Gremlin - Info Not Showing Up in Betaflight

[Gryf]

Hi -

I just finished my Gremlin build, and am setting it up in Betaflight using TJ's walkthrough. I've verified that the board is good (meaning, the onscreen "quad" follows all movements of the real thing), and have bound it to my radio successfully. I've set up the appropriate radio specs in Betaflight, but when I power up the quad, bind it, plug in the USB cable, connect, and go to "Receiver" in the Configurator, I don't see any readings for the various channels. See the picture below. Actually, the colored bars appear for a split second and then go away. Any advice would be welcome!

Thanks in advance,

Gryf

[EDIT: Now the USB channel is failing to recognize the Gremlin when I connect it. Argh... Did the board go bad all of a sudden?]

 

[ElectriSean]

The USB connection problem is probably Windoze killing your drivers, try the driver fixer from here: https://impulserc.com/pages/downloads

The receiver tab problem is usually caused by a conflict between the configurator and firmware. Using the new standalone configurator (not the chrome app) flash the latest stable firmware and the problem should go away.

 

[Gryf]

Thanks! I'll try that.

Gryf

 

[Gryf]

Well, that's odd. I installed the "real" version of Betaflight vs. the Google App, ran the driver fixer as you suggested, and the controller connected to my PC just fine. I was even able to update the firmware. Then the connection failed, and any time I plug it in now, it says "USB device not recognized" as before... plus, there are no lights on the board. Same thing when I power it via the battery pack. So it only works briefly before going dark. Hope I didn't fry the board... The soldering went just fine, and straight by the book. Guess I'll get my high-powered magnifiers back on for a look at the soldering.

Gryf

 

[dunnke]

Good luck with it. I had issues with my Gremlin too. My money is on the (my) Flight controller being bad. All else worked but refused to recognize the receiver. New FC on the way but it's not the FEMTO board. Decided to go with something different with better documentation. If it doesn't fit. . .well it will fit. LoL

 

[Gryf]

I just took a closer look at the soldering - see below. Not exactly beautiful, but all the joints are sound with no visible bridging. However, when I hit it with the test probes, I'm showing continuity between power and ground. DRAT. Looks like a new board is in order. Next time I'll do the continuity check before I even solder anything...

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm testing these points with the camera leads soldered in. The continuity I'm seeing might be via the camera. Hm... I may de-solder the camera leads and try again. [EDIT: I just checked the build video again, and TJ checks continuity with the camera installed. So much for that idea.]

Gryf

 

[ElectriSean]

It looks like there may be some flux on the board, which can cause problems. Give it a quick wash with IPA and a soft toothbrush and allow it to dry completely and try it again.

 

[Gryf]

It looks like there may be some flux on the board, which can cause problems. Give it a quick wash with IPA and a soft toothbrush and allow it to dry completely and try it again.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Yes, I brushed the pads with liquid flux before soldering. I'll give it a shot -

Thanks!

Gryf

PS: IPA? India Pale Ale? ;-) Oh, wrong alcohol...

 

[dunnke]

Was working, stopped working. . .sounds like the voltage regulator took a vacay. If you want to meter it out, see attached.

 

[Gryf]

@ ElectriSean and anybody else - Thanks, cleaning the flux residue off the board seems to have corrected the previous problems. Betaflight's working great. Now I'm at the point where I need to reverse a couple of the motors in BLHeli. The pic below shows what I'm seeing - "Unknown ESC," etc., and "Read Setup" isn't working as in TJ's demo. Any ideas?

Gryf

 

[PsyBorg]

For the Gremlin esc's use the bl heli configurator not BL heli suite. The configurator was a chrome app and still opens if you already have it. If not the new stand alone version is here...

https://github.com/blheli-configurator/blheli-configurator

 

[Gryf]

Thanks, PsyBorg. I've switched to the standalone BLHeli Configurator, but the connection is still failing. See below for the log from BLHeli. I've updated the drivers as mentioned above, by the way. Also, when I plug in the Gremlin the comm port automatically sets to my USB.

Connect
Hide Log
2018-01-17 @ 20:04:55 -- Running - OS: Windows, Chrome: 63.0.3239.108, Configurator: 1.1.0
2018-01-17 @ 20:05:10 --
2018-01-17 @ 20:05:29 --
2018-01-17 @ 20:06:04 -- Serial port successfully opened with ID: 1
2018-01-17 @ 20:06:04 -- MultiWii API version received - 1.36.0
2018-01-17 @ 20:06:06 -- Flight controller info, identifier: BTFL, version: 3.2.4
2018-01-17 @ 20:06:06 -- Running firmware released on: Jan 10 2018 23:10:00
2018-01-17 @ 20:06:06 -- Board: SPEV, version: 0
2018-01-17 @ 20:06:07 -- Unique device ID received - 0x3f00254334571120333733
2018-01-17 @ 20:06:14 -- Connection failed, ensure that you have selected the correct port or restart your device

Thanks again. I'm getting there! This is my first time building a quad, first time with Betaflight and BLHeli, etc. Hopefully once these initial bugs are worked out I'll have everything ready for future builds.

Gryf

 

[ElectriSean]

Do all the motors spin up through the betaflight motors tab? If so, are you disconnected in betaflight when trying to use the BLHeli configurator? Only one can be connected at a time.

 

[Gryf]

Yes, the motors work fine in Betaflight, individually and all at once, so the ESCs are certainly functional. Basically everything is set up and working, except for the need to reverse the right-hand motors' direction in BLHeli.

Gryf

 

[Gryf]

Okay, progress. BLHeli seems to be really fussy about what order things are powered up and plugged in, but I finally got it to connect... I was able to reverse motors as needed, and flashed the ESCs with the latest firmware while I was at it.

Now the only thing remaining - the motors don't respond to my radio when armed. I have ARM set on AUX1, and with the switch in the specified position (as seen below) there's nothing when I hit the throttle. Note that all controls (including the throttle) show normal inputs in Betaflight, and the motors run great when connected, via the Betaflight sliders.

Thanks again for all the help!

Gryf

 

[makattack]

Since you're flying in angle mode, did you calibrate your accelerometers? Are they enabled?

 

[ElectriSean]

Now the only thing remaining - the motors don't respond to my radio when armed. I have ARM set on AUX1, and with the switch in the specified position (as seen below) there's nothing when I hit the throttle. Note that all controls (including the throttle) show normal inputs in Betaflight, and the motors run great when connected, via the Betaflight sliders.
View attachment 100659

Notice in your shot of the modes tab the arm mode isn't yellow, like angle mode is, even though the switch is showing in the correct position. This means that it isn't actually armed, betaflight prevents arming in certain situations. Luckily there are only a few things that cause this, outlined in this video:

 

[Gryf]

Bingo!

Thanks for that last - I found that my minimum throttle setting exceeded min_check. Now it's working great! :-D

This is all really good stuff to know. TJ's tutorial was excellent, but of course he'd set up all the software beforehand and knows the apps inside and out. For us noobs the road's a little rockier.

Gryf

 

[ElectriSean]

Spend a couple of weekends with Joshua Bardwell and Painless360 on YouTube, they both have tons of excellent tutorials. It's such a deep topic that FT could never fit it all into a build video.

Happy flying

 

[Gryf]

Yeah, I've watched a lot of Joshua's stuff. He knows whereof he speaks.

Gryf