(1/8) APM 2.5/2.6/2.7/2.8 - Simple installation and setup overview

[@calebnehrbass4838]

Lol that wookie in the background at 11:15. Great video, I'm waiting for my board to arrive, but can't wait to test it out!

[@transgendervlogmyjourney5664]

Hiya just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to share your experiences within the RC world, I have learned so much about arducopter, APM 2.6, QX7, of which I'm using myself, in fact it's cable management this evening, I only have a tarrot 280 FPV, it's a wee one but working well, I'm just learning about parameters atm, I just can't wait to get it outside for it's maden voyage. Anyway, a huge thank you from me. Xx

[@polmerched]

Despite the age of the video and board, thank you sir! I'm resetting mine following the series.

[@callmeshaggy]

Thank you thank you thank you. This video series has been brilliant. I have just completed my first home made copter. I c ame back to this series over and over again. The way you describe things in an easy to understand manner explaining what every thing means with out assuming that the viewer knows any thing is fantastic. I now have a working copter with out this series I dare say it would have taken a lot longer to get here. There is of course more to do to my copter so please expect me to come back more and more. Thanks again John.

[@Painless360]

Wonderful to hear, so pleased it helped you get in the air. There are few feelings like flying a model you made from scratch. You'll be able to repair things far easier too as you know every inch of the model inside out! Happy flying!

[@KevinChatman]

Dude I appreciate all the help full videos you upload you've helped me out a lot with my quadcopter

[@Painless360]

Thanks for the feedback - glad they helped! Working on APM in a plane, Naze32 on a quad and about to start CC3D series too.. Happy flying!

[@duster0066]

Hey man, a big shout out! Cheers! Ive been watching since Christmas taking notes and being careful. I have a Bayangstoys X16 flying in a custom frame, and am ready for the next step. I chose the AMP 2.8 for cost reasons...cheaper to lose. lol With Flysky cheap radio gear, and the wizzardy of my IT smarts kid, the whole nine yards just powered up and calibrated the first time. I haven't fried a single thing...yet. I'm a retired airplane mechanic and private pilot so nothing is weird or strange. But oh the details. The bloody damned details. The "bayang flier" has dug holes more than once. You KZbin guys have been good teachers.

[@Painless360]

Happy flying! :D

[@duster0066]

And one more cheers dude. It has flown 3 times today. Absolutely zero issues. All I know is Phoenixdrone, aka X16 crash recovery project. The weather is trash here so just the yard and driveway, but wow the difference is big. It flies so well I've hot rodded it with confidence. Damn near wrecked it twice as it weights 1200 grams and boogies. The yard runs out fast. Anyways cheers man! This is an affordable blast. And most of fly 2 came out of your head. Pixhawk on a fixed wing is next. I'm ex F-111. I think I'll take a swing at a foamy swing wing. I have a soft spot for twin boom airplanes. All of them look good. So a twin boom swing wing twin. Probably similar to a C-337. Center-line thrust is where it's at.

[@Painless360]

Happy flying and I'd find a huge space to let that sucker off the hook! :D

[@duster0066]

Question kind sir? Everything seems fine until I power a camera from it. It is a cheap wifi camera from a toy quad, but the pics are usable so what the heck. However every time I've hung it on the APM quad the electronics freak a bit it seems. So, APM 2.8 powered by the included power module, with GPS and external compass. Both jumpers are correctly removed, and I'm powering the output side from the #1 esc BEC. PPM and signal wires only for the number 2, 3, and 4 esc. I have a nav light LED system powered from the #6 UART (GPS) signal pin. The craft flies terrific and has passed all checks, and it's ready to play with. Then I hang that camera on it and it freaks out. The first time it wouldn't connect in mission planner using USB power, it took the battery. Before I figured it out, I flew it...GPS wondered...the dog distracted me...it hit a tree. Thankfully the tree didn't catch fire or nothing, and the drone didn't make a hole in the roof. SOOOooo, I figure that camera draws more current than the input side of the board can deliver through the power module. So I tested the theory, disconnected it (after the rebuild), and walla! It connects to mission planner again, and flies great again. But there is a solution...right? Of course there is. I moved camera power to the output side, on the 2A BEC, that should do it. And it seemed to...until I got a hundred meters away. Then I got a real world ops check of the signal out failsafe apparently. What ever! And I got several ops checks as well cause I wouldn't give up. So I landed, swapped batteries, and unplugged that camera, and ol quad-li-mod flies great again. What now? The camera is all in one wifi mounted directly below the RX. The RX antennas are at 90 straight up and directly to starboard. the horz antenna is within an inch maybe an inch and a half away from the wifi antenna. Both are 2.4gHz right? Is the wifi TX walking all over my RX? If I unplug the camera the drone works great. Oh FS-i6X and the fs-6i or what ever receiver.

[@patty109109]

These vids really are amazing and the time you put in the camera work/editing is noticed & appreciated.

[@guglielmodicarlo4139]

absolutely!

[@AleZakko]

I'm new on multirotor world, but not to the heli world... I was looking for a great FC for my second quad or hexacopter with gimbal... This videos tutorial are AMAZING! Simple and direct to the point of interest! Thank you very very much... I hope to be able to program this unit, as a novice.. thanks!

[@Painless360]

Best of luck with the build, this is a great board and gives a great blend of full features and easy setup. Happy flying!

[@AleZakko]

thank you very much! :D and the last question: where do you advice me to buy an APM kit with everything? I mean, APM 2.6, GPS, OSD, Telemetry radio to the ground station's laptop, or if you can advice me about the "shopping list" because a'm just a little bit noob of this hobby sector.. :D thank's, you rock!

[@Painless360]

AleZakko Most of the ones you will find on the internet are clones of the official 3DR boards so the normal rules apply.Personally I would not use HobbyKing for APM as they have had too many issues with their 2.6 clone and ended up replacing it with a 'fixed' version and calling it 2.7. That has shaken my confidence re quality control and testing..I would look to a local supplier who can also provide hep and support if needed, if looking on the internet then go for a specialised RC supplier on eBay or somewhere that does decent packages like Banggood.com (www.banggood.com/APM-Flight-Controller-Set-APM-2_8-6MH-GPS-OSD-Radio-Telemetry-etc-p-960341.html)Best of luck with it.

[@AleZakko]

great! thank you very much!!!

[@Hebdomad7]

11:15 ... Chewie is that you?

[@TheLifeTerm]

Sir, your videos are invaluable for using Arducopter FCs. I have the 2.8 version, with external compass. I also connected the MinimOSD. The TX is the Flysky FS-i6s. ( PPM ),10 channel, with the FS-iA6 10 channel RX. I'm about to install the Arducopter 2.8 FC in a Cheerson CX-20 frame, with the stock motors, ESCs, and power board. The Open Source FC, went tits-up on me, so hopefully this combination will work as well, if not better than, the original FC. Thank you for your great instructional videos!

[@davidgriffin14]

at 11:15 chewbaca is in the background! lol

[@Painless360]

davidgriffin14 Yep, he's finally back home after spending the last 8 months down in London filming. I'm not exactly sure what it's all about but he seems very excited...

[@OneTwo-wt8qv]

I got my Cheerson Cx-20 connected to Mission Planner last night so looks like I got an Open Source ver. Today we go through your APM video series. Thank you so much for all the effort and saving me time to enjoy my models and not be stuck in research or worse; crashing. CHEERS !

[@Painless360]

+one two happy flying!

[@bullrog21zombie]

I hear Chewbacca throughout the tutorial XD

[@Lagggerengineering]

Right? What the hell? :D

[@DARKSCOPE001]

Dear Painless360 thank you so much for your videos especially the APM 2.6. I watched though all 8 once and am in the process of watching though them again and when I do actually get my 2.6 flight controller ill probably watch them again. I am currently building a S500 frame with a 2.6 flight controller to use as kind of a starter camera platform and ive never built one before. I bought a blade 350qx2 for me and my dad to have fun with but we are rapidly outgrowing it and quickly finding its shortcomings. anyways I wanted to thank you again for your videos. take care

[@Painless360]

Sean Scott Thank you, good luck with the new project!

[@DARKSCOPE001]

+Painless360 Thanks man. Ive been following your video series to try and help me get my multirotor off the ground and no luck yet man :( I cant get my APM 2.6 board to pass radio calibration. On the mavlink screen all the channels just sit static and dont move and im not sure what to do. Ive tried about all i know how to do. The rc cars are much easyer but i really want this to work. Are you on any forums and maybe I could ask for some more indepth help?

[@Painless360]

Make sure you've selected the right connection in the setup and the wires are connected properly. I do provide one-to-one help over Skype (see the website) if needed.

[@GotthartSD]

11:16 Real Chewbacca :)

[@tlkglt]

At least I found a problem,I have a apm 2.6 and in compas calibration I must select 2nd dot (external compas),witch is 180 degrees reverse and all is perfect now.Thanks 360 painless jou are the best.

[@shawnt9090]

I just set up an apm 2.8 on a flame wheel from start to finish using your videos.. Thanks for all the help

[@Painless360]

Glad the videos helped! Happy flying!

[@alexsemine1]

Thank you very much for this video series. I just got an AMP 2.6 board with GPS, current sensor and telemetry. It's old but I got it for free. I'm also going to set up my FPV equipment and go out to have some fun!!! Thanks a lot again

[@timchilla355]

I am really Thankful for these Tutorials! I've had troubles getting started as a newcomer, but these videos are just extremely well explained! Thanks a lot!

[@junior_jpn7963]

i'm looking for a flight control board and i think i found it!!! One more great video from your channel! Waiting for the next videos. Thumbs up and thank you from a brazilian who lives in Japan.

[@Painless360]

Thanks for the comment, I'm working on the next one! :)

[@MC909Garfield]

Hy "Painless360" :) Thank you very much for these great Video Tutorials , I Own an APM2.6 Arducopter for 2 weeks for my second quad project ( My first one is fited with a KK2.1.5 ), and I'm happy to find such a great tuto like this , this is clear and useless for me ( I'm french guy and speak a poor english :) ). I just stay in troubles with my OSD connected to the APM , but I will find the solution later :) For now I have to perfect flying with the KK2.1.5 ( I bought my first quad toy 7 month ago , and after tasting 3D flight had build a 450 frame with FPV that I fly with it for 3 hours now ) and in the same time ( when my battery pack is charging ) I learn all about APM settings and how to work with it :) Thanks again and Happy Fly :)

[@Painless360]

Bonjour DJ Garfield! I am pleased the video helped. Good luck with the OSD.. Happy flying!

[@MC909Garfield]

Thanks :) I think now that's is my Arduino ftdi adapter wich cause the issue , I'm waiting for new one ... I watch all your video , to learn more about APM :)

[@Painless360]

:) Merci!

[@MC909Garfield]

Painless360 Finaly It was both FTDI adapter AND Microcontroler of the OSD were out , cause I tried with the new adapter and I was able to communicate with the OSD , but when I wanted to upgrade the firmware of the OSD with the configuration tools ( 1/ reload the right bootloader :OK ( W ISP ), 2/ upgrade the firmware ( Arduino IDE : OK ), 3/ update char set NOK at this point the upgrade "bricked" the Atmel328P in the OSD , because ( I duno why ) the update had setup the Atmel fuses to wrong state , so I still cannot do anything with the OSD now ... Have had made something wrong ? duno , but I ordered a new one and let it to the factory state and won't try to update to a newer firmware in the future ... Thank you for your great tuto , they are very helpfull for me :)

[@Painless360]

You are welcome. Happy flying!

[@bradjohnson8191]

Putting 2.6 on an Align Trex 800E. you have helped a great deal and I thank you.

[@kunalpanchal7751]

This guy is awesome.. Really a significant helping hand for the beginners. Loved your video man.

[@Painless360]

+Kunal Panchal thank you. Spread the word!

[@ryanli2492]

Set up my first APM board using this tutorial. Thanks so much!

[@Painless360]

You're welcome! Glad they helped. You can support the channel by becoming a Patreon, visit www.patreon.com/painless360. Happy flying!

[@jimmcminnsr6309]

APM2.8 ArduPilot Mega 2.8 APM Flight Controller Board for RC Multicopter Introduction: This is the new APM 2.8 autopilot module. The sensors are exactly the same as with APM2.6, however this version does not have an onboard compass, which makes this version ideal for use with multicopters and rovers. The APM 2.8 is a complete open source autopilot system and the bestselling technology that won the prestigious 2012 Outback Challenge UAV competition. It allows the user to turn any fixed, rotary wing or multirotor vehicle (even cars and boats) into a fully autonomous vehicle; capable of performing programmed GPS missions with waypoints. Available with top or side connectors. This revision of the board has no onboard compass, which is designed for vehicles (especially multicopters and rovers) where the compass should be placed as far from power and motor sources as possible to avoid magnetic interference. (On fixed wing aircraft it's often easier to mount APM far enough away from the motors and ESCs to avoid magnetic interference, so this is not as critical, but APM 2.6 gives more flexibility in that positioning and is a good choice for them, too). This is designed to be used with the 3DR uBlox GPS with Compass (see option below), so that the GPS/Compass unit can be mounted further from noise sources than APM itself.

[@gregmatas7476]

Thank you, for all your tutorials. I finally got to build my first quad. I'm probably done with buying ready to flay Quads. Thanks again!

[@Painless360]

+Greg Matas You're welcome! Happy flying!

[@cam_3d]

Feeling at ease with APM already, cheers!

[@Paulivewire]

setting up my apm 2.6 right now, these videos help a bunch. Hope it goes well

[@hari.krishnan0]

Hey! I made a quadcopter using the following:- 1) F450 Frame 2) APM 2.8 3) 1000 Kv Motors 4) 3500 mAh Lipo 5) FlySky - CT6B It's a 'X' build. The main issue I'm facing is that whenever I try to raise throttle to 50% it doesn't take off and the moment I raise it to 100%, the quad flips to the right. Been over a year I'm trying to fix this issue and haven't had any success. To try and fix the above issues, I ended up doing the following... 1) Calibrating the ESC's again 2) Calibrating the accelerometer and compass (Mission Planner) 3) Checked if the propellers are as per the right motors ( CW - Pusher, and CCW - Normal) (Made sure the alphanumerics are facing up as I installed them) I really can't figure out what is wrong, any help or advice?

[@Painless360]

Could be lots of things - see my video on what to check if your quad flips on take-off..

[@axljackass]

thanks Painless360 works well for me, just plug and play and no problem, rtl working very well, thanks again

[@peteabdu9179]

Great video, thanks for making this!!! Only thing that caught me up for a while was that for the arduplane the mode switch is connected to pin 8 not pin 5 (for the arducopter). Thanks for the great video!

[@Painless360]

Pete Abdu Thanks for the feedback - there is a small series on the Arduplane - kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5PQqqabatWAibc Happy flying!

[@jefforrhunter8096]

re start and new cable firmware partialy installs and is stopped at the same point, forums discuss the same issue I am yet to find a resolution. I have built a lovley 550 discovery like quad for this board and it looks like the only way it will ever fly is if I go outside and huck into the sky. too bad I was really looking forward to trying this ardupilot board, one of the folks from Crazyponey sent it to me at a discount in hopes I would write a kind review. Oh well no review is better than a bad one. Back to the building table. I wish my laptop would work as flawlessly as yours seam to.

[@Painless360]

It's all about proper driver setup, once you've got the right ones installed you should be golden. Most of the manuals/wikis and now even a lot of the GUIs give you links to the right drivers. We do have another little netbook we use for the more 'experimental' things so we don't break the main machines! Best of luck!

[@NUWEST00520041]

Just got everything in and was ready to program but mission planner is different than the setup you show. I've watched this a few times. yet with the 2.6 v I'm not sure how to get the compass calibrated. Only getting 3 of of 180 points. I love a challenge but will have to try again tomorrow. My brain is at capacity tonight. I just hope the rest of the build goes smoothly. Still have osd, voltage meter, sonar and the other fun stuff to do. Your videos are great and I without them I would not have got this unit. Thanks for taking time out of your day to make these videos.

[@Painless360]

You need to connect the separate compass to the board for the calibration (see the note in the video at 8:56). If you have an APM 2.6 then there should be two wires coming out of the GPS unit - one for GPS, one for compass. Good luck with the build..

[@jendabekCZ]

As Painless said, you have to connect additional GPS module (ublox neo 6m) and rotate that module when calibrating compass.

[@NUWEST00520041]

Painless360 thanks. I walked away from it for a minute and came back to do it again. It's up and running now. Just was getting to excited and moving to fast. Like a kid on Christmas morning.

[@NUWEST00520041]

***** thanks, took a couple times but i got it done.

[@stevebarker1018]

Hi again, many thanks as your suggestion did the trick and all calibrated now. Looking forward to flying it.

[@Painless360]

Good news - best of luck with the first test hovers/flights..

[@everythingreviewsandnews1229]

Thanks for the great video. You just helped me settle on a fc for a video/camera platform. This looks a lot easier than the multiwii. Thanks again.

[@jefforrhunter8096]

I thought it might be the cable so I have a brand new very tight cable now all the lights are working. flashing amber but still can not get past the small white screen " waiting for UDP"? very frustrating

[@Painless360]

Sounds like the cable was part of the problem. I'd flash it again now you have a better one. I've not seen that error here but there are a few places talking about it in the forums.. Best of luck!

[@hydrojedi]

Thanks for posting! Can't wait to see the next one.

[@lowrevsrc]

thanks for getting back to me mate. I've sorted it now

[@Painless360]

+Dave Harvey what was it?

[@lowrevsrc]

I've been watching your apm series videos and I'm a bit of a stickler so as you can imagine I followed your instructions word for word, then I realised my apm is v2.6 with the external compass! It helps massively when you actually connect the bloody compass! !!! And yes it now works fine. Surprisingly (NOT) hahaha

[@rogerdevries4401]

Thank you! And thank you for unbelievably fast reply. I will check out the other video and see if I can't get past this stumbling block. thanks again ROG

[@viktorkuk]

Thank you so much for the video and patience in response to emerging issues! Good luck to you!

[@jefforrhunter8096]

Trying to install misskion planner I get to a point with two small screens over the wizard one say's waiting for mavlink the other waiting waiting for UDP and it will go no further ? what do I do to get this to complete the install and set up ?

[@Painless360]

Not sure what part of the process you're referring to. MAVLink is the telemetry protocol that Mission Planner uses to talk to the board over USB, if I recall correctly UDP is something to do with the telemetry radios.. All of the steps we used to get ours working are in the video? What trouble shooting have you already tried?

[@vjjames4567]

thank you very much, I have been following all of your videos I guess I got confused since on the calibration of the radio shows to be ok. It is very well explained and very easy to follow thanks again.

[@Painless360]

Easy to do. Glad you got it working. Happy flying!

[@piloto5248]

Yes thanks for reply back to me I learn that I have to use Google map to see my home aerial zone .I didn't now that but thanks again.

[@Painless360]

juan sanchez You can see how Google maps can be used with the APM logfiles to view your flight afterwards in the 3D Google Maps. See the video later in this APM series for a step by step detailed overview.. Happy flying!

[@Soldier53flyer]

Nice video, I will need it I'm looking to buy one soon. I know I would have got lost, with out your video. Thank you.

[@JAYJAY1000RR]

thank you for responding to me i will try to make a quick video on my problem setp by step so you could see

[@elieeid8865]

as per i told you , it works fine.thank you for your advise. it was gratefully accepted

[@mattheuscochet782]

Your video's prove to be very helpfull! thanks a lot. I am using APM for my thesis on implementation of drones in humanitarian actions in which I am building one myself to present.

[@Painless360]

Best of luck with the thesis. The APM is a good choice for this application (kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWXXgnSjnJemqaM) may be if use to your thesis too. Hope it helps.

[@mattheuscochet782]

Painless360 Thanks for your answer. I'm going to stay with my first choice :)

[@Painless360]

I agree that it makes a LOT of sense. Have fun with the build and take your time.. Happy flying!

[@TechNovaAquariums]

hi its about transmitter at 15:28 you said is some moving inputs opposite sides.. So it;s opposite how to reverse it to correct way?

[@Painless360]

+Tech Nova we confirm that later in the series. Happy flying!

[@MarcWong64]

Hi Lee. I'm sure you've covered this somewhere in the series, but am having a hard time finding it. I was hoping to find one of your easy-to-follow diagrams for wiring 3DR Radio Telemetry & MinimOSD to APM 2.X single telemetry port. I'm guessing it will require customizing a Y cable? Just want to make sure I'm not crossing any communications or power.

[@Painless360]

+Mcwdes this is tricky as connecting both will commonly pull the signals from the telemetry pins on the board below the level they can be reliability read. I used to see buffer devices that made this possible but have not seen one anywhere for months. Best of luck!

[@MarcWong64]

Thanks Lee. Is there any reliable way to do this without compromising the data? Besides going to Pixhawk.

[@MrCofl1001]

Nice video, I'll be switching myself from a Crius aiopv2 running mwii to this one, and hopefully it will be much better than the MPNG I tried in the past... Cheers

[@Painless360]

Thanks for the comment, there is also a smaller version now (APM Mini 3.1) that is another option for tighter spaces. See kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKeXan-amMZ_rJI

[@ginochiri7998]

Question.. I have a "GPS Module with compass - Powered by Ublox 7M" Is it compatible with my APM 2.8 when installing the GPS module i have two connectors. 1 with (4) Wires and another with (2) Wires. I know the one with 4 Wires go to the GPS port and the other connector with the 2 wires, which port does it go to? The one near the GPS port or to the one labeled (I2C)? also do i need to remove or move the jumper beside the GPS port? Thank You in advance.

[@ginochiri7998]

Mr. Painless360 Please Help.. Thank You

[@sunrisehigh229]

The vid is great , very easy to understand , well done...

[@mexicubanguy]

Thanks for these awesoms videos. Wanted to ask, can one use multiple computers running Mission Planner on the same board, or should you stick with one of them? For example, carry out initial configuration on a desktop, and then actual flight on a laptop?

[@Painless360]

+mexicubanguy ive used multiple computers with no problems. Happy flying!

[@mexicubanguy]

+Painless360 Thank you very much!

[@dkwok4808]

Thank you for this video in helping setup the APM 2.8 on my hexcopter. I need help on an esc problem. Followed your video instruction to setup the esc individually. After all is done, #4 and #6 motors would come on after the motor unlock. The other 4 motors remain still unless the throttle stick is move up. I tried to re-calibrate these two esc a few times and with same result. What's wrong? Please help. Thank you.

[@dalefischer4885]

Things don't allays go right do thy. At 7:52 on this video, can't get connected. This is what I get. You cannot load new firmware while connected via MAVlink. Please press the Disconnect button at top right to end the current MAVlink session and enable the firmware loading screen. I probably did something stupid but what should I do ?

[@Painless360]

The firmware should be on the board by this point. It looks like Mission planner is trying to upload the firmware again. Make sure that you have followed the steps at 4:05 to install the firmware you need. Good luck with the build!

[@AFluffySheltie]

+Dale Fischer did you ever figure out the problem? I can't find a solution to it

[@rclewis214]

What a great video. Saved me a bunch of time. Thanks

[@neavissa2583]

Hi. Quick question. I am trying to set this up on a Tarot 650 Pro, which is a Quadcopter. I see that I can only pick the entire row, where "Quad" is listed among other Frame layouts?! This is a bit weird, as every other FC lets you choose specifically what frame you have. It starts at 8:36 in your video. On the right you can see "Default Settings". You do not change anything there, which once again is surprising?! How does the APM know what Frame Type you have?! Also, can I choose under "default settings" something like "camera platform"?! Thanks, G.

[@Painless360]

Hi, you can select a number of frame types. You do this at the start as the code is frame layout specific. Watch the video at 4:39 to see me do this for the quad setup. I could have chosen car, heli, plane, tri, quad, hex, Y6, OctaQuad or Octa frame layouts. You can then choose the orientation of the frame type later on (8:23) and the APM even has selections for '+', 'X' and dead-cat layouts. If you follow this video you should be fine.

[@neavissa2583]

Painless360 Thanks for the fast reply. I did pick "Quad" in the beginning. That's why it was even more confusing, that it would ask me again what frame type I have, AND show those options?! Do you think I should leave those alone, or can I pick "camera platform"?! One more thing... I order these items here: www.uavobjects.com/product/rctimer-fixhawk-32bit-flight-controller-v2-4-3/ www.uavobjects.com/product/915-mhz-radio-telemetry-set/ www.uavobjects.com/product/rctimer-u-blox-lea-6h-gps-mag/ Is this all I need in order to be able to connect it to my laptop or do I need this item as well?! www.uavobjects.com/product/mavlink-osd/ Thanks! G

[@neavissa2583]

***** I think I have just found the answer to my own question?! I only need the MavLink OSD if I want to have a n OSD on my Video Monitor, right?! If I use the laptop though, all the information is there, so need to use an "extra" OSD?!

[@DroneShots81]

Thank you very much now I understand the difference the one for me should be the 433mhz because I live in Malta :)

[@dalefischer4885]

Thank you for the super videos. I'm putting together a Quad using the QRX350 Pro body. Ready to start setting up the APM. On the Compass celebration, I am using a GPS with external compass. How should I deal with the external compass when setting up the APM ? Thanks Dale

[@Painless360]

Hi Dale. See 8:57 in this video. Install the GPS/Compass module at that point. I explain why in this part of the video. Hope it helps, good luck with the build!

[@dalefischer4885]

Painless360 Thank you I'm going throw your videos one at a time and typing up Step by Step.

[@tptwk]

Great instruction! I am building my first quad (SK450) and I have already purchased an APM 2.6. I need to get a GPS unit and was wondering which one to buy? Do I need the GPS/compass combo? Do I need to configure anything or are they plug and play? Hopefuly you already have a video on this. Thanks!

[@Painless360]

Hi, the rest of the videos in this series will answer these questions for you. If you want GPS based modes (Hold, RTL and Auto) then you'll need a GPS unit. If it's 2.6 then you need one with a GPS with the inbuilt compass. Good luck with the build!

[@denmark2798]

thank you for your reply! Strange, KZbin won't let me reply to your comment below. yes i have them jumped. sorry i didn't mention that.

[@edanmiskell3529]

Hello and thanks for your great videos.A sincere question,at 11:30 in the video you say to turn it on its back ,would this not be top as you started the device on its back in a level position?Also with 2.6 do i need the GPS connected as it does not have the internal GPS?Thank you in advance for any help given.About to calibrate mine later today.

[@Painless360]

+Edan Miskell the process we show in the video worked for us here. Best of luck!

[@edanmiskell3529]

+Painless360 I didn't mean any offence,just want to educate myself the best I can.Thanks for the very fast reply.You give a lot of confidence to newcomers in the hobby.

[@Painless360]

+Edan Miskell none taken. Best of luck!

[@andrewhearn2560]

Great video. Just one question what transmitter and receiver are you using?

[@glynnmason8205]

this has been very usefull one thing I have found out the website the ardupilot software has changed thanks

[@Painless360]

Check out the dates when the series was made - too many KZbin creators make videos and don't do that so you're not sure id you're looking at recent or old content..

[@MervynWong]

All your videos from part 1 - 8 are wonderful and detail regarding the apm. But I would like to ask. Everytime when I fly in a new location what dance or calibration do I need to perform? Like for the naza it's simple dance. What about the apm?

[@Painless360]

+Mervyn 8888 once you have it all calibrated, so long as you've not moving a great distance away where the magnetic declination will be different, you should be ready to just fire up, wait for the GPS lock and fly!

[@MervynWong]

Painless360 , if that's the case, meaning I do a first set up calibration at home connected to my laptop. And from there once I'm at the field I can just plug and fly without the need of another calibration?

[@Painless360]

Yep, should do.

[@eyadallahham9421]

Please help: When I do like what you did at 4:50 and I choose my setup which is Copter 4.0.4 OFFICIAL an error pops-up saying: Failed to discover board id. Please reconnect via usb and try again.

[@Painless360]

Sorry, I don't use APM any more - they are very out of date flight controllers.. Best of luck!

[@karimpaz9250]

Hi, Thanks a lot for the video, very nice tutorial. I'm starting my project with drone-building, I'd like to know some propeller manufacturer because I'd like to check the propellers thrust and I can't find very clear information about, any idea? Regards

[@Painless360]

Lots to choose from. We use a lot of Gemfan and Graupner here..

[@aymanfatani]

Hey Mr Pain I have a problem with my arducopter everything works fine except one thing in mission planner section it couldn't get to connect to it, the TERMINAL section doesn't work, when I click on connect it starts typing garbage things, and also the throttle is at constant speed rate and wont go higher even if you put the stick to full throttle, I've calibrated all the ESCs with all the methods once manually one by one and once again all at once, the throttle speed after calibrating works great it reads all of the speed rate after, but when ARMING the ardu and getting ready to fly, the throttle keeps its constant speed rate when you first move the stick and the motors start off, it keeps that speed rate when it first starts the motor and never go further, can you help me with, I am getting pissed of this FC :(

[@Painless360]

I'd focus on the throttle issue first - Terminal isn't critical for flight. Connect a servo to the throttle channel on the rx and confirm that it moves with the throttle stick on the Tx. Then check that you can see the throttle channel move in Mission Planner Recalibrate all of the ESCs, using the one by one method (the all-in-one has caused me issues in the past) Best of luck with it. This is a great flight controller and a lot of fun when it's working..

[@aymanfatani]

Thanks buddy i ll try again and see if it could get any better, my respects

[@aymanfatani]

ayman fatani I made and do every steps you provided me with, and it gets to work, but unfortunately my xR wire been cut by one of the propellers, lol its my black day i guess, can i use any servo wires or does it have its own type of wire ? thanks for helping but i am still a noob :p

[@Senator315]

ayman fatani The antenna is a shielded wire, so you cannot use any old wire. If there is still a fair bit of antenna wire left, you can fix it by trimming back the shield to expose the core. If you're using 2.4Ghz, then trim it back to expose 31mm of the core.

[@aymanfatani]

Senator315 Thanks bro yeah there's some of it left, i soldered it again to the xR and worked fine 😊

[@aaronlutzo4527]

I received this board, and from the get-go I have never been able to manually calibrate the compass. I recall reading somewhere that the version I have of the board doesn't have an on board compass? That may make no sense, I apologize if it does, I'm relatively new to this. Can you shed any light as to why this is happening? When I have the GPS connected, the "bad compass health" warning goes away, but without it it comes back.

[@delsol7878]

Thanks for the video!! I have a question. I followed your steps and stuck at the compass calibration. When I clicked the "Live calibration", it popped up a new window but no display of x, y and z axis. Then I just skipped to radio calibration. I connected all according to the APM site connected Rx and Tx. Before I started the calibration, I connected all 5 servos to the Rx and checked all channel functionality. After I connected with Planner I saw all the green bars as your video. When I clicked the calibration button only 3 channels would show the red sticks (throttle, aileron and aux) and the rest 2 channels won't move and no names (yaw, roll) displayed. Did I do something wrong? -_-a Any words would be appreciated! Thanks!!!

[@Painless360]

delsol7878 Hi, make sure that you have the two missing channels plugged in and the servo cables are the right way round. The APM is only showing what it can 'hear' on the connected inputs so you don't need to tell it what radio you are using.If this is an APM 2.6 then check that the cable from the external compass is plugged in and not loose. This would cause what you are seeing. Best of luck with the build!

[@davidmaddison2628]

Will this board fit in a ZMR 250 mini quad and clones and is it an appropriate choice for me as I want GPS and RTL functionality? What mounting hole spacing does it have? Also, in a ZMR would there be room for other periperals such as the GPS or barometer and compass modules or LCD? In a ZMR would there be room for a case and anti-vibration mounting? Finally, should I get sideways or vertical pins? Sorry, I'm new to this and so much information and conflicting opinions to digest.... Thanks for the informative videos!

[@Painless360]

This board is about 7cm by 4.5cm so check the frame on the quad. You also need a little more room for an anti-vibration mount. Or, you could use the APM Mini V3.1..

[@tonyrjohnsong]

Hi good simple instructions. I was Ok up to the receiver install. Several blogs say do not install the receiver while only powered from PC using USB. Also the video is for a coptor and I am doing rover. You show every pin used for the receiver setup but I have R8EF S-bus or PPM and you do not show that config. Any help appreciated

[@Painless360]

I've not used APM for many years. See my last few years of videos on flight controllers. All I figured out are in this series.... There are more up to date flight controllers supported by modern firmware - see my Kit Picks video..

[@tiagodefaria8869]

Hi there kudos for the channel and videos. Can I just ask if these tutorials also apply to the APM 2.5.2 that comes with the Quanum Nova, for example? Cheers

[@Painless360]

***** yes, it should do. Best of luck setting it up, Happy flying

[@jlporreca]

Hi Lee, how are you? Been busy building up a quad that uses the combo raspberry pi 3/Navio2 . Could you do in the future a tutorial about it? Can't for the life of me calibrate the ESCs. Would be extremely helpfull if you did a series on it! Thanks!

[@Painless360]

Thanks for the idea - I'll see if we can get our hands on one! Happy Flying!

[@adnanulhaque8846]

Hello Jefferson Porreca : i m also thinking on working this Navio2. If possible, u may contact me [e-mail], thanks.

[@arricat5e311]

Really enjoying this channel!

[@destincasimiro6984]

When setting-up for the Radio Calibration; I'm using the FrSky Taranis plus X9D Radio and the X8R Receiver. I understand about connecting the corresponding channels to the rc receiver, but in the video, I have to ask what is the device you have coming off the side your Spektrum AR7010 receiver?

[@Painless360]

+Destin Casimiro That is a satellite receiver that provides an extra two antenna for improved reception over just the single receiver on its own. Hope that makes sense..

[@destincasimiro6984]

+Painless360 Thank you so much..., you have been very helpful considering I am brand new at this hobby! I like the idea of an extra satellite receiver for improved reception, I may do that myself. Does that extra antenna come out of your Smart Port on your receiver?

[@Painless360]

No, that is a feature that is more common on DSM recievers. Best of luck!

[@sumanranjith5126]

There is a two type of apm shown in shopping as ardupilot and arducopter.Both are same or different.

[@Painless360]

Ardupilot is a family of software. Arducopter, Arduplane.. Etc. All in the documentation..

[@willtochy]

Thanks great videos. From your videos you connected all the ESCs three wires to the APM or did you cut them somehow?

[@Painless360]

Tochukwu Wilfred Depends on if they are linear BECs (leave all the red wires in the connectors to the ESCs connected) or switched BECs (use a pin to lift the tab on the connector and remove all but one of the red wires). Powering the board is covered in the next video in the series - kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioSXgIp3mMt0h7s More detail on connecting BECs in this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmSln4OanrBmldE Best of luck.

[@GodwinBangera]

amazing videos .. just checking to see if the board had the JP1 jumper closed or open ? GSB

[@Painless360]

Godwin Bangera Sorry, I don't understand the question. There is an entire video in this series dedicated to the power options for the APM. That may help.. Happy flying!

[@wondertwins2222]

Painless360 I am looking to build a hexacopter. I have never done anything rc related before. I have read and watched a lot of vidoes about it and gathered a parts list. I would like to confirm it with you as well as talk about how I should assemble it. Would you be willing to do an online tutor/guide session with me? I am willing to pay for your time. Please reply even if it is a no. Thank you.

[@UncleDoug]

Greetings and thanks for this very helpful and well-produced video series. I have a question: Where can one obtain the (8) cables to connect an APM 2.8 Flight Controller to a radio receiver ? I have so far been unable to find a source. Thanks :)

[@Painless360]

+Uncle Doug Lots of places should stock the servo cables. Search on places like Ebay to find them..

[@UncleDoug]

After many fruitless hours of searching, I finally found some on Amazon. Thanks for your reply.

[@willgranzier1972]

Hi - Awesum tutorial. Ok so I have small question - I have the APM 2.7 and the Turnigy 9x Radio kit with the 9x8cV2 Receiver. I have done the bind on the Radio and the RX - Using the APM input to supply the 5V. The radio is set to sent PPM - And the receiver is PPM - But when I try connect to calibrate the radio it tell me that he transmitter is not switched on and it not receiving a signal... All the channels are connected 1 - 5 correct

[@willgranzier1972]

Haha don't worry - I worked it out !!

[@ElReginator]

Your videos are amazing! It's hard to find good detailed help with this software.

[@Painless360]

+riginald daley Glad you found us - lots of videos on the APM, Pixhawk and Mission Planner here. Check out the Playlists..

[@quadflyer7850]

hi Painless hope your well the videos are great i have the apm 2.7 would this be the same setup as your have here or is there some else i need to look out for regards peter

[@Painless360]

If you search for APM 2.7 you will see that this is a Hobbyking version of the APM 2.6. Their original copy of the APM 2.6 had some nasty problems so they fixed the issues and called it the 2.7! Follow the instructions for 2.6 in these videos and you'll be fine. Happy flying!

[@quadflyer7850]

thank you

[@nisathhussain9177]

Thank you for your information on the setup of apm 2.8 board. But can we fly the drone model using apm 2.6 without having gps system on it.

[@Painless360]

I've never tried it. I'd check the documentation for any clues.. Best of luck!

[@nisathhussain9177]

Thanks for your support.

[@stevietee10]

Hi, Having messed with NAZE32 and heard all the warnings about 'dodgy' GPS implementation do I assume from your videos that the APM is the budget board to use for really good GPS ? or is there some thing else I've missed ? Thanks for what you do for the community, very much appreciated :-) Steve

[@Painless360]

+Stephen Thorpe see our video on flight controller comparison. Until iNav finishes the GPS code for Cleanflight, we will have to rely on APM and PixHawk for solid GPS flying. Hope this helps.

[@eliemachaalany6793]

hey there mate, thanks for this clear video, but i have one question.. what is the use to connect the ardupilot to AUX1 .. and what is that "switch" connected to the receiver? and how should i get one of those ?

[@Painless360]

It controls the flight mode that the APM is using, we cover this later in the series.. Best of luck..

[@FMuk]

I love these tutorials very helpful. I had to replace my APM 2.6 board due to a heavy crash landing. My new board is not recognised on my PC (have tried with two different machines) I can not see it in device manager. It lights up green then alternate flashes red and blue then constant red flash all the time the green led is on. Any ideas? Thank you.

[@Painless360]

+Dave FMuk what have you already tried? New USB cable? Etc.

[@nasos_kayak_fishing]

the best video!i wan't to ask you. if i wan't to put it in rc boat,do you know if i must do all that progress?or it is more simple?all i wan't is the RTL function and nothing else!and do you know if can work with the Turnigy TGY-i6 AFHDS! thank you very much!

[@Painless360]

It should work with any radio/receiver that can support the PWM inputs it needs. The process in this video is a little old now but it's basically the same. See the ArduBoat documentation for more details. Best of luck with the build..

[@nasos_kayak_fishing]

ok thank you very very much for the answer!!!best regards from greece!

[@chk2k]

Hi, thx for your great channel! I've got 2 questions about the APM and I hope u can help me. 1. I wanna use the APM 2.8 with Ublox Neo-6m. Shall I remove the Jumper next to the GPS-Port to deaktivate the internal magnetometer or not? Ive seen in ur Pixhawk video Series that u are using boath there, internal and external together. Is it recommended on the APM? 2. I am using a Turnigy TGY-i10. Is it possible to connect the reciever whith the APM, while using PPM or another sum signal?

[@Painless360]

Hi. 1) If you've got an external mag then I'd always use that. 2)Depends on the receiver and the APM version you have. Check if both use PPM.. Best of luck!

[@benpowell3277]

I have looked all over the internet and KZbin including your videos and can not find a procedure for enabling an Aux switch on my controller to enact an emergency stop for the motors. I saw a video that demonstrated those very items but there was no instruction on how to accomplish it. Please help if you are able.

[@Painless360]

I've not set it up. ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-auxiliary-functions.html covers it. Let me know if you figure it out.. Best of luck

[@jameslphillips4393]

Thanks for all the videos you have made on this subject. I know this is a year or so old but I think it would be helpful if you made it clear that a transmitter that can be used for a plane or heli needs to be setup as a plane not a heli for multi-rotor copters.

[@Painless360]

+James L Phillips We cover this in a number of other videos, thanks for the suggestion. Happy flying!

[@jameslphillips4393]

Thanks for the reply.

[@allabouthim03]

I think you already answered this question but I need to confirm. I ordered a X500 quadcopter kit from AliExpress. I've built something like this with a CCD3 controller. the kit came with simonk ESCs with built-in BECs. the kit came with a power module also. from what you said the power from the ESC will supply all the power to the board. with that in mind I guess I better not plug that power module connection into the board?

[@Painless360]

Not sure what you're describing as a 'power module' is normally something you get with an APM/Pixhawk. I'd normally power the CC3D using the BECs in the ESCs.. Best of luck!

[@allabouthim03]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse things by mentioning a CC3D. I'm building a kit with a APM 2.6, simonK ESCs with BECs, and a power module. So you statement is correct concerning the power module. I'm a little confused about the power module plug that goes to the APM. If the ESCs is already supplying power to the APM then what should I do with the power module plug that also plugs into the APM supplying power? www.aliexpress.com/item/FPV-Quadcopter-X500-500-500mm-Frame-Kit-APM2-6-2212-920kv-Motor-30A-Simonk-ESC-w/32638845270.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.1rugQi

[@Painless360]

See the video later in the series where we cover powering the APM, we talk about it there. Best of luck!

[@simonhahnel8092]

Have you posted anything on how to protect the Baro from wind on the APM 2.5/2,6 and 2.7?

[@Painless360]

Hi Simon, not yet. All of mine have been installed inside the case that includes a piece of foam to cover the sensor. I have discussed it when talking about the Multiwii boards though. I am in the middle of creating a few videos for the APM 3.1 and this is covered in these specifically for the APM..

[@simonhahnel8092]

OK Thanks. I ended up researching on google and making up a video myself.

[@dzimis68]

Painless360 Hello guys maybe you can help install futaba transmitter T6ex ardupilot to 2.6 x Quadcopter

[@Painless360]

The radio is a mature product but should work great - what's the problem?

[@ZITON1]

Hi I really enjoy your instruction you-tubes, Thank You. I'm searching for a model .eepe for the Taranis Plus and APM2.6 I have a very difficult time setting up the TX with modes. I want to use 6 modes with 2 switches not the 6 position rotary. Do you have one? Know where I can get one? Thanks again

[@Painless360]

I have a video on this very topic. It will show you how to do it. Best of luck!

[@Painless360]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioOqi4p8iairaqM

[@SatyaGupta]

Good video, eagerly waiting for the next part.

[@rogerdevries4401]

Compass calibration? I see your video is now 3 years old and my question is has the compass calibration changed? On your video when you click the calibration tab and start to rotate you come up with a new window that shows the compass points. When I click compass calibration all I see is a progression line for 60 seconds. It does not show the nifty little window that you get with the illustration of what's going on. I go through all the motions just as you did in the demonstration on the video. After several tries and after hooking up the GPS and compass I am running 2.8 it comes up with the same answer not enough. Without the little graphic, there's no way to tell if it received any compass points. Do you or does anyone know if this part of the setup has changed? Thank you for your APM series, it's nice to get information from a trusted source!

[@Painless360]

It has, we will be looking at the latest version in the PixHawk 2.1 series.. The documentation has the latest details. Best of luck!

[@francoisBonin-phils]

Another great video , i am planning to move here from the Naze32, because my flights are quiets and aerial video making.Thank you.

[@Painless360]

Best of luck with it!

[@francoisBonin-phils]

btw , i have a ublox neo-6m , with serial connections,vcc,rx,tx,gnd,wil it work with it?

[@Painless360]

Should do but ideally you want a GPS module that includes the on-board mag too. See later in the series. Happy flying!

[@francoisBonin-phils]

i agree , but i have a neo-6m sleeping in a drawer...lol!

[@Painless360]

That'll work but you'll also need a external mag. Best of luck!

[@horacegray2417]

thank you for all these great videos. im have a big problem with my apm 2.6 hexacopter. every time i arm the hex to fly i have take off ok then all f a sudden i lost. all control hex flys away at full throttle until i cut off the control. fail safe on lemon rx 6ch kick in kills the motors and hex comes crashing down to the ground. Any ideas n what going on??

[@Painless360]

+Horace Gray What do the logs say? Watch and log files video and see what they tell you from that flight..

[@bkastrinos]

Don't want to ask too many questions, but it is starting to look to me that to fly missions, I need an APM controller, rather than the cc3d, is that correct? I have two CC3ds, and I'm about to put an osd on one, but to go to the next step Missions, again APM? Thanks again for all the great videos.

[@Painless360]

+bkastrinos kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWXXgnSjnJemqaM may help..

[@callmeshaggy]

Hello Mr Painless. Once again I thank you for the wonderful videos you make . As I already said they have been a great help to me whilst building my copter. I do have a question you may be able to help with . I have discovered a problem with my copter in any of the auto modes IE loiter auto and so on. The gps lock disconnects and the copter goes into land mode. Thankfully I have been able to switch back into stabilise or alt hold (alt hold not affected) and bring the copter back. I have looked at my logs and there is a recurring error message . The message is "ERR EKF check fail" or similar. I have search various forums and so on to no real avail apart from being advised to turn off the check in the params. The other odd thing is that I have been led to believe that this function is NOT on the apm 2.6 I am using and was not implemented until the pixhawk. Looking at the logs every thing else regarding GPS is fine 10 satellites min . Thanks again I hope you had a good Easter weekend. John

[@Painless360]

Sorry, i've not seen this. I'd look at the power system on the model (in the logs) in case the 5v supply is dropping causing the problem with the GPS.. Best of luck with it, it's heart-braking when you can't fly reliably..