openrcforums

Just curious - how is everything going?
* with the Craft and Theory telemetry config firmware?

Awesome update!
I tried out Copter firmware - 3.4-rc5 custom from Craft and Theory
https://github.com/craftandtheory/FrSkyTelemetry

The pros:
Much more telemetry is coming through the display on the Turnigy 9Xtreme with FrSky XJT Tx module and X8R Rx module.
Only things missing on the ArduC display are % battery, Arm/ Disarm indicator, No GPS/ GPS indicator, Sat, hdop, Flight mode, gAL, dth, and Cur.

The Cons:
On the same screen Alt is in meters even though imperial is selected.
Proper APM logs are not created and cannot be read accurately by APM Log File Analyser or uploaded to DroneLogbook.com.

I've got some notes on what needs to be looked at, but I've not had time to do anything else.
I've never even known about APM logs!
Looks to be a good update though.

Mike.

Aw, APM logs are the bread and butter of the APM based flight controllers.
Tells you everything...if all is enabled

I've just posted a specific test version for the 9Xtreme. This should correct the altitude display to feet, and might display Armed/Disarmed and the flight mode.

Mike.

I'm on it

Altitude is in imperial units on the ArduC screen now.
I like the way the decimal gives way for the 3 digit whole number reading.
Everything else remains the same as in the original description of my upgrade post.

Also, did I mention before the longitude and latitude readouts have a 5 place decimal readout?
So when this example is read, you see:
Lat=03007.8000
Lon=09892.0121

not:
Lat=030.078000
Lon=098.920121

I'll see if I can add some debug to detect what is arriving over the telemetry. Maybe they have changed what they are sending, or I may not be seeing it properly.

It seems I may need to do a translation on the Lat and Long numbers, although they may be sending them in the wrong format.
In Radio Setup|General, what setting do you have for "GPS Format"?

Are those the actual numbers you are seeing, or just an example showing the format?
The values are supposed to arrive in units of 1/10000 of a minute and these are converted to DDMM.mmmmm where DD is degrees, MM is whole minutes and mmmm is fractions of a minute. If you select DD.dddddd as the GPS format then the displayed value is changed to degrees and fractions of a degree.

Mike.

I am sure part of it is something with the PixHawk Craft and Theory custom firmware.
When I loaded the test Tx firmware you published today, I had Craft and Theory custom 3.3.3 back on the flight controller.
FasV and altitude did not come through.
Flashed back to Craft and Theory Custom 3.4rc5 and they came beck in.

And my bad on the GPS Format.
That got it going.

I found an error in my processing so the 'Armed' message wasn't processed. I've just posted another specific test version with this fixed.

Mike.

Armed and mode indicators are now functional! Great job!!
I hope I am using the correct terminology naming the screens.

Using the ArduC screen for reference and clicking right on the pad Custom screen one - as I have it for now Custom screen two - intentionally blank Fuel screen - I heard I could use mAh here? *noted a bonus - mode readout on the RPM screen *noted on the GPS screen - I still have imperial units selected yet Alt shows meters. Also, Alt does not display on this screen.
Is one of the "V" readouts supposed to be FasV?
If so, it is not reading there.

Is the mode readout on the RPM screen correct? I might have it one position out. Mavlink here uses the TEMP1 value for the mode so where TEMP1 is displayed, you get the mode instead.
Alt on the GPS screen is the GPS altitude rather than the barometric altitude, I'll check it for units.
The V1 to V6 are for individual cells. This information is not usually sent over Mavlink.
Fuel may work if your FC sends mAh data. It can be made to work from a current (Amps) reading and a set limit.
I'll see if I can process some more of their special ID messages.

Mike.

Yes, the mode readout is correct on the RPM screen.
Sorry about the misunderstanding with the ArduC and RPM screen photos.
2 different photo sessions & I didn't think to demo both arm and mode at the same time.
So altitude readings from the barometer is being sent to ArduC, my custom 1 and RPM screens?
If so, interesting.
Thought it was a GPS formula.
I'll check and see what I can read for fuel/ mAh

Another version to test. This might display GPS Alt, HDOP, #Sats and GPS Fix. The scaling of GPS Alt and HDOP (whatever that is) may be wrong. The Gps Alt may be displayed on a custom screen by choosing "Galt". There is also a setting of "GpsAltMain" in the telemetry menu that causes the GPS Alt value to be used instead of the barometric altitude.

Mike.

Ok, on the ArduC screen, I have 3D Fix in the GPS section working.
Sat is correct.
hdop reads 0.09 when it should be 0.9

The alt on the GPS screen is still labeled meters but is showing above sea level and looks it should have a one place decimal value? I do know our above sea level alt is 1720 and it was while I was typing the part above the pic - sat drift?
So as you see, it should be 1870.3 ft ??

Oh, and on the Tx boot, startup sound stutters and stops.

And on the ArduC screen, what does the gA1 (?) value represent?
I have 5600 at this time - changes 100 at a time.

gAl is GPS Altitude in metres. Due to the way the send the data, the resolution is poor. They send 56 * 10^2 for 560.0, so can only change by 100 (10.0) at a time.

Does the voice output continue to work? I just checked on my 9Xt and it was fine.

I'll see if I can process some more data now.

Mike.

Do you get a current value (Amps on a custom screen)? Looking at their code I think you should if you have a FasV value.

There is already a debug screen, go UP LONG, then RIGHT about 7 times. It is labelled DEBUG!
This screen displays raw values from the telemetry.

Mike.

The gAl is way off then.
As I said we are at 1720 feet and the gAl gas me at 18044ft
* unless there should be a decimal on the end? 1804.4?

Voice still/ music still works after the boot.
Just too much going on during the boot makes it stutter and quit sometimes.
Best case it just stutters and continues.

When I load amps to a custom screen, no reading - and I took the throttle up to almost lift off.

Yes, there should be a decimal. I now think I understand what data is being sent, so I'll look to get current displayed.

Mike.

I really appreciate your work Mike.
About the only benefit I got from upgrading at first was a longer range.

Now, one by one it is getting more and more fun!

pmshop wrote:
Voice still/ music still works after the boot.
Just too much going on during the boot makes it stutter and quit sometimes.
Best case it just stutters and continues.

What size SD Card are you using? Did you format it?
Don't use windows to format your SD Card. Download an utility called "SD Card formatter" and use it to format your cards.

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/

If you press long UP from the main menu, and the a few times to the LEFT, you will get to the SD Card information menu. What is the number showing on the first line, right hand side? I have 32

João

4

Took the chip out, reformatted, now have 32 and now playback is as smooth as silk

Thanks!

Great that is working, well done.

Joâo

Fixed a few formatting items and added Current, mAh, Fuel and type (e.g. 'Copter, 'Plane).
New test version posted.

Mike.

Totally awesome!
Everything is working well however, I cannot test the dhop decimal with actual GPS lock due to rain.
But I do see it has moved over one now just showing tenths of a point.

Fuel must be tied into the battery icon, % and the fuel bar because all three correspond with each other.

Just my opinion but those three are reading backwards?
I would think an icon would be full "black" leaving the outline behind?
The % started with is 0% where as it should start out with 100% ?

The Fuel Bar progresses left to right. Should it regress from right to left?

Yes, I got that wrong, I was more concerned with getting the value and translating it to %.

Mike.

Still an outstanding job.
And by the way, I switched back over to the 3.3.3 custom firmware and the arm, modes, alt and current still worked.
There were a few missing things - I'll make a list later on.

Ok, here is the list that worked with 3.3.3 custom:
%
Arm
3D Fix
Sat
dhop
Modes
gAl (in meters)
Cur
Fuel

But even though % and Fuel worked, no voltage was displayed.
GPS screen shows alt correctly as feet AGL

Hi,

I'm the dev for the OpenTX Passthrough protocol in ArduPilot. If you have any question about it, I'd be happy to answer them here...

By the way, you should probably use the latest protocol which is found in the official ArduCopter 3.4-rc5 (or same in master branch)...

My main question is why values are being passed in the 'special' IDs (1000-1007) when, for some values, there is a standard ID for them.
A specific one is GPS altitude, this is 0x0820~0x082f and the value is a signed 32 bit integer in cm. Using the 'special' passthrough value causes a resolution problem. pmshop is at 550m when on the ground so this causes the resolution to be 10m.

Mike.