Set up Taranis QX7 + OrangeRX module + Spektrum RX

[MatthiasM]

Hello,

I have a Taranis QX7 and am trying to set it up with a Blade Torrent 110 quad.

I got the PNP version of the quad, as well as an OrangeRX module (v1.2) and this Spektrum receiver. I was hoping that this combo is compatible, but failed to get it to work so far.

I've tried many different combinations of settings and can get the receiver to bind (led stops flashing), but the quad won't move.

Is this combo compatible? Do you have any tips for the setup procedure?

Thanks,
Matthias

 

[ElectriSean]

Can you see the stick movements in Betaflight?

 

[RCdiy]

Which mode are you binding in?
The Rx uses 11ms frames...

https://hobbyking.com/media/file/3130423X1606554X30.pdf

Working modes and list of protocols supported in each mode:Single blinks - DSM2, 1024, 22ms:

During binding depending on your receiver it can be DSM2, 1024, 22ms 7 and less channel modeDSM2, 1024, 22ms 8 and more channel modedouble blinks - DSMx, 2048, 22ms:

During binding depending on your receiver it can be DSMx, 2048, 22ms 7 and less channel modeDSMx, 2048, 22ms 8 and more channel modeDSMx, 2048, 11ms 7 and less channel modeDSMx, 2048, 11ms 8 and more channel modeSolid ON - all protocols available for binding

https://www.spektrumrc.com/ProdInfo/Files/SPM4649T-Manual-EN.pdf

All DSM2 and DSMX Aircraft Transmitters andModule Systems. 11ms and 20 channel support(limited to transmitter capabilities)

 

[rockyboy]

If the LED lights change, chances are you've got the bind part of the equation working right.

Have you setup quads with your Taranis before? Does your channel mapping match the Torrent Manual

I'm not able to search youtube from where I'm at now, but I'm pretty sure you can find a setup walk through that goes into the Taranis settings one at a time for this quad - it's pretty popular and I'm sure there are others flying the same setup as you are working on

 

[MatthiasM]

Thanks everyone for your tips!

If the LED lights change, chances are you've got the bind part of the equation working right.

Yes I think the binding works.

Have you setup quads with your Taranis before? Does your channel mapping match the Torrent Manual

This is the first quad I'm setting up. I've used the Taranis with a flight simulator before. I matched the channel mapping, including the motor arm switch. But it still doesn't work. One thing I'm wondering about is that the Torrent manual says that the Throttle travel should be "150/150". Could it be that the Taranis signal does not reach the end of the travel, so that the throttle is never zero and the motors never switch on?

Which mode are you binding in?
The Rx uses 11ms frames...

I've tried all the modes. I think binding (i.e. receiver led goes from flashing to solid) works in all the modes, but the quad never moves.

Can you see the stick movements in Betaflight?

I don't have Betaflight set up. I assume that would require a special USB cable to communicate with the receiver? EDIT: Found the USB port, will try it now...

 

[ElectriSean]

At the very least, you will have to tell Betaflight which UART and Rx protocol to use, as well as using the receiver tab to set up the endpoints and subtrim on your transmitter.

 

[MatthiasM]

At the very least, you will have to tell Betaflight which UART and Rx protocol to use, as well as using the receiver tab to set up the endpoints and subtrim on your transmitter.

OK I installed BetaFlight and flashed the latest firmware to the FC. I cannot see any stick movements in BetaFlight and I'll continue to play with the settings...

 

[MatthiasM]

Partial success:

After setting up the receiver on UART3 and switching the Serial Receiver Provider to SPEKTRUM1024, I can now see stick movements in BetaFlight! Yay!

The problem is that they are totally messed up. For example, moving the right stick right will change pitch and moving the same stick left will change yaw. I thought I had the channel order set up correctly but clearly not. Any tips are highly appreciated.

 

[ElectriSean]

Spektrum uses TAER1234 as the channel map. The default could be different in your Taranis though. On the monitor screen of the Tx, note which stick moves which channel, and set the channel map in Betaflight to match. You can type directly into the channel map box, the drop down list is just for convenience.

 

[MatthiasM]

More is messed up than just the channel order. Some of the sticks on the TX appear to control two different channels in betaflight, e.g. one channel for the left half of the stick travel and another for the right half.

As far as I understand, the tx communicates with the rx using a sequence of pulses, one for each channel. What I see suggests to me that there's something wrong with the channel timing, i.e. one channel on the tx gets split up into two channels on the rx or something like that.

I just haven't been able to find the right settings. One weird thing is that for me to see stick movements in betaflight, the OrangeRX module needs to be set to auto or double blink mode, which corresponds to DSMx 2048. But in betaflight, I need to select SPEKTRUM1024. If I select SPEKTRUM2048, I don't see any stick movements in betaflight...

One more tidbit is that the messed-up channel mixing gets worse if I set the number of channels on my tx to a large number. If I set it to 6, it seems almost right, except for the issues described above.

 

[ElectriSean]

That is odd... I'm new to Taranis, I just moved over from Spektrum, and haven't played with external RF modules at all. I'm curious why you are going this route though... Why not just use a FrSky receiver?

 

[PsyBorg]

More is messed up than just the channel order. Some of the sticks on the TX appear to control two different channels in betaflight, e.g. one channel for the left half of the stick travel and another for the right half.

As far as I understand, the tx communicates with the rx using a sequence of pulses, one for each channel. What I see suggests to me that there's something wrong with the channel timing, i.e. one channel on the tx gets split up into two channels on the rx or something like that.

I just haven't been able to find the right settings. One weird thing is that for me to see stick movements in betaflight, the OrangeRX module needs to be set to auto or double blink mode, which corresponds to DSMx 2048. But in betaflight, I need to select SPEKTRUM1024. If I select SPEKTRUM2048, I don't see any stick movements in betaflight...

One more tidbit is that the messed-up channel mixing gets worse if I set the number of channels on my tx to a large number. If I set it to 6, it seems almost right, except for the issues described above.

This sounds like you have set up a heli profile instead of a quad / airplane profile.

I would start with a new plane profile and use TAER channel mapping. That will get you able to do end points and channel centers in the receiver tab and only be controlling one channel per stick. When I flashed my Taranis to the newest firmware I did the "No Heli" version to avoid that same problem. Then I went into the main programming and set the default stick settings to be TAER when a new model is created automatically.

 

[RCdiy]

Post your OTX file.

 

[MatthiasM]

That is odd... I'm new to Taranis, I just moved over from Spektrum, and haven't played with external RF modules at all. I'm curious why you are going this route though... Why not just use a FrSky receiver?

Just going this route because I'm new and don't know what the easiest solution is. Do you know for sure that the flight controller in the Torrent 110 is compatible with FrSky receivers?

This sounds like you have set up a heli profile instead of a quad / airplane profile.

I would start with a new plane profile and use TAER channel mapping. That will get you able to do end points and channel centers in the receiver tab and only be controlling one channel per stick. When I flashed my Taranis to the newest firmware I did the "No Heli" version to avoid that same problem. Then I went into the main programming and set the default stick settings to be TAER when a new model is created automatically.

Hmm I created a new profile, but I did not find a plane vs heli setting in the Q X7. Is there an explicit way to switch between plane and heli mode in the Q X7 or is it all in the channel/mixer settings? I tried different mappings without success.

I think I'll buy a FrSky receiver and see how that goes.

 

[ElectriSean]

Just going this route because I'm new and don't know what the easiest solution is. Do you know for sure that the flight controller in the Torrent 110 is compatible with FrSky receivers?

This is from the PnP product page:
"This PNP version allows you to choose and connect a suitable serial receiver with 5 Volt input and configure with Betaflight."

So yup, any of the SBUS receivers will work. I don't know how much room you have in there, but an XM will fit for sure, though if you want telemetry you'll need an XSR or X4R-SB.

 

[PsyBorg]

Not sure what the Qx7's come flashed with but if you go to companion 2.2 and get the latest version for open tx there will be model profiles that show up when creating a new model. You will also have the option when you flash the new software to set no heli so that can not happen.

In any case you should be able to create a new model as an airplane which is the easiest to set up a quad copter on. Just assign the 4 axis I usually use the TAER format then use aux 1 ,2 and 3 to set up arm switch , flight modes, and beeper.