your local hobby shop are all places to start. Best of luck!
Asral Sumun Sure do - read copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-optional-hardware/common-telemetry-landingpage/connecting-your-rc-input-and-motors/ and all is revealed. Best of luck.
Painless360 oh yes this i know on the bigger board , but the mini is different the j2 pin is for esc power.I want to update the firmware of the ppm encoder.
Painless360 the board i have does not have failsafe on lost of signal , i have a turnigy 9 tx. I had this problem with with the bigger one and updating it fix it.
Hi Painless! I followed a lot of videos from you and always a success. Thanks for the good work. You mentioned you have installed the drivers for the board, where did you get them from? Can you please put a link in your video?
You seam to be the only human on earth that has any technical experience with the APM mini 3.1. I want to sense voltage and current, my apm 3.1 is hooked to my power module with the APM power port(+5,Ground,Volt,Current), but it seams to me Mission Planner dose'nt support the 3.1, I cant seam to select it in the settings I can select a? or pixhawk etc., what do I do?
+virgodave61 Treat the APM 3.1 as an APM 2.5/2.6 for setup and make sure you are installing the last supported firmware when setting it up. See copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-apm25-and-26-overview/
hello all, recentry i bought an mini APM 3.1 with GPS from banggood. My GPS is slightly different from the one shown here, i have 2 ports with 6 wires. For mini apm i have signal only on port b, but i don't receive signal from gps, i receive signal only from compass. If anyone knows what should i do please let me know. In mission planner wrote GPS: No Fix Thank you
Hi, I've ordered the same components ( mini APM 3.1 + cjmcugpshmc5883L : www.banggood.com/MiniAPM-V3_1-Flight-Controller-With-Neo-6M-GPS-For-Multicopters-p-951861.html ), did the same job, got the external compass working, except I can't get any GPS data in .. ) I've read somewhere the GPS firmware has to be flashed first .. apm passthrough firmware won't let me connect via ublox u-center ( only found version 8 of this program ) .. or that arducopter > 3.1.5 won't recognize it either .. kindof lost .. IS there by the way some GPS module who would be immediately recognized, not needing any complex wiring / soldering ?
mstanley103 This looks like a couple of issues on this report. What are the error messages you get exactly? What troubleshooting have you done already?
Painless360 Thanks for the quick response. I just got my board this week, so haven't had a chance to do a lot of debug yet. Current operation:1. upon connecting via USB, I get flashing red, then blue/red then red again LEDs on the board 2. In "Devices and Printers", I see Arduino Mega 2560 (COM4) 3. Start Mission Planner 1.3.24 4. MP finds COM4. I connect at 115200 baud 5. MAVLINK connects and I see a bunch of communications 6. Dialog box posts "New firmware available, ArduCopter V3.2.1. Please Upgrade. I click OK. 7. Click Initial Setup Icon in MP 8. Click "Install Firmware" 9. Get message "You cannot load new firmware while connected via MAVLink. Please press the Disconnect button at top right to end the current MAVLink session and enable the firmware loading screen". 10. I click the disconnect button 11. I click ArduCopter V3.2.1 Quad 12. Message box: are you sure you want to upload ArduCopter V3.2.1 Quad? I click "Yes" 13. That's when I get the "Failed to download new firmware: System.Management.ManagementException: Invalid class at ..." message that I showed in the posting at @603. I'm assuming that Mission Planner encapsulates a board programming sequence that can probably be done outside the tool. My next step failing any insights from readers here is to start digging through the ArduCopter site to see if I can replicate the development environment locally. I'll probably also try re-installing Mission Planner, just in case everything didn't come down properly. All ideas and suggestions are welcome. Thanks!
Sounds more like it can't see the Hex file for the firmware it needs to download - I'm assuming the internet connection is ok and there isn't any blocking setup on the internet router? Best of luck.
Very well presented APM mini video series, clear and informative. Thank you very much for taking the time to make these. I am trying to resurrect a FC-dead Flying 3D X6 FY-X6 230mm quadcopter (everything but the FC works, including motors and ESCs). The FY-X6 (more technical information can be found here: www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2270231 ) has a FlySky i6 variant (both the TX and RX are working) and on the FC uses CH1 (3 pins) and one more pin on the FC COM pin (probably for the telemetry). The quad has a 7.4V 2S platform and the distribution board works as well. My questions: 1. Can I use this Mini APM FC (or a Mini APM Pro FC) to fly this quad? 2. Do you think that this FC can work with the TX/RX I have? Do you think that telemetry could work as well? The reason I'm asking is because a replacement FY-X6/X8 FC for this quad costs a lot more than a complete Mini APM Pro Neo6 solution and I'll get an inferior FC (no waypoints, datalogger, mission planning...). Thank you and keep up the good work.
+FrontierNG Tricky for me to answer as I'm not familiar with that model. The APM does need 5 channels really - 4 for flight controls and 1 for mode selection. There are a few others who have looked at this (i.e. www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2270231&page=208) but I couldn't find someone who'd made it work in the searches I did.Best of luck with it. I hope you get it sorted..
+Painless360 I am the one asking on the RCgroups FY-X6 thread before finding out your tutorials :) Again, thank you for your help need to investigate this more...
hi Painless. I'm taking the power from an esc. The problem seems to be overcome, if I briefly flick the power off then quickly on again! it's like it needs power to the mini board before it reaches the ESCS somehow! here's the video... ruclips.net/video/tpolrFLuDeY/видео.html
Not sure what that is. Without any comment on the video you linked to it's impossible to tell what's happening. I'd check that the receiver is booting ok. Best of luck!
I've been out of the hobby for about 4 years and have forgotten so much of what I'd learned! I now have a lot more time on my hands and can get to the stuff I purchased years ago. Putting the mini APM on a trifecta frame (very 2016!) right now. Your videos are invaluable! Thanks for putting in SO much work helping the rest of us have a bit of fun!
Your approach to teaching is outstanding! Extremely well ordered in your thinking and articulate in your explanation of this material! Honestly, as good as any instructional videos I have every viewed! Thanks and blessings to you!
I'm a beginner at quad-copters, but not to electronics. I recently purchased a HK pilot micro master set... and with the use of your videos, I was able to get it up and flying within a couple of days. Your videos are spot on.. Thanks for posting them... time to start messing with FPV
mike nonya Thanks for the feedback - happy flying!
Best of luck with the FPV flying - ruclips.net/p/PLYsWjANuAm4rQfddw-7YZDzckoJ_KyOpm
Painless360 Also I can't find the post where someone said they couldn't connect to their board via computer USB onto the micro USB board connect.. I had the same problem just the other night.. Which is wierd because I have always connected to the board. Turns out that it was a really bad Chinese cable, the USB to micro cable would charge things but it wouldn't allow data transfer... So make sure you have that ace in your card deck. Thanks again ... my deadcat is flying and extremely stable... I changed out the micro PDB for the deadcat one and it seems to get much cleaner power..
Really, this is possibly the best instructional video I've ever seen on youtube. The time put into the camera work, graphics, and the pace of it is really excellent. On to 2/8 now!
WOW Painless!
You make my (quadcopter) life so much easier!
Thank you so much for your excelent videos.
Greatings from Holland,
Paul (66 of age)
+Pol leke Thanks Paul, happy flying!
Thank you for this nice APM presentation. As for the red/black wires these can be switched in the the small connector (just need a small sharp pin to unlock each wire and reposition correctly). Looking forward for the next episodes.
Claudiu Farcas Hi Claudiu, good tip, I do this later in I the video to make the wiring looms. I was surprised that black and red wires are used in the loom and not connected to the power rails correctly. It's just bad practice and invites power issues.
Happy flying!
Great video! Thanks for the heads up on the wiring being wrong on the RX header.
Thanks so much for this. I have an APM Mini clone from HK, which didn't come with any instructions and I had no clue how to connect it up!
Great video on the set up like the standoffs to calibrate unit.
Super, looking fw to see all vids that follow.
Cheers.
Fantastic mate. So glad I found your channel.
Hi Painless. I have a APM mini 3.1 set up and working fully in stabilise mode, but in alt hold and loiter mode, after arming the motors the board becomes completely unresponsive to my radio/commands. I can use my radio to arm and disarm the motors causing them to spin at idle speed and stop again, but other than that I have no control over speed, direction etc. Have reset the board, re-installed firmware and done the tx calibration several times but am still stuck? Any ideas would be appreciated
Can you take off in the working mode then flick into these modes? Check the troubleshooting arming video in the series..
Yes, I can take off in stabilise mode, but when I switch to loiter or alt hold the quad becomes unresponsive and will just float in the air. I've already been through your trouble shooting video several times lol
What do the logs say then?
Hi..first of all, I have learned so much from your videos, they are simply awesome and so detailed.
Re the above video, I am having a weird problem of calibrating my radio, I am using a Radiolink AT9 and R9D receiver.
During my calibration, the both the sticks on the TX is working the opposite direction. If I put the throttled to its min its showing up on the calibration screen. same with the roll and pitch. but the left right direction for both the sticks are OK.
Would truly appreciate your kind suggestion. Thx.
+Shayne X Simple reverse the channels on the radio in the menu. I would start with section 2.3.6 in the manual..
+Painless360 hey..thanks a lot, will try it out very soon.
+Painless360 Hi again. I got the throttle direction sorted. Thx. now I got All done as per the instructions. All is OK, but once I connect the copter, I can even do the arming, but the motors are not turning all. all the steps on the mandatory hardware is OK. when I arm the copter the lights on the apm shows solid pink and green. please rescue....
Happy to take a deeper look at it with you but only over chargeable support - see the website for details. Let me know..
+Painless360 hi there. thanks for your note. could u let me know what r your fees, let me see whether I can afford u or not. but I do understand from your point.
Hi mate, with an open apm board, should it have a dome or enclosure over it on the drone? When I enter a gps mode my drone seems way less controlled. In fact it flipped over and crashed the other day. I did buy it all second hand and in bits so I’m not even half sure that there may have been problems already.
Also the blue light on top of the gps, is that supposed to turn solid blue or keep flashing?
Thank you for providing some of the best RUclips educational drone videos I’ve come across btw! I’m a trainer myself and have also taken a few teaching pointers from your videos.
Tricky to answer as I've not played with APM for quite a few years now. Sorry I can't be more help..
Thx for your such a nice instruction!
i got a question for the bluetooth module to connect mini apm
Is it possible? installing BT module such as HC-05(06) for the wiress connection between APM and Mission Planner?
사정환 Yes it is, if you Google 'APM and Bluetooth' you will find some great resources.Best of luck.
I saw lots of BT module tutorial for apm 2.5 and 2.7 but there are anything about "Mini apm" if there are... can u tell me where it is?
Thx for your kindness
You'll have to use Google I[m afraid.
You can use the same process that you've already found with the Mini APM. There is a video on the channel that uses the MAVLink radios and looking at the connectors you can figure out how the wiring works.
Best of luck.
Hi...could please, kindly make a video on the Mini Apm Pro...?
This is such a great board for mini quads, maybe not racers but for the 'adventurous type'. Is it possible to have a low voltage buzzer/alarm? I see it has 'RTL' and 'land' but can there also be an audible warning?
Hi Painless360.
Great vidio's . My question can you connect external led's on the mini 3.1 as the 2.5/6
I use these on my quad's for arming and gps indicators.
I now have a Bix3 with a Apm mini 3.1 hidden deep inside it and I have no visual indication of it being armed/disarmed. Tried looking in the mission planner / apm planner paramiters as with the Quads and googled it. The Mini 3 is loaded with Aduplane firmware all else seems ok not flown due to rotten windy cold weather.
Hope you have a solution or is it too new ? :)
Keep up the Great Video's
Bill Civic
Hello Painless. I've got the most basic questions of all. I purchased this APM/compass combo from BG hoping to follow along with your videos. However, small but important hardware items are not included. Namely, the crimping tool, the "crimps" themselves, and the little black plastic pin connector thingy's which plug into the receivers. Would've happily purchased them separately had I known that was necessary but now I don't know how to find them and my project is stalled. Can you help? How are they named so I might search for them? Have any links to these additional little items? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
+Manuel Nunez those wouldn't be included with the kit, just as you wouldn't expect to get a soldering iron either. Search for DuPont crimps and crimping tool to find them. Many Jo by stores carry them or eBay and Amazon carry then too. Best of luck with the build!
Great videos keep up the good work mate 👍👍👍👍
Team British Knights thanks for the great feedback, glad they helped..
Happy flying!
hi is the HKpilot mega mini the same as this i have notice on the apm 3.1 it has 5 connector ports on top where the HKpilot mega mini has 6
ras4q2001Hi, that board uses the same base APM code and hardware but isn't the same. A lot of what we cover here and in the other APM series apply but, as you already spotted, some of the connections are different.Good luck with the build.
Hi Professor! ;) Regarding the Pitch and Roll, are they inverse on the software for this board, or does it fly safe inverted, as shown on your screen?
As per the text on the screen at 23:29 this is correct.
Happy flying!
Painless360 Right Thanks, Indeed.... Cheers. I inverted my Trananis ELE channel and now it's all OK....
on the PCM whats the difference between Vcc & V? is one used for sensing and the other used for monitoring? And are they both 5 volts?
My board came fitted in a case, and the seller stated "no onboard compass" how do I calibrate compass? is it mounted in GPS module? sorry to sound so dim but this is my first apm board and gps.
+Homeengineering I would go back to the vendors and get them to confirm what you have.. Best of luck.
Thanks, it was supposed to be plug a play but they've supplied a gps with a 4 wire and a 2 wire connection. I've also opened the apm3.1 case and the link is still intact. I did the compass calibration as per your instructions but it came back "not enough date" so I guess there's no on-board compass. Do you have any links for a gps with the six pin connections so I don't have to faf around linking on the board as you described in your video. Thanks for getting back to me I'm following your videos with great interest, thank you!
Ok I know its outdated but I have an APM 3.1 mini that I got a couple years back and I wanted to throw it in my Bixler. I have followed your videos on APM 3.1. I have powered the FC with a Power Module, so I have 5 volts to the FC. I have verified with a multi meter that I have 5 volts at the RC input side and have made up the CPPM connectors as you briefly showed ( IN1, jumper IN2 & IN3, 5v, ground). My problem is I can't get power to the receiver. I have checked the receiver by plugging a ESC into it and the light comes on, but when I plug the three pin connector for CPPM into the receiver I get nothing. I am using a FrSky D8R-XP and Turnigy 9XR transmitter. With my micro quad I am using a FrSky D4R-II receiver and out put CPPM to the FC with no issues.....I'm scratching my head and burning daylight...
So follow up: After 6 + hours of troubleshooting all it came down to was a bad ground wire. The culprit was the ground from the input to the receiver. It was a mechanical connection problem. Shows how important a good ground is.
Lee do you have a pin out of the APM Power Module ? I am getting conflicting information on which pins are current sensing and voltage sensing.
Hi Jon, from everything I've seen it's been GND, GND, +5v, +5v Current and Voltage pins for the 3.1.
(api.ning.com/files/dUBGrCUuK8SW8uQayF0gszX61IzhfrXnND8XxCiPT9O8yhB9riSncOlaOHaCcAevHfJ2RG2XOUDGLPCOAqu2fbCaqhAnQ99M/sku_105379_0.jpg and img.banggood.com/images/upload/2014/10/SKU15964510.jpg)
The pins appear to be different on the APM 2.5/2.6 though with the +5v and GND pins swapped (copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-autopilots/common-apm25-and-26-overview/ and copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-measuring-battery-voltage-and-current-consumption-with-apm/)
Hope this helps.
Painless360 the confusion is the sense wires for the current and voltage from the APM power module. If you did a short video showing the correct hookups and mission planner setup it would spare others from blowing the sense lines on the APM 3.1. Just a suggestion. No one I know can explain the connections better than you using your skills in video and schematic creations.
Jon Car OK, Jon, let me add it to the list. FYI the 10def board arrived today so I am starting my research and should be putting out videos soon. Any tips?
Painless360 If the board is similar to the Naze32, maybe just do a difference video. Nice thing it has the same features sets but half the cost.
Jon Car ruclips.net/video/M6OSp05Y5b8/видео.html :)
hello painless very good video but iam finding it very hard to understand how to connect the mini to a helicopter.pluging in the servos to the board hoe do i do this can you send me a link to some one who has done this on a helicopteror wiring diagram that makes it easier to understand.thankyou .chris
+Chris Holt copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/traditional-helicopter-connecting-apm/ ;)
I've got one APM mini
But the cables aren't as in the video, in the plug it's swapped black and red.
Does the video show corret wiring, for servo. I can swap red and black if it's nessesary
In the first set of videos I found the same and wired it up so the black wire was +5v. In the second series I swapped the black and red cables in the loom over as having a black cable carry positive voltage is asking for trouble and very confusing when you are making up custom looms!
Hope this helps..
So actually, the pinout on the boards are correct ??? wires are in some videos ??
Jens Hoffmann Hi, see in this video at 19:44 for the answer.
Happy flying!
Painless360
Thx, missed it.
BTW great videos
Do I still need an sbus to cppm decoder after jumping channels 2 and 3? In order to connect to sbus receiver like the x4r? Thank you
I believe you can but need to flash some special firmware to support the sbus signals (from what I remember). We only use PWM/PPM with APM here and have used S-Bus with Pixhawk. Best of luck!
Hello, I have purchased the mini apm 3.1 board you recommended from banggood, and have been able to connect and flash the firmware, however, upon reloading, it hangs every time on "Got param RATE_RLL_IMAX" I have waited several minutes, and it stays stuck with this message.. the LEDs are blinking in a complicated, but I think repeating, pattern. do I have a dud board, or have I done something wrong?
Hard to say without seeing the setup and getting a lot more detail. Un-connect everything form the board and see if it now works, if all else fails - re-flash and try again.
Best of luck.
thomas marsh hi, I had a similar issue, I contacted Banggood, they asked me to make a video to explain the problem and then they send me a new board
Hey Pain, Thanks for responding so fast sorry you missed my second post and got my old one. Any ways no matter what mode I put it in none of them control Pitch. One mode comes really close to being correct but when pitch is moved it controls Roll for a second time. Any ideas on what could be going wrong?
+Mokra06 Not really, and this new reply isn't connected to the original so I can't see the history easily. I would recheck all the connections, the settings on the radio and the channel mapping in Mission Planner. Direct support us available if you need more help, but it's not free. Best of luck.
Awesome videos, very informative and extremely easy to understand.
Could it be possible to connect the MinimOSD plus a bluetooth module to this board at the same time? or do I need the regular APM to do it. I'm liking the mini more since I can stack different boards on top of each other plus is just smaller.
elpidiovaldez4ever We cover the addition of the radios/BT in this series later on. Let me know if you can't find it and I will post a link..
Best of luck.
are you sure it has onboard compass? i've got from aliexpress there is no onboard compass..
+Budi 'van' priyatno looks like some do and some don't. I wouldn't use the onboard compass anyway. Too much interference from the rest of the power circuits. Best of luck!
How did you use the volt meter to test the neg and positive was backwards?
+Mokra06 The GND pins on a board are all connected together so you can check the resistance between the pins and a known GND pin in another place. You can also power the board and connect the voltmeter to the output, if the voltage is positive then you have it connected the right way, if the voltage shows negative then the you need to swap the cables over.
Hi, i see you had to do some mods to get the GPS to work. Do you know anything about the UBLOX LEA-6H GPS? I am thinking of spending the extra as i've heard they are more accurate. Do you know if the upgrade is worth it and weather or not it would work with the APM mini? I am about to start building my next quad and am considering the APM mini as my FC. Since i live in the mountains i think the more accurate GPS could be the way to go as i've heard it is sometimes difficult to get a GPS lock if the satellites are hidden by the mountains. Also since it will have to navigate around extreme terrain i am thinking the better GPS would be worth the investment. Can you see any disadvantages with the UBLOX LEA-6H GPS other than cost? Thanks again.
The key is to have the GPS mounted with a clear view of the sky and away from any interference from the rest of the electronics on the craft.
The GPS I refer to in the video can be found here - www.unmannedtechshop.co.uk/miniapm-gps-module-ublox-neo-6m-with-compass/
This one is made to be a lot easier to setup with the APM 3.1..
I'm thinking to go for the mini APM FC. Regarding the GPS, since i live in the mountains it can be difficult to get a good GPS lock since the mountains around block the view of much of the sky. The valley is narrow and the altitude can vary between 800M above sea level and 4800M. It is why i wanted to make sure i invested in a GPS that will work as good as it possibly can in such an environment. I appreciate the link and obviously want as little headache as possible when it comes to setting up but i'm prepared to go that little bit further if i can achieve better results. A friend of mine was filming at 1900M last year and he couldn't get a lock for 45 mins. 4000M+ peaks all around him!
Dear friend. Would you have a tutorial on how to connect the mini apm 3.1 to the frsky XSR receiver? I have tried in many ways and failed. I'm very grateful. Helyo
The XSR only outputs sbus. Does the APM you're using support SBUS too?
@@Painless360 thanks for attention. I am using the mini APM. I think that no support Sbus. Thanks.
i have a ublox m8n with just one plug that plugs into the port beside the micro usb. do i need to cut the internal compass wire on the mini to get just the external compass n gps to work?
Without J1 cut the APM will continue to get the data from the on-board compass. See ruclips.net/video/njrNLWepCbE/видео.html at around 3:22 for more detail.
Happy flying!
what is you favorite mini board? do you prefer mini apm or naze 32 for small frame?
Hi, I am working on the a Naze32 full version set of videos then a CC3d series after that. I will be able to answer this after I've completed all of those videos.
Joking aside, it depends on what you want. If you want a great FPV platform that provides smooth flying but will involve a little work - get the APM Mini. If you want a simple board that's easy to setup and provides only the basic flight modes - try the CC3D. If you are looking for a board that is developing fast and can provide GPS and other functions - consider the Naze32 full version.
Happy flying!
Would it be possible for you to demonstrate how I can see RSSI from my Frsky system onto my OSD (minimOSD) via the APM? ^^
Jaikishan Tejwani I do not use FrSky kit at the moment so cannot do this for you. I do plan to get one in the future and a when I do I will post a video. Thanks for the idea.
Have set the apm 3.1 up but when I unplug it from mission planner it won't arm. I've realised that it doesn't matter if it's connected to mission planner or not so it must be a power issue. I'm powering from an esc and have shorted the jumper on the back and I know I have 4.8v from my esc so why won't it arm when I disconnect the usb???
rednormski Happy to help but please watch ruclips.net/video/olIqTiSJHIY/видео.html and come back to me with more detail of what you've tried..
Hi Painless,
I got an APM 3.1 just like yours and when i flash the latest version and calibrate the accelerometer it passes fine, but when i am looking at my HUD the artificial horizon keeps on jumping around up and down. And i dont get errors.
But when i flash version 3.1 the artificial horizon works fine except that if i tilt my quad it will kind of stay in that position so when im flying forward it will stuck in the forward position and ill have to keep holding it back. I do get Bad Gyro Health errors on mission planner. I read online that the 3.3v regulator might be broken but im not sure how to test that on the mini apm .
Any ideas ?
Thank you
Malek Darwish I've not seen that myself but it sounds like the board has a problem. I'd check that you can see no bad soldering..
Best of luck with it.
Thanks . I checked it and it seems fine. I guess i have to get a replacement from banggood
Hello Painless I want to make autonomous quad copter so can i use this for autonomous quad copter if yes please tell me how and if not what i can do to make autonomous quad copter.
+Uyes Inamdar yes you can. All covered in the series! Also the documentation on Arducopter is excellent.. Best of luck!
Sensational series, thanks so much for all your help. I was wondering if the Ublox 7 Series Mini GPS will work with the mini APM 3.1?
Should do, you may need to change a few settings. It's easier to buy the GPS units already setup with all the right connectors in..
Ok, I'll start with the ones in the set and maybe move on to smaller gear later. Thanks
Hello Painless, Thank you for all the great videos.
Question: when you calibrated the radio, you mentioned that pitch has to upside-down (in this version?) - is it possible that on a APM 2.8 it also has to be that way. Asking because I've got a slightly "over-powerderd" Tarot F690 with with APM 2.8 (cloned), which after lift-off is impossible to control. It is just pure chaos and i throw it into RTL to land again. Now I'm starting to think that this pitch-control might be wrong way round. ... testing this beast is not so easy as I've got no clue what this beast is actually doing when I move the sticks, everything happens to fast :)
Yes - still the same, see the note on this page - ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-radio-control-calibration.html Best of luck.
My apm mini doesn't seem to control the motor escs.
It is sending a 0-5v out along signal wire to motor escs depending a thrust amount.
If I plug a LED up to it then the Leds brightness does change.
But it won't make motors spin!
I'm confused, don't know if my mini is broken somehow?
Any help appreciated Painless360
Happy to help but please watch ruclips.net/video/olIqTiSJHIY/видео.html and come back to me with more detail of what you've tried..
+Painless360 many thanks for the reply.
When I arm the apm mini. Mission planner shows output values to motor pins 1000-2000 etc.
If I plug a voltmeter to motor out pins and ground then I get a voltage of 0-5v which does change when I increase thrust.
But if I connect the output to my escs it's does nothing!
My esc and motors are working fine tho, as if I connect the thrust out from the RX directly to each of the ESCS separately then motors spin fine!
Also this is from a working quad that I have just swapped a standard apm 2.8 for this apm mini board!
I think mini board must be faulty, any other way to test the motor output pins!
Many thanks again.
The motors don't work on a voltage they work on a PWM signal. Check you're not connected the servo connectors upside down. You can check the outputs by popping a spare servo on one of them and seeing if it moves.. Best of luck!
+Painless360 good idea I'll test with a servo.
Yes I know it's a PWM not a voltage btw :-)
Many thanks again
I've seen someone update their APM 2.x to work with SBUS directly (no need for inverters or cppm converters) he used the Atmel FLIP software and hex file to update the board controller. Do you think that would work for APM 3.1?
That could be a new video for the apm 3.1 series...
+Bruno Santos thanks for the suggestion. I will check it out. Happy flying!
that is so cool that you are doing all this stuff for the APM mini too! :D One thing that I thought when I saw the mini was that this is just a smaller and less sophisticated board for smaller craft but this is not true I reckon? Are there some drawbacks or is it as top notch board as its bigger APM brother? I am just upgrading to a bigger quad which will be my first self build one and I am so happy that you do these videos. You make all of it so much easier to understand! :)
Think of this as an APM 2.5 board in a smaller package.
Pretty much the same features and options as the APM 2.5 full size version. The next video will cover, GPS, power, ESC and motor connection and then the series will pick up the existing APM 2.5/2.6/3.1 videos (3/8 - 8/8) as they are perfectly suited to this board too.
Happy flying!
I am trying to calibrate the compass but the onboard compass is not getting detected. What could be the possible reason for this problem?
It doesn't have one.. Check with the vendor if your APM..
Thank you for this video. Did you try with the new v2.0.15 ?
I did but it's absolutely impossible to upload any firmware with this version. Please tell me if you have issues with 2.0.15 and APM mini v3.1
I'm using version 3.2 of the firmware in this video and 3.1.17 of Mission Planner. No problems. I'd try the latest version..
Happy flying!
Hello, painless or anybody else, could you please help me here?First of all great videos. Secondly i cant get my servos to work.Got the apm 3.1 mini and gps. Done the compass calibration and in mission planner i see the movements of the channels via my remote control. This works fine so far.Somehow i can't get my servos to work. I have attached the servo's signal wires to the corresponding motor channels output on the apm. Then acttached the servo to the ground and plus from the same power which is powering the board. (via the gnd&gnd and +5v&+5v (option 3).When i move the controls the servos don't move.Anybody knows what i am forgetting here??I have looked the videos over and over again, looked at other places, but cant find it out.
Check out our series on adding the APM 3.1 to a wing where we cover how to connect servos. Hope it helps.
+Painless360 Are all those boards the same ? Is the 3.1 any better than previous versions ? Do you think that it could be good on fixed wing? Or should I stick to older versions ?
APM 3.1 is simply the 'mini' version of the APM board. See our video series where we add one to a wing for an answer to your other question ;)
so this mini APM vs the Regular size APM 2.8 which one will have TLC from designer/developer? will the regular size APM get obsolete? I want to get APM but not sure which to get because there are so many version out there and so confusing. Please advise. I like to have the one that I can add all the bell and whistle as I go.
airwolf 09 There are always rumours and news about the boards and the software. The APM is a mature technology but works like a treat because of it. I'd always go for the 2/5/2.6 if you have the space as it's far easier to fit and configure.
Hey there. I've got an issue and Im running out of people to ask :p Im running a hobbyking hkpilot mega micro.
If I set channel 8 to execute an RTL, when i flip the switch, the copter falls from the sky. However, if I loiter first and THEN do the RTL, it comes home without issue. what's the deal here? what am I doing wrong? :) thanks for any help.
+Shadrik Easton No idea, I've never seen that before. What you can see in the logfiles?
So I have received the mini APM V3.1 combo with GPS unit from Banggood. Product ID: 977560. I have followed the steps for first setup in this vid till compass calibration. I can see the compass moving in the "flight data" tab. I can see also "Bad compass health". I cant do the onboard/live compass calibration. No points, white ore colered, are comming. It says got + 0 samples.
Whats wrong?
+Silberner Surfer You've not plugged the compass in, probably ;) The model uses it's gyros too so even with the compass unconnected it will still 'move' on the screen as you rotate the board.. It can be confusing..
+Painless360
Thanks Painless!
I have realized later that on the newer versions of this board no more compass is on the board.
:-)
+Silberner Surfer I'm having the same problem. Did you find a way to fix it?
What I found is that there is no more compass on the board. Onboard compass was at early versions.You have to cut the bridge. Dont know if this is necessary when there is no more compass on the board. But i did it. Use a external compass GPS unit. and it will work without issues. In my case I had to use the B port of the compass/Gps unit.
hey the difference between the neo 6m and neo 7n ; is that the 7n has a compass, right?
+rio787 www.u-blox.com/sites/default/files/products/documents/GNSS-module-selector_Overview_%28UBX-14000426%29.pdf it's up to the manufacturer of the final GPS module if they decide to add a separate mag (like a HMC5883L) too.
+Painless360 thanks, your video are very helpful in doing my first build
I have this mini APM from Bangood on a zmr250, I have all working the only problem is when I calibrate the compass, accelerators and radio the artificial horizon looks level but the quad flies back and to the right very violent. If I do auto-trim it flies almost perfect but the artificial horizon looks like the quad is banking left and back almost 45 degrees. Any ideas?
Tiago Goulart Check that all of the props are on the right way round and recalibrate the ESCs again (manually).
Best of luck..
I want to be able to toss my drone in the air and the motors auto start and auto levels at a specified hieght, is it possible?
+Derrick Mitchell No idea, we've never tried. If you figure it out let us know!
How can I adapter the Apm 2.6 GPS module to Mini APM 3.1 ? Thanks a lot !
If you can get a cable to fit the APM 3.1 then it's case of cutting and soldering the connections. I'd also look online in case someone does an adapter.. Best of luck!
I ever did it, but didnot work ! Must I to Solder some component in GPS Module ( Jumper ) ?
The only thing I can think of is that some external GPS don't power the external mag circuitry without a little work.. I'd triple check power and the settings on the GPS.. Best of luck!
Okay, would you suggest I get this one for my Xugong?
This may help - ruclips.net/video/k4tQAmg2ssA/видео.html
Hi.. It is possible connect the 3DR Telemetry to mini APM?
Yes, see the video in the playlist where we do just that..
Thanks..
Is it possible to use a satellite receiver?
+Silberner Surfer Check the latest APM documentation but I would suspect that the answer is still no.
hello. Pls shared the crimping tools name or link ?
+elektromanyetix see our video on crimping. Search for DuPont to find kit..
ruclips.net/video/dL-BiQGv1xc/видео.html :D
Greetings. Which it is the most stable version of this already tested for miniApm? Firmware. (Apm V.3.2.1 or other ?)
+Rafael Villegas github.com/diydrones/ardupilot-wiki-issue-tracker/issues/66
great videos mate,
Do you have any plans to do another video on how to install on a traditional helicopter.
dellashton sorry not at the moment. Is this something you are planning to do?
Painless360 I am trying to install mini apm v3.1 on a Walkera V450 D03.
Tx Devo 7 Rx devo 802.should i take the power for the servos from the 802rx,
I would install a separate 3A+ switching UBEC and power the servos from that. I would leave the +5V from the BEC in the ESC to power the flight controller and Rx only. That way, a servo pulling too much current briefly won't brown out the control board and bring the craft down..
Hope this makes sense..
thanks for the info m8 ,i have installed a Power supply Module w/BEC but was going to use this for power to the apm/gps/teletry,and use the one on the heli to power the main motor rx and servos as it normally does,,would this be ok
Not sure what you mean. When you say a power supply module do you mean an ESC? If so then powering the APM/GPS/Rx with that and powering the servos with another separate UBEC would work.
Best of luck.
hey Painless,
Love your videos but i have the hk pilot mini and i have a problem because when i push on the right my quad goes on the left and it's the same to go forward i need to pull the stick back to me. Can you help me out please. I am asking you because i have the same remote which it the tgy-I 10 from hobby king.
+Lou Durocher Use the channel reverse setting on the radio. If you don't have them then use the plane model mode instead..
+Painless360 thank you, hope it will work but I find it a little stupid to have a quadcopter model already set in the radio and not being able to reverse setting 😓😓😓...
Yep, I've mentioned it to HK and there is a new firmware for the radio in beta that will have these much needed features in the Drone model setup..
+Painless360 well thank you very much. ;-)
If I get any more news - I'll let you know..
Thanks for all your info. Very clever putting the link in your description, due to it being so easy, I brought one :).. Just a question. For less interference, is it best to break the solder and attach a separate compass? I am wanting long distance FPV plane set up. Thanx in advance :)
This is covered in the next video but in summary - yes it is. The farther away the compass and GPS are from the rest of the electronics the better.
Happy flying!
While I have your attention. You mentioned MavLink in a future vid, but was wondering, is this the only way to change the mission mid flight? If not, what are other systems that allow mission change mid flight? Thanx
Google+ sucks balls!!!! Search for 'MAVLink 3DR radio' on my channel to find the video that shows me setting this all up. Happy flying!
I've just bought one of these and in having trouble connecting it to APM Planner on my Mac. I've installed the driver that came with APM planner, plugged in the board, but I can't get them to connect. I'm getting a solid yellow light and flashing yellow light on the board. Anyone know what that means or how to fix the problem?
Benjamin King Sorry, I am not a Mac user. The forums are filled with help though - planner.ardupilot.com/wiki/mission-planner-installation/ and forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?14544-HELP!!!-Trouble-connecting-ReadyToFlyer-2-8-to-Mac-running-OSX-10-10-1-(Yosemite)
Best of luck..
Painless360, please help I'm a total noob with this stuff. I'm building my first quad, a White Sheep. I did my research and bought what I figured was the best, Turnigy 9X, with a DBR-II receiver and FrSky DJT transmitter. I've spent many hours searching the net and am totally lost. I'm using the APM 3.1 which was probably a mistake due to the lack of info on the net, but liked the GPS and the price. I'm confused on how to wire the receiver to the APM. Dont understand the difference between CPPM which would be just a few wires to communicate and using all the wires for each channel. How do I wire it? You seam to be the only one on the net with real knowledge of the APM 3.1, so I'm hopeful you can help.
You've not searched the Painless360 channel have you? There are a few playlists on here for the APM 3.1 that will answer your questions. We also have a video that covers PWM, PPM and S-Bus that should help too. Best of luck!
+Painless360
OMG thanks for the quick reply!
Dave
This is a component to have altitude hold on a drone?
You need one or both of two things on a model for altitude hold. A barometer and/or GPS. PixHawk and iNav are the two series I'd suggest you watch. Best of luck!
Painless360 can I get those on gearbest?
Im a little confused , but then I'm a rooky . can i ask , does the APM mini replace the APM 2.8 ? Im looking to build an S550 from scratch based on selecting the best advice from youtube , and with all the new stuff it starts to get confusing what s what ...please excuse my ignorance ;-)
john kendall No such thing as a daft question. The APM 3.1 is a new form factor of the 8 bit APM 2.x flight controllers - all the same functions but in a smaller package. The APM is no longer being updated by 3DR and it's successor is the 32bit Pixhawk. There are videos on all of this on the channel. If you don't care about it not being updated (and a lot of us are not ;) then the APM is still a great platform..Hope it helps.
Hi,
where can i find a complete Turnigy/flysky i6 setup for me mini APM?
Have a look at our review videos and we list the places we got ours from underneath them. Places like HobbyKing, Banggood and your local hobby shop are all places to start. Best of luck!
any apm mini pro stuff coming?
Hi any chance you know how to update the ppm encoder on this board.
Asral Sumun Sure do - read copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-optional-hardware/common-telemetry-landingpage/connecting-your-rc-input-and-motors/ and all is revealed.
Best of luck.
Painless360 oh yes this i know on the bigger board , but the mini is different the j2 pin is for esc power.I want to update the firmware of the ppm encoder.
Ah I see. Sorry I've not read or found anything about that - why do you need to update it?
Painless360 the board i have does not have failsafe on lost of signal , i have a turnigy 9 tx. I had this problem with with the bigger one and updating it fix it.
Asral Sumun I understand. I will keep my eyes open for this.. Let me know if you figure it out..
Best of luck.
Hi Painless!
I followed a lot of videos from you and always a success. Thanks for the good work. You mentioned you have installed the drivers for the board, where did you get them from? Can you please put a link in your video?
+Rahul Watharkar The drivers should install automatically if you've got Mission Planner on the machine. Best of luck.
Sir, does this work with cc3d revo??
See our series on the Revo for that answer ;) Best of luck!
Which one should I opt for, someone please guide:-
1) APM Mini 3.1
2) Naze 32 10dof
3) Omnibus F4 Pro V3
You seam to be the only human on earth that has any technical experience with the APM mini 3.1. I want to sense voltage and current, my apm 3.1 is hooked to my power module with the APM power port(+5,Ground,Volt,Current), but it seams to me Mission Planner dose'nt support the 3.1, I cant seam to select it in the settings I can select a? or pixhawk etc., what do I do?
+virgodave61 Treat the APM 3.1 as an APM 2.5/2.6 for setup and make sure you are installing the last supported firmware when setting it up. See copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-apm25-and-26-overview/
mini apm can adding sonar???
ardupilot.org/copter/docs/sonar.html ;)
hello all,
recentry i bought an mini APM 3.1 with GPS from banggood.
My GPS is slightly different from the one shown here, i have 2 ports with 6 wires. For mini apm i have signal only on port b, but i don't receive signal from gps, i receive signal only from compass.
If anyone knows what should i do please let me know. In mission planner wrote GPS: No Fix
Thank you
can u do a video on APM PRO Mini??
+hopcup1 Thanks for the idea!
Hi, I've ordered the same components ( mini APM 3.1 + cjmcugpshmc5883L : www.banggood.com/MiniAPM-V3_1-Flight-Controller-With-Neo-6M-GPS-For-Multicopters-p-951861.html ), did the same job, got the external compass working, except I can't get any GPS data in .. )
I've read somewhere the GPS firmware has to be flashed first .. apm passthrough firmware won't let me connect via ublox u-center ( only found version 8 of this program ) .. or that arducopter > 3.1.5 won't recognize it either .. kindof lost ..
IS there by the way some GPS module who would be immediately recognized, not needing any complex wiring / soldering ?
No s.bus ?
You can update the firmware on the cppm encoder on the APM to get support if you really need it. Best of luck!
Thanks !
Has anyone seen the problem outlined at github.com/jmendezde/arducopter/issues/603 ? And if so, are there suggestions for fixes or workarounds?
mstanley103 This looks like a couple of issues on this report. What are the error messages you get exactly? What troubleshooting have you done already?
Painless360 Thanks for the quick response. I just got my board this week, so haven't had a chance to do a lot of debug yet. Current operation:1. upon connecting via USB, I get flashing red, then blue/red then red again LEDs on the board
2. In "Devices and Printers", I see Arduino Mega 2560 (COM4)
3. Start Mission Planner 1.3.24
4. MP finds COM4. I connect at 115200 baud
5. MAVLINK connects and I see a bunch of communications
6. Dialog box posts "New firmware available, ArduCopter V3.2.1. Please Upgrade. I click OK.
7. Click Initial Setup Icon in MP
8. Click "Install Firmware"
9. Get message "You cannot load new firmware while connected via MAVLink. Please press the Disconnect button at top right to end the current MAVLink session and enable the firmware loading screen".
10. I click the disconnect button
11. I click ArduCopter V3.2.1 Quad
12. Message box: are you sure you want to upload ArduCopter V3.2.1 Quad? I click "Yes"
13. That's when I get the "Failed to download new firmware: System.Management.ManagementException: Invalid class at ..." message that I showed in the posting at @603.
I'm assuming that Mission Planner encapsulates a board programming sequence that can probably be done outside the tool. My next step failing any insights from readers here is to start digging through the ArduCopter site to see if I can replicate the development environment locally. I'll probably also try re-installing Mission Planner, just in case everything didn't come down properly. All ideas and suggestions are welcome.
Thanks!
mstanley103 I'm pretty sure that Mission Planner simply isn't recognizing the Mini APM.
Sounds more like it can't see the Hex file for the firmware it needs to download - I'm assuming the internet connection is ok and there isn't any blocking setup on the internet router?
Best of luck.
Painless360 I downloaded the APMPlanner2, and it was able to program my board. Then switching back to Mission Planner for configuration. Thanks!
Very well presented APM mini video series, clear and informative. Thank you very much for taking the time to make these.
I am trying to resurrect a FC-dead Flying 3D X6 FY-X6 230mm quadcopter (everything but the FC works, including motors and ESCs). The FY-X6 (more technical information can be found here: www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2270231 ) has a FlySky i6 variant (both the TX and RX are working) and on the FC uses CH1 (3 pins) and one more pin on the FC COM pin (probably for the telemetry). The quad has a 7.4V 2S platform and the distribution board works as well.
My questions:
1. Can I use this Mini APM FC (or a Mini APM Pro FC) to fly this quad?
2. Do you think that this FC can work with the TX/RX I have? Do you think that telemetry could work as well?
The reason I'm asking is because a replacement FY-X6/X8 FC for this quad costs a lot more than a complete Mini APM Pro Neo6 solution and I'll get an inferior FC (no waypoints, datalogger, mission planning...).
Thank you and keep up the good work.
+FrontierNG Tricky for me to answer as I'm not familiar with that model. The APM does need 5 channels really - 4 for flight controls and 1 for mode selection. There are a few others who have looked at this (i.e. www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2270231&page=208) but I couldn't find someone who'd made it work in the searches I did.Best of luck with it. I hope you get it sorted..
+Painless360 I am the one asking on the RCgroups FY-X6 thread before finding out your tutorials :)
Again, thank you for your help need to investigate this more...
Ah, maybe it's not that common then ;)
Best of luck. If you figure it out this would make a great video tutorial..
Thanks and subscribed
cool stuff man
hi Painless.
I'm taking the power from an esc.
The problem seems to be overcome, if I briefly flick the power off then quickly on again!
it's like it needs power to the mini board before it reaches the ESCS somehow!
here's the video...
ruclips.net/video/tpolrFLuDeY/видео.html
Not sure what that is. Without any comment on the video you linked to it's impossible to tell what's happening. I'd check that the receiver is booting ok. Best of luck!
To Run the GPS , Do I Need Cut some SOlder in the Apm 3,1 ?
+Francisco Augusto all covered in the rest of the series. Keep watching and a lot of the questions should be answered. Best of luck with the build