baby steps...

Took all day yesterday to get the rover functioning (sort of).  Just getting it to light up correctly was pretty rewarding and I actually got it to move a couple of times the way it was supposed to.  Pretty steep learning curve for me here - very little about this is intuitive at all.  There are over 600 different "parameters" that can be adjusted - depending on the type of vehicle and remote controller being used and all the functions required for operation (it took 2 hours alone just to figure out how to program a 3-way switch on my RC transmitter for manual/auto/return to home).  I think I spent more time searching for answers on the internet than I did physically working on the project.  After almost giving up on them, it was about 8PM when I finally got the telemetry radios to talk to each other.  It took a very long time to figure out that I needed to find and install the correct drivers for them and set up the correct com port and baud rate for data transmission.  They are used to wirelessly communicate (300-meter range) with the rover from the ground station software called "Mission Planner" loaded on my laptop.  Along with the ability to adjust all the parameters, Misson Planner allows me to see the position and speed of the rover in real time on a Google Earth map and program the microcontroller (Pixhawk 2.4.8) on the rover to go to specifics points autonomously via its onboard GPS and two compasses.  Different versions of the same controller and software are also used for DIY boats, planes, and various forms of "copters".  The big plus for me is that my project is just a slow-moving ground vehicle and can't fall out of the sky.  90.98,73, .15",B