diff --git a/libraries/AP_SerialManager/AP_SerialManager.cpp b/libraries/AP_SerialManager/AP_SerialManager.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bb9005e539
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libraries/AP_SerialManager/AP_SerialManager.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,235 @@
+/// -*- tab-width: 4; Mode: C++; c-basic-offset: 4; indent-tabs-mode: nil -*-
+/*
+   Please contribute your ideas! See http://dev.ardupilot.com for details
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+/*
+  SerialManager allows defining the protocol and baud rates for the available
+  serial ports and provides helper functions so objects (like a gimbal) can
+  find which serial port they should use
+ */
+
+#include <AP_HAL.h>
+#include <AP_SerialManager.h>
+
+extern const AP_HAL::HAL& hal;
+
+const AP_Param::GroupInfo AP_SerialManager::var_info[] PROGMEM = {
+    // @Param: 0_BAUD
+    // @DisplayName: Serial0 baud rate
+    // @Description: The baud rate used on the USB console. The APM2 can support all baudrates up to 115, and also can support 500. The PX4 can support rates of up to 1500. If you setup a rate you cannot support on APM2 and then can't connect to your board you should load a firmware from a different vehicle type. That will reset all your parameters to defaults.
+    // @Values: 1:1200,2:2400,4:4800,9:9600,19:19200,38:38400,57:57600,111:111100,115:115200,500:500000,921:921600,1500:1500000
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("0_BAUD",  0, AP_SerialManager, state[0].baud, AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BAUD/1000),
+
+    // @Param: 1_PROTOCOL
+    // @DisplayName: Telem1 protocol selection
+    // @Description: Control what protocol to use on the Telem1 port
+    // @Values: 1:GCS Mavlink, 2:Frsky D-PORT, 3:GPS
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("1_PROTOCOL",  1, AP_SerialManager, state[1].protocol, SerialProtocol_MAVLink1),
+
+    // @Param: 1_BAUD
+    // @DisplayName: Telem1 Baud Rate
+    // @Description: The baud rate used on the Telem1 port. The APM2 can support all baudrates up to 115, and also can support 500. The PX4 can support rates of up to 1500. If you setup a rate you cannot support on APM2 and then can't connect to your board you should load a firmware from a different vehicle type. That will reset all your parameters to defaults.
+    // @Values: 1:1200,2:2400,4:4800,9:9600,19:19200,38:38400,57:57600,111:111100,115:115200,500:500000,921:921600,1500:1500000
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("1_BAUD", 2, AP_SerialManager, state[1].baud, AP_SERIALMANAGER_MAVLINK_BAUD/1000),
+
+    // @Param: 2_PROTOCOL
+    // @DisplayName: Telemetry 2 protocol selection
+    // @Description: Control what protocol to use on the Telem2 port
+    // @Values: 1:GCS Mavlink, 2:Frsky D-PORT, 3:GPS
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("2_PROTOCOL",  3, AP_SerialManager, state[2].protocol, SerialProtocol_MAVLink2),
+
+    // @Param: 2_BAUD
+    // @DisplayName: Telemetry 2 Baud Rate
+    // @Description: The baud rate of the Telem2 port. The APM2 can support all baudrates up to 115, and also can support 500. The PX4 can support rates of up to 1500. If you setup a rate you cannot support on APM2 and then can't connect to your board you should load a firmware from a different vehicle type. That will reset all your parameters to defaults.
+    // @Values: 1:1200,2:2400,4:4800,9:9600,19:19200,38:38400,57:57600,111:111100,115:115200,500:500000,921:921600,1500:1500000
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("2_BAUD", 4, AP_SerialManager, state[2].baud, AP_SERIALMANAGER_MAVLINK_BAUD/1000),
+
+    // @Param: 3_PROTOCOL
+    // @DisplayName: Serial 3 (GPS) protocol selection
+    // @Description: Control what protocol Serial 3 (GPS) should be used for
+    // @Values: 1:GCS Mavlink, 2:Frsky D-PORT, 3:GPS
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("3_PROTOCOL",  5, AP_SerialManager, state[3].protocol, SerialProtocol_GPS),
+
+    // @Param: 3_BAUD
+    // @DisplayName: Serial 3 (GPS) Baud Rate
+    // @Description: The baud rate used for the Serial 3 (GPS). The APM2 can support all baudrates up to 115, and also can support 500. The PX4 can support rates of up to 1500. If you setup a rate you cannot support on APM2 and then can't connect to your board you should load a firmware from a different vehicle type. That will reset all your parameters to defaults.
+    // @Values: 1:1200,2:2400,4:4800,9:9600,19:19200,38:38400,57:57600,111:111100,115:115200,500:500000,921:921600,1500:1500000
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("3_BAUD", 6, AP_SerialManager, state[3].baud, AP_SERIALMANAGER_GPS_BAUD/1000),
+
+    // @Param: 4_PROTOCOL
+    // @DisplayName: Serial4 protocol selection
+    // @Description: Control what protocol Serial4 port should be used for
+    // @Values: 1:GCS Mavlink, 2:Frsky D-PORT, 3:GPS
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("4_PROTOCOL",  7, AP_SerialManager, state[4].protocol, SerialProtocol_GPS2),
+
+    // @Param: 4_BAUD
+    // @DisplayName: Serial 4 Baud Rate
+    // @Description: The baud rate used for Serial4. The APM2 can support all baudrates up to 115, and also can support 500. The PX4 can support rates of up to 1500. If you setup a rate you cannot support on APM2 and then can't connect to your board you should load a firmware from a different vehicle type. That will reset all your parameters to defaults.
+    // @Values: 1:1200,2:2400,4:4800,9:9600,19:19200,38:38400,57:57600,111:111100,115:115200,500:500000,921:921600,1500:1500000
+    // @User: Standard
+    AP_GROUPINFO("4_BAUD", 8, AP_SerialManager, state[4].baud, AP_SERIALMANAGER_GPS_BAUD/1000),
+
+    AP_GROUPEND
+};
+
+// Constructor
+AP_SerialManager::AP_SerialManager()
+{
+    // setup parameter defaults
+    AP_Param::setup_object_defaults(this, var_info);
+}
+
+// init_console - initialise console at default baud rate
+void AP_SerialManager::init_console()
+{
+    // initialise console immediately at default size and baud
+    state[0].protocol = SerialProtocol_Console; // protocol is unused for console
+    state[0].uart = hal.uartA;  // serial0, uartA, always console
+    state[0].rx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BUFSIZE_RX;
+    state[0].tx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BUFSIZE_TX;
+    state[0].uart->begin(AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BAUD, state[0].rx_size, state[0].tx_size);
+}
+
+// init - // init - initialise serial ports
+void AP_SerialManager::init()
+{
+    // initialise pointers to serial ports
+    state[1].uart = hal.uartC;  // serial1, uartC, normally telem1
+    state[2].uart = hal.uartD;  // serial2, uartD, normally telem2
+    state[3].uart = hal.uartB;  // serial3, uartB, normally 1st GPS
+    state[4].uart = hal.uartE;  // serial4, uartE, normally 2nd GPS
+
+    // initialise serial ports
+    for (uint8_t i=1; i<SERIALMANAGER_NUM_PORTS; i++) {
+        if (state[i].uart != NULL) {
+            switch (state[i].protocol) {
+                case SerialProtocol_Console:
+                    state[i].rx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BUFSIZE_RX;
+                    state[i].tx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BUFSIZE_TX;
+                    state[i].uart->begin(map_baudrate(state[i].baud), state[i].rx_size, state[i].tx_size);
+                    break;
+                case SerialProtocol_MAVLink1:
+                case SerialProtocol_MAVLink2:
+                    state[i].rx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_MAVLINK_BUFSIZE_RX;
+                    state[i].tx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_MAVLINK_BUFSIZE_TX;
+                    state[i].uart->begin(map_baudrate(state[i].baud), state[i].rx_size, state[i].tx_size);
+                    break;
+                case SerialProtocol_FRSky_DPort:
+                    // Note baudrate is hardcoded to 57600
+                    state[i].rx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_BUFSIZE_RX;
+                    state[i].tx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_BUFSIZE_TX;
+                    state[i].baud = AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_DPORT_BAUD/1000; // update baud param in case user looks at it
+                    state[i].uart->begin(AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_DPORT_BAUD, state[i].rx_size, state[i].tx_size);
+                    break;
+                case SerialProtocol_FRSky_SPort:
+                    // Note baudrate is hardcoded to 9600
+                    state[i].rx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_BUFSIZE_RX;
+                    state[i].tx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_BUFSIZE_TX;
+                    state[i].baud = AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_SPORT_BAUD/1000; // update baud param in case user looks at it
+                    state[i].uart->begin(AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_SPORT_BAUD, state[i].rx_size, state[i].tx_size);
+                    break;
+                case SerialProtocol_GPS:
+                case SerialProtocol_GPS2:
+                    state[i].rx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_GPS_BUFSIZE_RX;
+                    state[i].tx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_GPS_BUFSIZE_TX;
+                    state[i].uart->begin(map_baudrate(state[i].baud), state[i].rx_size, state[i].tx_size);
+                    break;
+                case SerialProtocol_AlexMos:
+                    // Note baudrate is hardcoded to 115200
+                    state[i].rx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_ALEXMOS_BUFSIZE_RX;
+                    state[i].tx_size = AP_SERIALMANAGER_ALEXMOS_BUFSIZE_TX;
+                    state[i].baud = AP_SERIALMANAGER_ALEXMOS_BAUD / 1000;   // update baud param in case user looks at it
+                    state[i].uart->begin(AP_SERIALMANAGER_ALEXMOS_BAUD, state[i].rx_size, state[i].tx_size);
+                    break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// find_serial - searches available serial ports for the first instance that allows the given protocol
+//  returns true on success, false if a serial port cannot be found
+//  result is updated with reference to the serial port
+bool AP_SerialManager::find_serial(enum SerialProtocol protocol, serial_state& ret_state) const
+{
+    // search for matching protocol
+    for(uint8_t i=0; i<SERIALMANAGER_NUM_PORTS; i++) {
+        if (state[i].protocol == protocol) {
+            ret_state = state[i];
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // if we got this far we did not find the uart
+    return false;
+}
+
+// get_mavlink_channel - provides the mavlink channel associated with a given protocol
+//  returns true if a channel is found, false if not
+bool AP_SerialManager::get_mavlink_channel(enum SerialProtocol protocol, mavlink_channel_t &mav_chan) const
+{
+    switch (protocol) {
+        case SerialProtocol_Console:
+            mav_chan = MAVLINK_COMM_0;
+            return true;
+            break;
+        case SerialProtocol_MAVLink1:
+            mav_chan = MAVLINK_COMM_1;
+            return true;
+            break;
+        case SerialProtocol_MAVLink2:
+            mav_chan = MAVLINK_COMM_2;
+            return true;
+            break;
+        default:
+            return false;
+            break;
+    }
+
+    // we should never reach here
+    return false;
+}
+
+// set_blocking_writes_all - sets block_writes on or off for all serial channels
+void AP_SerialManager::set_blocking_writes_all(bool blocking)
+{
+    // set block_writes for all initialised serial ports
+    for (uint8_t i=0; i<SERIALMANAGER_NUM_PORTS; i++) {
+        if (state[i].uart != NULL) {
+            state[i].uart->set_blocking_writes(blocking);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// set_console_baud - sets the console's baud rate to the rate specified by the protocol
+//  used on APM2 to switch the console between the console baud rate (115200) and the SERIAL1 baud rate (user configurable)
+void AP_SerialManager::set_console_baud(enum SerialProtocol protocol) const
+{
+    // find baud rate of this protocol
+    for (uint8_t i=0; i<SERIALMANAGER_NUM_PORTS; i++) {
+        if (state[i].protocol == protocol) {
+            // set console's baud rate
+            state[0].uart->begin(map_baudrate(state[i].baud));
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/libraries/AP_SerialManager/AP_SerialManager.h b/libraries/AP_SerialManager/AP_SerialManager.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d6c484af87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libraries/AP_SerialManager/AP_SerialManager.h
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+/// -*- tab-width: 4; Mode: C++; c-basic-offset: 4; indent-tabs-mode: nil -*-
+/*
+   Please contribute your ideas! See http://dev.ardupilot.com for details
+
+   This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+/*
+  SerialManager allows defining the protocol and baud rates for the available
+  serial ports and provides helper functions so objects (like a gimbal) can
+  find which serial port they should use
+ */
+
+#ifndef _AP_SERIALMANAGER_
+#define _AP_SERIALMANAGER_
+
+#include <AP_Math.h>
+#include <AP_Common.h>
+#include <AP_HAL.h>
+#include <GCS_MAVLink.h>
+
+#define SERIALMANAGER_NUM_PORTS 5
+
+ // console default baud rates and buffer sizes
+#ifdef HAL_SERIAL0_BAUD_DEFAULT
+# define AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BAUD          HAL_SERIAL0_BAUD_DEFAULT
+#else
+# define AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BAUD          115200
+#endif
+# define AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BUFSIZE_RX    128
+# define AP_SERIALMANAGER_CONSOLE_BUFSIZE_TX    512
+
+// mavlink default baud rates and buffer sizes
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_MAVLINK_BAUD           57600
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_MAVLINK_BUFSIZE_RX     128
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_MAVLINK_BUFSIZE_TX     256
+
+// mavlink default baud rates, use default buffer sizes
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_DPORT_BAUD       9600
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_SPORT_BAUD       57600
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_BUFSIZE_RX       0
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_FRSKY_BUFSIZE_TX       0
+
+// GPS default baud rates and buffer sizes
+// we need a 256 byte buffer for some GPS types (eg. UBLOX)
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_GPS_BAUD               38400
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_GPS_BUFSIZE_RX         256
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_GPS_BUFSIZE_TX         16
+
+// AlexMos Gimbal protocol default baud rates and buffer sizes
+// we need a 256 byte buffer for some GPS types (eg. UBLOX)
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_ALEXMOS_BAUD           115200
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_ALEXMOS_BUFSIZE_RX     128
+#define AP_SERIALMANAGER_ALEXMOS_BUFSIZE_TX     128
+
+class AP_SerialManager {
+
+public:
+
+    enum SerialProtocol {
+        SerialProtocol_Console = 0,
+        SerialProtocol_MAVLink1 = 1,
+        SerialProtocol_MAVLink2 = 2,
+        SerialProtocol_FRSky_DPort = 3,
+        SerialProtocol_FRSky_SPort = 4,
+        SerialProtocol_GPS = 5,
+        SerialProtocol_GPS2 = 6,
+        SerialProtocol_AlexMos = 7
+    };
+
+    // array of uart info
+    typedef struct {
+        AP_Int8 protocol;
+        AP_Int16 baud;
+        uint16_t rx_size;
+        uint16_t tx_size;
+        AP_HAL::UARTDriver* uart;
+    } serial_state;
+
+    // Constructor
+    AP_SerialManager();
+
+    // init_console - initialise console at default baud rate
+    void init_console();
+
+    // init - initialise serial ports
+    void init();
+
+    // find_serial - searches available serial ports for the first instance that allows the given protocol
+    //  returns true on success, false if a serial port cannot be found
+    //  result is updated with reference to the serial port
+    bool find_serial(enum SerialProtocol protocol, serial_state& ret_state) const;
+
+    // get_mavlink_channel - provides the mavlink channel associated with a given protocol
+    //  returns true if a channel is found, false if not
+    bool get_mavlink_channel(enum SerialProtocol protocol, mavlink_channel_t &mav_chan) const;
+
+    // set_blocking_writes_all - sets block_writes on or off for all serial channels
+    void set_blocking_writes_all(bool blocking);
+
+    // set_console_baud - sets the console's baud rate to the rate specified by the protocol
+    //  used on APM2 to switch the console between the console baud rate (115200) and the SERIAL1 baud rate (user configurable)
+    void set_console_baud(enum SerialProtocol protocol) const;
+
+    // parameter var table
+    static const struct AP_Param::GroupInfo var_info[];
+
+private:
+
+    // array of uart info
+    serial_state state[SERIALMANAGER_NUM_PORTS];
+};
+
+#endif // _AP_SERIALMANAGER_