Daiwa Winch¶
The Daiwa winch is a high quality winch specially designed for drone delivery. The winch includes a “thread end detector switch” that protects against pulling the line in too tightly and thus straining the device or breaking the thread. The gripper includes a spring mechanism that automatically releases the package when it touches the ground.
- Weight: 630g
- Size: W:110mm H:82mm D:72mm
- Maximum Payload: 8kg
- Maximum Power: 55W
- Input Voltage: 7.2V ~ 22.2V
- Interface: 4xPWM or UART
- Designed and manufactured in Japan
Note
ArduPilot does not yet include a special driver for this winch but it can be controlled using the autopilot’s servo outputs which allows the winch to be operated from the pilot’s transmitter and/or DO_SET_SERVO mission commands
Where To Buy¶
- These winches can be purchased from the Japanese branch of Okaya (japanese site, english site)
Connection and Configuration¶
Connect the winch to the autopilot as shown below
A 5V BEC is required to provide power to the electronics within the winch
A 7.2V to 22.2V power supply is required to power the motors
Four separate 3-pin RC connectors can be used to control the winch. Each has a different colour of cable tie on it
- Winch control (which controls the upward or downward speed of the winch) has a red cable tie and can be connected to AuxOut 10 or any other PWM output
- Clutch (which prevents the cable slipping) has a yellow cable tie and can be connected to AuxOut 9 or any other PWM output
- Zero Reset (used to calibrate the winch’s estimate of how much line remains) has a green cable tie and can be left disconnected
- SBUS2 has a blue cable tie and can be left disconnected