I recently upgraded from an APM 2.5 to a Pixhawk on our rover. I’ve found an issue with the throttle signal when the safety switch is enabled for the first time. The throttle signal should stay around 1500 so that the rover doesn’t start moving. For a brief period of time immediately after enabling the safety switch the first time, the Pixhawk outputs 1000 over the throttle signal. This causes the rover to jerk backwards. If I disable and then re-enable the safety switch this problem does not reoccur. This leads me to believe it has something to do with the part of the software that initializes the ESCs since on a copter the ESCs do their initialization beep sequence at exactly the time when I’m seeing the throttle jerk. Can a developer check into this or offer an explanation?
@GarrickM78,
Is your ESC powered up prior to pushing the Pixhawk arming switch?
I do not power my rover’s ESC until after I arm the Pixhawk and I have never experienced a throttle output condition like you did.
The solution may be to power up your ESC after arming the Pixhawk and the throttle output is at neutral (1500us).
Regards,
TCIII ArduRover2 Developer
Yes, the motor ESC is powered at the same time the Pixhawk receives power (upon connecting the battery). Isn’t this the usual way the ESC would be powered? Do you have a power switch just for your ESC?