Antenna Tracker Problems

AntennaTracker
1

Hi Guys,

I am having problems getting antenna tracker V1.0 to work.

I connected my servos and tested them with the extended tunning screen, it’s ok. Then I disable the use of the safety switch and choose the altitude source as GPS.

So outside, when I am connected to it, it’s armed, in auto mode with a 3D fix, then I disconnect it and connect my octo, no problem there, but when I go on the optional hardware > antenna tracker page and I click connect with those settings “Ardutracker, COM5, 115200” nothing happens

Am I doing something wrong

Thanks for your reply

Benjamin

2

This page is not meant for the Ardupilot Antennatracker. It is a tracker controlled by Missionplanner using a servocontroller to move the servos.
Normally you connect to your tracker like to any ardupilot vehicle and the tracker is connected via the second radio to your copter. The tracker forwards the telemetry from your copter to Missionplanner and also its own telemetry. You can then select which vehicle you want to configure in MP. There was a special command to bring up a menu to select the vehicle, but I can not remember what it was. Perhaps it has changed in recent MP versions and the selection is automatically presented as soon as multiple vehicles are connected.

3

Thanks Sebastian

So actually the only working configuration is the tracker in the middle between the copter and MP. That wont really work with my Crossfire Bluetooth telemetry sadly.

Is there anyway to get it working like I want, with nothing in the middle, MP receiving GPS data from the drone on a com port and send it to a tracker on another?

4

To to this, this way you are going to have to use MAVPROXY on the PC with MP. So Radio link from Copter into > MAVPROXY to UDP, MAVPROXY to second com port > Tracker.
MP will then connect to the copter via MAVPROXT on UDP and the data will also be forwarded to the tracker.

Once set up, under the connection top, right corner of MP there is a dropdown, you will then be able to switch between Copter and Tracker.
http://ardupilot.github.io/MAVProxy/html/getting_started/index.html

5

mavproxy.exe --master=com#,57600 --out=udpin:0.0.0.0:14550
Where # is the com port the radio link to the copter

mavproxy.exe --master=udout: 127.0.0.1:14550 --out=com#2,****
Where #2 is the com port the tracker is on and **** is the baud rate you wish to use.

although mavproxy will automatically find the connection without --master I would use the --master option as there will be 2x MAV data streams and it may get confused to which one to connect to.

Yes MAVPROXY can run multiple times.

so the first instance it will ‘revive’ mav messages from the radio and broadcast it onto UDP
the second instant will ‘recive’ the mav messages from UDP and send it back out on com #2 which the tracker is on.

I know it looks back to front UDPIN and UDPOUT but this is correct.

You can then make a BAT file to run the commands for you.

(I.P. address 0.0.0.0 is local broadcast IP and 127.0.0.1 is local loop .I.P.)

6

PS. on a windows PC, just install MAVPROXY for windows rather than the PYTHON version to keep things simple.

7

@bendead
You can also press CTRL-F in MissionPlanner and one of the options in this window is to forward mavlink through a network or serial connection. Just choose the comport and baudrate and press start.