Flight Core

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  Microstrain 3DMGX5 Interface
  • Andrew Keefe  

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  I verified the UART is working fine using the loopback method, at a few different baud rates. I think the issue is the sensor itself must be encoding the packets differently than I am reading them. I might need to reduce the baud rate down to 9600 and review the data on the oscilloscope. The Arduino's SoftwareSerial library didn't work properly until I inverted the input, but I didn't see that option for the linux UART.
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  Datalog Transfer via Radio
  • Andrew Keefe  

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  I am connecting my RFD 900+ to the J5 connector on the Flight Core. The radio is configured for 57,600 baud. I don't have any experience setting mavlink "modes." This is an underwater vehicle, so I only communicate with it on the bench. My hope is to not have to open up the pressure vessel to pull off the data logs, which is our current method.
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  Dead PWM Channels
  • tangotoo  

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  Hi @tangotoo , If you have a DMM handy, can you confirm you get a high resistance reading between the PWM output pins and DGND on J7 with the PCB powered OFF and disconnected from the ESCs? Pin 10 is DGND. For example, if you measure DCR on Pin-2 to GND (pin-10), you should get ~200-300KOhm. And for Pins 3-9 as well. If any of those are much lower, then that implies an ESD or overvoltage event might have damaged the pins from the STM MCU or the ESD protection devices we have creating an internal short in the MCU or on the ESD diodes on those specific bad channels. If all the readings are in that high value range for all 8 PWMS, then our SW team will have to jump in to help. Thanks!
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  px4 based flightcore and iPhone 14
  • Suvasis M  

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  No one has replied

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  Holybro Pixhawk 5x and modalai's flight core
  • Suvasis M  

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  @Vinny Thanks for more clarifications. I was comparing: https://github.com/PX4/PX4-Autopilot/blob/main/boards/holybro/pix32v5/src/board_config.h and https://github.com/PX4/PX4-Autopilot/blob/main/boards/modalai/fc-v2/src/board_config.h table comparing the hardware features I will appreciate if you can share. The Modalai flight core is tiny compared to pixhawk5x, I wanted to mix and match flight core with voxl(which is essentially snapdragon) or Nvidia Jetson processors for drones or robot. Thanks. suvasis
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  Issue with aftermarket PMU and UAVCAN on FW 1.11.3
  • Caleb Rievley  

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  Have you asked in the px4.slack.com Slack channel? All of the developers are there and there is tons of good support. They would probably have better recommendations on how to add the driver properly than we would.
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  Flight core integrate with a Wifi module？
  • DarkKnightCH  

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  Not out of the box -- you would need software running on the WiFi module to turn the serial/UART into packets to send over wifi in much the same way the VOXL does through voxl-vision-px4 and the mavlink server. Something like https://www.seeedstudio.com/grove-uart-wifi-v2-esp8285.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwrNmWBhA4EiwAHbjEQAItVDD1g2yzKCTEn6CQgcpUFMOcq_KO3P3pyJJhrzkPx51yIZ2hCRoCrg4QAvD_BwE might work, but I haven't tried. Or a similar ESP-based board with a UART and Wifi included. Ublox makes the Nina line of chips as well that you could build something to do this for you.
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  Do we need to disable internal compass?
  • Moderator  

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  Flight Core does not have an internal magnetometer (compass) so there's no need!
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  TOF camera
  • Zeev Mindali  

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  @Zeev-Mindali Checkout your options here: https://www.modalai.com/pages/rma
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  Flight Core USB Power
  • Andrew Keefe  

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  Yes, this "can" work, but it is not ideal due to the many unknown variables on someone's host PC. Hence it is not a default option, and we would not recommend it. Issues can range from USB VBUS being out of spec (as it is, it is allowed +/- 10% which puts it in on the edge of our needs), and most "correctly designed" PCs will not provide more than 100mA unless a device is enumerated that asks for more. I'm not sure if all version of PX4 do that correctly. 100mA is insufficient for most use cases. In a strictly "QGC config" mode, I can see this work, but it is not something we plan on supporting on this version board due to those risks above. This also opens the door for someone to leave that power feed in-place while then later connecting the power module which will create a serious power rail shorting problem between the module and the PC. However, we do have a design already figured out that can take USB power for QGC/Config type of applications, and it validates the VBUS through a smart fuse/mux before using it. This will allows us to globally claim support, and if someone's system is not correct or out of range, we protect the HW. Stay tuned!
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  Unable to open port while calibrating ESC
  • Jimk_Aero  

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  Hi @Jimk_Aero , Sorry to hear about the problems. Not being able to power off USB does make this hard and is a carry over from the VOXL Flight.... Even without ESC calibration, you can manually attempt to spin a motor, if using PWM, via this: https://dev.px4.io/master/en/middleware/modules_command.html#pwm Do you have an oscilliscope? You could probe the PWM channel output pretty easy (pins 2-5 for a quad) and see if you see any signal coming out of the board. If there's no signal, when you expect it, on a single channel, try to look at those ESD diodes right next to the connector and check for any fried parts. PX4 FW version you are running? There are two programs to handle some edge cases, px4-esc-cal-tool-v1-11.py and px4-esc-cal-tool.py
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  Dash board no response of QGC
  • Nathan Ni  

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  @modaltb Thank you for your answer, it is true that the problem is caused by the lack of magnetic compass.
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  ESC Power
  • Jimk_Aero  

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  @Jimk_Aero Sorry so hear that you're still having problems. The built-in BEC shouldn't be required for basic use case. Unless you're trying to power some other on-board electronics/avionics with the BEC. All you should need is the "power in" to all 4 esc's from a PDB and then signal and ground from esc's to flight core J7, via the breakout board. Modalai's breakout board was designed for PWM signals only and works well in that regard. Also check to make sure that DSHOT_CONFIG is set to "disable" Here's some notes from our board designer to clarify. The primary design intent was to be used with a distribution board for power It is actually unsafe for these types of pin headers to have exposed voltages on them We wanted to prevent some customers from accidentally installing two BEC generators on these blocks which occur all the time in other hobbyist forums/kits and customers end up damaging their BEC modules. We apologize we did not make it clearer this is just a breakout board and not a BEC distribution block.
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  J5 telemetry voltage tolerance
  • Adam Ehrmantraut  

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  Hi Adam, By default we have J5 TELEM as matching PX4 formats, with +3.3V signaling and the +5V power. We do not recommend operating J5 or any of the 3.3V based ports at 5V signaling. There are a few things to note: The default range of the pins in the MCU spec is a max of 3.6V If you want 5V signaling, consider using J1 which is 5V signaling, but note the pinout is a different format by design using a DF13 connector instead of the JST-GH https://docs.modalai.com/flight-core-datasheets-connectors/#j1---voxl-communications-interface-connector Although the MCU claims it is 5V tolerant, there are functional configuration limitations on that tolerance that the PX4 images may include, such as internal pullups. Refer to the STM32F7 series MCU spec for details on their 5V tolerance. It is limited. If you were to run "bare-die code" (not PX4) and meet the MCU limitations, and consequently drive inputs at 5V, keep in mind your outputs are still 3.3V based, so your 5V device you are trying to talk to (if it is a CMOS input) will not register the HIGH voltage and your interface will not work. Hence overall our recommendation is to keep 3.3V specified interfaces at 3.3V. Let us know if you would like any further info. Thanks!
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  Taranis Q X7
  • Moderator  

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  Outstanding! Thank you for following up
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  LiDAR not showing up via I2C on J13
  • Ansel Misfeldt  

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  @modaltb Interesting, that's good to know they should be identical (what I assumed), that's why I was puzzled when it didn't seem to work. On VOXL Flight we're using port J13 and it's always worked perfectly without issue the first time we're wired up a new unit. I have not tried starting via the command line, but that's a good idea to try. My best guess is a loose connection in the wiring somewhere or a pin not making good contact on the board. If it should be working the most obviously problem is user error on our part or something not making contact properly. We ended up sending them one of our VOXL Flight units where we knew it worked perfectly each time instead of using the Flight Core because they were in a rush to get things working. Thanks for the suggestions!
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  Fried Unit
  • simo  

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  We test all of our PCBs thoroughly before they are shipped. We do ship the PCBs bare though, which means they are susceptible to ESD and other damage. We really can't warranty against how different people may handle the PCBs. We publish handling instructions that are also shipped with the PCBs, found here An issue many run into with Flight Core is that they plug USB into the Spektrum port and fry the board. The RMA diagnostic process is for ModalAI technicians to spend time looking into the root cause of the failure, and then provide analysis on what to do next.
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  Motors not responding to Throttle
  • Adarsh96  

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  @Adarsh96 Hey there, reading your issue reminded me of something I once experienced. EKF not initializing position is a separate issue but I can tell you if you're able to arm the quad amd have the motors spinning, it should be good. What flightmode did you arm it in? Because with some you need to raise throttle above 60% to takeoff. Just a thought but you might have just been in the wrong mode bc quad arming means you're basically ready to fly.
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  Error communicating with bootloader
  • czarsimon  

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  Indeed it was the diodes! I was able to fix one board by bridging the pads with some solder, the other one had the pads completely gone. Very strange, the flight cores are powered by the VOXL with the serial pins connected as well, but I don't see how that could cause hardware damage?
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  Get vehicle attitude
  • Andrew Keefe  

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  Ah, when I run the PWM program there is no chatter on the PWM signals, so I'm going to review that code again and compare it to mine.