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PIXHACK RACER V1.0

USER MANUAL

The Pixracer (formerly called XRacer) is fully supported by the Arducopter and
PX4 community. It’s a genuine open source project, already running with PX 4
stack software / QGroundControl (QGC), as well with Arducopter / Mission Planner
(MP).

The Pixracer is fully compatible to Ardupilot and Mission Planner as well to the
great alternative PX4 Flight stack and QGroundControl (QGC).

Furthermore it’s fully compatible to all Pixhawk and to most APM externals as
Telemetry units, OSD, GPS, Sonar, Lidar, Airspeed sensors. Since all connectors
and wiring is included with the Pixracer, it’s easy to build adapter cables for 3rd
party stuff as well, with the charts shown below

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Specifications:

MCU - STM32F427VIT6 rev.3

FRAM - FM25V02-G

LDO Ultra low noise LDOs for sensors and FMU

MPU9250 , ICM20608 , baro MS5611, mag HMC5983

Connectors - GPS+I2C, RC-IN, PPM-IN, RSSI, SBus-IN, Spektrum-IN, USART3 (

TxD, RxD, CTS, RTS ), USART2 ( TxD, RxD, CTS, RTS ), FRSky-IN, FRSky-OUT,
CAN, USART8 ( TxD, RxD ), ESP8266 ( full set ), SERVO1-SERVO6, USART7 ( TxD,
RxD ), JTAG ( SWDIO, SWCLK ), POWER-BRICK ( VDD, Voltage, Current, GND ),
BUZZER-LED_BUTTON

MicroSD card reader

RGB LED

Micro USB

WiFi ESP8266 802.11bgn ( Included !) . This popular add on is a very versatile

solution. For more information visit site
http://www.esp8266.com/wiki/doku.php...th-the-esp8266. The included Wi-Fi
Module is ready to use.

JST GH series connectors for easy and robust peripheral connections.

Dimensions - 36 x 36mm with 30.5 x 30.5mm hole grid with 3.2mm holes

Weight - Pixracer - ( includes micro SD and Wi-Fi ) - app. 10.9g, ACSP4 - 7.86g
ACSP5 app. 2.32g

Full set of professional flexible silicone cables for almost any peripheral module
included.

Power supply - 5-5.5VDC from USB or Power Brick connector.

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Pixhack Racer connection diagram

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Refer Pin out diagram below

Power Module options:

1. ACSP4 (36 x 36mm power distribution, current, voltage sensor with 5V/2.5A ultra low
noise buck and 12V/2A ultra low noise buck) companion is available as well. The former
3DR Power module is working as well, but don´t use cheap clones with reversed
connectors w/o checking the pin out. (See image below)

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ACSP4 specs :

Battery voltage Up to 8-9S , 10S burst

Current - 90A tested, 120A airflow cooled burst ( not tested )
5.3V 3A BEC for the FC ( current +voltage sensing )
12V 2A BEC for video, etc.
12V power cable supplied ( 2 x power cables supplied with Pixracer V1 )
Dimensions - 36x36mm, weight 7.86g, 30.5x30.5 screw grid with 3.2mm dia holes
JST GH connectors for 5.3V, current and voltage sensing
JST GH connector for 12V

Features: DC-DC Buck regulators - LT8610AB (ultralow ripple/noise with ECO power
saving burst mode with light loads)

2. ACSP5 ( Small version w/o PDB, 17 x 17mm, current, voltage sensor with
5V/2A ultra low noise buck is available as well. The former 3DR Power module is
working as well, but don´t use cheap clones with reversed connectors w/o checking
the pin out.

ACSP5 specs :

Battery voltage Up to 8-9S , 10S burst

Current - 90A tested.
5.3V 2A BEC for the FC ( current+voltage sensing )
12V power cable supplied ( 2 x power cables supplied with Pixracer V1 )
Dimensions - 17x17mm, weight 2.32gramms
JST GH connectors for 5.3V, current and voltage sensing
Features: DC-DC Buck regulators - LT8610AB (ultralow ripple/noise with ECO
power saving burst mode with light loads)

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ESP8266 ESP-01 Wifi Board plugged in. It’s included! The ESP8266 is working
already with QGC (QGroundControl) and Android out-of-the-box, there´s no need
for another radio. The only thing which doesn´t work yet is Firmware update via
Android. For the download of the QGC Android
App https://play.google.com/apps/testing...qgroundcontrol it’s required to sign up
@ QGC user group https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/qgroundcontrol

ESP8266 ESP-01 Wi-Fi Board plugged in

Pins marked with Red Cross are for future use. Do not connect ESP-01 there!

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1. TOP CONNECTIONS

TOP CONNECTORS
a. FRs (FrSky connector)

1. VDD_5V_PERIPH
2. FrSky_OUT
3. FrSky_IN 4. GND
b. RC ( Receiver connector )

1. VDD_5V_RECEIVER
2. RC_INPUT ( PPM, SPEKTRUM, SBus )
3. RSSI_IN
4. VDD_3V3_SPEKTRUM 5. GND

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c. TL2 (Telemetry 2 connector)

1. VDD_5V_PERIPH
2. FMU_USART3_TxD
3. FMU_USART3_RxD
4. FMU_USART3_CTS
5. FMU_USART3_RTS 6. GND

d. USB USB connector

e. TL1 (Telemetry 1 connector)

1. VDD_5V_PERIPH
2. FMU_USART2_TxD
3. FMU_USART2_RxD
4. FMU_USART2_CTS
5. FMU_USART2_RTS
6. GND

f. SERVO CHANNELS

CH1 – CH6 are the servo channels.

NOTE! The VDD_SERVO rail is NOT connected to the Pixracer power!

Servos require their own 5V BEC!

g. ESP8266 INTERFACE

1. FMU_USART1_RxD
2. GND
3. ESP8266_PD ( power down )
4. ESP8266_GPIO2
5. ESP8266_RESET
6. ESP8266_GPIO0
7. VDD_3V3_PERIPH
8. FMU_USART1_TxD
9. ESP8266_RTS ( not implemented on ESP-01 module )
10.ESP8266_CTS ( not implemented on ESP-01 module )

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BOTTOM SIDE CONNECTIONS

2. BOTTOM CONNECTORS

a. DEBUG CONNECTOR

1. FMU_VDD_3V3
2. FMU_UART7_TxD
3. FMU_UART7_RxD
4. FMU_SWDIO
5. FMU_SWCLK
6. GND

b. PWR (Power CONNECTOR)

1. POWER_5V_IN
2. POWER_5V_IN
3. CURRENT_SENSE
4. VOLTAGE_SENSE
5. GND
6. GND

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NOTE! PWR (POWER SUPPLY) must be between 5.0VDC and 5.5VDC!

Voltages from VOLTAGE and CURRENT sensing should be
3.3VDC max!

c. BTBZ (buzzer / button connector)

1. SAFETY_SWITCH
2. BUT/BUZZ ( button and buzzer common )
3. FMU_VDD_3V3
4. BUZZER –
5. BUZZER +

d. GPS (GPS connector)

1. VDD_5V_PERIPH
2. FMU_USART4_TxD
3. FMU_USART4_RxD
4. FMU_I2C1_SCL ( 3.3V tolerant )
5. FMU_I2C1_SDA ( 3.3V tolerant )
6. GND

3. JTAG

The JTAG interface is implemented on a JST SM06B-SRSS 1mm pitch connector.

Very useful device for debugging is the Black Sphere Debugger

(http://www.tagconnect.com/BLACK-SPHERE-DBG ).

For flashing the bootloader, firmware and debugging, the cheap STM32 Nucleo or STM
LINK-V2 boards can be used (http://mbed.org/platforms/?tvend=10 ).

The Pixracer V1 board is supplied with FMU bootloader flashed, so one doesn’t need to
flash it again.

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4. LEDS and SAFETY SWITCH

There are 2 LEDs on the Pixracer V1 board –Power LED (GREEN) and RGB status
LED.

LED STATUS TABLE

GREEN = Power LED = always ON
SAFETY SWITCH STATUS
ON = FMU ARMED

SLOW BLINK = Ready to arm

FAST BLINK = Error / Refusing to arm

5. POWERING Pixracer V1

There are two power inputs – USB (only for programming and testing) and Power
from the Power connector.

NOTE! The Power must be between 5.0VDC to 5.5VDC!

The VDD_SERVO rail is NOT connected to the Pixracer power!
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!
THE MAX ALLOWABLE TOTAL CURRENT CONSUMPTION FOR ALL
PERIPHERALS IS 1A! Don’t connect the VCC of servos or High Power Telemetry/OSD
modules.

Setup for Frsky receiver using S.port

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Below diagram shows GPS connections.

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Please refer below for ACSP4 setup.

Refer image below for ACSP5 setup.

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Important: When using ACSP4 / ACSP5 > 6S + battery without spark-free

connector, please solder an Aluminum electrolytic capacitor of 100uF 63V
right to the battery solder pads.
Capacitor (+) to battery (+), and capacitor (-) to battery (-). This is
because non spark-free connectors may cause voltage overshoots if long
battery wires are used.
Software

1. PX4 Stack discussions https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/px4users

2. Ardupilot discussions http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/pi...age=1#comments

Hardware Manual

1. Manual V1 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwG...dTYkhOZ3c/view

2. Wiring https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwG...NrT29fSWc/view

Manual add ons

GPS Wiring / FrSky Port How-to Connect: See attachment

Setup videos
Pixracer Flight Controller Overview
https://youtu.be/mpb6Cq023N8

PixRacer - Introduction and overview

https://youtu.be/5oIrj_vwlLY

PixRacer - Software, Firmware and Connections

https://youtu.be/-GlnAPqbIrY

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Please refer below image for Basic quad setup.

Pixracer pages by pixhawk.org

https://pixhawk.org/modules/pixracer

http://discuss.px4.io/

Further links

Groundstation / Telemetry

http://qgroundcontrol.org/

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/qgroundcontrol

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