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.
It should be connected to channel 1 according to the Rover documentation.
The INITIAL_MODE parameter should be returned to its default value - even if not using a controller with your vehicle, you will be setting it to auto mode once you’ve loaded missions onto the flight controller.
Finally, we recommend using QGround Control, and the motor test page as follows for ArduRover:
Not sure if it’s relevant, but a reminder that the Basic ESC is bidirectional, so its neutral/stopped signal is central (1500 µs pulse durations). It also expects signals in the range 1100-1900µs, which I think is somewhat atypical (I believe the default motor/PWM range is 1000-2000µs).
It’s likely worth checking the SERVO_OUTPUT_RAW values to see whether the Pixhawk at least thinks it’s generating a signal within the valid range.
There should actually be 5 beeps. The first 3 (short, rising pitch) are establishing that each motor phase is connected, then there’s a longer low-ish beep when there’s a valid signal, and a similarly long high-ish beep when that signal is in the neutral/stopped range.
