Holybro Kakute F7 (Discontinued)

:::warning PX4 does not manufacture this (or any) autopilot. Contact the manufacturer for hardware support or compliance issues. :::

The Kakute F7 from Holybro is a flight controller board designed for racers.

:::note This flight controller is manufacturer supported. :::

Key Features

  • Main System-on-Chip: STM32F745VGT6

    • CPU: 216 MHz ARM Cortex M7 with single-precision FPU

    • RAM: 320 KB SRAM

    • FLASH: 1 MB

  • Standard racer form factor: 36x36 mm with standard 30.5 mm hole pattern

  • ICM20689 Accel / Gyro (Soft-mounted)

  • BMP280 Baro

  • microSD (for logging)

  • 6 UARTs

  • 1 I2C bus

  • 6 PWM outputs

  • Built-in OSD chip (AB7456 via SPI)

Where to Buy

The board can be bought from one of the following shops (for example):

:::tip The Kakute F7 is designed to work with the Tekko32 4-in-1 ESC and they can be bought in combination. :::

Connectors and Pins

This is the silkscreen for the Kakute F7, showing the top of the board:

PinFunctionPX4 default

B+

Battery positive voltage (2S-6S)

5V

5V output (2A max)

VO

Video output to video transmitter

VI

Video input from FPV camera

G or GND

Ground

SDA, SCL

I2C connection (for peripherals)

R1, T1

UART1 RX and TX

TELEM1

R2, T2

UART2 RX and TX

TELEM2

R3, T3

UART3 RX and TX

NuttX debug console

R4, T4

UART4 RX and TX

GPS1

R6, T6

UART6 RX and TX

RC port

R7, T7

UART7 RX and TX (RX is located in the plug for use with 4-in-1 ESCs)

DShot telemetry

LED

WS2182 addressable LED signal wire (not tested)

Buz-

Piezo buzzer negative leg (Connect buzzer positive leg to 5V pad)

3V3

3.3V output (200 mA max)

M1 to M4

Motor signal outputs (located in plug for use in 4-in-1 ESCs)

M5, M6

Additional motor signal outputs (located on side of board)

RSI

Analog RSSI (0-3.3V) input from receiver

Boot

Bootloader button

PX4 Bootloader Update

The board comes pre-installed with Betaflight. Before PX4 firmware can be installed, the PX4 bootloader must be flashed. Download the kakutef7_bl.hex bootloader binary and read this page for flashing instructions.

Building Firmware

To build PX4 for this target:

make holybro_kakutef7_default

Installing PX4 Firmware

The firmware can be installed in any of the normal ways:

  • Build and upload the source

    make holybro_kakutef7_default upload

  • Load the firmware using QGroundControl. You can use either pre-built firmware or your own custom firmware.

Configuration

If you use a 4-in-1 ESC with Betaflight/Cleanflight motor assignment you can use the Actuator configuration UI to set the motor ordering appropriately.

In addition to the basic configuration, the following parameters are important:

ParameterSetting

SYS_HAS_MAG

This should be disabled since the board does not have an internal mag. You can enable it if you attach an external mag.

Serial Port Mapping

UARTDevicePort

USART1

/dev/ttyS0

TELEM1

USART2

/dev/ttyS1

TELEM2

USART3

/dev/ttyS2

Debug Console

UART4

/dev/ttyS3

GPS1

USART6

/dev/ttyS4

RC SBUS

UART7

/dev/ttyS5

ESC telemetry (DShot)

Debug Port

System Console

UART3 RX and TX are configured for use as the System Console.

SWD

The SWD interface (JTAG) pins are:

  • SWCLK: Test Point 2 (Pin 72 on the CPU)

  • SWDIO: Test Point 3 (Pin 76 on CPU)

  • GND: As marked on board

  • VDD_3V3: As marked on board

These are shown below.

PreviousCUAV v5NextHolybro Pixfalcon

Last updated