Starting my first build - Gremlin - Problems already

morkunas

New member
I am starting my first build that is a FT Gremlin. My first problem was getting firmware flashed onto the flight controller. Using ZADIG is was able to flash
SPRACINGF3EVO (SPEV) 3.4.0 Jul 8 2018 / 04:32:41 (cce8a59be) MSP API: 1.39 onto the board. However when trying to reconnect to the board, no joy. Searching a few forums I came across a post about ImpulseRC_Driver_Fixer.exe. Running this I was able to finally get BetaFlight talking to the flight controller. Next problem, the acceleromenter and gyro are not active.

D0__mlI_QXeSapcv56TspQ.png


The build video makes it look as if I just flash the firmware and reconnect and I should be able to see the virtual model moving as I move the board. This is not happening in my case.

Cheers,

Andrew
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
The accelerometers can be enabled and disabled in the configuration tab. I've never heard of them being disabled by default, but that's what I would check first. The gyro's can't be disabled, they are required for all flight modes.
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
Very strange... BF 3.4 is still new, maybe try flashing the last 3.3 version. If that doesn't help you probably have a bad board.
 

morkunas

New member
I found this on the Betaflight FAQ:

Why is the Gyro light turned off and the 3D Model not moving ?
This is a side effect of the accelerometer being disabled. When connected to the Flight Controller via USB, the 3D model in Cleanflight Configurator depends on the accelerometer to rotate properly when the multirotor is moved around. The gyro light being off is just a glitch in the Configurator. Neither of these are anything to worry about, it is perfectly normal.
When you change your looptime in the Configurator (or via CLI command) to a faster speed than the defaults, Betaflight will automatically disable the accelerometer on some targets to free up processing power and allow the faster looptime.

Just not enough information to give me a warm and fuzzy when I see the 3D model working in the build video. It works there but not here. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
The part of the FAQ you quoted is fairly aged, the way looptime is handled changed awhile ago. The new parameters are gyro update frequency and PID loop frequency which you have set to 8K / 2K giving you a CPU utilization of 1%. CPU load is shown in the configurator status bar.

I see now you have enabled 32K gyro sampling but aren't using it, try disabling that.
 

morkunas

New member
Yeah, I was just changing the sampling rate to see if I can get some reaction but again nothing. I have posted this problem to other forums and I have not been able to get any response to the FAQ post to see if anyone else is experiencing this same issue. I am going to continue with the build and see what happens next.
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
If the accelerometer isn't working in the configurator, chances are high that it won't work in flight, and you will have very little chance of getting warranty on a board you've soldered on. You can fly fine without the accelerometers in acro mode, but they are required to use the self leveling modes.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Things I would check or do would be to confirm the gui is up to date with the target .hex. That will cause funky issues.

Next I would down grade to an earlier version and see if there is different behavior.

Finally I always do a cold start of the gui and the controller after flashing. Unplug the controller, close and restart the gui and reconnect the controller.

If at that point there is no obvious changes bets are part of the boatd is bad.
 

morkunas

New member
I've tried downgrading the firmware with no joy. On another forum someone recommended the "status" at CLI and it returned the following:

# status
System Uptime: 36 seconds
Voltage: 0 * 0.1V (0S battery - NOT PRESENT)
CPU Clock=72MHz
SD card: Startup failed
Stack size: 2048, Stack address: 0x10002000
I2C Errors: 1, config size: 2350, max available config: 4096
CPU:2%, cycle time: 0, GYRO rate: 0, RX rate: 33, System rate: 9
Arming disable flags: NOGYRO RXLOSS CLI MSP

Looks like NOGYRO is not good...
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Ahh yes. I keep forgetting beta flight now throws error codes in text fomst and not numbered codes that need to be looked up

I would email that report to support where you purchased the controller and see if they will rma it for a new one.