Pixracer R14 and AR610

Full disclosure, I’m very new to building UAVs (this is my first build on my own :smiley: ).

I got a Pixracer R14 for an early christmas present, and wanted to hook it up to a Spektrum DXe with an AR610 receiver. They were able to pair no problem.

When I try to perform radio calibration in QGroundControl (daily build, downloaded yesterday), I get the error: “Detected 0 radio channels. To operate PX4, you need at least 5 channels.” The receiver is connected via it’s AUX port to the pixracer’s RC port, using the supplied cable (the one with the loose RSSI cable).

Am I missing something here? Is there a PX4 parameter I have to set, or a pin that needs to change position? Both mrobotics (where I bought it) and pixhawk.org claim that it’s DSMX compatible.

If they’re not compatible, would buying a PWM to PPM converter be a cheaper option than buying a new controller/receiver?

The AR610 does not output its channels on the AUX port. These two receivers work:

https://www.spektrumrc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=SPM4648

https://www.spektrumrc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=SPMAR7700

Thanks, I’ll look into those.

Other possibilities are:

  • PPM Encoder which hooks up the Receivers PWM Signals tu a Sum Signal which can be Fed to the Pixracer. I use this for my AR10000 Receiver (using 3 Satellites) which is connected to a AUAV-X2. This adds some weight and another possibility of failure.
  • Single Spektrum Satellite - can be directly connected to the Pixracer. This works as well but offers a bit less Security as only on Antenna Pair is attached. I use this for my F450 FunFlyer with Pixracer.