SimonK (supposedly) ESC Calibration Issue

[Pipess]

I got a motor + ESC combo recently, but upon attempting calibration I encountered an issue. The ESC only puts out 3 short, ascending notes without the "slow beep" described on the page or the short delayed one seen in several videos. Attempting to follow through with the rest of the procedure did nothing.
I've looked around for an hour, but it seems that no one else has reported the same problem from SimonK ESCs.
Any input is welcome, even if it's just to buy different electronics.

 

[Merv]

The first rule, remove the prop. You don’t want the prop to start unexpectedly.
Second, sometimes the throttle channel needs to be reversed.

Here are the steps, they must be done in order.
Start with everything off.
Turn on the Tx and move the throttle all the way to high.
Power on the Rx, and wait for a beep.
At the first beep, move the throttle all the way to low.
Wait for the beep, then power off the Rx. You are calibrated.

When you calibrate, you are showing the ESC what low throttle & high throttle look like.
The beeps don’t come from the ESC, they come from the motor. All 3 wires to the motor need to be hooked up.

 

[Pipess]

The first rule, remove the prop. You don’t want the prop to start unexpectedly.
Second, sometimes the throttle channel needs to be reversed.

Here are the steps, they must be done in order.
Start with everything off.
Turn on the Tx and move the throttle all the way to high.
Power on the Rx, and wait for a beep.
At the first beep, move the throttle all the way to low.
Wait for the beep, then power off the Rx. You calibrated.

When you calibrate, you are showing the ESC what low throttle & high throttle look like.
The beeps don’t come from the ESC, they come from the motor. All 3 wires to the motor need to be hooked up.

Thanks, however I don't seem to get a beep when I drop the throttle down to minimum (every step followed to the letter). I'll just write it off as faulty electronics, I think.

 

[Merv]

Thanks, however I don't seem to get a beep when I drop the throttle down to minimum (every step followed to the letter). I'll just write it off as faulty electronics, I think.

Is the motor responding to the throttle?

 

[Pipess]

Is the motor responding to the throttle?

No, it's not doing anything.

 

[Merv]

No, it's not doing anything.

Have you bound the Rx to the Tx?
Some setups will beep when there is no signal. To indicate you need to unplug the battery in the plane.

Be sure to remove the prop.

Here is the bind procedure. Start with everything off.
Install the bind plug in the Rx and power it on. The internal light should blink rapidly 3-4 times per second.
Hold down the bind button on the back of the Tx while powering it on.
Sometimes you need to move the Tx 6-10 feet away from the Rx.
When the Rx light goes on solid, your bound.
Turn off the Rx, turn off the Tx. This gets them out of bind mode.

Most Rx have a bind plug, a few use a bind button instead
Many Tx have a bind button to hold down while powering, some have a bind as menu choice.

Power on the Tx, power on the Rx & see if you now have control.

 

[PsyBorg]

Is the stick mapping matched to the receiver channels? Like if the receiver uses TAER and the transmitter is set to AETR it wont work.

 

[Pipess]

Have you bound the Rx to the Tx?
Some setups will beep when there is no signal. To indicate you need to unplug the battery in the plane.

Be sure to remove the prop.

Here is the bind procedure. Start with everything off.
Install the bind plug in the Rx and power it on. The internal light should blink rapidly 3-4 times per second.
Hold down the bind button on the back of the Tx while powering it on.
Sometimes you need to move the Tx 6-10 feet away from the Rx.
When the Rx light goes on solid, your bound.
Turn off the Rx, turn off the Tx. This gets them out of bind mode.

Most Rx have a bind plug, a few use a bind button instead
Many Tx have a bind button to hold down while powering, some have a bind as menu choice.

Power on the Tx, power on the Rx & see if you now have control.

It's all bound, I've gotten several servos to work. I think the question now is whether to buy a new ESC, motor, or both.

 

[Pipess]

Is the stick mapping matched to the receiver channels? Like if the receiver uses TAER and the transmitter is set to AETR it wont work.

I'm using a DX6e with an AR620 that came with it, and the channels seem to match what I want (tested with servos).

 

[Merv]

It's all bound, I've gotten several servos to work. I think the question now is whether to buy a new ESC, motor, or both.

Are you employing any type of throttle cut?

 

[Pipess]

Are you employing any type of throttle cut?

Not that I know of. The Tx works fine with my Sport Cub, so I don't think it's the issue.

 

[Merv]

Not that I know of. The Tx works fine with my Sport Cub, so I don't think it's the issue.

So you are using a new setup in your Tx?
You might trying the suspect ESC using the Sport Cub selection on your Tx. Also try the known good ESC on the existing Tx setup.
If that fails, I think you have a bad ESC.

 

[Pipess]

So you are using a new setup in your Tx?
You might trying the suspect ESC using the Sport Cub selection on your Tx. Also try the known good ESC on the existing Tx setup.
If that fails, I think you have a bad ESC.

New development! I tried using the stock Sport Cub Tx (not the DX6e) and the throttle (vertical input on the left stick) seems to control Channel 1. However, the motor only connects to the ESC, which in turn I have connected to the BATT port on the Rx. Does the ESC have to plug into some other channel?
If not, I'll go with it being a bad ESC since I've already tried making a new plane profile on the DX6e.

 

[Merv]

New development! I tried using the stock Sport Cub Tx (not the DX6e) and the throttle (vertical input on the left stick) seems to control Channel 1. However, the motor only connects to the ESC, which in turn I have connected to the BATT port on the Rx. Does the ESC have to plug into some other channel?
If not, I'll go with it being a bad ESC since I've already tried making a new plane profile on the DX6e.

The Batt port is a throwback to the glow fuel days, it is for an onboard battery that only powers the Rx & servos. With electric powered planes, using a BEC (battery elimination circuit) the Batt port is not used.

The ESC needs to be plugged into the throttle channel, in your case, it appears to be channel 1. On some brands, the throttle is channel 3.

FYI on the Rx all of the positive pins are connected & all of the negative pins are connected, they are on the same rails. Only the signal pins are separate. Power to the system, can be supplied by any channel.

 

[Pipess]

The Batt port is a throwback to the glow fuel days, it is for an onboard battery that only powers the Rx & servos. With electric powered planes, using a BEC (battery elimination circuit) the Batt port is not used.

The ESC needs to be plugged into the throttle channel, in your case, it appears to be channel 1. On some brands, the throttle is channel 3.

FYI on the Rx all of the positive pins are connected & all of the negative pins are connected, they are on the same rails. Only the signal pins are separate. Power to the system, can be supplied by any channel.

Thanks! This thread was a bit of a roller coaster, lol.