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MAVlink (Pixhawk) Integration

The Mini allows you to read sensor data from your MAVlink-compatible flight controller such as Pixhawk. Moreover, it can detect whether the drone is airborne or grounded and act accordingly by starting/ending the flight on your device.

The prerequisite for interconnection of Dronetag device and flight controller is having the right cable. Please order interconnection cable on our e-shop or make sure that you have compatible one by hand. All the wiring must be as described below.

Dronetag Mini Extension Port

The connector on Dronetag Mini is common JST SH 4-pin with UART interface with no flow control.

Pin #NameScheme ColorDescription
1VCCRedDo not connect to any voltage source
2UART RXGreenReceive of the Dronetag device (3.3V logic)
3UART TXBlueTransmit of the Dronetag device (3.3V logic)
4GroundBlackGround connection

Pixhawk Telem Port

Most MAVlink-compatible flight controllers (such as Pixhawk) use JST GH 6-pin connectors that can be configured as UART/Serial interface.

Pin #NameScheme ColorDescription
1VCCRedSupply from the flight controller (5V)
2UART TXGreenTransmit of the flight controller (3.3V to 5V logic)
3UART RXBlueReceive of the flight controller (3.3V to 5V logic)
4CTSGrayFlow control pin (3.3V to 5V logic)
5RTSGrayFlow control pin (3.3V to 5V logic)
6GroundBlackGround connection

Mini Connected to Flight Controller

For the successful integration of your Dronetag device with flight controller, only pin UART RX, UART TX and Ground must be connected. Not following the diagram below may permanently damage your device and void the warranty.

Caution
  • Never put any voltage to pin 1 (VCC pin) on Dronetag Mini side.
  • Always check that you wiring of UART TX/RX is as described above.
  • Ground pin must be always connected.

On the flight controller side, you must ensure that you selected following parameters on the UART/Serial port

  • 115200 baudrate
  • MAVlink 2 protocol

Last step is to setup MAVlink as GNSS input and optionally as trigger for starting/ending the flight.

  • Open up the Device Configuration
  • Select MAVlink option as GNSS input. The internal GNSS receiver will turn off.
  • If you want to have your flight state managed by the flight controller, enable MAVlink flight control option in General section

At this point, MAVlink data are read through Extension connector and broadcasted locally/send to Dronetag cloud. You can do a quick check if your integration was succesfull by disconnecting the Extension connector when you already have GNSS fix on your drone. GNSS LED which was previously green should turn into pulsing orange.

Caution
  • Dronetag flight can be only started when your drone has GNSS fix.