MAVTx | Software Overview

MAVTx Software Operating Guide

MAVTx Software Overview

MAVTx is the integrated operating system of the Alta X Brain Bay. It reads MAVLink telemetry output from the Alta X flight controller and converts this data into the MSP DisplayPort Canvas Mode protocol. MSP DisplayPort Canvas Mode is utilized by HD video transmission systems such as DJI O3, Caddx Walksnail Avatar HD and HDZero, displaying critical flight and telemetry information about the aircraft on the On-Screen Display (OSD). The Brain Bay includes an in-built joystick that allows users to customize how this information is displayed through the MAVTx interface. Additionally, MAVTx software allows users to adjust settings for the Brain Bay Circuit Board's three PWM outputs.

How to Adjust OSD Telemetry Overlays with MAVTx

Using the Brain Bay Joystick to adjust the MAVTx OSD

By using the Brain Bay Joystick, users can control the MAVTx software to modify settings and adjust how telemetry information is displayed on the HD FPV On-Screen Display.

The MAVTx OSD has many settings that the user is able to change to their liking via the OSD menu. To enter the OSD menu, remove the Brain Bay panel cover and press in on the user joystick. Once in the OSD menu, use up and down on the joystick to change which setting you are changing (denoted by a “>” on the current line for the setting you are editing) and using left/right on the joystick to adjust the selected setting. Settings that have a separate sub-menu or will invoke an action will be denoted by a “>” at the end of the line, indicating that pressing right on the joystick with that setting selected will enter the dedicated sub-menu or begin invoking the selected action. At the bottom of the main OSD menu, the current MAVTx firmware version is shown.

How to change settings in MAVTx OSD

Understanding the OSD Settings | MAVTx

This is a list and short description of each setting in the main OSD menu. For settings with a dedicated sub-menu, a separate section below will go over the use and settings available in them.

Setting Name	Description	Allowed Values
UNITS	The current unit system for the values displayed in the OSD.	IMPERIAL METRIC
WARN VOLTAGE	The cutoff voltage that will trigger a voltage warning in the OSD if the user has placed a BATT WARNING element onto the OSD. The BATT VOLTAGE element will also start flashing if the total pack voltage drops below this value.	40.0V - 50.0V
CRITICAL VOLTAGE	The cutoff voltage that will trigger a critical voltage warning in the OSD if the user has placed a BATT WARNING element onto the OSD. This will also cause the BATT VOLTAGE element to begin flashing if the voltage drops below this value.	40.0V - 50.0V
OSD BUILDER	Selecting this will enter the OSD builder GUI. This allows the user to add/remove and adjust placements of OSD elements.	See OSD Builder section
HORIZON	Enables/disables the artificial horizon overlay on the OSD.	ENABLED DISABLED
HORIZON CALIBRATION	Selecting this will enter the calibration menu for the artificial horizon. Once calibrated for the current camera tilt, the artificial horizon should be able to closely track the real horizon.	See Horizon Calibration section
MARGINS	The left/right horizontal margins for the OSD	0 - 15
STATUSTEXT SHOW TIME	How many seconds that the STATUSTEXT messages from the AltaX will be displayed before going away or cycling to the next received STATUSTEXT message.	1s - 30s
PWM OPTIONS	Selecting this will enter the sub-menu to adjust the settings for the 3 generic PWM outputs.	See PWM Options section
RESET CONFIG	Selecting this will reset the current user configuration settings to factory defaults.	N/A
SAVE AND REBOOT	Selecting this will save the current settings to internal flash memory and then reboot the MAVTx firmware to apply the settings. NOTE: After saving and rebooting, the AltaX MUST be rebooted as well to ensure normal operation	N/A
EXIT	Selecting this will exit the OSD menu without saving any of the user settings to internal flash memory. NOTE: The current user settings will still be set and used until the next time the board is rebooted, but the settings will revert upon a reboot.	N/A

Horizon Calibration

This sub-menu allows calibration of the artificial horizon to allow it to track the real horizon from the camera’s point-of-view regardless of the current camera tilt that the user has chosen. Once in the horizon calibration sub-menu, the current artificial horizon will be displayed as well as simple instructions on how to do the calibration process. To calibrate the artificial horizon for the current camera tilt, use the up/down on the joystick to move the artificial horizon up or down until it is aligned with the real horizon. To reset the artificial horizon to factory defaults (artificial horizon in middle of OSD), press right on the joystick. Once the calibration is complete, press in the joystick to exit the calibration sub-menu. Note that for the artificial horizon to track the real horizon, this calibration should be done after the camera angle has been changed. This calibration is not required to use the artificial horizon but note that in the default setting from the factory the artificial horizon will operate in the same manner as other normal flight stack artificial horizons where when the aircraft is level the horizon will be in the middle of the OSD and will not have any vertical compensation for the tilt of the camera.

PWM Settings

When assigning a radio channel to a PWM output, be aware that because MAVTx is reading these channels from the MAVLink stream, the update rate is lower than when using PWM directly from a receiver, and there may be a slight delay. These outputs are great for running retracts or turning payloads on and off, but would be less suitable for smooth control of a gimbal.

This sub-menu allows the adjusting of the settings for the three generic PWM outputs that are accessed from the PWM breakout harness on the back of the Brain Bay Circuit Board. The PWM outputs are controlled via radio channels on the users control radio. Once a radio channel has been assigned to a PWM channel, the raw radio PWM value will be output on the corresponding PWM channel as a standard 50 Hz PWM signal. The current output value of each channel is available to be displayed in the OSD as well through the PWM1, PWM2, and PWM3 OSD elements. If the PWM channel is set to disabled then that channel will output no pulses. If the Alta X experiences a radio failsafe, all PWM channels will output no pulses. Once the settings have been adjusted, navigate to the “EXIT TO MENU >” line and press right on the joystick to be returned to the main OSD menu. Below is a table of the available PWM settings.

Name	Description	Available Values
PWM1	Enables or disables PWM output on PWM channel 1	ENABLED DISABLED
PWM2	Enables or disables PWM output on PWM channel 2	ENABLED DISABLED
PWM3	Enables or disables PWM output on PWM channel 3	ENABLED DISABLED
PWM1 CHANNEL	The RC channel to map to PWM channel 1	1 - 18
PWM1 CHANNEL	The RC channel to map to PWM channel 2	1 - 18
PWM1 CHANNEL	The RC channel to map to PWM channel 3	1 - 18

OSD Elements

This is a list and short description of each of the available OSD elements for display. The names of each element are the same names that will appear in the OSD builder when the user sets up which elements to display and their respective location.

Name	Description
BATT VOLTAGE	Displays the total flight pack voltage
SAT COUNT	Displays the number of GPS satellites in view
ALTITUDE	Displays the current altitude above the initialization point in feet or meters
LATITUDE	Displays the GPS derived latitude coordinates
LONGITUDE	Displays the GPS derived longitude coordinates
HORZ SPEED	Displays the current ground speed in kmh or mph
FLIGHT MODE	DIsplays the current flight mode
HOME ARROW	Displays an arrow that points towards the initialization point as well as the distance from the initialization point in either feet or meters
FLIGHT TIME	Displays how long the aircraft has been armed in minutes and seconds
COMPASS	Displays a visual compass correlating to the direction that the nose of the aircraft is pointing
VERT SPEED	Displays the vertical speed of the aircraft in feet per second or meters per second
ARM STATUS	Displays the current arm status of the aircraft
LQ	Displays the link quality of the radio link as reported by the receiver (note: the radio receiver must be set to output LQ on channel 8 for this to work)
CURRENT DRAW	Displays the current draw of the main flight pack in amps
MAH DRAIN	Displays the amount of mAh drained out of the flight pack
CELL VOLTAGE	Displays the average cell voltage of the main flight pack
STATUS TEXT	Displays the status text notifications and warnings reported by the aircraft that usually go to GCS software such as Alta QGroundControl NOTE: This OSD element should be the only element on the selected row as well as the row below it to account for long STATUSTEXT messages from the AltaX
BATT WARNING	Displays a warning when the total flight pack voltage drops below the user set warning voltage
BATT PERCENT	Displays the percentage of battery remaining as reported by the aircraft flight stack
GPS HACC	Displays the horizontal accuracy of the GPS coordinates
HEADING	Displays the current magnetic heading that the noise of the aircraft is pointing in degrees
PWM1	Displays the current PWM output on PWM channel 1 if it is enabled
PWM2	Displays the current PWM output on PWM channel 2 if it is enabled
PWM3	Displays the current PWM output on PWM channel 3 if it is enabled