I’m new to the ecosystem and am needing some help getting a quad mission-ready asap. I understand that there’s probably ample documentation for all of my questions, but we had a change of plans with equipment and I don’t have time to research everything before we head out for a search, unfortunately.
We’re running a Cube Orange w/ an original Herelink RC. My first question is about camera triggering. We have a basic Sony Multiport relay, but can you walk us through how to set things up and get the parameters set correctly (using QGC)?
We’re also hoping to supply camera power to 2 cameras from the main flight battery. We bought XT60 adapters that give us 5v outputs from the flight battery, but is it possible to power the cameras directly from the Cube instead? Or at least 1 of them?
No, the flight controller should never be considered to be a power distribution system. It has limited 5 volt supply capabilities just to power some small/typical accessories like GPS and telemetry radio.
Re that article, will the Ardupilot parameters it lists also work for QGC?:
'The RC Channel association with the camera shutter even requires setting an Ardupilot parameter. Originally, RC Channel-7 was required for the camera trigger. This requirement no longer exists – any available RC channel can be used.
To configure an RC channel for the camera shutter, use the RC(n)_OPTION parameter and set it to “9”. (“n” is the channel number)
There are five parameters to set to use a GPIO/relay for a camera shutter trigger
1. CAM_TRIG_TYPE=1 Ardupilot uses this parameter setting to know that a GPIO/relay is used for the camera shutter relay.
2. CAM_RELAY_ON=0 Ardupilot uses this parameter to know how to set the GPIO/relay for the shutter trigger. “0” is for GPIO “low” – which is what the Sony MultiPort needs to trigger the shutter.
3. RELAY_PIN=nnn Set “nnn” to the number representing the AUX or Main port connected to your camera shutter. For example, if you’re using Main-7 for your camera shutter cable, set this to “107”.
4. SERVO(n)_FUNCTION=-1 This parameter tells Ardupilot that the “(n)” output port is a GPIO/relay function. For example if Main-7 is used for the GPIO/relay for camera shutter, you would set SERVO7_FUNCTION=-1
5. CAM_DURATION=n The GPIO/relay has to be activated long enough for the camera to focus before the shutter is released. This parameter sets this time – in tenths of seconds. The Sony cameras I’ve tested all focus fast enough that I can set this parameter to 3. Setting it to 5 (5/10 or half a second) would be more conservative.’