AUTOPILOT
QUICK START GUIDE
PARTS
1 2 3 4 5 7
8
1 Pixhawk
2 Buzzer
3 Safety switch
4 Micro-SD card and adapter
5 Micro-USB cable
6 Six-wire cable x2
9
GETTING STARTED
With the help of APM firmware, Pixhawk turns any
RC plane, copter, or rover into a full-featured personal
drone. Once you have a fully-assembled frame, follow
this guide to install Pixhawk.
10
7 Power module
8 I2C splitter module
9 Four-position I2C splitter cable
10 Three-wire servo cable
11 Mounting foam
11
1 Mount
2 Connect
3 Load firmware
4 Calibrate
6
1
MOUNT
Use the provided foam to mount Pixhawk as close as possible to your vehicle’s center of gravity.
Make sure to orient the board with the arrow pointing forward.
Attach the foam squares to the
corners of the board.
Vehicle front
CONNECT
2
(Optional) Connect a 3DR
Radio to Pixhawk’s Telem
port using the 6-wire cable
provided with your 3DR Radio
Kit to receive data and
communicate with
the autopilot in flight.
(Required) Connect the 3DR
Power Module to the Power port
using the 6-wire cable to direct
power from your lithium polymer
(LiPo) battery to the autopilot.
(Required) Connect the buzzer
and safety switch.
(GPS or GPS+Compass required)
Connect a 3DR GPS+Compass to
provide the autopilot with positioning
data during flight. This kit includes a
6-wire cable to connect the GPS ports.
Connect the MAG to the I2C port using
the 4-wire cable provided with the 3DR
GPS+Compass.
(Optional) The I2C splitter expands the I2C port to allow up
to four additional peripherals to connect to Pixhawk. Use the
4-wire cable to connect the I2C splitter and add a compass
module, external LED, digital airspeed sensor, or other
peripherals to your vehicle.
LOAD SD CARD INTO PIXHAWK
If the SD card is not preloaded into Pixhawk, insert the micro-SD card into the slot at the
bottom end of the board.
CONNECT RADIO CONTROL
FOR PPM RC RECEIVERS AND FUTABA S.BUS RECEIVERS
Connect the ground (-), power (+), and signal (S) wires to the RC
pins using the provided 3-wire servo cable.
FOR SPEKTRUM SATELLITE RECEIVERS
For a Spektrum DSM, DSM2, or DSM-X Satellite RC receiver, connect to
the SPKT/DSM port.
For a complete list of RC systems compatible with Pixhawk, visit the APM wiki page here.
FOR PWM RECEIVERS
Purchase a PPM Encoder module to connect a PWM
RC receiver to Pixhawk at store.3dr.com.
CONNECT OUTPUTS
FOR COPTERS
Connect each signal wire from the PDB to
the main output signal (S) pins by motor
number. Connect one wire for each motor
to the corresponding pin.
Pin 1 = Motor 1 Pin 5 = Motor 5
Pin 2 = Motor 2 Pin 6 = Motor 6
Pin 3 = Motor 3 Pin 7 = Motor 7
Pin 4 = Motor 4 Pin 8 = Motor 8
FOR PLANES
For planes, connect the control channel
wires to the main output signal pins.
Pin 1 = Aileron
Pin 2 = Elevator
Pin 3 = Throttle
Pin 4 = Rudder
FOR ROVERS
For rovers, connect the throttle and steering
wires to the main output signal pins.
Pin 3 = Throttle
Pin 4 = Steering
LOAD FIRMWARE
3
APM firmware is the brains of your autopilot operation and must be installed before using Pixhawk.
To load firmware onto Pixhawk, install a mission planner application on your ground station computer. Choose
either Mission Planner (Windows) or APM Planner for (Windows, OS X, and Linux).
Both applications are available for free download from ardupilot.com.
firmware
Mission planner
Loading...