Flite Test Electrohub Trouble - Flip 1.5 Board

[Tphillip96]

Here are my new values with new Muliwii Config software jhitesma recommend.

Here's a modified version I was given by one of the MW dev's that will display RX values from 900-2100 so you can check if your radio is doing values outside the normal 1000-2000 range: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ooi50kdpt...iConf.zip?dl=0

This is the left stick pulled all the way back (zero throttle) and all the way right (full right yaw).

 

[joshuabardwell]

Well, I have no idea. You need to get below 1100 to arm, and you are well below 1000. Your channel endpoints should technically actually come in about 50 us each. I checked your ACC and it looks (I think) like it is reading properly too. In other words, the ACC is telling the FC that the copter is more or less level, which is another thing that can sometimes prevent arming. The GYR is reading 0/0/0 as well.

I don't understand why the FC is not arming.

EDIT: Wait. I think "right" on Yaw should equate to increased PPM time, not decreased. In other words, the yaw channel should go up, but it is going down. Have you tried reversing your yaw channel on your TX?

 

[Tphillip96]

Where can I find MinCheck and MaxCheck?

 

[Tphillip96]

EDIT: Wait. I think "right" on Yaw should equate to increased PPM time, not decreased. In other words, the yaw channel should go up, but it is going down. Have you tried reversing your yaw channel on your TX?

Nope I will now, Thanks

 

[Tphillip96]

Thank You joshuabardwell,It was as simple as reversing the Rudder. I can arm the quad now!
But the The Back right and Front Right seemed to have trouble they kept spinning in spurts. While the front left and back left motors started up.

I can make a video as soon as i can if you guys want.

 

[jhitesma]

Where can I find MinCheck and MaxCheck?

Those are in the multiwii.h file - there's a little arrow in the upper right of the arduino window that will bring up a list of all files in the sketch.

It looks like your RC values are going considerably lower than 1000, since you can't adjust those I'd say for sure you want to change your mincheck/maxcheck to match what your radio is doing. The minthrottle/maxthrottle/mincommad should be ok with the settings from Pauls default sketch since those are based on the ESC's. Be sure to check your max values with that version of the config as well to see if they're going over 2000, if so you'll want to adjust the maxcheck accordingly.

The two motors spinning up and two not spinning up is a sign that your ESC's need to be calibrated. So you'll want to do the deal with taking off your props (If you haven't already...really at this point there's no reason to have props on yet.) then uncommenting the ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY option in config.h, flashing the controller - powering it up and letting the ESC's do their beeping thing as they calibrate, then recomment that line (put the "//" back in front of it) and flash again. Then your ESC's should be calibrated and assuming you changed your min/max check you should be almost ready.

Considering that your rudder was reversed though I'd double check all of the channels to make sure they're right up and right should make values go up, down and left should make them go down. If any channels don't respond correctly reverse them.

Then with min/maxcheck setup as explained above and the ESC's calibrated and your channels all going in the right direction you should be ready to put some props on and test fly.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Thank You joshuabardwell,It was as simple as reversing the Rudder. I can arm the quad now!
But the The Back right and Front Right seemed to have trouble they kept spinning in spurts. While the front left and back left motors started up.

Have you done ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY?

 

[Tphillip96]

Have you done ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY?

No how is this done and where do I find it?

 

[Tphillip96]

No I have not.

BTW, on a side note, if your transmitter endpoints are this far off from that the MW is doing, make sure you have calibrated your ESC's using the ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY method before doing this, and definitely before flying.

What is the method. How is it Done?

 

[Tphillip96]

I see your older post on this -

You need to download the sketch file from RTFquads web site. He has a link on the MW Flip 1.5's page to a DropBox folder with all that info, including a zip file containing the Arduino Sketch file he uses.

Changing your quad from X to Plus or whatever is no big deal. Just upload the correct sketch file from RTFquads' web site. No harm done.

Calibrating your ESC's through your transmitter is not ideal. The transmitter and the FC do not have the exact same endpoints. You need to do the calibration using ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY if at all possible. Remember, the steps are:

Uncomment ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY in config.h
Upload the sketch to the FC.
FC will now reboot and try to calibrate, but it won't work, because the ESC's are not in calibration mode.
Un-plug the battery, powering down both ESCs and FC
Plug the battery back in. ESCs and FC will power on at the same time. ESCs will now calibrate.
Comment out ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY in config.h
Upload the sketch to the FC


Afterwards, do some testing to be sure that all of the ESC's calibrated. I have had it happen that one ESC somehow "misses" and needs to be re-calibrated. It may be productive to power-cycle the FC and ESC's several times in order to be sure all ESCs get calibrated.

EDIT: BTW, the NormalQuadX should be okay. I believe the spider quad uses QuadX by default. But the standard config.h file may not have the Baro and Mag options enabled, if you got your Flip with those.

- But I am not exactly sure what you mean when you say "comment" and "comment out"

Sorry about the early confusion, It must get really annoying when Muti-roter newbies like me come along and ask the same exact question the last 10 people asked.

 

[joshuabardwell]

To comment out a line in C++ (the programming language used by Arduino), put two slashes in front of it. This causes the compiler to ignore it.

// this line ignored
this line not ignored

This is commonly used to enable or disable options.

#define ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY  
//#define THIS_OPTION_IS_DISABLED

You will need the Arduino IDE, which I believe you should have, if you have MW Config GUI working, because I believe you need the driver that comes with Arduino for MW Config GUI to talk to the FC. Open the sketch (.ino file), navigate to the config.h tab, make any modifications, and re-upload the file to the FC.

 

[Tphillip96]

I completed the ESC_CALIB_CANNOT_FLY 2 times. Each time the FC made different sounds but when I armed the quad the I still got the same problem. The Back right and Front Right seemed to have trouble they kept spinning in spurts. While the front left and back left motors started up.

- This happens to be the two moters where I switched the leads on.

Thanks

 

[joshuabardwell]

- This happens to be the two moters where I switched the leads on

Sorry--we seem to have skipped ahead past an important step. Are you 100% sure your motors are turning the right direction, that your props are correct (CW vs. CCW) for the direction the motor is turning, and that the props are on right side up?



It can sometimes be hard for me to remember whether a "standard" prop is CW or CCW, so use this as a visual guide:

 

[Tphillip96]

Are you 100% sure your motors are turning the right direction, that your props are correct (CW vs. CCW) for the direction the motor is turning,

No, As you know I am flying a quad and D9,D10 and D11 are going in the opposite direction, and I currently have no props on it. Out of those D9 and D10 happens to be the two moters where I switched the leads on. I Did this because The Flight Test "Electrohub Build" Video Told me to do such.

This is a Picture of the Leads Switched -


And This is one of the working moters without the leads switched -

 

[joshuabardwell]

If you swap the leads on the ESC, you must be 100% sure that you wired the motor leads straight-through. Since the motor leads are not colored, this would be an easy mistake to make. The way three-phase motors work is, if you swap any two leads, you reverse the direction. So if you swap twice, you end up going the same direction as if you made no swaps. Anyway, this is not a big deal, but you must confirm that your motors are spinning as shown in the diagram above. I'm not sure what you mean when you say D9, D10, and D11 are "going the opposite direction". If they are, all three, going the opposite direction of D3, then at least one of them is going the wrong way.

Don't fret. This is an easy fix. Just a bit of soldering and away you go. It's frustrating to have to go back and re-do something you thought was done, but it's just part of the game with RC flight. You'll be in the air in no time.

 

[Tphillip96]

Ok Thanks Great, what I meant when I said D9, D10, and D11 are "going the opposite direction".I meant based on the model they are going in the opposite direction.

 

[makattack]

Uhm.... I would seriously consider re-insulating those motor to ESC connections. Are they bullets you have soldered to them or did you solder the wires together and wrap electrical tape around them? In the first picture, I swear I see exposed metal on that blue lead. The photo is a little blurry and dark, but it looks like shiny wire to me. That's kind of risky if one of the other wires touch it, you can damage your ESC and motor.

Hopefully, you have bullets, so it's a easy job swap two of the leads to get the right motor direction.

Instead of electrical tape, you may want to make a minor investment in some shrink tubing or even liquid tape (but shrink tubing is less messy and easier to apply) -- it shouldn't cost too much to get a selection of different sizes all in a neat little box. Amazon or ebay might be places you can buy them from if there's not an electronics store near you. Heck, Home Depot have shrink tubing of different sizes suitable for electronics.

You just need a hair dryer, lighter, or even your soldering iron to shrink it down. With bullets, most people shrink the male and female parts so that when they are connected tight, there's no exposed metal.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Uhm.... I would seriously consider re-insulating those motor to ESC connections. Are they bullets you have soldered to them or did you solder the wires together and wrap electrical tape around them?

Oh, gosh! I assumed that was heat shrink that hadn't been shrunk yet. Gosh yes, get some heat shrink, although now it's too late unless you want to desolder everything. In lieu of heat shrink, use liquid electrical tape. Don't rely on regular electrical tape, which will never stay in place.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Ok Thanks Great, what I meant when I said D9, D10, and D11 are "going the opposite direction".I meant based on the model they are going in the opposite direction.

Well, now you know the problem, so there's that at least.

 

[jhitesma]

If it's all soldered and that is electrical tape there is one other option - Self fusing silicone repair tape. I've seen it at home depot and lowes in the electrical department and while I've kept a roll or two on hand for years I've really become enamored of it lately. It's really neat stuff, it's not sticky and leaves no residue - but it bonds to itself and can't be removed once it's applied without cutting it off. Yet removing it is really easy - just run a razor over it lightly and it will split and come off clean and easy. The trick to applying it is that it only sticks to itself and you need to stretch it to help activate it. I've been using it to wrap my ESC's to the arms on my Twitchity quad and love it. I also use it to hold some wires and stuff on my knuckle quad and it's worked very well for me. It's a bit expensive compared to regular electrical tape but all around works way better.