# External Heading input on Navigator flight controller **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2024, 1:28pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610 "2024-11-19T13:28:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![OttoGeometius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OttoGeometius](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/OttoGeometius)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 7:18am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/21 "2025-06-27T07:18:08Z")
Hi @tony-white, Thank you for the response šŸ™‚ We have not used the boat a lot, but things have been working without issue for the past month. The situation without the issue was repeatable. Nothing changed, no software updates and no changes in the hardware. Only just now I updated the BlueOS to version 1.4.2. Please find the system logs from BlueOS via the link: [HydroScout-3 logs](https://geometiusbv-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/o_fennema_geometius_nl/EsyG1ZojkuZHgc7QrWYvLPYB22Tju0WrthP1iNzzDpucGg?email=tony%40bluerobotics.com&e=oXQDyU) ---
**Author:** ![OttoGeometius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OttoGeometius](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/OttoGeometius)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/22 "2025-07-04T13:35:25Z")
Hi @tony-white, any results from the [logs](https://geometiusbv-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/o_fennema_geometius_nl/EsyG1ZojkuZHgc7QrWYvLPYBkW3OJuLzQ1diwaaVrvhbfw?e=ez8weC)? ---
**Author:** ![tony-white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/tony-white/32/18385_2.png) [@tony-white](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tony-white)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/23 "2025-07-12T00:37:04Z")
Hi @OttoGeometius - > [@OttoGeometius](#): > > Only SERIAL2\_PROTOCOL and SERIAL5\_PROTOCOL are set to GPS Please set to Serial5\_Protocol to none, as only one input should be set - as mentioned previously. Multiple GPS configurations could cause the issue - basically the system is starting up and the autopilot is not receiving the data from the UDP, or has started to use the standard GPS on Serial5 rather than your external input. I do see ā€œName ā€˜GCS Client Linkā€™ already being used by an existing endpoint.ā€ in the logs - you may want to double check your Mavlink Endpoints for duplicates? It also seems youā€™re using Mavlink Router, the older solution - trying Mavlink Server, selected at the top center of the Mavlink Endpoints page, may improve your results. ---
**Author:** ![jtsheedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c5a1d2/32.png) [@jtsheedy](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/jtsheedy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/24 "2025-07-15T12:25:06Z")
I am having the same issues as stated above. I have set the below: BlueOS Version: 4.6.1 Serial Port Configuration: Serial2 udpin:10.0.100.124:27000 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/7/7fd92ac52083bd1bc75d5810ab35cbdedd36ec2a.jpeg) GPS2\_Type NMEA ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/a/a3e8d32ff55a91a1c248dcc9d93194e7dff29dc9.png) SERIAL2\_PROTOCOL GPS ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/0/0e36200a34293d676ab0ab315f5a295906301b39.png) When I select use Serial2 as primary GPS I get no GPS data coming into the AP. I have verified that the data is being output to the AP ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/6/6d4792adf26d24e6867640ea308beb047fcd382f.png) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/9/9d432c22bc67681f956636f54ce917e998c3a84c.jpeg) Is there any way to see the data that is being read into the Autopilot or to see if the autopilot is decoding the messages correctly? ---
**Author:** ![EliotBR](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/eliotbr/32/6937_2.png) [@EliotBR](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/EliotBR)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 12:38pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/25 "2025-07-15T12:38:21Z")
> [@jtsheedy](#): > > Is there any way to see the data that is being read into the Autopilot ā€¦? I donā€™t have much experience working with GPS with ArduPilot, but thereā€™s hopefully something relevant in the [`GPS_RAW_INT`](https://mavlink.io/en/messages/common.html#GPS_RAW_INT), [`GPS_STATUS`](https://mavlink.io/en/messages/common.html#GPS_STATUS), or [`GPS_INPUT`](https://mavlink.io/en/messages/common.html#GPS_INPUT) messages (Iā€™m not sure theyā€™ll all be available), which you can view in the BlueOS [MAVLink Inspector](https://blueos.cloud/docs/stable/usage/advanced/#mavlink-inspector). ---
**Author:** ![jtsheedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c5a1d2/32.png) [@jtsheedy](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/jtsheedy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 1:24pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/26 "2025-07-15T13:24:55Z")
I looked in the Raw2\_GPS and nothing is coming in ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/0/00361d435285cdd48b4cf61144c246a7fda03904.png) ---
**Author:** ![tony-white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/tony-white/32/18385_2.png) [@tony-white](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tony-white)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/27 "2025-07-15T19:53:23Z")
Hi @jtsheedy - Sorry for the issue! Is there a reason youā€™re using a non-standard IP address in the serial2 configuration? The recommended value there, according to the FAQ, is udpin:0.0.0.0:27000 - this lets the unit receive from all IP and not a potentially misconfigured one! Have you changed the IP address of BlueOS as well? What rate are you sending the messages from your GPS? I assume your BlueOS version is 1.4.2, since 4.6.1 does not exist (yet)! ---
**Author:** ![jtsheedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c5a1d2/32.png) [@jtsheedy](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/jtsheedy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 8:15pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/28 "2025-07-18T20:15:22Z")
My multibeam is a fixed IP and requires a specific IP on my computer to be read from so I have modified all the components on the blue boat to be in the 10.00.100.x net. All my components are working fine together and are quite happily seeing each other on my network. Only thing that I canā€™t get to work is using the heading and position from my SBG Ekinox into the autopilot. It is outputting at 5hz. Iā€™m using the latest available beta version of Blue OS and latest version of AP firmware I have tried multiple combinations of the UDPin with the broadcast address(0.0.0.0) to the AP directly(10.0.100.2) I have the GPS2 set per instructions but still no luck. ---
**Author:** ![tony-white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/tony-white/32/18385_2.png) [@tony-white](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tony-white)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 4:24am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/29 "2025-07-21T04:24:51Z")
Hi @jtsheedy - Are you able to send at 10hz? The Autopilot may require it at that or faster in order to useā€¦ This python script referenced [here](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/high-accuracy-aftermarket-imu-gyro/13284/24) can be used to test functionality, as it demonstrates heading and position can be sentā€¦ If you continue to have issues, please share a sample output of the messages being sent and a .BIN autopilot log from when the system was armed with the output streamig and serial2 configured to udpin 0.0.0.0 - thanks! ---
**Author:** ![OttoGeometius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OttoGeometius](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/OttoGeometius)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 10:04am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/30 "2025-07-31T10:04:40Z")
Thank you @tony-white, Setting Serial5\_protocol to none didnā€™t resolve the issue. The issue remains. Do you have other suggestions? ![No GPS](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/b/bf8c69fe7fdf88160baa0b8eedd7fb07a9afbed1.png) ---
**Author:** ![OttoGeometius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OttoGeometius](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/OttoGeometius)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 12:32pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/31 "2025-07-31T12:32:54Z")
Hi @tony-white, I can see in the autopilot parameters that thereā€™s a GPS\_TYPE and GPS\_TYPE2. Should we configure this GPS\_TYPE2 as well? ---
**Author:** ![tony-white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/tony-white/32/18385_2.png) [@tony-white](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tony-white)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/32 "2025-07-31T16:41:38Z")
Hi @OttoGeometius - I thought your system only had one GPS, and it was sending messages to the system via the ethernet switch? Have you verified the IP address and configuration of the GPS ? Does the behavior persist where things work nominally after restarting the autopilot after vehicle start-up? Giving Mavlink Server a try, as mentioned previously, may help - you can do this from the Mavlink Endpoints page in Pirate mode (at the top.) ---
**Author:** ![OttoGeometius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OttoGeometius](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/OttoGeometius)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2025, 11:56am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/33 "2025-08-06T11:56:19Z")
Hi @tony-white, Thanks for the quick reply. We tried Mavlink Server and now I can see GPS data from our external GPS coming in via the MAVLink Inspector. But this doesnā€™t solve the issue. ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/3/3fb2cdccc475f5119205858f07c11cb987e30fc9.jpeg) Now what I observe is that the boat doesnā€™t react on commands I give with the Xbox controller. In our acquisition software it seems that the MAVLink commands are not received or accepted. Please see screenshot below. ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/uploads/bluerobotics/original/2X/3/3e968ffbfa32fbd748086fd5ff7619a549680ade.jpeg) Also after restarting the boat the issue persists. Serial5\_protocol is set to NONE. But when I use the ā€œrestart autopilotā€ button in BlueOS and try again, suddenly the messages are received and Iā€™m able to control the boat. So thereā€™s still a reset of the autopilot required for it to work. The question remains: why does a restart of the autopilot makes it work? And how can I make it work without needing to reset the autopilot? Hope to hear from you soon, thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![tony-white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/tony-white/32/18385_2.png) [@tony-white](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tony-white)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/34 "2025-08-06T20:21:56Z")
Hi @OttoGeometius - That is indeed very strange. However, while your description is good, without log files it is impossible to get to the root of the issue! Can you share BlueOS log files, from the gear in the lower left, and autopilot .BIN files? Before doing so, enable logging to happen at all times with the LOG\_DISARMED parameter set to 1. Then, reboot the system, and correct the issue by restarting the autopilot. Then download and share the BIN and system logs! I would guess restarting the autopilot is fixing a connection between your non-standard GCS software and the vehicleā€¦ Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![OttoGeometius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OttoGeometius](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/OttoGeometius)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 10:03am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/35 "2025-08-07T10:03:13Z")
Yes very strange. I followed your instructions. Please find the logs via the link (valid until 08/15/2025): [20250807 LOG](https://geometiusbv-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/o_fennema_geometius_nl/EooNoeLfqVBJvn_YlGBQjuQBfYtI1t7YShMg13UYNT8TYg?e=a0TWek) ---
**Author:** ![OttoGeometius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OttoGeometius](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/OttoGeometius)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2025, 10:17am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/36 "2025-09-04T10:17:30Z")
Hi @tony-white, Anything from the logs? ---
**Author:** ![tony-white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/tony-white/32/18385_2.png) [@tony-white](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tony-white)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/37 "2025-09-08T16:02:38Z")
Hi @OttoGeometius - We didnā€™t notice anything in the logs - to confirm, once you start up the system, and then reboot the autopilot, you donā€™t have any issues? ---
**Author:** ![OttoGeometius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e95f7d/32.png) [@OttoGeometius](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/OttoGeometius)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 9:47am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/38 "2025-09-10T09:47:49Z")
Hi @tony-white, confirmation confirmed. After reboot of the autopilot, no issues. Could we setup a Teams or remote control session to get to the bottom of this? ---
**Author:** ![tony-white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/tony-white/32/18385_2.png) [@tony-white](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tony-white)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/39 "2025-09-11T22:02:48Z")
Hi @OttoGeometius Iā€™ve emailed you to coordinate a meeting next week when Willian is back in the office. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![sietse](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/sietse/32/16062_2.png) [@sietse](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/sietse)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2025, 8:28am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610/40 "2025-10-20T08:28:43Z")
Hey @williangalvani and @tony-white , Are there any updates on this subject regarding bypassing the EK3 filter to inject the external heading value from a Aftermarket system straight as the VFR\_HUD/heading? Also were you able to look at the .bin log files I provided at the other topic? > [@High Accuracy Aftermarket IMU/Gyro](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/high-accuracy-aftermarket-imu-gyro/13284/45): > > Hey @williangalvani , Iā€™m really curious if you were able to find anything interesting happening in the log files. In the meanwhile Iā€™ve done some testing for a more extensive amount of time. When I look at the GPS(1) yaw graph and the AHRS yaw graph, they seem to follow the same trend in a way, but just on different levels of offsets. These different offsets may be caused by some in-flight yaw realignments? I think from the following logfile, youā€™ll be able to conclude it aswell! [00000199.zip](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/uploads/short-url/A8KwMvVKqDbiceHpe934LCfqdRp.zip) ā€¦ Thanks in advance! [Previous page](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610.md?page=1) [Next page](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/external-heading-input-on-navigator-flight-controller/18610.md?page=3)