TeraRanger One Connection User manual

Instruction Manual for:
TeraRanger One
Connection to Pixhawk
Autopilots
Published March 2018
Table of contents:
1Introduction
2 Compatibility table
3 Wiring Connection to Pixhawk
3.1 TeraRanger One wiring connection –Pixhawk 2.1
3.2 TeraRanger One wiring connection –Pixhawk 1
4 Setup the onboard firmware
4.1 PX4 –QGroundControl
4.2 ArduCopter –QGroundControl
4.3 ArduCopter –APM Planner 2
4.4 ArduCopter –Mission Planner
1 Introduction

The purpose of this document is to explain how to connect a TeraRanger One sensor to
a Pixhawk board through the I2C interface and how to setup PX4 or ArduPilot firmware
to enable TeraRanger One sensor use.
2 Compatibility table
Sensor Version
Firmware Version compatibility
TR-One
–PX4: from Flight Stack v1.6.5 onwards
–APM: from Copter v3.5.3 onwards
3 Wiring Connection to Pixhawk
3.1 TeraRanger One wiring connection –Pixhawk 2.1
For brevity we will refer to the TeraRanger One distance sensor module as TR-One.
Please make sure you have a TR-One and a TR-I2C adapter:
1. TR-One sensor
2. TR-I2C adapter
To connect the sensor to the Pixhawk, please solder the power cable to the I2C adapter
as described below:

Take the I2C cable included in the Pixhawk 2.1 box and make your own connection as
described below:
TR-I2C Adapter pins
Pixhawk 2.1 I2C port pins
Color
1 VCC
1 VCC
Orange
2 SCL
2 SCL
Green
3 SDA
3 SDA
Blue
4 GND
4 GND
Black
Now connect the I2C adaptor to the Pixhawk and the TR-One to the I2C Adaptor:
3.2 TeraRanger One wiring connection –Pixhawk 1

To connect the sensor to the Pixhawk, please solder the power cable to the I2C adapter
as described below:
Now connect the I2C adaptor to the Pixhawk via a DF13 4S cable (included in the
Pixhawk box) and the TR-One to the I2C Adaptor:
TR-I2C Adapter pins
Pixhawk I2C port pins
1 VCC
1 VCC
2 SCL
2 SCL
3 SDA
3 SDA
4 GND
4 GND

4 Setup the onboard firmware
4.1 PX4 –QGroundControl
Note: Please always use the latest QGroundControl version, available
from: https://docs.qgroundcontrol.com/en/getting_started/download_and_install.html
1. Launch QGroundControl software
2. Open Vehicle setup menu and go into the Firmware tab (unplug and replug
autopilot if needed).
Select the latest stable release of PX4 Flight Stack. Press the Ok button to flash the
autopilot.
3. Go to Parameters/Sensor Enable
In the field SENS_EN_TRANGER select your TeraRanger sensor type:
•TROne
Press Save to confirm.

4. After making sure the sensor is connected to the Pixhawk I2C port, reboot the
autopilot.
5. To verify that the sensor is operational open an Analyze Widget
(Widgets/Analyze). From the list on the left hand side select;
M1:DISTANCE_SENSOR.current_distance. The plot showing distance measurements
should indicate that the sensor is working correctly.
4.2 ArduCopter –QGroundControl
1. Go to the Firmware tab on QGroundControl (reconnect autopilot in order to flash
a new firmware). Select ArduPilot Flight Stack. In the dropdown menu select the
latest version of MultiRotor –APM:Copter.

1. Go to Parameters/RNGFND and update the following fields:
•RNGFND_TYPE : 14 / TrOneI2c / TeraRangerI2C (each of these values
should work, but they might appear differently based on GCS software
version.)
•RNGFND_ADDR:
•TR-One : 48
•RNGFND_MIN_CM:
•TR-One : 20
•RNGFND_MAX_CM:
•TR-One : 1400
After setting the values in these fields, please reboot the autopilot.
3. To verify that the sensor is operational open an Analyze Widget
(Widgets/Analyze). From the list on the left hand side select;
M1:DISTANCE_SENSOR.current_distance. The plot showing distance measurements
should indicate that the sensor is working correctly.
4.3 ArduCopter –APM Planner 2

Please make sure you are running the latest version of APM Planner 2, available
here: http://firmware.ardupilot.org/Tools/APMPlanner/
1. Open APM Planner. Go to Initial Setup, Instal Firmware and flash the latest
firmware of ArduPilot.
2. Click on USB device name on the right hand side and select the appropriate
Serial Port and Baud Rate for your device and press the Connect button.
3. Go to Parameters/RNGFND and update the following fields:
•RNGFND_TYPE : 14 / TrOneI2c / TeraRangerI2C (each of these values should
work, but they might appear differently based on GCS software version.)
•RNGFND_ADDR:
•TR-One : 48
•RNGFND_MIN_CM:
•TR-One : 20
•RNGFND_MAX_CM:
•TR-One : 1400
4.Reboot the autopilot and select the GRAPHS tab. On the right hand side you
should see the messages from the autopilot. From the list select;
DISTANCE_SENSOR/current_distance:

4.4 ArduCopter –Mission Planner
Please ensure you are running the latest version of Mission Planner, available
here: http://firmware.ardupilot.org/Tools/MissionPlanner/
1.Open Mission Planner. Go to Initial Setup, Instal Firmware and flash the latest
firmware.
2. Click on USB device name on the right hand side and select appropriate Serial
Port and Baud Rate for your device and press the Connect button.
3. Go to Parameters/RNGFND and update the following fields:
•RNGFND_TYPE : 14 / TrOneI2c / TeraRangerI2C (each of these values should
work, but they might appear differently based on GCS software version.)
•RNGFND_ADDR:
•TR-One : 48
•RNGFND_MIN_CM:
•TR-One : 20
•RNGFND_MAX_CM:
•TR-One : 1400
4. Reboot the autopilot and select the Flight Data tab. On the left window you should
see a quick tab with displayed value. Double click on one and check SonarRange. The
distance is now displayed on the Quick flight data menu.