AutoQuad 6 Connections

The AutoQuad flight controller will arrive without headers soldered. For the first static calibration headers are not necessary but it might be the moment to warm up your soldering iron and attach the headers to the AutoQuad flight controller.  At a minimum, you will need the “PWM Output” connector headers, the “FTDI/Telemetry” header, and 2 headers for the jumpers J3 and J4 (they are next to the FTDI connector, click on above image for a better view).  A short hardware assembly guide is available. But first please read through this section first! Note: Please be very careful when soldering the components! Please also do a short visual inspection of the hand-soldered parts Make sure the RECOMs (the big black boxes on the underside of the board) are fixated and soldered properly.   Read the forum here .

The white arrow on the output pins marks the signal pin for the ESC/servo output or PPM input.

Power connector

This is the ONLY correct way to power the AQ.  Input voltage: 6.5v to 18v

There is NO reverse polarity protection on the AutoQuad Reversing the voltage polarity will DESTROY YOUR BOARD INSTANTLY! If you are powering the FC on the bench through a power supply, make sure both have a common ground! We recommend using a lipo instead.

“M” Connectors (ESC/Servo output / PPM input)

The “M” connectors on the board can serve multiple purposes.  Currently they can be configured as an ESC/Motor output, a servo output, or as PPM (RC signal) input. The middle pin of the “M” connectors is reserved for the typical 5V output. A servo requires that the middle pin is powered, as does an RC receiver, but BEC-based ESCs  do not!!  To prevent any conflicting power supplies across the board, the AutoQuad has a neat option: a solder bridge under every motor middle pin (see image below). If you solder the bridge across the pin, you will supply 5V to the middle pin. But be careful, if you attach a BEC based ESC, you introduce 2 power supplies that will “fight” each other, the BEC from the ESC and the 5V from the AutoQuad.  Some general guidelines:

• Servos : solder the 5v contact point across the pin — but only if you will be powering the servos directly from the AQ voltage regulators — that means low-draw analog servos only !
• PPM input on M14 from Rx: solder the 5v contact to conveniently provide the Rx with 5v power.
• Regular ESCs with BEC : do NOT solder the contact point.
• ESCs without BEC : optional — could be that power to the ESC MCU is needed, or not.

AQ6 Status LEDs

AutoQuad6 headers & pin descriptions

You can also download the full version of the above table with all connection details for AQ6.

SWD Header Pinout