i could not find out the Rcx function number for taking photo on the wiki if you don’t mind can you tell me what is the RC function number.
do you have APK file for this to check ?
The aux function (aka RCx_OPTION) for taking a picture is “9”. I’ll add this to the AP Siyi setup wiki page to make this easier to find.
I don’t have an APK file I’m afraid. The QGC PR is here but I think it is probably best to just give DavidS and JulianOES time to complete it before asking for a binary.
Hello.
I want to connect my A8 mini camera to a PC using the ETH port, to view the live video using ethernet. The manual states that if I revert the ETH rx/tx pins by mistake the camera will get damaged. But it does not clearly states if the ETH cable I make should be straight or crossover. Did anyone connected the camera to a PC using the ETH port? Do you mind sharing a picture or description of the pinout and cable layout?
Thank you!
Please excuse me for tagging.
I saw the functions of send_camera_information() and send_camera_settings() in AP_Mount_Siyi.cpp. Can you tell how it streams on mavlink?
In the process of creating a custom QGC, I want to get camera information.
in my vehicle :
arducopter 4.5-dev
siyi a8 cam 0.2.0
siyi a8 gimbal 0.2.8
Hi @steampunk,
No problem. I’ve created a couple of pages on our developer wiki that describe the features we support.
… and coincidentally created a wiki PR to expand it a bit.
This is definitely a developer question though so maybe you could create a new topic somewhere? Maybe in the Copter-4.4 category and feel free to tag me.
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Hello @SIYI,
I’m coming back to you because we haven’t found a solution to the problem with the Grimbal 2.8 driver.
I’ve redone the video to show you how the camera behaves.
Hope you find a correction.
Thank you.
A8 mini Firmware Update Log
2023-7-28
New Firmware:
A8 mini Camera Firmware v0.2.1 svn968 2023-07-28
A8 mini Gimbal Firmware v0.3.0 svn6899 2023-07-28.bin
New App and Software
SIYI FPV App: v2.5.14.644
Main Updates:
- Bug fix: Frame loss of high resolution frames over 1080p.
- Bug fix: RTSP stream may stop when recording is off.
- Optimization: Compatible with 64G, 128G, 256G, 512G TF card.
- Optimization: Complete the SDK commands, all listed commands are supported now.
- Bug fix: Improve the way of receiving data through UART to avoid system crash.
- Optimization: Improve system ability.
- New feature: New indicator definition and SIYI FPV message for successfully integrating Mavlink attitude data.
- Optimization: Gimbal stuck risk control time increased to 5 minutes.
- Optimization: (for manufacturing purpose).
- New feature: (for manufacturing purpose).
- New feature: Mavlink control to gimbal and camera as an optional way from S.Bus.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Hy-4G9DridbZ7PHB9x9aFPFgcNQulnpx?usp=drive_link
I’ve been so disappointed in this camera. If I deconfigure the integration with the Cube and put it in FPV mode through the FPV app, it is sort of usable and doesn’t get out of sort of level. Of course, it makes a lot of useless footage in this mode because the attitude of the camera is closely tied to the body of the aircraft, so it pitches and rolls as you maneuver.
I tried the new firmware today. It appears the mavlink integration still doesn’t work (setting protocol to mavlink). Setting it back to the regular UART settings, I can start/stop recording, etc, but the camera basically does random stuff. It rolls wildly with yaw and winds up pointing sideways and up or down at extreme angles. You can temporarily get it reset by trying to put it into FPV mode in the FPV app, which obviously doesn’t stick, but it does appear to sort of reset the camera angle.
Does anyone have this thing working any better than what I have described above? I have admittedly not tried the sbus control route. I am curious if that method would work any better. Number 11 seems to indicate they have mavlink control in this firmware, but I wasn’t able to get anything out of that (apparently).
Hi Carlton,
Thanks for your feedback
An operating video will definitely help us understand your problem well. Will appreciate if you can provide one.
@SIYI I’d love to know if this is supposed to work. Then it would be easier to keep investing time into it. It has been my experience that it does not work very well, if at all, to try to control the attitude of the camera with the flight controller. I’ve asked in this thread for you to explain what the actual status is for Mavlink integration, but I haven’t seen any response to that. This latest firmware doesn’t appear to have changed anything, so that question still stands with 0.3.0 and 0.2.1.
I have three videos cut from a flight yesterday that show what I am talking about. This is from the camera as I don’t have any way to record the camera while it is in flight, but you should be able to clearly see how it constantly loses horizontal. Note that I was not doing anything to manually manipulate the camera.
Part 6 is a weird one because it was just sitting there and slowly drooped the camera down and off kilter. This was at the end of the flight. I was talking to someone and then hit RTL to bring it back to land, so it was just hovering there for a little bit and then made a beeline back to us.
In these three clips you see it lose attitude and then snap back to horizontal, facing forward. That snap back occurs when I switch to the SIYI FPV app and tell it to go to FPV mode. It doesn’t stick in FPV mode, but if you tap FPV a few times it will do that reset and snap back to horizontal before the flight controller takes back over control (and it goes back to follow mode in this case). This is the ONLY thing I am doing during this flight to manually tell the camera to do anything. I can’t remember if I used the RC or the FPV app to start the recording or not. Note that I was flying with the sticks. This wasn’t an auto mission. Arducopter 4.3.7 (stock firmware), Herelink v1.1, SIYI A8 Mini with 0.3.0 gimbal, 0.2.1 camera.
I am attaching a bin log to this thread for the flight where these clips were generated. I don’t know if it will help or not but it gives the opportunity to help me understand if I have things configured incorrectly and is generally for reference.
I sincerely appreciate any help you can provide that might allow me to better use this camera. It’s a great option from a weight perspective, but I am really frustrated with it. It is very possible with all the changes I have made trying to make it work that I have simply gotten confused and do not have things setup correctly.
Replying to myself to keep the dream of making this thing work alive. I tried out 4.4.0-beta4 today with the A8 Mini. Configured to use the Ardupilot driver over UART. Attaching bin log to capture settings and all so I don’t lie unintentionally about the state of things during the test.
I took the following very rough video (I needed a second pair of hands or a table I guess)… Anyway, you can see as I yaw around, the camera starts out level and just rolls with the yaw. It’s like it will sometimes go back to level if I yaw back to the starting point or 180 degrees from the starting point, maybe, but it never appears to level out otherwise unless I hit the FPV radio button in the SIYI FPV app on the herelink. Then it pops back to level and straight ahead (like a neutral position?) and I can move around a little bit at least in that direction it is facing at the time of the reset.
I’m hoping this video will more clearly illustrate what is occurring in the videos I posted previously. If this isn’t helpful or you see that I am doing something wrong or have incorrect expectations, please let me know that so I stop stuffing up the coms with useless drivel.
Carlton
@carltondhouston ts known old bug of roll. They know about it.
Its happen on a8, zr10 and sometimes on zr30. Z30tm is fine tho.
Happen when roll limit hit. Than gimbal start lose horizont, but think its hold it.
No, it’s a hardware bug, SIYI tries to fix that by software using mavlink, it partially works…
i advice to move to another camera with gimbal or replace existing gimbal to tarot for example or cheap storm32
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I kinda figured the silence was telling me they don’t have a solution. But some developer comments (to the effect of “it’s doing pretty well”) made me think maybe I was doing something wrong.
Also, if the gimbal problem wasn’t bad enough, it’s just part of the problem. At the risk of beating another dead horse, the video is crap as well.
Those glitches are horrible and make it pretty unusable.
I’ll also suggest the gimbal problem isn’t related to it hitting some imaginary or real maximum tilt or something. That last video was taken after simply taking off up to about 1-1.5 meters and gently rotating the drone. No flying otherwise at all. You can actually recreate it without running the drone at all, just power it all up and move the frame around as gently as you want.
The mavlink integrations don’t appear to work either, btw. Please explain why I am wrong about that. It isn’t that they do or don’t make the gimbal problem better. It’s that as far as I can tell they do not work at all.
I think there are basically two closely related “solutions” for using this camera. One is to not configure any FC integrations at all. IOW, go with the Mavlink instructions - or better yet, don’t even connect the serial port at all. Then connect Ethernet to the Herelink. Now you can either put it in FPV mode (which will keep from filming your landing gear, but compromise horizontal with roll) or set it in follow mode, which will inevitably make you film your landing gear in turns (usually). You can reduce this somewhat by making VERY slow turns, etc.
Of course, you have to live with the landmines it pops into your video as well. Re-formatting the SD card - and using different types/grades of SD cards doesn’t appear to make any difference.
I have RC9_Options Set to picture and it will place a Way Point on Mission Planner, but than I look at the sd card and there is nothing but free1-19. My Micro sd card it format to FAT32 with 64kb allocation like requested in the manual. I also cant record.
I’ve updated to the recent firmware both gimbal and camera and it still happening (roll problem). maybe we should check an option to change the gimbal model as you said.
thanks for the info.
@SIYI is there any update on the subject ? also can you upload the old firmwares seems like the new camera firmware is causing problem in the decode when trying to broadcast
@droneDev it occurs to me they might not want to fix this problem. If they don’t you might decide to buy the MK15 or other controller(s) and also the radios, etc. It kinda makes sense if you think that way.
I’ve completely resigned myself to disconnecting the flight controller and using the FPV app on my Herelink controller. No waypoint camera magic or anything, but in a mission, I can focus on the camera through the FPV app. And if you fly REALLY slowly through turns and moves, you can keep props and landing gear out of the shots!
Now, can we get ISO and shutter speed controls?
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Hi Carlton,just a quick question is it the APK file I put on HereLink,many thank’s in advance.
@MartyMcFly Forgive me but it has been a minute, and I can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning, much less exactly what I did to get that app on the Herelink.
There was a video from World Drone Market on Youtube that had clues about it. You will need to be able to connect the Herelink controller to a PC (Linux, Windows, Mac… I assume anything that can run the Android Development environment and has the adb command). You’ll use that to install the apk you download from the Drive link provided by SIYI.
If that isn’t enough to work out where to go from here let me know and I’ll try to dig through my memory a little deeper and help you figure it out.
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