Possible to run QGroundControl on computer connected to a transmitter?

QGroundControl
1

I want to use QGroundControl on my computer in order to set waypoints for autonomous flight but also have the option to use a radio transmitter (I have a RadioMaster TX16S) when set to “Manual” mode. Is it possible to run QGroundControl on my computer while having the radio transmitter connected to it (and have the radio transmitter serve as the connection between QGroundControl/computer to the drone)?

2

Not sure about your particular transmitter, but I’ve been doing this sort of thing for many years.

  • My current transmitter, SIYI-MK15E has USB connectivity which allows to connect to a computer or WiFi & Bluetoot can be used for this.
  • Prior to this I’ve used a Spektrum DX8. Then connecting a small companion computer (I.e. Raspberry Pi) to the flight controller getting all the telemetry. I had also a wireless broadband device connected to the Raspberry Pi, which allowed independent connectivity to my computer.
3

Not sure if you have a camera on your drone, but if you do, was it possible to transmit video to the computer? Do you need a dedicated video transmitter?

4

Yes, have camera on my drone.
Current setup: Gimbal camera which can be controlled by RC and touch screen. The SIYI transmitter (or something like Herelink and many others,…) have video and telemetry in one unit. So the receiver connects to FC and camera.

Old setup: Raspberry Pi with Pi camera connected to FC. Using a standard USB wireless broadband dongle (which operates on mobile phone network) was plugged into one of the USB ports on Raspberry Pi.
It then streamed both video and telemetry to my computer (Ground-Station).
One of the challenges doing it this way: You’ll need to setup a network tunnel for direct communication with drone. This can be done using Zerotier, unless you happen to have good networking knowledge and set a network tunnel up yourself.
Downside: Because the signal has to pass through many points, some slight lag in video transmission will be encountered. But still usable.

I’ve considered USB cameras, but it is very challenging finding any for outdoor use. Most of them are just for indoor use and don’t have an UV filter installed.

However, as the Raspberry Pi has also an Ethernet port, you can also use Ethernet cameras.
There are some out there for drones.
Here are some examples: