Advice needed (2.4 data-link in phantom)

[Seedler]

Hi,

Need some help and advice. I want to install the 2.4 data-link so I can use waypoints on my laptop. I have a Phantom 1.1.1 with original board.

1. Should I install the upgrade board and fit my own canbus port, or just use PMU v2? I will not be using a zenmuse, probably go for a tarot. How much effect would the extra weight of PMU v2 have on flight time? and are there any other advantages to the upgrade?

2. I was advised by some model shops to wait a few weeks until dji release a firmware update to allow the data-link to work with the phantom, but I have seen were other people have already installed the data-link into phantom, and it works. So why are shops saying it wont work without the update?

Thanks for your help,

Damien.

 

[ElGuano]

Hi,

Need some help and advice. I want to install the 2.4 data-link so I can use waypoints on my laptop. I have a Phantom 1.1.1 with original board.

1. Should I install the upgrade board and fit my own canbus port, or just use PMU v2? I will not be using a zenmuse, probably go for a tarot. How much effect would the extra weight of PMU v2 have on flight time? and are there any other advantages to the upgrade?

2. I was advised by some model shops to wait a few weeks until dji release a firmware update to allow the data-link to work with the phantom, but I have seen were other people have already installed the data-link into phantom, and it works. So why are shops saying it wont work without the update?

Thanks for your help,

Damien.

I don't have a datalink, so take this for what it's worth...

The upgrade board with Sarawuth mod gives you one free canbus connection/cable. I think the serial nature of the bus means you should be able to bridge off of it with more cables to anything that has a CAN transceiver, but I don't think anyone here has done that yet, but it is how the CAN-Hub works. Expect the upgrade board + mod to weigh about 10-15g more than your stock board.

The PMU V2 is 28g, stripped of wiring and heatsink/casing, it's as little as 8g. The main benefit is dedicated CAN port and ample 3v-7v power supply to run numerous daisy-chained accessories.

The rule of thumb is to ignore power drain for most peripherals, and assume you lose 1 second for every gram added. So adding a PMU takes about 30 seconds off your flight time, and the upgrade board maybe half that. As you add stuff like iOSD and BTU, these seemingly small weights add up dramatically.

AFAIK, there's nothing Phantom-specific about the datalink that needs a firmware update. It works with the NAZA-M, plain and simple. I think your shop is confused and they're thinking about an upcoming update to the Phantom 2's hobbled NAZA to enable waypoints.

 

[Seedler]

Hi,

Just remembered I also got an email from dji Europe who also said to wait on firmware update. I told them it was a phantom 1.1.1.

So will the phantom 2 be able to do waypoints after update without needing datalink?

Cheers,

Damien.

 

[OI Photography]

AFAIK, there's nothing Phantom-specific about the datalink that needs a firmware update. It works with the NAZA-M, plain and simple. I think your shop is confused and they're thinking about an upcoming update to the Phantom 2's hobbled NAZA to enable waypoints.

+1 Sounds like they think the issue w/the P2 firmware (unable to use datalink) applies to all Phantoms. As long as your 1.1.1 has 4.02 on it you should have full Data Link/Groundstation capabilities for up to 16 waypoints.

The 2.4 Data Link Tx that mounts on the aircraft is 21.2g, and the factory canbus cable for it is 8.7g. If you check out the page for the sarawuth canbus mod (http://www.sarawuth.com/2014/01/dji-pha ... -bus-port/), there's some good pictures of her external mounting solution, which is what I would probably go with if I was using it on my Phantom.

 

[Seedler]

Thanks for that. At least I know it will work. Still undecided about board or pmu.

There is a 14 gram difference between upgrade board with mod and pmu. ElGuano stated roughly one second for one gram. So that would be 14 seconds less flight time with pmu. Is it worth the extra hassle for the upgrade board? I'm thinking pmu but wondering if I will I be kicking myself a few months down the line for not going board.

AGH I cant make a decision. HELP

Damien.

 

[OI Photography]

I'd suggest going with the board, that's what I did. But...are you sure your 1.1.1 doesn't have it already? I was thinking most if not all of that model already had the new board.

 

[Seedler]

No, old board. I don't think any of them have it. We have the Naza M V2 though.

Cheers,

Damien.

 

[ElGuano]

I went with the pmu cause I could mod it lighter, and transfer it to a new quad if I wanted to. Generally, I would recommend the upgrade board as it's a more efficient solution unless you need to string multiple canBus devices together and they don't all have pass-throughs.

 

[Seedler]

Ah, so can the upgrade board not handle multiple devices? plus I never thought about the upgrading to another quad option.

I think it might be pmu.

Cheers,

Damien

 

[ElGuano]

Ah, so can the upgrade board not handle multiple devices? plus I never thought about the upgrading to another quad option.

I think it might be pmu.

Cheers,

Damien

Don't know the answer to that one. Chances are things will be fine, but I'm not aware of anyone attaching >1 devices directly to the bus line. According to the Can specs it seems like it would work. I like the elegance of the upgrade board, my phantom is just heavily modified so my priorities are different.

 

[OI Photography]

Don't know the answer to that one. Chances are things will be fine, but I'm not aware of anyone attaching >1 devices directly to the bus line. According to the Can specs it seems like it would work.

Darn, I was planning to ask you if was possible to run two ports in parallel like that. Guess I'll just have to find out the old fashioned way

 

[johnbig]

Hi I pulled the CanHub apart and all the sockets are in parallel. There are no other component in there.

Johnbig

 

[OI Photography]

Hi I pulled the CanHub apart and all the sockets are in parallel. There are no other component in there.

Johnbig

Cool, thank you!

 

[ElGuano]

Yep, that's how CANbus works (and think of what you're paying for with a CAN-hub, it's just a wire harness with connectors!). CAN controllers arbitrate competing signals across the bus, and each node monitors the status of its own communications and re-transmits if it detects it's conflicting with a dominant signal. You just need to tap correctly into the bus line (and ensure that you have sufficient 3-7v power for additional devices).

 

[OI Photography]

Yep, that's how CANbus works (and think of what you're paying for with a CAN-hub, it's just a wire harness with connectors!). CAN controllers arbitrate competing signals across the bus, and each node monitors the status of its own communications and re-transmits if it detects it's conflicting with a dominant signal. You just need to tap correctly into the bus line (and ensure that you have sufficient 3-7v power for additional devices).

Good, what I'm thinking about doing (and ordered the part for yesterday) is adding the P2 canbus port on the leg of my 1.5 in addition to the internal iOSD mini. I realized the only other things I might want to connect with canbus would be the data link sometimes, or the BTU for settings adjustments, and I'd probably prefer either of those were stuck/strapped on externally for the time I needed them.

 

[ElGuano]

Yep, that's how CANbus works (and think of what you're paying for with a CAN-hub, it's just a wire harness with connectors!). CAN controllers arbitrate competing signals across the bus, and each node monitors the status of its own communications and re-transmits if it detects it's conflicting with a dominant signal. You just need to tap correctly into the bus line (and ensure that you have sufficient 3-7v power for additional devices).

Good, what I'm thinking about doing (and ordered the part for yesterday) is adding the P2 canbus port on the leg of my 1.5 in addition to the internal iOSD mini. I realized the only other things I might want to connect with canbus would be the data link sometimes, or the BTU for settings adjustments, and I'd probably prefer either of those were stuck/strapped on externally for the time I needed them.

My guess is you'll be fine. The upgrade board and PMU are virtually the same thing, including the voltage regulator, and the upgrade board's canbus already supports the GPS, GCU and iOSD mini, so it should be good. Best of luck!

 

[Seedler]

OI Photography where did you order the P2 canbus port that fits on the leg? This would be a neater option but I cant seem to be able to find it anywhere.

Thanks,

Damien.

 

[OI Photography]

OI Photography where did you order the P2 canbus port that fits on the leg? This would be a neater option but I cant seem to be able to find it anywhere.

Thanks,

Damien.

It's called "Phantom 2 Part #2" (or some variation of that), I ordered mine here: http://1uas.com/Phantom-2-Part-2-CAN-Module

I actually ordered two, so I could have a spare port and connection cable to tinker with.

 

[Seedler]

Thanks.

Now for an adaptor from that cable to canbus plug. Any idea what the dji canbus plugs are called, or they specific to dji?

Thanks again.

Damien.

 

[OI Photography]

Thanks.

Now for an adaptor from that cable to canbus plug. Any idea what the dji canbus plugs are called, or they specific to dji?

Thanks again.

Damien.

No problem! I've never seen DJI's canbus plugs for sale but they might be out there. I intended to just wire mine straight to the board, but I've also seen where someone has soldered the leads straight to the canbus port pads on a naked (caseless) iOSD mini, after removing the port itself.