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Setting up the RFD900x In this step we were trying to get both the RFD900’s to be connected to each other so they can communicated with one and another. One’s of the RDF is gonna be in the air and the other on the ground. Before we started we had to learn about the RFD900 and we accomplished that by reading the manual. Some of the “fun facts” I found out were that it either uses 902 - 915 MHz or 915 - 928 MHz. The reason to why is because those frequency’s are used in the North America for unlicensed long-range communication. According to the manual this frequency is also provides a good balance between range and data transmission. We next tried to figure out whether or not turning on the RFD would cause damage if there was no antenna on it. According to the manual it says no. My group and I disagreed with this one because we were always tough that since there is no where for the radio frequency to go it will over heat the RFD and cause damage to it. We tried to figure out why the manual said it wouldn’t, we could’t find an exact number; however, we came up with the possible that this RDF is smart and it can detect whether or not it has antenna. We then tried to connect the wire to the RFD and to accomplish we had to figure out what is pin one and what color wire connects to pin one. Luckily for us this was in the manual, it stated that “Pin one is denoted by the arrow marker on the connector, corresponding with modem pin 1, bottom left pin of the modem pin header and denoted by the square solder pad and white ‘1’ marking on the PCB. The black wire connects to the pin 1” in the manual. The manual also showed an image of this.
Connecting the RFD900x and testing Once we got both the RFD setup we then had to download the RFDtools on our computers. We had to connect the RFD modules by using the values given to us by Professor Rose and Anestis. The RFD needed two values Serial_Speed, Sets the connection speed in Baud, or changes per second (in a 2-state system, this is bits per second), and NETID, uniquely identifies the transmitter. Once they were connected we could type on one computer and it would show up on another one. This testing was done on Putty. All work was performed on an AIDA3 PC since administrative permissions were required to complete the installation. If Mission Planner was not already installed, I downloaded and installed it with the instructor’s help to access the admin account. Once Mission Planner was running, I followed the Ardupilot Custom Firmware Loading Guide to upload the provided firmware from the flash drive. After the upload was complete, Mission Planner verified the firmware, and I confirmed that the installation was successfully completed.This step is critical because it ensures that the flight controller’s software matches the intended flight configuration, reducing the risk of compatibility or calibration errors during operation. After completing the firmware installation, I proceeded to test the communication between the flight controller and the Windracers Ground Control app. On the AIDA3 PC, I opened Ground Control and verified that the flight controller was properly connected via USB. Under the Settings → Connection menu, I created a new serial connection using the following parameters: Type set to Serial, COM Port corresponding to the connected device, and Baud Rate set to 115200. Once the connection was successfully established, the aircraft automatically appeared in the Flight Plan menu, confirming that the system was properly configured and communicating as expected.
AT 209 - Lab 08 - Believer Comms and Firmware
This week’s lab consisted of two parts: 1: Setting up the RFD900x; 2: Installing Firmware
The first part was a lot easier than the second part in my opinion.
RFD900 on the manual
Group 4's RFD900
Hello World showing up on computer 2 after being typed on computer 1
The second part of the lab was to install the firmware on the flight controller
Testing the flight controller
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