I’m thinking of using a simple GNSS receiver with magnetometer - but no notification lights.
I’ve scanned the wiki and retail vendors for some sort of light I might use for notifications - but I haven’t found anything yet.
I’m curious if there is a product I should consider - and would appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you.
NeoPixel — Copter documentation (ardupilot.org)
Most any WS2811 or WS2812 addressable RGB LED (NeoPixel) will work. They come in all sorts of form factors.
I use them in various projects and have a variety of strips and individual “pixels” on hand. Most have worked without level shifting.
Avoid using long strips if you’re powering direct from the autopilot. The current draw can get pretty steep faster than you might guess. For simple NTF, 1-3 pixels should likely be plenty and keep the current draw to a minimum.
There are some that will take 12V on the power input (with 5V logic on the data line). They just have a built-in voltage regulator that steps it down internally to 5V. In my experience, the ones labeled 12V aren’t worth the perceived convenience (higher failure rates).
Thank you Yuri -
This sounds like this Mayteksys product should do the trick. Have you tried it?
Actually, I don’t think that’s what you want. It appears to use RC PWM on the data channel to sort of abstract away the need to address the LEDs. I don’t think ArduPilot’s NTF feature will be as useful to you using that product, and it’s probably more expense than you need.
You don’t need a controller - the autopilot takes care of that. You just need the LEDs themselves. Search NeoPixel or WS2812 on your favorite electronics supplier site, and you’ll likely find plenty of options.
While I have not used this specific product, AdaFruit is a good vendor, and I would use these if I wanted single LEDs.
Here’s a strip of 8 on a PCB (a little expensive and can likely be found cheaper).
And I just did a bunch of testing for Andy using these silicone potted LEDs.
Interesting.
The link you suggested shows a LED controller connected to the flight controller via PWM. And this is how the Mayteksys product connects.
And as the Mayteksys product uses a 2812 controller as noted in the Ardupilot wiki - it looked like it might be good to go.
I appreciate the DIY info you provided. I’ll dig in more and see if I can come up with a strategy that works best for me.
The video provided by Matek shows the PWM line connected to a servo output using RC values.
When you assign an NTF LED output in ArduPilot, it no longer uses RC PWM, but the specific LED protocol defined in the parameters.
Without better documentation by Matek, I can only conclude that your use case doesn’t lend itself to their product here. Strictly speaking, it would be compatible with ArduPilot, but I doubt that it would be compatible with an NTF LED output, and you’d be stuck scripting a custom notification routine (or using your RC transmitter to make pretty lights, as shown in the video).
The link I provided shows no such LED controller. It shows the LEDs connected directly to an autpilot output.
There really isn’t any more “DIY” involved with connecting an LED strip than connecting any other peripheral device. You solder 3 wires and connect them to signal, power, and ground. Not really any different than connecting an ESC…
I already had this on the bench, so it was easy to plug in and configure as an example:
I have NTF_LED_LEN set to 3 to limit the current (and avoid cutting my test strip).
Just 3 wires - SERVO14 for signal, and then +5V and GND on the servo rail.
In the picture, the LEDs were blinking blue during initialization, just like they do on an autopilot with a built in LED.
Hmmm…
Since it’s using the same controller, my first guess would be that it works the same.
Time to experiment…
Watch the video. RC PWM is not the same as a WS2812 serial stream. There is an extra hardware layer in the Matek product that will likely stand in the way of NTF LED output from ArduPilot.
Contact Matek before you waste your money.
I just found these standalone strips from Matek that can be used exactly the way that is described in the AP wiki.
