I have attached the beginning of an ArduPilot Index of a sort. I have found that there are a lot of topics that are hidden beneath other topics. So, is something like what I have started already available? This would allow an easier way to scan for topics not knowing where they are…
ArduPilot Documentation Index.pdf (27.0 KB)
You’ve just essentially reproduced the wiki’s table of contents. I don’t understand what value is added…
The way the index is done now, I cannot easily find topics. For example, where would I find out how to connect a joystick? Where is the topic located? Almost every time I ask a question here, the answer is go read the documentation. That is a really poor answer and I would never tell anyone to do that. If there were a better list of topics, I could scan them quickly and find what I am looking for. Since you already know everything in the documentation, there is probably no benefit to you but for a newbee there would be benefit I think.
I don’t know everything about the docs. Sometimes I search just like you (should). First two hits turn up exactly what one might want on the topic…
Where did you find this? The documentation I have does not have this, and this is the point.
It is indeed in the documentation, as indicated by the search engine results. I concede that it isn’t always perfectly organized. But such searches aren’t hard to accomplish…
There is a lot that is hard to find. Today I struggled with, but succeeded, in installing ArduPilot into my new Matek H743. No one could tell me that there was a secret button you had to push to get STM32 to connect to the FC. I bet you can’t find it in the ArduPilot documentation either. So now I am trhying to find out if there is a way to display in Mission Planner the positions of the throttle, roll, yaw, and pitch controls. What do I search for ???
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You mean this?
https://ardupilot.org/dev/docs/using-DFU-to-load-bootloader.html
Or this, from Matek?
http://www.mateksys.com/?p=5159#tab-id-11
As for displaying things in Mission Planner, I can think of several ways to see input and output. But I have no idea what you’re trying to do.
I read the link about the DFU. I followed the directions many, many, times on two different computers using different USB port. It didn’t work!
What is hard to find is the answer to complex questions like I mentioned.
Is there a way to display the jopystick positions of the transmitter in Mission Planner? Tomorrow, I am going to connect my receiver to the FC. How will I know if the transsmitter/receiver to FC is working without having motors attached. I think I saw some topic on radio calibration with a number of bars that should move with the joystick motion. I will try that, but there is no indication on the Mission Planner screen itself as far as I can tell.
Anyway, I’ll keep digging.
It’s not that hard to find and they are not complex questions. I really fail to see any value add to what you are proposing.
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Agreed on both points there are things that are very hard to find and often a google of that phrase will help but that is not the way a wiki should read. its there to help not have to go else were to find or search the answer. The documentation has come leaps and bounds in the last year and that is the work of one person. I also think devs need to do a better job of helping that person with the wiki as I often see times where he is asking for clarification of something from the person that wrote the code but didn’t provide any documentation. But like always the docs will never be a one fit all for everyone as each person has a different learning style and different teaching style. again this may not be value to you but it may have value to others. one persons garbage may be another’s treasure keep that in mind.
I was just about to ask why my HUD appears upside down in MP. Then it occurred to me that perhaps the FC is supposed to be mounted upside down with the solder pads on top. In this orientation all is good and the solder pads are more readily accessible on top when the FC is mounted on the frame.
As to value added, I can use my index as a place to jot down notes about a particular topic. For example, under the topic the " H& will not initialize" I can jot down what I did to fix the issue if what is in the docs are insufficient. I will also point out the secret button that needs to be pushed to get STM32 to connect to the H743 via USB.
My hard question for today is…After connecting my transmitter/receiver to my FC, how do I know the link is working. What are the indications?
So Dave, you show a good example. Radio calibration makes sense now that you have told me. So I went to my ArduPilot doc and did a search on radio calibration and it came up with a bunch of parameter entries. None seemed relevant. The search did not answer my question.However, I do recall somewhere I saw a graphic with a bunch of green bars that should move when the radio controls are activated. I do not recall where I saw them however. Radio Calibration is not listed under the main doc menu.
Thanks. First Time Setup > Configuration > Radio Control Calibration.
As I was making my “index” I stopped after level 1, i.e. First Time>Configuration had I gone further would have found the Radio Control Calibration Topic . I will add this to my index.
Once you know where the info is, then you know where the info is…