Newbie looking for some help with electronics

[jjaymick]

I ordered the following components.

Tattu 850mAh 11.1V 75C 3S1P Lipo Battery Pack with XT30U plug	4157123321​	1​
RadioMaster Zorro 4-in-1	4157123292​	1​
FT Power Pack F Radial v2	5114051212​	1​
RadioMaster R88 Receiver V.2	5302051351​	1​

These are being installed into a mighty mini P40. The plane is built and now it has come to the process of connecting the electronics and binding the radio.

As best I can tell from the sketchy instructions included with all the bits and pieces... the battery should be plugged into the speed controller. Then the servo wire from the speed controller should be plugged into channel 1 of the R88 receiver. According to the documents included with the R88 speed controller to enter binding mode you hold down the bind button on top of the R88 while plugging power into it. The R88 should then begin a process of blinking several times cycling through each supported protocol waiting for binding to actually happen from the transmitter. My speed controller does nothing. No blinks no nothing like it is getting no power.

I grabbed a multi-meter and checked the voltage of the +/- on the servo wire and it is around 5.4v. So should be good... I also checked the voltage of the signal to ground and it is around 3.3v. So the speed controller is providing power.

Not sure if I am missing something or if this is mis-wired.

I also saw a YT video that said the R88 does not blink at all when not bound and will blink during the process of binding. So I tried doing the normal power up while holding the bind button and then attempting to bind it with the Zorro transmitter. It did not bind and I did not get any blinking lights on the transmitter during the binding process. I was using the FRsky v2 /D16 setting. Not sure if this is right or not. (poor documentation)

Anyways any assistance that can be provided would be appreciated.

 

[Merv]

...plugged into channel 1 of the R88 receiver. According to the documents included with the R88 speed controller... ...My speed controller does nothing. No blinks no nothing like it is getting no power.
... It did not bind and I did not get any blinking lights on the transmitter during the binding process....

I’m not understanding what you are saying. At one point you referred to the R88 as the receiver and in the next sentence the R88 is the speed controller. Then you say the speed control is not blinking. Just to be clear the R88 is the receiver, the Rx. The bit with the FliteTest logo, is the electronic speed controller, the ESC.

If the Rx is not blinking, then you are correct, it’s not getting power. You likely have the plug in backwards, try flipping it over. Everything else looks correct. The ESC will not blink or make any sound, it has no ability to do so. If you attach the motor to the ESC, then you should hear some beeps coming from the motor when the ESC is first power on. You will also need to put the transmitter, the Tx, into bind mode. When you are bound the light on the Rx will go solid & you should be able to control the motor with the sticks on the radio the Tx.

Don’t attach the prop to the motor until you are ready to fly. You don’t want the motor to start unexpectedly and turn into a blender.

 

[jjaymick]

Sorry sometimes the terms get mixed up when trying to provide enough details for someone to answer.
Got it...
Speed controller, ESC, == This is the little thing that says flite test on it.
R88 is the receiver
Zorro is the transmitter

So I guess the question is...
With the R88 receiver when you apply power to it (unbound fresh out of the box) will it have any lights on it?
The docs say apply power to the R88 while holding the bind button and the LED should start flashing.
I have tried flipping the servo cable over (brown side up) and it made no difference.
I have also tried plugging into all the different channels on the R88 and it made no difference.
In any configuration does nothing.
Perhaps I have a bad R88?

I know that the ESC servo line is providing proper voltage. (checked with multi-meter at it is around 5.5v between red and brown wire)
According to flite test their signal line is yellow.
It there a way to determine signal line from +/- with a multi-meter? (perhaps they use different voltage)

 

[Merv]

...With the R88 receiver when you apply power to it (unbound fresh out of the box) will it have any lights on it?...

All Rx's that I'm aware of will have a light. It's inside the case, sometimes a bit hard to see, especially when outside. You might try it in a darker room. Any of the channels of the Rx will work to supply power. In the Rx all of the 5v pins are tied together likewise all of negative pins are tied together. Only the signal pins are separate.

...Perhaps I have a bad R88?...

That is a possibility.

...It there a way to determine signal line from +/- with a multi-meter? (perhaps they use different voltage)

No, you'll need an oscilloscope not a multi meter. The signal uses pluse width modulation, PWM for short. PWM sends an electronic pluse for a specific time. It's the length of that time, measured on oscilloscope, the width, in time, of that pulse determines the servo position or motor speed. This pulse happens many thousands of times per second.

 

[thalan]

I have the FT Guardian Gremlin V.2 starter kit, it came with the Radiomaster T8 light, the GHF411 PRO-BMI 40A Toothpick F4 2-6S AIO BRUSHLESS Flight Controller, and the Radiomaster r81 receiver I believe. just dont know what settings to download to the board in beataflight and all that stuff

​

 

[Bricks]

Don`t know anything about the R88 receiver do you have to hold the bind button down first as you plug in the battery?

 

[thalan]

i think so

 

[dap35]

I'm not sure the ESC will put out power to the throttle cable unless the motor is connected.
I tend to use a servo tester and small battery pack to plug into my RX for initial setup.

 

[cjhagemeyer]

Sorry sometimes the terms get mixed up when trying to provide enough details for someone to answer.
Got it...
Speed controller, ESC, == This is the little thing that says flite test on it.
R88 is the receiver
Zorro is the transmitter

So I guess the question is...
With the R88 receiver when you apply power to it (unbound fresh out of the box) will it have any lights on it?
The docs say apply power to the R88 while holding the bind button and the LED should start flashing.
I have tried flipping the servo cable over (brown side up) and it made no difference.
I have also tried plugging into all the different channels on the R88 and it made no difference.
In any configuration does nothing.
Perhaps I have a bad R88?

I know that the ESC servo line is providing proper voltage. (checked with multi-meter at it is around 5.5v between red and brown wire)
According to flite test their signal line is yellow.
It there a way to determine signal line from +/- with a multi-meter? (perhaps they use different voltage)

I also use a Radiomaster R88 and Zorro 4-in-1. When binding make sure your transmitter is set to the correct protocol (FrSky X with the subtype as D16) and then once you hold the bind button down and power on the receiver to put it in bind mode, put the transmitter in bind mode, and then the LED on the receiver will turn solid red. That means it is bound. I also found that having the transmitter really close to the receiver tends to mess things up.

 

[Rhaps]

Try connecting wire from esc to channel 3? (Just a shot in the dark)

 

[jjaymick]

To all those who in the future find this thread...
The issue was a bad R88.

I went on amazon and just purchased a second one.

What you should expect from the R88 is.
1. apply power using ESC servo cable while holding down the bind button. (I used channel 1)
- wiring orientation in picture above is correct.
2. There will be a Red LED that lights up just to the right of the bind button.
3. It will start blinking a pattern waiting to bind.
4. on your transmitter using FrSkyX with subtype D16 choose bind.
5. The light will go solid red after blinking and beeping for a little bit.

After the light goes solid red you are good to go.
Then you can power off and power back on both the R88 and transmitter to ensure they stay bound.
Thanks to all who commented on this thread.