ImmersionRC EzAntennaTracker Operating Instructions Manual
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EzAntennaTracker-Lite
Overview & Operating Instructions
Preliminary. April 2009
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Table of Contents
1. Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................2
2. Overview ....................................................................................................................................4
3. Installation .................................................................................................................................5
3.1. Airborne Electronics ...................................................................................................................... 5
3.2. Ground Station Electronics ........................................................................................................... 5
3.3. Only the AUDR (Audio, Right), and Ground pins are connected on this connector. .................... 5
3.4. Cabling, Getting the Correct Audio Channel ................................................................................. 6
3.5. Transmitter Audio Connection ...................................................................................................... 6
3.5.1. ImmersionRC/Airwave Transmitter ...................................................................................... 6
3.5.2. Lawmate Transmitter ............................................................................................................ 7
3.6. Receiver Audio Connection ........................................................................................................... 7
3.6.1. ImmersionRC/Airwave receivers........................................................................................... 7
3.6.2. Lawmate Receivers ............................................................................................................... 8
3.7. Lawmate Transmitter, Airwave Receiver ...................................................................................... 8
3.8. Checking, and Debugging Audio Issues ......................................................................................... 9
3.9. Recording telemetry ..................................................................................................................... 9
3.10. Suitable Pan/Tilt mounts ......................................................................................................... 10
3.10.1. ServoCity Medium-Duty ...................................................................................................... 10
3.11. Low cost alternatives .............................................................................................................. 10
3.12. Do I really need a Tilt axis?...................................................................................................... 11
3.13. Servo Splines ........................................................................................................................... 11
4. Configuration ........................................................................................................................... 12
4.1. Setup Menu ................................................................................................................................. 12
4.1.1. Description of Controls ....................................................................................................... 12
4.2. Setting up the servos .................................................................................................................. 15
4.2.1. Servo Setup Step #1: Defining the zero position ................................................................ 15
4.2.2. Servo Setup Step #2: Setting up servo reverses ................................................................. 15
4.2.3. Servo Setup Step #3: Setting up servo gains ....................................................................... 15
4.2.4. Servo Setup Step #4: Setting up tilt servo limits ................................................................. 15
4.3. Example settings ......................................................................................................................... 16
4.3.1. ServoCity pan/tilt mount , SPG785 Pan (2:1, 630 degree option), DDT500H Tilt .............. 16
4.3.2. GWS/SuperTec S125 (for pan axis only) ............................................................................. 16
5. Flight ........................................................................................................................................ 17
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5.1. Status Pages ................................................................................................................................ 17
5.2. Calibration ................................................................................................................................... 18
1) Manually, using a compass. ............................................................................................................ 18
2) Automatically, using the GPS in the plane ...................................................................................... 18
5.3. .......................................................................................................................................................... 19
6. Replaying recorded telemetry data ........................................................................................... 19
7. Frequently Asked Questions ..................................................................................................... 19
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1. Overview
The EzAntennaTracker system, is the first commercially available antenna tracker designed for FPV/UAV
flight.
It operates by sending a digital telemetry stream down one of the audio channels of an A/V link, via the
EzOSD module. This telemetry stream contains information on the plane’s GPS location, and other
information available to the EzOSD.
This telemetry stream then exits from the audio jack of the ground-based receiver, and can be used for
various purposes.
1) It can be simply recorded to the audio/video recorder, and ‘re-played’ through Google Earth™ to
show the path that the model took during the flight/drive/sail. This case requires no additional
hardware.
2) It can be recorded, as above, but used to find a lost plane in the event of a distant crash. The gps
coordinates of the last packet sent should indicate roughly (or best case, exactly) where the plane
crashed. Again, no additional hardware required.
3) It can be fed to an antenna tracker, which is driving a pan/tilt mount. This can aim a directional
antenna at the plane during the entire flight, greatly reducing dropouts (and with the added bonus that
the antenna points to where the plane landed/crashed in the event of a ‘problem’.
This manual is dedicated to the third purpose, the use of the telemetry stream to drive an antenna
tracker.
Figure 1: The ImmersionRC Antenna Tracker
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2. Installation
2.1. Airborne Electronics
Not much to do on this side, the EzOSD is equipped to transmit telemetry data down the right audio
channel.
Ensure that the cable running between the EzOSD and the transmitter is cabled correctly for video and
stereo audio (for LawMate systems, take the right channel of the stereo pair from the EzOSD, and route
that to the mono audio input of the Lawmate transmitter).
2.2. Ground Station Electronics
The EzAntennaTracker -Lite module requires the following connections:
1. Audio Input
The audio input is supplied via a 4-Pole, 3.5mm jack, with the same pinout used for other Fat Shark, and
ImmersionRC equipment.
Only the AUDR (Audio, Right), and Ground pins are connected on this connector.
2. Servo Power
Power for the servos, and the EzAntennaTracker module itself,, must be supplied through a standard 3pin servo connector (with only two of the pins used).
Looking at the front of the module, power must be provided through either of the lower two connectors
(these are paralleled, and may be use to daisy-chain power to other devices).
Power the EzAntennaTracker unit the same way you would power a R/C receiver. 5v or 6v depending
upon servo requirements, sourced from either a ‘Rx Battery Pack’, or a 5v/6v BEC.
3. Pan Servo
The upper of the 4 connectors is the Pan Servo connection. Connect any R/C servo to this connector. See
elsewhere in this document for servo recommendations.
4. Tilt servo
The connector below the Pan Servo connector is for the Tilt servo.
Note that the USB connection is currently used primarily for upgrading flash firmware, and may be left
disconnected in normal use.
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2.3. Cabling, Getting the Correct Audio Channel
There are two fundamental types of A/V Tx/Rx equipment being used for FPV, those with a mono audio
link, and those with a stereo link.
The ‘Lawmate’ equipment, and clones, used primarily for law-enforcement, transmits only (relatively
low bandwidth) mono audio (one channel). This equipment will function correctly with the EzOSD
telemetry link, but note that the only audio channel will be dedicated to telemetry, and cannot be used
for an onboard microphone.
The ‘Airwave’ equipment, and clones, provides a high-bandwidth stereo audio link. One of the two
channels may be used for telemetry (generally, the Right-Channel), while the other (Left) may be used
for an onboard microphone.
One of the most common problems experienced when setting up an antenna tracking system is to
ensure the audio is correctly cabled both in the plane (Tx-end), and on the ground (Rx-end).
Additional care must be taken if Lawmate transmitters are used with Airwave receivers (or vice-versa).
These cases will be covered below.
2.4. Transmitter Audio Connection
2.4.1. ImmersionRC/Airwave Transmitter
If ImmersionRC (Airwave) transmitters are used, there are two A/V connectors supplied on the
transmitter board.
One is the 5-pin Molex-SL connector, which is used to interconnect ImmersionRC cameras, Transmitters,
and OSDs. This will be the standard method for connecting the audio channels, and requires no
additional effort (assuming standard cables are used, with all 5 pins connected).
An additional connector is supplied on ImmersionRC transmitters, for future expansion. This is a 5-pin
JST (small white connector), with the same pinout as the larger 5-pin Molex.
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