Mandatory Hardware Basic Configuration

The following section explains the basic configurations that need to be made on the mandatory hardware. For more advanced configurations, refer to the ArduPilot documentation: https://ardupilot.org/ardupilot/.

Calibrating the Accelerometer

To calibrate the accelerometer, complete the following steps:

1. Open Mission Planner.

2. Click Setup -> Mandatory Hardware -> Accel Calibration.

3. Click Calibrate Accel.

4. Place the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) level to the ground; then, click Click when Done.

1. Place the UAV with the nose pointing to the front and the left side touching the ground; then, click Click when Done.

1. Place the UAV with the nose pointing to the back and the right side touching the ground; then, click Click when Done.

1. Place the UAV with the nose touching the ground; then, click Click when Done.

1. Place the UAV with the nose pointing upward; then, click Click when Done.

1. Place the UAV with the nose pointing downwards; then, click Click when Done.

1. Verify that "Calibration successful" is shown.

For more details on how to minimize the magnetic interference and improve the compass performance, refer to http://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-magnetic-interference.html#common-magnetic-interference

Calibrating the Accelerometer Level

To calibrate the accelerometer level, complete the following steps:

1. Open Mission Planner.

2. Click Setup -> Mandatory Hardware -> Accel Calibration.

3. Place the vehicle level to the ground and click Calibrate Level.

4. Verify that "Completed" is shown.

Calibrating the Accelerometer Scale Factors

To calibrate the accelerometer scale factors, complete the following steps:

1. Click Setup -> Mandatory Hardware -> Accel Calibration.

2. Place the vehicle level to the ground and click Simple Accel Cal.

3. Verify that "Completed" is shown.

Calibrating the Compass

To calibrate the compass, complete the following steps:

1. Click Setup -> Mandatory Hardware -> Compass.

2. Select the priority for the three different compasses by clicking the up and down arrows.

3. Click Start to calibrate the compasses.

4. Hold the UAV in the air and slowly rotate it so that each side—front, back, left, right, top, and bottom—faces the ground for a few seconds. As the UAV is rotated, the green bars on the display begin to extend to the right.

1. Continue rotating the UAV until "Success" is shown. A rising tone will be emitted.

1. When the “Please reboot the autopilot” window appears, click OK. The autopilot needs to be rebooted before the UAV can be armed.

Calibrating the Radio Control

To calibrate the radio control, complete the following steps:

1. Open Mission Planner.

2. Click Setup -> Mandatory Hardware -> Radio Calibration.

3. Connect the RC receiver to the RCIN port on The Cube and turn on the RC transmitter.

4. Verify that the receiver displays a solid green light, which indicates a successful connection with the transmitter, and ensure the transmitter is set to the correct UAV.

5. Verify that the green bars move when adjusting the transmitter sticks.

6. When completed, click Click when Done.

Calibrating the Electronic Speed Controller (ESC)

To calibrate the ESC, complete the following steps:

1. Turn on the transmitter and adjust the throttle stick to maximum.

1. Connect the LiPo battery to the power module. When connected, The Cube's red, blue, and yellow LEDs will light up in a cyclical pattern.

1. With the transmitter throttle stick still adjusted to high, disconnect and reconnect the battery.

1. Press and hold the safety button until it displays a solid red color. The autopilot is now in ESC calibration mode. The red and blue LEDs will blink on and off.

2. Wait for the ESCs to emit a musical tone -> a series of beeps indicating the battery cell count (e.g., 3 beeps for 3S, 4 beeps for 4S), followed by two additional beeps to confirm maximum throttle capture.

3. Adjust the transmitter’s throttle stick to minimum. The ESCs will emit a long tone indicating the minimum throttle has been captured and the calibration is complete.

1. Verify a long tone is emitted, which indicates the ESCs are “live” now.

2. Test if the motors can spin by slightly raising the throttle and then lowering it.

3. Set the throttle to minimum and disconnect the battery to exit the ESC-calibration mode.

Configuring the Flight Mode

The flight mode channel (default is channel 5) is the input radio channel that ArduPilot monitors for mode changes.

To change the channel number, complete the following steps:

1. Open Mission Planner.

2. Click Config -> Full Parameter List

3. Adjust the FLTMODE-CH parameter.

To configure the flight mode, complete the following steps:

1. Open Mission Planner.

2. Click Setup -> Flight Modes.

3. Toggle the corresponding button to the desired flight mode position.

4. Move the transmitter’s flight mode switch and observe the green bar moving to a new position.

5. When finished, click Save.

A total of six autopilot/flight modes can be enabled from the RC transmitter.

See below for a brief description of the different flight modes. For a more detailed explanation, refer to the ArduPilot documentation:

• https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/flight-modes.html

• https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/flight-modes.html

Configuring the Servo Connection

The servo rail is not powered by The Cube. Therefore, an external BEC or ESC that can provide 5V is needed.

To configure the control channels for the servos, complete the following steps:

1. Open Mission Planner

2. Click Setup -> Mandatory Hardware -> Servo Output.

3. Adjust the parameters based on the requirements.