Originally Posted by happul3

I may be missing something here, but the purpose of those links is to produce actual voltage on the low voltage side of shifter. It is essentially a cool trick - using unidirectional channels of voltage shifter, which are simple voltage dividers, to produce constant level voltage that is then used to pull up actual bidirectional shifters. If one believes the sparkfun schematic, in the drone 1 case the divider produces 5V*R5/(R1+R5)=2.5V and in the drone 2 case the divider produces 5V*(1/(1/R5+1/R9))/(R1+1/(1/R5+1/R9))=1.7V So, if you connect mod wired for drone 2 to drone 1, you'll be feeding drone 1 with logical high of no more than 1.7V. Is it high enough for 3.3V logic? I don't know, "They might or they might not," said Winnie-the- Pooh. "You never can tell with bees." But there is no harm in trying.

I measured 2.49v and 1.67v for the Pro Mini and 2.31v and 1.54v for the Nano before I fritzed the Nano, as they both started with different voltages: 5.01v and 4.63v respectively.

Well, it didn't work with LV>RX0 link still connected on the v1 drone but that's not the weirdest part...
Can't say it won't in the future, as I can't get it to work with a Level Shifter on a Pro Mini at all.

I moved the Level Shifter and it's connections from the now dead - but previously working - Nano to the Pro Mini, as that's working just fine with a v1 using resistors.

Only 6 wires. Easy.

It wouldn't startup on the v1. Removed the Level Shifter again, remade with Resistors - works on the v1 again - Swapped back to Level Shifter again - checking every connection - and the Mod gets to the end with a solid Arduino LED, but with Red Motor lights every time. Telnetted in, ps and ls /tmp show no sign of at2so.arm.

That was using a 'normal' sketch without the baudrate change. So tried again with that sketch, (after resoldering everything). No change. If I leave it for a while, the Arduino light starts flashing, then ls shows the directories followed by gibberish and then it loses the connection.

Swapped back to resistors again. Tada! Works perfectly.

So I just cannot get it to work with the Level Shifter and a Pro Mini, but it works with a Pro Mini and resistors, and a Level Shifter and a Nano (or used to). When I get another Nano, I will try it with both Level Shifters and their wiring 'looms' to see what result I get, as it's perfectly possible that I've fried both Level Shifters. However if either/both work with the new Nano....

So my questions are:
1) Are these Level Shifters particularly delicate?
2) Am I frying them when soldering them (the test for this will be when I try these with the new Nano)?
3) Has anyone got either a v1 or a v2 drone with Level Shifters to work with a Pro Mini, or is everyone using a Nano?
4) If the answer to 3) is 'yes' did you have any problems and how did you solve them?

Tony if you read this or anyone knows. Is there a way to get the throttle to return to to centeron the dx6i needs a spring kit or something ?

Originally Posted by Brandigan

I measured 2.49v and 1.67v for the Pro Mini and 2.31v and 1.54v for the Nano before I fritzed the Nano, as they both started with different voltages: 5.01v and 4.63v respectively.

Well, it didn't work with LV>RX0 link still connected on the v1 drone but that's not the weirdest part...
Can't say it won't in the future, as I can't get it to work with a Level Shifter on a Pro Mini at all.

I moved the Level Shifter and it's connections from the now dead - but previously working - Nano to the Pro Mini, as that's working just fine with a v1 using resistors.

Only 6 wires. Easy.

It wouldn't startup on the v1. Removed the Level Shifter again, remade with Resistors - works on the v1 again - Swapped back to Level Shifter again - checking every connection - and the Mod gets to the end with a solid Arduino LED, but with Red Motor lights every time. Telnetted in, ps and ls /tmp show no sign of at2so.arm.

That was using a 'normal' sketch without the baudrate change. So tried again with that sketch, (after resoldering everything). No change. If I leave it for a while, the Arduino light starts flashing, then ls shows the directories followed by gibberish and then it loses the connection.

Swapped back to resistors again. Tada! Works perfectly.

So I just cannot get it to work with the Level Shifter and a Pro Mini, but it works with a Pro Mini and resistors, and a Level Shifter and a Nano (or used to). When I get another Nano, I will try it with both Level Shifters and their wiring 'looms' to see what result I get, as it's perfectly possible that I've fried both Level Shifters. However if either/both work with the new Nano....

So my questions are:
1) Are these Level Shifters particularly delicate?
2) Am I frying them when soldering them (the test for this will be when I try these with the new Nano)?
3) Has anyone got either a v1 or a v2 drone with Level Shifters to work with a Pro Mini, or is everyone using a Nano?
4) If the answer to 3) is 'yes' did you have any problems and how did you solve them?

The only logical explanation I can see about level shifter and pro mini is that your level shifter is not working. Whether it is not working because you keep connecting it wrong (happens to the best of us) or because it is fried, I can't tell from what you describe. It is not incredibly delicate but it does use field effect transistors which are sensitive to static.

If you want, it is very easy to test whether it functions even with a multimeter. Connect only ground and HV to 5 V source, leave all other points unconnected to outside for now but keep whatever internal connections you use for the mod (e.g., RX_LV to LV and RX_HV to HV). Now check voltage at TX_LV and TX_HV points (they are unconnected for now, right?). You should measure +5 on TX_HV and +2.5V or +1.7V on TX_LV. Make sure you test both channels. Works so far? Now, connect TX_HV to ground. Is TX_LV at zero as well now? If so, disconnect TX_HV from ground and repeat the process for the other channel. Next, connect TX_LV to ground. Is TX_HV at zero now? Repeat for the second channel. If all eight tests are okay, the level shifter is working. If any of them are not working, you'd need to get a replacement to use it with drone.

To answer your question #3, I've had level shifter working fine with drone 1 and pro mini until I took shifter off to use for another project.

Originally Posted by SJW2511

Tony if you read this or anyone knows. Is there a way to get the throttle to return to to centeron the dx6i needs a spring kit or something ?

I found this site:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/elect...tructions.html

Originally Posted by obelix662000

Coil movement is normal. Disconnected board normally blinks red then red and after a while turn steady green. The problem you have is very similar to the problems typical for ardrone v1 I had in the past ( now i own v 2). Relatively heavy procesor tends to break BGA contacts after the crash. Try to push processor hard with your finger and see if you can get green light of the led. I had similar problem twice and once was even able to fix it by heating the proc with soldering iron while pressing it hard ( sort of solder back BGA).

Thanks for the info obelix.....I've got a used drone on order, for parts and troubleshooting

Originally Posted by Brandigan

3) Has anyone got either a v1 or a v2 drone with Level Shifters to work with a Pro Mini, or is everyone using a Nano?
4) If the answer to 3) is 'yes' did you have any problems and how did you solve them?

I built 2 mods with Pro Mini and Level shifter exactly as described in the wiring diagram. Both are fine with Ardrone v2 , no special care.

Hey everyone,

I got a gps module and a FTDI breakout board and was wondering if there is a way to test the GPS module without having to connecting it to the arduino?
If so...how and what software should I use?

Thanks

Originally Posted by dante1

Hey everyone,

I got a gps module and a FTDI breakout board and was wondering if there is a way to test the GPS module without having to connecting it to the arduino?
If so...how and what software should I use?

Thanks

Yes, but you need to makes sure that they both work on the same voltage (5V or 3.3V).

Originally Posted by pawelsky

Yes, but you need to makes sure that they both work on the same voltage (5V or 3.3V).

What software do you recommend?

Originally Posted by dante1

What software do you recommend?

For plain NMEA any terminal will do (I'm using putty), to get the data in more user friendly format you may use e.g. VisualGPS. If you need a very simple application (which can setup Mediatek chipsets) you may use MiniGPS.

Originally Posted by pawelsky

For plain NMEA any terminal will do (I'm using putty), to get the data in more user friendly format you may use e.g. VisualGPS. If you need a very simple application (which can setup Mediatek chipsets) you may use MiniGPS.

Thanks

Originally Posted by pawelsky

For plain NMEA any terminal will do (I'm using putty), to get the data in more user friendly format you may use e.g. VisualGPS. If you need a very simple application (which can setup Mediatek chipsets) you may use MiniGPS.

I am using a Fastrax UP501 GPS module
which uses the MT3329 chipset. When connecting to the FTDI, should I see the RX and TX led flash? I changed the voltage on the breakout to 3.3volts and it is detected in Windows7.

Thanks

Originally Posted by dante1

I am using a Fastrax UP501 GPS module
which uses the MT3329 chipset. When connecting to the FTDI, should I see the RX and TX led flash? I changed the voltage on the breakout to 3.3volts and it is detected in Windows7.

Thanks

You should see the RX LED flashing (the frequency depends on what messages the GPS is configured to transmit and how often). Make sure you connect RX of GPS to TX of FTDI and vice versa.

Originally Posted by pawelsky

You should see the RX LED flashing (the frequency depends on what messages the GPS is configured to transmit and how often). Make sure you connect RX of GPS to TX of FTDI and vice versa.

Okay, i got it. These GPS modules have two pad to feed power. One is main and the other is back up. Both need to be connected to the 3.3v in order to work. now everything is working good.
Thanks again for your help.

Is it possible to test a mainboard without it being in the drone? Can I simply connect a battery and a FTDI board?