1.5 KiB
runcam_on_arm.lua: start and stop video recording on arm/disarm
ArduPilot can control RunCam devices out of the box.
Normally, you use a 2-position switch with RCx_OPTION=78:RunCamControl to start and stop video recording.
This applet starts recording automatically when your vehicle arms and stops on disarm.
Information on setting up RunCam devices with ArduPilot is on this page: https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/common-camera-runcam.html
You need a free serial port.
You need to set these three parameters: SERIALx_PROTOCOL=26, SERIALx_BAUD=115 (where x is your serial port) and CAM_RC_TYPE=y where y depends on the RunCam model you are using.
You do not need to configure any RCx_OPTIONs.
If camera commands get out of sync
RUNCAM serial protocol controls the camera by simulating a button press both to start and stop recording--it's the same button.
If you send commands faster than the camera can process them, it can ignore a command and interpret the next one as the opposite of what you intend, e.g., you may lose a button press to stop recording, and the camera keeps rolling; when you're ready to start recording again, the camera interprets your button press as a
command to stop recording.
To address this, AP has a special parameter, CAM_RC_BTN_DELAY, that controls minimum time between simulated button presses.
If you find your commands getting out of sync--camera starting when you want it to stop--try increasing this value.
I find that with my RunCam Split HD, the default 300ms is inadequate, and 1500ms gives reliable performance.