ModalAI Forum

This is not currently supported. Right now the only data going to the UAS from the ground is via ELRS. We do have plans to support MAVLink over ELRS in the future.

Most power issues with VOXL 2 relate to MCBL-00001 connector becoming dislodged. People often pull the cable instead of depress the connector for proper removal. Is there any chance you have a cabling issue? This is the most common cause of failure.

Assuming you don't have major software changes, we're not tracking any issues that cause random flight reboots.

The source code you're referencing is a good starting point as an example for what you want to develop. We do not have a ready made tracker for use today and do not have plans to implement one. We just have those references as a development starting point

Thanks for the detailed report. A few notes based on what's in the log:

1. The missing intrinsics files are not the cause of the abort — those ERROR in json_from_yaml, failed to open file / tracking_front_intrinsics.yml warnings are expected if you haven't run camera calibration yet, and voxl-camera-server falls back to default intrinsics. That's noise, not the crash.

2. The actual "Aborted" with no further message is what we need to isolate. The docs' Debugging Camera Issues page is the right starting point for this class of failure, but the excerpt we have doesn't show the specific abort signature you're hitting, so I don't want to guess at root cause here. Can you get us:

   • dmesg output right after the crash (look for a segfault/kernel oops around the same timestamp)
   • Whether there's a core dump generated (check /data/core* or wherever core dumps land on your image) — if so, a backtrace via gdb would tell us exactly which line aborts
   • Run voxl-camera-server under gdb directly (gdb --args voxl-camera-server, then run, then bt once it aborts) — this is the fastest way to get a real stack trace instead of guessing

3. The "works after a couple of systemctl restart calls" behavior strongly suggests a race/init-order issue rather than a config problem — since your config itself (both the custom_camera_config.txt and generated voxl-camera-server.conf) looks structurally correct for two independent ar0144 cameras. One thing worth double checking: you're using ar0144-fsin-combo on J6_LOWER_COMBO1 for tracking_down, but I don't see a J6_LOWER_COMBO1_NAME2 or combo-mode field set — since this is a combo slot, confirm whether that flex is truly running in single-sensor mode. If the combo detection is flaky on init (i.e. it doesn't always see the second physical sensor consistently), that could cause a transient failure on cold start that clears on restart.

4. Please also confirm which mach.var / carrier board (M0054) revision and whether tracking_down is on a combo flex physically wired for single-sensor use — a photo of the flex connection would help us rule out a physical/timing issue on that port.

We've recently ordered two Starling 2 Max units with M0062 add-ons. We want to attach an external USB 3.0 drive off the VOXL 2, and want to be sure we're using the right port and the right cable before we order anything.

A few questions:
The M0062 user guide says USB3 isn't reliable on the Type-A port (J10) and to treat it as USB2, and that J11 is the USB3 host port. Is J11 where we should be plugging in?
MCBL-00022 is in your cable datasheet but we can't find it in the store. It's not on either page of the cables collection. Is it still available? If so, how do we order it?

Also our Starling order included cables we never itemized. If you can see from the order whether a 10-pin USB3 cable was in it, that would save us buying a duplicate.

And if MCBL-00022 is discontinued, is there a replacement? Failing that, the mating connector part number and pinout would let us get one made.

I wanted to inquire about the maximum input voltage of the VOXL FPV ESC.
On one hand, the data sheet states, that it is usable for 2-6S (6-26V), under performance it is stated as 40V.

For a project we were considering a 7S battery (maximum charge voltage 29.4V).
This is above the official maximum input voltage of the VOXL FPV ESC, but below 40V.

Could you advise, if it would be possible to use the FPV ESC with a 7S battery?

Thank you very much for your support.

Hi, thanks for the detailed questions on the M0189. Answering below — full specs are on the datasheet at https://docs.modalai.com/M0189/ and the product/ordering page at https://www.modalai.com/products/m0189.

1. Integration Guidelines

The M0189 doesn't plug directly into VOXL 2 Mini — it connects to a M0188 or M0195 carrier board (which itself mounts on VOXL 2 Mini), via one of four ToF ports (J01/J23/J45/J67) using an MCBL-00128 cable. The module is hardware-strapped for I2C, so only power, ground, and I2C are routed through the connector — no host-side mode-pin configuration needed.

On the software side, it's managed by voxl-mini-tof-server (see docs.modalai.com/M0189/ for the link, or search "mini-tof-server" on docs.modalai.com

• Reads a JSON config from /etc/modalai/voxl-mini-tof-server.conf (or multiple files in .conf.d/ if you're running sensors across separate I2C buses)
• Publishes point cloud data over MPA on the rangefinder_pc pipe
• Ships with a config wizard (voxl-configure-mini-tofs -i) for known hardware setups, plus non-interactive list/set commands
• Supports multiple sensors via a TCA9548A I2C mux
• Output is inspectable with voxl-inspect-points or viewable live as a point cloud in VOXL Portal

Sensor location/orientation relative to the vehicle's center of gravity has to be set manually and precisely in the config — there's no auto-calibration step. I didn't find a dedicated worked example/reference design specifically for VOXL 2 Mini + M0189 beyond the datasheet and server docs, but the mounting/connector details and full pinout are on the datasheet page.

2. Sensor Performance and Use Cases

Per the datasheet and product page:

• FOV: 45° × 45° (65° diagonal)
• Range: up to 400 cm, target- and lighting-dependent
• Resolution: up to 8×8 (64 zones) — this is genuine multizone depth, output as a 3D point cloud over MPA (not single-point, and not a dense depth image)
• 940 nm Class 1 eye-safe VCSEL, direct-ToF (dToF)

Neither page gives quantified outdoor/bright-sunlight derating numbers or flight-tested obstacle-avoidance performance data — that's probably worth a direct follow-up if you need hard numbers before committing to a platform design.

3. Availability and Purchasing

Currently listed as an active, in-stock product at $44.99 (MPN MDK-M0189-2-00, board only) — see https://www.modalai.com/products/m0189. You'll also need the M0188 or M0195 carrier and the MCBL-00128 cable, both sold separately. Per the compatibility table on that page, it works with VOXL 2 Mini (via the carrier) and VOXL 2 (with additional cabling), but not VOXL or VOXL Flight. No lead-time info is posted, so I'd check with sales directly on that.

Hi Christopher

We currently support two forms of recording, both at the pilot

• internal to the VRX onboard storage
• on goggles to the SD Card

We do have on our list to implement recording at the UAS itself, but that will need to be in a future software update.

The Doodle Labs pinout could be inferred from this cable mcbl-00085

@jbiscan21 said in Standoffs part:

standoffs

You can find them here: https://www.modalai.com/products/starling-2-max-replacement-parts?variant=66893548028208

These are the propellers that were used for that drone https://www.getfpv.com/lumenier-6x4-slow-flyer-propeller-set-of-4-clear.html

@ChrisB here is a system architecture to follow: https://docs.modalai.com/voxl2-d0014/

We do not support an RB5, that is a Qualcomm product

@boron Please submit an RMA, https://modalai.com/rma and just refer to this thread. Include your shipping information and we'll send you a new one

@RyanH

T-motor has been banned in the US, so we can't purchase those directly any longer and have moved to a different motor for the product

this might be a good place to purchase a replacement motor https://www.amazon.com/TYXTTGY-F2203-5-Brushless-Motor-Cinewhoop/dp/B0F21NFKKW?th=1
it looks to have the same specs as t-motor

@Demarconius Yes, we can achieve ~50ms glass to glass using our VRX and voxl-vtx software service on the UAS-side.

https://docs.modalai.com/vrx-ground-unit-developer-guide/#doodle-labs

@jbhines929 Please fill out the RMA form to get the process started. If it is due to manufactures defect it is covered under warranty and no diagnosis fee will be charged.

@brandon there are likely a number of things going on

If the drone sits idle for a period of time, the sensors heat up (accel and baro). When the props start spinning, the temperature drops causing significant drift. If you let the props spin for 10 or 20s cooling off the board, that can help

I would guess after 30-60s of flight, the altitude stabilizes. That is the temperature of the sensors stabilizng.

The latest SDKs have temperature compensated calibration for IMU and baro. Try calibrating accel and baro and see if that helps.
https://docs.modalai.com/calibrate-baro/
https://docs.modalai.com/calibrate-imu/

The GPS on Starling 2 Max has been tricky. We do have a new GPS on the way that looks promising, and hope to make it available in the next 2mo.

@JoonaR can you please provide your order number? Is there a chance you ordered the "no radios" configuration?

@taiwohazeez start with going through the troubleshooting tips: https://docs.modalai.com/flying-with-vio/#troubleshooting-vio

qvio_overlay or ovins_overlay are going to be very informative

@leandro The M0188-1 includes the connectors for the TOF range finders. We have not offered that board before though. Where did you find that information?

What was your order number? We can send you a M0188-1, but it may not be available for small orders in the future