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basfora edited this page Aug 13, 2024 · 24 revisions

Parts

  • 1x "The Mother Board" PCB v0.1a
  • 1x Raspberry Pi Pico (W)
  • 1x MPU 9250/6500 IMU: Amazon Link
  • 1x Radio Receiver: Amazon Link
  • 1x ESC(and its accessories), For example: Amazon Link
  • 4x Motor, requirements: M3 16mmx16mm mounting, 4s-6s, For example: Amazon Link
  • 4x Propeller, requirements: 3 inches, 5mm mounting hole; For example: Amazon Link
  • 2x 20 Pin Female Pinhead | 1x 10 Pin Female Pinhead: Amazon Link
  • 1x ELRS Controller: For example: Amazon Link

demo

1. Build the "Mother Board"

P2-Schematics

This is a relatively simple PCB; its main purpose is to connect the Pico with other parts concisely. Some ESCs have built-in Battery Eliminate Circuits (BEC), which regulate the battery voltage to either 3.3V or 5V. To be compatible with most ESCs, The "Mother Board" v0.1a regulates input voltage of 3.8V - 32V into 3.3V for the Pi Pico.

WARNING: v0.1a has no reverse/short protection; please be EXTRA careful; PARTS WILL BURN.

STEPS

  1. Solder the Female Pinhead to where the Pico(20 Pin) and the IMU(10 Pin) will be(Making the Pico and the IMU swappable makes life easier). And plug the Pico and the IMU into place.
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TEST: Can you print the IMU data in the serial print? Does that make sense?

  1. Solder the Radio Receiver; be careful with RX and TX.
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TEST: Are the receiver wires connected properly to the other parts? Test the grounds between the receiver, pico, and IMU.

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TEST: Does the Radio Receiver blink when the system is powered?

2. Connect the ESC with the "Mother Board"

It is a little bit tricky to connect the two. But at the end of the day, you are connecting the four PWM control pins on the motherboard(PWM_A, PWM_B, PWM_C, PWM_D) to the ESC Pins (MOTOR_1,MOTOR_2,MOTOR_3,MOTOR_4). Plus the Power from the ESC (BAT+ and GND).

STEPS

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  1. Pick the JST connector that came with the ESC, and be extra careful with how the wires are connected. Connect the JST to the ESC and solder the other end onto the motherboard.
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TEST: Use the multimeter to check if the Pico VSYS across the GND pin is 3.3V. TEST: Make sure the ESC battery wires are connected to the correct terminal because if they are reversed connecting the battery will fry the ESC.

3. Connect ESC with the Motors

prob

It is worth mentioning the direction of the propellers; the above shows one valid way to configure the propeller directions. A valid propeller configuration is important to balance the yaw torque generated by the propellers.

Note

You might need to understand how the software works in order to test if the electrical assembly was correct.

STEPS

  1. Solder the 3 wires from each motor to the ESC. Sometimes, the ESC firmware "assumes" a certain configuration, so the motor rotates in the wrong direction. The quickest way is to switch the left and right wires to reverse the direction.

TEST: Let each motor rotate, check if all of them are rotating in the correct direction

  1. After ensuring the motors are spinning in the right direction, install the propellers.

For instructions on how to control the drone via radio controller, see RC & Connections.

"Mother Board" Development and Manufacture

Great video for learning PCB design in KiCAD(everything you will need if you want to modify and manufacture the PCB!): link

The PCB was developed in KiCAD, and the EDA project files are located here.

Please make the PCB purple because it is cool. (no I was joking)

@ 2024 | Motion Studio

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