[SOLVED] NAVIO+ Telemetry Problem

Navio / Edge Hardware
21

Hi
When I say fine…I mean text echos back to the console!
Still no telemetry on ttyAMA0 or GPS on UART either!
Thanks
Shaun

22

Shaun,

So UART and connector are fine. Is SERIAL1_PROTOCOL set to MAVLINK?

From software perspective, I can tell you that we did tests today and UART telemetry must work.

Do you have an FTDI, CP2104 or any other Serial to USB adapter?

Are you running with -C or -A?

Igor

23

Hi Igor

Attached is a screenshot of the settings.

I have tried -A and -C. I have also tried changing the SERIAL1_BAUD to be 57 as it suggests this is the first telemetry port, which I assumed was -A?

When I connect from MP the COM port baud rate is set to 57600.

I am afraid I don’t have any of those connectors available.

I find it odd that the telemetry goes into firmware update mode when connected to UART. Also, when I tried the external GPS yesterday this also seemed to fail to get any lock. Could this also be indicative of a problem on the UART port (other than the TX RX connections appearing to work OK)?

Any other way I can test UART?

Thanks for your ongoing help.

Shaun

24

Hi Shaun,

My only assumption would be that UART port on the radio itself is not functioning. Can you tests with other autopilot or in any other way?

25

Hi

If I swap the radios I get the same behaviour. Suggestion these are working consistently rather than it being one of the radios not functioning correctly.

I will look into it to see if I can test some other way.

On another note…where should an external GPS / compass be connected? Is this also on the UART port?

Thanks

Shaun

26

Hi

I have it working!

Reading around this gave me a clue.

I disconnected the CTS and RTS cables from the df-6 and it suddenly works. When plugged into the UART socket the red LED used to be on constant. With these two wires disconnected it shows green and binds with the PC. I can now also connect from MP also on the -A channel!

@schuermannsebastian you might want to try this too? I have a clone 3d radio which has all 6 wires connected. Not sure if the 3dr radios only have +5v, GND, TX and RX or if there is something specific to the NAVIO+ board which causes difficulty?

Any tips / info on how to connect the external GPS would also be appreciated.

Thanks

Shaun

27

I only have 4 wires connected. The other two contacts in the uart connector are GPIO pins.
I have to try again this evening. I suspect my problem is just a configuration problem. I used so many different builds and configs, I might have confused something.

28

I was having the same problem not getting the radio to work on the UART port. I have just been using the USB port.

Radios are RFD900+ configured to 57600 BAUD rate and only shows the solid red dot when connected to the UART.

I am a bit confused. What was the fix to get this to work correctly?

Thank you

29

@Jman841, I disconnected the CTS and RTS wires fron one end of the UART connector wire (taped them up seperatly to isolate them).

Seemed to do the trick.

Regards

Shaun

30

@Jman841 @shaun @schuermannsebastian

Ok, we have found the cause. According to APM wiki:

then you can force bootloader mode by shorting the CTS and GROUND pins on the radio while powering on. The red LED will light up when in bootloader mode.

This applies to all 3dr radio derived design as well, including the FRD900.

By default RPi GPIO on boot is low, which results in the problem that you are experiencing. We will try to add a software workaround, but for now the best solution is to not connect CTS line.

31

I have a 433 hextronic old model telemetry of HobbyKing.
This model does not have the RTS pin just DTR pin. Can I use it to NAVIO +?

Regards,

32

You only need VCC(5V), Ground, RX, TX.

1 Like
33

Thank you for your answer. What problem you were having in the configuration?I can not make a connection with only GND, TX, RX, VCC. :confused:

34

This is a little vague. You should provide more info on what you tried, because there are some points where something can be wrong.
Did the radios work before with another flightcontroller?
I have the same set of radios and they work without a problem.

1 Like
35

Yes in hkpilot, apm and arduflyer the radios operate normally …

37

Ok.
Do you try to use it with the -A or -C option?
Do you have a telemtry connection through wifi/ethernet?

1 Like
38

I tried with both options (A- and C). I’m using Debian Linux to send the commands. My Raspberry is connected to the router through ethernet cable. I have another couple of newer radios that have USB, via USB port I got the connection

40

Thank you my friend, I got it. I was making two stupid mistakes.

1 connections of tx / rx cables
2 Typo / dev / AMA0

Now everything is ok, thank you for your attention.

41

I am also having problem with “3DR Radio compatible” transcievers and Navio+.
Transcievers are Hobbyking HKPilot Transceiver Telemetry Radio 433MHz.
One is connected to Navio+ UART port, and other is connected to PC’s USB.

Startup line is:
ArduCopter-quad -A /dev/ttyAMA0

With CTS line connected:

  • transciever status LED is solid red
  • radios can’t see each other on the air
  • MissionPlanner can’t connect to telemetry

With CTS line removed:

  • transciever status LED is solid green
  • transcievers can see each other on air
  • MissionPlanner can’t connect to telemetry

It seems more like as an insufficient powering problem /
as green LED is not bright, if TRX is connected to RPi,
no matter is it UART or USB connection.

navio_uart_3dr_433_hk.jpg3264×2448 2.39 MB

updated:
It’s my “bug” :slight_smile: , sorry.
It works with startup line:

ArduCopter-quad -C /dev/ttyAMA0
42

To use it with the -A option you have to change baudrates for APM serial0 to 57600.