FMA CO-pilot sensor output?

[skogsvargen]

I have run into some problems with my Co-pilot XY sensor connected to my ArduPilot running my own software. I have made som flights about a month a go, but now i get very limited response from the sensors.

The question is: what maximum voltage level do you get when you are calibrating the sensor?

My problem is that the weather has been awful the last weeks. around 0 centigrades with wet snow on the ground and heavy snow-clouds above. Shoul i expect the system to work in these conditions or do i have to wait for better weather?

/Magnus

[zlite]

I have run into some problems with my Co-pilot XY sensor connected to my ArduPilot running my own software. I have made som flights about a month a go, but now i get very limited response from the sensors.

The question is: what maximum voltage level do you get when you are calibrating the sensor?

My problem is that the weather has been awful the last weeks. around 0 centigrades with wet snow on the ground and heavy snow-clouds above. Shoul i expect the system to work in these conditions or do i have to wait for better weather?

/Magnus

Those are definitely suboptimal conditions for thermopiles. If you connect a FMA Co-Pilot under those conditions it will probably report (single aileron twitch) that there's not enough thermal gradient to work. You can change the resistors in the sensors to change the output voltage, but in your case you might just want to wait for a clear day ;-)

[skogsvargen]

Thank you. Yeah i guess that's the case. The weather forcast tells me to focus on programming rather than test flights...

/Magnus

[Dimitris76]

Magnus,

I am one of those that were swearing that the Co-pilot is working every time - any time over water, snow, rain, day, night... you name it!

The weather conditions here in Borås were similar to yours yesterday - overcast - melting snow/mud on the ground. During preflight calibration the Co-pilot tried to warn me. It gave me signal strength of just one (1) and the aileron-elevator responce was obviously a little sluggish. Despite that I decided to fly and being spoiled and not ready to control it immediately, I crashed my newly painted EasyGlider at hand launch...

[skogsvargen]

OK, then there is a place for a warning. Don't be an UAV enthusiast in Sweden in February and March. It's cold, wet, dark and the equipment will most likely fail...

I really envy you that make you test flights in California....

/Magnus

[Dimitris76]

By the way,

what kind of new functionality are you programming in ArduP?

Dimi

[skogsvargen]

Well, I have a slightly different approach. I am using the ArduP to do stabilization and another ATMega based board, Robostix, to do the navigation and communications with the ground station. The main advantage with the ATMega168 on the robostix board is that it has two serial ports. This makes it easy to have a two way data link at the same time as I read the GPS.

/Magnus