Mainlink Maestro M52 User manual

Maestro
Long-range Wireless Transmission System
M52 User's Manual V1.1 2020.07
Introduction / Installation Guide / Instruction

Version：V1.0（2020.02）
Copyright © 2020 Mainlink All Rights Reserved
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Disclaimer
Please read the user's manual carefully before use. Be sure to pay attention to the
warnings and understand all points completely.
Please strictly abide by the local radio frequency management regulations.
Please follow the installation steps in the manual to use this product. Our company
and agent will not take legal responsibility for the damage of equipment or personnel
caused by the installation and modification of users.
This copyright of this manual belongs to Shenzhen MainlinkAero Communication
Technology Co., LTD. No one may make copies without written consent.
Caution
Attention to installation
1. Before power on, make sure the antenna connection is reliably . Otherwise, it will cause
damage to the device.
2. Make sure that the voltage is within the range of use.
3. Please pay attention to the EMC of all the electronic equipments on your drone.
4. It is recommended that the antenna should be installed downward and keep the antenna
away from the metal on the drone.
5. Make sure to use the matching antenna.
Before use
1. Make sure that all cables are connected correctly and firmly.
2. No foreign objects (e.g. liquids, sand, etc.) can be entered inside the device.

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3. It takes 15 seconds for the device to start. Video and data cannot be transferred until the
device has finished booting.
4. Please ensure that the environment in which the equipment is used is free of other
electromagnetic interference.
5. When the signal weakens, you can improve the effect by changing the heading direction
of the antenna.
Get instructional video
In order to use the system correctly, you can get the instructional
Video at the following address:
https://mainlinkaero.com/cn/video/video-main.html
Download Maestro Assistant
Download the software at the following address：
https://mainlinkaero.com/cn/download/download-main.html

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CONTENTS
Disclaimer...............................................................................................................................2
Caution ...................................................................................................................................2
Attention to installation ............................................................................................2
Before use.....................................................................................................................2
Get instructional video ..............................................................................................3
Download Maestro Assistant...................................................................................3
Packing list.............................................................................................................................6
Overview ................................................................................................................................7
Features ..................................................................................................................................8
M52 Interface Description .................................................................................................9
Installation ...........................................................................................................................12
Air..................................................................................................................................12
Ground.........................................................................................................................12
Quick start ..................................................................................................................14
M52 CODEC module MF05 ....................................................................................15
M52 with Mission Planner ......................................................................................16
Improve RC controller distance through SBUS .................................................20
Maestro Assistant...............................................................................................................22
Interface of Maestro Assistant...............................................................................22
How to use Maestro Assistant...............................................................................24
1. Connect M52 with Maestro Assistant。.....................................................24
2. Read current parameter。...........................................................................24
3. Configurations .............................................................................................25
M52 Web UI Configuration Description ......................................................................27
Login ............................................................................................................................28
Settings........................................................................................................................28
Wireless Parameter setting.....................................................................................30
System Update ..........................................................................................................31

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System Operation .....................................................................................................32
Specification........................................................................................................................33
FAQ ........................................................................................................................................35

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Packing list
Device X 2
Accessories
2Pin XT30 cable
X 2
3Pin cable
X 6
For Power
For UART and SBUS
4Pin cable
X 2
7Pin cable
X 2
For Ethernet
For Ethernet and Power_Out
Antenna
X 2
Fiber-glass antenna
X 2
For air unit
For ground unit

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Overview
Industry drone market is developing very fast in recent years. The fight time and
distance of drones are getting longer and longer. M52, a long-range wireless transmission
system, is designed for VTOL fixed wing and other long-range drones. The system can
transmit video, fight control data, gimbal control data, and RC data simultaneously. With the
advantage of high level intergration and powerful function, M52 is a typical good product to
meet long-range transmission requirements.
There are three ethernet ports in M52. Users can connect it to ethernet gimbal and
other payload simultaneously. If you want to connect HDMI/SDI/AV port payload, we have
MF05、MF08 to meet your needs. You only need one single switching cable to connect M52
and MF05.And the switching cable is in the accessory box. For more information, please
refer to the relevant section below. There are two UART port——UART1 and UART2. Two
protocols, Mavlink and Transparent, are supported. Users can make changes easily through
MaestroAssitant or Webpage. There are two SBUS——SBUS_IN and SBUS_OUT for RC
data transmission,
There are two frequency bands——800MHz and 1.4GHz. Users can choose
according to their needs. Please choose the suitable frequency band according to local
regulations.
The weight of M52 is 143g, making it very suitable for long-range drones. With
advanced radio frequency and encryption technology, M52 can achieve long distance
secure transmission. The maxium transmission distance of M52 can reach 34km*1.
We are going to open up the SDK in M52 platform. Users can easily complete
secondary development. For more information of SDK, please look up on our official
website. The software SDK and examples will be continuously updated.
*1Test under LOS and no interference conditions。

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Features
Long distance Modulation
-Up to 34km @ LOS - OFDM
Video interface Data interface
- Ethernet *3 - UART（TTL/RS232）/SBUS，
Hopping/Fixed Frequency Frequency Band
-Fixed: user defined - 800MHz/1.4GHz
-Hopping: automatic Working mode
BW - Air unit can be ：Point to point mode
-3/5/10/20 MHz Repeater mode
Work temperature Power range
- 40℃～+70℃- DC 9~28V Battery 3S~6S

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M52 Interface Description
side view
1. Power indicator
This indicator is solid green when air unit is booting.
2. Link indicator
LED Pattern Description
solid green Wireless link is established
light off Wireless link is lost
3. Status Indicator
LED Pattern（Blink only in booting）Description
Blink 2 times Initialization OK, Frequency is 1.4G
Blink 1 time Initialization OK, Frequency is 800M
Blink 3 times Switch mode (Swith from air to ground, vice verse)
Blink slow all the time Enter configuration mode
Blink fast all the time Device abnormal
4. RSSI Indicator
LED Pattern Description
3 solid green Wireless signal is strong
2 solid green Wireless signal is medium

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1 solid green Wireless signal is weak
all LED turn off No wireless signal
5. Ethernet and DC out.
Number
Character
Description
Input/Out
put
1
T+
TX+
O
2
T-
TX-
O
3
R+
RX+
I
4
R-
RX-
I
5
G
GND
I/O
6
G
GND
I/O
7
V
+12V DC output（Maximum current 1A）
O
6. Ethernet
Number
Character
Description
Input/Output
1
T+
TX+
O
2
T-
TX-
O
3
R+
RX+
I
4
R-
RX-
I
7. Two SMA antenna interface
8. Power interface
Number
Character
Description
Input/Output
1
G
GND
I
2
V
+Vcc Input (DC 9~28V)
I
9. RJ45 Ethernet
10. SBUS OUT
Number
Character
Description
Input/Output
1
G
GND
I/O
2
V
+5V Output（Maximum current 1A）
O

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3
S
SBUS_OUT
O
11. SBUS IN
Number
Character
Description
Input/Output
1
G
GND
I/O
2
V
+5V Output（Maximum current 1A）
O
3
S
SBUS_IN
I
12. UART2
Number
Character
Description
Input/Output
1
G
GND
I/O
2
R
RXD（from external to M52）
I
3
T
TXD（from M52 to external）
O
13. UART1
Number
Character
Description
Input/Output
1
G
GND
I/O
2
R
RXD（from external to M52）
I
3
T
TXD（from M52 to external）
O
14. Mode switch
The swith in the side of “A”means “air”and in the side of “G”means “ground”.
Attention：When two M52 devices can not link, please check the Mode swith
first.
15. Button
Press for 10 seconds, air unit will restore all parameters to factory setting。

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Installation
Air
1. Installing the air unit on your drone
Fixed the device and RF cable on your drone. Install the antenna. Pay attention to the
connection of the antenna to tighten. Make the antenna downward. There is no metal or
shielding within 20cm of the antenna.
2. Connecting the gimbal
Connect the gimbal to one ethernet of M52. Connect UART1 to flight control. If you
need to control the drone with RC, please connect SBUS_OUT of M52 to flight control
SBUS IN.
Attention: If your gimbal only has HDMI/SDI/AV interface, please refer to the
section of “M52 with M05E”. When using the SBUS, please pay more attention to the
power.
Do not put the antenna near the motor or ESC, otherwise the device will be interfered.
Ground
1.Connect the antenna
Connect the fiber glass antenna which was supplied along with the device to the ground
unit. They have common port—SMA. Make sure to tighten the joint. The 2 fiber glass antenna

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should be 1.5m apart.
Connect the RC receiver and other cables.
Connect the RC receiver SBUS output to the ground unit SBUS_IN and then connect the
power cable.
2. Connect to the Ground Station
The M52 ground unit can be connected to the Ground Station with ethernet or
UART.
Get Video
You can get video via RTSP, and decode the video with video decoding software
such as VLC. Also, you can get video using Mission Planner and QGC.
Get data
1.You can get data from ground unit via UART1 and UART2. Maybe you need a UART to
USB converter.
2. You can get data from Ethernet port using UDP/TCP protocol.

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M52 Instruction
Quick start
1. Preparing
Make sure all the connections are ready, including the antenna, Ethernet cable and so on.If
you connect a ethernet gimbal to M52 air unit, the GH1.25 interface is recommended for high
reliability.
2. Power on
The DC voltage is 9~28V.After power on, the POWER LED will be solid green.
Any question, please refer to the FAQ. It takes 15 seconds to start up. After the system
starts, the wireless transmission can be established.
3. Using PC to get video from ethernet gimbal.
3.1 Connect gimbal、M52 and PC as shown above。
Attention：Please ensure that gimbal and PC on the same network segment. The
default IP of M52 is in the table below. The network segment of gimbal and M52 can be
the same or different. M52 can transmit video and data transparent.
M52 air unit default IP
192.168.1.200
M52 ground unit default IP
192.168.1.236

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3.2 Get video
User can get video in PC through the software provided by the gimbal manufacturer.
Also, user can use some common software such as VLC.
Take VLC for an example.
In the “open media” page, please input the following address：
rtsp://192.168.1.36:554/stream0
You can get video after click “play”.
M52 with CODEC module MF05
If your gimbal has a HDMI/SDI/AV interface, you can add CODEC module MF05 to
work with M52. MF05 contains encoding module MF05E and decoding module MF05D.
You only need one single cable in the accessory box to connect M52 and MF05. It is
shown in the picture below.
For more information, please refer to the MF05 user's manual.

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M52 with Mission Planner
Follow the steps to use M52 with Mission Planner：
1. Connect the UART1 of M52 air unit to flight controller, such as Pixhawk. Connect the gimbal to
one ethernet of M52.
2. Making sure all the air and ground cable connection is finished. Power on the system.
3. Install Mission Planner to your computer.
4. Set the IP address of the computer.
Open “Network and Internet”setting.
Select “Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP / IPv4) properties”.
Change IP address to “192.168.1.xxx”（xxx is in 0～255 , you cann’t use IP 192.168.1.200
and 192.168.1.236, because these IP were set in M52）.
Attention：The IP “192.168.1.XXX”is just an example. You need to set up your
PC the same IP section as your gimbal.

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5. Get data
There are three methods to get data from M52 ground unit, using Mission Planner：
UDP port via Ethernet;
TCP port via Ethernet；
UART (COM)
5.1 Get data from UDP port.






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Open Mission Planner，select UDP，click the “connect” button, it will bring up a new
window ‘Listen port’，change the port to 14550（If the UDP port number has been changed
on the web page, please fill in the new number. For more information, please go to the web
page configuration）.Then click “OK”, Mission Planner will get flight data。
5.2 Get data from TCP port.
Open Mission Planner，select TCP，click the “connect”button, it will bring up a
new window ‘Listen port’，fill in the blank with IP: 192.168.1.236, remote port is 5760
（If the IP address and TCP port number has been changed on the web page,
please fill in the new IP and port number. For more information, please go to the web page
configuration）.Then click “OK”, Mission Planner will get flight data.
5.3 Get data from UART(COM)；
Connect the ground unit UART1 with a UART（TTL）
to USB converter to the computer. Before this, please
install the driver in the computer.

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Open Mission Planner, select COM (Please check the COM number) and the right baud
rate，click the “connect” button, Mission Planner will get flight data.
6. Get video
When you open the Mission Planner, click Video and then Set GStream Source，as show below：

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Input the address: rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.36/stream0 latency=0 ! decodebin !
videoconvert ! video/x-raw,format=BGRA! appsink name=outsink
Attention: The IP“192.168.1.36/stream0”is an example of the gimbal, please use
your own gimbal RTSP address.
Improve RC controller distance through SBUS
1. Connect air unit SBUS_OUT to flight controller RC IN.
Using the SBUS cable in the accessory box to connect the air unit and the flight controller. The
cable is 3 pin.
Attention：The SBUS_OUT port of air unit is output. The maximum of +5V output current
is 1A. If you don’t need the +5V, let it open. Do not take it as input. Otherwise, the stability
of the system will be affected.