Flite Test Electrohub Trouble - Flip 1.5 Board

[Tphillip96]

Hi, Flite Test ElectroHub and the Electronics from ReadyToFly Quads and I believe I have set everything up correctly. soldered everything in right with the power distribution board and I wired everything correctly but when I make inputs on my controller nothing happens. I believe it has something to do with the Flip 1.5 not being armed??

- Turngity 6X with its Receiver

Here is a video of My Set Up.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Turn the transmitter on before you connect the lipo.

Once the copter has power, with both sticks all the way down, move the left stick all the way to the bottom right to arm.

To disarm, with both sticks all the way down, move the right stick all the way to the bottom left.

Welcome to FliteTest!

 

[makattack]

Definitely, what cranialrectosis said, and I'd add: never ever turn off the transmitter while your aircraft is powered on... especially once you have propellers installed. You never know what your failsafe is set to. That said, once you do have this setup, you should get your computer connected to the Flip 1.5, and look at what the failsafe settings are. Be sure you understand what happens if your throttle is up, and you lose connection (fly too far, transmitter turns off, or just lose connection).

Otherwise, welcome to the community and looks like you have a nice build of the quad! Congratulations!

 

[Tphillip96]

Hey, Thanks Guys.I thought I would have to download load Multiwii Config. I will try your suggestions tomorrow.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Definitely get MW Config GUI. You can't troubleshoot MW without it.

 

[earthsciteach]

Also, your stick travel endpoints have to be set to greater than 2000 (I think) in the multiwii config interface. That was my problem, but once I worked that out, everything was fine! I'm LOVING the Flip 1.5 board, as I've had nothing but headaches with the KK2.1 boards.

 

[Tphillip96]

Also, your stick travel endpoints have to be set to greater than 2000 (I think) in the multiwii config interface.

Are you referring to the minthrottle in the firmware?

Thanks for all the help

 

[RichB]

Are you referring to the minthrottle in the firmware?

Thanks for all the help

No, he's talking about the transmitter.

Some of the stick commands on the MW board require you to move the stick fully to one side or the other.

In a perfect world, the transmitter and MW board would be perfectly on the same page regarding *what* full left or full right means. As it is, they are commonly mismatched slightly. it is recommended to expand the endpoints on your transmitter so that you can overshoot full left and right, ensuring that the board doesn't think you are going (for example) 90% right when you are trying to arm.

 

[Tphillip96]

No, he's talking about the transmitter.

Some of the stick commands on the MW board require you to move the stick fully to one side or the other.

In a perfect world, the transmitter and MW board would be perfectly on the same page regarding *what* full left or full right means. As it is, they are commonly mismatched slightly. it is recommended to expand the endpoints on your transmitter so that you can overshoot full left and right, ensuring that the board doesn't think you are going (for example) 90% right when you are trying to arm.

Alright I see, So what is the minthrottle in the firmware?

 

[makattack]

I looked at the manual for your transmitter.http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uploads/893213738X871534X33.jpg

With computer transmitters, you can set the channels on the tx for roll, pitch, yaw such that the endpoints are greater than the default, for better resolution. A lot of flight controls for multi rotors or helicopters work better with those greater rates.

Arming usually requires moving the rudder/yaw stick full right with throttle zerod. If you can't adjust the limit, you may not be able to arm. The multiwiiconf tool will show you if that is the case. You can still use the configuration tool to assign the arm function to an aux channel, but that might be risky as you will be flying with limited resolution.

 

[Tphillip96]

I want to thank everyone for there suggestions, but I still cannot arm the quad I have tried all of your suggestion regarding this. I an now going to change the endpoints in multiwii config.

 

[makattack]

I don't think multiwiiconf will allow you to change the endpoints. You may be able to do that by editing the config.h file in the source and recompiling/flashing the board, but the usual method is to change it on the transmitter, which in your case is not possible. I think the more straight forward way is to assign the arm function to a switch.

 

[Tphillip96]

Ok just contacted Paul and He told me to " With that radio, it probably needs the minthrottle in the firmware to be lowered. you just need to reflash the board using this firmware."

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3ptxpwesovd7tx3/AAAqsGH2Hut-aj0oJgo5FwtNa/MultiWii_Flip_dx5.zip?dl=0

How is this Done? oh and do need to change of the flash in the arduino software?

Thanks

 

[Tphillip96]

Makattack - How do you assign a function to a switch? It seems faster then Pauls method

 

[jhitesma]

Arming with a switch will solve the arming issue...but not fixing the minthrottle will possibly cause other issues. With a TX where you can't edit the end points like that you'll really have to edit the config.h file to fix the minthrottle and possibly a few settings (But I don't have a config.h in front of me and can't remember off the top of my head) to compensate for whatever range your TX actually gives.

If you don't you won't be able to use stick commands and you'll likely experience some issues in flight.

I'd strongly suggest getting MW configured correctly for your TX rather than masking the problem by arming with a switch.

Reflashing will require the Arduino software, I can't really give a step by step right now but there are quite a few sources out there with step by step instructions on how to flash MW from Arduino.

 

[Tphillip96]

Thanks, 2 questions where can I find the config.h file. I already know how to flash, and I know you guys don't have it in front of you but do have any clue to what line to change in the config.h firmware?

What is the file Paul gave me.

 

[makattack]

I'm on my phone away from my computer as well, so I can't easily look it up, but what Paul has linked to you is a version of MultiWii that he has modified to work with transmitters like yours. Those min/max limits was probably set such that it would work without having to extend your channel limits. By using his version you won't need to edit the config.h file yourself -- but it's actually useful to get familiar with as you learn.

You will need to go to arduino.cc (or something similar -- google has the answer!) and download the Arduino IDE. If your computer already has MultiWiiConf and talks to your Flip1.5 ok, you should be ok to use the Arduino IDE to load the software onto the board. The package you download from Paul is basically the source, or sketch in arduino terminology to the MultiWii code with his edits.

As jhitsma mentioned, there are tons of videos on youtube -- with links from rtfquads "wiki" page that should lead you through installing, configuring, flashing the board.

Also read the other stuff about setting up failsafe, flight modes, etc. Yeah... ignore my short-cut in reassigning the arm function. I didn't realize Paul had already made it easy with custom configs for these types of transmitters. That's the best method.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Be careful, as I think y'all are mixing up MINTHROTTLE and MINCOMMAND.

Mincommand is the level the controller needs to see from your Tx to allow you to arm the motors, if you dont reach this level the motors will not arm.

Min throttle, is the lowest set speed you motors will run at. Orginally it was set at a low level to allow the motors to turn slowly so you knew the motors were armed. You can set this figure to whatever you want from 0 to 100% power.

Max throttle is the max you can get out of your motors, can be set at a lower figure than 100% .

 

[Tphillip96]

I will try it today thanks guys.

 

[Tphillip96]

So I downloaded the new software configured for my transmitter to the board without any problems, but still the quad has no response to TX input. Maybe I am not arming the quad correctly. Not sure what to do.