FAQ

PCC/CELAENO BOARDS

Availability

Where do I get PCC or Celaeno?
To keep prices low, you have to build the board yourself. The Plejad Online Shop supplies a complete kit including all required parts . Alternatively, you can purchase just the bare printed circuit board and buy the parts elsewhere. In both cases, required firmware updates are free of charge.
The construction manual, the firmware for the micro processor of the control board and a PC Software for setting up your board are available for download at this web site.

Is it difficult to solder?
Soldering a PCC or Celaeno board is no more complicated than completing other SMD preassembled copter control boards available on the market. Only through-hole parts are used, which can be assembled using a standard soldering iron within approx. 1 hour. No SMD equipment is required.

Are all required pars included in the Kits?
Yes, the kits include all electronic components, the Arduino board and the MEMS Gyroscopic sensors. In addition, only the USB programming adapter is required in order to upload the flight control firmware to the board.

Can I buy fully assembled boards?
The shop currently only provides board kits including all required parts.

Technology

What are the specs of the board?
The boards are produced by a PCB board manufacturer in high industry quality, thickness is 1.55mm and the outline is 51x51mm. Mounting holes are compatible to other Multicopter-Platforms and fit almost all commercially available frames. The height of the assembled board is approximately 2 centimeters.

FIRMWARE/EXTENSIONS

When will GPS-Support be available?
GPS Support (position hold, coming home) is planned but will not be available before Summer 2011

Is this an open source project?
No, the source code is not available, but there will be an SDK, which can be used to interact with the board via external Arduino boards or wireless connections to a personal computer or other device. The external devices then have access to all sensor readings and can issue control commands (attitude changes, gas value, etc.) to the flight controller.

COPTER

Which components should I use to build a copter?
Recommended configurations that can be copied are listed in the Gallery. For beginners and everyone who wants to fly a perfectly set up copter, our complete kits, which are available in the Shop are highly recommended. These include all main components like Airframe, Engines, Controllers and flight controller board.

Can I build a copter with more than 4 engines?
Yes, PCC/Celaeno support all constructions with up to 8 separately controlled Engines. Read more here...