PX4 Instructions

Hardware Setup

Wiring

CAN: connect with a Pixhawk standard 4-pin JST-GH cable. See CAN Wiring. Chain additional nodes from the second CAN connector.

UART: connect the 6-pin UART JST-GH to a free FC serial port. Protocol details: UART / MAVLink.

Firmware

ARK DIST runs the PX4 DroneCAN Firmware (ark_dist_default). Supports CAN firmware update and dynamic node allocation. See Firmware.

CAN Configuration

Flight Controller Parameters

Set the following in QGroundControl and reboot the flight controller.

Required

Parameter	Value	Description
UAVCAN_ENABLE	2	Enable DroneCAN with dynamic node allocation
UAVCAN_SUB_RNG	1	Subscribe to DroneCAN range finder messages
UAVCAN_RNG_MIN	0	Min reported range
UAVCAN_RNG_MAX	max sensor range	Max reported range
EKF2_RNG_A_HMAX	max sensor range	Max range used by the EKF
EKF2_RNG_QLTY_T	0.2	Range finder quality time

CAN Node Parameters

No node parameters are required for range publishing.

Configure optional node params via QGroundControl (Component X under Vehicle Settings > Parameters) or the DroneCAN GUI Tool.

Optional

Parameter	Description
CANNODE_TERM	Set to 1 if this is the last node on the CAN bus

UART/MAVLink Configuration

No parameters need to be set on the ARK DIST. Stock firmware streams MAVLink on the UART port at 115200. See UART / MAVLink.

Flight Controller Parameters

Set the following in QGroundControl and reboot the flight controller.

Required

Parameter	Value	Description
MAV_X_CONFIG	port	Port the sensor is connected to
MAV_X_FORWARD	0	Disable MAVLink forwarding on this port
MAV_X_MODE	7 or 13	Minimal or Low Bandwidth — reduces memory usage
SER_X_BAUD	115200	Baud rate for the MAVLink port
EKF2_RNG_A_HMAX	max sensor range	Max range used by the EKF
EKF2_RNG_QLTY_T	0.2	Range finder quality time