Pi Zero Drone Post 8: On board Instrument Calibration
From the on screen response to tuning PID controllers, APM
Planner 2.0 software can give a newbie quad user (myself) a deep understanding
of what it takes to control this quadcopter. The software is capable of display
real time response of the IMU, RC controller and other instruments you wish to
fly with. This post aims to give a brief introduction and how to calibrate your
instruments while I wait for new ESC to come in from Amazon.
The APM Planner 2.0 has a very interactive GUI that can be
used for multiple vehicle types. A full in depth tutorial of the software can
be found on ardupilot.org/planner2/.
First step is to download the software onto your computer and follow the
instructions on the screen. To connect to the quadcopter, first plug in the
battery and wait for the buzzer to sound. This time you can connect to your
quadcopter using the 5 GHz Wi-Fi signal.
Steps to configure the Wi-Fi signal can be found in blog
post # 6.
After you have connected, the on screen altitude indicator
(Very similar to one on an airplane) should start responding to the onboard IMU.
Now the calibration can begin. In the APM Mission 2.0 tool bar select ‘Initial
Setup’ >> Mandatory Setup. From here you can pick the frame type, this
drone uses the first X-style frame type.
Compass
Select Compass to
start the calibration. The Compass will need a live calibration by rotation the
quadcopter in the air slowly around all axis (front, back, left, right, top and
bottom). This will be done for 1 minute. Calibration offset will be created and
stored for future missions.
Accelerometer
Selected Accel
Calibration and the calibration wizard window will appear. Be sure to have
the quadcopter on a flat surface and select Calibrate Accelerometer and follow the prompts on the screen. It is
important not to move the copter immediately after pressing continue for each
process, this may lead to skewed stored parameters.
Radio Calibration
Remove all propellers and bind the RC transmitter to the
receiver.
Select Radio
Calibration and start the calibration by pressing the Calibrate button. Move the sticks and switches to the maximum
positions. When you feel that all the movements are correct, press End Calibration and the offsets will be
stored for that radio controller.
Attach “RC_Calibration.jpg” here
Flight Modes
This setting can be used to assign switches on your
transmitter to modes like loiter or stabilize. You can set your own settings
based on what you wish your quadcopter to do.