Gremsy Gimbals
This page describes how to set up a Gremsy Gimbal with Skynode
Last updated
This page describes how to set up a Gremsy Gimbal with Skynode
Last updated
Currently, we support the following Gimbals from Gremsy
The supported way to interface with these gimbals is using the MAVLink gimbal protocol v2. We discourage the use of legacy control modes such as PWM or S.BUS or the MAVLink gimbal v1 protocol.
Download the latest Gremsy gimbal firmware for your specific model here and use gTune to flash it onto your gimbal
Power on the Gimbal, attach it to your computer using a micro-USB cable and then connect to it with gTune.
Select "Controls" and then "Herelink". Do not enable Herelink, but use this tab to set the tilt deadzone to zero
Still under "Controls", select "Mavlink", this time select YES when prompted to enable MAVLink input
You may need to configure and tune your gimbal further for your specific payload depending on it's weight, center of gravity and desired behavior
Power on Skynode, connect to it via USB-C and change the following parameters using Auterion Mission Control's Advanced mode
MAV_2_CONFIG = 401 (PPB)
MAV_2_MODE = 10 (Gimbal)
SER_PPB_BAUD = 115200
MAV_2_FORWARD = 1
MAV_S_FORWARD = 1
MNT_MODE_IN = 4 (MAVLink Gimbal v2)
reboot
refresh parameters or restart AMC
MNT_MODE_OUT = 2 (MAVLink Gimbal v2)
On the payload side, the AUX channels of the gimbal can be leveraged to route the required signals such as USB, Ethernet and power through the gimbal. A custom cable will typically need to be made to match your payload. An example for the Workswell Wiris Pro is shown below
Note that the first two pins of the gimbal's AUX port are connected to the 12V supply rail and ground. These can be used to power a payload, but they are not suitable to carry data signals through the gimbal. Applying 12V to a data line could seriously damage a camera!
Use Gremsy's Pixhawk UART cable to connect the gimbal's COM2 to the Pixhawk Payload Bus UART port labelled GPS2 and use your custom cable to grab the payload data signals from the gimbal's AUX channels and feed them into the Pixhawk Payload bus. Don't forget to supply the Gimbal with power using Gremsy's UBEC module.
A finalized bench setup could look something like this
