X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Introduction 1.1 System overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.1 X-CSM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.2 X-Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.3 X-3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.4 Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.5 X-BLDC brushless motor controllers 1.1.6 X-ACC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Transmitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 7 2 Things to do before the first flight 2.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual A.4 The red LED on the X-3D keeps blinking after the startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.5 The X-3D-BL turns itself off during flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B User-programmable startup melodies Ascending Technologies GmbH 20 20 21 -3- www.asctec.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 1 Introduction Thank you for purchasing the X-3D-BL Scientific. Please read this manual carefully before you start to work with your new vehicle. WARNING! A motorized model aircraft is not a toy! It should only be flown by adults. Improper assembly or operating can lead to severe injuries and / or damages. Trouble with your remote control due to interferences can occur any time without prior notice.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual you can also connect several LEDs to the X-Base to give your X-3D-BL a unique fancy look. 1 BL-controllers / brushed motors (+) 2 BL-controllers (-) 3 Brushed motors (-) Left/Right/Back/Front 4 PPM-Receiver Input (-) (+) Signal (from lower to upper connector) 5 LEDs (-) Left/Right/Rear/Front 6 LEDs (+) 5V 7 Power connector, (+) and (-) marked on the upper side of the board The key below the power connector (7) turns the X-3D-BL on and off.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 1.1.3 X-3D 1.1.5 X-BLDC brushless motor controllers The X-3D is the sensor unit of the X-3D-BL. With three piezo-gyros and highly optimized control loops it does the actual flight/attitude control. All parameters influencing the in-flight behavior can be tuned by connecting the X-3D to a PC using the USB adapter that came with your X-3D-BL. Once you are on the field for flying you can select four different parameter sets using two jumpers.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 1.2 Transmitter Any five or more channels R/C transmitter can be used to operate the X-3D-BL scientific. Even if it is controlled autonomously by your own controller board, the transmitter is required as a backup. As a safety measure the X-3D-BL scientific is not able to launch without a valid signal from the R/C transmitter. Ascending Technologies GmbH -7- www.asctec.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 2 Things to do before the first flight The X-3D-BL is shipped completely assembled and tested. You only have to do the following steps to make it work with in combination with your equipment. 2.1 Mounting the propellers To improve the durability of the propellers during a The propellers can be slid over the axles and be faste- crash you can optionally add a cable tie (e.g. 2.5 x ned using a plastic nut.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual mAh battery the vehicle is able to hover up to 23 mi- by the software. nutes without any payload, and up to 12 minutes with You can freely choose a stick on your R/C for eve200 g of payload. ry function. If you are used to a certain configuration Make sure you mount your battery such that it can you should definitely continue using this one. If you definitely not get damaged by hitting the frame, even haven’t flown other model aircrafts before we recomin a crash.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 3 Operating the X-3D-BL Scientific 3.1 Important things to keep in mind • There is a battery warning implemented in your X-3D-BL. A low battery is signalized by a periodic, simultaneous tremor of all motors. This is hard to see but it can be heard. Depending on the battery you use there is about a minute of flight time left after the low-battery warning is activated. Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries are very vulnerable to deep discharge.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual The startup sequence is completed once the motors land on tables etc.. Good luck! start playing the preprogrammed music. Please be aware, that the first ”beep” after turning the vehicle on is part of the startup process. Once the music has been played the X-3D will light the green and yellow LEDs if the transmitter is turned off and only green if a valid signal is detected. Now the vehicle is ready to fly.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 4 On-Board serial interface 4.1 Physical interface 4.2.1 Data output The interface is a serial uart link with 5V TTL levels at 38400 baud, 8 bits, one startbit, one stopbit. To connect a PC, a bluetooth link or a high level processor to the X-3D you can use the black DF3 3-pin connector. The X-3D sends the following data packet with an update rate of 100Hz whenever the RTS pin is low (either forced always low by a jumper or pulled low by e.g.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual Explanation of the data packet: of 10Hz to 20Hz over the serial link: • ident: Packet identifier; must always be ’d’. • • • • startbyte 1: ’U’ startbyte 2: ’F’ angvel pitch, angvel roll, angvel yaw: startbyte 3: ’O’ Angular velocities. Range: 0..1023, 512 = neutral, 1 LSB = 0.304 no stopbyte! deg/s struct COMMANDDATA acc x, acc y, acc y: Accelerations in 1/1000th g, { with g being the acceleration of gravity.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 4.3 Test software There is a graphical user interface (X-3DBL Scientific Testsoftware.exe) to visualize the data packets described above. You can use this program to better understand the serial interface and to check if everything is working correctly. If you did not receive a copy of this software please contact us by e-mail. 4.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 5 Software updates and system configuration changes The X-3D-BL is shipped with a fully functional firmware installed on all components. Please do not upload any code from our public servers, as these versions do not offer the additional features of your X-3D-BL Scientific. You only need to do a software update if you receive a new version from us. To perform a software update you need the X-Control PC-software.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual Open the X-Control software, click on ”X-Base” and then on ”X-Base firmware Upgrade” on the left hand side. Turn on the X-Base (In this case the battery has to be connected to the vehicle!) and connect the USB adapter to the X-Base. Open the X-Control software and click on ”X-Base”. Choose the correct COM-Port (normally ”Autoselect: COMxx”) and click on ”Connect”. Chose ”X-BL Setup” and click on ”start search”.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 5.5 Calibration of the acceleration sensors The X-3D-BL Scientific comes fully calibrated. However, if something goes really wrong and for some reason you need to recalibrate the accelerometers, here is what you have to do. Connect the X-Base with the X-Control software, open the X-ACC setup and follow the instructions given by the wizard. To achieve the best performance it is very important that the calibration is done very precise.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual 6 Contact Information Ascending Technologies GmbH Graspergerstr. 8 82131 Stockdorf GERMANY Phone: +49 89 89949847 E-Mail: team@asctec.de Web: www.asctec.de CEOs: Michael Achtelik, Klaus-Michael Doth Dipl.-Ing. Daniel Gurdan, Dipl.-Ing. Jan Stumpf Handelsregister München: HRB 166748 Ust.-ID: DE254728199 Ascending Technologies GmbH - 18 - www.asctec.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual A Troubleshooting This chapter holds solutions to problems which might occur during the operation of your X-3D-BL UFO. A.1 Slight tilt in pitch/roll with the pitch/roll stick in neutral position Due to unavoidable measurement errors it is perfectly normal, that your X-3D-BL is not always flying exactly leveled in the X-ACC mode. However, a slight tilt can easily be compensated by the trimmers on your remote control. A.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual During the range check all other transmitters should be switched off. The best location to do the test is a big open field, as metallic objects like cars or wire fences could influence the result. You need a helper who holds your transmitter with the antenna as close to vertical as possible. Turn the X-3D-BL on and wait until only the green LED on the X-3D is on signalizing ”ready to fly”. Then walk away from the transmitter until the yellow LED starts flickering.
X-3D-BL Scientific User’s Manual B User-programmable startup melodies The X-3D-BL Scientific is capable of playing preprogrammed melodies directly after the initialization. To upload a melody please connect the battery to the X3D-BL, turn it on and connect the USB adapter with your computer and then with the X-Base. Open the X-Control software and click on ”X-Base”. Choose the correct COM-Port (normally ”Autoselect: COMxx”) and click on ”Connect”. Chose ”X-BL Setup” and click on ”start search”.
