I’m extremely confused about how to properly wire my pixhawk power. I just bought it several days ago. I’m also having difficulty navigating this forum so I apologize in advance if this topic has already been covered. I’ve also looked over the wiki and Im still confused and very nervous about damaging my equipment.
Im trying to integrate the Pixhawk, 3DR GPS, and 3DR radio telemetry kit into a simple foam plane.
The components for the plane include :
Turnigy 1500 mAh 2S 25C lipoly battery
HXT900 9g servos
Turnigy L2210A-1650 brushless motor
Turnigy Plush 25 AMP speed controler
The Wiki says this :
Pixhawk does not supply power to the servo rail. Powering the servo rails is normally done by an ESC or alternatively a separate source such as a BEC
The power module provided with my pixhawk has an XT60 Male and female connector, as well as the 6-pin DF13 cable.
Assuming that I replace my current 2S battery with a 3S or 4S, do I simply solder an XT60 connector to said battery, plug it into the pixhawk provided power module, then plug the 6-pin DF13 cable into the pixhawk?
Or do I do as I said above as well as this? :
Plug an additional battery into my ESC, connect ESC to motor, then plug the ESC servo plug into the indicated slot on the pixhawk servo rail?
The diagram listed here has done nothing but confuse me.
You’ve got it, either change the plug on your 2s lipo for an XT60 ( be carefull when you solder a charged lipo not to cause a short ie cut and solder one battery lead at a time, and cover the joint with shrink wrap)
or but a new battery with an xt60 already fitted. Check whether your esc and motor can take a 3s or 4s battery first before buying these.
Plug the 6pin DF13 into the power connector and this will power the Pixhawk board, but it will not power the servo rail to provide the necessary power to the servos for your control surfaces, for this, as you have stated correctly, you simply plug the servo lead from your esc into input no3 on the servo rail and this will provide the power for your servos.
"For most users powering the Pixhawk is as simple as connecting the 6-pin DF13 cable from the 3DR power module into the Pixhawk’s “Power” port as shown below.
This will provide a steady 5V and allow the Pixhawk to measure the current and voltage of the main battery. The power module can be used with 3S or 4S batteries (i.e. up to 18V) and 90amps of power (most multicopters draw less than 20amps when hovering and rarely consume more than 90amps at full throttle)."
Firstly, does 3s and 4s mean 3 cell and 4 cell ? And does this mean that in order to power the pixhawk via power module, I have to purchase a 3s or 4s battery which will pass from power mudule to the 6-pin connector?
Also, I’m assuming the information regarding the Zener diode does not apply to me because I’m NOT trying to both supply power to my servo rail and the pixhawk by merely connecting power to the servo rail. Correct?
Also, my current battery is a 2 cell, 1500 mAh, 7.4v lipoly.
The wiki says :
"Under these conditions all power sources will be used in this order to power the system.
Power module input (4.1V to 5.7V) [refers to the voltage coming into Pixhawk from the power module]
Servo rail input (4.1V to 5.7V)
USB power input (4.1V to 5.7V)
Do I need 5.7v batteries or does the ESC and power module take care of that for me?
Hi Frog-
Short reply, typing on my phone. I believe the owner diode recommendation is for an APM. With a pixhawk, your battery Will plug into the power module, as will your ESC. Throttle wire from the esc to your throttle channel on the servo rail (which can act as a redundant power supply for the controller) and the DF plug from the power module to the flight controller.
Basically, battery to power module to esc, and then power module to “power” on the pixhawk, and ESC servo wire to servo rail.
Your esc’s BEC should be putting out ~5v. I like that you started your post by explaining that you’re afraid of frying something. That’s a healthy fear. If you aren’t familiar with multimeters, now is the time to pick one up and start learning.
A picture speaks a thousand words, could you post a quick snap of your set up laid out as you propose to connect it all up and we can give you a quick thumbs up.
If you aren’t familiar with multimeters, now is the time to pick one up and start learning.