the manual - XR

…the
manual
Thank you for your purchase!
Thank you for choosing our mod and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!
This guide is intended to help with the installation of your new mod kit and get you flying
ASAP. It has been carefully constructed to make the procedure as straight forward as
possible and should have no trouble at all. If you do, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We would also like to take this opportunity for thanking Miru and Pawelsky who did some
amazing research and development to make this method possible for the community. XR4Drone would not have been possible without their insights!
Have fun and if I missed anything or you have some suggestions…please drop us a line.
Happy landings,
The XR-4Drone team
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Compatible transmitters
The compatibility of the mod with your TX (Transmitter) depends on which version of the
XR-4Drone you purchased. Each version has its own specific RX (receiver) which operate on
their specific frequency and modulations:
XR-4Drone (original)
Spektrum
Spektrum
Spektrum
Spektrum
DX5e*
DX6i
DX7
DX8i
5 channel
6 channel
7 channel
8 channel
All modes
All modes
All modes
All modes
More to come…..
* Please note that the DX5e's trainner swtich is actually a 6th channel. It is used to change
flight modes therefore, needs to be replaced for a ON-ON switch(Futaba 3M94A00805).
Please email me for more information.
****VERY IMPORTANT: NEVER POWER THE DRONE VIA USB AND BATTERY AT THE SAME
TIME! YOUR DRONE WILL BE FRIED!
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Setting up your transmitter
The first thing to do is to bind you RX (Receiver) to your TX (Transmitter):
1. Insert the binding plug into the 3 pins on the RX
2. Configure your TX for binding (in ACRO mode)
Spektrum DX6i
TRAVEL ADJUSTMENT
Throttle -125%(Down arrow)
SUB-TRIM
Throttle -100%(Down arrow)
Spektrum DX7
TRAVEL ADJUSTMENT
Throttle 150% L
SUB-TRIM
Throttle 125 L
Spektrum DX8
SERVO > TRAVEL
Throttle 150% L
SERVO > SUB-TRIM
Throttle 125 L
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3. Set your throttle stick in the down position and start the binding procedure by
powering you TX while holding the “trainer” button up
RX will start to blink, stop blinking for a second and then go solid. Binding complete.
Turn off TX, unplug mod and remove binding plug. You no longer need to bind again.
Please Note:
There are 2 ways you can get power to bind. You can either plug in the Drone Kit to the drone, and powering with
the battery. Or you can plug via the USB connector on the Arduino to your PC.
After the binding procedure is complete, you will need to configure your TX for flight
mode:
Spektrum DX6i
TRAVEL ADJUSTMENT
Throttle
SUB-TRIM
Throttle
FLAP
Normal
Land
Reverse
100%
0%
-100%
+100%
Throttle N
Aileron R
Elevation R
Rudd R
Gear N
Flap N
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Spektrum DX7
TRAVEL ADJUSTMENT
Throttle
SUB-TRIM
Throttle
FLAP SYS (FLAP)
NORM
MID
LAND
REVERSING SWITCH
100%
0%
UP 100%
DOWN 100%
0%
CH1 (THROTTLE) NORM
CH2 (AILERON) REV
CH3 (ELEVATION) REV
CH4 (RUDD) REV
CH5 (GEAR) REV
CH6 (FLAP) NORM
CH7 (AUX2) NORM
Spektrum DX8
SERVO > TRAVEL
Throttle 100%
SERVO > SUB-TRIM
Throttle 0
SERVO > REVERSE
THROTTLE NOR
AILERON REV
ELEVATOR REV
RUDDER REV
GEAR REV
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Testing your setup
Before going outside to fly your upgraded Drone. It is a wise idea to test everything first.
This can be done by going into “SETUP Mode” Here are the setups to do so:
1. Make sure you have Hyperterminal on your PC
2. Install a jumper to short the 2 pins on the Arduino Nano (any old PC part will have a jumper)
3. Switch on the TX and after 2 to 10 second connect the USB cable to you XR-4Drone
and your PC
4. Start Hyperterminal, it will ask you to make a new connection: Call it what you want
(e.g. ARD_COM6) and press enter
5. You will then see a “CONNECT TO” dialog box. Go to “Connect using” and select your
comm port
6. Now you will see the comm properties. Bits per second: 115200 --- Flow control:
None. The other are left as default
7. Click okay and you will get a blank window
8. Go to File  Properties then click on the Settings tab
9. Change the setting for Emulation: ANSIW and click okay
10.Now you press CTRL-B two times (sometimes more) and you should see something
like this
Please Note: In some cases you will not have the FTDI drivers installed. If the COMM port is not found, you
will need the drivers installed. You can find them here: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
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Please Note Make sure that all the settings are okay and that everything works to your liking before sending your drone
in flight. When you are finished in setup mode, do not forget to remove the jumper.
TX OFF
TX ON
TX ON with Throttle down, Gears up and Flaps 0
GEARS in LAND. Throttle stick pushed to the left (FTRIM)
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TX ON with Throttle down, Gears up and Flaps 1
GEARS in LAND. Throttle to the right. DANGER motor shutdown
Animation, FM_2  FM_1FM_2 Point the Elev stick.
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Gears DOWN, Elevation stick to the right. Change Camera View
Installing the mod in your Drone
1. Remove the plastic cover
2. Install the mod kit. This is really straight forward. There is only one way to install
it.
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3. Next you can put the plate back in place. Since the plate is black you will not see the
lights blinking. I suggest going on eBay and there is someone selling clear plates.
For the installation of your Mod Kit, you are pretty much done. Now it is time to
have fun!
Time to start up your Drone
1. Make sure your gears switch is down, FLAPS are in the 0 position, throttle is centered
then power up the TX.
2. Make sure that before installing the Mod that you removed the SETUP mode jumper
and the binding plug.
3. Plug in the battery and wait for the start-up sequence. Shown here:
4. Once you see the led flashing quickly, it’s time to fly. Flip the gear switch up and watch
your drone lift off.
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Configurations
There are 4 different configurations for the Mod kit depending on your level on comfort
but can also be customized. We will cover that a little bit later in the manual.
To change the configuration you want to fly in, you must follow this procedure in LAND
only.
Push the throttle stick all the way up and hold it there. The select the flight configuration
you want by pushing and holding the elevator stick to the desired configuration and then
center back the throttle stick first, then the elevator.
To select a configuration, use the elevator stick:
Easy (cfg4)= Rookie
Standard(cfg1) = Flying Ace
Wild(cfg2) = Top Gun
Normal (cfg3)= Explorer
You'll see the drone blink the motor lights when the new configuration is received.
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Special actions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Flips (animations)
To perform a flip (animation) set your flap to 1(FM_2). Now to initiate a flip, flip the flap
switch to 0(FM_1) and quickly back to 1(FM_2). Then immediately after you have flip the
flap switch point your elevator stick in the direction to select your animation (flip).
Another method would be:
You simply do the FM2-FM1-FM2 switch while already flying in one direction (so holding
the stick in that direction). That way you will execute an in-flight flip.
I suggest you practice this in SETUP mode so you can get the hang of it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Emergency stop
In case of on emergency and you want to shut the motors off, you can do this by setting
the switch to LAND and move the throttle stick to the right.
Please be aware that this will shut off the motor and it WILL fall from the sky.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------FTRIM (Flat Trim)
To perform an FTRIM (Flat Trim), your drone needs to be on a pretty levelled surface and
your TX in the LAND Position. Simply move the throttle to the left and that will initiate the
FTRIM command.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Video recording
Plug in your USB stick into the drones USB connector and the recording will start when the
drone takes off and will stop when you land the drone. Please note the recording only
works on Configuration 3 and 4 but I will show you how to change that later on.
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Camera mode
You can select the camera you want before you fly. Simply go to the LAND position and
move the elevator stick to the right to switch camera views for recording.
--------------------------------------------------------------------Using your WiFi device
Using your i-Device or Android device is a really practical thing to have. You can see where
your drone is going and monitor the battery level. Before your start the boot process,
make sure that your throttle is in the center. This will enable WiFi and therefore you will be
able to use FreeFlight.
Mod has to be booted first before connecting the your i-Device or Android device via WiFi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Controls
Here are the controls for the DX6i in Mode 2. Because this Mod is completely
customizable, you can choose your mode by using Pawelsky’s Sketch Configurator here
http://mirumod.tk/tools/sketch_configurator.php
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Let’s take it to the next level
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So you feel comfortable setting up your drone to your needs?
Do you rather have Mode 1 (throttle on the right stick) vs. Mode 2?
Would you like to record in every configuration?
Want to load the new version of the Mirumod?
No problem. Because this uses the Arduino Nano board which has a USB connect, this gives
you the ability to program your mod kit as you please. Other mods use Arduino Pro Mini
which is less expensive and does not have the USB connector for easy programming.
What you will first need is the arduino software. You can get it here
http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
You can either download a pre-configured sketch I made or you can be creative by
making your own. Thanks to Pawlesky, you can go to this site and make your own
‘Sketch’. A sketch is a file that you download to the Arduino. http://mirumod.tk/
tools/sketch_configurator.php
You can play around with the settings as you please. This is your personal taste. Once you
made your file, simply launch the Arduino IDE program. From there you will see TOOLS
Board and select Arduino Nano w/Atmega 328. Then you select your Serial Port. Next you
go to SKETCHAdd File and select the file you created or the pre-made file you dowloaded
from the Files section of the web store. By default its rx2atp.c. I suggest you give it a
specific name so you can remember what’s in it. Once you selected the file click on the icon
with the arrow pointing to the right (upload). Once it’s finished uploading, you are done.
Test it out in SETUP mode to make sure everything is good.
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GPS MODULE SETUP
First you need to upload the Autopilot program to the Drone. It is called pilot.arm for
v0.18 or pilotXXX.arm for v0.19+ (where XXX stands for the revision of the mod) and
can be found here: http://mirumod.net/sw/drs022.zip
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for AR.DRONE v1.0 you will need a laptop with Wi-Fi
o first boot the drone and connect the laptop to drone's Wi-Fi network
o then use FTP client or Windows Explorer and connect to ftp://192.168.1.1/
o after that transfer the pilotXXX.arm file there
for AR.DRONE v2.0 you will need a pendrive (you can also use the same method as
for AR.Drone v1.0, but the pendrive method is much easier)
o copy the pilotXXX.arm file to pendrive
o plug the pendrive into the drone's USB socket (next to power plug)
**Please Note that you will need to update the pilotXXX.arm program on the drone every
time you update the sketch on Arduino.
How to use GPS?
After connecting and configuring the GPS first use the mod's SETUP mode to check if the
GPS is working. Make sure it gets lock, which is usually signalled by the GPS' LED (may be
tricky inside the building). In the SETUP mode the mod will also send anything you type to
the GPS module once you hit the 'return' key. It will do the proper framing ($...*cc) and
checksum calculation.
Once verified in SETUP mode you can try it on the Drone. Boot the drone, wait until GPS
gets the lock (observe the GPS' LED) and do the FTRIM command. It will store the current
position as the 'home' position. If the 'home' position gets locked, the drone blinks the
motor lights red/green versus just green in response to the FTRIM command.
To activate the auto pilot you have to switch to FM3 (do FM2->FM1->FM2 switch, but
leave the ELEVATOR/AILERON stick alone). It should go forward for a little while to figure
out the heading, but then come back to the home position. The auto pilot is strictly lateral,
meaning it does NOT control altitude nor yaw, but you can do that from the TX. If you
touch the ELEVATOR/AILERON stick or switch to FM1/LAND, it disengages the auto pilot
(switching to LAND will of course land the drone as well). Switch back into FM3 if you want
it to restart. Once it reaches home, it goes into a FM1 hover until it is pushed out of a 15
Meter circle (wind or GPS jump), in which case the pilot reengages to bring it back in.
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Rev. 1.01-11032013