Quadcopter Motors Spooling Up Unevenly

[cwozny]

Hey all,

I'm having a problem with my quadcopter which I just finished building. I'm using the HobbyKing Control Board v3.0 with the XCopter V4.7 KK by KapteinKuk firmware. I noticed that after setting the throttle end points on each ESC individually and setting the throttle end points via the KK board, I still have one of my motors spooling up sooner than the others. It kicks in at about 20% throttle while the others kick in at about 30% and it's extremely uneven. Before anyone says "stick centering," the V4.7 firmware doesn't have that function :/ I ended up flashing it with the XCopter V2.5 XXcontrol KR by Minsoo Kim and it works almost perfectly. Has anyone else run into this situation?

Thanks!

[michas]

Hi,

I have nearly the same problem with my tricopter configuration. My left front motor spins a lot earlyer then the other both.

I read an article from KapteinKuk, he says that there is no need for stick centering, just center it with your radio controller trims to neutral position. You just have to setting throttle range for all ESC at the same time.

I also did a try to Minsoo Kim firmware. For tricopter it wasn't that good. I reflash with KapteinKuk.

Greetings from Germany
Micha

[ipetepete]

Sorry to dredge up older threads, but I'm having the same problem. Y copter, left motor seems to be spooling up faster and has more power than the other two. Trim settings don't seem to do much.

I'm using HK KK v3 board. {edit} Flashed with Tricopter 1.6 firmware{/edit}

Any ideas would be great.

Thanks,

Pete

[colorex]

Sorry to dredge up older threads, but I'm having the same problem. Y copter, left motor seems to be spooling up faster and has more power than the other two. Trim settings don't seem to do much.

I'm using HK KK v3 board. {edit} Flashed with Tricopter 1.6 firmware{/edit}

Any ideas would be great.

Thanks,

Pete

First, reset your throttle endpoints. Check the motor connectors so they are in good condition and connect well. You may consider trying new propellers as well, even a slightly dented prop can reduce power a lot.

Have you had this problem only now? Or is it a new multicopter?

[ipetepete]

Its a new multi copter.

I'm thinking it has to be a setting on the board, I'll try switching props and also motor connections to see if it happens to any of the other motors on the same channel. I hope I don't have a faulty board, esc or motor.

I just read up on the SimonK firmware for ESC's. Once I narrow down the issue, I'm going to flash them with the new firmware as well.

[colorex]

Its a new multi copter.

I'm thinking it has to be a setting on the board, I'll try switching props and also motor connections to see if it happens to any of the other motors on the same channel. I hope I don't have a faulty board, esc or motor.

I just read up on the SimonK firmware for ESC's. Once I narrow down the issue, I'm going to flash them with the new firmware as well.

You could always do a troubleshoot and change places for the motors. The way I have my motors installed I could switch places on just two motors, and check if it's the problem is in the motors or not.

[jamiedco]

i had the same thing . you are not setting the end point properly . it took me a while to get it right

[ipetepete]

I finally figured it out.

Hope this helps someone in the future.

Turns out the shaft on one of the motors was loose, so it wasn't spinning the prop properly.

Lesson learned: Always check the shaft, mount assembly.

[Tritium]

Another Excellent lesson I have learned is that all prop spinner nuts are made for CCW rotation. On quads this means that two (CW rotation) are prone to loosen in a very short amount of time. The solution is to at least double nut each one but a more elegant solution is to replace all the spinner nuts with Nylon insert lock nuts like these:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...idProduct=6371 (these fit a 6mm screw shaft on Turnigy Prop Drive 36XX series)

Thurmond

[ipetepete]

Tritium: Definitely a tip worth remembering. Thanks for sharing your expertise!