AheadX LEO User manual

1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.9.1
1.9.2
1.9.2.1
1.9.2.1.1
1.9.2.1.2
1.9.2.2
1.9.2.3
1.9.2.3.1
1.9.2.3.2
1.9.2.3.3
1.9.2.3.3.1
1.9.2.3.3.2
1.9.2.3.3.3
1.9.2.3.4
1.9.2.3.5
1.9.2.3.6
1.9.2.3.7
1.9.2.3.8
1.9.2.3.9
1.9.2.4
1.9.2.4.1
1.9.2.4.2
1.9.2.4.3
1.9.2.4.4
1.9.2.4.5
1.9.3
目 录
README
Tips
Version Information
Copyright Notice
Disclaimer
Introduction
Features and applications
Technical Parameters
Flight controller installation and connection
Self-prepared equipment
Cables&wires
Interface definition
LEO HV Interface definition
LEO Standard Interface definition
Precautions:
Equipment connection rules
Flight controller power supply
Data link
PWM servo connection
Quad Plan PWM servo connection
Fixed wing PWM servo connection
Multi-rotor ESC connection
SBUS servo connection
Voltage monitoring
RPM monitoring
Auxiliary joystick
CAN bus air unit
Alternate interface
Equipment installation rules
Shock absorption requirements
Anti-electromagnetic interference requirements
GNSS antenna installation requirements
Data link antenna installation requirements
Structural interference requirement
Indicator light

2
1.9.4
1.9.4.1
1.9.4.1.1
1.9.4.1.2
1.9.4.2
1.9.4.3
1.9.5
1.9.5.1
1.9.5.2
1.9.5.3
1.9.6
1.10
1.10.1
1.10.1.1
1.10.1.2
1.10.2
1.10.2.1
1.10.3
1.11
1.12
Flight control installation
Installation Environment
Electromagnetic Compatibility
Structural interference
Flight control hardware installation
Flight control and cable connection
GNSS antenna installation
Installation Environment
Installation adjustment
Post-installation check
Pitot installation
Basic test
Hardware connection check
Air unit
Ground unit
Software connection check
Ground station software connection
Pre-flight check
Upgrade
After-sales policy

3
Tips
Version Information
Copyright Notice
Disclaimer
Introduction
Features and applications
Technical Parameters
Flight controller installation and connection
Self-prepared equipment
Cables&wires
Interface definition
Precautions
Equipment connection rules
Equipment installation rules
Indicator light
Flight control installation
Installation Environment
Flight control hardware installation
Flight control and cable connection
GNSS antenna installation
Installation Environment
Installation adjustment
Post-installation check
Pitot installation
Basic test
Hardware connection check
Air unit
Ground unit
Software connection check
Ground station software connection
Pre-flight check
Upgrade
After-sales policy
Tips
Welcome to read AheadX online document. This manual will assist you with the
installation and post-installation checking of LEO.
Blue text, suggestions and content you may need to know
Orange text, please pay close attention
Red text, must be strictly enforced
Version Information

4
Version: V1.0
Update note: Create a document
Time: 2019.03.20
Copyright Notice
The intellectual property rights of this product and the manual are solely owned by
AheadX Technology. Without written permission, any unauthorized copying,
reproduction or sale by any organization or individual is prohibited. Please state
the source is AheadX if you quote or publish any content. The manual should not
be quoted, abridged or modified without any permission.
The dimension and weight listed in this manual are approximate values
based on the design and repeated measurements.
All documents have been carefully verified to make sure the accuracy.
Related information is subject to the latest version released by the company
The company reserves the right to change product specifications without
prior notice. Please pay attention to AheadX's official website.
Registered for AheadX Technology (Beijing)
Co., Ltd.
Disclaimer
Please read the entire document carefully before using this product. By using this
product, you hereby signify that you have read this disclaimer carefully and agree
to abide by the terms and contents herein. This product is not suitable for children
under the age of 18.
AheadX LEO is a high quality UAV navigation flight controller. The company shall
not be liable for personal injury, property loss, etc. (including direct or indirect
damage) due to the following reasons:
1. The operator causes damage in the case of alcohol, drug abuse, drug
anesthesia, dizziness, fatigue, nausea and other poor physical or mental
condition. Any compensation for mental injury caused by the accident.
2. The product is not assembled or manipulated in accordance with the correct
guidance of the manual.
3. Personal injury or property loss caused by operator’s errors or subjective
judgment.
4. Knowing that the relevant equipment is in an abnormal state (such as water
damage, oil damage, soil & sand damage and entry of other unidentified

5
substances and incomplete assembly, main components with obvious
failures, spare parts with obvious defect or missing), but still use the
equipment and cause damages.
5. Any damage caused by flying the drone in magnetic interference zone, radio
interference zone, no-fly zone, or the pilot flies the drone with following
conditions such as in a shadow, poor light, blurred vision and vision
obscured.
6. Collision, overturns and force majeure as fire, storms, tornadoes, heavy
rains, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes etc.
7. Direct or indirect liability for any illegal use, or other unauthorized purposes.
8. Third-party liability arising from the use of our software and hardware
products .
9. Any loss caused by obtaining or using our software or hardware and related
manuals through unauthorized ways.
10. Other losses that are not within the AheadX’s sphere of accountability.
Introduction
LEO GNC (Micro Guidance Navigation Control System) is a new generation of
navigation flight control system designed for industrial-grade drones. It features
with high integration, high reliability and high cost performance. It supports VTOL
quad plane, fixed wing, helicopter, multi-rotor and other types of aircraft. .
LEO integrates IMU and a datalink with max 60km communication distance into
the control system. It equips with -15℃～85℃ temperature compensation MES
sensor and J30 aviation connector. LEO adopts a decoupled extended Kalman
filter, improved L1 guidance rate, and ADRC controller as core algorithm, which
has extremely high precision.
Features and applications
MEMS inertial measurement unit, triaxial magnetometer, barometric altimeter,
airspeed meter, GNSS module, triaxial magnetometer, barometric altimeter,
air speedometer, GNSS module. -15~85℃ temperature compensation for
MEMS IMU and triaxial magnetometer.
Built-in 900MHz data link, communication distance up to 60km*.
Dual integrated navigation system. Decoupled 17-order extended Kalman
filter to complete the information fusion. Automatically switch between the
GNSS/INS and AHRS/DR navigation modes according to satellite signals
Built-in shock absorption structure to reduce the impact caused by vibration
to IMU
Iproved L1 guidance rate and ADRC controller to improve control accuracy
and robustness.
With built-in global geomagnetic model, and compass calibration has been
tested in polar area. LEO can complete one-key compass calibration, take off
immediately after satellite positioning.

6
Powerful remote assistance service. Whenever and wherever you need
technical support, you can request AheadX's official remote technical support
via the Internet.
10 routes (The 10th route is the landing route for fixed wing or VOTL), max
200 waypoint of each route. It supports automatic route switch
With fixed-point, equal time, equal distance shooting function. Records the
POS data of the shooting point.
Any installation method. LEO equips with installing angle correction and lever
arm compensation. It can be mounted at any angle and position
Simulation training function. LEO can work with AheadX's semi-physical
simulator for pilot’s daily simulation training.
Bilt-in black box data logging function, it is able to cyclically record
approximately 60 minutes flight data . Supports external data recorders,
recording up to 2000 hours flight data.
Online upgrade. User can quickly get the latest firmware and ground station
software on the Internet.
User can turn off the internal data link and use external data link.
Technical Parameters

7
Item Maximum Standard Minimum Unit
Weight 150(HV165) g
Dimension 90 * 55 * 27 mm
Power Supply 53 12 9 V
Power
consumption 2 W
Operating
temperature 65 25 -20 ℃
Attitude
accuracy 0.5 ° d p
Angular
velocity
measurement
range
300 -300 °/s
Acceleration
measurement
accuracy
80 mg
Positioning
accuracy 1 m C
Speed
measurement
accuracy
0.1 m/s
Height
measurement
range
10000 -400 m
Airspeed
measurement
range
140 0 m/s
Ground speed
measurement
range
500 0 m/s
Servo control 10 CH
SBUS input 1 CH B
d
SBUS output 1 CH
Servo update
frequency 400 50 Hz
Communication
interface 1 CH
R
d
d
Voltage
monitoring
channel
2 CH
Voltage
monitoring
range
58 0 V

8
Engine speed
monitoring
channel
1 CH
Engine speed
monitoring
range
65535 0 RPM
CAN
interface/td> 1 CH
U
b
c
e
Extended serial
port 1 CH
f
u
e
e
a
Flight controller installation and
connection
Thanks for purchasing our Leo GNC. This chapter will guide you how to install
and tune the flight controller. You can make the cables& wires and check it
according to the instruction. Please read this chapter carefully and make the
installation strictly abide to the guidance.
Self-prepared equipment
User needs to prepare the following equipment to work with: **Drone: ** **
Quad plane** - Hybrid fixed wing with four rotor configuration ** Fixed
wings**- Various fixed wings ** Multi-rotor** - multi-rotor drone. ** Data
link:** with RS232 interface. **Auxiliary control joystick:** AheadX A4RC01
auxiliary joystick is recommended; Support SBUS output; Radio controller with
more than 10 channels (eg FUTABA T8FG/T14SG). Computer:Recommend Intel
Core i3 processors, 2GB memory, 200M hard disk space or better configuration to
install our ground station software.
Cables&wires
Interface definition
There are two versions LEO flight controller, one is standard version and the other
is HV version. Standard version comes with J30J-21 rectangular connector and
HV version with J30J-37TJL connector. User can make cables according to the
interface or buy AheadX’s finished cables. Following chapters introduce the
installation of HV version LEO flight controller.
LEO HV Interface definition

9
HV
Interface
definition
Pin Description
1P+: power
"+"
Flight controller power supply, DC9~53V
2PGND:
power "-"
3GND:
Ground
communicate with external black box4
T2: Serial
port 2 ,
RS232 level
5GND:
Ground
6P1+: positive
output DC 5V/0.8A for powering low-power
airborne equipment,
It is strictly forbidden to supply power to
ESC and servo with 5V output.7
P1\_GND+:
positive
output
8
R1: Serial
port 1 , 232
level
It is data link serial port when only
connects to the power of the built-in data
link; it is flight controller serial port when
only connects to power of the flight
controller. Serial port is not working when
connects to both datalink and flight
controller. Datalink communicate with flight
controller directly.
9
T1: Serial
port 1 , 232
level
10 GND:
Ground
11
CAN\_H:
CAN bus H
pin CAN interface, used for connecting with
other AheadX's products, such as smart
batteries, external magnetic compass,
height-finding radar, etc.
12
CAN\_H:
CAN bus L
pin
13 P2+: datalink
positive input
The supply voltage must be consistent
with flight controller's supply voltage if
using built-in datalink.
14
P2\_GND：
datalink
negtive
output
15
SBusIn:
SBus signal
input
DC 5V/0.8A for supplying power to low-
power airborne equipment,
It is strictly forbidden to supply power to
ESC and servo with the 5V output.
16
5V: 5V
output,
powering the
receiver
17 GND：
Ground

10
18 PWM1:PWM
channel1
Used to control the servo or ESC
19
PWM2：
PWM
channel2
20
PWM3：
PWM
channel3
21
PWM4：
PWM
channel4
22
PWM5：
PWM
channel5
23
PWM6：
PWM
channel6
24
PWM7：
PWM
channel7
25
PWM8：
PWM
channel8
26
PWM9：
PWM
channel9
27
PWM10：
PWM
channel10
28 GND:
Ground System Ground
29
SBusOut：
SBus control
output
Used to control the servo or ESC
30
AD1：
Voltage
monitoring
channel 1
Voltage must be less than 58V
31
AD2：
Voltage
monitoring
channel 2
32
GND:
Ground, for
voltage
monitoring
only
33
Reserved:
Alternate
interface
RPM monitoring, compatible with 3.3V/5V

11
34 RPM1:RPM
monitoring 1
35
R5: Serial
port 5 , 232
level
Reserved serial port for connecting RTK
and task load commands for transparent
transmission
36
T5: Serial
port 5
transmission,
RS232 level
37 GND: Serial
port Ground
LEO Standard Interface definition

12
Serial
number Pin Description:
1
CAN\_H:
CAN bus H
pin
CAN interface for communication with the
guidance technology avionics series
equipment, such as smart batteries,
external magnetic compass, altimetry radar,
etc.2
CAN\_H:
CAN bus L
pin
3Reserved:
Alternate
Speed monitoring, compatible with 3.3V/5V
4RPM1:Speed
monitoring 1
5
DGND:
Digital
Ground
6
PWM10：
PWM
channel10
Used to control the servo or ESC
7
PWM9：
PWM
channel9
8
PWM8：
PWM
channel8
9
PWM7：
PWM
channel7
10 GND：
Ground
The PWM signal is reference ground and is
only used to connect the ESC or servo
11
PWM6：
PWM
cahnnel6
Used to control the servo or ESC
12
PWM5：
PWM
channel5
13
PWM4：
PWM
channel4
14
PWM3：
PWM
channel3
15
PWM2：
PWM
channel2
16
PWM1：
PWM
channel1

13
17
R5: Serial
port 5
transmission,
232 level
Standby serial port for connecting RTK
devices and task load commands for
transparent transmission18
T5: Serial
port 5
transmission,
RS232 level
19 GND: Serial
port Ground
20
AD1：
Voltage
monitoring
channel 1
Voltage must be less than 58V
21
AD2：
Voltage
monitoring
channel 2
22
SBusIn:
SBus signal
input
Access to the SBus signal
23
SBusOut：
SBus control
output
Used to control the servo or ESC
24
DGND:
Digital
Ground
25
R1: Serial
port 1
transmission,
232 level Only the built-in radio power supply is the
serial port of the radio; only the flight control
power supply is the flight control serial port;
the radio power supply and the system
power supply are connected at the same
time, the serial port is invalid, and the radio
and the flight control are directly
communicated.
26
T1: Serial
port 1
transmission,
232 level
27
DGND:
Digital
Ground
28 5V： positive
output
DC 5V/0.5A for powering low-power
airborne equipment,
It is strictly forbidden to the used to ESC
and servo.
29
P2+: radio
power
positive input
DC 9~53V
Only the radio power supply is connected,
serial port 1 is the serial port of the radio;
Only the system power supply is connected,
serial port 1 is the flight control serial port;
at the same time, the radio power supply
and system power supply are connected,
the serial port 1 is invalid, and the radio
station and the flight control directly
communicate. If power is supplied at the
same time, the P1+ and P2+ voltages must
be the same.
30
P+: flight
control
power
positive input

14
31
PGND: flight
control
power supply
negative
input
Precautions
Please pay attention whether the power GND and signal GND are
connected or not when using ESC.
You may meet following problem if the power GND and signal GND are
connected: high current may be led back to flight controller via the signal GND
cable if power GND cable with any cold soldering or virtual open circuit, which
may cause the flight controller to be burnt.
Therefore, user can make following modification to ensure flight controller will not
be burnt even with colder soldering or virtual open circuit.
For example, when connecting nacelle to COM5, user can make self-recovering
fuses connected in series with its GND cable. This will ensure flight controller will
not be affected by external equipment failure.

15
Please ensure that the voltage or power input and output between all
pins meet the above requirements, otherwise the flight control or other
avionics equipment will be burned
Please ensure GND cables are conncted without any differential
pressure(all avionics, including flight controller), otherwise the flight
control or other equipment will be burned.
If using an RTK GNSS device (eg DG1, etc.), please use the dedicated
GND as listed in the table to avoid possible interference.
The voltage of P1+ and P2+ must be same if supply power at same time.
Equipment connection rules
Flight controller power supply
Cable【1】【2】: "+" and GND of the flight control power input.
Cable【6】【7】: Flight control 5V output, for low power equipment (power does
not exceed 2W).
Cable【13】【14】: power input of built-in data link, the voltage must be
consistent with the flight control supply voltage.
Please ensure there is no potential difference between any equipment
which connected with flight controller. Otherwise it may cause flight
controller to be burnt.
Data link
LEO flight control data communication uses RS232 level. Cable【8】【9】
【10】 are serial port data receiving, serial port data transmission and GND. The
LINK interface is used for data communication and firmware upgrade. Please use
reliable data transmission device since it will directly affect the performance of the
drone. Please connect LINK port to your PC with the cable to upgrade firmware if
you don't know the bandwidth and SER of your data transmission device. You

16
may fail to upgrade firmware when your device cannot transmit data during
upgrade.
User needs to disconnect the built-in data link when using COM1 to
connect flight controller or external data link.
User needs to disconnect the flight controller power supply when COM1
directly connects to data link.
PWM servo connection
Quad Plan PWM servo connection
LEO-QP supports 4 channels of PWM multi-rotor ESC input, 6 channels of
servo/ESC input.
PWM output signal does not correspond to RC travel. PWM signal here
is completely controlled by the flight controller. You can ignore the radio
control output sequence
There are strict requirements for the ESC connection of the multi-rotor part. User
must remember that right front for PWM1, connect them in counterclockwise
order, which means followed by PWM2~PWM4. Usually, it only needs to connect
the signal cable and the GND cable. Does not need 5V power supply (except for
the special model ESC, it is forbidden to take power from the flight control).
Please connect the cable【18】【19】【20】【21】four PWM outputs in turn,
and well connect GND. (example: cable 【2】).
LEO firmware 2.0 or above supports X4 and X4R configuration. Please
choose the correct configuration according to your requirement.
Please calibrate the throttle range with the radio control before using
ESC. Calibrate the range with default setting. The standard range is
1100μs~1940μs. Fail to calibrate the throttle range will result in a power
system control failure, and the resulting defect or accident is artificial.
PWM 5~PWM 10 can be connected to the servo and fixed-wing ESC (or throttle
servo) according to custom and certain rules
Please keep in mind all ESC connection sequence for following
parameter adjustment.

17
It is strictly forbidden to supply power to the servo ESC with the 5V
output; Forbidden to connect 5V output to flight controller if the fixed-
wing ESC has a 5V output; Forbidden to supply power to the servo with
5V output. These may cause accident or damage due to insufficient
power supply
Connection example (for reference only): PWM-5 number【22】: left aileron;
PWM-6 number【23】: right aileron; PWM-7 number【24】: elevator PWM-8
number【25】: rudder; PWM-9 number【26】: throttle; PWM-10number【27】:
Camera shutter
Signal connection example
Fixed wing PWM servo connection
LEO-FW flight control provides 10 channels for PWM servo / ESC .
PWM output signal does not correspond to RC travel. PWM signal here
is completely controlled by the flight controller. User can ignore the radio
control utput sequence.
Please calibrate the throttle range with the radio control before using
ESC. Calibrate the range with default setting. The standard range is
1100μs~1940μs. Fail to calibrate the throttle range will result in a power
system control failure, and the resulting defect or accident is artificial.
PWM 1~PWM 10 can be connected t the servo and fixed-wing ESC (or throttle
servo) according to custom and certain rules.
Please keep in mind all ESC connection sequence for parameter
adjustment
It is strictly forbidden to supply power to the servo ESC with the 5V
output; Forbidden to connect 5V output to flight controller if the fixed-
wing ESC has a 5V output; Forbidden to supply power to the servo with
5V output. These may cause accident or damage due to insufficient
power supply.

18
Connection example (for reference only): PWM-1 number【18】: left aileron;
PWM-2 number【19】: right aileron; PWM-3 number 【20】: elevator; PWM-4
number【21】: rudder; PWM-5 number 【22】: throttle; PWM-6 number 【23】:
Camera shutter
Signal connection example
Multi-rotor ESC connection
LEO-MR supports a variety of multi-rotor configurations and provides 8-channel
PWM multi-rotor ESC input. The connection sequence as follows:

19
PWM output signal does not correspond to RC travel. PWM signal here
is completely controlled by the flight controller. You can ignore the radio
control output sequence.
Please calibrate the throttle range with the radio control before using
ESC. Calibrate the range with default setting. The standard rangeis
1100μs~1940μs. Fail to calibrate the throttle range will result in a power
system control failure, and the resulting defect or accident is artificial.
SBUS servo connection
Leo has specially designed a 16-CH SBUS signal, which is independent of 10
channels of PWM output, it can connect SBUS servos and extend the servo
control
PWM output signal does not correspond to RC travel. PWM signal here
is completely controlled by the flight controller. You can ignore the radio
control output sequence.
Please set the servo channel of SBUS servo first. For details, please refer to the
relevant manual of SBUS servo. Please correctly record the corresponding
settings between servo numbers and control surfaces. Then connect all the SBUS
servo signal cables to the flight controller's SBusOut in parallel (cable number
【29】), and the servo ground cables connect in parallel to the ground cable
(example: cable No. 【2】). After well connected, user should wait for the
program settings.
It is strictly forbidden to supply power to servo ESC with flight controller's
5V output.