Help! Im having ALOT of trouble

nishp11

New member
I recently build a quadcopter and moved on to the cleanflight stage but i can't seem to get anything to work. Im using the Afroflight Naze 32 board, a FrSky x8r receiver, a 11.1 v battery and four 12A simonk Lumenier ESC's. I have the ESC's and battery connected via a power distribution board; therefore, the power for the naze, thus the receiver, is going through the esc's. I also have the x8r receiver connected to the naze using sbus (it is also bound to my FrSky taranis x9d radio controller). I am running cleanflight configurator 2.4.0 and the firmware flashed onto the naze 32 is 2.3.2. When I'm in cleanflight, with the battery plugged in, it doesn't seem to be reading that their is a power source connected and doesn't show the the voltage and doesn't recognize the battery is connected. Also, i have my configuration to support my receiver by using the serial-based receiver mode (SBUS). When i go to the receiver tab and move the AETR on my taranis radio cleanflight doesn't seem to be recognizing it even though my receiver is bound (none of the cleanflight displays move) . However, i was able to configure my motors and i can manually turn them on in the motors tab. I have no idea what to do. I've looked at all of my connections and soldering points and have watched dozens of youtube videos and visited many blogs but have made much progress. I did read in the firmware notes that features for the naze 32 are disabled in the newer firmwares but that's about all i know. Hope someone can help.
 

FDS

Elite member
You need to check the Uarts are right, you should also check that you have the right Sbus lead connected to the board, check the pins on the receiver are the right ones for Sbus OUT not SBUS in. The X8r is really designed for planes and wings, it’s not a commonly used receiver in a quad, its huge vs a tiny Sbus one, I assume you are using it for camera control as well? If not then a smaller XM+ is lighter and simpler to connect.
If your receiver is bound but not reading in cleanflight then it’s the wiring between the receiver and the flight controller or the FC configuration that is your problem.
Your battery won’t necessarily show or make any difference if you can’t arm the quad or have a connection to Vbat for the FC to read the battery voltage.
You need to get the receiver working, then set failsafe and arming switches (PROPS OFF ON THE BENCH) before looking at the motors.
Fix the receiver, then check your power supply for the flight controller is right, there should be a smoother power out for the FC on the PDB, usually Vbat if your board supports it or 5v from the Bec. You shouldn’t solder your FC power to an ESC pad or the main battery pad, it’s a good way to pick up a ton of ‘noise’ on the power supply.
If you break it down it’s a couple of small problems.
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
The Naze only takes 5V in, connected to any of the 5V pads on the motor outputs. There is a vbat pin, but that is just for monitoring, you need to connect 5V from your PDB. Connect the full battery voltage to the vbat pin and enable vbat monitoring for Cleanflight to be able to see it. Also note that there are only 2 UARTS on that board, and UART1 is used for the USB connection, you have to use #2 for SerialRx.
 

nishp11

New member
You need to check the Uarts are right, you should also check that you have the right Sbus lead connected to the board, check the pins on the receiver are the right ones for Sbus OUT not SBUS in. The X8r is really designed for planes and wings, it’s not a commonly used receiver in a quad, its huge vs a tiny Sbus one, I assume you are using it for camera control as well? If not then a smaller XM+ is lighter and simpler to connect.
If your receiver is bound but not reading in cleanflight then it’s the wiring between the receiver and the flight controller or the FC configuration that is your problem.
Your battery won’t necessarily show or make any difference if you can’t arm the quad or have a connection to Vbat for the FC to read the battery voltage.
You need to get the receiver working, then set failsafe and arming switches (PROPS OFF ON THE BENCH) before looking at the motors.
Fix the receiver, then check your power supply for the flight controller is right, there should be a smoother power out for the FC on the PDB, usually Vbat if your board supports it or 5v from the Bec. You shouldn’t solder your FC power to an ESC pad or the main battery pad, it’s a good way to pick up a ton of ‘noise’ on the power supply.
If you break it down it’s a couple of small problems.

My x8r receiver is connected to the ground, power, and UART 2 port (4) on the naze 32 and is connected into the sbus port on the actual receiver. I checked the soldering points and they are fully intact. In cleanflight, the ports tab reads uart 2 and serial rx is enabled along with sbus in the configurations tab. As for the power source, the battery voltage is being transferred through the 5v BEC. However, all power wires on the ESC are connected to the naze. Is it possible that all four are interfering with each other fighting over which one should send the 5v?? Should i only have one signal with connected to naze for all three ESCs?
 

FDS

Elite member
The signal wires for the ESC’s usually have individual pads on the FC board or PDB, the ESC power wires usually go to the PDB only.
We will need pictures of your wiring, it sounds like you are really crossed up here. Do not plug a battery into that without a smoke stopper.
It’s the pins on the RECEIVER that you need to be more sure of with the RX, it sounds like the FC end of that might be right. Again, why are you using that receiver vs SBUS only mini ones?
I have no idea why people are still using these terrible old boards, F4 is resoundingly under $25 now, even AIO boards can be got for that.
 

nishp11

New member
The signal wires for the ESC’s usually have individual pads on the FC board or PDB, the ESC power wires usually go to the PDB only.
We will need pictures of your wiring, it sounds like you are really crossed up here. Do not plug a battery into that without a smoke stopper.
It’s the pins on the RECEIVER that you need to be more sure of with the RX, it sounds like the FC end of that might be right. Again, why are you using that receiver vs SBUS only mini ones?
I have no idea why people are still using these terrible old boards, F4 is resoundingly under $25 now, even AIO boards can be got for that.

There are a couple image of my PDB, how the esc are connected to the Naze, and my receiver setup. I actually bought all of this stuff a few years ago and burnt out a PDB. It took my a while to order a new one so it just sat on my shelf for a while. I am planning on making this an FPV quadcopter but i want to be able to set it up without the FPV portion first. I am aware that the board is outdated. This is the same case with the receiver. Its just been sitting with the other parts. I was hoping i could still use them to make a simple quad at least but it seems like it may just be worth it to buy a new board and receiver.
IMG_5716.JPG
IMG_5717.JPG

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IMG_5715.jpg
 

nishp11

New member
There are a couple image of my PDB, how the esc are connected to the Naze, and my receiver setup. I actually bought all of this stuff a few years ago and burnt out a PDB. It took my a while to order a new one so it just sat on my shelf for a while. I am planning on making this an FPV quadcopter but i want to be able to set it up without the FPV portion first. I am aware that the board is outdated. This is the same case with the receiver. Its just been sitting with the other parts. I was hoping i could still use them to make a simple quad at least but it seems like it may just be worth it to buy a new board and receiver. View attachment 136309 View attachment 136310
View attachment 136307 View attachment 136308
I misspoke on the previous message. I meant the servo cables not the power cables sorry
 
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FDS

Elite member
You also want the ESC’s out on the arms, they will make less electrical noise out there and give you more space around the FC. My version of that frame has them set up like this.
image.jpg
Also it’s much safer to have the PDB on top of the quad, with the FC stacked on top, otherwise your wires are going to get snagged and bashed every time you land. The bottom plate should look like this-
image.jpg
The FC should also be pointing the right way, you want the arrow on the board facing forward.
Nylon stack mounts are safer and rubber mounts for the FC are a good idea too.
That RX really isn’t great for quads, it’s too large and you aren’t using any of the PWM outputs which are it’s main asset. A simple XM+ will do a better job on the quad and be lighter as well, they are tiny.
Your ESC signal wires look like they are plugged in right.
I also notice many wiring diagrams for this board show PPM for the receiver, not SBUS.
3838D902-5E18-42D9-B867-F50C51917B04.png
@ElectriSean am I getting this right?
It looks like it has a 5V in rail that it uses from the Becs on the ESC’s?
If you decide to look for something more modern I would get a well documented All in One F4 board, which does away with the PDB and is usually simpler to wire. Find one that has good wiring diagrams or lots of build videos on YouTube, it will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.
 
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nishp11

New member
Yea I would put the ESC's on the arms but the wires just arent long enough. So if im understanding you, it seems like the naze 32 and x8r are to outdated and their are much better options online? I was hoping that I wouldn't have to spend much money to finish this build but I may just need to buy a new board and receiver. Do you have any recommendations on which boards and receivers will work best for an FPV quadcopter?? Thanks for the help.
 

nishp11

New member
You also want the ESC’s out on the arms, they will make less electrical noise out there and give you more space around the FC. My version of that frame has them set up like this.
View attachment 136313
Also it’s much safer to have the PDB on top of the quad, with the FC stacked on top, otherwise your wires are going to get snagged and bashed every time you land. The bottom plate should look like this-
View attachment 136315
The FC should also be pointing the right way, you want the arrow on the board facing forward.
Nylon stack mounts are safer and rubber mounts for the FC are a good idea too.
That RX really isn’t great for quads, it’s too large and you aren’t using any of the PWM outputs which are it’s main asset. A simple XM+ will do a better job on the quad and be lighter as well, they are tiny.
Your ESC signal wires look like they are plugged in right.
I also notice many wiring diagrams for this board show PPM for the receiver, not SBUS.
View attachment 136321
@ElectriSean am I getting this right?
It looks like it has a 5V in rail that it uses from the Becs on the ESC’s?
If you decide to look for something more modern I would get a well documented All in One F4 board, which does away with the PDB and is usually simpler to wire. Find one that has good wiring diagrams or lots of build videos on YouTube, it will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.
Also wondering why PWM would be better than SBUS??
 

FDS

Elite member
The Naze 32 doesn’t appear to support SBUs. It’s not better it’s just old. Try enabling PWM in Cleanflight, make the receiver PWM by following the manual, some use the bind plug to switch modes. That might get you Stick response.
You can extend the ESC power wires, either by de soldering at the board and adding a new length or by soldering more onto the ends. If you have lots of ESC noise your quad won’t fly as well and the FPV feed will be awful. 14 or 16AWG silicone insulated wire is not expensive. That and some heatshrink tube is all you need. You can add a capacitor to the battery in terminal or to each ESC power lead to reduce noise as well.
As it is I would not fly that quad, even if it was working. It’s potentially unsafe and likely to be unreliable. It could be made to work with the parts you have, but you do need to make the wiring safe.
 

nishp11

New member
In order to wire the x8r for PWM would i need to have a ground and power wire along with 6 signal wires from channels 1-6 and then a jumper on signal wires 7 and 8?? Im pretty new to this if you couldn't tell. Thanks
 

FDS

Elite member
No you wouldn’t, look at the manual. It uses the rssi 3 wire outputs I think, there’s a way to put out a PWM signal not Sbus.
I am looking for some write ups that might help.
You are trying to cram a load of very mismatched, uncommon and old components together, not a recipe for a good quad build. This stuff is hard! I have built 4 quads from scratch in 8 months, I wouldn’t touch any of the parts in your build except the frame. When starting you want proven, common and only 1 generation behind parts. No need to be too near the bleeding edge of the technology but widely used and proven parts make set up much easier.
That receiver is perfect for a plane tho.
 
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FDS

Elite member
I would settle for understanding it well enough to help people set them up!
I am currently watching this video from Project Blue Falcon who was always excellent. OP, this might explain things.
 

ElectriSean

Eternal Student
Mentor
@ElectriSean am I getting this right?
It looks like it has a 5V in rail that it uses from the Becs on the ESC’s?

Yup, you can connect the 5V either from the BEC or PDB... Honestly it's been so long since I saw an ESC on a quad with a BEC I kinda forgot about that, even though it's exactly how my Versacopter is wired.

I'm pretty sure that the X8R only outputs SBUS and PWM. I didn't know that the Naze didn't support SBUS, I was still running Spektrum and CPPM at the time. Poor versa hasn't flown for years ;) @nishp11 is correct, for PWM you need 1 signal wire per channel between the Rx and FC. You can use all 8 channels, no jumpers required.
 

FDS

Elite member
It looks like SBUS is supported by the Naze32. OP, did you check that your connections to the RX were the right way around? The servo plug from the FC can be put on the receiver or board “upside down” which will put the wires wrong for making it work. Your receiver end is right, double check the board. Also check your CPU load, if it’s too high nothing will work.
Honestly, a good F4 All In One like the Matek F405 AIO is less than $30 and way better to fly, set up and use.
 
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nishp11

New member
It looks like SBUS is supported by the Naze32. OP, did you check that your connections to the RX were the right way around? The servo plug from the FC can be put on the receiver or board “upside down” which will put the wires wrong for making it work. Your receiver end is right, double check the board. Also check your CPU load, if it’s too high nothing will work.
Honestly, a good F4 All In One like the Matek F405 AIO is less than $30 and way better to fly, set up and use.
I wired the ground and power wires to the correct ports on the FC and wired the signal wire to port 4. I actually followed Project Blue Falcons tutorial but the radio controller movements didn't show up in cleanflight. Im not quite sure how to figure out if my CPU load is too high.
 

FDS

Elite member
Look at Cleanflight, the CPU load should be in the same place as on Betaflight. No idea what else to suggest with this, there’s a lot of potential problems. The next stage is to make a PWM connection instead and see if that shows up or try a new receiver or FC.