Flite Test Mobula 6 Bundle, can't get binding to work

[Peevester]

I just purchased the mobula 6 bundle as my first non-toy quad, and the learning curve is hitting me in the face, HARD. Here comes a ton of detail!

I found your guide, and actually had the mobula 6 bound, but it immediately did something obnoxious - the throttle would get it to lift off, but the moment I touched the right stick, it would dive for the ground at high speed. At this point, I went off book, and that may be where things went wrong (er, almost definitely where things went wrong).

I found another guide on youtube for how to set up flight modes, using betaflight. I found in the app that there was a "flip over after crash" set up on aux 2 (where I wanted the mode switch), which sounded ... bad, so I removed that, and set up Arm, Angle, and Horizon mode. Betaflight happily lit up when I selected horizon mode, but would not go into angle mode (which seems like where I should be starting), and whenever aux2 was in that position, dive for ground immediately, I assume it's in default, acrobatic mode.

My first thought was that I had old firmware, and I did according to betaflight, so I went to happymodel's site and downloaded the current firmware, 4.4.2. This worked fine, and betaflight showed that everything was updated, the preview showed the picture of the drone in the same orientation as I was holding it, all appeared good. So back to those receiver settings ... except the receiver is no longer connected.

OK, the video that walked me through the firmware update said that the firmware had to match on the transmitter and receiver. So, I downloaded the current firmware for the Pocket (EdgeTX-Pocket-CC2500-(FCC_and_LBT)-2.10.5-Factroy-SD-Content-2024-10-23), attached to the top port with USB, selected "SD CARD", which mounts the firmware drive on my desktop. I did a select all and dropped the files on the SD image (called NO_NAME), and waited a bit. After finishing the copy and closing the connection (safely remove hardware), the radio rebooted, and it was clearly updated (no more games in the setup menu).

So, back to your guide, setting up the radio in MULTI-FRSKY D-D8, and tried a bind. The drone just blinks its lights (red and blue for a bit, then red and green, and cycling back through that every few seconds), and the bind attempt times out on the receiver. This is where I am now. I tried to start up ExpressLRS, but it just stays in "LOADING" forever. I saw how the instructions say that this is because the internal radio is off, but it's definitely on in setup. So, if the key to getting things working now is in ExpressLRS on the Pocket, I'm at wit's end.

I really want to kick myself for doing a firmware reset. I was hoping it would free up Angle mode, but I could have at least been experimenting with Horizon mode had I not jumped in with both feet. Any suggestions what to try next?

 

[LitterBug]

So you probably erased the radio setup in betaflight when you updated the firmware. Did you happen to back up the betafloght settings BEFORE updating? Send a screenshot of the receiver tab in betaflight. We can probably have you tweak a few settings to get the receiver working again.

 

[Peevester]

Well, when I started the process of flashing, I did the drone first, and before I did that, it asked me to take a backup first. I saved this file, but it doesn't have anything receiver-related in it. It's attached.

I also attached the current receiver tab, with the drone connected via USB and responding in preview. Thanks for responding!

 

[LitterBug]

set rx_spi_protocol = FRSKY_D

There are a few parameters in the flash file relating to FrSky. Try changing the Serial receiver protocol to FRSKY

 

[Peevester]

I did the first thing you suggested (changed the provider and turned on telemetry), and now betaflight won't connect. The lights on the drone have changed too, they're now solid red-green, even when holding down the bind button or doing the three power cycles. I think the drone has gotten itself wedged at reboot. Is there a force recovery thing I can do? Binding to the radio doesn't work either.

EDIT: I went through DFU mode, and got the drone recovered by reflashing the image, and then using the saved settings file (the one I attached earlier) to get the configuration back to a known state. I set JUST the protocol this time to CSRF (I think I also changed the receiver mode to SPI instead of UART, because I liked the sound of "internal receiver"), saved and reloaded, no dice. The lights are flashing green red and blue like before, and betaflight recognizes the drone, but bind still times out.

 

[Peevester]

OK, I also tried setting the spi protocol via the CLI (entered command, followed by SAVE). No change.

I know I'm not using the receiver firmware that shipped with the device from FliteTest (there are no longer any games on the SYS menu). Is there a place I can download that image, so at least I know the Pocket is set up properly? There was some change to the display, but no bind.

 

[alan0043]

Hi Everyone, This video just came out about 23 hours ago. Maybe of some help.

 

[Peevester]

Watched it before I wrote anything. Edit: actually I got in trouble originally, just before it came out. Apparently I had "flip over" mode activated, with no idea what it was for or that it was active, so the drone was completely uncontrollable. Then I put it aside for a day, and by the time I had done the reflashing and it went wrong, there was the video, explaining stuff that I wish I knew on the first day!

also note on my last comment: the chart that shows radio signal positions was blank before I switched to CSRF, but now has what the bars used to look like when the radio was working. The difference being, the bars don't move, they probably show the last setting the drone received (or was recorded in beta flight) since everything is centered and there's just a tiny bit of throttle. The preview's orientation doesn't match the drone in this view either, but it does on the setup page.

 

[LitterBug]

So I may be misinformed about the RX protocol. Is it supposed to be FrSky or ELRS?

 

[Peevester]

I have no idea what this actually means, but the video says FrSky D just like your command line, and the box on the mobula 6 says "Frsky edition".

I asked earlier if there is a place I can download firmware images matching exactly how FliteTest shipped the devices, so I can return them to "out of the box" configuration, and then go through the video. Since you're opening the packages and doing configuration (which I didn't know because the video wasn't out yet), I assume there's a workstaton somewhere in your shop with some HEX or BIN files that would be exactly what I need.

 

[AIRFORGE]

@Peevester
You can contact FT Store Support, explain your issues and ask them to email you a copy of the default dump file for the Mob 6.
You have the red FT branded Pocket, correct? They may have the files for that also, if needed.
FT Store Support Link

 

[Peevester]

My version came with transparent cases for both the drone and the handheld. I'm going to see what the store can do.

EDIT: I sent a request via store support, we'll see what happens! If I can get the images and restoring them gets everything working, I'll write an article for you guys on the process. Getting DFU mode to work on the Mobula 6 (hold down boot while connecting the micro-USB cable) was a fun finger exercise!

This is what I sent:
My order was fine, and I think all of the hardware is perfectly functional. Problem is, after having a problem with constant instant crashes (I believe now that "flip over" mode was turned on, and didn't know because the help video wasn't out quite yet), I reflashed both the drone and the receiver with factory firmware. After doing that, the two will not bind, presumably due to a version mismatch.

A moderator of your forum, Airforge, suggested I contact sales support to get a copy of the firmware images as shipped from FliteTest, so I can restore both devices to the state they were in when I originally received them. More on the forum thread: https://forum.flitetest.com/index.p...bula-6-bundle-cant-get-binding-to-work.77168/

Can you do this for me? I would rather not do a return, since everything is working, and at this point I have all the procedures for reflashing down pat.In fact, I may write an article for you documenting the process, if this all works. Thanks in advance!

 

[Peevester]

No response. I guess my stuff is going to get dusty.

 

[LitterBug]

I was thinking about picking one up. I'll post the default diff file when it gets here.

 

[Bricks]

This is from Happy Model website original CLI dump, is this what your are looking for? It only shows ELRS protocol?

https://www.happymodel.cn/index.php/2021/08/26/original-firmware-and-diff-document-for-mobula6-elrs/

 

[Peevester]

Nope! I am looking for the setup as provided by Flite test. Using the manufacturer firmware is what got me into trouble. Also, the current modula6 package is frsky, not elrs.

the store support folks are working on it, but I'm still broken for now.

 

[LitterBug]

So looks like the mobula 6 has come with several different FCs over time. The FlySky vesion appears to have had an FC with a SPI RX built in. looks like the proper firmware to flash may be:

(Flysky SPI RX version) CRAZYBEE F4 Lite V3.1 Flysky version Firmware target: CrazybeeF4FS
Onboard Flysky SPI receiver Version

SPI BUS receiver
Protocol: AFHDS and AFHDS-2A Switchable
Channels: 8ch(AFHDS) or 14ch(AFHDS-2A)

Make sure you have the firmware version ending in "FS" for FlySky


It's a combination of the firmware AND the settings.....

 

[BorisTheSpider]

The Mobula6 on the FT Store is FrSky. I am working on getting the files uploaded here. For now, they will be sent directly to Peevester.