Remember to change it back to “31”, after completing the ESC programming. In order to pass the throttle stick directly to the ESC for ESC programming per the ESC’s instructions, temporarily change this to SERVO8_FUNCTION = 53. By default the output function where it is attached is set to HeliRSC ( SERVO8_FUNCTION = 31). In order to do this, you must be able to directly control the input to the ESC. In addition, it is often required to change ESC settings, such as enabling the governor mode and/or setting voltage protection levels. Some ESCs must be calibrated to the throttle range (ie HeliRSC output range, which defaults to 1000 to 2000us).
#INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEBULA 3 CHANNEL HELICOPTER MANUAL#
The transmitter channel on which the motor interlock is set requires the PWM to be low (<1200 PWM) for motor interlock disabled (throttle hold on) and above 1200 PWM for motor interlock enabled (throttle hold off).Ĭheck the docs for your selected autopilot but most require a separate power supply to the servo rail to power your servos at their appropriate rated voltage.Ĭonnect telemetry radios, GPS/compass module, power to autopilot itself, and any other peripherals as per the instructions in the owners manual for the unit.īe sure to remove all blades when doing ESC calibration. In ArduCopter 4.0, the RCn_Option parameter can be set to motor interlock for a user selectable channel. All other PWM values will set motor interlock enabled (throttle hold off). The RC transmitter channel 8 must have the PWM within 10 pwm of the RC8_MIN for motor interlock disabled (throttle hold on). In ArduCopter 3.6 and earlier, the motor interlock and RC passthrough mode is tied to RC channel 8 only. In order to arm the helicopter, the motor interlock must be disabled (throttle hold on). Motor interlock disabled (throttle hold on) means the motor is not allowed to drive the rotor/tailrotor. Motor interlock enabled (throttle hold off) means the motor is allowed to drive the rotor/tailrotor and the rotor speed control handles the rotor runup/shutdown. This is similar to throttle hold in RC helicopters. Motor interlock enables the motor to drive the rotor/tailrotor. This feature adds an extra layer of safety when working with helicopters. All traditional helicopter frames are required to use Motor Interlock. See the rotor speed control setup wiki for more details on RSC setup. This is automatically configured as Heli RSC (servo function 31) for the servo 8 function. The throttle servo or ESC for the main rotor motor is defaulted to output 8. See the swashplate setup wiki for more details. The default swashplate is H3-120 where Motor 1 (servo function 33) left front servo, goes to output 1 Motor 2 (output function 34), right front servo goes to output 2 and Motor 3 (output function 35), rear (elevator) servo goes to output 3. The autopilot output functions wiki shows the complete list of servo output functions. The output on most controllers for SERVO’s 1 thru 8 are labled Main Out: Note3: The RC8_OPTION defaults to the Motor Interlock function. Note2: The FLTMODE_CH defaults to RC Channel 5. Note1: These functions are mapped by RCMAP_x parameters by default. The default receiver channel to ArduCopter RC input function mapping is as follows: RC Receiver The dual helicopter frame requires the flight controller have at least 7 output channels. For flight controllers, traditional helicopter and quadheli frames require one that has at least 5 output channels. For all helicopter frames, an RC radio that has at least 6 channels is required. For receivers that only output PWM, a PPM encoder is required to connect to the autopilot, however this is not recommended for applications requiring minimum possible latency. Some controllers also accept Spektrum satellite receivers. The RC input for many ardupilot compatible autopilots is either PPM SUM (8 channels) or S.Bus (up to 18 channels).