(2/8) APM 2.5/2.6 - Powering the board, motor installation and ESC calibration

[@fuyingbro]

Thank you so much for your videos. I have been flying multirotors, helis, and planes for a while and when I got a Quantum Venture with naza lite I was just frustrated to all out with it having major Yaw issues. After changing out motors and checking all connections I decided to get an APM 2.6 with an external GPS to switch out the NAZA Lite. I set it up as an H pattern and it flys so beautifully now. Your videos were a great help.

[@francoisBonin-phils]

for calibrating the 4 esc's together i made a little cable , grouping the 4 pwm signal input of the esc's , and separating the 2 wires +5 and gnd.As i had i esc powering the board, i was obliged to separate the signal and the power.So happy with this board , i tested Alt hold and loiter today , perfect without changing parameers, although my pitch channel showed correctly in MP , but was inverted???Little overshoot on roll after a stick command.These video are so helpfull!

[@g2183mac]

Hi painless360, Sorry.after I watch your video about arming apm.now I know you have to push the rudder stick to the right to arm.thats pretty cool safety features.thank you painless360 my dji f450 now working.all I need is test fly it and fine tuning.thank you again for detail and helpful videos you have

[@Painless360]

gideon macalino Glad you have it sorted - lots of detail out there for almost any problem you may come across.. Best of luck with the initial flight..

[@trishascherfer4539]

Thank you,I got my apm to work with all motors spinning at the same time and no flips :)

[@Painless360]

Great news! Happy flying!

[@HughD]

Nice job! There are some nice tips in your videos. I really liked the dots on the signal wire tip, for example.

[@Painless360]

Thanks Hugh, happy flying!

[@andrewdustan9368]

Hi Painless, great video. I followed the instructions for setting up the ESCs on my quad manually. All motors power up. I am using mission planner on a MacBook Pro and have 2.8 app installed. I looked at the inputs and outputs with the board armed in the failsafe section of mission planner initial install and noted that when throttle at low the servo outputs all read 1129 and were rock steady. At 1/2 throttle - output 1 = 1570 but hunted up and down, output 2 = 1550 and hunted up and down, output 3 =1640 and hunted up and down and out 4 = 1375 and hunted up and down. At full throttle: output 1 read 1800 and hunted, output 2 read 1800 and hunted, output 3 read 1899 stable and output 4 read 1650 and hunted. I am thinking that the ESCs are not set up correctly as I would have thought that they would all read the same values as they moved up the throttle range when in static mode. I appreciate they will all move independently when flying. Before I make an expensive mistake grateful if you could advise if I am barking up a wrong tree here or yes the ESCs are not correctly calibrated. Regards Andy

[@dalefischer4885]

Thanks for the fast reply Each ESC is powering one motor. Each BEC from the ESC has Signal and Ground to APM pin's 1-4 Outputs. Using a Dedicated 5V 3A UBEC to pin's 8 Outputs, to power APM and Receiver Nothing powers up when Lipo is connected. Thanks Dale

[@asty8488]

can we use 4 -1 esc with apm 2.8

[@parjacpar3077]

Thanks for doing this series just what i wanted to know before i thought about buying . . Like your garden

[@dalefischer4885]

Got it to power up. On to the next thing. Thank you for all your help. Dale

[@Painless360]

Wonderful news! Best of luck..

[@benpowell3277]

Hello, I know this is a very old video and you have explained all the items very well. I have followed your advice and have no problems getting everything to function. The problem I am having is that as soon as the quad lifts off it careens to the left and you know the results. I have recalibrated everything and checked the props and ESC calibration but to no avail. Do you have any ideas for me. Thank you in advance.

[@Painless360]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3qblYStZpeKo6M is worth a look....

[@shanevm2009]

So I got everything working very smoothly, then decided to take it apart to take pictures to make a basic Reddit f450 build tutorial (linking this series). I also added hot glue to all the solder joints on the built-in PDB. When I put it all back together and got it armed again (I had to re calibrate everything) the motors started spinning slowly. I did some research and it appears this is normal and is a sort of failsafe. However the quad seems a lot more difficult to control now than before, and I've had it fall on its side while landing several times and now the props just try to spin into the ground until I can disarm. I didn't have any problems when the props were not turning at 0 throttle, the motors wouldn't disarm if I put the throttle to 0, unless I did it for over about 5 seconds on the ground. I could descend quickly with no problems. Can/should I turn this off? Do you know why it didn't have this feature turned on until after I rebuilt it?

[@Painless360]

I would suspect something physical if nothing in software changed. Check that non of the props are on upside down (been there done that ;) and that all of the basics are ok.. Best of luck!

[@shanevm2009]

I started from the beginning with the wizard this time, and when I tried to arm it said Check FS_THR_VALUE. Throttle when bound is 1000-2000. Turning off the Tx dropped it to 900 and I tried all kinds of values for the failsafe between 925 and 980, and also tried turning the failsafe off with no success. When I turned the failsafe off I wouldn't get any error code, it simply did nothing. After a long time of noobshooting and tinkering it finally armed, and this time the props no longer spin at 0 throttle, and it was back to being very stable! I want to say I re calibrated the ESCs "all-at-once" before it started arming again a short time later.

[@adnanulhaque8846]

26-Nov-2016: Hello Lee: Hope all well. I am enjoying this wonderful series of APM while building my APM2.8 quad. Just wanted to share and update some of the latest information from ardupilot.org with reference to above video... Power:: 1:10: ardupilot.org/plane/docs/common-powering-the-apm2.html Motors:: 5:59: ardupilot.org/copter/docs/connect-escs-and-motors.html ESC Calibration: 9:05:: ardupilot.org/copter/docs/esc-calibration.html checking motor direction: 12:18:: ardupilot.org/copter/docs/connect-escs-and-motors.html Thanks for your wonderful contribution to the community.

[@Painless360]

Thanks for the comment.. Happy flying!

[@caRpetbomBer1]

Just about to build my first quad. Real confused on how to power the APM 2.6 with the 4x Emax Simonk-12A ESC's In the description for the esc's i says this Equipped with built-in linear BEC or switch BEC. So i could run the esc's with all the red wires and jumper 1 installed. Thanks for your video's

[@Painless360]

If the BECs in the ESCs are linear then you can install all the red wires. If they are switched (they can't be both) then you need to install just one red wire. Looking at the specs the 12A version is linear (www.banggood.com/Emax-Simonk-Series-12A-20A-25A-30A-40A-ESC-For-Quadcopter-QAV-250-p-918126.html) Hope this helps.

[@gruppo2]

Hi painless. Thank you very much for your work!

[@felixozgur2178]

Excellent video, keep up the good work.

[@debconfsetup8673]

if I plug servo to [output pins], it powers direcly from several parallel BECs (for brushlessmotors), current can be more than 2 ampers, it don't go through diode and fuse.

[@Painless360]

+айн штуцер not sure what you are asking. If the current is all on the pwm output pins you should be fine. Best of luck!

[@jefflopes4716]

by the way you can power both sides of the all using the pm. and if you are using an OPTO ESC. you can either use a pm and jp1 or use a UBEC. either way it works just fine

[@HPeer-yu3tk]

Maybe I need to post my question / problem in a forum but I hope this great channel can help me! My hexa copter with APM 2.8 worked fine (no power module), after installing a power module there is a problem with the motors, ESC’s or AMP board? I calibrated the ESC’s (all-in-one method) many times. After calibration the motors run nice and the throttle works fine (from slow to max and motors start at the same throttle). After calibrating it is possible to test the result, the receiver signals are passed directly to the ESC’s (so maybe a board issue or setting?). When I restart my board (power off / on), arm my board the throttle does not work smooth and correct. When I start slow the engines gradually increase speed and one or two motors stop spinning. When I put throttle to 0 and give a little throttle the motors (not the one or two that did not spin before) are spinning fast (looks like the same speed when throttle to 0). It is not possible to solve this problem and I am stuck, funny thing is that it worked before. Is my board broken or ESC’s? What did I try: 1) Remove the power module 2) Re-Flash board (3.2.1) 3) Checked the ESC’s settings (with TURNIGY Plush 25amp programmer) 4) Recalibrate ESC’s many times 5) Changed THR_MAX and THR_MIN settings Any suggestions to help me solve this problem is appreciated!

[@Painless360]

Sounds like something is wrong with the ESC calibration of how the board is sending out the PWM values when armed. I'm not a fan of the 'all-in-one' method used on the APM, I've had very mixed results here. I find that manual calibration is a lot better. Best of luck with it..

[@HPeer-yu3tk]

Thank you for your quick reply! I will try to do a manual calibration and will post the result!

[@HPeer-yu3tk]

After manual calibration (ESC-by-ESC) the motors are running better (gradually increasing speed remains). This afternoon I will give it a test flight and will post the result. Again thanks for your support!

[@Painless360]

Good news! Best of luck with the test hover - keep it low! ;)

[@HPeer-yu3tk]

I couldn't reply sooner (bad weather), today I tested my hexa and everything works fine! Many thanks for your great support and keep posting great video's!

[@mr.defidoxchelseafc8362]

what happens if I plug in the UBEC with the all of the red wires plugged in? And please can you briefly explain the part from 4:00 to 4:37? Thanks

[@Painless360]

Depends on what the BECs are. When using switched only ever have one of them connected at once..

[@dalefischer4885]

Good to here from you Painless360 Before I hook up the Signal and Ground wires from the BEC's to the APM. One more thing. Can I use the BEC's to power other things like, One of the BEC's is power for my gimbal. Can I use the Signal and Ground wire from a BEC to the APM and from the same BEC use the Plus and Ground wire to power the gimbal ? Sounds like the Ground is a Floating Ground. Thanks again Dale

[@Painless360]

Hi Dale, I would leave the ESCs to power the motors and add a dedicated UBEC to power other things. Good luck with the build!

[@shanevm2009]

When I first got my APM 2.6 I couldn't connect to Mission Planner, so I just hooked everything up and calibrated ESCs all at once like this and it worked fine. Quad had lots of power, motors starting/stopping st the same time and got them going in the right directions, however it couldn't take flight, only fall to the left immediately. I then installed the drivers that allowed my computer to recognize the APM in MP. After flashing the latest firmware from the MP wizard my ESCs no longer respond to this calibration procedure. I also tried the one at a time method and no go. When I plug the lipo up the get the 3 tone musical, followed by a longer note, every time. I can't figure out how to get the motors to arm again.

[@Painless360]

Check out the arming troubleshooting video in the APM playlist - it covers what you need to check. Best of luck!

[@mukarramkhalil5660]

At 13:42 i can see that you showed f450 quadcopter. Here motor 2 is connected to output pin1 of fc or something else? Please tell its connections as i watched all your videos regarding motor connections but still confused.

[@Painless360]

+Mukarram khalil it's all covered in great detail in the documentation, ardupilot.org/copter/docs/connect-escs-and-motors.html

[@jjvb3329]

I appreciate all of the information you provide in your videos. I see that you have the second lead from your GPS (compass) plugged into the I2C port. I have my compass lead plugged into the port below the GPS port and it seems to work fine. I'm using APM 2.8. Should I be using the I2C port for the compass. Thanks.

[@Painless360]

+jj vb Yep, four wires for the compass - VCC, GND, Rx, Tx and the other cable to the i2c port for the external compass..

[@dalefischer4885]

I'm using a 5V 3A UBEC to pins 8 on Outputs side to power the APM and Receiver. My ESC's are Switching type. Can I use ONLY the Signal wires from the ESC's to the APM, Or do I need the Ground and Signal wire to go to APM Outputs ? I'm getting close. Thanks for your help Dale

[@Painless360]

Dale Fischer hi, you need to connect both the signal and ground wires on the ESCs. Good luck with the build..

[@2007Rhcasey]

Thanks for the reply I actually had to erase my eeprom and than reinstall the firmware and now it works 😌

[@Painless360]

Ryan Hoemke Great news - happy flying!

[@dalefischer4885]

You are the Man. Your Videos are super. I'm using the QR X350 Pro as a platform for the APM 2.6. with Turnigy 9X8C v2 Receiver, HK 20A Blue Series, ESC's, Turnigy D2830/11 1000KV motors. Do you think I can use the QR X350 Pro power board to power all the components? Thank you again for your time.

[@davygarrett]

I am truly grateful for your video tutorials on the APM 2.5 ..... it would appear that my brain is now in meltdown mode as to how I fit the power module to the system.... do I make up a new PDB to Batt lead using a male XT60 and then fit the PM inline or can I remove the female XT60 from the PM and then solder the wires direct to the power points on the Hex bottom plate PDB? I would prefer the latter method, and if it's at all possible what way should the power line for the APM be facing from out of the inline step down??? ... cheers for any assistance.... :-)

[@Painless360]

+David Garrett I normally fit the PM to the existing plug on the PDB and then connect the battery to the other connection on the PM board. Hope that helps!

[@davygarrett]

+Painless360 , many thanks,.... I managed to locate the info I needed.... I just unsoldered both plugs from the PM loom and then re-soldered the male xt60 back on to the opposite end and soldered the +/- cable straight to the bottom plate PDB of the f550.... now to get down to business and have another swatch of your 8 vid series on the apm 2.5 ... many thanks for your reply and taking the time to record the videos.... great work... :-)

[@oholm]

APM 2.7 from Hobbyking How come when I arm the drone I get only part of the power to the motors ? (Stabilize) I would say I´m done calibrating the ESC Afro 20 (all at once though) with success sound from motors. Is it a unsuccessful calibration on the ESC´s or is it something else ? And Can you tell me why I get only rubbish text when I connect to the APM 2.7 in Terminal ? Spec: Afro 20, SunnySky V3508-16 - 700, Turnigy i-10 from HK Using Multirotor setup, MP 1.3.37 - V 3.2.1 Hexa, Thank you so much for your extremely great work Painless360 . Nothing compares to what you are doing for us : )

[@drifter1949]

Hi Olafur, did you get a solution to your problem because I have the same trouble with the motors not fully powering up. I have calibrated the Esc'c both all at once and each separately but when I arm the copter I can increase the motor speed only part of the way, not enough to lift off.

[@aerovisionlv]

Go to settings and set MAX THROTTLE to 100. Probably it is default at 80.

[@lukecarey1080]

Your videos have been a really valuable resource whilst building my APM Quad. So thank you. However I am having a real problem that I'm hoping you can answer. Essentially when I auto review the logs, it is saying that I have thrust fail - that is that the height gain is too low for the throttle input. My quad isn't heavy - there are no cameras, gimbals etc. Whilst flying it is obvious that the thrust is way too low, as sometimes the quad bounces off the floor before actually lifting. All of my parts are as recommended for the 3DR Quad. I really hope there is a simple answer to this - please help!!

[@Painless360]

Sounds like it does need more power. What motors and props are you using?

[@lukecarey1080]

Thanks for getting back to me. I have 850kv motors and 1045 props

[@Painless360]

What 850KV motors are they?

[@lukecarey1080]

These ones: www.unmannedtechshop.co.uk/brushless-motor-2212q-850kv.html

[@Painless360]

4 of these will cope with about 1 to 1.2kg of model. How heavy is yours?

[@alessandro1722]

For using the Power Module, is APM supposed to turn on as soon as it is connected via the PM (Like, all LEDs on). I'm unsure about this because the board LEDs turn on just fine via the usb connection, but none of the LEDs turn on when connected through the Power Module. I have JP1 removed. I haven't connected anything else to the board, just the PM and the micro USB to test how it powers on.

[@tomtoka]

Great video, I understand, if I want to use Power module to power the APM, I need to remove all Red wires from ESC right, just like pixhawk, also just like your previous videos, you leave red wires if you are using linear ESC, and if your are using switching ESC, only once ESC will have Red wire, is that all correct? thank you

[@Painless360]

Almost. With PM remove red wires or remove J1..

[@tomtoka]

+Painless360 Thank you, and 1 more time, great videos, I am watching all of them, one by one !!

[@kenstockton5837]

Hi Painless 360. Have just finished building a quad, followed your ESC calibration and motor direction instructions. Each motor works fine when calibrating individually, but when I connect them all through the Ardupilot one lags a fair bit behind the others. wont start to rotate until quite a bit of throttle is applied. Any assistance would be great-fully appreciated. Ken..............

[@Painless360]

+Ken “kenno17” stockton I'd recalibrate again and if it is still the same then swap one ESC fro another on the model and see if the problem follows the ESC - if it does then I'd suspect that ESC has different firmware from toe others.. Best of luck!

[@agrapeguy]

So glad you made these vids! These are the best thing I've found anywhere! When I fire up the terminal to test motors and connect I get the loading time message followed by a bunch of what appears to be never ending garbage text spewed to the screen. I connect the USB to the APM and the battery to run the motors. the port opens and I get the message it took x to load. I did notice in the first few lines of the garbage text a mention of calibrating the barometer, the GPS, and a message saying ready to fly. But never prompted for a command like you show. Any thoughts what might be going on here? Did I miss something? Cheers

[@Painless360]

Wine Prince Could be due to the fast that in later versions of the firmware the CLI interface was retired to make space in memory - ardupilot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=11224 Hope this helps..

[@meistergrinder1575]

dear sir, your channel is great and gave inspiration of building my own drone. i do apologize for asking this but i just want to make sure i understood. i am buiding an x8 quad and have 8 opto esc and am apm2.6gps external compass (arducopter) with powermodule , in my apm package i did not recive a jp1 plug. were shall i take 5v to initialize signal cable for optio esc as i will not have a spare output port. shall just solder the jumper1 connection on apm board or squize in a red and black cable from an ubec paraell with opto esc in on of the output ports? excuse my spelling, thank you again for your great videos.

[@Painless360]

The PM should power the board. I'd get hold of a jumper.. Best of luck!

[@meistergrinder1575]

+Painless360 thats awesome! Thank you so much for your reply.

[@kenmcnaughton5882]

Hi Lee I am changing the original radio supplied with my Quanum Nova Pro, for Frsky X8R receiver. I would like to use an sbus to ppm converter cable with this set up. I have placed a jumper between pins 2&3 on the signal line. I noticed that there is a plug marked PWM on the analogue side. Should this be removed when using ppm? Also the two cables that run to the gimble connectors under the body on the craft, can these be plugged into 6&7 on the output of the control board?, they were originally plugged into 6&7 on the rx. I have watched the complete series on the APM and failed to notice any mention of PPM

[@Painless360]

When I swapped mine I used PWM and it worked great. Best of luck!

[@bobulak8545]

Hi Painless. Thanks for all your videos. I really appreciate them I was hoping you could help me. Im using a power module to power my apm 2.6. If i pull the JP1 jumper so my apm and receiver are powered only by the pm and not the esc's, what should I do with the red wires coming from my esc's into the output? Should I just leave as is or disconect all but 1? My esc are dys simonk 30a speed controllers

[@PraveenThappily]

Hello Painless Thank you very much for your extraordinary video series. Presently I am confronting an issue with ESC manual calibration. When ESC pins are connected to the RC receiver, motors are working properly, it rotates with respect to the Joystick(Transmitter). When it is detached from the receiver and connected with APM 2.5 board, motors are not working with Joystick. Kindly suggest me any solution for this problem.

[@Painless360]

Tricky to answer unless you tell me what you've already tried. I assume you're arming the board?

[@PraveenThappily]

Painless360 Thank you for your reply. Please see My current status Installed firmware via usb Configured accelerometer, GPS, Transmitter etc. Everything working fine. (Mission planner shows correct location, and tilt) Now Connected motors, via ESC to the output terminal of APM. Mission planner motor test not given any outcome. (Eventhough, Connected usb and batteries simultaneously ). So as per your instruction,for manual tuning, detached ESC input pins from APM and directly connected to the receiver, Now motors are working properly with respect to the transmitter. If you have any suggestion, kindly reply me.

[@Painless360]

So you've armed the board.....??

[@PraveenThappily]

Yes..!

[@Painless360]

I find the fact that the motors are not spinning even in the test very suspicious. I'd reflash and start again and if you get to the same point (follow the video) then I'd look at the APM more closely.. Best of luck!

[@Drcalatayud]

Hi Painless360, your videos had helped me a lot, you can't imagine, I have a question regarding the last step, which is the recalibration with the Mission planner software. For that the APM2.6 has to be connected bis USB? if so, i do it before starting the programm?

[@Painless360]

You can connect the board at any time but I normally plug it in before starting Mission Planner..

[@고수-h8q]

in 0:43, the gps cables are split to 2 and one goes above the word 'GPS' and the other goes next to the word 'Reset'. the one which goes next to the word 'Reset' can also go under the word 'GPS'. should i do the same way that you do or is it ok to connect under the word 'GPS'? what's the difference?

[@Painless360]

Yep, the other connection is for the i2c port to the external compass housed in the GPS unit.. Best of luck!

[@고수-h8q]

+Painless360 so i should connect it like you?

[@Painless360]

If you want to follow our tutorial, probably ;) Best of luck!

[@고수-h8q]

can you tell me the difference when i fly?

[@Painless360]

All covered in the video - external compass doesn't get the same level of interference.. Happy flying!

[@ajaydeshpande6374]

Hi painless360. Thanks for these awesome videos! I just finished assembling a hexacopter and finished all the mandatory setups in apm planner. For some reason, and inspite of having calibrated all six escs, two of those won't spin upon arming the craft. I can tell that the two escs are functional, but they won't spin the motors. Not sure what I'm missing. Amy help would be greatly appreciated. Any parameters I need to fix to qualify the craft a being a hexacopter apart from the frame params?

[@Painless360]

It should just be the frame setup in Mission Planner. I'd re-do the ESC calibration manually and try plugging in one of the working ESCs into one of the non responsive outputs to help you see where the problem is. Best of luck!

[@ajaydeshpande6374]

Painless360 thanks for the quick response! I figured it out. Silly really. I remembered that this board actually powered a quad before this. I reflashed it and now everything is ok.

[@Ray_Piste]

Hi there ,thnx for all the uploads ,ive found them very helpul ,im new to building and bought used kit with an arducopter flight controller in, im having problems updating the fc with the mission planner program, it is asking me to use bootloader (Potential for bricking fc in warning ) any thoughts , i can calibrate compass (Working) thanks for your time

[@Painless360]

If it is working fine then why update it? Mission Planner is good at recognising the board type normally so there is little risk. But, flashing it will mean that you will be setting everything up again from scratch and catching anything different that the original builder setup. Best of luck!

[@Ray_Piste]

@@Painless360 thnx for replying so soon.i wasn't sure if by connecting it to the mission planner it had started some sort of auto update procedure .

[@iflyimpilot]

Hi Painless. I apologize if you've been asked this already but I'm planning on using OPTO ESCs with an external UBEC for them. A couple of things I am not sure about are: 1) If using the power module (JP1 not installed) is it adequate for the OPTOs to "see" the 5v without the need for a UBEC? 2) If using an external UBEC, is it enough to power the entire board as well as the OPTOs (JP1 installed) without the need for the power module? 3) Can I use a power module while using an external UBEC on the output pins for the OPTOs? If so, JP1 I'm assuming is not installed here?

[@Painless360]

+iflyimpilot 1) Without J1 you probably need a UBEC on a spare output for the ESCs to initialise 2) Yes, but don't add servos. 3) Yes, leave J1 uninstalled. Happy flying!

[@iflyimpilot]

+Painless360 Crystal clear! Thank you so much!

[@gospelholinesschurch]

I have completed my first 450 quad build with the APM 2.8 unit. I am having a challenge with number 4 motor when I arm the copter all motors spin at low throttle except for motor number 4. Once I increase the throttle to approx 45% the motor number 4 starts spinning. As far as flying the copter its very stable and rock solid on GPS lock. What I tried was switching # 3 motor to # 4 thinking that it was the esc Was the problem , but that was ok. # 3 motor was not spinning letting me know that it was in the APM unit. Thank you for your great educational videos that you have posted they have been very helpful. I'am stuck with this challenge can you help?

[@andiazhar5680]

+Rolando Ramos i have the same problem with, would u mind to share your troubleshooting since i see your channel u got it fly.. thanks in advance

[@Painless360]

+Rolando Ramos I'd recalibrate the ESCs manually (see the video in the series) then if it continues swap the 'lazy' motor with one of the others to see if it's the motor or ESC causing the problem.. Best of luck!

[@fotorres]

Hello, I'm bilding a 650mm frame with old 920 Dji motors and 30A opto ESCs, Original APM. every thing is connected as you say in your videos. I'm tryng to calibrate the ESCs but I'm not able. In your video you say with OPTO ESC I need to have a UBEC to provid 5V to the controler... Can you help

[@1kdoc]

Thanks for the instruction. I have decided to power it with power module , which is tapped into the main pack, does this mean I must remove all red wires from the ESC built-in UBEC?

[@Painless360]

If you are flying without servos connected to the APM outputs then you don't need the BECs in the ESCs. You can unplug J1 or disconnect the red wires on the ESC leads. Happy flying!

[@bobulak8545]

Painless360 Can you just leave them in place when using the pm?

[@Painless360]

If the BECs are switching and J1 is unplugged - yes.

[@1kdoc]

And if all Becs are linear and we are using PM, does this mean all red wires still need to be removed? I have been flying with linear Bec with all wires on and pm plugged in, am I lucky the board is still working?

[@Painless360]

Pulling in linear BECs side by side is fine. If you are using the PM then personally I'd remove all of the red wires to be safe and not have any of the extra heat from the UBECs in the ESCs. Happy flying!

[@1kdoc]

ugh! I just had a brownout! I was flying with my ESC integrated SBEC plugged in the APM, all wires on, the board was powered by PM with J1 removed, there is no servo connected. When I checked the wreckage the battery still has 16% left with 3.72v on each cell, the log shows brownout:fail. does this mean I can no longer rely on this setup? Should I just put J1 back in, remove all BEC ground and red wires, plug in a UBEC to power the board for max safefy?

[@Painless360]

I would check the logs in detail (copter.ardupilot.com/wiki/common-diagnosing-problems-using-logs/) and if it's changing more than 0.15v then look to replace the power supply to the board with a larger capacity one.. Best of luck..

[@1kdoc]

Painless360 Thanks for the quick reply! I am about 85% sure it was caused by brownout. Here is the log. www.dropbox.com/s/b6vcx9hrpm715zp/2015-02-01%2009-52-29.bin?dl=0.

[@rickryan2007]

Great video. My only suggestion is that you go thru a verbal explanation of steps to set ESCs and test motors but you don't actually show what happens when you do it. When I set up my quad it took me a bit to understand that the CLI Test Motors makes the motors turn in circular sequence but not in motor number sequence. Actually seeing that would help beginners understand what they should see. A minor thing, but I think it would be very useful. Other than that, great video. Rick

[@Painless360]

Great idea, I already have a video that covers this. Watch my other video in the APM 2.5 series - kzbin.info/aero/PLYsWjANuAm4oSFdOSBswt6GmU7y6v60O1 - Testing motor connections. Happy flying!

[@ukaszwesoowski5285]

Hello :) First of all the video is great. Second ... I have apm 2.6 and i would like to power that think straight with esc without any other bords. So should i disconnect 3 wires from esc (red and black) left only signal, and leave one wire(from one esc) with both (black,red, signal)? Will it works ? Or should i just connect them without any remove? And one more question. Is jumper1 must be plug in (installed) when i configure apm bord with usb cable ?

[@Painless360]

If the BECs in the ESCs that supply that 5v to the board are linear BECs then you can install them all with the wires connected. If they are switched then you need to remove all but one of the red wires on the leads as you mentioned (if you are not sure, read the specs of the ESCs you have online). Make sure that the BEC is rated for 3A for more for safety then the board should run great. Hope this helps. Happy flying!

[@diystuff5628]

ive got a question i havent really found a reliable answer to!!......doesnt the fuse blow if you power the apm2.x/apm mini with the usb and battery at the same time? .....thing is that i want to do motor compass calibration but i dont know if i dare via usb since it requires the battery to be plugged in at the same time....i have the radio module ...but this got me thinking...hope u can help me out on this one!! thanx!

[@diystuff5628]

+DIY stuff ooooo for got to say that batterypower would be via powermodule, jp1 connected and no esc bec ofcourse

[@lucbisschops]

Bit late but wanna ask anyway, i want to pit ardupilot (apm 2.6) in x8 wing, want to use the power module van you explain to me will i put in J1 or not i am planning to supply the servo's in the wings wit a UBEC 3A. Can you confirm what to do before i blow everything up🙄 Great tutorial thmbs up to you, i love to watch your tutorials. Kind regards from the Netherlands.

[@zhenlianglow3843]

Hi Painless again, I have calibrated my esc using the esc and esc calibration method and each responded to the throttle stick from my transmitter, however once i connect them all into the APM board via the output 1-4, when I connect them to the battery, it either, beep non stop (I have read, it means that my throttle stick is not fully down) beep every 1/2 seconds, not responding to my throttle stick

[@Painless360]

i would check the calibration of the rc channels in Mission Planner first. Will the board arm? What do you see if you try to arm it while connected to Mission Planner?

[@zhenlianglow3843]

Painless360 Sorry for the late reply, Merry xmas and happy new year to you, I have managed to armed my apm, following the instruction of arming, I lower my throttle and stick and push it to the right for 5 seconds, all my motors starts to spin at the same time, however roughly running for 3-5seconds, the apm disarm itself automatically and I'm not able to spin the motor by pushing up the throttle stick

[@wangjohnson8906]

i have set up my apm v2.8 as you have shown how in the first and second video, now i try and get it to lift off and i can only get 7 inches off the ground and my quad starts hopping up and down repeatedly i have increased the throttle hover to maximum value of 700 in basic tuning and still cant hover. what do i need to do to get it to lift off and fly ?

[@Painless360]

Not sure what you've changed in Mission planner, you shouldn't need to change that yet. Check the throttle channel moves from around 1060 to 1960 in the gui and recalibrate the ESCs. Then I'd suspect that you've got too much weight on the model.. Best of luck!

[@victorrodas4357]

Painless360 I've been watching your videos for quite a while and they have been very helpful. I'd like to know if the Ardupilot 2.6 works with ESC Emax Simon series 30A ? Also, two of my APM 2.7; stopped working, Is it there any way to repair them?

[@Painless360]

+Victor Rodas should do and probably but I would simply use a new one. Happy flying!

[@victorrodas4357]

Thank you!

[@rbug4117]

Hi! My question to you is can I connect the 3 wire plugs from the ESC's straight to the APM output or do I have to remove the +5v leads of 3 ESC's (in case of a quad copter). And another thing do I need also to remove the JP1 jumper or not cause I do not know it purpose yet.

[@Painless360]

+Roderick Bugeja what's your guess after watching the video?

[@spannerman4886]

Hello Firstly thanks for taking the time to produce these videos I have learnt a lot in a short time, but I'm stuck and I wonder if you can help I have removed my CC3D set up on my F450 and replaced it with APM 2.6 the ESC's are Hobbypower 30A. One of the motors stopped (and started) at a higher throttle than the other 3 so I did an all in one calibration and now they all stop and start together, great except all the motors run as soon as I arm the board and they only stop when they time out or manually disarm?? I am using a Turnigy 9X TX, Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[@Painless360]

+Trevor Vernon This is normally down to the 'Motor Stop' not being set. You can have the motors start to turn slowly when armed or not. This is covered in the APM playlist. Hope it helps!

[@massimotabai9691]

I'm waiting for my APM 2.6 so i watched all your videos: great work, thanks very much. I only have a doubt: I will install the APM on my Phantom. I read on the wiki that the "DJI Opto ESCs do not require and do not support calibration" do you think that I will have problems because of this? Should I change the ESC? Thanks again for your work!

[@Painless360]

Classic DJI - make it easy to fit their proprietary systems together but tricky to use any non DJI third party components.. You can try it but being able to accurately calibrate the ESC is one of the fundamentals of a solid setup. Best of luck..

[@dalefischer4885]

Hi there Painless360 Will I tried powering up the Quad this morning to do ESC calibration. Nothing powers up when the Lipo is connected. The UBEC is putting out 5.2V. and plugged in to Pin 8 +/- on Outputs. Put a volt meter on open pin's +/- on Outputs with Lipo connected, No voltage is detected. I have no idea what to do. What do you think ? Thanks Dale

[@Painless360]

Is jumper j1 installed? Has this ever worked?

[@johanness6545]

why did you plugged the second gps cable not in teh port at the side?

[@sedyild8945]

Hello painless360, I have apm 2.6 and it came without a jp1 connector. I would like to use it for a petrol rc car. Can I use two separate power source to power each side of the apm, one for receiver and apm other for servos. Thanks.

[@derschokopilz]

Thanks for your tutorials! I will build in April a Quadcopter with the APM 2.8 :)

[@Painless360]

+DerSchokoPilz Best of luck!

[@mohammadalinabeel8572]

so either way if you are using power module or the ubec you need to have that little jumper installed in the board?

[@poitka8031]

hello. is there a parameter i can set the props not to spin when armed? did i miss it in one of your videos?

[@Painless360]

Yep. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYm2f5p5hp6KgNk Best of luck!

[@poitka8031]

@@Painless360 yes! thank you. your videos are my "go to" in this hobby!

[@TechNovaAquariums]

Hi i followed ur videos about APM but i have a problem. I upgraded from CC3d setup to APM 2.8 recently. So the wireing and ESC + other parts should working fine. But when i try to do esc calibrating (both single and all in one methods) my ESC s keep beeping. how to fix this?

[@harmoes7342]

hi 360 when hooking up the motors from my hexa i folow the order given 123456 when doing a motor test are they not needed to go in the same order because in the test screen they are labeled a to f and thanks for your'e vids

[@Painless360]

+Har Moes I've never set up a hex on an APM. I'd use the documentation for clues. Best of luck..

[@airpic5253]

i have just got a APM 2.6 recently an am going to use it on an S500 quadcopter on which I am currently running a KK2 FC on. I am running Opto ESCs on it and at the moment using a UBEC to power it from the batt/bind port on the RX, I am guessing that I can still power the APM controller the same way?

[@Painless360]

I'm guessing so. I haven't done anything with a pm for quite a few years now. Best of luck with the build!

[@airpic5253]

Painless360 thanks for the reply and I decided to power it from the motor ports, just another question, I have calibrated ESCs but now when armed, it runs the motors automatically, any advice, cheers, great work.

[@jjssbailey]

Painless360, the Turnigy motors on the hex in this video, may I have the specs on them. Looking to replace my Sunnysky ones. Thanks.

[@Painless360]

John Bailey These motors are very heavy but very powerful. Not sure I'd choose them now if I was building the model again. I got four of these back in my early quad career and then added two more for the Hex. They are D3536/9 910KV and I have mine swinging a 11x5 prop. Best of luck with the build!

[@HPeer-yu3tk]

Maybe a newbie question: can I connect a lipo AND the USB at te same time when I remove the jumper? If so I think I only need to use the ESC signal wire.

[@Painless360]

You should be able to do that anyway. The BEC should produce about 5v - the same as the supply from the ESC cable..

[@HPeer-yu3tk]

Thanks for your reply. So I can use the PowerModule (remove the jumper), leave the ESC 5V power and use the USB (Lipo power -> 5V from BEC in PowerModule) and USB. I found some discussions that this was not possible.

[@Painless360]

Keep watching the APM videos ;)

[@HPeer-yu3tk]

Maybe I missed the video with the answer to my question :( Can I use the power module, the 5v wire from ESC and USB at the same time, or must I remove the 5v ESC wires? I am not using a Power Module but I need to use it to use the telemetry data for OSD.

[@HPeer-yu3tk]

Found the answer: best to remove ESC BEC power cable (even when linear), remove P1 and use Power Module. Thanks for all video's!!!

[@uma_mahra]

Hello Sir I want to flash firmware version 3.5.7 in my APM 2.8. But when I try to install the firmware it says " is your board a Linux board ". So what should I do , should I click yes or no on this message. Plz reply so that I can flash the firmware properly.

[@Painless360]

You can’t install that version to an APM. See my APM series...

[@bekawe2011]

Hi :) excellent videos! Thank you. I'm wondering if it is optional or mandatory to cut the +- wires (red and black) from the output JR plugs? I saw recommendations to do so, but in this video I see you have them still installed without mods. I plan to power my APM2.5 board with the power module in the PM plug. (BTW, I already took the JP1 jumper out).

[@Painless360]

If you are going to power the board from a power module then I would unplug the red wires from each of the cables that connect the ESC to the motor output pins. That way you are going to avoid any problems. Hope that makes sense. Happy flying!

[@bekawe2011]

Thank you! Now I feel on the safe side unplugging the (+) wires. I really enjoy all your informative and well done videos. Useful for beginners :) As a friend of mine says: "Information not shared is useless".

[@Painless360]

Thanks for the feedback. We do cover some advanced stuff on the channel but the idea is that it is understandable by those who are new to the hobby. We all had to learn at some point but not all remember that or try and support the new pilots/builders with respect and patience. Happy flying!

[@richytodd7485]

hi there i was wondering if you can help. ive built a s500 quad and do not know how to do the settings on my transmitter.which is..flysky fs-i6 do not know settings for end points should be+dual rates and should all my reverse switchs be all up ..because, my Xquad copter goes mad even trying to take off.

[@Painless360]

+richy todd Sorry, we don't have that radio here. Best of luck with it..

[@chrisharrod3709]

where did you get your antivibration mount? thanks for the helpful videos.

[@Painless360]

eBay. Happy flying!

[@istvantech]

Hello. This might be a long shot asking for help here but I spent the last few hours trying to get this to work without success. So I got a really cheap APM 2.8 board and got it configured with everything. My only problem is: the ESCs won't retain the calibration after I unplug them. I calibrated all 8 ESCs one by one with my receiver and they all work fine, but when I take out the battery and plug them back in, they don't even start (they require the high and low signal every time they are powered) the only way I could get it working was by painstakingly calibrating the ESCs, then plugging them into the APM board (without powering anything down). is there any script or something so the board can do this calibration procedure every time when I start it? if there isn't, I'll just make a small board with an arduino and some transistors that calibrates them automatically when it powers up... Thanks for your help in advance

[@Painless360]

I've not heard of that. I check the forums regarding the particular ESCs you're using.

[@istvantech]

The problem is, these ESCs are the really cheap ebay ones, so they don't have any info on them, only a "30A" sticker, but that's just the max load they can do. I did find a post on someone complaining on "30A mystery ESCs" doing something similar, so yeah, I'll look into it some more

[@adrianguanipa5211]

Hi there, I have a AR610 receiver connected to a Sabretooth 2x32 driver to control two motors, and that works fine, this device supplies the AR receiver with 5v and 1A thru the red and black cables, but I'm wondering if I need to cut the red wires when connecting an APM 2.8 directly into this Sabretooth2x32 device?, keep in mind the APM 2.8 will be getting its power from a separate 5v 3A power supply like the UBEC (and using the JP1 I assume to power the AR receiver that will be connected in the Input), is this correct?, or do I need to cut the black wires too leaving only the Signal wires?, I don't think this is right but I thought of asking. Thanks!

[@Painless360]

+Adrian Guanipa No idea. Not sure, I'd try and keep the 5v lines separate personally to help avoid problems with the voltage being pulled down by too much current. Best of luck..

[@adrianguanipa5211]

Will do, thanks for the advice.

[@SwatKurd]

hi i need a bit help with my apm2.8. bascially, im confused about jp1, if i want to connect the module power do i need to remove the jp1? or if i get power from ESCs do i need to keep jp1 on and do i need to modify the ESCs wires? hope i get answer from you soon. many thanks

[@Painless360]

+Zico Airsoft it all depends on how you power the board! The answer is in the video for the war you choose. Best of luck.

[@SwatKurd]

thanks for you help i have fixed it, i watched your videos and it actually helped. but i have a problem with ESCs calibration, when i connect to the battery it beebs but the motors don't spin? can you please help me. many thanks

[@Painless360]

The motors won't spin during ESC calibration. See how we cover that in the series. I usually end up running a manual calibration.. Best of luck!

[@RCYIJustinizer]

+Painless360 I am new in building the quad. I have APM 2.8 with 6m GPS and power module. With 4 30Amp w/ 3A 5v BEC ESC, running with SimonK. I wanted to ask about the connection.should I remove the JP1 and remove all red wire from ESC? Or I can place the JP1 connect and remove the red wire from ESC? I also wanted to install a gimbal for my camera with pitch control. So, I am wondering where my gimbal can get the power from?Hope you can answer my doubt about it. Thanks

[@Painless360]

+RCYI Justinizer OK, that is a few questions in one there. If you are not using a power module then I would install J1 and power the board from the BECs in the ESCs. If the BECs are switched then only connect one of the red wires. The gimbal gets power from the main flight battery normally and the signals from wherever (Rx of FC) can move it for you if needed. Best of luck with the build...

[@RCYIJustinizer]

Painless360 thanks for the promtp reply. So if i am building it with power module, i will need to removethe J1 and remive all ESC red wire?

[@Painless360]

This is covered in the video ;)

[@RCYIJustinizer]

Painless360 thanks.

A doubt. Is It necessary to cut the positive wire of the USB cable when, at the same time, use the USB cable and the LIPO battery for powering board, calibration, etc.?

[@Painless360]

Nope, we don't in the video.. As long as the model uses 5v and it's close enough to the USB voltage you'll be fine..

[@bisholim5377]

Hi :) First of all Thank you for the Wonderfull Video's. I really Learned alot from them. I have had a zero x6 uav, but I couldnt get that to Work, and I dont think as yet that its the problem with that. Too much Work and not enough time, But now I have got me a APM and I do hope you can help me. I have Calibrate the Esc's, and they Work. My Questions. 1- Do I have to Calibrate them every time I want to fly!!? Because it seems that way with mine 2- When I take the model in my hand then shouldnt the motors Work differentlly when ever i change the position of the quad to right or left!!? Because it doesnt :( Thank you very much for your help in forhand :)

[@Painless360]

Bisholi M 1) No, once in a blue moon is fine. 2) Never run the model in your hand try a test hop first over soft ground outdoors to confirm it all works. Happy flying!

[@bisholim5377]

+Painless360 Everything Is easy when one actially lean it.....:) Thank you Again for sharing Brother...:)

[@g2183mac]

Hi painless360, I do really need help.i follow the apm set up and everything.but when I plug un my battery the motor won't work with apm.what did I do wrong?my esc is dji e310 with dji 2312 motor.it work on calibration with apm but normal mode

[@Painless360]

gideon macalino what troubleshooting have you done?

[@klimentrosevalley2618]

Hi Painless! After the ESC-s calibration (all at once or manually), I connect to the MP/Terminal/Connect and on the screen I get Arducoter V3.2.1 and then randomly symbols from the PC'c keyboard. Any idea why? Thank you in advance. BR

[@Painless360]

+Kliment Rose Valley The latest APM firmware stopped supporting the GUI for space reasons - see the notes from the latest releases. That may be part of it.. Best of luck..

[@klimentrosevalley2618]

+Painless360 you are great. Thank you very much for the quick response. I will keep watching your videos, hopefully find the solution. I've been having this issue for a couple of weeks now and I keep trying.

[@B19T4R]

Hey so when I do the ESC calibration all at once one of the motors #4 doesn't spin correctly its twitching is this when you have to do them individually or a sign of a defective motor?

[@Painless360]

I've struggled in the past with all at once calibration. That's why I tended to do it individually. I would personally have a go at trying to calibrate them individually and if one of them is still misbehaving investigate further. Best of luck!

[@ranjeety46]

I have 40 amp emax ubec ESC and I am using pixhawk px4 so to power the fc I am using power module .My question is should I have remove ESC (+5volt)power cable or I can connect as relay power

[@Painless360]

I cover this in the series. You can use the ESCs as AUX power and add a ZENER diode. It's also all covered in the documentation - ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-powering-the-pixhawk.html Best of luck!

[@bg563195]

Hi. One the new version of mission planner as of October 2017 I can't find how to turn off the motors after arming the board any advice?

[@chrisholt956]

please help i have a mini apm done all the checks ie firmware realy strugling with wiring my servos to the mini sorry i have a helicopter done the receiver please tell me how to connect the servos and esc to get my motor running what mode do i put in my tansmitter ie hi h2 h3 ap thanks chrisholt

[@Painless360]

+Chris Holt Hi Chris, we have a video where we setup the Mini APM on a wing, I know it's not the same but we do show how to connect up servos using the wiring connectors. I've not used an APM on a heli myself so would struggle to help with the other part of your question. Best of luck!

[@DreamDeal]

Hi painless! Im wondering how you enabled the external compass? my gps block has one but i cant seem to disable the onboard one. Any hints?

[@Painless360]

+Dream Deal We cover this in the APM 3.1 series.. Hope it helps..

[@DreamDeal]

+Painless360 So soldering the conector pad should activate it. My gps is nothing like yours. Is some sort of mini NEO-6M really weird well ill try and find something. Thanks !

[@DreamDeal]

oh! yes i am....thanks ill do that!

[@inactive-G.Greyhound]

I'm building a 450 quad with HKPilot Mega and Q-brain 4 in 1 ESC, On the Q-brain there is only one signal wire with red and black power lines. Is it enough to power the board and receiver? And is it relevant which of the 8 output connectors is it connected to?

[@Painless360]

You need to see how many amps the BCE can supply - what has it printed on the case? Is it more than a coupe of amps? If so it should work fine..

[@inactive-G.Greyhound]

Painless360 It says 3A: www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__36674__q_brain_4_x_20a_brushless_quadcopter_esc_2_4s_3a_sbec.html

[@alybutt4619]

hi painless 360 i have seen all your videos and they r very cool i build a tricopter with apm2.8 and did all the steps like u have shown in you apm videos the only problem i am is when i clabrate esc and throttle up they work perfect but when i arm the apm and throttle up the motors spin very slow ever on full throttle the maintain same speed they spin slow i have clabrated radio and wsc many time but nothing any help i would be very thankfull to you

[@Painless360]

Does it hover? You can see some odd behaviour on the bench. Also do the motors work ok when you connect the ESCs to the throttle channel on the Rx directly?

[@Chris_Paul1]

What if i dont have a 3 position switch on my radio. I have 2x 2 position switches. Can i put loiter mode on one switch and RTH on the other switch ?

[@Painless360]

phats24 I would use a mix with the two switches you have to give you three or four options for the flight modes - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKnYm6WBqbmqfZo Best of luck.

[@uma_mahra]

Hello I want to ask that if I have already updated the firmware and done all the mandatory settings and there is a newer firmware version available after 2-3 months , then do I have to redo all the mandatory settings after flashing the new firmware or just flash the new firmware and the earlier settings will remain retained. Plz reply !!! Very Urgent !!! I am your subscribed user !!!!!!

[@Painless360]

Arducopter 3.2.1 is the last version that supports the APM, I've not used one for a few years now. I'd read the release notes for the version you're interested in but I always go through each step again after upgrade as things change..

[@uma_mahra]

Painless360 thanks a lot you solved my problem

[@jefflopes4716]

painless 360, I'm new at this. i have a power module and OPTO 30A ESCs. with that setup do i need a ubec? cant i just install jp1 and power the board using the PM?

[@Painless360]

+Jeff Lopes This is covered in the video. What do you think the answer is?

[@returntolaunch2880]

+Jeff Lopes Did you work it out? I'm in the same situation haha

[@jefflopes4716]

don't be a dick! you said in your video that: 1. "if you are using an OPTO then you absolutely need a UBEC" 2. "using a power module you can power both side of the board using the JP1 connector". thank you for your video, it was very helpful, but you could've made that part a little more clear. having that said, I'm in love with apm and I'm tuning my y6b drone now thanks to you and this series. jeff

[@jefflopes4716]

don't be a dick! you said in your video that: 1. "if you are using an OPTO then you absolutely need a UBEC" 2. "using a power module you can power both side of the board using the JP1 connector". thank you for your video, it was very helpful, but you could've made that part a little more clear. having that said, I'm in love with apm and I'm tuning my y6b drone now thanks to you and this series. jeff

[@jefflopes4716]

don't be a dick! you said in your video that: 1. "if you are using an OPTO then you absolutely need a UBEC" 2. "using a power module you can power both side of the board using the JP1 connector". thank you for your video, it was very helpful, but you could've made that part a little more clear. having that said, I'm in love with apm and I'm tuning my y6b drone now thanks to you and this series. jeff

[@iTzKomplett]

hello, can you please give me the link to this site you showed here 6:28

[@Painless360]

If you Google something like 'ardupilot apm motor connections' you'll find it. Best of luck! :D

[@Subsonic-cd2en]

If I am building a hexacopter with Linear BEC's that provide 0.5A each, is that additive? What I mean is, if I have all 6 plugged into the board, will I be providing the board with 3A? If so, is 3A acceptable, or does it need to be 2A?

[@Painless360]

Subsonic1050 The APM will pull power from all the connected BECs. It is additive-ish. 0.5 amps seems very low and if (due to different resistances, existing draw, tide, wind, traffic! :) one of the BECs is asked to provide more than the 500ma then you could have problems and lose that ESC and the motor it's connected to.If you really have only 500ma on each BEC then my advice would be - don't risk your model for the sake of fitting a 3A switching UBEC. Remove the red cables from the on-board BECs in the ESCs and power the whole thing using the external 3A UBEC.Hope this makes sense. Best of luck with the build!

[@Subsonic-cd2en]

Yes, that is exactly what I was wondering. Thanks for the help!

[@dronesvisionsaeriennes]

Hi there, i've read the Pixhawk manual and if i understand correctly my wire must be this one.....Receiver Sbus Futaba R7008SB into port RC on PX4 but not the adjacent output "sb"...Osd into telemetry 1....my camera wired on output Osd...Esc OPTO into main out but only one is used with positive red wire...each ESC is powered on 5V 12V Adjustable Voltage BEC Output ESC Distribution Connection Board......Lipo powered Power module ( 3DR )...into Power...Switch into switch...Buzzer into buzzer...Gps into gps port and compass into l2C...then gimbal must be wired into AUX 1 for Signal and negative plug... Last question....may i used another gimbal than Tarot or StoRM32 Gimbal controller...i need to wire a 3axes gimbal like New 3 Axis Brushless Camera Gimbal Mount w/32bit Alexmos Controller/ ipower motor for bmpcc Sony NEX5/7 FPV Aerial Photography for a Sony Nex 7 ...then i'd like to powered my drone with 6S lipo....the total weight will be from 4.5 kg to 5 kg to take off... thank's a lot for your annswer Philippe

[@Painless360]

+Drones Visions Aériennes We have a Pixhawk series that may help. You can use a gimbal with it but you will normally be looking for the gimbal to be controlled by a dedicated controller, not using the Pixhawk. Best of luck with it!

[@SuperGoofa]

Hi Painless360 Question, I have done the setup calibrations on 2.5 APM but have a problem with one of my motors of my Quad the motor does not start until late, is there a way of making it start with the others, or is the motor faulty. Regards Geoff

[@Painless360]

SuperGoofa Swap that motor with another - if the motor is still lazy then return it. If it start OK then the ESC needs calibrating.. Best of luck.

[@zacjohnson8404]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't you remove the red wire from the esc's? I'm a bit confused with this as the esc's I bought don't even have a red wire... which means no bec I guess. Are you using the red wire because no power module?

[@Painless360]

Not always. See the ESC/Power videos in our 'Introduction to Remote Control' series.. Best of luck!

[@paulfoster575]

Zac Johnson

[@miki0m707]

Noob question . Does this FC support a 3 axis gimbal and GoPro style camera thanks in advance.

[@Painless360]

Don't use APM. It's old and poorly supported now. The software that runs on modern options like Pixhawk supports gimbals - ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-cameras-and-gimbals.html

[@miki0m707]

Thank you for your time and fast reply research time for now!

[@zacjohnson8404]

Another thing I was wondering.... do I have to always connect to ground station in order to fly my quad if I use apm?

[@Painless360]

Nope, it can fly without.. Happy flying!

[@zacjohnson8404]

Ok that's great to know

[@Sirjobzy]

HI, i need a little help with my quad, i have a f450 quad and i have been using 3s lipo with a 10" prop, but i just got a 4s lipo along with 8" prop and tried it today, the quad struggled to take off and i had to put the throttle above 50%, but when it took off it was just out of control and flying about uncontrollably and it eventually crashed, my question is can i use my 10" prop on it, maybe that will help it to carry the load easily and be more stable, also what battery and prop size do you use on your F450?

[@Painless360]

+Oluwajoba Hassan I'd look up the specs for the motor you are using to see what the reccomend prop is for 4s. You normally have to adjust something. Best of luck!

[@Sirjobzy]

+Painless360 its a 2212 920kb motor and says 8055 for 4s battery. And good great job with the videos its been a great help to me.

[@piloto5248]

I am using APM board I did all the simple setup but don't know why my quadcopter X keep flipping when I give full power any idea thanks in advance.

[@Painless360]

Our video on exactly that topic should help.. Best of luck!

[@ashishfaustine]

hi bro.. very pleased with ur informative apm videos. . thanks 2 u i got my apm flying osmm... but after 2 weeks I now face a new problem with altitude hold. . my quad jumps up and down when I use the barometer. . it also effects loiter mode.. but no effect in position hold mode... i tried replacing foarm inside the apm 2.6 hardcase but no use .. tried giving it an external cover and even tried resetting it to defaults and programmed it from the beginning. . please help me .. my setup.. .dji f450 frame sunnysky x2212 980kv carbon fibre 1047 simon k 30A 5000mah 3s 20c apm 2.6 with external gps and power module flysky fs-th9x my quad is flying superb in stablise mod... i have been trying hard to find a solution but found none working. . hope ull help. .. thanks in advance. .

[@Painless360]

I would check the log files. as per my other answer. Best of luck!

[@fotoamgamgfoto3695]

I had similar issue when I yaw it fall and it turned out that the baro sensor is too sensitive to light. I covered everithing around fc with black tape and alu foil and it is not falling now at sunlight

[@ashishfaustine]

+FotoAmg AmgFoto thanks I'll do that too but already have hardcase installed and that too is inside the body of the f450 frame . will seal it from external light

[@josephking4461]

Any idea why my opto Escs won't power the output side? I've got the jumper removed because I'm using a power module.. Would a bec fix this problem?

[@Painless360]

See the 'Understanding the ESC' video for the answer.. Best of luck!

[@josephking4461]

+Painless360 I'll check it out now! Thanks for the fast reply!