[HELP NEEDED] Switch OPN/OFF laser with Pixhawk & Ardusub

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1

Hey everyone!
I am working on a project that is required to switch ON/OFF a laser from the GPIO output of the Pixhauk. I figured out how to switch on/off a LED by reading the documentation of the ArduSub and adjusting the parameters RELAY_PIN & BRD_PWM_COUNT parameters.

For my needs I choosed to use a photocoupler in order to switch on/off the laser but the signal of the GPIO isn’t enough. Could you suggest me an alternative way in order to achieve this. I am quite sure that by using a relay module it would work just fine but I would like to avoid it if it is possible.

Note: The laser works with 5V

Thanks in advance.

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This article should give you some ideas.

-W

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Hi @Ioannis,

The Pixhawk GPIO pins aren’t intended to supply much current (like required by a laser), and they operate at 3.3V. @wholm’s article link is a good one, although it’s worth noting that if you have or can get a logic-level MOSFET (which the author just didn’t happen to have) then you should be able to skip the opto-coupler and just switch the MOSFET directly using a relay signal from the Pixhawk, which can then power the laser :slight_smile:

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Any idea when will the Navigator have support for relays to be able to switch lasers on/off easily?

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It’s being worked on but we don’t have a set timeline or release date for it at this stage.

I’m currently pushing for this (and the few remaining BlueOS features that haven’t yet been ported from Companion) to be prioritised.

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I understand, thanks for the update. Looking forward to know when it’s done.

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