Help! NEWBIE DOWNUNDER: Power Pack A - Electronics

[Rodders058]

Hi One and All,
As a highschool teacher in NZ, I am keen to introduce my Year 10 (Grade 9 or10?) students to the world of flight. I am a real "newbie" to the world of RC.
At the end of the 2019 calender year, I purchased a bunch of foam board, a Power Pack A kit with Spectrum DXe controller and a FT Tiny Trainer kit from the wonderful guys at Flite Test.
Thanks to COVID (just like everyone else) my teaching program has been turned upside down. Anyway - long story short - I have finaly got around to completing the foamboard model and this evening connected all of the electronics. I am pretty confident that I have everything connected properly - apart it would seem - with the following exceptions:
1) When I tried to calibrate the esc .... nothing happened. The motor showed no sign of life.
2) Servo for the rudder works ok but is the wrong way around. (When I push the joystick to the right, the rudders makes as if to turn the plane left)
3) Elevator Servo seems to work fine.
4) THIS IS THE BIG ONE .... the motor will not work. The motor goes backwards and forwards in a jerky motion when I push the throttle forwards or the motor and turns slowly for a few revolutions. I tried to upload a video of this but it was too large.
The first image below shows the general wiring layout.
In the second image below you can see how the esc and servo's connect to the transmitter.,
Position #1 is from the esc
Position #2 is the rudder
Position #3 is the elevator

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance
Rodders058

 

[OlliePackman]

Hi One and All,
As a highschool teacher in NZ, I am keen to introduce my Year 10 (Grade 9 or10?) students to the world of flight. I am a real "newbie" to the world of RC.
At the end of the 2019 calender year, I purchased a bunch of foam board, a Power Pack A kit with Spectrum DXe controller and a FT Tiny Trainer kit from the wonderful guys at Flite Test.
Thanks to COVID (just like everyone else) my teaching program has been turned upside down. Anyway - long story short - I have finaly got around to completing the foamboard model and this evening connected all of the electronics. I am pretty confident that I have everything connected properly - apart it would seem - with the following exceptions:
1) When I tried to calibrate the esc .... nothing happened. The motor showed no sign of life.
2) Servo for the rudder works ok but is the wrong way around. (When I push the joystick to the right, the rudders makes as if to turn the plane left)
3) Elevator Servo seems to work fine.
4) THIS IS THE BIG ONE .... the motor will not work. The motor goes backwards and forwards in a jerky motion when I push the throttle forwards or the motor and turns slowly for a few revolutions. I tried to upload a video of this but it was too large.
The first image below shows the general wiring layout.
In the second image below you can see how the esc and servo's connect to the transmitter.,
Position #1 is from the esc
Position #2 is the rudder
Position #3 is the elevator

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance
Rodders058

Uh oh. Doesn't sound good. Don't know what the motor problem is, try flicking the switches around and see if it works then but no idea. The rudder needs reversing but because the dxe is such a simple transmitter it doesn't have that function unless you plug it into a computer and reprogram it I don't think. Sorry not much help, don't what to suggest.

 

[mrjdstewart]

you can reverse the controls, check your manual. it is a process of turning on Tx while moving sticks in certain manner. it's a pain but can be done. your setup looks correct and plugged in right. i would say that the timing of your ESC may have been changed. this can also be set using your sticks but it is much more complicated. i am pretty sure that the FT ESC use a BLHeli protocol so if you can find a ESC programing card that would be easiest. if that don't work then there is the possibility that the motor is shot.

good luck,

me

 

[Jonny Gum]

Normally when a motor twitches like that, it means that 1 or more wires between the esc and the motor have a bad connection. Not necessarily inside the connector, but commonly where the motor wires start winding inside the stator.

 

[Merv]

I agree with @Jonny Gum, sounds like a bad connection, gently tug on each of the 3 wires between the motor & ESC and each of the 3 plugs, sometimes there is a bad solder joint.

Sometimes it easer to change the servo horn than to reprogram things. Take off the servo horn & rotate it 180 degrees.