Connecting Bluetooth board to Ardupilot (APM 2.5) board?

[Hands0n]

Hopefully my APM saga is drawing to a close 

The last remaining thing I want to do before installing it to an airframe is to fit a JY-MCU TTL Bluetooth board to it so I can access it remotely using Mission Planner, sparing the need for wearing out the USB port, and other interesting possibilities.

DIY Drones mentions a suitable cable, but as has been usual in this min-adventure there doesn';t appear to be a ready made, so I';m happy to hack one if I can just get my hands on a one suitable for plugging into the Telemetry port (which is what DIYD says).

Any ideas where I can locate a cable from. Even if it is simply a 5-pin HRS (Hirose) DF13-5S

[jimmyhorns]

why dont you consider the 433Mhz bidirectional telemetry module.... about £20 from HK....

much more powerful than bluetooth, so you can have real time updates in mission planner as you fly....

[Rammylad]

I agree with Jimmy, the 433 telemetry is far better than using Bluetooth for the simple reason that the Bluetooth is limited to range and functions, with 433Mhz telemetry you can record the flight logs of your multicopter and also analyse them. What I would advise against is buying from HK, there has been a lot of disappointed people purchasing FC boards etc. and finding out that what they have purchased and after waiting for weeks for delivery has not been fit for purpose, ie. defective boards. I would suggest that you purchase from a reliable source such as RC Timer.

[Hands0n]

Thank you gentlemen, I';ll certainly give that a try then. I steered for Bluletooth only because I didn';t think I';d be wanting the full-on telemetry. But if I can achieve the same results, and then grow into the rest using the same kit that seems a bit of a win for me.

I';ve grown less fond of Hobbyking of late. Ordered some stuff from their Global source and its weeks later and still no sign.  Hopefully the PayPal protection will save the day if it all goes tits up in the post.

[Hands0n]

That said .. the user reviews on RC Timer are dreadful for the 433MHz telemetry they';re selling http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=834&productname=   

If your';e using these, from this source, what has been your experience please?

[Rammylad]

I haven';t had any problems with it and it was easy to setup, there are a good few members of the forum who have used them, maybe they could advise.

[al-xg]

I';ve had much better luck with the 433MHz telemetry than bluetooth modules, even for short range stuff.
The default windows bluetooth drivers are terrible.
There are many more hardware configuration options on the 3DR radios and if done correctly there is no need for messing around with  a terminal and FDTI adapter to set them up.
I am using the RC timer ones (well I was, I have the bad feeling my air module is now lost somewhere on London transport  :embarrassed) and have had no trouble with them apart from trying to get them to run at 118200baud (but then the bluetooth doesn';t tend to like that either and there is no need really if they are just being used for telemetry).

[Hands0n]

Cheers.  But I still seem to be stuck with the lack of suitable cable between the Telemetry module and the APM board.  Looking at the RC Timer item it has the header connection plug for a FC, but of course with the APM I need a cable with a HRS (Hirose) DF13-5 connector.  I';m still scouring the Interwebs for a supply of these - seem to be plenty of 4s and 6s but no 5s ...   

So either way, BT or 433MHz telemetry, I can';t yet find a way of connecting the darned thing to the APM 2.5 board';s telemetry port.

[Rammylad]

I had that problem so I joined the wires to a spare 5pin connector that came with the APM it';s a 5 pin plug but only 4 wires are needed as 1 pin on the board is not active.

[Hands0n]

I had that problem so I joined the wires to a spare 5pin connector that came with the APM it';s a 5 pin plug but only 4 wires are needed as 1 pin on the board is not active.

And that is my only problem ... a lack of the essential 5-pin plug.  The smart <expletive deleted> from DX sent me two identical cables with 4-pin JST at one end and header pin socket at the other.

Unbelievably, I just found a source of the 5-pin JST plugged cables from BuildYourOwnDrone - so ordered one from there. As it has the header pin socket one end, 5-pin JST at the other I can experiment with the Bluetooth first and progress on to the 433MHz telemetry module afterwards. 

My mission is more to be able to talk to the APM 2.5 wireless for configuration and parameter changes. I hadn';t full on telemetry in mind - but you';ve all got me thinking hard on that now    I know that I will ...   At least I can either way once the cable arrives.

[Rammylad]

Nice one Danny, at least your getting there 

[Hands0n]

Cheers. Maybe this is why I never took up a hobby before  Its just as well I';ve got the bug rather bad.

Thanks for all the help 

[jimmyhorns]

Ok, well  I';m going to stick up for hobbyking here.

So far, everything I have ordered has worked without issue.

I ordered the 433 telemetry on Monday and through selecting the ';uk direct channel'; for shipping ($4) it arrived Friday.

And it worked first time

And it included the correct cable

And the cable was wired correctly.

So it seems they are getting something right.....

[Hands0n]

You must have had the last one http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__37329__FPV_433Mhz_Radio_Telemetry_Kit_100mW.html

Only available at the Global warehouse    I';m waiting to see the outcome of that before I order from them internationally again.

Their UK warehouse, to be absolutely fair, has been exactly as you';ve described. 

[jimmyhorns]

That was the global warehouse.... :) seems the uk direct channel is pretty quick

[Riggsbie]

Hi Danny,

What was the outcome ?

Did you ever track down the correct cable to get your Bluetooth module working with the APM ?

Paul

[Hands0n]

Hi Paul. Yes I did. I got it from a UK supplier, DIY Drones ifI remember right. It only cost about £3 delivered. I still haven';t got it to work with my Windows 7 laptop and Mission Planner. But only last night I got it working with another utility on my Mac. So looks like a PC Bluetooth issue.

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk 4

[Tony Campbell]

As far as I know, W7 has notoriously bad bletooth compatibility. I got a bluetooth dongle for my PC (windows7), so that I could connect to my AIOP and couldn';t get a bluetooth driver that would work with it. I checked the interwebs for info and low and behold, it is full of post regarding the same issue. Unfortunately, the one company (Blue Soleil), that make a bluetooth utility that will make it work, want cash for it. I';m not paying more for a driver than I did for the BT unit itself, so thats the end of that. Upshot is, I';ve gone for a telemetry unit instead........ should have done that in the first place!!! Oh well, you live and learn 

[Hands0n]

You';re absolutely right Tony. I found the same as you - loads of people trying to get their BT telemetry going with all manner of FC and [presumably] Windows 7 with absolutely no success whatsoever.

The crying shame is that the one Android utility that works with APM does not have BT support as the developer has no access to a BT capable Android device (unbelievably).  So thats another washout.

I have shied away from any relatively expensive telemetry kit but think that it is going to be inevitable that I will have to do the same.  Its just such a large difference, a few quid for a BT board and the best part of £30 for telemetry 433 MHz 3DR kit.   C';est la vie - I';ve ordered one up from a Chinese eBay seller  ::)

[alex2m]

Hi all,

Maybe I';m getting this wrong, but I was looking at a Bluetooth interface so that I could program my Multiwii without the FTDI cable, hence (for example) being able to set up PID on the field.  I am unsure whether a telemetry set would allow me to connect my Mission Planner software to change settings on the Multiwii .


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[Hands0n]

Hi Alex,

If you can get the BT working then you will indeed be able to do that. And very many people seem to have BT working just fine.  With my particular set up (Dell D630 with Windows 7 and all of the correct drivers) the BT does not pass serial data across the air interface even though at the wireless level it does connect.  The Dell also works using BT to a mobile phone to access the phone';s mobile Internet path. 

So whatever is wrong it seems that there is a fundamental incompatibility between the Dell';s BT drivers and the Crius (or other Chinese) BT boards used in this hobby.

Mission Planner and Telemetry
It will almost certainly work. The telemetry kit does the same thing, extends a USB port across an air interface (this time 433MHz telemetry modules) to the serial port on the flight controller.   If you can physically connect a BT module to the FC then you can connect a telemetry module because at the serial level they are identical for all intents and purposes.

When you say "Mission Planner software" I do presume that you mean MultiWiiWinGUI software (again assuming you';re using MultiWii code in the FC).  If you';re using MegaPirateNG or one of its derivatives then yes, Mission Planner will also work.  Both softwares are simply looking for a valid COMx port to connect to.

HTH