I’ve been using a DJI Inspire for remote recovery of weather balloons and the waypoint option in Litchi has been great. You just make a waypoint, set the lat/lon and it shows you a path to the target with your current aircraft position.
The Inspire has proven barely adequate at a mile out so a larger, custom 840mm quad is being built using a Pixhawk 6C and WalkSnail video. Control link is still undetermined but might be the TBS Crossfire with Bluetooth, just in case Mission Planner is needed.
I know Mission Planner can be used on a separate tablet but is there a lua script for simply entering a waypoint and displaying the waypoint and current aircraft position on a RadioMaster TX16S?
I’ve been told by others that none exists, which seems odd, and that I’ll have to use Mission Planner on a tablet to show waypoints and current aircraft position. Thank you.
Unfortunately the telemetry capability of RC radios is limited to mostly downlink and it is a hardware limitation as they don’t have proper serial exposed not to mention mavlink capability.
There is Yappu telemetry script, it can display a map but I don’t know how much it will help since it doesn’t allow storing waypoints. IMHO it would be better to use quality radiolink like RFD868x/900x (check your bandwidth if using for joystick) or quality 2.4GHz link like Microhard’s.
Olliw42 implemented MavLink support in OpenTX but due to some disagreements with OpenTX and later EdgeTX team it never made it into the mainline. Another case of Olliw42 going their own way.
IMHO it would be better to drop RC link and use portable computer with gamepad or something like steam deck with attached telemetry radio if you absolutely want to go for one man operations.
After posting the question, I continued researching (even Lee at Painless360 responded) and the consensus is basically what you have described.
I finally ordered two SIYI F30 modules and a few of their diversity micro receivers. As I’m sure you know, they’re 2.4GHz and the TX module has Bluetooth. They run OpenTX and specs claim a documented 18 mile LOS range with full Mavlink support. The receivers output 23dBM (200mw) which should be sufficient for the 3 mile maximum expected recovery distance. Directional antennas will be used at the GS as well. The recoveries require hovering about 25 ft AGL so the stronger the signal the better.
Most of the required telemetry will be on the OSD. The only telemetry required at the ground station is the GPS coordinates of the aircraft. Of course if video is lost for any reason, having telemetry at the GS will be useful.
The low price of the equipment ($156 shipped for the 5 pieces plus 2 directional antennas) has me a bit concerned but forum posts report good results with the system so fingers crossed. Can always update equipment later if necessary. A Samsung Galaxy tablet will be used for Mission Planner.
Certainly not as integrated as the well-designed Litchi program for the DJI equipment, but if it gets the job done that’s all that matters. Thank you again.