SIYI ZR10, ZR30 and A8 Gimbals

The SIYI ZR10, ZR30 and A8 are 3-axis gimbals and camera which can communicate with ArduPilot using a custom serial protocol.

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Warning

Support for these gimbals is available in ArduPilot 4.3.1 (and higher)

Where to Buy

These gimbals can be purchased directly from SIYI

Connecting to the Autopilot

../_images/siyi-zr10-gimbal-autopilot.png ../_images/siyi-zr30-gimbal-autopilot.png ../_images/siyi-a8-gimbal-autopilot.png

Connect the gimbal’s RX, TX and GND pins to one of the autopilot’s serial ports as shown above.

Connect with a ground station and set the following parameters. The params below assume the autopilot’s telem2 port is used,

  • SERIAL2_PROTOCOL to 8 (“SToRM32 Gimbal Serial”)

  • SERIAL2_BAUD to “115” for 115200 bps

  • MNT1_TYPE to “8” (“Siyi”) and reboot the autopilot

  • MNT1_PITCH_MIN to -90

  • MNT1_PITCH_MAX to 25

  • MNT1_YAW_MIN to -80

  • MNT1_YAW_MAX to 80

  • MNT1_RC_RATE to 90 (deg/s) to control speed of gimbal when using RC targetting

  • CAM_TRIGG_TYPE` to 3 (Mount / Siyi) to allow control of the camera

  • RC6_OPTION = 213 (“Mount Pitch”) to control the gimbal’s pitch angle with RC channel 6

  • RC7_OPTION = 214 (“Mount Yaw”) to control the gimbal’s yaw angle with RC channel 7

  • RC8_OPTION = 163 (“Mount Lock”) to switch between “lock” and “follow” mode with RC channel 8

  • Optionally these auxiliary functions are also available

    • RC9_OPTION = 166 (“Camera Record Video”) to start/stop recording of video

    • RC9_OPTION = 167 (“Camera Zoom”) to zoom in and out

    • RC9_OPTION = 168 (“Camera Manual Focus”) to adjust focus in and out

    • RC9_OPTION = 169 (“Camera Auto Focus”) to trigger auto focus

Configuring the Gimbal

  • Download, install and run “SIYI PC Assistant” which can be found on the SIYI ZR10 web page’s Downloads tab

  • Ensure the gimbal is running a recent firmware. For ZR10 use 0.2.1 or higher. For A8 use 0.1.7 or higher.

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