openrcforums

Hello guys, I am in the early stages of building my first RC Boat, a tug. This time I want to do something new, something that I have never done before, and that is telemetry.

I have been googling and youtubing but I have loads of info, but I feel most of it might be outdated. I mean, I have seen a lot of Frsky sensors piggytailed and also something similar with flysky. But at the other hand as you all know, the RC world has improved quite a lot, so it seems there are some sort of all in one boards for drones and planes that seem to have everything included. Am I right?

The thing is, I believe I need the following for my boat:
Temperature sensor for the motor,
Gps coordinates/compass, in case it sails too far away in the local lake here,
Battery level in the model.
Speed? It would not be a must but it is cool to have.

I think this boat cannot be SBUS, I am planning to connect several things like a benedini sound and lights board, smoke machine and some moving parts like anchor, radar and so on.

I am using a 9xtreme with multiprotocol module. So... what do you recommend me? It does not need to be super high quality long range tech, better if it is low budget.

Thanks in advance!

I use FrSky telemetry, mainly SPort (Smart Port). These "daisy chain" together. There is a sensor that will give battery pack voltage and current, together with two temperature sensors, and a GPS sensor that provides position, course and speed.

Mike

MikeB wrote: ↑Thu May 05, 2022 3:52 pm I use FrSky telemetry, mainly SPort (Smart Port). These "daisy chain" together. There is a sensor that will give battery pack voltage and current, together with two temperature sensors, and a GPS sensor that provides position, course and speed.

Mike

Jesus, yes, I mean "Daisy chain" not piggytail, lol.
Well, I guess if you use that Frsky tech, that would be my way to go too.
I need 8 channels so I'd need a Frsky X8R receiver like this one The GPS sensor, like this one But the 3 in 1 sensor with battery voltage current and temperature sensors I cannot find it. Do you have a link or a name for it?

I also wonder if those sensors will work with something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNjm2XTRUk

I'd love to fit something like that. I have seen an smaller version which is super cool too: https://github.com/TheDIYGuy999/Rc_Engi ... nb1yK54Jgo

thanks!

Correct for the X8R and GPS sensor.
I found the voltage/current/temperature sensor here: https://www.t9hobbysport.com/frsky-fas100-adv. I believe it is fairly new, I had not seen it before.

I don't know if the sound and display will work.

Mike

MikeB wrote: ↑Thu May 05, 2022 9:13 pm Correct for the X8R and GPS sensor.
I found the voltage/current/temperature sensor here: https://www.t9hobbysport.com/frsky-fas100-adv. I believe it is fairly new, I had not seen it before.

I don't know if the sound and display will work.

Mike

Hi Mike, while looking for those parts as cheap as possible I found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGjC14UOOXs

It seems very interesting, all in one sensor, cheaper and DIY, which is always cool. I think I will try to make one, it looks easy.

But it made me think one thing, do you know any DIY receiver wich supports the Frsky sensors? I might make my own receiver, each coin counts.
If I am not mistaken I remember Joao made some of his own receivers, but I don't remember which protocol or channels.

You should also check out OpenXSensor. Open source telemetry solution for FrSky, Graupner Hott, MPX and Jeti.

Can do:
GPS
Current
Voltage
Altitude
Pressure

tonnie78 wrote: ↑Sat May 07, 2022 7:50 am You should also check out OpenXSensor. Open source telemetry solution for FrSky, Graupner Hott, MPX and Jeti.

Can do:
GPS
Current
Voltage
Altitude
Pressure

This is also very interesting, thanks for sharing!

Hi guys, quick update here. I managed to assemble a first prototype of that multi telemetry sensor, but so far I cannot make it work.

I don't know if it is a problem of the sensor I did, or something in the configuration. So far I have no experience with telemetry. I took a look at the manual and since 2015 the things changed quite a lot, lol.

Took a look at videos in youtube and so far I have seen there is a "Discover sensors" option but I cannot find this option in erskytx. Any clue?

If it helps, if I switch the receiver off I get the "No telemetry" message in my radio.

Discover sensors is only for openTx.

Is this an openX sensor you have built or the one from the YouTube video?

In erskyTx, if you go to ModelSetup|Telemetry|logging, there is a tick at the right of the screen beside any telemetry item that is being received. Some items (like Tx battery and GVARS) are always active as they are on the Tx.

Mike

MikeB wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 10:37 pm Discover sensors is only for openTx.

Is this an openX sensor you have built or the one from the YouTube video?

In erskyTx, if you go to ModelSetup|Telemetry|logging, there is a tick at the right of the screen beside any telemetry item that is being received. Some items (like Tx battery and GVARS) are always active as they are on the Tx.

Mike

Ok, that explains why I could not find the "Discover sensors" option, lol.
Yes, the module I did is the one in the video I linked.
I always used Flysky or radiolink receivers, this is the first time I touch a big frsky one, but I want to be sure I bound it the way it should:
In multiprotocol module, Protocol FrSky X, Type D16. Freq. 0 (in XM receivers I had to touch this) Rate 7ms.
For binding I pressed the small button prior to powering. It is bound, I can move servos with no problem.

But I guess I did something wrong with the module, or maybe I am missing something in ersky sensors. Joao, I summon you with your cool video tutorials, lol

What sensors do you expect to see (what do you have configured in the DIY sensor)?
If none are appearing, then it would suggest the DIY sensor is not communicating with the Rx. The Rx itself sends back RSSI and RxBT (Rx battery voltage). Switching off the Rx means the RSSI stops being received at the Tx and this causes the "No Telemetry" message.

To check what telemetry the Tx is receiving, you could configure a logging switch, then go to the STATISTICS|DEBUG menu and press MENU to set "Raw Logging" to "HEX". Set everything up, then turn the logging switch on for 20 seconds. In the LOGS directory on the SD card you should find a log file with an extension of "raw". Zip this up and post it here for me to look at.
Note the the "Raw Logging" setting is NOT saved when you power off.

Mike

Hi Mike, so far I installed everything that can be seen in the video. I expect to see GPS coordinates, two temperatures, voltage and altimeter/barometer, but the most important are the GPS coordinates, unfortunately so far, nothing is working.

I attached some pics of the first prototype so far. I wonder if there is something wrong or if I got wrong components in aliexpress.

The code was flashed in the nano without problems.

I guess that "power" led in the nano might say something, but no idea.
About the logging switch, I will check it tomorrow, I have my neurones cooked for today, lol.

Guys, it is done, now everything works. A friend of mine checked the code and found something regarding the BMP280 sensor.
He saw it, fixed it and everything works as expected.

Anyway, I can thank you enough for everything, Mike.

Hi, I am trying to add more than two temperature sensors (4 in total) to my 4in1 Devo protocol telemetry using a Radiomaster TX16S 4in1. So far no luck it will only discover two sensors, T1 and T2. I am sure I have 4 sensors T1-T4 using the Walkera DTL-01D telemetry module with a MX400 quad. It works with the original Walkera Devo F12E and with the Deviation Jumper T8SG 4in1. My question is, does OpenTX have a limitation of two temperature sensors and is there a way to get around this, i.e.add more temp sensors?
Best Regards