3D Robotics pixhawk User manual

AUTOPILOT
QUICK START GUIDE

PARTS
1 Pixhawk
2 Buzzer
3 Safety switch
4 Micro-SD card and adapter
5 Micro-USB cable
6 Six-wire cable x2
7 Power module
8 I2C splitter module
9 Four-position I2C splitter cable
10 Three-wire servo cable
11 Mounting foam
1 2 3 4 5 7
811
MOUNT
Use the provided foam to mount Pixhawk as close as possible to your vehicle’s center of gravity.
Make sure to orient the board with the arrow pointing forward.
Vehicle front
Attach the foam squares to the
corners of the board.
GETTING STARTED
With the help of APM firmware, Pixhawk turns any
RC plane, copter, or rover into a full-featured personal
drone. Once you have a fully-assembled frame, follow
this guide to install Pixhawk.
6
910
1 Mount
2 Connect
3 Load firmware
4 Calibrate
1

CONNECT
(Required) Connect the buzzer
and safety switch.
(Optional) Connect a 3DR
Radio to Pixhawk’s Telem
port using the 6-wire cable
provided with your 3DR Radio
Kit to receive data and
communicate with
the autopilot in flight.
(GPS or GPS+Compass required)
Connect a 3DR GPS+Compass to
provide the autopilot with positioning
data during flight. This kit includes a
6-wire cable to connect the GPS ports.
Connect the MAG to the I2C port using
the 4-wire cable provided with the 3DR
GPS+Compass.
(Required) Connect the 3DR
Power Module to the Power port
using the 6-wire cable to direct
power from your lithium polymer
(LiPo) battery to the autopilot.
(Optional) The I2C splitter expands the I2C port to allow up
to four additional peripherals to connect to Pixhawk. Use the
4-wire cable to connect the I2C splitter and add a compass
module, external LED, digital airspeed sensor, or other
peripherals to your vehicle.
2

Connect the ground (-), power (+), and signal (S) wires to the RC
pins using the provided 3-wire servo cable.
For a Spektrum DSM, DSM2, or DSM-X Satellite RC receiver, connect to
the SPKT/DSM port.
CONNECT RADIO CONTROL
FOR PPM RC RECEIVERS AND FUTABA S.BUS RECEIVERS
FOR SPEKTRUM SATELLITE RECEIVERS
FOR PWM RECEIVERS
Purchase a PPM Encoder module to connect a PWM
RC receiver to Pixhawk at store.3dr.com.
LOAD SD CARD INTO PIXHAWK
If the SD card is not preloaded into Pixhawk, insert the micro-SD card into the slot at the
bottom end of the board.
For a complete list of RC systems compatible with Pixhawk, visit the APM wiki page here.

LOAD FIRMWARE
APM firmware is the brains of your autopilot operation and must be installed before using Pixhawk.
To load firmware onto Pixhawk, install a mission planner application on your ground station computer. Choose
either Mission Planner (Windows) or APM Planner for (Windows, OS X, and Linux).
Both applications are available for free download from ardupilot.com.
For rovers, connect the throttle and steering
wires to the main output signal pins.
Pin 3 = Throttle
Pin 4 = Steering
Mission planner
firmware
FOR COPTERS
FOR PLANES
FOR ROVERS
Connect each signal wire from the PDB to
the main output signal (S) pins by motor
number. Connect one wire for each motor
to the corresponding pin.
Pin 1 = Motor 1 Pin 5 = Motor 5
Pin 2 = Motor 2 Pin 6 = Motor 6
Pin 3 = Motor 3 Pin 7 = Motor 7
Pin 4 = Motor 4 Pin 8 = Motor 8
For planes, connect the control channel
wires to the main output signal pins.
Pin 1 = Aileron
Pin 2 = Elevator
Pin 3 = Throttle
Pin 4 = Rudder
CONNECT OUTPUTS
3

Download Mission Planner (Windows)
Mission Planner « Downloads
Sort by: Title | Hits | Date
■MissionPlanner - Installer Select the installer
package to download.
Ardupilot.com Downloads Mission Planner
After selecting the correct file, read the safety information and select Download.
Open the file to run the setup wizard. Proceed through any security warnings, and install all
suggested drivers. When the installation is complete, open the application, and connect Pixhawk to your
computer using the micro-USB cable.
Your computer will automatically install the correct drivers. Do not select Connect at this time; Pixhawk can only
load firmware while unconnected to Mavlink.
Download APM Planner (Windows, OS X, and Linux)
APM Planner 2.0 « Downloads
Sort by: Title | Hits | Date
■APM Planner 2.0 Mac
■APM Planner 2.0 Windows
■APM Planner 2.0 Linux
Select your platform to
download.
Ardupilot.com Downloads APM Planner 2.0
INSTALL PLANNER

When prompted, follow the directions to load the firmware. Once the status bar shows that the download is
complete, power cycle the board by disconnecting and reconnecting the USB.
If you hear a musical tone, your firmware installation is complete. If you hear a series of tones followed by three
beeps, disconnect the USB and reconnect while holding down the safety button. Upon restart, listen for a series
of tones followed by two beeps indicating that your firmware has loaded successfully.
beep BEEP beep...
BEEP BEEP 
Pixhawk needs your attention:
beep BEEP beep... BEEP BEEP BEEP
Everything is OK:
musical tone 
Select Initial Setup, Install Firmware, and select your vehicle.
CALIBRATE
With Pixhawk connected to your computer, select the communication option from the drop-down menu for
PX4 FMU, set the rate to 115200, and select the Connect icon. Select Initial Setup and Mandatory Hardware to
access the calibration wizards.
Remove propellers before performing calibration.
!
4

SELECT FRAME TYPE (COPTERS ONLY)
CALIBRATE COMPASS
Select the options to enable the compass; to allow automatic declination
calculation; and to specify Pixhawk. Select Live Calibration to launch the wizard,
and follow the prompts.
Show Me
videos demonstrating live calibration techniques at 3dr.com/learn.
For copter, select your frame orientation.

CALIBRATE ACCELEROMETER
SELECT FLIGHT MODES
4
5
6
RC CALIBRATION
left stick
right stick
Select Accel Calibration, check the box for AC 3.0+, select Calibrate, and
follow the prompts to calibrate Pixhawk’s accelerometer. Make sure to wait a
couple of seconds before and after changing the positions of the vehicle.
Select Radio Calibration to teach Pixhawk to work with your RC
transmitter. Turn on your transmitter, select Calibrate Radio,and move
all sticks and switches to their extreme positions. Select Click when Done
once the red bars are set for all available channels.
Move each switch on your transmitter to its available positions. The mission
planner will indicate the currently selected position with green highlighting. Select
a mode for each switch position, and select Save Modes to assign.

LED MEANINGS
Flashing red and blue: initializing. Please wait.
Double flashing yellow: error. System refuses to arm.
Flashing blue: disarmed, searching for GPS. Autonomous, loiter, and return-to-launch
modes require GPS lock.
Flashing green: disarmed, GPS lock acquired. Ready to arm. Quick double tone when
disarming from the armed state.
Solid green plus single long tone: armed and ready to fly!
Flashing yellow: RC failsafe activated.
Flashing yellow plus quick repeating tone: battery failsafe activated.
Flashing yellow and blue plus high-high-high-low tone: GPS glitch or GPS failsafe
activated.
Quick, constant blinking: performing system check. Please wait.
Solid: ready to arm. Proceed to the arming procedure.
Intermittent blinking: system ready. Press the safety button to activate.
SAFETY SWITCH MEANINGS
Learn more
about LED meanings and buzzer tones at 3dr.com/learn.