T200 thrusters and Pixhawk 6

ArduRover ArduBoat
1

I am currently attempting to run a motor test on a T200 thruster through Mission Planner.

Hardware setup:
BlueRobotics Basic ESC connected to a skydrone power distribution board, Pixhawk 6x (FMU PWM OUT) and a T200 thruster.

The power distribution board is connected to an 11.1V battery.

The Pixhawk is running ArduRover firmware and an M9 GPS is connected to it.

This vehicle is supposed to be autonomous with no RC controller, so I have not connected/calibrated an RC controller.

I have set all the recommended parameters and armed the vehicle before running a motor test in Mission Planner with no luck. The T200 thrusters beep 3 times as expected, but the final beep that is supposed to be coming from the ESC is not. I do know that the ESC needs to beep once to signifying it is receiving signal from the Pixhawk.

Here are the parameters that I have set/changed:
SERVO1_FUNCTION: 73
MOT_PWM_TYPE: 1
ARMING_CHECK: 0
INITIAL_MODE: 10 (AUTO)

Am I missing something within the parameters list that needs to be changed specifically for this type of thruster/ESC? I do keep reading about ESC calibration, but it seems these specific ESC’s do not need to/cannot be calibrated within Mission Planner.

2

Hi @Callisto,

In general it is best to leave ARMING_CHECK = 1 because it often warns you of configuration issues that may be the cause of issues you’re seeing.

I wonder, is this a skid-steering vehicle or an ackermann steering vehicle (aka “Separate steering and throttle”, see wiki here)? In either case, only setting SERVO1_FUNCTION = 73 is not a valid setup because if it’s a skid-steering vehicle then another servo output will need to be set to 74 (Throttle Right) (e.g. SERVO3_FUNCTION = 74). If the vehicle uses Ackermann steering then SERVO1_FUNCTION = 70 (Throttle) is valid.

Another thing to check is that SERVO1_TRIM = 1500.