As a bunch of us start using MP with Dragonlink v3 and its fully bidirectional telemetry, the issue of Bluetooth disconnect has come up. The connectivity between MP on laptop or tablet and the DLA transmitter is via Bluetooth, and generally works well. A bunch of us are delighted with the system overall. However with a ~30’ range, and sensitivity to blockage of signal, and wandering around the flight field, etc., people have come to realize that Bluetooth disconnect is a PITA. I have had to condition myself that upon landing I take my radio off and leave it near the laptop, when I go to fetch the aircraft. Not ideal.
With that backdrop, would it be possible to add some logic to MP where it will attempt reconnection if dropped? I would think you might want that behavior as a user-selectable option, and obviously don’t auto-reconnect if user explicitly hit Disconnect button. Thoughts?
following Kelly’s post, I as well a happy DragonLink’s bluetooth telemetry system user but it looks like Mission planner has bluetooth connectivity and stability issues when connected to PX4. it’s worth mentioning that i get this same behavior on either tablet or desktop running either win 8.1 or win10. I do not see these issues when running 3DR Tower, even when running on the very same platform (Dual Boot Tablet). with Tower, BT connection is instantly and downloading all 666 parameters takes 16 seconds - every time i connect, but when using MP- sometimes it connects, sometimes not, and to top that, when connected, it takes somewhere between 20-200(!) seconds (if at all) to download all parameters before I can even start using MP.
In addition, when BT link drops, MP will not reconnect automatically. this is a show killer as then you need to be lucky to be able to connect again, not to mention waiting so long for all parameters to download before being able to negotiate with the air-frame.
I was always puzzled why I need to wait for all parameters to download before i can control my air-frame. there must be a better way to know which GCS was last connected so no need to download again and again all parameters. connection must be automatic and instantly whenever BT link is available.
I love MP and I thank all those who are contributing to the code. I prefer MP over Tower as it offers much more, but these BT issues renders it unusable.