Howdy! Just flew in...

[Bud Kash]

And an Intro in is order. So, I'm Bud, and I'm here to see if I can pull my Q500 out of mothballs and get it flying again after a couple years or so in the closet... due to... well, I've been otherwise occupied. I do however, have a possible problem out of the gate that I'm not sure can be overcome immediately, and I'd like to put out a query about the software/firmware that's available. I've been to yuneecskins, and it appears that there are downloads aplenty for Windows and Mac, but so far I've found nothing for Linux. Does anyone around here have any insight on this subject?
Also, I had UAV Pilot simulator on my previous system, so I still have the dongle for that, but here again... you know.
I do not use those other OS's at all anymore, haven't for at least a couple years. I guess I could set up a VM on my PC and run Win in a box if that's the only solution, but thought I'd check around some more first.
Any Takers???

 

[WTFDproject]

And an Intro in is order. So, I'm Bud, and I'm here to see if I can pull my Q500 out of mothballs and get it flying again after a couple years or so in the closet... due to... well, I've been otherwise occupied. I do however, have a possible problem out of the gate that I'm not sure can be overcome immediately, and I'd like to put out a query about the software/firmware that's available. I've been to yuneecskins, and it appears that there are downloads aplenty for Windows and Mac, but so far I've found nothing for Linux. Does anyone around here have any insight on this subject?
Also, I had UAV Pilot simulator on my previous system, so I still have the dongle for that, but here again... you know.
I do not use those other OS's at all anymore, haven't for at least a couple years. I guess I could set up a VM on my PC and run Win in a box if that's the only solution, but thought I'd check around some more first.
Any Takers???

I can't help much with the Linux issues.
But I think the last update to the Q500 was version 1.07 back in September of 2015. The drone may already be on that version. If not, and the Q500 was flying well and doing everything you need it to do the last time it was in service, an update may not be worth the risk anyway.

 

[Bud Kash]

Yeah, I agree, it was working well and is probably just fine. I'm kinda leery about taking off with it before at least practicing a little on the sim beforehand, which I used to do on a regular basis. Then again, start slow, stay low until I get my brain, eyes, and fingers re-calibrated, and the worst that could happen is broken blades I guess.

 

[WTFDproject]

Yeah, I agree, it was working well and is probably just fine. I'm kinda leery about taking off with it before at least practicing a little on the sim beforehand, which I used to do on a regular basis. Then again, start slow, stay low until I get my brain, eyes, and fingers re-calibrated, and the worst that could happen is broken blades I guess.

The worst that can happen is probably closer to a broken camera. The rest is easy to fix and/or cheap to replace. You can avoid the issue by removing the camera for a flight or three until you get the feel again.

 

[DoomMeister]

Run Windows in a VM on your Linux box. Definitely no Linux versions of Yuneec apps.

 

[Bud Kash]

The worst that can happen is probably closer to a broken camera. The rest is easy to fix and/or cheap to replace. You can avoid the issue by removing the camera for a flight or three until you get the feel again.

Yeah, I was thinking the same, and it was stored with the camera removed, no need for it on there until I'm up above the treetops anyway for what I normally use it for, surveying and patrolling my timber property. I haven't damaged a camera yet and would rather not, although I have a couple others I could probably put on there if necessary.

 

[Bud Kash]

Run Windows in a VM on your Linux box. Definitely no Linux versions of Yuneec apps.

That's really a shame, it seems like that's where the real stuff should be, a natural, considering Open Source. I'm sure I've seen flight control apps if someone wanted to be so bold as to put something together for it, which I would consider if I wasn't so busy with other things. Maybe some other year...haha.
I thank you very much for the response... And also WTFD, thanks for your input bro', appreciate it, and I'll be back once I get it going here one way or another.

 

[h-elsner]

The only application for the Q500 family is the calibration tool for the CGO3/GB203. It is available for LINUX and Windows.
I have tried to make a GUI for the Q500 also for LINUX but I failed at a 4 byte checksum that the message needed. The rule to create this 4 byte sum is not known or documented somewhere.
May be I can find out something in the future but it is very difficult and needs high effort to re-engineering something if no documentation or specification is available at all.

On the other hand the user base for LINUX is not as bis as it should be and the user base for such old system is also very small. here in Germany I hear only DJI, DJI, DJI...

 

[DoomMeister]

The only application for the Q500 family is the calibration tool for the CGO3/GB203. It is available for LINUX and Windows.

You are referring to the one you developed that can be found on your website and GitHub, correct?

Downloads

Download tools

h-elsner.mooo.com

 

[jvrrdd]

The worst that can happen is probably closer to a broken camera. The rest is easy to fix and/or cheap to replace. You can avoid the issue by removing the camera for a flight or three until you get the feel again.

I agree the gimbal and the camera is not the strongest one out there and wires can easily get damaged in a class. The whole unit used in working order is probably $250-$350, and it is so easy to remove.

 

[h-elsner]

The UAV Pilot simulator is based on Reflex XTR flight simulator (a limited part of it). The FAQ says the following:

Does REFLEX XTR² work on Linux?​

Yes, using PlayOnLinux you can install and run REFLEX XTR² on almost any Linux distribution. To do so, start the PlayOnLinux manual installation wizard and install REFLEX XTR² in a new virtual drive. In the following steps of the wizard select a Wine version of 8.18 or higher, Windows® 32 bit installation, Windows® 10 and the libraries directplay and directx9. The REFLEX XTR² USB interface does not work under Linux, so you have to activate REFLEX XTR² using an activation code.
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If cannot use the GUI as alternative you can use the flight log data for diagnosis in case of problems. A SD card must be implemented in the slot under the battery of the ST10. Then you have access via the micro USB to the file system of the SD card. If you see a file system via USB then a SD card is there. No need to remove the battery.

To check and analyze the flight logs the q500log2kml tool is also available for LINUX. All my tools are available for LINUX (in *.tar.gz archives). I use LINUX Mint all the time.
Download page: Downloads
Knowledge page: Multikopter