AUTOPILOT QUICK START GUIDE
PARTS 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 1 Pixhawk 2 Buzzer 3 Safety switch 4 Micro-SD card and adapter 5 Micro-USB cable 6 Six-wire cable x2 GETTING STARTED With the help of APM firmware, Pixhawk turns any RC plane, copter, or rover into a full-featured personal drone. Once you have a fully-assembled frame, follow this guide to install Pixhawk.
2 CONNECT (Required) Connect the buzzer and safety switch. (Optional) Connect a 3DR Radio to Pixhawk’s Telem port using the 6-wire cable provided with your 3DR Radio Kit to receive data and communicate with the autopilot in flight. (GPS or GPS+Compass required) Connect a 3DR GPS+Compass to provide the autopilot with positioning data during flight. This kit includes a 6-wire cable to connect the GPS ports. Connect the MAG to the I2C port using the 4-wire cable provided with the 3DR GPS+Compass.
LOAD SD CARD INTO PIXHAWK If the SD card is not preloaded into Pixhawk, insert the micro-SD card into the slot at the bottom end of the board. CONNECT RADIO CONTROL FOR PPM RC RECEIVERS AND FUTABA S.BUS RECEIVERS Connect the ground (-), power (+), and signal (S) wires to the RC pins using the provided 3-wire servo cable. FOR SPEKTRUM SATELLITE RECEIVERS For a Spektrum DSM, DSM2, or DSM-X Satellite RC receiver, connect to the SPKT/DSM port.
CONNECT OUTPUTS FOR COPTERS Connect each signal wire from the PDB to the main output signal (S) pins by motor number. Connect one wire for each motor to the corresponding pin. Pin 1 = Motor 1 Pin 5 = Motor 5 Pin 2 = Motor 2 Pin 6 = Motor 6 Pin 3 = Motor 3 Pin 7 = Motor 7 Pin 4 = Motor 4 Pin 8 = Motor 8 FOR PLANES For planes, connect the control channel wires to the main output signal pins.
Download Mission Planner (Windows) Ardupilot.com Downloads Mission Planner Mission Planner « Downloads Sort by: Title | Hits | Date ■■ MissionPlanner - Installer Select the installer package to download. Download APM Planner (Windows, OS X, and Linux) Ardupilot.com Downloads APM Planner 2.0 APM Planner 2.0 « Downloads Sort by: Title | Hits | Date ■■ ■■ ■■ APM Planner 2.0 Mac APM Planner 2.0 Windows APM Planner 2.0 Linux Select your platform to download.
Select Initial Setup, Install Firmware, and select your vehicle. When prompted, follow the directions to load the firmware. Once the status bar shows that the download is complete, power cycle the board by disconnecting and reconnecting the USB. If you hear a musical tone, your firmware installation is complete. If you hear a series of tones followed by three beeps, disconnect the USB and reconnect while holding down the safety button.
SELECT FRAME TYPE (COPTERS ONLY) For copter, select your frame orientation. CALIBRATE COMPASS Select the options to enable the compass; to allow automatic declination calculation; and to specify Pixhawk. Select Live Calibration to launch the wizard, and follow the prompts. Show Me videos demonstrating live calibration techniques at 3dr.com/learn.
CALIBRATE ACCELEROMETER Select Accel Calibration, check the box for AC 3.0+, select Calibrate, and follow the prompts to calibrate Pixhawk’s accelerometer. Make sure to wait a couple of seconds before and after changing the positions of the vehicle. RC CALIBRATION 5 left stick 4 6 right stick Select Radio Calibration to teach Pixhawk to work with your RC transmitter. Turn on your transmitter, select Calibrate Radio, and move all sticks and switches to their extreme positions.
LED MEANINGS Flashing red and blue: initializing. Please wait. Double flashing yellow: error. System refuses to arm. Flashing blue: disarmed, searching for GPS. Autonomous, loiter, and return-to-launch modes require GPS lock. Flashing green: disarmed, GPS lock acquired. Ready to arm. Quick double tone when disarming from the armed state. Solid green plus single long tone: armed and ready to fly! Flashing yellow: RC failsafe activated.
PORTS 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Spektrum DSM receiver Telemetry (radio telemetry) Telemetry (on-screen display) USB SPI (serial peripheral interface) bus Power module Safety switch button Buzzer Serial GPS module CAN (controller area network) bus I2C splitter or compass module Analog to digital converter 6.6 V Analog to digital converter 3.
IMPORTANT NOTE Please note that these instructions describe basic setup for Pixhawk and do not represent the complete set of configuration procedures required to build a copter, plane, or rover. For more information on ESC calibration, battery monitoring, failsafes, mode descriptions, and more, visit ardupilot.com. Do not operate your vehicle without a complete understanding of the online instructions.
SAFETY Operating a powered vehicle of any kind can be a lot of fun, but it carries certain inherent risks. Regulations governing the use of powered vehicles, including aircraft, vary from locale to locale, even within the same country or district. It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand and comply with all local laws and regulations. Safety basics: • Never operate the vehicle or software in a way that could be dangerous to you, other people, or property.
DISCLAIMER THE LIMITED WARRANTIES APPLICABLE TO 3D ROBOTICS-BRANDED HARDWARE CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.3DROBOTICS.COM/TERMS/ AND CAN BE REFERENCED IN FULL AT THAT URL. 3D ROBOTICS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO UPDATE THE WARRANTIES AT ANY TIME WITHOUT EXPRESS NOTICE. 3D ROBOTICS MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTIES FOR 3D ROBOTICS-BRANDED PRODUCTS, AND MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER FOR SERVICE, SOFTWARE, MAINTENANCE OR SUPPORT FOR NON-3D ROBOTICS-BRANDED PRODUCTS.
