QGround Control Basics
The following instructions are a basic guide to the QGroundControl software, showing how to navigate the application tabs and the different menus.
Getting Started with QGroundControl
QGC is the application used to interface the IFT Vehicles to the Herelink Controller with map and flight data. It can be connected to the vehicle via USB, WiFi and through a telemetry radio such as RFD-900 for LRT configurations. QGC is available as an application on the Herelink controller as well as on PC/Mac OS.
Opening QGC Screen with Vehicle Connected
View Selection
Shown below, is a brief summary of the settings for your vehicle.
Each component's menu is accessible via the buttons on the left.
Shown below, is where you will plan any autonomous missions for the vehicle to run.
See our Mission Quick Start Guide for an in depth guide on the planning features.
Figure 2 above, is where you will find the Flight view.
Displaying:
Map
Video Stream
Artificial Horizon
Compass
Values
The values box has a dropdown (see below) that can be opened by tapping the upside down triangle to cycle through the different options. While operating IFT Vehicles, depending on your payload configuration, you may need to navigate to the Camera or Video Stream options.
Shown below, is where you will find Flight Logs.
Click Refresh to populate the list, select and download your flight logs.
Under the Safety component menu in Settings Tab, you can access the vehicle failsafe.
Set parameters such as:
Setting altitude for Return To Home (RTH)
Setting battery percentage warnings and actions (RTH)
Shown below, is used to access general settings such as selecting imperial or metric measurements and downloading offline maps or switching map providers like Google or Bing.
To Download Offline Maps From Settings Tab:
Select the Offline Maps Tab
Connect the Herelink controller to a WiFi network to select and download map sets.
Select Add New Set to detail your desired map settings.
There will be a box labeled Fetch Elevation Data, make sure this is checked and download the map tile. It will show a green icon when the tile is fully downloaded and ready for use.
A know bug with OFFLINE maps and the HereLink hand controller has been discovered. "Error Count: ---".
The workaround is to use the QGC app on a laptop or PC, saving the created offline map to the PC desktop, connecting the HereLink to the PC (in developer mode!) and copying the ".QGCTILEDB" file to QGC's "Missions" folder on the HereLink (Optimus).
Making the HereLink "accessible" as a mounted device on the PC is not intuitive. To do it, swipe from the top of the screen, press the gear icon, scroll down to 'About Phone', press that seven times to enable 'Developer Mode'. 'Developer Options' will now be listed on the controller. Press 'Developer Options'. Next, scroll down to 'USB Debugging' and switch that ON.
The next step is to press the "second" 'Android System', [it's under 'Radio Status'], and change it from 'USB charging this device' to 'Transfer files'. Once that is changed the device will immediately mount like a normal external hard drive on the PC.
Navigating to the 'Missions' folder in QGC on the HereLink:
Optimus > Internal shared storage > QGroundControl > Missions.
Copy over your .QGCTILEDB file that you saved to the PC desktop into this folder.
Disconnect the HereLink from your PC.
Status Icons
Status Icons show your vehicle status.
From left to right the icons are as follows:
Errors/ Notifications
If no errors are present the icon will change to a small megaphone
GPS Satellite/ HDOP Status
Horizontal Dilution of Precision measuring the quality of the GPS satellite position HDOP should be Ideally below the value of 1, NOTHING OVER 1.4
RC Status RSSI
RC Signal Strength Information
Telemetry Status
Real time measurement collection status, monitor position and altitude
Battery Percentage
Real time battery %
Armed/ Disarmed dropdown
Flight Power Status
Shows the state of the motors, Armed and Disarmed terms are used to indicate whether or not the motors are rotating
Flight Mode Status dropdown
Flight Mode Status
Current flight mode
RTK Flight Mode Status
Shows you progress of RTK GPS Survey-In process
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