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Apex

Apex, a Premier autopilot designed for seamless performance and full Pixhawk ecosystem compatibility.

apex apex

General​

  • The Apex is a compact autopilot designed for seamless performance and full Pixhawk ecosystem compatibility.
  • Apex is engineered for superior performance and versatility using redundant high quality sensors.
  • It is the perfect solution for a broad spectrum of unmanned applications.

Main Features​

  • MCU:

    • STM32H743
    • ARM Cortex-M7 @ 480 MHz
    • 2 MB Flash, 1 MB SRAM

  • IMUs:

    • TDK ICM42688P – high-performance, low-noise 6-axis motion sensor

  • Barometers:

    • Infenion DPS310 – ultra-precise digital output barometer

  • Compasses:

    • ST LIS3MDL – high-performance 3-axis magnetometer

  • Power Input:

    • 3-12S battery input
    • Built-in voltage sensing for battery monitoring
    • Onboard DC-DC conversion for stable regulated power delivery

Resources​

Mechanical​

  • Weight

    • Total Weight: 11 [g]

  • Dimensions

    • Board dimensions are defined in millimeters.
    • Mounting hole size is M4, suitable for M3 stacking with silicone dampers.
    • Carrier board: 38 × 38 mm
    • M4 mounting holes, 30.5 × 30.5 mm spacing.

    apex-dimensions

Electrical​

General​

  • For each connector specification, the pinout orientation is determined by an arrow pointing to pin 1.

Specifications​

  • Input voltage: 8-50.4 [V] (3S-12S)

  • GPIO / Communication logic level: 3.3 [V]

    • Warning: do not operate at any other logic voltage level.

  • Top View apex-top

  • Bottom View apex-bottom

Serial Port Mapping​

Port NamePinout NameHardware (UART#)ArduPilot Serial NamePX4 Serial Name
USBUSBUSB CDCSERIAL0-
TELEM1TELEM1UART7SERIAL1TELEM1
TELEM2TELEM2UART2SERIAL2TELEM2
TELEM3TELEM3UART5SERIAL5TELEM3
TELEM4TELEM4UART8SERIAL6TELEM4
GPS1GPS1UART3SERIAL3GPS1
GPS2GPS2UART4SERIAL4GPS2

I2C Port Mapping​

Port NameI2C BUSBUS TYPE
GPS1I2C2Internal + External
GPS2I2C4External

Battery Sense Mapping​

MCU PINDescriptionArduPilot Pin
PC0Battery 1 Voltage SensePIN 10
PC1Battery 1 Current SensePIN 11

Battery Sense Parameters​

ParameterValue
Voltage Multiplier (When using Onboard sense)19.0
Amps Per VoltIt depends on the external sensor’s parameters

Electrical pinout​

  • Connector orientation
    • JST-GH cables shall be oriented according to the illustration apex-main-connector

FRC Button​

frc-button

  • To enter DFU mode, use the FRC button according to the following steps:
    • Power off the board
    • hold the FRC button
    • Power up the board
    • release the FRC button
    • The Apex is now in DFU mode

POWER​

GH-6P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM06B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-06V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    1Battery
    2Battery
    3Current sense (logic 3.3v)
    4Voltage sense (logic 3.3v)
    5GND
    6GND

SPI​

GH-6P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM06B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-06V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2SPI6_SCK
    3SPI6_MISO
    4SPI6_MOSI
    5SPI6_CS (PB0)
    6GND

Voltage Sense - Solder Jumper​

PWR1_SOLDER

TELEM1​

GH-4P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM04B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-04V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2UART_TXD (logic 3.3v)
    3UART_RXD (logic 3.3v)
    6GND

TELEM2​

GH-4P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM04B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-04V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2UART_TXD (logic 3.3v)
    3UART_RXD (logic 3.3v)
    6GND

TELEM3​

GH-4P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM04B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-04V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2UART_TXD (logic 3.3v)
    3UART_RXD (logic 3.3v)
    6GND

TELEM4​

GH-4P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM04B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-04V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2UART_TXD (logic 3.3v)
    3UART_RXD (logic 3.3v)
    6GND

GPS1​

GH-6P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM06B-GHS-TBTJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-06V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2UART_TXD (logic 3.3v)
    3UART_RXD (logic 3.3v)
    4I2C_SCL (logic 3.3v)
    5I2C_SDA (logic 3.3v)
    6GND

GPS2​

GH-6P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM06B-GHS-TBTJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-06V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2UART_TXD (logic 3.3v)
    3UART_RXD (logic 3.3v)
    4I2C_SCL (logic 3.3v)
    5I2C_SDA (logic 3.3v)
    6GND

PWM 1-8​

GH-10P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM10B-GHS-TBTJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-10V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    1PWM1
    2PWM2
    3PWM3
    4PWM4
    5PWM5
    6PWM6
    7PWM7
    8PWM8
    9GND
    10GND

PWM 9-16​

GH-10P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM10B-GHS-TBTJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-10V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    1PWM9
    2PWM10
    3PWM11
    4PWM12
    5PWM13
    6PWM14
    7PWM15
    8PWM16
    9GND
    10GND

CAN1​

GH-4P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM04B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-04V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2CAN_H (logic 3.3v)
    3CAN_L (logic 3.3v)
    4GND

CAN2​

GH-4P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM04B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-04V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2CAN_H (logic 3.3v)
    3CAN_L (logic 3.3v)
    4GND

USB​

GH-4P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM04B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-04V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Input
    2USB_D-
    3USB_D+
    4GND

RC​

GH-3P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM03B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-03V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    15V Power Output
    2PPM_IN
    3GND

SAFETY​

GH-2P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM02B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-02V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    1SAFETY BUTTON
    2GND

BUZZER​

GH-2P

  • Connector Definition

    TypePart NumberPart Name
    Board ConnectorSM02B-GHS-TBJST-GH
    Cable ConnectorGHR-02V-SJST-GH

  • Connector Pinout

    PinName
    1BUZZER
    2GND