Clarify SDCard filled procedure
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Nicholas Sherlock
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docs/Blackbox.md
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# Blackbox flight data recorder
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## Introduction
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This feature transmits your flight data information on every control loop iteration over a serial port to an external
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logging device to be recorded, or to a dataflash chip which is present on some flight controllers.
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After your flight, you can view the resulting logs using the interactive log viewer:
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https://github.com/cleanflight/blackbox-log-viewer
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You can also use the `blackbox_decode` tool to turn the logs into CSV files for analysis, or render your flight log as a
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video using the `blackbox_render` tool. Those tools can be found in this repository:
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https://github.com/cleanflight/blackbox-tools
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## Logged data
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The blackbox records flight data on every iteration of the flight control loop. It records the current time in
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microseconds, P, I and D corrections for each axis, your RC command stick positions (after applying expo curves),
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gyroscope data, accelerometer data (after your configured low-pass filtering), barometer and sonar readings, 3-axis
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magnetometer readings, raw VBAT and current measurements, RSSI, and the command being sent to each motor speed
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controller. This is all stored without any approximation or loss of precision, so even quite subtle problems should be
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detectable from the fight data log.
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GPS data is logged whenever new GPS data is available. Although the CSV decoder will decode this data, the video
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renderer does not yet show any of the GPS information (this will be added later).
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## Supported configurations
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The maximum data rate that can be recorded to the flight log is fairly restricted, so anything that increases the load
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can cause the flight log to drop frames and contain errors.
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The Blackbox is typically used on tricopters and quadcopters. Although it will work on hexacopters and octocopters,
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because these craft have more motors to record, they must transmit more data to the flight log. This can increase the
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number of dropped frames. Although the browser-based log viewer supports hexacopters and octocopters, the command-line
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`blackbox_render` tool currently only supports tri- and quadcopters.
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Cleanflight's `looptime` setting decides how frequently an update is saved to the flight log. The default looptime on
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Cleanflight is 3500. If you're using a looptime smaller than about 2400, you may experience some dropped frames due to
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the high required data rate. In that case you will need to reduce the sampling rate in the Blackbox settings, or
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increase your logger's baudrate to 250000. See the later section on configuring the Blackbox feature for details.
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## Setting up logging
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First, you must enable the Blackbox feature. In the [Cleanflight Configurator][] enter the Configuration tab,
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tick the "BLACKBOX" feature at the bottom of the page, and click "Save and reboot"
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Now you must decide which device to store your flight logs on. You can either transmit the log data over a serial port
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to an external logging device like the [OpenLog serial data logger][] to be recorded to a microSDHC card, or if you have
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a compatible flight controller you can store the logs on the onboard dataflash storage instead.
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### OpenLog serial data logger
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The OpenLog is a small logging device which attaches to your flight controller using a serial port and logs your
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flights to a MicroSD card.
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The OpenLog ships from SparkFun with standard "OpenLog 3" firmware installed. Although this original OpenLog firmware
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will work with the Blackbox, in order to reduce the number of dropped frames it should be reflashed with the
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higher performance [OpenLog Blackbox firmware][]. The special Blackbox variant of the OpenLog firmware also ensures that
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the OpenLog is using Cleanflight compatible settings, and defaults to 115200 baud.
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You can find the Blackbox version of the OpenLog firmware [here](https://github.com/cleanflight/blackbox-firmware),
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along with instructions for installing it onto your OpenLog.
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[OpenLog serial data logger]: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9530
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[OpenLog Blackbox firmware]: https://github.com/cleanflight/blackbox-firmware
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#### microSDHC
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Your choice of microSDHC card is very important to the performance of the system. The OpenLog relies on being able to
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make many small writes to the card with minimal delay, which not every card is good at. A faster SD-card speed rating is
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not a guarantee of better performance.
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##### microSDHC cards known to have poor performance
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- Generic 4GB Class 4 microSDHC card - the rate of missing frames is about 1%, and is concentrated around the most
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interesting parts of the log!
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- Sandisk Ultra 32GB (unlike the smaller 16GB version, this version has poor write latency)
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##### microSDHC cards known to have good performance
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- Transcend 16GB Class 10 UHS-I microSDHC (typical error rate < 0.1%)
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- Sandisk Extreme 16GB Class 10 UHS-I microSDHC (typical error rate < 0.1%)
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- Sandisk Ultra 16GB (it performs only half as well as the Extreme in theory, but still very good)
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You should format any card you use with the [SD Association's special formatting tool][] , as it will give the OpenLog
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the best chance of writing at high speed. You must format it with either FAT, or with FAT32 (recommended).
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[SD Association's special formatting tool]: https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/
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### Choosing a serial port for the OpenLog
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First, tell the Blackbox to log using a serial port (rather than to an onboard dataflash chip). Go to the
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Configurator's CLI tab, enter `set blackbox_device=0` to switch logging to serial (this is the default setting), and
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save.
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You need to let Cleanflight know which of [your serial ports][] you connect your OpenLog to (i.e. the Blackbox port),
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which you can do on the Configurator's Ports tab.
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You should use a hardware serial port (such as UART1 on the Naze32, the two-pin Tx/Rx header in the center of the
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board). SoftSerial ports can be used for the Blackbox. However, because they are limited to 19200 baud, your logging
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rate will need to be severely reduced to compensate. Therefore the use of SoftSerial is not recommended.
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When using a hardware serial port, Blackbox should be set to at least 115200 baud on that port. When using fast
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looptimes (<2500), a baud rate of 250000 should be used instead in order to reduce dropped frames.
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The serial port used for Blackbox cannot be shared with any other function (e.g. GPS, telemetry) except the MSP
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protocol. If MSP is used on the same port as Blackbox, then MSP will be active when the board is disarmed, and Blackbox
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will be active when the board is armed. This will mean that you can't use the Configurator or any other function that
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requires MSP, such as an OSD or a Bluetooth wireless configuration app, while the board is armed.
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Connect the "TX" pin of the serial port you've chosen to the OpenLog's "RXI" pin. Don't connect the serial port's RX
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pin to the OpenLog, as this will cause the OpenLog to interfere with any shared functions on the serial port while
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disarmed.
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#### Naze32 serial port choices
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On the Naze32, the TX/RX pins on top of the board are connected to UART1, and are shared with the USB connector.
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Therefore, MSP must be enabled on UART1 in order to use the Configurator over USB. If Blackbox is connected to the pins
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on top of the Naze32, the Configurator will stop working once the board is armed. This configuration is usually a good
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choice if you don't already have an OSD installed which is using those pins while armed, and aren't using the FrSky
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telemetry pins.
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Pin RC3 on the side of the board is UART2's Tx pin. If Blackbox is configured on UART2, MSP can still be used on UART1
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when the board is armed, which means that the Configurator will continue to work simultaneously with Blackbox logging.
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However, the RC3 pin is only available for use by UART2 if the receiver mode is _not_ `PARALLEL_PWM`. In other words, a
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PPM or Serial receiver must be used. If a PWM receiver is used, the RC3 and RC4 pins are used for channel input from the
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receiver. Sharing UART1 between Blackbox and MSP is the only way to use Blackbox on a Naze32 with a PWM receiver.
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The OpenLog tolerates a power supply of between 3.3V and 12V. If you are powering your Naze32 with a standard 5V BEC,
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then you can use a spare motor header's +5V and GND pins to power the OpenLog with.
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#### Other flight controller hardware
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Boards other than the Naze32 may have more accessible hardware serial devices, in which case refer to their
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documentation to decide how to wire up the logger. The key criteria are:
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* Should be a hardware serial port rather than SoftSerial.
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* Cannot be shared with any other function (GPS, telemetry) except MSP.
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* If MSP is used on the same UART, MSP will stop working when the board is armed.
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#### OpenLog configuration
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Power up the OpenLog with a microSD card inside, wait 10 seconds or so, then power it down and plug the microSD card
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into your computer. You should find a "CONFIG.TXT" file on the card, open it up in a text editor. You should see the
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baud rate that the OpenLog has been configured for (usually 115200 or 9600 from the factory). Set the baud rate to match
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the rate you entered for the Blackbox in the Configurator's Port tab (typically 115200 or 250000).
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Save the file and put the card back into your OpenLog, it will use those settings from now on.
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If your OpenLog didn't write a CONFIG.TXT file, create a CONFIG.TXT file with these contents and store it in the root
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of the MicroSD card:
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```
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115200
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baud
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```
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If you are using the original OpenLog firmware, use this configuration instead:
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```
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115200,26,0,0,1,0,1
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baud,escape,esc#,mode,verb,echo,ignoreRX
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```
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#### OpenLog protection
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The OpenLog can be wrapped in black electrical tape or heat-shrink in order to insulate it from conductive frames (like
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carbon fiber), but this makes its status LEDs impossible to see. I recommend wrapping it with some clear heatshrink
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tubing instead.
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### Onboard dataflash storage
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Some flight controllers have an onboard SPI NOR dataflash chip which can be used to store flight logs instead of using
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an OpenLog.
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The full version of the Naze32 and the CC3D have an onboard "m25p16" 2 megabyte dataflash storage chip. This is a small
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chip with 8 fat legs, which can be found at the base of the Naze32's direction arrow. This chip is not present on the
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"Acro" version of the Naze32.
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The SPRacingF3 has a larger 8 megabyte dataflash chip onboard which allows for longer recording times.
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These chips are also supported:
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* Micron/ST M25P16 - 16 Mbit / 2 MByte
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* Micron N25Q064 - 64 Mbit / 8 MByte
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* Winbond W25Q64 - 64 Mbit / 8 MByte
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* Micron N25Q0128 - 128 Mbit / 16 MByte
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* Winbond W25Q128 - 128 Mbit / 16 MByte
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#### Enable recording to dataflash
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On the Configurator's CLI tab, you must enter `set blackbox_device=1` to switch to logging to an onboard dataflash chip,
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then save.
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[your serial ports]: https://github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight/blob/master/docs/Serial.md
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[Cleanflight Configurator]: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cleanflight-configurator/enacoimjcgeinfnnnpajinjgmkahmfgb?hl=en
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## Configuring the Blackbox
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The Blackbox currently provides two settings (`blackbox_rate_num` and `blackbox_rate_denom`) that allow you to control
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the rate at which data is logged. These two together form a fraction (`blackbox_rate_num / blackbox_rate_denom`) which
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decides what portion of the flight controller's control loop iterations should be logged. The default is 1/1 which logs
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every iteration.
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If you're using a slower MicroSD card, you may need to reduce your logging rate to reduce the number of corrupted
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logged frames that `blackbox_decode` complains about. A rate of 1/2 is likely to work for most craft.
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You can change the logging rate settings by entering the CLI tab in the [Cleanflight Configurator][] and using the `set`
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command, like so:
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```
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set blackbox_rate_num = 1
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set blackbox_rate_denom = 2
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```
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The data rate for my quadcopter using a looptime of 2400 and a rate of 1/1 is about 10.25kB/s. This allows about 18
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days of flight logs to fit on my OpenLog's 16GB MicroSD card, which ought to be enough for anybody :).
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If you are logging using SoftSerial, you will almost certainly need to reduce your logging rate to 1/32. Even at that
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logging rate, looptimes faster than about 1000 cannot be successfully logged.
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If you're logging to an onboard dataflash chip instead of an OpenLog, be aware that the 2MB of storage space it offers
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is pretty small. At the default 1/1 logging rate, and a 2400 looptime, this is only enough for about 3 minutes of
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flight. This could be long enough for you to investigate some flying problem with your craft, but you may want to reduce
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the logging rate in order to extend your recording time.
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To maximize your recording time, you could drop the rate all the way down to 1/32 (the smallest possible rate) which
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would result in a logging rate of about 10-20Hz and about 650 bytes/second of data. At that logging rate, a 2MB
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dataflash chip can store around 50 minutes of flight data, though the level of detail is severely reduced and you could
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not diagnose flight problems like vibration or PID setting issues.
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## Usage
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The Blackbox starts recording data as soon as you arm your craft, and stops when you disarm.
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If your craft has a buzzer attached, you can use Cleanflight's arming beep to synchronize your Blackbox log with your
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flight video. Cleanflight's arming beep is a "long, short" pattern. The beginning of the first long beep will be shown
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as a blue line in the flight data log, which you can sync against your recorded audio track.
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You should wait a few seconds after disarming your craft to allow the Blackbox to finish saving its data.
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### Usage - OpenLog
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Each time the OpenLog is power-cycled, it begins a fresh new log file. If you arm and disarm several times without
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cycling the power (recording several flights), those logs will be combined together into one file. The command line
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tools will ask you to pick which one of these flights you want to display/decode.
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Don't insert or remove the SD card while the OpenLog is powered up.
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### Usage - Dataflash chip
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After your flights, you can use the [Cleanflight Configurator][] to download the contents of the dataflash to your
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computer. Go to the "dataflash" tab and click the "save flash to file..." button. Saving the log can take 2 or 3
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minutes.
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After downloading the log, be sure to erase the chip to make it ready for reuse by clicking the "erase flash" button.
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If you try to start recording a new flight when the dataflash is already full, Blackbox logging will be disabled and
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nothing will be recorded.
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### Usage - Logging switch
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If you're recording to an onboard flash chip, you probably want to disable Blackbox recording when not required in order
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to save storage space. To do this, you can add a Blackbox flight mode to one of your AUX channels on the Configurator's
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modes tab. Once you've added a mode, Blackbox will only log flight data when the mode is active.
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A log header will always be recorded at arming time, even if logging is paused. You can freely pause and resume logging
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while in flight.
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## Viewing recorded logs
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After your flights, you'll have a series of flight log files with a .TXT extension.
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You can view these .TXT flight log files interactively using your web browser with the Cleanflight Blackbox Explorer:
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https://github.com/cleanflight/blackbox-log-viewer
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This allows you to scroll around a graphed version of your log and examine your log in detail. You can also export a
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video of your log to share it with others!
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You can decode your logs with the `blackbox_decode` tool to create CSV (comma-separated values) files for analysis,
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or render them into a series of PNG frames with `blackbox_render` tool, which you could then convert into a video using
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another software package.
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You'll find those tools along with instructions for using them in this repository:
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https://github.com/cleanflight/blackbox-tools
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