Prism Quick Start Guide

Owned by Bryan Cubbins, created
Last updated: Jan 29, 2024
5 min read

Prism Quick Start Guide

Sections

Follow this link for frequently asked questions about the Prism and Companion Computer:

FAQ | Companion Computer

 

Attach to Companion Computer

  1. Attach your magnetic holder to the bottom of your companion computer which will secure the Prism to the Companion Computer

    1. . The magnetic attachment has 4 magnets which line up with the back of the Prism which secures the prism in place while gathering data during a flight.

    2. Connect the antenna to the SMA port labeled RF1 on the prism and then affix the Prism onto the magnetic pad on the Companion Computer for flight.

 

Plugging in the Companion Computer

  1. Once attached securely, using the connection cord, Plug the USB C end of the connection cord into the Prism C port and plug the opposite end of the cord (USB A) into the 3.0 port of the Companion Computer.

  2. Plug the provided USB flash drive into the USB 2.0 port into the Companion Computer.

  3. Mount the Companion Computer with the front facing the front of the drone. Slide this into the feathertail quick attach on the bottom of the battery tray and tighten the clasp to ensure it is secure.

  4. Plug the 10 pin plug from the Companion Computer into the 10 pin auxiliary port on the side of the drone.

  5. Lastly, plug the XT60-F connector, coming from the Companion Computer 6 pin, into the front 24V XT60-M Power Output Port for power. Be sure all connections are plugged in securely before mounting.

Connecting to WISPR OS and Prism

  1. Power the drone and allow it to boot up. If the Prism is powered correctly, you will see a flashing yellow light under the letters STAT on the device. Check your WiFi SSIDs' until you see Ranger-PRO appear. Connect and If prompted for a password, the default is “password”.

2. Navigate to WISPR’s OS by entering 172.16.1.1 in the address bar on the device you are using.

3. The WISPR homepage will load.

  • Select system management in the top left.

  • Select settings. Change the drone mode to Antenna Scraping

  • Change the DHCP IP address to 192.168.3.9 and select set. You should get a confirmation pop up when you set the IP assuring you the SHCP Fallback IP has been set

  • . Reboot the drone.

4. Once rebooted, connect back to the WISPR OS. You should now be able to connect to the Prism’s UI in by opening another tab and setting the URL to http://192.168.3.1 in your address bar and the Prism home page will now load.

Running a PCI Survey

  1. Now that you have confirmed you can access the UI of the Prism, switch back over to the WISPR OS and confirm you have a connection to the flight controller.

*IMPORTANT - You will need to power on your Smart Controller, go into WISPR Ground Control, select the settings (WISPR Icon in the top left that takes you to general settings) and confirm Companion Computer is selected as the payload. This sets the correct parameters to allow the Companion Computer to connect to the flight controller. If you do not do this you will not get connection to the flight controller nor get and telementry data.

 

  • If there is no connection to the flight controller you will not collect any data. To confirm you have flight controller connection, check the top right of the screen for a flashing green FC showing up and down arrows that also flash. You will notice you are getting readings on your Speed, Altitude, Direction and distance of the UAV as well.

2. Connect to the Prism through the OS using the button at the bottom of the page. Once clicked, the word Prism should flash green at the top of the page on the left confirming you are connected to the Prism.

3. You are now ready to start a PCI Survey, fly the drone and collect data. Before flight, once inside of WISPR Ground Control, be sure to select the red Q at the top and under payloads select Companion Computer. This will set the correct baud rate to allow the

4. Start your PCI Survey and switch back to the WISPR OS and select Start Logging at the bottom of the page. You are now saving data the Prism is seeing.

 

5. Once you have flown and seen the data you need, you many now land and select stop logging at the bottom of the OS page.

 

6. You may power down the drone now.

Inspecting data from the Survey

  1. Remove the USB flash drive from the back of the Companion Computer.

  2. Plug the USB Flash drive into a USB port on a computer and select flight-logs. You will have two options. You may choose to view the data in a CSV file or view the data in a json file. These files can be downloaded and saved to view later.

  3. Once you have downloaded and saved them on your computer, remove the flash drive and reinsert it into the USB port in the back of the Companion Computer for your next survey.

Prism Surveys

  1. PCI Survey - This allows you configure,, save and view data from your PCI Scan.

  2. Spectrum - The Spectrum Analyzer option is an application that provides a real time view of RF spectrum based on a flexible configuration of radio frequency, sample rate, and filtering configuration.

  3. If running a PCI Survey and you would like to switch to the spectrum Analyzer, this can be done from the configuration menu. Select the cog icon from the top right of the window. At the bottom of the screen select Spectrum Analyzer.