Quickstart

Intro

This quickstart tutorial will guide you through the initial setup of Edge drone controller and its accessories. In the end you’ll get a configured Edge drone controller that streams video from a camera to your laptop. After that you can proceed to the hardware installation guide and install your Edge in a frame.

note

Please update Edge to the latest firmware before continuing.

tip

If you encounter any issues performing these steps, we are happy to help you out on our community forum.

Connect Edge GNSS module

Edge GNSS module is a positioning device that contains a GNSS receiver, a high-precision barometer and two 3-axis compasses.

To connect Edge GNSS module to Edge use a JST-GH-4P to JST-GH-4P cable.

• Connect one end of the cable to any of the CAN ports on Edge GNSS module
• Connect another end of the cable to any of the CAN ports of Edge drone controller

Connect video camera

Camera should be connected to the HDMI-IN port on Edge. In case you are connecting an action camera then most likely it will have Micro-HDMI connector as well. In that case you would need Micro-HDMI to Micro-HDMI cable to connect the camera to the Edge.

Attention

Turn off the camera’s internal WiFi, otherwise it may interfere with RC equipment or Wi-Fi modules

danger

Turn the camera on after Edge is booted

tip

Resolution and frame per second value of the input stream may vary. Maximum supported video format is 1080p 30fps

Connect Wi-Fi modules

Edge kit comes with two identical long-range Wi-Fi modules in separate boxes. Use one to connect to the Edge drone controller and another one to connect to a computer (assuming a laptop for rest of the guide).

Connect Wi-Fi module to Edge

To connect Wi-Fi module to the Edge use a Micro-USB to JSH-GH-4P cable from the kit.

• Plug JST-GH-4P connector into Edge port labeled USB2
• Plug Micro-USB connector into Micro-USB port of the Wi-Fi module

Connect Wi-Fi module to a computer

We need to connect another Wi-Fi module to the laptop. In order to do that you need to perform two simple steps

Use Alfa’s Micro-USB-3.0 to USB-3.0 cable from the Wi-Fi module box

• Connect Micro-USB-3.0 one end of the cable to the Wi-Fi module
• Connect the other end to the USB port of your laptop/desktop computer

Software installation

Wi-Fi module driver

Now we need to install the driver for the Wi-Fi module. The instructions depend on your OS.

Windows

• Download driver for Windows

Windows 10	Windows 8	Windows 7	Windows Vista	Windows XP
win10_x86	win8_x86	win7_x86	winVista_x86	winXP_x86
win10_x64	win8_x64	win7_x64	winVista_x64	winXP_x64

• Connect Wi-Fi module to the laptop.
• Start device manager:
  • Open the "Run" dialog box by pressing and holding the Windows key, then press the R key
  • Type devmgmt.msc

• Expand Network adapters category

note

Wi-Fi module might appear in Other devices category

• Right click on “Realtek 8812AU Wireless LAN 802.11ac USB NIC” and select Update Driver Software

• Select Browse my computer for driver software

• Click Browse to find the location of driver's directory

• Click Next to install the driver

danger

It is necessary to off location services on Windows in order to make the driver work smoother. This setting has a direct impact on the stability of the videostream.

Steps for disabling location services in Windows 10

• First, open up the Settings, click on the Privacy group and navigate to Location section.

• Click the “Change” button, which will then open a new window so you can turn off the “Location for this device”.

Linux

The Wi-Fi module uses RTL8812AU chipset under the hood which requires drivers that have not been merged with the linux kernel and do not come with most linux distros (yet). That’s why you need to build it by yourself for now. In the future this step will be automated.

• Make sure you have the required build packages

  sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential git mokutil

• Download the source code

  git clone https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8812au.git

  cd 8812au

• Run install-rtl8812au script to compile, install and sign (if security boot is enabled) the module

  sudo ./install-rtl8812au

You will be prompted for a password that will be used for the second part of the MOK enrollment.

• Reboot your machine, the shim UEFI Key Manager will appear

  • Press a key to start the process
  • select "Enroll MOK"
  • select "Continue"
  • select "Yes"
  • enter the password

And the key has been inserted. This is a persistent operation, so you’ll only need to do this once. When you have finished booting you can easily check that EFI loaded the key:

dmesg | grep 'EFI: Loaded cert' | grep 8812

If you're using NetworkManager, it may periodically scan for networks to maintain optimal connectivity. WiFi device must change from its current radio channel to other channels and wait for a short amount of time listening for beacons from access points. This happens every two minutes and leads to latancy problems. You can disable this behaviour by locking your WiFi connection profile to the BSSID of Edge's access point.
When you do this, NetworkManager understands that you do not want to roam and will disable the periodic scanning behavior.

• Firstly, you need to determine Edge's MAC address. You can obtain it from ifconfig or use arp command as follows:

  $ arp -a

• Then open your WiFi settings from top bar, click 'Edit connections' and find Edge's connection profile. Modify the BSSID field with the MAC address of your Edge and save.

Mac OS X

• Download the driver
• Unzip the downloaded archive and install it from the pkg file

Power from a battery

Now you can turn on your Edge using the Edge Power Module (PM).

Connect JST-GH-6P connector to any power port on Edge (PWR1 or PWR2).

And after that connect a battery to your PM.

Connect to Edge’s access point

After powering up Edge needs some time to create an access point (AP). Connect to Edge’s AP (edge) with password: EmlidEdge (since 1.2 the password will be emlidedge).

danger

Most laptops have a built-in Wi-Fi module. You need to connect to Edge using specifically the external Wi-Fi module provided with Edge

tip

To avoid interference from the internal Wi-Fi we recommend disabling it

Attention

Be sure you connect to AP using the external Wi-Fi module, not the built-in Wi-Fi module of your laptop

After the connection succeeded you can install and run the QGC.

Configuring QGroundControl for Edge

danger

Install GCS specifically tailored for Edge.

On the top window choose QGC settings

In the opened settings tab click on Comm Link tab.

You will see the window for creating connection. Click Add to create new connection to Edge. After that you’ll see a tab with network settings.

Now we need to configure the connection to your Edge. Just a couple more simple steps

• Select UDP as a connection type
• Give a name to this connection and make it automatically connect on start
• Add a target host
  • Click Add and type in the IP of Edge (192.168.0.1) or just Edge’s hostname (edge)
  • Press Enter
  • Leave the default port (14550) as is
  • Click OK button

After these steps you’ll see the new link added with the name you specified

• Now you can connect to Edge, press connect for the created link

danger

You will need to ensure there is no firewall on PC stopping the incoming stream to your GCS.

• QGC will connect to Edge and will start receiving its parameters

note

By default QGC will set Video Source to UDP. If you had had another setup (i.e. another QGroundControl version installed) you’ll need to change it in the General tab of QGC settings

Launching a videostream

We’re almost there! Just a couple more steps to get the video stream on your screen.

Go to the Fly menu and click on a black rectangle in the bottom left corner

In the lower right corner will appear an icon for settings of the video stream:

After pressing this button a menu will pop up

Here you can set video resolution, bitrate and rotation

note

By default QGC will set the IP of your PC and the default port from Video settings in the General menu

After this step click Start streaming and you will get the video stream from your camera.

Attention

Please don’t unplug or turn off camera before clicking on “Stop streaming”

Conclusion

That’s it, folks! If you have any questions, feel free to ask them on our community forum.

Now you can continue to installation on a frame.