Integrating Your XRD2 with a Freefly Astro
One of the newer and innovative drones on the market these days is the Freefly Astro. The Astro, like most commercial drones, operates over a RF signal, which isn’t ideal for longer-linear inspections or missions that go beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
A way to to increase the Asto’s communication range is with the Botlink XRD2. With simple integration on the C2 side, the camera feed option is also easy so long as you get the right cabling in order to display video in Botlink’s Relay2.
To start, if you are integrating the XRD2 for C2, you will need to power on your Astro along with AMC flight control software that it uses for ground control software. Once there, in the top left corner, you will need to press the menu button multiple times in quick succession in order to pull up “Advanced” mode (a more detailed explanation resides here). Once in this you can go into that menu again, go to the “Advanced” section and then “Parameters.” Once here search for “MAV_2_CONFIG” and set this parameter to “TELEM3.”
Once you have the software set up, you can then turn off your Astro and flip it upside down (ideally without the camera and gimbal attached to it). On the underside there is a cable leading from the gimbal attachment to a 3D-printed clip-on cover that you’ll need to get off. It is fairly hard to pop off, we recommend taking off one side, then almost popping it back into place while you get the other side. Once removed, you will have a port underneath this cover labeled “TELEM3” that you can connect your XRD2 telemetry cable into. Since this is on the underside, simple Velcro can be used to attach the XRD2 to the bottom of the Astro. Additionally, if you don’t want to use external power you will need to use an XT30 male connector adapter to the power connector of the XRD2 to pull power from the Astro directly. Considering the lower power draw of the XRD2 this is the most desirable way to power the XRD2.
If you want to also get the camera feed from the LR1 camera via the XRD2 you will need a few things such as a mini HDMI to HDMI ribbon cable. This allows you to reliably plug into the LR1 camera. You will also need to get an HDMI to female USB adapter to then fit a USB male to micro USB connector to get to the XRD2. This is a lot of transferring and adapting, but once you get it all together you will get video feed without having to do anything else besides plugging it all together. Now that you have the cables, the actual mini HDMI port on the LR1 is under a little plastic tab that you will need to remove in order to access. This plastic piece and the extra wires next to the gimbal makes it more risky for flying in a more chaotic environment. How we currently have it set up as seen below, we would recommend reducing the gimbal speeds on the Astro controller to mitigate the risk of the cables getting tangled.
After following these steps, you will be set up to integrate the XRD2 to the Asto drone for both C2 and video.
