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Assembly
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/KT-APM-01-2.jpg
What you'll need:
- An ArduPilot Mega kit
- A fine-point soldering iron. The Weller WES51 is the one we use, but you can get cheaper ones at a hardware store or Radio Shack. Just make sure it has a fine tip.
- You'll need some solder, too.
Assembly:
First, solder on the 3x16 right angle header for the RC connectors.
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4791.JPG
Next, we'll cut the headers to attach the IMU shield. Here are the headers that come with the shield
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4792.JPG
Push a strip of male headers into each row of female headers, then snip off the remaining parts:
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4793.JPG
When you're done, you should have one male header for each female header:
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4797.JPG
Now remove the male headers and place them in the holes of the !ArduPilot Mega board as shown here:
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4799.JPG
Place a paper notebook on top of the pins and then, holding the board to the notebook, turn it upside down so you can solder the pins on the back of the board.
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4806.JPG
Once you've soldered on all the pins, turn the board back over and place the matching female headers on each row of male headers:
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4801.JPG
Now carefully place the shield on top, ensuring that all the female header pins line up with the right holes, as shown here:
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4802.JPG
Solder a few pins on each row to hold everything in place, then gently remove the shield. Once it's off, finish soldering all the remaining pins. When you're finished and turn the shield over, it should look like this:
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4803.JPG
Now you can gently put the shield back on the !ArduPilot Mega board. The paired boards should look like this:
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4807.JPG
Finally, attach your GPS module as shown below (!MediaTek module shown). It goes in the connector on the APM board, not the similar one on the IMU shield (that one, which says "No GPS!", is an I2C connector for the optional magnetometer or other I2C sensor).
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4846.JPG
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/resistors.jpg
You'll note that your APM kit came with four resistors, which are optional and are only used if you want APM to measure and report the voltage of your on-board battery. This can be useful if you have telemetry hooked up and you want to see this data in your ground station, as an indicator of how much battery power you have left.
Instructions on how to do this are here.
APM uses a miniB USB cable, which you probably already have (if not, you can get one here). Plug it in as shown:
http://ardupilot-mega.googlecode.com/svn/ArduPilotMegaImages/IMG_4805.JPG
When you plug APM into your PC via the USB cable, Windows 7 should recognize the FTDI USB-to-serial chip and install the right drivers, but if it doesn't or if you're using an earlier version of Windows, you should download and install the appropriate driver for your Operating System from here. Once you've done so, reboot your PC and plug in the cable again. It should be recognized and show up in your Windows Device Manger (which you can find in the Windows Control Panel) as shown below (your COM port will probably be a different number; it's assigned by Windows based on how many other devices you've connected). That's the COM port you'll use for all USB interactions with APM.
http://ardupilot.googlecode.com/svn/images/eighteen.jpg
Now you're ready to use APM!