User`s manual

AscTec Hummingbird with AutoPilot User’s Manual
3 Operating the AscTec Hummingbird with AutoPilot
3.1 Status LEDs
There are four status LEDs on the AutoPilot board.
3
4
1
2
• LED 1 (red) is on as long the sensors are being
initialized. Do not move the vehicle until this
LED is off and LED 2 starts flashing.
• LED 2 (green) is the main-processor status
LED. During normal operation this LED is blin-
king rapidly, indicating that the flight control
software is running.
• LED 3 (green) is the GPS hardware OK indica-
tor. It is blinking at 2.5 Hz during normal opera-
tion.
• LED 4 (red) is the GPS status indicator. If it is
flashing, there is no valid GPS lock.
3.2 Acoustic signals given by
the AscTec AutoPilot
• Battery low warning: A loud tone will appe-
ar if the battery voltage drops under 9.8 Volts.
The interval is getting faster the lower the bat-
tery voltage gets. At 9 volts (critical limit!) the
tone stays steady. Please land the vehicle soon
after the tone appears, as the LiPo battery might
get damaged if it is discharged under 9V.
3.3 Important things to keep in
mind
• Directly after turning the AscTec Hummingbird
w/ AutoPilot on both the motors and the piezo
speaker produce a short beep. It is perfectly nor-
mal that the propellers move slightly during that
tone.
• Do not move the AscTec Hummingbird after tur-
ning it on until LED 2 of the AutoPilot starts
blinking. Otherwise, the sensors can not be ca-
librated correctly and the vehicle might go crazy
after turning on the motors. If you accidentally
moved the system during startup simply turn it
off and on again.
• After the startup phase the motors are still tur-
ned off and secured. To turn them on you have to
move the yaw stick to the very left or to the very
right while your throttle stick is in zero position.
The motors will then start and keep running at
their minimum speed. To turn the motors off you
have to do the same procedure again: Move the
yaw stick to the very left or to the very right whi-
le your throttle stick is in zero position. There
is no flight maneuver where one would use this
control input and thus you will not accidentally
turn off your motors during flight. For safety rea-
sons you should turn off the motors immediately
if one of the propellers touches the ground or any
other obstacle and hence the vehicle is not able
to take off.
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