Good evening.
I have a tbs tango 2 with a 5" quad on betaflight. I am curious what mavlink really is and what I can get out of it as my tx/rx support it.
Now. I have googled it, and I’m sure I’m not dyslexic. Old, but not dyslexic. But I can’t seem to get the jist of what the internet is telling me.
Can someone please give me a simple run down of what I can get out of mavlink with a quad, on betaflight that has a gps module. Do I need a groundstation? Why? What is mavlink for?
Hi Karl @notveryprettyboy
I’m not an expert on this and no doubt others will contribute as well but here goes…
Mavlink is a protocol for communicating information from configuration software to flight control boards and then out as telemetry information for ground stations, TX displays, OSD’s etc…
Betaflight, INAV etc. all use the ‘multiwii’ protocol from the early days of Baseflight.
Mavlink, until recently, has been the domain of APM/PX4 systems using Mission Planner or GCS as the configuration tool and ‘sitting’ on platforms such as APM, Pixhawk, CUBE(2.1) etc.
These systems are the prefferred for proffessional applications such as surveying, mapping, SaR, long distance inspection flights etc.
However, recently, and this is the good news. With the introduction of the Chibios OS the Ardupilot (copter/plane/rover/tracker variants) firmware can be loaded onto our traditional 30.5mm square FC boards. which have the advantage of built-in OSD, LED strip, data logging etc.
My THEER wing, the black one, has a MATEK wing FC inside it running Arduplane. It was a breeze to install and setup.
These are a few of the common boards that now run MAVLINK protocol systems
Furious FPV F-35 Lightning and Wing FC-10
Holybro Kakute F4
Holybro Kakute F7 AIO
Holybro Kakute F7 Mini (only V1 and V2 are compatible)
Mateksys F405-SE
Mateksys F405-STD and variants*
Mateksys F405-Wing
Mateksys F765-Wing
Mateksys H743-Wing
Omnibus F4 AIO/Pro
Omnibus Nano V6
Omnibus F7 V2
Painless 360 and many others have videos on YT covering install, set-up and mission planning use. There is an enormous community with advice from all levels of use.
Hope this helps mate
See you on the field soon with my ‘Mavlink’ wing 
Cheers
Steve 
@Steviegeek has pretty much nailed it, more so with respect to how you want to use it than I could.
I’ve been using Mavlink for a fair few years but only with APM and Pixhawk controllers, primarily for telemetry and executing autonomous functions and missions using separate UHF radios from the main transmitter. Recently I’ve started using the Skydroid system, which is a long range 2.4GHz package that incorporates the command and control, the Mavlink telemetry, and 720pHD video downlink, into one data stream. You can think of it as a poor mans Lightbridge for Ardupilot based flight controllers. It is designed to work with the Pixhawk flight controllers but I think it maybe interesting to see if it’ll work with the flight controllers that Steve has listed above. If so I can see it being a big benefit for micro-sized endurance models as the claimed range is 20km for video and 30km for control and telemetry. However some users claim to have pushed it further, but maybe the conditions and the alignment of the planets were in their favour that day.
Nidge.
For long range, Yes,
What you have on it depends on your mission usage and wether you are using telemetry or video to bring our data/GPS position back.
It certainly would need an antenna tracker, I’m looking at the IRC overlaid 2.4GHz video signal to control the tracker and crossfire at full 2W (flight control and telemetry link) hopefully match the video distance.
Range for 2.4G video, at 500mW, dipole TX, Yagi RX is estimated at
As most long range flights are about an hour or so a video monitor/recorder is often included in the GCS although no reason why goggles can’t be used, you’d probably put a low power 5G8 TX on the GCS to link to the goggles from the 2G4 receiver on the GCS.
Lots more to tak about on this subject 
That’s why I’m quite liking the Skydroid system at the moment as it’s all one package, just the controller and an Android tablet or phone. There is latency on the video but not enough for lazy cruising to be an issue, I wouldn’t use it for FPV freestyle or racing. It’s also just 100mW so I can still hold my sactomonious smug stance safe in the knowledge I’m not contravening the Wireless Telegraphy Act, not that anyone cares these days. It’s also relatively cheap, I paid £80 for the 10Ch system (RC controller, digital camera, 10ch transceiver).
I’m also hoping to get my hands on the new IRC Ghost system to see how well that stacks up against my existing long range systems.
Nidge
Thinking of selling this setup with a flying wing which has yet to have it’s maiden. All immersionRC long range gear in a brand new 2M Opterra, RVOSD, all brand new RC lipo, flight lipo, FPV camera.
It’s basically plug and play needing final tracker setting to get it up and away.
Here’s the tracker with 3D printed parts…
That’s not an issue for me at long range. I wouldn’t do stupid tricks 5km+ away
I’m seeing that Mavlink is a more complete package for 2 way communication. More mature and with added benefits. Is that right?
I’m pretty broke, but how much?
PM me an offer…
To much whisky let us know if you’re flying over holiday
I’ve given whisky the boot now. Sticking to kronenberg lol
I’ll just be wasting your time. I have been cleaned out by my kids going back to school.
Totally understand, fed my lot through a funnel so they’d grow up quick and leave home…
