Herelink User Guides

Assembly and Connection

Install Controller Antenna

1. To assemble the antenna, plug the omni-directional antenna into the top left hole of the controller.

2. Align the antenna pointer and mounting hole with the pointer and mounting hole of the controller.

3. Then slightly press and rotate clockwise lock.

Note: The rotation angle of both antenna is a fixed angle of 90 degrees. Do not forcibly rotate the antenna Angle.

Air unit connection

1. Mount the Rover Unit securely to the drone.(Choose best install position according to cable length)

2. Choose the best position to attach the rover unit antennas. Air unit antenna should no attached to metal parts or any conductor ，which will affect the signal transmit distance. The antenna should be installed vertically and keep an Angle of about 15 degrees to obtain better gain.

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 below. (Note that carbon fiber is also conductive material.)

3. Connect S.bus on Air unit to the RCIN  on the Flight Controller.

4. Connect UART on the Air unit to the TELEM 1 or TELEM 2 on the Flight Controller.

5. Connect 5V – 12.6V max (3s Lipo supported) battery to the power input on the Rover Unit.

6. Connect camera to HDMI 1 (preferred) on the Air unit. If you are using two video stream, please connect the second camera to HDMI 2. You may switch from Stream 1 and Stream 2 on controller to display the corresponding video stream.

Air unit back board assembly

1. Use M16 * 3 mm screw to mount Air unit on back board.

2. Use M3x10mm screw and M3 nut to mount Air unit to Rover.

Air unit cooling fan installation procedure

1. Take out the fan from air unit package and use M1.6*16 mm screw, M1.6 nut and washer.

2. Snap M1.6*16 mm screw in 4 mounting hole on top of the air unit ,and install washers and o-rings, finally tighten the nut according to diagram above.

3. Connect the positive and negative terminals of the fan to the 5-12 V power supply.

How To Update Firmware

Herelink can be updated on PC, Mac and Linux as per the below process. Newer firmware versions allow you to update the Herelink remote via wifi from with-in the settings app, this is only available if you have the Solex TX app installed.

Please choose the correct method to upgrade your device.

Please refer to the following method to determine

Determine Controller upgrade method : If the controller open QGC directly right after controlled been turned on, and Solex is not installed. Please upgrade with PC. For other cases, see OTA Online Upgrade below.

Determine Airunit upgrade method : If your airunit is unable to pair with controller, or did not show airunit firmware version like below or no such page. Please upgrade with PC. For other cases, please check OTA Online Upgrade below.

Upgrade Via PC

*Please use the following link to download the latest version of flasher_win.

Download firmware upgrade application

• Windows ：https://herelinkfw.cubepilot.org/flasher_win.zip
• MAC ：https://herelinkfw.cubepilot.org/flasher_mac.zip
• Linux ：https://herelinkfw.cubepilot.org/flasher_linux.zip

Controller Upgrade

1. Connect controller to PC via USB.

2. Put the Herelink Remote Unit into Fastboot mode by pressing Power and D button simultaneously while turning on.

   (at least one antenna needs to be connected)

3. Extract and Run the application packaged inside the zip file.After Remote Unit upgrade is complete the Unit will automatically restart once finished.

4. Herelink Remote Unit will boot up with Activation window, follow the Activation steps below to continue.

Airunit Upgrade

1. Extract and Run the application packaged inside the zip file
2. Power Airunit with 7-12v power supply ，Connect Airunit to PC via USB. At least one antenna needs to be connected，UART and SBUS cables are no need to connect.
3. The program identifies the device and downloads the firmware, requiring the PC to be connected to the Internet during upgrade.
4. After the download is complete, it will automatically start to write and restart after the writing is complete.

In some Windows systems it’s been found that due to incorrect Driver setup, Herelink units fail to be detected. In such cases please power up by pressing Power+D button until “Fastboot” screen shows up. Install driver from here https://developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb. In cases where driver was already installed, Uninstall Device from Device manager (Ensure to check the “also uninstall driver” option), and then reconnect and install the correct driver from Google. OR use https://herelinkfw.cubepilot.org/driver.msi

Herelink Activate

After upgrading the Herelink firmware you may be required to activate your device, you will be presented with the ‘Update Device’ Screen

Note: Herelink must be connected to an internet connection via 5G WiFi to activate.

• Connect Herelink to your WiFi connection from the settings menu

• Select your region then click ‘Proceed’

• You will then be prompted to input your 16 digit software activation key.

Note: On later Herelink versions your key will be located on the back of the controller, for earlier(before April 20th 2020) Herelink versions you should contact your original reseller to obtain a valid licence key.

• Once input click ‘done’ the ‘Register’ and your device will then download the latest software and update automatically.

OTA Online Firmware upgrade(Via Wifi)

If Solex is installed. Please upgarde with OTA (Via Wifi)

Controller upgrade

• Make sure you Herelink is connected to 5G wifi

  -Wi-Fi 5.8GHz

  -IP Address Not in range 192.168.0.x

  -Region Select the correct region and within 5mins difference

• Pull down from the top and select the settings cog in the top corner.

• Scroll to the bottom and click the ‘About phone’ option

• Select ‘System Update’

• Select ‘CHECK FOR UPDATE’ in the bottom corner

• The system will now check for latest update firmware and install it automatically

There are 4 things the need to be checked if you receive an error

1.You are connected to stable 5G wifi.

2.The device time is correct.

2.The IP address is correct.

4.You entered the correct Key

Airunit upgrade

If you can view the airunit firmware version from controller, you can upgrade it through OTA Online Firmware upgrade(Via Wifi).

• Connect your controller to a 5G WIFI and make sure an internet connection is available
• Pair your Airunit with controller.
• From App Launcher slide down the notification drawer from the top.
• Select Herelink Settings

• select AIRUNIT tab

• After the update screen is displayed, determine whether the current version needs to be updated.

• If there is a new online version, perform the following three steps in order to complete the upgrade.

1 Click DOWNLOAD AIR FIRMWARE to download firmware.The Air Unit Firmware will start downloading to the Ground Station.

(wait the progress bar until the download is 100%)

2 Once downloading is complete,click TRANSFER TO AIRUNIT .The downloaded firmware will start to transfer to the Air Unit.

(wait the progress bar until the transfer is 100%)

3 Once the transfer is complete,click UPDATE AIRUNIT.The new Air Unit firmware will be installed on the Air Unit.

(wait the progress bar until the installation complete)

Pairing, RC Calibration & Setup

Note: Before set Sbus button (button is default to Sbus channel),please pay special attention to the flight mode settings on the Mavlink button page, i.e. button settings in Solex TX and QGC

Controller calibration

• From App Launcher slide down the notification drawer from the top

Click ‘HW JS CAL’

Here are some comtroller calibration and function settings.

• SAVE (after modified controller configuration must click save to take effect)
• Calibrated (Calibration state, If the indicator is red,calibration for roller hardware, rocker hardware and SBUS output is necessary. If the indicator is green, it is normal and no calibration is required )
• HW WHEEL CAL
• HW JS CAL
• SBUS OUT CAL SBUS
• AXIS
• INPUT
• REV
• DZ
• EXPO
• CH#
• Wheel Acc
• Throt Cent 0
• Mode
• Dual Cont
• MAIN
• IP

First time use requires three calibration steps

1. Calibrate the hardware wheel

• Select “ HW WHEEL CAL”

• Click Start rollwheel and follow the calibration steps.

  Note once complete you can check its correct functioning by looking at the values change,

• Click Pass to return to joystick screen.

• After the rollwheel calibration is complete, proceed to the next step.

Calibrate the joysticks

• Click HW JS CAL

• Click Start Calibration to begin the process and follow the instructions in the green box ,and the sick movement arrows located around the sticks on the remote as highlighted in red below.

  Note: At the beginning of the calibration process, the stroke of the joystick on the screen will not change with the actual joystick. You only need to calibrate according to the instruction.

• At the end of this process if you are happy with the input behavior you can click Pass and the calibration will be stored, if you’re experiencing any issues click Fail and start the calibration process again using a little more pressure in the corners.

• After the Joy-Stick calibration is complete, proceed to the next step.

Calibrate SBUS Output

• Follow the RC stock movement steps as shown in the highlight section moving the stick through each position. Finally move the wheel then the calibration is done.

• Once all calibrations have been completed the **Calibrated ** status will turn green ，which indicate that all remote calibrations have been completed.

Controller setting

RC Transmitter Modes

RC Transmitter Modes can be setted selected using the Mode option at the bottom,click SAVE to save the modification.

For some special models that cannot use the mid-throttle, you can select Throt Cent 0 to set the mid-throttle to throttle 0, then click SAVE to save the modification.

Wheel setting

The wheel is set as W axis input, you can click REV to reverse the input.

CH# is used to configure the output channels, SBUS1 for channel 1-16 ,SBUS2 for channel 17-32 .

Click Wheel Acc to make oupput stack and not return to the middle, then click SAVE to save the modification.

Dual control mode

Herelink can use 2 controller to control 1 Airunit indorder to meet more requirement. This function requires connecting the wifi hotspot of the secondary controller to the master controller or connecting the master controller and the secondary controller to the same WIFI to access the LAN.

• Master switch setting, Click Dual Cont and MAIN then click SAVE to save the modification.

Secondary controller’s RC channel will show up after connect, you can assigned secondary controller’s Joystick and Wheel channel to any channel of the mater control, then click SAVE to save the modification.

• Secondary controller setting, click Dual Cont ans select the corresponding IP address. If master and secondary controller connect with wifi hotspot, then set the IP address to 192.168.43.1.
• If connect access the LAN, please follow the steps below to check the master IP address , then click SAVE to save the modification.

To check the master IP , you can open the WIFI interface and then click the Settings icon in the upper right corner, then you can check the IP in it.

The master image can be displayed on the secondary controller, and the image and data can be connected to the QGroundControl ground station according to the data sharing procedure later.

Trainer Mode

Dual control can also be used as a trainer mode for teaching.

• Turn on and connect master and secondary control
• Set the X2, Y2, Z2 R2 channels of the secondary controller on the main control as channels 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively, corresponding to the main control channel. Click SAVE to SAVE the Settings after completion.

After setting, press the CAM button in the upper right corner of the main control to make channel 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the secondary control. Release the button to make channel 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the main control normal.

Configure Modes & Mavlink Buttons

Herelink is fitted with six programmable buttons and one hardware wheel. These can be configured to control sbus channel outputs from the Rover Unit’s dual sbus connector and to send Mavlink commands to the autopilot via Solex or QGC. For examples ,flight mode selection, servo output and control GCS.

You Can configure buttons A, B, C, D, Cam, Home and HW Wheel as Mavlink commands in Solex and QGC. These commands include

• Vehicle Mode
• Home Mode Prompt
• Take Picture
• Toggle Video
• Camera Switch
• Map/Video toggle
• Toggle HUD
• Set Servo
• Non-Latch Servo
• Set Relay
• MAVLink command
• Arm
• Disarm
• Toggle Arm
• Wheel Settings
• Clear Wheel Settings

In Ardupilot and PX4, Solex TX and QGC have on-screen switching control for selecting and changing flight modes If you want to set one or more buttons to change flight mode, it must be set only to Mavlink button commands, i.e. set button control in Solex or QGC, not thej Sbus signal in Channel 5.

Mavlink provides a secure command link for flight mode changes, immune to system restarts and signal loss.

After the configuration flight mode is selected, the user should confirm that the Fail Safe been setted correctly and test before using it.

Note: Ardupilot set Sbus channel 5 as the default flight mode selection, which should be disabled when using Herelink by setting the “FLTMODE_CH” parameter in all parameters to 0.

Home button: You are advised to use the RTL command by long or short pressing the Home button.

Configure Buttons

Solex TX

Button Mapping

• Open Solex

• Click the menu in the top left corner

Select Button Mapping

• Choose desired button

• Select either Click or Long Click (Note this allows you to set two functions to each button)

• For example, if you want to set Button A, click Button A and then click the option box on the right to select the desired function.

• For example, if you want to set the button as flight mode switch, click the gear icon and choose the desired flight mode for chosen button.

• select desired flight mode

• For other BUTTONS that need to be set, please use procedure above to set corresponding function. Then click “SAVE BUTTONS” at the bottom to SAVE the Settings

Hardware Wheel

Wheel configuration in Solex TX to Servo output channels 1-16 on the Autopilot, you also have the ability to switch the servo output via a button in Solex.

• Open Solex
• Click the hamburger menu icon in top left corner
• Select Button Mapping as above
• Click WHEEL SETTINGS in the bottom right corner

• Select the desired servo channel from 1- to 16

• Set the PWM output range suitable for your application.

• Click on the Enabled to activate the output,
• Finish by clicking OK and click SAVE BUTTONS in bottom corner.

• To configure a button to change the wheel servo output configure the button to WHEEL SETTINGS.

• Click the gear icon and set new channel and PWM values and click OK and then SAVE BUTTONS in bottom right corner.

• Once changed the wheel will output on the new selected channel, to return to its original servo output you will need to program one button function to Clear Wheel Settings as shown above.

QGroundControl

• Open QGC
• Click gear icon on top left corner.

• Select Button
• Select the box on left for desired button.
• Click the drop-down menu to select features.
• Repeat the procedure for each button and select desired flight mode.

Configure Sbus Buttons & Wheel

Herelink is fitted with six programmable buttons and one hardware wheel. These can be configured to control sbus channel outputs from the Rover Unit’s dual sbus connector and to send Mavlink commands to the autopilot via UR/Solex TX.

Autopilot mode selection must not be programmed to sbus channels. Mode selection should be configured to Mavlink commands within Solex or QGC to ensure predictable behavior in the event of signal loss or system reboot.

Important Note: Ardupilot sets Sbus channel 5 to flight mode selection as default, this should be disabled with Herelink by setting the parameter FLTMODE_CH: to 0.

Sbus Output： The Herelink settings allows you to program buttons A,B,C,D,Cam & Wheel to control sbus outputs on the air unit. HereLink has dual independent sbus outputs on bus 1 and bus 2. Buttons can be configured on channels 5 – 16 on bus 1 and channels 1-16 on bus 2.

Channels 1-4 on Sbus 1 are reserved for RC control.

Each button can be programmed in one of 3 modes with long press and short press actions in Toggle and Multi modes.

Button Modes

• Toggle (T) = Output latches between two pwm values with a short or long press option.
• Momenty (M)= Output changes to active value when pressed and held, returns to default when released.
• Multi = Sends command for channel to go to preset pwm value. Multi buttons can be stacked on both short and long press as well as multiple buttons configurations to allow channel outputs to range in values.

To select the mode either press T for Toggle, M for Momantry, when neither T or M is selected the button is in Multi mode

Sbus Button Configuration

You can set Sbus button configuration in Herelink Settings>button

• Click NEW and type name for your new profile and press OK.
  
• Select the first button you want to configure from the drop down menu then click ADD .

• Select desired button mode by tapping the letter, ie: Toggle, Maintain or leave blank for Multi
• Tip: To move to the top end of the range you can scroll backwards, also ‘Flicking’ the numbers will scroll faster though the range.

• If setting a Multi mode button set desired active pwm output.

• Set sbus channel output and bus.

• Once configured you must click SAVE to store settings.
• Next continue to add more buttons via the above process.

• To remove a button config simply click the bin icon next to the name.

Multi Buttons

• Multi button config allows you to set short and long press options as well as other buttons to set stages outputs on a sbus channel, below is an example of two buttons changing a channel to 4 different pwm values.
• When setting up Multi mode buttons at least one on each channel must be selected as default value, this sets the default output pwm the system will default to on power on.