Test SATPRO operation, inside or outside the office

Test Purpose:

The purpose of this test is to perform a quick verification of the SATPRO’s functionality.

You will conduct a test either indoors or outdoors to ensure that the SATPRO is receiving Mavlink telemetry data from the autopilot’s GPS. Additionally, you will establish communication with the mission planner from the GCS and with the XLRS_SATPRO software via an ethernet connection. For this, you will assemble a portable system using a tray or container to hold the RXLRS receiver, the Cube Orange autopilot (or similar), and batteries. Move the tray more than 10 meters away and walk around the SATPRO to verify that it is correctly tracking the system.

Important Note for Indoor Testing:
Keep in mind that during indoor tests, the autopilot’s GPS may not be very accurate, which could result in erratic movements of the SATPRO. This is due to the imprecision of GPS data indoors. To confirm functionality, you can check the GPS data or the UAV’s movement in Mission Planner. However, for a more efficient and precise test, it is recommended to perform it outdoors, where the GPS can obtain accurate data.

Required Materials

• SATPRO antenna tracker.
• WMX481 radio module.
• An XLRS GCS.
• A tray or container to hold:
  • RXLRS receiver.
  • Cube Orange autopilot (or similar) with its GPS module.
  • Batteries.
• SATPRO connected via ethernet to the GCS, laptop, or external PC.

Note:
It is necessary to use the XLRS_SATPRO software to verify the Origin tracker Position “HOME” position coordinates of the SATPRO and the Mavlink coordinates of the UAV. This will ensure that the system is properly configured and capable of accurately tracking the position.

Warning:

Before continuing with this test, to have correct operation and avoid any breakdown during the process, it is very important and necessary that you have read all the previous steps in the SATPRO manual.

Firts Steps:

1- All devices turned off: Ensure that the tray with RXLRS and autopilot, GCS XLRS, SATPRO, and WMX481 are powered off.

2- Power on SATPRO: Wait for it to complete the calibration of the X and Y axes.

3- Position SATPRO facing north: Use a compass or download a digital compass app on your mobile phone for assistance.

4- Connect cables: Connect the SATPRO’s RCBUS cable and ethernet cable to the GCS.

5- Turn on the XLRS GCS.

6- Open the XLRS_SATPRO software: Establish communication to verify data later during the test.

7- Open the Mission Planner software: Don’t establish communication yet.

8- Set up the mobile platform: Place the autopilot, RXLRS receiver, and batteries on a mobile platform, such as a tray or similar.

9- Move outdoors: Once the devices are placed, connected, and installed on the tray, take the setup outdoors if possible, turn on the devices, and wait to receive Mavlink GPS data.

10- Wait for SATPRO to receive GPS data: From SATPRO’s display, check if it starts receiving Mavlink GPS packets. Once data is received, it will display the UAV’s GPS coordinates on the screen, including latitude, longitude, altitude, relative altitude, distance, and more.

11- Verify data via XLRS_SATPRO: In the XLRS_SATPRO software, review the parameters under “ORG.” and “VEHICLE” to see the corresponding data.

12- Establish communication with Mission Planner: While waiting to receive GPS data, connect Mission Planner to the system.

13-Verify GPS in Mission Planner: From the main screen in Mission Planner, ensure that the GPS data is available and correctly received.

14. Handling SATPRO Movement When Receiving Mavlink Telemetry (GPS): 

When SATPRO begins receiving Mavlink telemetry packets (GPS), it may start moving if the UAV and SATPRO are very close to each other. This occurs because SATPRO receives slightly different coordinates as the UAV is not perfectly stationary, which you can observe in Mission Planner where the aircraft appears to constantly move on the map.

To address this, there is a safety feature that prevents SATPRO from moving when the vehicle is within a certain distance. You can adjust the DISTMIN parameter according to your preference. By default, this parameter is set to 10 meters.

15. Set and Verify the HOME of SATPRO:

15.1 Review the current HOME parameter configuration in SATPRO:

• • If the parameter is set to HOME = MAV, SATPRO will receive GPS HOME data through Mavlink telemetry. However, because GPS data obtained this way may not be precise, we recommend setting the parameter to HOME = GPS.

15.2 Use the HOME = GPS parameter:

• • In this mode, SATPRO will use the internal GPS to determine its HOME coordinates. Keep in mind that if SATPRO is indoors (e.g., in an office), the internal GPS might occasionally update coordinates inaccurately due to poor signal quality.

15.3 Configuring “GPS FIX” or “MANUAL”:

• • Once you see the origin latitude, longitude, and altitude in the “ORG.” parameters from the SATPRO’s internal GPS:
  • You can set the HOME parameter to GPS FIX to lock the last accurate coordinates obtained by the internal GPS.
  • Alternatively, you can switch to HOME = MANUAL and manually input the desired coordinates for the HOME location.

15.4 Verify and adjust the HOME altitude:

• • It is crucial to ensure that the altitude for the HOME position is correct. If you notice errors in the altitude data, switch to HOME = MANUAL and adjust the ALT parameter to the correct altitude for the HOME location. You can verify the altitude using tools such as Google Earth or similar software.

Important Note:

If the HOME altitude is incorrect, SATPRO will calculate an inaccurate relative altitude between its HOME position and the UAV. This could result in errors in SATPRO’s “Y” axis alignment, causing it to not track the UAV accurately.

11- From the main screen of Mission Planner, in the “Actions” tab, click on “Armed/disarmed”, arm the autopilot so that it detects the Home.

Note: If for any reason you can’t arm the autopilot from Mission Planner, a solution is to connect the autopilot to the PC via USB, connect with Mission Planner and force arming.

12- Once armed, it will automatically set the Home.

13- If you want for this test you can set the Home manually in the SATPRO position, on the mission planner map, set the home manually indicating the approximate position of the SATPRO, with the mouse, right click and Set Home Here / Set Home Here.

14- Once Home is established, you will take the tray and move inside or outside the office to check that SATPRO is following us. Remember you have to move more than 5 meters away from the SATPRO.

15- Last test, this test can be performed either inside the office or outside the office.

15.1- Test (1 people): You will need a minimum space >10 meters and have direct vision of the SATPRO, to facilitate the test it may be better to perform the entire test outside the office, now take the tray and move approximately 10 meters away and if possible move around the SATPRO so that it makes a 360º movement following the GPS which will be placed on the tray.

15.2- Test (2 people): One person can be in the office reviewing the map and the movement of SATPRO and the other person will walk around the office outside so that SATPRO makes a 360º movement following the GPS which will be placed on the tray.