Setup of RC receiver and another question

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Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby TheBoD » Fri Nov 05, 2010 2:37 am

I am working my way through the bench testing and have setup the RC links to the gluonmodule. I have a couple of questions which I would appreciate some help with

( 1) I find that when I power the module up from cold and run the config tool it runs as far as initiating the telemetry task. Then it does not transmit anything until I have pushed the 'load default' button to start the telemetry upload. Once I do this the data starts to flow. This applies whether I am using the direct wire link or a wireless connection - I don't understand why I have to do this. This below is the snapshot from the data input stream in the tool

08:25:54.20] Gluonpilot v0.5 [Nov 4 2010 19:55:07, config: 266B, logline: 56B, navigation: 504B, double: 4B]
[08:25:54.20] A Brown-out Reset has occurred
[08:25:54.20] 2 MB flash found
[08:25:54.20] Loading configuration...done
[08:25:54.21] Control task initializing...done
[08:25:54.51] Sensors task initializing...done
[08:25:54.51] Gps & Navigation task initializing...
[08:25:54.51] Console input task initializing...done
[08:25:54.51] Datalogger task initializing...done
[08:25:54.51] Telemetry task initializing...done

**** now it waits until I push the 'load default' button ***********

[08:26:10.60]
[08:26:10.60] !

(2)Secondly, I can't figure out which channel is driving channel 7 on the RC input page. I have 5 channels from the RC receiver and none of them move the channel 7 indicator. The reading is the same whether the RC receiver is connected or not. Is this a channel I have to configure ? The other channels (1-5) respond as I move the sticks on the transmitter.

Any help and suggestions much appreciated .
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Re: Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby Mitch » Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:46 am

Load default places default values in memory but does not permanently save them, so every time you power up you are starting from scratch. Do a load default then do a burn to save permanently. Reboot.

After that you should be able to start configuration but you need to do a write to send from the pc to the board, and burn to save the numbers permanently for anything you change. When you first power up, do a read to load current board numbers to your pc. It's very logical once you start doing it!

My recollection is channel 7 is not being used in this revision of firmware. Can disregard unless you need to use it for your application.
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Re: Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby Chris » Fri Nov 05, 2010 2:59 pm

Building on what Mitch said,
On the picture from the bench testing page: http://www.gluonpilot.com/wiki/File:Gluonpilotconfig.png Note the text says "Use 0 to disable telemetry".
So your module has all 0's at startup, so no telemetry is sent. You can find out what is on your module by clicking "Read"

You can change the telemetry rates by typing non-zero numbers in the boxes and clicking "Write" . If you want those same settings to be there after you turn the power off then click "Burn". Write puts the numbers in RAM (erases when you kill power), Burn puts the numbers in flash (doesn't erase when you kill power).

The load default is probably loading some non-zero numbers for telemetry. You can find out what they are by loading default and then click Read.
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Re: Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby Tom » Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:48 pm

Mitch and Chris said most that could be explained :-)
Please let us know if something isn't clear.
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Re: Setup of RC receiver - lost the inputs !

Postby TheBoD » Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:15 pm

Thanks for the feedback which I have followed. Now the telemetry runs OK for the sensors but I no longer have any RC receiver inputs.

On the telemetry page, all inputs are set to 5

On the RC input page , the button is activated on seperate PWM inputs - which is what I have.

I have flashed and burned this - but still no input. The RX receiver is running OK because I have plugged in a servo to another channel and it responds to the TX.

Stuck to know what to try next ?
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Re: Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby Tom » Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:10 pm

What do you see in the "Servos" tab?

Is the RC-transmitter on (and sticks in neutral positions) when you boot the module?

If you click the "default" tab, can you move the servo's?

Edit: regarding your first post: Channel 7 can't move if you use PWM inputs. If you want to use all channels of your transmitter, you'll need to use PPM inputs...
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Re: Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby TheBoD » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:54 am

Tom, thanks I got the RC inputs working again. So moving on .... a couple of more questions if you have the patience

1) I have soldered up the two jumpovers to use the onboard supply to run the servos. When I plug the servos on they twitch slightly while the radio transmitter is off but go steady once it is on. How do I set the system so the servos respond directly to the TX sticks. I have selected the buttons on the RC input page but the servos don't respond. I am not sure if I am in manual or auto mode as I don't know where the switch is for this ? The RC inputs swing around nicely as I move the TX sticks so the receiver is being read OK.
Any suggestions ?

2) I have also connected up a GPS unit EM-406. It is on the breakout board from sparkfun and I know it is running at 4800 baud as I can see it in hyperterminal via the USB link. When I connect it to the GPS input and set 4800 on the config page, it does not find the signal. I have checked the inboard signal with a multimeter and can see it swing as the EM-406 sends it data burst. The red signal LED is flashing on the EM-406 so it is sending a signal

Also any suggestions ?
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Re: Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby TheBoD » Mon Nov 08, 2010 2:02 am

Just as a follow-up to my last question. Just hooked up the EM-406 serial output to the RS232 port on the PC (via a max232 buffer chip) and I can see all the messages via hyperterminal so I know the EM-406 is running OK.

Still not sure why the Gluon board cannot lock on this when I set the initial baud rate as 4800. I have the EM-406 output connected to the RX pin on the GPS input pins.

Sorry lots of questions today ..including my earlier ones about the servos... but progress is being made.
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Re: Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby Mitch » Mon Nov 08, 2010 3:44 am

If you look at the gluonconfig rc input tab you'll see an AP column at the far right. Move the switch you want to use on your transmitter to see which channel it is, then select the button in the AP column for that channel. Green bar to the left is autopilot and green bar to the right is manual.

I don't know the EM406, but if you look at the rtos pilot source code in gps.c, you'll find the way the gps startup and baud rate changes happen. Tom wrote this in a generic way to try and provide for as many types of gps as possible. The code attempts to get the baud up to 115200 to optimize. If your gps can be programmed in flash (most have a software utility to do this) to 115200 then that will be a good starting point. Also a new gps module, when powered up for the first time, can take up to 15 minutes outdoors to figure out all of the satellites. After that it will lock faster.
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Re: Setup of RC receiver and another question

Postby Tom » Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:26 pm

Don't worry about the questions, it is a sign for me I need to simplify things...

1) Make sure your transmitter is on while booting the module. At start-up it reads the neutral values from your RC-receiver. Can you tell me what you see in the "Servos" tab, expecially "neutral values"? It should be around 1500...


2) About the GPS: The gluon module has a 3V3 voltage supply for the GPS while the EM-406 is 5V. Are you sure it works correctly on the gluon module?
In case it works: The gluonmodule can only configure baudrates for MTK-based GPS units. If you wish to use the EM-406 or another one, you need to configure it to 115200 baud (see datasheet). Normally, the GPS unit should run at 5HZ. The EM-406 can only run at 1Hz. This will affect navigation performance. The EM-406 unit is "very old". I would recommend to upgrade to another one (I have 10Hz locosys ones in stock - PM me if you are interested).
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