I have one on order so I can do a write up on connecting it up to a 3DR Radio to make a long range bridge. Hopefully it comes soon.

If you need help in figuring it out or have questions I can help, just post here and I will do my best.

• This reply was modified 9 years ago by Bill B.

I do have plans to make iPad version of the views. I focused on iPhone first since the Audio announcements are the killer feature when flying in the field.

Hi, any news on the setup of the WiFi Module – ESP8266..?

I just had a couple of the ESP8266 modules arrive. I have had this ESP-07 module (from DealExtreme
I have been playing around with different configurations. At the moment it’s been TCP only, and I’d like it to be UDP
I also had a Pixhawk WiFi Model from HobbyKing working. I wouldn’t recommend it as I cannot reconfigure the SSID or password. So if you have two nearby, it’s going to cause a access point switch and loss of connection.

I’ll try and get a basic summary of what I did to get the ESP-07 working and modes. The configuration will be the same as the ESP-01 (but it requires different wiring setup)

• This reply was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by Bill B.

Cheers, a summary would be great.. Bought your App because I don’t have the time right now to figure everything out by myself as I did before- my baby girl keeps me too busy.. 🙂

I was curios if you had a write up yet. Or even a preferred firmware to install on the esp8266. I have a couple adafruit huzzah esp8266 lying around. I thought they would be perfect for this. I bought your app but have been unable to make them work. I tried the esp-link firmware but was not successful in getting a connection. Perhaps a debug log/window or failed connection errors would be helpful in getting users setup.

Try this one… https://pixhawk.org/peripherals/8266 I’ll get back with a more detail reply later today

hi, basti here, new to the forum.

to setup an esp8266 for connection apm <-> MAVPilot, you need:
the esp module
a bidir 5-to-3.3V level converter (sparkfun)
a transparent serial-to-wifi-bridge firmware (https://github.com/beckdac/ESP8266-transparent-bridge)

flash the module via 3.3 V ftdi (GPIO0 pin low for flash mode), adjust settings (ssid, baud etc.) via AT commands.

then solder level converter + stepdown and cable. plug into telemetry port, connect via wlan, fire up MAVPilot using TCP/IP on 192.168.4.1 port 23 and there you go.

cheers, basti.

thanks bill,

as i’m just getting started with the adapters as well as your super cool app, i sure didn’t go the easiest way. tcp does work, but with the exact drawbacks you explained. i was going to set the esp up as an udp-bridge in the next step, so thanks a lot for the fw you linked.

the sparkfun-item you linked is the exact level converter i used. i combined it with a 5-to-3.3V stepdown reg giving reference for the hv and lv sides, rx/tx are simply connected to the signal pads on each side. it does work alright as well, but the 5V-ready modules sure are much more convenient.

so thanks a lot and keep going! if you need betatesters i’d sure be pleased!

cheers, basti.

thanks bill!

i’ll set up udp tonight and give it a go.

basti.

so i did some tinkering.
the readymade “pixracer” udp fw .bin would not let me connect to the http-console to adjust uart baudrate, so i chose to use the repository to build one to my needs (apm, 57600 on uart) with atom/platformIO. wasn’t a peace of cake for me as a non-coder, but it finally worked.
still dealing with uart-link-stability-issues due to the level-converter-setup, making it hard to successfully request the parameter list, but that just needs some soldering.

do you get access to the http-command-console with that .bin you linked?

cheers, basti.

finally got it working well now! i swapped the sparkfun level-converter for a simple 1k/1k8 divider on rx. the 3.3V from tx work fine on apm’s rx without any conversion.
building firmwares with http-console enabled works fine as well. with a stable udp connection the in-app map updates work just as they should.

thanks for your help, basti.

Hi guys! Kinda new around here. Trying to learn more about esp8266 so I can build working long range telemetry bridge. I want to use esp8266 as an iOS to 3dr radio interface for long range 915mhz telemetry to apm. I have been trying to use mavesp firmware but haven’t had too much success. I think I might be doing something wrong with programming. I had no trouble at all building a bluetooth to 3dr radio interface for android but getting iOS to work is giving me grief! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I have ESP-01’s and I am expecting a few esp-07’s shortly.

Thanks,

John

Ok a bit of an update. I got it working! Hooray! I used the instructions I found here:

https://spikey.si/ardupilotmega-telemetry2wifi-bridge/

It works but it is tcp and I think udp is preferred or better. So now I am trying to figure out how to make it udp. Any ideas?

Thanks,

John

UDP is better, but when creating a bridge TCP works ok, since packet loss is minimal. The the real problem with TCP is with high packet loss can destroy the TCP link due to the number of retries with resultant connection loss, then required reconnection. UDP just drops the missed packets making it more reliable (no connection loss, the app will retry commands at the app level, not at the network level)