LibrePilot Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: lucas on July 16, 2015, 10:20:29 pm
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Hi. Were you guys aware of this?
http://www.thanksbuyer.com/openpiolot-cc3d-revolution-flight-controller-board-oplink-mini-cc3d-revo-transceiver-tx-rx-module-40847
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Is it a bird ? Is it a plane ?
No, it is an OpenPiolot Revolution !
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it does everything(tm)
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Well, to me it looks like a revo with upright pins. Maybe finally a source to buy a revo ? ;)
Unfortunately a US store, so I would pay tons of customs if I order some electronics there ... They also have the oplink modem, but unfortunately not the GPS V9. Maybe some US friend can do a test buy and tell us about the quality of the board?
Edit: did a bit research: cheap chinese reseller, selling defective hardware. Don't try to buy there :)
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A friend who wants a Revo is buying one and I will check it out for him. I will let you guys know if it actually ships, if it is a good Revo (or not).
Anybody else ordered one?
I can understand why the mini racer guys like the Nano better, but I also prefer the built in OPLink and better CPU in the Revo. If you are thinking about having a lot of electronics connected, like OPLink RC, Telemetry, OSD, GPS, you need the freed up ports you get with the integrated OPLink of the Revo. :)
Now Sparky2 would really be nice too!
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A friend who wants a Revo is buying one and I will check it out for him. I will let you guys know if it actually ships, if it is a good Revo (or not).
Anybody else ordered one?
I can understand why the mini racer guys like the Nano better, but I also prefer the built in OPLink and better CPU in the Revo. If you are thinking about having a lot of electronics connected, like OPLink RC, Telemetry, OSD, GPS, you need the freed up ports you get with the integrated OPLink of the Revo. :)
Now Sparky2 would really be nice too!
I agree.
And yes, Sparky2 would be nice.
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It arrived about 2 weeks ago. It took 9 days with the added HongKongPost (+$3) shipping.
Revo came with very recent firmware (I forget, may even have been 1505). I tested everything I could (sensors, telemetry) and it all worked fine. Has not been flown yet though, I need to go to friend's house and help him install it.
He got the version that came with a separate OPLink, and that works fine also.
Both boards are exactly as pictured. They are white. The Revo has the vertical RF connector like the KickStarter version of Revo had. The cables are exactly as pictured. Each individual wire has a servo style 1x1 connector on it (where the normal servo connector is 1x3). This set came with two of the standard wire dipole antennas.
I looked over both boards with a jeweler's loupe and I found one capacitor on the OPLink (actually on the RFM22B sub-board) that had shifted while the solder was cooling. It works as it is with no problems, but I will resolder it.
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Which do you think is a better board. Revo or Sparky2?
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Hi
Sorry for breaking in. Looking at the specifications I would say that the Sparky2 board is an evolution of the Revolution board. The Sparky2 got a newer sensor chip and it got more I/O including CAN bus support. Other than that the boards are pretty identical specification wise. The form factor is about the same and they both have the same RFM22b 433MHz radio module for telemetry and control. There are certainly more differences. But I think the ones mentioned are the main ones.
LibrePilot aims to add support for the Sparky2 board. When this is going to be complete I cant answer because I don't know at this point. For now LibrePilot supports the Revolution board though. But as stated before, we aim to add more hardware as the project progresses.
Cheers
/Fredrik
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As I reported a while back, I am helping a friend with his first quad and he got one of these.
There were a total of 2 soldering issues. One on each board (Revo and OPLink).
The Revo had a solder bridge on the MainPort filter chip that kept the MainPort from working at all. I fixed it and it works now. He is using MainPort with a $14 eBay GPS. Using the on board (Revo) mags. Calibrated mags with USB (not recommended) and it works fine. Flying in VelocityRoam so he can fly! :)
The OpLink had a capacitor that looks like it became disconnected during a soldering operation. It worked the way it was, but I resoldered the capacitor and it still works.
Both boards have been flight tested now and they fly fine.
I added a review on ThanksBuyer.com, 3/5 stars because of the two solder issues. The review has not cleared moderation yet. I wouldn't bet on it ever being posted.
I would buy one if I needed one, given the price drop ($50 for the Revo only, $66 for the Revo+OpLink, shipped) and the fact that they were repairable by me. Buy them with PayPal and if they don't work, you can get your money back.
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Was checking out that site and I don't see any reviews on any of the FC's listed so I would guess yours will never be posted.
I need the Oplinks so I may give these a try?
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Any more info on this Revo? Just wondering if it is working ok or if there are any issues.
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Bought mine here: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/OpenPiolot-CC3D-Revolution-Flight-Controller-Board-OPLINK-MINI-CC3D-REVO-Transceiver-TX-RX-Module/32416443429.html
Works without an issue.
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There is even a kinda Revo Set on that site.As the original hardware is not available for months, and I don't want to change to another system, I'll go with that set for my next build. Has to wait a bit yet, as I just lost two cameras, which put a bit a hole in my hobby budget :)
Here's the set: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/OpenPilot-CC3D-Revolution-Flight-Controller-REVO-NEO-7N-GPS-Power-Distribution-Board-Combo-for-FPV-Multicopter/32452188912.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.2.I9hmT9&ws_ab_test=201407_4,201444_6,201409_4
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There is even a kinda Revo Set on that site.As the original hardware is not available for months, and I don't want to change to another system, I'll go with that set for my next build. Has to wait a bit yet, as I just lost two cameras, which put a bit a hole in my hobby budget :)
Here's the set: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/OpenPilot-CC3D-Revolution-Flight-Controller-REVO-NEO-7N-GPS-Power-Distribution-Board-Combo-for-FPV-Multicopter/32452188912.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.2.I9hmT9&ws_ab_test=201407_4,201444_6,201409_4
Hmmm... There is no OPLM in this set...
Seller is OK, BTW :) Bought 500mW 433 MHz APM Telemetry kit from him, it was relatively fast shipping (about 20 days to Yekaterinburg through Moscow).
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There is a set with oplink, too:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/OpenPiolot-CC3D-Revolution-Flight-Controller-OPLINK-MINI-NEO-7N-GPS-2-6S-Distribution-Board-for-FPV/32456003983.html?spm=2114.01020208.3.10.Qx0Jih&ws_ab_test=201407_4,201444_6,201409_4
I myself would need with no, as I have an Openpilot OPLM already.
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^^Nice^^ But this one comes with the M8N GPS and free shipping!http://www.thanksbuyer.com/openpiolot-cc3d-revolution-flight-controller-oplink-mini-and-u-blox-neo-m8n-gps-and-2-6s-distribution-board-41675 (http://www.thanksbuyer.com/openpiolot-cc3d-revolution-flight-controller-oplink-mini-and-u-blox-neo-m8n-gps-and-2-6s-distribution-board-41675)
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^^Nice^^ But this one comes with the M8N GPS and free shipping!http://www.thanksbuyer.com/openpiolot-cc3d-revolution-flight-controller-oplink-mini-and-u-blox-neo-m8n-gps-and-2-6s-distribution-board-41675 (http://www.thanksbuyer.com/openpiolot-cc3d-revolution-flight-controller-oplink-mini-and-u-blox-neo-m8n-gps-and-2-6s-distribution-board-41675)
Looks just exactly like my next revo set ;)
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That GPS has only one connector and only 4 wires. It also says that it has a compass. Is it a OP V9 clone? ... or is the mag inaccessible or something else?
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I believe it is a clone. I have seen other sites list them as "OP" ready GPS units.
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Anybody that gets one, please post and tell us about the mag. :)
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I checked today, beside banggood and aliexpress the revo is not wold via amazon as well. Looks very much like the same trader behind. The prices are between $95 to $140, where Amazon price is mid range. As I was ordering some presents on Amazon today, I added a revo clone for myself :)
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The Revo clones I have seen have been around USD $50 (shipped).
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The Revo clones I have seen have been around USD $50 (shipped).
Yeah, you are right. What I was talking about were the sets of revo, oplink and gps. But I did not check prices closely.
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Got the Revo clone kit yesterday: Revo with upright connectors, Oplink and a GPS Neo M8N, which looks very much like the Ebay GPS discussed elsewhere here, all three in light and slim cases, cables, 2 antenna with cables, a power distribution board, and a stand for the gps. Nice set, was well packed, looks ok. I will check it in detail during the next days. A first start showed BL 6, but FW 14.06. Upgrade to LP 15.09 worked smoothly. The GPS has a Mag, but it's not recognized, so I will need the External Mag code discussed to get it to work. The GPS works pretty nice and quick, seems to know GPS, Galileo and Glonass, so I got up to 20 (!) sattelites fixed today.
Will do flight tests with LP 15.09 tomorrow :)
Remark about the cases: I could not make out how to fix them to the frame, so I drilled the necessary holes.
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Wow 20 sats! These new GPS's seem to work really well. I've got the new cheap Neo8 and it quickly gets 16 sats indoors.
About the cases: My Nano was the same way. Don't tell anybody, but I just use servo tape / two faced tape with a careful initial alignment and some thought about how to get it out. Careful because some kinds (black/gray) of tape are pretty well permanent. Use the white stuff.
I don't like those vertical pins, so I bought these to convert an old CC3D. USD $1.09 shipped. Unsoldering is a pain, must remove black plastic, then unsolder one pin at a time, then clean out all the holes...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321801383175
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Hey,
i have the same gps and a revo clone!
i have some Problems, my compass always rotates in the ins13 setting, and the board level is not correct in the gcs!
and when i try too fly the copter flys same lika a crap..
when i setting too basic i dont have this problem everything works correct!
i make all calaibrations same as descripted, with the accelerometer calibration i am not sure, the revo board in the picture looks different then my clone, and i am not sure how i must hold in what position
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Well, the GPS is very good, but the revo is crap. It uses the ARM2 version of the cpu instead of the Z-Version. It works well in complementary mode but acts totally random in EKF mode. the Amazon kit is from good luck buy :(
Next try :)
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hmm thats bad whats the difference from the cpu? slower?
what flight controller we can buy for use of all features? sparky 2 clone?
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hmm thats bad whats the difference from the cpu? slower?
what flight controller we can buy for use of all features? sparky 2 clone?
Versions other than "Z" are prototypes and may have bugs for reference http://www.st.com/st-web-ui/static/active/en/resource/technical/document/errata_sheet/DM00037591.pdf (http://www.st.com/st-web-ui/static/active/en/resource/technical/document/errata_sheet/DM00037591.pdf)
Workaround
- Revision A devices: none
- Revision Z and 1 devices: fixed
Not sure about revision "ARM 2" or "ARM Y" but original Revolution which I have on my desk has "ARM Z", and so does the clone I got from ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/351500451307 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/351500451307) but it's a risk, maybe I was lucky.
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we can buy a Z cpu and solder on it! what do you think? we need a special programmer for this or only upload the bootloader?
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Hey,
i have the same gps and a revo clone!
i have some Problems, my compass always rotates in the ins13 setting, and the board level is not correct in the gcs!
and when i try too fly the copter flys same lika a crap..
when i setting too basic i dont have this problem everything works correct!
i make all calaibrations same as descripted, with the accelerometer calibration i am not sure, the revo board in the picture looks different then my clone, and i am not sure how i must hold in what position
This sounds like a mag calibration issue. You must calibrate the mag carefully, using OpLink, not USB. It is recording the whole time! Not just when you press the button! So you must not set it down or put it close to metal the whole time you are calibrating.
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we can buy a Z cpu and solder on it! what do you think? we need a special programmer for this or only upload the bootloader?
Maybe "ARM 2" is still fine! it's only "A" that is mentioned to have bugs that are not fixed. But if something is not right, it might be wrong caps, bad soldering or bad configuration/calibration, best is to test it, and I guess I would return to seller if I was not happy.
I have both original Revo and clone both fly just fine and had no issues with the clone yet. I am flying both with INS.
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Well, the GPS is very good, but the revo is crap. It uses the ARM2 version of the cpu instead of the Z-Version. It works well in complementary mode but acts totally random in EKF mode. the Amazon kit is from good luck buy :(
Next try :)
A friend bought one from thanksbuyer very early in these latest clones and I helped him get it flying. It flies fine. MainPort didn't work, and there was a small solder bridge on MainPort that I had to find and remove to make it perfect.
Working OK in CF, but not in EKF pretty much says it is mag chip (or mag calibration), and we have new code already written to use aux mag on GPS that should allow you to fly with EKF.
Try recalibrate mag using instructions in my most recent post. :)
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I have 3 real OP Revo and they are all Z chip. I have flown Z chip and it works. I will look at friend's good clone Revo and post what it is if other than Z.
Anyone with clone Revo that works with EKF (INS13), please post here so we can know that it is not the CPU chip that causes the problem.
Edit: Friends Revo clone from thanksbuyer is also a Z and flies INS13 fine.
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The only problematic CPU is the one tagged with "A" as they are engineering samples.
They had a major flaw with "ART Accelerator" that is some kind of instruction cache, causing all sort of weirdness.
Probably there are not such devices around anymore, so it should not be an issues.
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As it seems that a 2-version of the CPU may work, I suspect that something could be wrong with the soldering. Another observation with that clone is that the BEC powering it gets very hot, so there could be a shortage somewhere on the board. I decided to put that revo clone on the bench, and when I have some time I will do a close check of the connections. I will report here if I find something.
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Just ordered one from here http://m.banggood.com/OpenPilot-CC3D-Revolution-Revo-10DOF-STM32F4-Flight-Controller-Staight-Pin-p-1000068.html?AID=12202217&PID=3836173&SID=iggw9ommjk0004o402ecu&source=affiliate&utm_source=Banggood_CJ&utm_medium=commission_junction&utm_campaign=OpenPilot&utm_content=sandy after reading at RCG that a couple of folks I have a lot of respect are flying it with something called Betaflight
Will report when I receive and test.
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I am not sure now if the failure I had was not caused by moisture on the board. I will test it again as soon as I have my new frame. I am talking to the people who built this board, contrary to many Chinese companies they seem to be open to talk, and it seems only one guy building this Amazon boards. I took a better look at the board, it looks actually nicely build, not the usual crappy soldering of some Chinese boards, everything neat and clean.
Will report as soon as the frame is built and tested, currenty still on it's way.
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In this kind of board, I wouldn't expect moisture to cause high current and thus overheated BEC.
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The hot BEC seems a problem of the BECs in Emax ESC. I found that they goet hot on 3S, but stay cool on 2S. Flying 3S only for a short while and never checked it before. But seems not fault of the controller, as it gets hot with 3S on original Revo too. What I was referring to was the totally uncontrollable behavior after a few minutes test flight. Actually it was moist outside, and although I checked for moisture I cannot exclude. Well, I will test it later on.
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I am hearing that you don't think there is a short in the FC any more. A short would probably be easier to fix. :(
For a given number of lipo cells, a linear BEC in an ESC should produce the same heat, regardless of the brand. On the other hand, a given amount of heat coming from a small ESC will be hotter than from a big ESC. :) 30 watts heating your house. 30 watts heating a soldering iron. 30 watts delivered by the fine point of a laser.
The heat generated increases if you add lipo cells or draw a heavier load (current).
Assuming all your ESC's have all the servo wires intact, then usually, due to manufacturing tolerance, one or two BEC's (ESC's) on a quad sometimes shoulder most of the load and thus generate most of the heat. I run 4s on 30A ESC's on my favorite quad (Revo, Rc Rx, GPS, Telemetry). That is about as high as you want to go with linear BEC's. The ESC's get good and warm, but not uncomfortable to hold. They are out in the open, close to airflow. I wouldn't want to put them inside arms.
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Thanks Cliff, for the explanations. I am not sure why it becomes so hot, but I will see how I can get that better. I am afraid that over long the ESC will not like it. My guess is that the temperature is between 40-50°C.
About the short, yes, I took a close look at the board, doesn't look like a short anywhere. Actually I think the soldering is pretty much o.k. So the behavior I had may have a different cause. As also the ARM2 seems to be no problem, moisture is one possible explanation. When I tested it the gras was wet, so the Revo or the ESCs could have catched some moisture. That happened to my Revo once. The sensors went crazy and I had to wait till it was dry again, and then do a full recalibration. On that Clone Revo I did not see a problem with the sensors, so I will have to wait and check again. I won't put it in my 250 again, cause I simply want to fly from time to time, not always have it on the bench :)
Do I understand right, that you connect all your ESC's BECs to the revo?
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Hi,
I've also recently bought one of those. Initially flying on my Tri with LibrePilot went well (not sure if EKF was enabled). However while testing Taublabs and going back to LibrePilot I think I've bricked it somehow.
I've reflashed the Revo Bootloader with shorted Circuit via DFU-Util (tried as well to flash the entire flash). However my board just is somehow stuck in a reboot loop (I am able to get it into rescue mode) but I am unable to flash any firmware on it/erase it or at least it won't go back into normal mode.
If this is not related to this topic let me know and I will open a new one but I'm not sure if this might be related to the "clone" since I now tried OP/LP self compiled firmware/bootloader/entire flash.
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This is a known issue and I've already written up a way to unbrick Revo.
What version of TauLabs did you run? Would you say that it was just a typical installation or was there anything unusual about it?
See this thread for unbricking instructions and let me know (in the unbricking thread) if something doesn't work or is unclear:
https://forum.librepilot.org/index.php?topic=208.0
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RCG that a couple of folks I have a lot of respect are flying it with something called Betaflight
I am using Betaflight on a CC3D, so much better than Cleanflight and works without tuning. The Cleanflight guy dropped support for Openpilot bootloader recently also, Betaflight kept it.
Openpilot flies better at top speed *if* you put in the time to tune it but Betaflight is easier to use.
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As I reported a while back, I am helping a friend with his first quad and he got one of these.
There were a total of 2 soldering issues. One on each board (Revo and OPLink).
The Revo had a solder bridge on the MainPort filter chip that kept the MainPort from working at all. I fixed it and it works now. He is using MainPort with a $14 eBay GPS. Using the on board (Revo) mags. Calibrated mags with USB (not recommended) and it works fine. Flying in VelocityRoam so he can fly! :)
The OpLink had a capacitor that looks like it became disconnected during a soldering operation. It worked the way it was, but I resoldered the capacitor and it still works.
Both boards have been flight tested now and they fly fine.
I added a review on ThanksBuyer.com, 3/5 stars because of the two solder issues. The review has not cleared moderation yet. I wouldn't bet on it ever being posted.
I would buy one if I needed one, given the price drop ($50 for the Revo only, $66 for the Revo+OpLink, shipped) and the fact that they were repairable by me. Buy them with PayPal and if they don't work, you can get your money back.
This is bad news. I have two new ones from banggood, they have problems can I send them to you to look at?
Where would I start to fix such issues, what is the process?
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(replied in other thread, start by making sure firmware is the same version as GCS and that you don't move it till fast blue and orange flashing stops)
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Back to the Revo Clones: Today I could test my Amazon Revo Clone again. The situation is still the same: I did a full erase and re-callibration and put it into my 450 Cinetank. In EKF mode the quad tried to flip, while in Complementary everything is fine. I guess it's safe to say, this clone is crap. It looks more like a sensor problem then a problem with CPU or boards.
Same procedure done with original Revo, and the Revo flies with no issue at all.
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Back to the Revo Clones: Today I could test my Amazon Revo Clone again. The situation is still the same: I did a full erase and re-callibration and put it into my 450 Cinetank. In EKF mode the quad tried to flip, while in Complementary everything is fine. I guess it's safe to say, this clone is crap. It looks more like a sensor problem then a problem with CPU or boards.
Same procedure done with original Revo, and the Revo flies with no issue at all.
Complementary uses only Accel and Gyro, if that flies then it means that those sensors are fine.
Magnetometer and GPS which are additionally used in EKF mode and all problems related to that are usually comming from a bad calibration. You can try external mag and GPS. If it works in Complementary it should also in EKF if calibrated properly imo.
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FC mounted right side up and forward with normal motor numbering and directions?
Get it flying with CF in Attitude mode to make sure accels are correct. With it flying like that, do some telemetry and watch to see of mag goes red (bad). Or you can just carefully go to hover power in hand with USB cable attached (to watch mag color).
Flip will also happen if you have GPS V9 mounted backwards and are using the GPS V9 mag.
It can also happen with bad mag calibration or worse yet, bad high current wiring. You must twist all high power wires or high throttle = high current (if props are on) = high mag field = bad mag signal = bad
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Well,
I deleted my last post, as after two more setups and one more frame change the FC works perfect. No idea why, because I did everything the same way. Well, two differences: I let the GPS set home position, and I did mag calibration quick and dirty, on my balcony :)
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I was talking with the trader, and it seems that similar problems occur often, so as it seems that my hardware is fine (well, except that ARM 2 is not as good as ARM Z, and the sonar port is missing), I would like to look for the reason for these problems. So as a start, I'll document the whole procedure which I did for a successful set up of the FC, as I did it two days ago. I would appreciate any comments. I will also try to remember what I did different before. So here my procedure:
- mount the revo, check correct orientation, connect the modem antenna, connect the receiver (FrSky X8R) to Main Port, the GPS to Flexi Port (this way external mag cannot be used, but I have 16 instead of 8 channels from the rx).
- make sure the props are removed.
- connect USB to PC (Debian Linux wiht LP GCS 15.09)
- upgrade the firmware, selecting Upgrade&Erase from Firmware tab, even though the firmware was already up-to-date
- run vehicle setup wizard. For the calibration check that the quad is well levelled (spirit level) and not moving. Wait a few seconds before saving
- run transmitter wizard.
- power cycled the quad
- let GPS find and set home position
- import the thermal calibration data. Make sure that ONLY thermal calibration data are imported
- perform board level calibration, making sure the quad sits stable and absolutely horizontal (spirit level again)
- perform gyro calibration, again making sure the quad sits absoltuely stable
- perform accelerator calibration. Make sure that the quad sits absolutely stable before hitting save
- perform mag calibration. I did this on a balcony, making sure all metal is about 3-4 meters away.
- setup flight modes as desired (I have 6 flight modes configured)
- check quad state in Flight Data Tab:
-- GPS green
-- mag green, does not go red when starting the motors
-- config tab green
-- artificial horizon follows exactly the movements of the quad
-- check scopes: no drifting sensors, reasonable senser levels
then in the garden with mounted propellers:
- mount props
- select rate mode and try to take off, push throttle, don't be too slow, don't try to correct attitude until the quad is airborne
- on success, select attitude mode and try to take off, again no compensation of attitude until quad is airborne
- on success, try to slowly increase throttle and intentionall try to compensate attitude.
All these tests were successful this time. Next step was flying it around in the garden, first hover, than stronger movements. Now I will check a true flight, several batteries, testing the different modes ...
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I have a genuine revo that works great, but i've never had any luck with a clone. I bought 2 off ebay (different times, different sellers) and they were both DOA (or at least i could make them work) so i sent them back. I'm willing to try one more time because i only have the one and i love it and i want to build another quad soon.
ice
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Mag calibration should really be done away from building. Also, one failure point with mag calibration is that it is always recording, not just when you press the button, so you cannot set the quad down or close to metal at any time during mag calibration procedure.
I can also imagine that very wrong home location would give bad values from world magnetic model, but I haven't looked into how we use magnetic inclination, whether that is known based on GPS location.
I would try to make the problem happen again, by redoing these things exactly like you did when it failed. Must start by getting the problem to happen again. :)
I'm glad you got it working though.
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I flew the clone today. It flies great it Rate mode, but in attitude I still identified problems. I had a strong drift. This may be a problem of board level calibration. I will go into that later, for now I went back to the original Revo.
Here the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CslGXFZ8avY
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First of all, once you do transmitter wizard, you should never touch the transmitter trims. (All right it is OK to use them temporarily, but you should put them back in the center and fix the problem that made you need to adjust trims.)
If it drifts in Attitude mode, you must use GCS -> Configuration -> Attitude -> Settings -> Rotate Virtual to correct it. If it drifts backwards, you add positive Pitch to make it go forward. If it drifts right, you add positive Roll to make it go left.
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hi guys,
A revo clone isn't big news, but be awared that their barometer may be unstable! Just check the barometer data first when you get it!