Hi there,
We have developed an autonomous research catamaran based on a PX4 flight controller. As part of a recent upgrade, we integrated an RDS2 winch from A2Z, which should allow us to lower a submersible probe at waypoints. A2Z customized their winch firmware, enabling us to use the MAV_CMD_DO_WINCH command in our mission planning, with parameters for length and rate control. However, after reviewing forums and using the ROVER firmware version 4.5.7, it appears that the DO_WINCH command is not supported.
I’m wondering if an earlier version of the firmware supports the DO_WINCH command, or if it could be added through custom firmware? While I lack the expertise to implement this myself, perhaps someone else has already done this or has insights on how to proceed. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Go to ArduPilot Custom Firmware Builder and on payload select winch.
Many thanks! I was not aware about the firmware builder, and will try soon.
I built Rover firmware with winch being selected as payload, but I still missed the DO_WINCH command in MissionPlanner (MP) to include in a mission. in selected_features.json, winch is listed.
In build.log, it says “Enable WINCH”, but in several rows below it says “Removing WINCH_ENABLED”. Is this correct?
As further test, I have also de-selected GRIPPER and SPRAYER as payloads in the build, but interestingly, they remain as commands in MP. Why is it so?
I have tried firmware version stable 4.4.0 and 4.5.7, and Pixhawk4 and Pixhawk4-bdshot as patform, but DO_WINCH remained missing.
The reason it took me so long to do the tests is that I was struggling to update the firmware and was getting a “no response from the board” error. I was able to fix this by pressing the FMU reset button on the Pixhawk. I have to do this every time I want to load a new firmware version. Is this a common problem?
I can provide files and screenshots if required. Any further help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.