A8 Mini setup with a fixed wing

Hardware Vendors SIYI
1

Can anybody Assist me setting up the gimbal function of the A8 Mini?

Equipment:
Flight controller Matek F405 Wing Flashed with Arduplane 4.4.4
SIYI A8 Mini Camera
Radiomaster TX16S

Connections and set-up:
The camera is connected to the flight controller via UART 3 and pin outs 6 (pitch)and 7 (yaw), switches RS and LS respectiviely
Motion is set to CH8, switch SE (3 point wich imagine shall shift between Lock, Follow and FPV.)
The mode in the Arduplane 4.4.4 is set to RC Tracking, so that I can control the gimbal with the The Radiomaster
I have followed the guidelines on the Arduplane Wiki (link below).
https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-siyi-zr10-gimbal.html

I used the SIYI assistant to download the lasted firmware fot he gimbal and for the camera.
In the SIYI assistant I used CH Config the assign Ch 6,7 and 8 as mentioned above.
At Arduplane “Setup” I can see the servo output moving when I activate the sliders.

Problem:
When powered up the camera turn some 130 degrees and then points in a downward direction.
But nothing happens with the A8.
Can anybody guide me in the right direction?

2

In my opinion, the channels in SIYI Assistant refer to the control of the A8 via SBUS. However, you control via the serial interface using Ardupilot. Try removing the assignments for Ch 6,7 and 8 in the SIYI Assistant app.

3

Hi Rolf,

Thank you for prompt reply.
I tried to set the channels 6,7 and 8 to (-) in the SIYI assistant, but nothing happened. When powered up the camera still turn some 130 degrees and then points in a downward direction.
I then tried to remove the connection to the pinouts on the Matek, but still with the same result.

4

You need to connect S.Bus output from your autopilot (or configure spare UART as S.Bus output) to the camera as well.

5

Hi Vavooon
Interesting. So the connection will be a signal and a ground, I guess. Do you happen to know the protocol and baud rate for S bus out?

6

This is the manual, I believe SBus Servos — Copter documentation

7

Thank you. It’s amazing that Ardupilot does not mention this in the description of how to connect and control the camera via Arduplane.

8

Actually, it should be possible to control it either by S.Bus and UART (as described in the article you were referring to). But since you mentioned RC channels, I started explaining about S.Bus connection.
In UART mode you’d probably need to specify RCx_OPTION as described for desired RC channels but you don’t need to select any channels in Siyi Assistant. Once property configured, you should be able to control the gimbal.
One way to find out whether UART connection is working is by looking into Messages tab in Mission Planner, there should be a line saying something like “Siyi gimbal detected”.

9

That is a good observation. The word SIYI does not appear in the messages. I tried another UART. Same result but now the camera keeps on looking straight ahead. It does not turn some 130 degrees and then points in a downward direction. I tried to change RX and TX but with no succes, so I changed it back to the position recommended from the Ardupilot Wiki.
I am using the connection on the left side og the camera. The one with 4 pins. 3 of the wires (black, green and blue) is supposed to connect ton the UART. Is that the correct way of connecting it? From the same connection two servo connectors can connect to two pinouts. I guess that is for RC6 Yaw and RC7 Pitch. Is this correct and shall they be connected to the flight controller as well?

10

What kind of flight controller do you use with the SIYI camera?