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Permalink Reply by Chris Anderson on September 13, 2009 at 11:05am

If you can sucessfully upload code to ArduPilot with this cable/PC but not to ArduStation, you've probably done something wrong when you assembled it (soldering error, part reversed, etc). I assume you've got the station powered on when you're uploading the code?

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Permalink Reply by Austin Duff on September 13, 2009 at 11:53am

I actually haven't attempted to upload any code to the ArduPilot yet, I have the ArduPilot assembled but without any external hardware (servos... ect), would it be wise to attempt to upload to it first?

But yes I had the ArduStation powered on, green light is on and LCD is lit green with 2 rows of black blocks.

About the ArduPilot, how do I power it in the default mode it is in using an "ESC", What is an ESC? Where do I solder the connections.

Sorry if i'm asking to many questions, I just got this thing yesterday + I'm only a Junior in High school

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Permalink Reply by Chris Anderson on September 13, 2009 at 12:06pm

Yes, start with ArduPilot. An ESC is just the Electronic Speed Control that connects your battery to your motor and RC system. You just connect it to the throttle output of ArduPilot (channel 3) or to your RC receiver, which is then connected to ArduPilot.

All these wiring diagrams are shown in the manual.

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Permalink Reply by Austin Duff on September 13, 2009 at 12:26pm

I don't think i'm going to mess around with an ESC just yet. I simply want to be able to transmit some GPS values for now. Can I connect a simple 6v Battery pack to the ArduPilot? If so specifically which pins are for voltage input?

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Permalink Reply by Chris Anderson on September 13, 2009 at 12:43pm

Again, the manual explains this. You can connect a battery directly, but you must switch a solder jumper to use the internal power regulator.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas J Coyle III on September 13, 2009 at 1:56pm

Austin,

Do not use a 6 vdc battery to power the Ardupilot through the servo input connectors as 6 vdc will destroy the Atmega chip!

For powering your Ardupilot you can use a 4 cell NMHi battery designed for use with R/C receivers or the BEC on an ESC as Chris has mentioned. Just make sure that the battery voltage is less than 5.5 vdc. When a 4 cell NMHi battery is charged up it can reach 5.7 to 5.9 vdc which is too high for the Ardupilot. If you let the fully charged battery still around for a while, it will self discharge to around 5.2 vdc which is fine for the Ardupilot.

I just reprogrammed my ArduStation with version 1.2 with the Adafruit FTDI cable and it worked the first time.
Make sure that the black wire on the FTDI cable is plugged into the end of the programming connector closest to the push button switches when viewed from the back of the board.
Also, when you use the FTDI cable to program the ArduStation, the board should power up when the cable is properly plugged into the programming connector. If the board is not powering up when you connect the FTDI cable then there is a problem with your FTDI cable.
You do not need to power the ArduStation externally during the programming.
Also, it is probably best to remove the Xbee from its socket during the programming and replace it when you are done.

Regards,
TCIII

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Permalink Reply by Austin Duff on September 13, 2009 at 4:34pm

Should this work?

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Permalink Reply by Thomas J Coyle III on September 13, 2009 at 4:44pm

Austin,

Your wiring looks okay the way you have it attached to the Ardupilot board.

Unless Jordi is using a low drop out 5 volt regulator, 6 volts might not be enough to keep the Ardupilot board's 5 volt regulator from dropping out. Also did you move the solder jumper by the battery input terminals to the battery position?

Regards,
TCIII

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Permalink Reply by Austin Duff on September 13, 2009 at 5:31pm

Yes I did solder that, It seems to work fine, I successfully uploaded ArduPilot EasyStar V.2.3, When i flip the switch, the red light turns on, the yellow light goes on and off for a few seconds, and then the blue light starts flashing very quickly and continues like that. Thank you for the advice!

What is the next step to play around with this things GPS capabilties. I'm stuck, dont know what to do. I have 2 Xbee's and an ArduStation but the ArduStation is giving me that not in sync error when i attempt to upload code.

-Austin

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Permalink Reply by Thomas J Coyle III on September 13, 2009 at 5:40pm

Austin,

Please read my post above concerning the programming of the ArduStation.

Make sure that FTDI is connected correctly to the ArduStation programming connector and that the ArduStation powers up with a chirp from the speaker.

I used Arduino IDE ver 17 to program the ArduStation.

Regards,
TCIII

Permalink Reply by Chris Anderson on September 13, 2009 at 5:45pm

Ditto to what Tom said. Also a repeat: the Xbee can't be plugged into ArduStation when you're programming it.

Permalink Reply by Austin Duff on September 13, 2009 at 6:03pm

Theres is no Xbee plugged in, I plug the FTDI cable in, and immediately the green led turns on, and the screen lights up and 2 black rows of blocks are displayed. There is no chirp. I am using Arduino v.17 as well. The Program ArduStation demo does not load, I have the board set to Duemillinove with AtMega328, and my COM Port is correct.

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