STorM32 Parameters

The information on this page refers to firmware v2.67e.

List of all STorM32 parameters, and some GUI features, with brief explanations and/or links to more comprehensive articles.

Comment: The parameters are displayed and enabled in the GUI depending on whether the STorM32 gimbal is in "Conventional Mode" or "T-STorM32 Mode". The active mode can be inferred from the GUI's title, and is updated to the correct current mode upon a connection to a STorM32 controller.

Dashboard Tab

[Change Name]:
Opens a dialog, which allows us to change the name of the board.

[Share Settings]:
Opens a dialog, which presents all parameters comprehensively. Taking a screen shot by pressing one of the "Save Screenshot" buttons provides a useful method for sharing parameter settings.

[Check for Updates]:
Opens a dialog, which connects to the STorM32 github repository to check if a new firmware is available.

PID Tab

In Conventional Mode:

Gyro LPF:
Digital low pass filter applied to the raw gyro data. Can help to avoid vibrations and/or reach higher PID values. Values relate to the time constant of the filter.

Imu2 FeedForward LPF:
Digital low pass filter applied to the attitude data of the 2nd IMU before it enters the feedforward channel in the PID controller. Effective only when the 2nd IMU is enabled, i.e., when Imu2 Configuration is not “off”. Values relate to the time constant of the filter.

Pitch P, Roll P, Yaw P:
Proportional term of the PID controller for the pitch, roll or yaw axis, respectively. See also Tuning Recipe: Tuning Procedure.

Pitch I, Roll I, Yaw I:
Integral term of the PID controller for the pitch, roll or yaw axis, respectively. See also Tuning Recipe: Tuning Procedure.

Pitch D, Roll D, Yaw D:
Derivative term of the PID controller for the pitch, roll or yaw axis, respectively. See also Tuning Recipe: Tuning Procedure.

Pitch Motor Vmax, Roll Motor Vmax, Yaw Motor Vmax:
Maximal average voltage for the pitch, roll or yaw motor, respectively. Range is 0 - 255. See also Tuning Recipe: Setting Motor Vmax.

Voltage Correction:
Attempts to compensate the effects of a (slowly) varying battery voltage on the PID controller tuning, see Advanced Functions: Voltage Correction.

Controller:
Enables the model-based controller. The settings “default” and “roll mixing” are available, where the first corresponds to the "old" behavior, and the second enables improved roll mixing.

[Use simplified PID tuning]:
Toggles between the standard PID tuning, in which the P, I D values are adjusted, and a simplified mechanism, in which tuning is achieved by only two parameters, called Damping and Stability.

In T-STorM32 Mode:

Foc Gyro LPF:
Digital low pass filter applied to the raw gyro data. Can help to avoid vibrations and/or reach higher PID values. Values relate to the time constant of the filter.

Foc Pitch P, Foc Roll P, Foc Yaw P:
Proportional term of the PID controller for the pitch, roll or yaw axis, respectively.

Foc Pitch I, Foc Roll I, Foc Yaw I:
Integral term of the PID controller for the pitch, roll or yaw axis, respectively.

Foc Pitch D, Foc Roll D, Foc Yaw D:
Derivative term of the PID controller for the pitch, roll or yaw axis, respectively.

Foc Pitch K, Foc Roll K, Foc Yaw K:
Factor which multiplies the P, I, and D values.

Foc Controller:
Enables the model-based controller. The setting “default” corresponds to the "old" behavior.

All Modes:

D Source:
The settings “default” and “gyro” are available. "gyro" enables the "new" lag-free and lower-noise controller D-term calculation. This setting is enabled per default. "default" enables the "old" method of D-term calculation. This parameter may be removed in upcoming firmwares.

[Auto write PID changes]:
When checked, any change to the PID values (and only to the PID values) is written to the STorM32 board after ca. 1 sec.

Pan Tab

The parameters in the [GUI:Pan] tab are comprehensively described in the article Hold versus pan Mode.

Pan Mode Control:
Selects the input channel used for changing the pan mode.

Pan Mode Default Setting, Pan Mode Setting #1, Pan Mode Setting #2, Pan Mode Setting #3:
Selects the pan states for each axis, for each of the four possible states of the input channel.

Pitch Pan, Roll Pan, Yaw Pan:
Sets the pan speed for pitch, roll and yaw, respectively.

Pitch Pan Deadband, Roll Pan Deadband, Yaw Pan Deadband:
Sets the pan deadband for pitch, roll and yaw, respectively.

Pitch Pan Expo, Roll Pan Expo, Yaw Pan Expo:
Sets the pan expo for pitch, roll and yaw, respectively.

Pitch Pan Method, Roll Pan Method:
Sets the pan method for pitch and roll, respectively. Can be "normal" or "plane".

Yaw Pan Deadband LPF:
Sets the pan deadband low-pass filter for the yaw axis.

Rc Inputs Tab

The parameters in the [GUI:Rc Inputs] tab are comprehensively described in the article Configure the RC Input.

Rc Dead Band:
Sets a deadband around zero input, to suppress noise on the input. Effective for all three axes.

Rc Hysteresis:
Sets a hysteresis to value changes, to suppress noise on the input. Effective for all three axes.

Rc Pitch Trim, Rc Roll Trim, Rc Yaw Trim:
Sets the mid position for teh pitch, roll and yaw axis, respectively.

Rc Pitch, Rc Roll, Rc Yaw:
Selects the input channel used for controlling the pitch, roll, and yaw axis, respectively.

Rc Pitch Mode, Rc Roll Mode, Rc Yaw Mode:
Sets the mode for the pitch, roll, and yaw axis, respectively.

Rc Pitch Min, Rc Roll Min, Rc Yaw Min:
Sets the minimum angle for the pitch, roll, and yaw axis, respectively.

Rc Pitch Max, Rc Roll Max, Rc Yaw Max:
Sets the maximum angle for the pitch, roll, and yaw axis, respectively.

Rc Pitch Speed Limit, Rc Roll Speed Limit, Rc Yaw Speed Limit:
Sets the maximum speed for the pitch, roll, and yaw axis, respectively. A value of 0 disables the speed limiter (it is not fully deactivated, the speed limit is set to 100 deg/s).

Rc Pitch Accel Limit, Rc Roll Accel Limit, Rc Yaw Accel Limit:
Sets the maximum acceleration for the pitch, roll, and yaw axis, respectively. A value of 0 disables the acceleration limiter (it is not fully deactivated, a small limit remains).

[Auto Trim]:
Reads the current input values and adjusts the trim values such as to make them zero.

Functions Tab

Standby:
See Advanced Functions: Standby.

Re-center Camera, Re-center Camera Axes:
See Advanced Functions: Re-center Camera.

Camera Control, Camera Control2, Camera Model, Camera Control Mode, Time Interval, Camera ComPort:
See Advanced Functions: Camera Remote Control.

Pwm Out Control, Pwm Out Mid, Pwm Out Min, Pwm Out Max, Pwm Out Speed Limit:
See Advanced Functions: Pwm Out.

Scripts Tab

The parameters in the [GUI:Scripts] tab are comprehensively described in the article STorM32 Scripts.

Setup Tab

In Conventional Mode:

Imu2 Configuration:
Selects how a 2nd IMU is used. See also Using a 2nd IMU.

Startup Mode:
Selects the startup algorithm. Can be set to “fast” for invoking fast startup. For fast startup to be activated, additional conditions have to be met: IMU2 must be present, the motor directions and positions must have been configured, and IMU1 and IMU2 must have be calibrated. The gimbal should also have been tuned.

All Modes:

Startup Delay:
Sets a startup delay time.

Prearm Checks:
Bitmask to enable various pre-arming checks, i.e., conditions which need to be fulfilled before the STroM32 goes into NORMAL mode.

Virtual Channel Configuration:
Selects the physical source for the “Virtual-1”, ..., “Virtual-16” input values. See Inputs and Functions for understanding the STorM32's concept of inputs, and Configure the RC Input: Wiring for SUM-PPM Signals and Configure the RC Input: Wiring for Digital Signals for typical use cases.

Pwm Out Configuration:
Enables the pwm out function, see Advanced Functions: Pwm Out.

Rc Pitch Offset, Rc Roll Offset, Rc Yaw Offset:
Adds a permanent offset to the camera orientation.

UartX Configuration:
Reconfigures the RC-0, RC-1 pins to work as UART, depending on the setting. Allows to enable the OLed display support on pin RC-1 (see Advanced Functions: OLED Display) or enables the UartX serial for the NT Camera.

Low Voltage Limit:
Voltage level at which the lipo-saver function is triggered, see Advanced Functions: Lipo Saver.

Beep with Motors:
Enables the emission of beeps by the motors, see Advanced Functions: Beeps.

NT Logging:
Adjusts which parameters are logged, see NT Data Logging: GUI Settings.

Pitch Motor Usage, Roll Motor Usage, Yaw Motor Usage:
Selects the operation mode of the pitch, roll, or yaw motor, respectively. When “disabled” is selected, the motor does not receive any power.

Gimbal Configuration Tab

In Conventional Mode:

Pitch Motor Poles, Roll Motor Poles, Yaw Motor Poles:
Number of magnet poles of the pitch, roll or yaw motor, respectively. Range is 8 - 42.

Pitch Motor Direction, Roll Motor Direction, Yaw Motor Direction:
Rotation direction of the pitch, roll or yaw motor, respectively.

Pitch Startup Motor Pos, Roll Startup Motor Pos, Yaw Startup Motor Pos:
Orientation of the pitch, roll or yaw motor at power up, respectively.

In T-STorM32 Mode:

Foc Pitch Motor Direction, Foc Roll Motor Direction, Foc Yaw Motor Direction:
Rotation direction of the pitch, roll or yaw motor, respectively.

Foc Pitch Zero Pos, Foc Roll Zero Pos, Foc Yaw Zero Pos:
Motor position at zero Imu angle for the pitch, roll or yaw axis, respectively.

All Modes:

Imu Orientation, Imu2 Orientation:
Orientation number of the IMU1 or IMU2, respectively.

Pitch Offset, Roll Offset, Yaw Offset:
Coefficients to correct for slight inaccuracies in the calibration of the IMU1 accelerometer.

Interfaces Tool Window

Mavlink Gimbal, Mavlink Gimbal Stream, Mavlink ComPort, Mavlink System ID, Mavlink Camera:
Parameters for handling Mavlink messages, see MAVLink Communication.

STorM32Link Configuration:
Parameters for handling the STorM32 Link. The setting STorM32Link Configuration = “yaw drift comp.” enables the yaw drift compensation, but not horizon drift compensation. The setting STorM32Link Configuration = “v1” enables both the yaw drift compensation and horizon drift compensation. For further info on the STorM32-Link see the article STorM32-Link.

Uart Baudrate, Uart2 Baudrate, Usb Baudrate:
Baudrates used for the UART, USB, and UART2 ports. The default baudrates are 115200 bps.

Expert Tool Window

In Conventional Mode:

Motor Mapping:
Allows us to change the assignment of the pitch, roll and yaw motors to the ports MOT0, MOT1, MOT2. The default assignment is pitch = MOT0, roll = MOT1, yaw = MOT2.

Imu2 Rotation:
Allows us to configure for different mounting options of the 2nd IMU. See also Using a 2nd IMU.

Flip Gimbal Control:
Allows us to use an input signal to switch the configuration of the gimbal between "down-hanging" and "up-standing".

All Modes:

Imu Mapping:
Allows us to swap IMU1 and IMU2 (this swaps NT IMU1 and NT IMU2, not the on-board IMU, which always will be IMU2 if used) .

Lipo Cells:
Sets the number of cells of the battery. Default is “auto”, which determines the number of cells from the battery voltage at power up.

Lipo Voltage per Cell:
Full charge voltage of a battery cell. Default is 4.20 V, appropriate for a LIPO.

ADC Calibration:
Calibration constant for voltage measurement. The default value “1550” is slightly below the theoretically correct value of 1581.

Imu AHRS:
Adjusts how strongly the accelerometer data are included in the data fusing for the attitude estimation. The shorter the time the stronger the accelerometer data are weighted (0 = accelerometer only, 20 = gyro only).

Startup Gyro Calibration:
Sets the gyro calibration at startup. Default is “normal”.

The following parameters should be set with care. Normally, there should be no reason to modify them.

Acc LPF:
Digital low pass filter applied to the raw accelerometer data. It also affects the behavior of the AHRS.

Rc Adc LPF:
Digital low pass filter applied to the Rc Input values. Might be helpful for very noisy RC transmitters.

Pan Hold Transition Time, Pan Speed Limit, Pan Accel Limit:
These parameters are related to the pan-to-hold and hold-to-pan transition behavior. The parameter Pan Hold Transition Time determines for how long a trajectory filter is applied to smooth the transition. The two limit parameters determine the speed and acceleration limits of the trajectory filter.

Foc Emergency:
Sets the level of the emergency detection mechanism.

Acc Compensation Method:
Selects the algorithm which is used for fusing the accelerometer and gyro data. Can be “standard” or “advanced”. The parameter affects the AHRS, and should be set with understanding. These posts might be useful: [1], [2], [3].

Gimbal Model Tool Window

The parameters in the [GUI:Gimbal Model] tab are comprehensively described in the article Model-based Control.

In T-STorM32 Mode:

T1 Pitch, T1 Roll, T1 Yaw:
Relative moments of inertia of the camera along the pitch, roll and yaw directions.

T2 Roll, T2 Yaw:
Relative moments of inertia of the roll arm along the roll and yaw directions.

Servo Tool Window

In T-STorM32 Mode:

Servo Pitch P, Servo Pitch I, Servo Pitch D, Servo Pitch DLPF:
Parameters for the position PID controller in servo mode for the pitch axis.

Servo Roll P, Servo Roll I, Servo Roll D, Servo Roll DLPF:
Parameters for the position PID controller in servo mode for the roll axis.

Servo Yaw P, Servo Yaw I, Servo Yaw D, Servo Yaw DLPF:
Parameters for the position PID controller in servo mode for the yaw axis.