What Will I Learn?
- You will learn how to set up APM before the first flight
- You will learn how to tuning APM
- You will learn how to get logs from the APM
Requirements
- Your copter (quad, hexa, octo etc.)
- Computer
- USB cable
Difficulty
Basic
Setting up before the first flight
- Download and install latest Mission Planner
- Connect your APM to the computer via USB cable and open Mission Planner. Go to Initial Setup -> Install Firmware, select the appropriate software for your device and install it
- Select appropriate USB port for your APM (it should apear as Arduino Mega 2560), baud speed (115200) and click Connect
- Go to Initial Setup -> Wizard and select your frame type, then click Next
- Select your frame layout
- Calibrate your accelerometer. Accuracy is highly recommended in here, beacuse APM will base on this calibration while leveling. Press Start and place vechicle on the positions which are given in the pictures
- Check if you got Done comunicat. If not, you have to repeat calibration process
- Calibrate your compass using Live calibration. I recommend to do this process outside, to avoid interference from metal objects
- Rotate your copter in all axis and try to aim for the white dots, this will allow APM to collect samples. Continue this process until you receive a positive message
- Select your power module (if you have one) and your battery capacity
- Select your sonar (if you have one)
- Turn on your transmitter and make sure it is bounded to the receiver, then click Continue
- Click Calibrate radio and move rods to their extreme positions
- Make sure that this parameter is not above 2. If so, repeat radio calibration
- Configure Flight modes. You can select them by changing channel 5 on your transmitter.
During the first flights you will need only 3 modes:
- Stabilize - uses gyroscope and accelerometer to automatically level the copter, provides almost full control for the pilot
- AltHold - additionaly uses a barometer to keep the altitude
- Loiter - additionaly uses a gps to keep copter's position
- Next window veryfies your settings. You can pass Pre-Arm test by connecting battery and arming your copter (hold the throttle down, and rudder right for 5 seconds).
- Failsafes protect your copter from uexpected situations:
- Battery - triggers when battery voltage is below the set level
- Ground station - triggers when receiver loses connection with transmitter
- Throttle - triggers when PWM on channel 3 is below the set level (you can adjust it below)
You can also select copter reaction when Failsafe triggers:
- RTL - copter will automatically return to the place where it started
- Land - copter will automatically land in the place where it is now
- Geofence protects your copter from escaping in case of lose control. It may be very useful during the first flights. You can adjust its parameters and select taken action when geofence triggers
- It is everything, you copter is ready to take its first flight!
Tuning APM
You can additionaly change a few parameters, this may improve some functions of the APM. Go to Config/Tuning -> Full Parameter List and serach for parameters:
- INS_MPU6K_FILTER change 0 to 20 - makes barometer more resistant to vibrations
- THR_ACCEL_I change 1 to 1,5 - eliminates the effect of losing height
- THR_ACCEL_P change 0,5 to 0,75 - eliminates the effect of losing height
- THR_RATE_P change 5 to 8 - eliminates the effect of losing height
Save changes by clicking Write Params.
Getting logs
Sometimes it is very useful to get data from the last flights to get information about issues, errors or strange copter behavior.
- Go to Flight data -> DataFlash Logs
- Select Download DataFlash Log Via Mavlink
- Select logs that you want to download and click Download Selected Logs
- When download is complete you can close the window and go back to DataFlash Logs. You can automatically analyse log using Auto Analysis or you can review it manually using Reviev a Log