Newbie question: how to update what?

[david_belay]

Hi all,
Back in August I purchased a drone equipped with a Herelink.
I never used the drone as I had no pressing need for it and not much time either.
Now, I understand there have been a number of updates since then but I am confused as to what should be updated and how. What is the difference for example between Ardupilot and GroundControl? Not sure what software is running where…
If you could give me a general overview and point me to relevant documentation/posts for more details I would be most grateful.

EDIT: also, I really do not know what to make of such posts…

SB_0000002 Critical service bulletin for Cubes Purchased between January 2019 to July 2019. DO NOT FLY

**Edit 3 April 2020 This issue is fully resolved by 3.6.12 but many updates have come since. Please keep up to date as this SB only relates to the IMU matter. Please see Ardupilot release notes for other Ardupilot matters covered in each release EDIT 11th December 2019 Due to SB_0000005 I’m updating this to ensure that you use 3.6.11 as a minimum No other changes Edit 28th July 2019 Please ensure you are using at least Arducopter 3.6.10 SB_0000002 Critical service bulletin for Cubes Purc…

[Anubis (Rick)]

Ground Control Software (GCS) is a general term for software that runs on a PC, tablet, etc. that you use to communicate with the drone, create mission plans, and change autopilot settings. There are multiple GCSes out there, the most popular for ArduPilot are Mission Planner and QGroundControl. I think the HereLink comes with QGC installed, but I haven’t used it myself. I think you can update QGC from inside the app itself.

ArduPilot is the autopilot software that runs on flight controller hardware. “ArduPilot” is an umbrella that includes related autopilots for different vehicle types, such as ArduRover, ArduPlane, and ArduCopter. If your drone is a multirotor, then it’s running Copter. Instructions to update ArduPilot are here. Note that these instructions are for Mission Planner specifically, but QGC has a similar workflow and I’m sure there are instructions online for updating ArduPilot with QGC.

The service bulletins are released when an issue with the current software/hardware is found. These issues are usually fixed very quickly, so if your ArduPilot is up to date, then in general you won’t need to worry about old bulletins. I think the only ones that apply to current versions boil down to:

1. Make sure you have a GPS lock when you do a compass calibration, and
2. Don’t try to power peripheral devices off of the RC IN port (except a RC receiver).

[david_belay]

Many thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I have updated the Ardupilot version, however it is still not clear if and how I should update QGC on the Herelink. I would appreciate that the CubePilot folks selling this product reply as well, given that there is no manual to speak of.