Issue with Orange R615X and BL Heli ESC

jfjohnny5

Junior Member
Over the weekend I assembled an FT Mustang with the C Power Pack - including the BL Heli 30 amp ESC.. I'm using a Spektrum DX6 and an Orange R615X receiver. I'm having some really odd issues with the power on process.

It seemed to bind fine, including the step of setting the throttle to 100% to initialize the ESC for the first time. However, the 'power on' process after that is... finicky. I plug in the battery, then power on the Tx; as online research shows that seems to be the way to do it with the R615X.*But the Rx doesn't reliably connect to the radio; sometimes I get lights on the Rx and servo control, sometimes I wait and nothing happens. Then, when I do get it to connect, the ESC won't arm until I power off the Tx AGAIN. Then I get the startup tones from the ESC. I can power my DX6 back on at that point and have full control - servos and throttle. I've tried it with two different Orange R615X units. Both exhibit the same behavior.

I'm thinking maybe it's something with the specific combination of the Orange receiver and the BL Heli ESC? I've used Orange receivers in the past with other ESCs and it works ok. I've got a name brand Spektrum AR610 on order (arriving Wed) to test. But, I'd like to keep using Orange receivers for the cost savings. Anyone have any advice?
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
I haven't had issues with the 615x's sometimes failing to connect . . . but . . .

ALWAYS

ALWAYS

ALWAYS

Power on your TX first, then plug in your battery.

The ONLY exception to this is at the first bind (bind plug in, power RX, Power TX in bind mode). After that, you unplug the bind plug and toss it in a box to be ignored and from then on, the TX is the first thing you turn on, and the last thing you turn off.

Your goal is to ALWAYS have a valid TX signal in the air while the thing with the tiny mower blade is powered. Modern ESCs are *USUALLY* safe if they get no signal, but I wouldn't trust it -- many modern RXs also have a "fail safe" and if you foul up this setting or do something weird (differential thrust is at the top of the "weird" list), the motor may come alive on you . . . and now you've got a mower you've got to unplug . . . so where is that plug on the FT mustang? yeah, don't risk it.

TX on -> battery on -> fly -> battery off -> TX off.
 

Jugsy

New member
What Craftydan said, Tx first! Also try binding again in case that didn't work properly the first time.
 

jfjohnny5

Junior Member
I haven't had issues with the 615x's sometimes failing to connect . . . but . . .

ALWAYS

ALWAYS

ALWAYS

Power on your TX first, then plug in your battery.

The ONLY exception to this is at the first bind (bind plug in, power RX, Power TX in bind mode). After that, you unplug the bind plug and toss it in a box to be ignored and from then on, the TX is the first thing you turn on, and the last thing you turn off.

Your goal is to ALWAYS have a valid TX signal in the air while the thing with the tiny mower blade is powered. Modern ESCs are *USUALLY* safe if they get no signal, but I wouldn't trust it -- many modern RXs also have a "fail safe" and if you foul up this setting or do something weird (differential thrust is at the top of the "weird" list), the motor may come alive on you . . . and now you've got a mower you've got to unplug . . . so where is that plug on the FT mustang? yeah, don't risk it.

TX on -> battery on -> fly -> battery off -> TX off.

Believe me, that has always been my procedure. But as I was having issues I went looking for answers online. I found lots of people indicating that with the R615X you need to do it in the reverse order. And I can tell you that I tested on multiple R615X units. The ONLY way I can get the ESC to arm is if I turn off the Tx. It seems insane to me (which is why I have a Spektrum brand on order). What I'm trying to determine is if others running this combination of Rx and ESC have the same issue.
 

jfjohnny5

Junior Member
What Craftydan said, Tx first! Also try binding again in case that didn't work properly the first time.

I've rebound on both of the units I've tried. No change. The ESC will not arm with the Tx powered on. I can't figure out what's going on...
 

Jugsy

New member
Resolder all your connections, it might be time consuming but good to eliminate the chance of a dodgy lead causing you all these headaches. Even if it doesn't help it's good practice :p
 

jfjohnny5

Junior Member
Resolder all your connections, it might be time consuming but good to eliminate the chance of a dodgy lead causing you all these headaches. Even if it doesn't help it's good practice :p

Hmm, that might help explain why the radio doesn't seem to reliably connect on the first power on, and I'm no stranger to soldering. But it wouldn't explain what I consider the more troubling issue: that the BL Heli ESC will only arm if I turn off the DX6. That happens reliably every time, as soon as I turn off the radio. That just seems so unsafe. If there is some "mismatch" with this ESC and the Orange receiver, I feel like it would be important to know.
 
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jfjohnny5

Junior Member
Ok, I figured out that the receiver failing to connect isn't random. I can reproduce the issue. Here's the sequence:

Power on Transmitter
Connect Battery
Wait for Receiver to connect
(Servos now work, but throttle doesn't)
Turn off Transmitter
ESC arms
Turn Transmitter back on
(Servos and throttle work)

Now here's the new discovery. After the flight, if I unplug the battery BEFORE I power off the Transmitter, then the next time I go through the power on sequence, the Receiver won't connect. I then need to unplug the battery and plug it in an additional time for the Receiver to connect. I tried this with two different R615X units, and was able to reproduce the problem every time on both.

If I unplug the battery before turning off the Transmitter (the way I should do it), the Receiver won't connect next time. And, as I noted earlier, the ESC won't arm unless I turn off the Transmitter after the Receiver has connected.

It's all just really... odd. I'm looking for any ideas on why the power on sequence is so weird.
 
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paulshort

Member
I have the exact same problem. The solution was to simply plug in the plane and then turn on the tx. It goes against everything I know (from back in the days of FM) but at least it works

Paul
 

jfjohnny5

Junior Member
I have the exact same problem. The solution was to simply plug in the plane and then turn on the tx. It goes against everything I know (from back in the days of FM) but at least it works

Paul

Are you using a BL Heli ESC? I have ESCs flashed with SimonK on my quad, and the same receiver works fine with those. I'm trying to narrow down the problem.
 

Spitfire222

Not a skater
For what it's worth, I have about seven R615X's and a DX7G2, and have never had any problems using the standard start-up order of transmitter first, then plane.
 

jfjohnny5

Junior Member
For what it's worth, I have about seven R615X's and a DX7G2, and have never had any problems using the standard start-up order of transmitter first, then plane.

Thanks. Yeah, I was wondering if the Transmitter could be part of the problem, and I haven't ruled it out. But seeing as I can use a normal start-up sequence on another aircraft, and the ESC is the variable there, well...
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
Thanks. Yeah, I was wondering if the Transmitter could be part of the problem, and I haven't ruled it out. But seeing as I can use a normal start-up sequence on another aircraft, and the ESC is the variable there, well...

. . . and that is the question . . .

What exactly happens?

When it "doesn't connect" what exactly is it doing?

No response from the motor, but response from the servos? No orange light from the RX and no response from the servos?

If it's the first, your ESC is clearly to blame. If it's the second, it's *probably* some misbehavior between your RX and TX.

There is a remote chance the BLHeli bootloader might be confusing the RX . . . probably not, but it's a chance. The bootloader runs in the first second or two of power to the ESC and is capable of bidirectional com on the servo line (my understanding is the EMAX BLHeli isn't but that's from some filtering on the ESC). that incoming signal on the throttle line might confuse the RX . . .

Do you have any other ESCs that you can try?

It doesn't have to be well matched to the motor to test the bind.
 

jfjohnny5

Junior Member
When it "doesn't connect" what exactly is it doing?

No response from the motor, but response from the servos? No orange light from the RX and no response from the servos?

It depends. If, at the end of the flight (or test), I unplug the battery before turning off the TX, then I get no servo or motor response, and no light on the RX when I reconnect. But if I do it in the reverse order (or just unplug the battery and plug it back in again) I get servo control, but no response from the motor. I need to deactivate the TX in order for the ESC to arm and allow motor control.

If it's the first, your ESC is clearly to blame. If it's the second, it's *probably* some misbehavior between your RX and TX.

There's part of the problem. It's both (sort of). Believe me, this is as confusing to me as it probably is to you.

There is a remote chance the BLHeli bootloader might be confusing the RX . . . probably not, but it's a chance. The bootloader runs in the first second or two of power to the ESC and is capable of bidirectional com on the servo line (my understanding is the EMAX BLHeli isn't but that's from some filtering on the ESC). that incoming signal on the throttle line might confuse the RX . . .

Do you have any other ESCs that you can try?

I might. I also ordered an F Power Pack which comes with a 12 Amp ESC. I can try that when I get home this evening.
 

jfjohnny5

Junior Member
WOW. I definitely have a bad ESC.

I hooked up the same receiver with the 12 Amp ESC and the smaller motor from the F Power Pack. I went through the bind process and set the throttle limits on the ESC per the manufacturer instructions. It worked perfectly. I could power off and on in the normal sequence, and everything worked as expected.

I then decided to take that (now confirmed as working properly) receiver back to the larger 30 Amp unit on my Mustang. I rebound it there, and it exhibited the same behavior I've described in this thread already. It was just being... odd.

I then decided to reset the throttle limits - couldn't hurt, and it was on my mind from the test I just did with the 12 Amp unit. Just like the manufacturer instructions indicated, I switched on my TX, set the throttle to the top, connected the battery, waited for the two "beep" sounds, set the throttle to the bottom, and waited for the single "beep." All seemed well. It responded just like the documentation said it should. Then I removed the battery, and I plugged it back in. Suddenly the motor spun up to full power!! It was completely ignoring the throttle inputs I gave it. I quickly unplugged the battery. Thank GOD I had the prop off!!! The ESC just went wild, despite the fact I followed the directions and had all the indicators that it was working fine.

Suffice it to say I'm going to contact support about a return of this ESC. Even though there was no prop on it, that was a terrifying experience. :(