@dan64 Unsure if you have resolved this issue, but I am going to add some more information to anyone that stumbles across this. There was a bug in the voxl-mavlink-server setting and sending all System ID numbers to 1. The deb file below should solve this issue where the MAV_SYS_ID can be changed an reflected on the VOXL2.

http://voxl-packages.modalai.com/dists/qrb5165/dev/binary-arm64/voxl-mavlink-server_1.4.12-202509181025_arm64.deb

Hi @souksakone
We do not support powering and arming any sUAS from a power supply. The ESC and other electronics will be damaged, and our warranty does not cover that.

If you need a bench top supply for code config, development, etc (without arming motors at all), then we sell a 30W adapter for XT60 here and you can adapt to Starling 2 max without much trouble: https://www.modalai.com/collections/accessories/products/ps-xt60

Hi @Martin-Lukac
Good catch on the pin swap. The Table is correct, with Pin 6 = GND.

The one thing I was wondering is related to this comment:
" I can power the ESC and the FCv2 separately."
That is not necessarily a good thing, and likely to lead to problems if you are powered up or down at different times. If one output (TX) is driving an unpowered input (RX), it could put the HW in a bad state. Please make sure to have them synced for ON and OFF.
Thanks.

@oiler251 You should be able to arm with the arm gesture (e.g. moving the left stick to bottom right). But since that isn't working I suggested to configure an arm switch. I do see that the RC2_TRIM parameter is set to 1000.0 which is odd. Normally it is around 1500.00. When you look at the QGC radio configuration screen and you move the sticks around do they look normal? And when sticks are centered are they all showing that they centered on the graphics? You could try setting RC2_TRIM to 1500.0 and see if that allows you to arm with the gesture. Please make sure you have the propellers removed when doing this testing!

I just disconnected/reconnected the USB to 4-pin JST cable from the microhard carrier board and rebooted the vehicle. Now the wlan0 interface has been up the entire time the vehicle's on, but none of the other devices on the vLAN the wifi adapter is connected to can ping the vehicle over wifi.

Output from dmesg looks the same except the following output after the microhard interface is found:

[ 26.460342] usb 1-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 4 using xhci-hcd [ 26.550901] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=1f94, idProduct=3002, bcdDevice= 4.14 [ 26.550915] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3 [ 26.550922] usb 1-1.2: Product: pMDDL2450AES256 [ 26.550929] usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: Microhard [ 26.550935] usb 1-1.2: SerialNumber: 1592348 [ 26.639101] rndis_host 1-1.2:1.0 usb0: register 'rndis_host' at usb-xhci-hcd.0.auto-1.2, RNDIS device, 16:4f:08:e4:e1:09 [ 26.643401] cdc_acm 1-1.2:1.2: ttyACM0: USB ACM device [ 33.765387] vdd_tof: disabling [ 33.765393] vdd_hap_boost: disabling [ 37.240138] hrtimer: interrupt took 112083 ns [ 101.412343] boot log copy done [ 114.937520] qcom_rpmh DRV:apps_rsc TCS Busy, retrying RPMH message send: addr=0x41b08 [ 233.747906] perf: interrupt took too long (2778 > 2500), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 72000 [ 339.990578] perf: interrupt took too long (3473 > 3472), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 57500 [ 386.060248] perf: interrupt took too long (4425 > 4341), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 45000

@gestrada1150
I think it should come with gps denied navigation configuration out of the box, you can verify and set it up yourself here:
https://docs.modalai.com/flying-with-vio/

Here are the links to the test firmware:

M0129-3
M0129-6

After you update, you should see the following version after running voxl-esc-scan.py (except yours will be M0129-6). The firmware version will be 39.23 and this version will be reserved only for this test firmware:

INFO: ESC Information: INFO: --------------------- ID : 0 Board : version 40: ModalAi 4-in-1 ESC (M0129-3) UID : 0x2039333557555304003F0029 Firmware : version 39.23, hash 30c088dc Bootloader : version 184, hash 10bf24c8 ...

In case you need help updating ESC firmware: https://docs.modalai.com/voxl-escs/faq/#q-how-do-i-update-esc-firmware

We won't officially release this firmware version in order to avoid the aforementioned risk of turning on 5.0V by just installing a firmware update, however we will work on enabling this in the ESC params.

Also, just as a reminder, please be careful soldering to the AUX test points, use high quality flexible cables, and use strain relief to avoid lifting the pads.

Alex

@Jskim , sounds good!

Just FYI, i noticed that the config file i provided has some outdated settings for IMX412 camera - I have some better suggestions and will follow up soon. You can still test with the above config - the hardware functionality will not be affected.

Alex

Hi @VictorG
Our team sent another batch out...
FedEx tracking 884700036314
They claim Monday you should get it ... sorry for all these delays. We tried!!!

I do not have visibility into our product shipment status, but this issue and experience has escalated the need for me to have that visibility, so I will explore that.

We'll try better next time 🙂
Keep me posted.
Thanks!

@luisgb , all of ModalAI ESCs can be controlled via UART using two modes

power : command 0-100% power, which controls the average duty cycle for that motor RPM : (requires calibration for the motor + propeller type): controls rpm directly

Commands to the ESC are sent via UART and normally that UART port is connected to VOXL2 UART, which is mapped directly to the DSP. The DSP is where most of PX4 runs.

If you are looking for the easiest integration / testing, you can connect the ESC directly the VOXL2 CPU (using non-DSP UARTs) and use either python or c++ code to interface to the ESC (or similarly from a Linux Desktop / laptop).

It is also possible to communicate with the ESC while the ESC is connected to the DSP UART. This is how the voxl-esc tools work on VOXL2 (while PX4 is not running). This works by bridging the connection between the DSP and CPU and accessing the DSP UART from the CPU. However, this path has extra delay and is not recommended for any real-time feedback control applications.

If you provide more information about your use case, I can suggest the best path.

Alex

@holmeslice Regarding having the external flight controller, it's really only needed if the I/O limitations of VOXL 2 are a problem. For example, if you need CAN bus then you should probably use the external flight controller since VOXL 2 has no CAN bus support.

@Vinny Thank you for your valuable feedback.

I’ll keep the points you mentioned in mind while doing the bench testing.

Hi @ysc
We do not need it back. Please keep it for mechanical reference.
Glad we were able to help you out here.

Thanks!

HI @souksakone
Also, do not ARM the drone when using a power supply. You WILL damage the ESC and we will not honor any RMA/Warranties in that condition. We place warning labels on all main power supply cables for that.
Thanks!

@mkeyno You need to work with the PX4 community on this project, not ModalAI.

@tom alt text

@gestrada1150 We have an experimental fork of betaflight running on VOXL 2 now. However, there are no official plans to support this.

@Alex-Kushleyev , Thank you, I successfully ordered the it.

@Vinny Yes, thank you very much!