Geotagging

Installation basics

Here is a list of cables you will need for connection of Sony ILX-LR1 mounted on Pixy-LR gimbal together with the Pixhawk / Ardupilot / Cube flight controller for geotagging and control of the camera.

COM4-MavLink cable

Pixy-LR connection harness:

uBEC with power cables:

Mount Sony ILX-LR1 to Pixy-LR gimbal

STEP 1

Mount the camera per Gremsy manual.

Process is very easy:

use included screws to mount the camera body
attach box with USB & HDMI connector and mount by srew
attach cable to Molex 6 pin connector

Installation of the ENTIRE with Pixy-LR wiring set

STEP 1

Use Pixy-LR connection harness cable and connect 7pin connector to CTRL port on gimbal quickrelease.

STEP 2

Connect USB-C end of the harness to USB-C port of the gimbal.

Connector is bent in 90 deg and should be oriented to the top.

STEP 3

Connect other end of the harness to the ENTIRE

9 pin connector to the ENTIRE USBMULTI connector
3 pin connector to the ENTIRE EXT port

STEP 4

Use COM4-MavLink cable (photo on the top) and connect to the gimbal quickrelease

STEP 5

Other end of COM4-MavLink cable connect to the ENITRE UNI-C port

STEP 6

Use pre-connected uBEC set and connect JST SH 2pin end of the set and connect to the ENTIRE PWR port

STEP 7

At this point we have almost all important connections between the Pixy-LR and the ENTIRE ready

STEP 8

Connect MavLink end of Pixy-LR connection harness to PixHawk flight controller.

STEP 9

Connect power to the ENTIRE and Pixy-LR gimbal.
Check polarity!

ENTIRE and the gimbal needs separate power connections. ENTIRE’s uBEC accepts 7 – 23V and needs at least 1 Amp of current available. More information here.

For Pixy-LR power requirements please follow gimbal manual.

STEP 10

You have two options how to use our system in cooperation with Gremsy:

You will use ENTIRE & MavCam only control tilt / yaw of the gimbal via HereLink hw wheel / on-screen joystick.
- In this case is setting simple:
  - SERIAL1_PROTOCOL: “Mavlink2”
  - SERIAL1_BAUD: “921600“
  - MNT1_TYPE: “0”
  - MNT2_TYPE: “0
Use new Ardupilot gimbal control fatures (like point gimbal automatically)
- In this case, gimbal will be controlled by the Cube and ENTIRE & MavCam will command Cube directly to control attitude of the gimbal. For this case you have to set:
  - SERIAL1_PROTOCOL: “Mavlink2”
  - SERIAL1_BAUD: “921600“
  - MNT1_DEFLT_MODE: “3”
  - MNT1_TYPE: “6”
  - RC6_OPTION: “214”
  - RC7_OPTION: “212”
  - RC8_OPTION: “213”
  - MNT1_RC_RATE: “90”
For newest Ardupilot firmwares you need to also set:
- - CAM1_TYPE: “5”
- If you do not have this option in your Ardupilot firmware parameters, ENTIRE will work by default.

(IF YOU USED TELEM2, USE SERIAL2 | MNT2)

Baudrate! Use SERIALx_BAUD 921600 in all cases, even if Gremsy manual suggest lower value, use 921600bps. It is because ENTIRE transfers lots of additional information via communication line so bandwidth is important.

Other configuration! Configuration may change over time, please check Gremsy manuals for more information.

STEP 11

Connect your gimbal to gTune app in your phone or PC
Navigate to SETTINGS->CONTROLS->MAVLINK
Configure COM2 baudrate to 921600bps (used for connection to Cube)
Configure COM4 baudrate to 230400bps (used for ENTIRE connection)

STEP 12

Navigate to SETTINGS->CONTROLS->MAVLINK
Configure COM4 baudrate to 230400bps (used for ENTIRE connection)
Make sure you clicked REBOOT after each change

STEP 13

Open Entire’s configuration page (how to)
Open ENTIRE’s MENU web page and set UNI-C port to
- MavLink mode
- 230400 bps

STEP 14

If all configuration was done properly, you will get UNI-C “online” and see
- GPS information update speed
- ATTI information update speed
- Gimbal angle readings (P-pitch / Y-yaw)
  - (YAW information is absolute heading)

If port C is not “online”, do not use other baudrates or other port modes. Re-check baudrate settings in the gimbal and the ENTIRE, reboot all systems.

STEP 15

Open MENU -> (geotagging) Settings
From the list select “GPS data preview”
In the popup you should get similar data if the GPS / RTK has enough signal.
Data preview popup is real-time and should change as drone / gimbal moves.

USB configuration for EXIF geotagging

STEP 1

ENTIRE needs to be set to “USB Control” mode and updated to the latest firmware to have this procedure working.
Navigate to MENU->Capture detection and set to “Hotshoe sync” – important for high acurracy and reliability!

STEP 2

Enable GeoTagging via ENTIRE MENU->Logging mode-> Direct EXIF

STEP 3

Select camera mount mode to fixed mount depending on your mount of the camer in the drone
- FIXED TOP
  - Camera top is aimping top and lens is looking in direction of the flight
- FIXED FORWARD
  - Camera top is aiming in direction of the flight and lens is looking straigh down
- FIXED LEFT/RIGHT
  - Camera top is aiming left or right and the lens is looking straight down

STEP 4

Select camera Pitch / Yaw offset if camera is not fixed in 90degree offset steps
This step is optional and usually can be skipped

STEP 5

Open the MENU -> (Geotagging) Settings
Scroll down to Other features
And insert X, Y, Z offsets.
When GPS is used, offset is counted from body center (if correct offset is configured in the FC). If your flight controller does not have configured antennas offsets, configure offset from the camera to the antenna.
When RTK is used, offset is counted from body center (if correct offset is configured in the FC). If your flight controller does not have configured antennas offsets, configure offset from the camera to the antenna A.

Offsets are in millimeters!

STEP 6

Open camera MENU and navigate to:
SETUP->USB->USB Connection Mode->MassStorage

STEP 7

Open camera MENU and navigate to:
NETWORK->Cnct./PC Remote->PC Remote Function->OFF

STEP 8 – GEOTAGGING TEST

Your setup is ready to be used for geotsagging at this point
ENTIRE has Self-Test routines for GeoTagging to easily check if all wiring is working well
Make sure that all equipment is turned ON and camera is set to MASS STORAGE MODE
Click to MENU->Configuration test and let the Entire to do a self-test
- At the beginning of the test, one photo will be triggered
- Entire will check if HotShoe sensor has properly recognized trigger
- Entire will check all necessary input data connections
- In case of any problems, result will provide hints to solve the issue
- Test photo will not be geotagged in the test method!

STEP 9

Check how geotagging works before first tests!
Understanging of geotagging procedure will save you lots of confusion during testing phase
How it works?

WiFi configuration for control

STEP 1

Open camera MENU and navigate to
NETWORK->Network Option->Access Authen. Settings
Open this item and in submenu DISABLE authentication
Confirm all warnings OK
Access Authen. Settings should be OFF

STEP 2

Navigate to:
NETWORK->Wi-Fi->Access Point Set
And enter item
Wait for scan of available accesspoints

STEP 3

From the list of networks select Accesspoint of the ENTIRE
Entire_xxxx
Confirm OK

STEP 4

Camera will connect the ENTIRE via WiFi now
Once done, confirm OK for return to the list

STEP 5

Click right (MANUAL SETTINGS) on the ENTIRE’s WiFi item to enter manual IP settings

Scroll to IP Address settings “Auto” and change to “Manual”

STEP 6

Fill IP addresses and masks:

192.168.122.1
255.255.0.0
192.168.10.1

Confirm OK

Camera will now re-connect the ENTIRE

STEP 7

Once connection is done, scroll up to “Wi-Fi Connect” and turn it ON

STEP 8

Navigate to:
NETWORK->Cnct./PC Remote->PC Remote Function->ON

STEP 9

Now scroll to PAIRING and enter item

Wait for initialization

Once pairing confirmation for the ENTIRE shows, confirm OK

*** YOU HAVE TO REPEAT THIS STEP AFTER EACH UPDATE OF THE ENTIRE FIRMWARE ***

STEP 10 – EXPOSURE CONTROL TEST

WiFi control should be now available together with the geotagging via USB. You can control exposure values via MavCam / ENTIRE’s web page, AIR Commander Link or MissionPlanner plugin.

WARNING! Remember to turn the camera OFF by power off switch! DO NOT DISCONNECT POWER otherwise all setings will be lost and you will have to start over!

Firmware update Pairing needs to be done again after ENTIRE's firmware update!

Info! WiFi connection is not initiated by the ENTIRE, camera is responsible for re-connection after reboot. ENTIRE is only "available" for camera connection. Thanks to this is connection stable and does not break ENTIRE's hotspot presence during setup.

Troubleshooting

Random movements of the gimbal

If your gimbal moves unexpectedly, please make sure you have all options in section “Gremsy options” in the ENTIRE menu (Miscelaneous) turned OFF. They are disabled by default, however during testing are often enabled by users randomly.