Help!! New to betaflight need advice!

Kflight17

Member
Hi everyone just bought a beta flight f4 was wondering, because I’m using conventional bl heli 30 amp esc’s how do I wire them into the board? The esc’s have internal bec’s So do I just leave the red wire out of the way and only use ground and signal or does it have to be soldered in, I don’t want to smoke it, also in what order does it go I know where the ground pad is but does the white (signal) wire get soldered into m1 or rx1? That’s the biggest confusion I have any help would be great! I tried posting up a picture so you guys have an idea what I’m talking about and if anyone knows the order of how it gets soldered that would be great!
 

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w1lp33

Active member
Signal wire goes to m1. You leave the red wire out and just tape the end somewhere so it can’t short on anything. You don’t have to solder the ground to the fc if you don’t want to but it’s good practice. Rx1 should be your receiver pad
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
As @w1lp33 says, do not connect the red wire to the FC. I prefer to use heat shrink to isolate it, tape isn't always reliable. Also, in the Betaflight GUI you will have to use PWM as your ESC/Motor protocol, as that is all those ESC's can accept.
 

Kflight17

Member
Cool that’s what I thought so what would rx1 go to? Or I just don’t need it at all ? I’m flying a super basic setup literally just camera and quad
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
Cool that’s what I thought so what would rx1 go to? Or I just don’t need it at all ? I’m flying a super basic setup literally just camera and quad

One of the Rx pads will be for your receiver, which one depends on what type of receiver you're using.
 

Kflight17

Member
I’m using a spektrum serial receiver I was also going to ask isn’t there a pad I need to jump to run the spektrum rx? It runs only off 3.3 volts
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
On the pinout you can see the location J14 which has 3.3V GND and DSM2. Check the manual to see which UART that DSM2 pad is mapped to.

20170923181117-8818.jpg
 

Snarls

Gravity Tester
Mentor
One of the Rx pads will be for your receiver, which one depends on what type of receiver you're using.

Just to clarify, RX1 on this specific flight controller is for ESC telemetry, which for 32 bit BlHeli ESCs is the third wire in addition to signal (white) and ground (black). For Kflight17, you're escs are more traditional, so the third wire is 5V, which you don't want to connect to anything.

As Sean says, the J14 row is the right place for your Spektrum receiver. DSM2/DSMX is the 'signal' of your receiver, then you have 3.3V and ground. In the ports tab in betaflight you will probably have to switch the SerialRX option on for one of the UARTS. Given the proximity to RX2 (J5) on the board, I would try UART2 first. If that doesn't work, just try the other UARTS. In the configuration tab, you also need to say you are using a serial based receiver and select SPEKTRUM1024 if DSM2, or SPEKTRUM2048 if DSMX.
 
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Kflight17

Member
Okay thank you snarls that really clears things up I’m running emax bl30 amp escs I’ve read on only 2 recourses it is a 32 bit esc but I can’t find hard info to say that as a fact , I did program it to a 32 bit in betaflight configurator but even if it is do I still need the red wire anyways? And since I set up in configurator saying it is a 32 bit, if isn’t will that mess anything up ?
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
ALWAYS use the signal ground on esc's. Yes you can get away with not using it or in some cases flash the esc then remove it.

The thing is in rare cases where the power ground on the esc gets broken the full potential of your flight pack can run thru your esc and motor frying both parts.
 

Snarls

Gravity Tester
Mentor
Okay thank you snarls that really clears things up I’m running emax bl30 amp escs I’ve read on only 2 recourses it is a 32 bit esc but I can’t find hard info to say that as a fact , I did program it to a 32 bit in betaflight configurator but even if it is do I still need the red wire anyways? And since I set up in configurator saying it is a 32 bit, if isn’t will that mess anything up ?

It is really is 32 bit then you don't need the red wire, but you may like to have it. Not sure what would happen if you set it up as 32 bit in the configurator and it is not. Can you post a pic/give some details on the ESCs you have so we can check if it is 32 bit?
 

Kflight17

Member
Okay everyone so I have it powered up and I got my serial spektrum receiver bound I don’t seem to be getting anything out of it though, all my parameters are set correctly in beta flight so I’m not sure what could be wrong I get no movement as well in betaflight
 

Kflight17

Member
Yes I am 99% sure I set everything up in configurator before I soldered it all up the receiver bound up and everything correctly but I’m not sure if it’s because I have my radio in acro mode, I bought my dx6 gen2 pre owned and the serial number is locked so I can’t update the firmware for multi rotors.
 

FDS

Elite member
You should see movement on the receiver screen in Betaflight, with the FC connected to USB, when you move a stick then you get an input on the bars. That will tell you if the Uart is right. Also what receiver are you using? Some of the satellite receivers need a slightly different set up.
 

Kflight17

Member
You should see movement on the receiver screen in Betaflight, with the FC connected to USB, when you move a stick then you get an input on the bars. That will tell you if the Uart is right. Also what receiver are you using? Some of the satellite receivers need a slightly different set up.
I believe it’s the spektrum 4648 the small serial fpv racing satellite receiver no movement whatsoever as well in the receiver screen in betaflight configurator so I’m not sure what is off
 

FDS

Elite member
@ElectriSean or @PsyBorg might be able to diagnose that faster than me. I had to switch to PPM on my satellite receiver. Double check which Uart you are on in ports as well, it’s easy to get confused. Try each in turn if required, then see where you get a response.
 

w1lp33

Active member
Keep in mind you may have to plug a battery into your quad while it’s plugged into USB to see movement on the receiver tab... not all fcs will power the receiver via USB.
 
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