EMI shield

Hi,

can you tell me a bit more about EMI shield used on this board ? Is magnetometer also shielded ?
I’m supposed to fly close to HV powerlines which emit strong EM. I fear the Pixhawk could run into problems if I use GPS mode. Maybe without GPS, like alt-hold where I use only barometer to hold the height, it should be fine. But I have not tested this behaviour in any mode yet so I’m trying to see if loiter/poshold can be used SAFELY in such close proximity to powerlines or not. Has anyone done something like this with the Pixhawk and Zubax enabled drone ? I fear if GNSS is shielded and magnetometer not, there might be a problem too…

Thanks.

Michal

Hi Michal,

I don’t expect much difficulties with GNSS performance near power lines. As for the magnetometer, I am not sure. It is not shielded because that would contradict with its primary purpose, which is measuring the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field. I would suggest to give it a try.

Pavel.

Flight test went well today. No problems in PosHold. I even flew below powerlines without gps glitches or magnetometer problems. So thanks Zubax for this product, it was the main reason why I bought it.

As for the next product version, my suggestions :

  • Try to make smaller board but with the same or better performance and EMI shield
  • The cover should be solid, more tough material than those 3d printed ones that crack or break easily. You should sell it as one product already with a protected cover.
  • If possible, make it retractable.

Thanks for the feedback, Michal!