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Ineptitude
Mar 2, 2010

Heed my words and become a master of the Heart (of Thorns).
I can't figure out how to get any of the S switches on my Taranis to register being used.

When i am in cleanflight and move the joysticks the input is registered but when i hit any S switches none of the AUX bars move, which means i cannot arm my drone. (?)

In Mixer (page 6/12) i have added SA switch to CH5, which should be enough no?

EDIT: I figured it out i think, you need to add it in both the Input page and Mixer page. When flicking the SA switch now theres some action on Aux1 in Cleanflight and i set it up to arm when it is in the far right position. The drone doesn't seem to get armed when i do this though? (i was expecting all motors to start spinning at the minimum RPM like they do in the youtube video. However, if i have the right joystick in the bottom position while flicking the switch the motors spin up but at what seems to be the maximum RPM. Im not really sure what is going on here?

Ineptitude fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Apr 23, 2016

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i own every Bionicle
Oct 23, 2005

cstm ttle? kthxbye

Google Butt posted:

I used my little voltage checker on all the new batteries I just bought and they look like all the cells are around 3.8-3.9v, so that should be safe for storage, right? Or should I select the storage charge mode on my icharger and do that?

That's pretty much what storage voltage is. You're fine.

DreadLlama
Jul 15, 2005
Not just for breakfast anymore

CrazyLittle posted:

This. USB protocol requires one device to act as the host, and the other as the client/device. Chances are extremely high that both the copter and the camera are device-only, and won't work the way you think they will. If you just want to remote-trigger the camera, you should look into getting a new camera that has an actual remote trigger ability (IR sensor or whatever) and then just rig your drone up to emulate that option with some tiny Arduino hack.

Thanks to you guys for making me re-read their articles.

http://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-chdk-camera-control-tutorial.html#common-chdk-camera-control-tutorial posted:

CHDK) is a tool that allows you to hack a Canon camera. CHDK is made possible by the ability of Canon point-and-shoot cameras to read software off an SD flash memory card. You will need one of the Canon cameras listed on the CHDK wiki as officially supported by CHDK.

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/D10

Looks like the camera and APM don't actually need to talk. As long as the SD card is big enough.

ImplicitAssembler
Jan 24, 2013

DreadLlama posted:

Thanks to you guys for making me re-read their articles.


http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/D10

Looks like the camera and APM don't actually need to talk. As long as the SD card is big enough.

Ok. Is it a Canon camera? Is there's a CHDK version for it (it's model/firmware specific). What type of signal does it need? PWM, straight voltage? Does it have secondary functions that you need to consider?. What does the USB port on your quad output? PWM? 3.3v? 5v?.

You'd think it would be easy, but I ended up spending significant amount of timing, programming an arduino to read (2) pwm signals and converting that into voltage pulses that would then operate the camera. Still not happy with the responsiveness, so I'm now just going to make a basic transistor based relay.

DreadLlama
Jul 15, 2005
Not just for breakfast anymore
The D10 is a Canon. But fortunately it doesn't need to interface with APM at all in order to work. *If I am reading the wiki correctly. The camera is able to execute scripts loaded on the SD card. So I could just instruct the camera to take a picture every two seconds forever, duct tape it to the bottom of the quad, and then use the autopilot software to send it flying a grid pattern. The drone doesn't need to "know" it's got a canon strapped to it.

Once I've got a buttload of pictures from altitude, it's just a matter of using a panorama program like autostitch to goop all the images together into a coherent map. It's just a matter of shot interval and altitude to ensure enough overlap.

In fact I don't even need a usb cable. Just a big assed SD card.

T1g4h
Aug 6, 2008

I AM THE SCALES OF JUSTICE, CONDUCTOR OF THE CHOIR OF DEATH!



Snagged this for $40. Complete, ready to fly, with battery and charger and transmitter. Couldn't say no, i've never flown gliders before and considering how cheap it was this'll be a good way to learn :v:

I've also already got someone offering $60, so if I decide to get rid of it I can make money on it too!

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

Spent the day getting everything figured out (to the best of my ability with a million threads and videos) in betaflight and my taranis. Triple checked my failsafe (set to drop), set my low voltage warnings in betaflight and the taranis to 3.7 for the first warning and 3.6 for critical.

Only thing left to do is heat shrink my antennas to the zip ties and attach my props, and then go crash the poo poo out of this thing.

http://webm.land/media/YcH8.webm

I actually heard my props skim the wall on this one

http://webm.land/media/tmp/10a6a348-b503-4440-9343-92602f970b4e.webm

Basically I'm hooked

Google Butt fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Apr 24, 2016

ImplicitAssembler
Jan 24, 2013

DreadLlama posted:

The D10 is a Canon. But fortunately it doesn't need to interface with APM at all in order to work. *If I am reading the wiki correctly. The camera is able to execute scripts loaded on the SD card. So I could just instruct the camera to take a picture every two seconds forever, duct tape it to the bottom of the quad, and then use the autopilot software to send it flying a grid pattern. The drone doesn't need to "know" it's got a canon strapped to it.

Once I've got a buttload of pictures from altitude, it's just a matter of using a panorama program like autostitch to goop all the images together into a coherent map. It's just a matter of shot interval and altitude to ensure enough overlap.

In fact I don't even need a usb cable. Just a big assed SD card.

You will then manually have to remove the irrelevant pictures and you'll get far better stitching result if you geo-tag the pictures with the GPS coordinates, for which you need ardupilot to trigger the shutter.
Here's one I took last year:

Combat Pretzel
Jun 23, 2004

No, seriously... what kurds?!
I have just gotten a bunch of FVT LittleBees, but found out that they create a bunch of voltage spikes when braking while doing their damped light business, which may or may not blow up the VTX and/or camera, depending on how resilient they are. Suggestions to fix this is to add an 1000uf cap to the power leads. Since things are crowded, would it actually matter if I put it on a bunch on the Vbatt terminals of my PDB instead of directly on the power leads (well, both are directly connected through the PDB)?

DreadLlama
Jul 15, 2005
Not just for breakfast anymore

ImplicitAssembler posted:

You will then manually have to remove the irrelevant pictures and you'll get far better stitching result if you geo-tag the pictures with the GPS coordinates, for which you need ardupilot to trigger the shutter.
Here's one I took last year:


That is a goddamn nice picture. In light of new knowledge that you are clearly a lot better at this than I,

ImplicitAssembler posted:

Ok. Is it a Canon camera? Is there's a CHDK version for it (it's model/firmware specific). What type of signal does it need? PWM, straight voltage? Does it have secondary functions that you need to consider?. What does the USB port on your quad output? PWM? 3.3v? 5v?.

You'd think it would be easy, but I ended up spending significant amount of timing, programming an arduino to read (2) pwm signals and converting that into voltage pulses that would then operate the camera. Still not happy with the responsiveness, so I'm now just going to make a basic transistor based relay.


There is a CHDK for the camera. Now that you mention it, I haven't any idea how it works. How would I best go about finding out?

For example, one of the steps to getting the camera and the quad to work together is to install something on the camera's SD card. It seems to me I ought to be able to read that software and see what it does.

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009

by Fluffdaddy
So yesterday I spend the whole evening filing out the APC props to fit on my DJI motors. Went for a test flight today and one of the props just flew off mid-flight and the whole thing fell out of the sky, destroying one arm and two props. FML :negative:.t

moron izzard
Nov 17, 2006

Grimey Drawer
If you are using an apm flight controller and chdk, I believe the camera can be triggered with just a usb to servo lead cable. 5v and the ground input on the usb end, signal and the ground input on the servo end. if you're using a pixhawk, you'll can use one of those trigger boards, or you can build this one i made for a few dollars. https://oshpark.com/profiles/Zapf

I'm still working on my mapping plane, but have been using my inspire a lot with dronedeploy.

moron izzard fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Apr 24, 2016

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

Do you guys charge in the field or just bring a shitload of batteries?

bring back old gbs
Feb 28, 2007

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Google Butt posted:

Do you guys charge in the field or just bring a shitload of batteries?

I just bring a bag of batteries but I walk to all my spots. I've heard people can use their cars to charge those new Graphene batteries as fast as they can drain them. Like 10x faster charge times for 10-15% more weight.

I already charge my tattu 1050mah batteries at 2c(2s according to my charger, I think that's the same thing?), gets them done in a half hour or so. 10c would be nuuuuts.

bring back old gbs fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Apr 24, 2016

photoshop
Jun 21, 2009

Combat Pretzel posted:

I have just gotten a bunch of FVT LittleBees, but found out that they create a bunch of voltage spikes when braking while doing their damped light business, which may or may not blow up the VTX and/or camera, depending on how resilient they are. Suggestions to fix this is to add an 1000uf cap to the power leads. Since things are crowded, would it actually matter if I put it on a bunch on the Vbatt terminals of my PDB instead of directly on the power leads (well, both are directly connected through the PDB)?

Adding an LC filter before your FPV system is your safest bet and it'll help clean up the noise on your camera. The main concern about the LittleBees/Zues' isn't about frying your controller with those voltage spikes through vbat monitoring but just your camera/VTX system drawing from the same unregulated voltage (vbat by itself won't power your FC). I'm not sure what kind of regulators your PDB is using, but you'll still need to get clean 5V for the FC from somewhere. I'm a fan of the Pololu D24V6F5, but just remember to short the VIN to the SHDN pin.

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

bring back old gbs posted:

I just bring a bag of batteries but I walk to all my spots. I've heard people can use their cars to charge those new Graphene batteries as fast as they can drain them. Like 10x faster charge times for 10-15% more weight.

I already charge my tattu 1050mah batteries at 2c(2s according to my charger, I think that's the same thing?), gets them done in a half hour or so. 10c would be nuuuuts.

I actually bought one of the graphenes to test. I charged at 6c and it seemed fast, but I'm basically going to buy them exclusively just because I'm an impatient bastard

Combat Pretzel
Jun 23, 2004

No, seriously... what kurds?!

photoshop posted:

Adding an LC filter before your FPV system is your safest bet and it'll help clean up the noise on your camera. The main concern about the LittleBees/Zues' isn't about frying your controller with those voltage spikes through vbat monitoring but just your camera/VTX system drawing from the same unregulated voltage (vbat by itself won't power your FC). I'm not sure what kind of regulators your PDB is using, but you'll still need to get clean 5V for the FC from somewhere. I'm a fan of the Pololu D24V6F5, but just remember to short the VIN to the SHDN pin.
Not concerned about the controller, since the regulator should be catching that. It's just that I keep reading that I should add a cap to sink the energy generated during braking. I have a new LC filter inbound for the video regardless.

bring back old gbs posted:

I just bring a bag of batteries but I walk to all my spots. I've heard people can use their cars to charge those new Graphene batteries as fast as they can drain them. Like 10x faster charge times for 10-15% more weight.
Please do tell what they're called.

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

Turnigy graphene. Come in 3s or 4s and can be charged up to 15c :o

photoshop
Jun 21, 2009

Google Butt posted:

Do you guys charge in the field or just bring a shitload of batteries?

I only carry about 6 batteries on me which gives me about an hour and a half of flight time (wings), but I fly with a big group (5-8) so I bring a spare die hard marine battery with me and one of the others brings his HK quad port charger. Whatever you do, don't ever try to charge from a running car! An old alternator could short your charger and batteries and then mildly thermite a hole through a quarter panel (i seen it!). It sucks having to wait, but 1C charging will also help your batteries stay stronger over their lifespan.

Philthy
Jan 28, 2003

Pillbug
Any recommendations on 20A or 30A ESCs? I was looking into Littlebees but people recommend soldering caps so you don't burn out your camera, so those are off the table. I then looked at the KISS race lines and people are posting random ones melting down and are hard to find overall.

I just want a good reliable 20-30A ESC that is small and supports BHeli passthrough and OneShot.

I've got four EMAX RS2205 RaceSpec Motors on the way for a Tyrant 210 build and I want to put a little more into it than going cheap as possible. I'm running 3S now, but wouldn't mind picking up some 4S Graphenes down the road. I'm not racing, only dinking around at parks, but I want to play with my toys.

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

Yeah I was reading about those batteries, don't they need a special charger too? I might lurk craigslist for an inverter generator or something

Philthy
Jan 28, 2003

Pillbug
You just to make sure your charger can handle it. Most can.

My 3S Graphene 1000mah are rated at charge rate of 10C, so I'm charging at 10Amps and goes pretty quick. No problems. I posted in the RCGroups asking about this and they've all been doing the 10-15C charge rates just fine. The days of 1-2C charging are long gone.

Combat Pretzel
Jun 23, 2004

No, seriously... what kurds?!
The KISS stuff is made in some guy's basement. So they're accordingly rare.

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

Philthy posted:

You just to make sure your charger can handle it. Most can.

My 3S Graphene 1000mah are rated at charge rate of 10C, so I'm charging at 10Amps and goes pretty quick. No problems. I posted in the RCGroups asking about this and they've all been doing the 10-15C charge rates just fine. The days of 1-2C charging are long gone.

I have one of the 3s 1300's, I didn't see the rating for it on the packaging and I couldn't actually find what it was rated for specifically, just went off the hobbyking description of "up to 15c"

photoshop
Jun 21, 2009

Philthy posted:

You just to make sure your charger can handle it. Most can.

My 3S Graphene 1000mah are rated at charge rate of 10C, so I'm charging at 10Amps and goes pretty quick. No problems. I posted in the RCGroups asking about this and they've all been doing the 10-15C charge rates just fine. The days of 1-2C charging are long gone.

Nah, Rotor Riot won't even charge above 1C and the HK graphene batteries aren't even graphene, they're just higher capacity than what's printed on the label with heavier gauge leads. There might be some graphite in there, but the chemistry is still the same and still needs time to fully balance, so while they can initially charge at a very high C rating, it doesn't mean it won't hurt their lifespan. These batteries are still really new and RCG has a ton of disposable income to make mistakes, so take what they say with a grain of salt.

photoshop fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Apr 24, 2016

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

photoshop posted:

Nah, Rotor Riot won't even charge above 1C and the HK graphene batteries aren't even graphene, they're just higher capacity than what's printed on the label with heavier gauge leads. There might be some graphite in there, but the chemistry is still the same and still needs time to fully balance, so while they can initially charge at a very high C rating, it doesn't mean it won't hurt their lifespan. These batteries are still really new and RCG has a ton of disposable income to make mistakes, so take what they say with a grain of salt.

I hope there's some guys running them exclusively at 15c so we can find out sooner or later if it is just scummy marketing.

If they're safe to charge at that speed, I'd honestly take a little bit of a shorter lifespan for that. Half the life? Probably not.

Ineptitude
Mar 2, 2010

Heed my words and become a master of the Heart (of Thorns).
After following a Naze32/Cleanflight video i set up Aux1 to arm my Quad, however nothing happens to the quad when i hit the Aux switch (the input is being registered in Cleanflight)
However the quad arms if i put the rightmost joystick in the bottom right position while hitting the Aux1 switch; but the motors spin at what i assume is the maximum throttle (far faster than the speed they do at 1150 in Cleanflight at least)


I think there is something odd with the channels for Thruster, Aileron, Elevation and Rudder.

On my Taranis CH1 is named "Thr", CH2 is named "Ail", CH3 is named "Ele" and CH4 is "Rud"

When i use the joystick for CH1 the "roll" channel in Cleanflight activates.
When i use the joystick for CH2, "Pitch" in Cleanflight activates
When i use joystick for CH3, "Throttle" in Cleanflight activates
When i use joystick for CH4, "Yaw" in Cleanflight activates

When the Taranis is ON, the "roll" parameter is constantly at 1000 in Cleanflight whereas the other 3 are at 1500.
When the Taranis is OFF, the "throttle" parameter is at 885 in Cleanflight and the other 3 are at 1500.

The Channel map in Cleanflight is set to AETR1234
Default channel order on Taranis is AETR and it is in Mode 2

Does this look correct? I don't really know what the channels that are not throttle actually do (i assume throttle increases RPM on the motors) and an extra layer of confusion is added since the terms are different in Cleanflight than they are in the Taranis.

Ineptitude fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Apr 24, 2016

photoshop
Jun 21, 2009

Ineptitude posted:

After following a Naze32/Cleanflight video i set up Aux1 to arm my Quad, however nothing happens to the quad when i hit the Aux switch (the input is being registered in Cleanflight)
However the quad arms if i put the rightmost joystick in the bottom right position while hitting the Aux1 switch; but the motors spin at what i assume is the maximum throttle (far faster than the speed they do at 1150 in Cleanflight at least)


I think there is something odd with the channels for Thruster, Aileron, Elevation and Rudder.

On my Taranis CH1 is named "Thr", CH2 is named "Ail", CH3 is named "Ele" and CH4 is "Rud"

When the Taranis is ON, the "roll" parameter is constantly at 1000 in Cleanflight whereas the other 3 are at 1500.
When the Taranis is OFF, the "throttle" parameter is at 885 in Cleanflight and the other 3 are at 1500.

The Channel map in Cleanflight is set to AETR1234
Default channel order on Taranis is AETR and it is in Mode 2

Does this look correct? I don't really know what the channels that are not throttle actually do (i assume throttle increases RPM on the motors) and an extra layer of confusion is added since the terms are different in Cleanflight than they are in the Taranis.

Nope. Sounds like your Taranis model default is actually TAER1234, but you're half way there. There's two pages on the Taranis you need to verify are the same: Inputs and Mixer. Inputs is your default channel assignment, Mixer overwrites the order, so you want them to be the same. Don't forget to include your AUX1/AUX2 switch. When your Taranis is ON, your pitch/roll and yaw in the CF Receiver tab should read 1500 (centered) and your throttle 1000 (down). Left and Pitch up are 1000 values, Right and Pitch Down are 2000. Once you've got that settled, make sure you have "Disarm motors regardless of throttle value (When arming via AUX channel)" checked on the Configuration tab in the ESC/Motor Features column. oblig. caution edit: take your props off.

photoshop fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Apr 24, 2016

Philthy
Jan 28, 2003

Pillbug

Google Butt posted:

I hope there's some guys running them exclusively at 15c so we can find out sooner or later if it is just scummy marketing.

If they're safe to charge at that speed, I'd honestly take a little bit of a shorter lifespan for that. Half the life? Probably not.

They have been for almost half a year now just fine.

It doesn't effect the lifespan from what anyone has been able to tell yet, even after hundreds of charges this way.

The fact is, these batteries are relatively cheap. Even if it were half the life span I'd be fine with it, because charging in 5 minutes vs 15-20 is worth it to me when I don't want to sit around all morning with a pile of batteries. I want them done and be out the door with an arm full in 30 minutes.

moron izzard
Nov 17, 2006

Grimey Drawer

photoshop posted:

Nope. Sounds like your Taranis model default is actually TAER1234, but you're half way there. There's two pages on the Taranis you need to verify are the same: Inputs and Mixer. Inputs is your default channel assignment, Mixer overwrites the order, so you want them to be the same. Don't forget to include your AUX1/AUX2 switch. When your Taranis is ON, your pitch/roll and yaw in the CF Receiver tab should read 1500 (centered) and your throttle 1000 (down). Left and Pitch up are 1000 values, Right and Pitch Down are 2000. Once you've got that settled, make sure you have "Disarm motors regardless of throttle value (When arming via AUX channel)" checked on the Configuration tab in the ESC/Motor Features column.

After I changed the default mix in taranis general settings, I found that every model i started with the default multirotor template worked out the gate

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

Speaking of batteries, how harmful would it be to keep lipos fully charged for 8 to 9 hours? I was thinking about charging them before I leave for work and fly when I get off. If that's cool, in definitely ordering one of those lipo bags so my car doesn't blow up.

Ineptitude
Mar 2, 2010

Heed my words and become a master of the Heart (of Thorns).

photoshop posted:

Nope. Sounds like your Taranis model default is actually TAER1234, but you're half way there. There's two pages on the Taranis you need to verify are the same: Inputs and Mixer. Inputs is your default channel assignment, Mixer overwrites the order, so you want them to be the same. Don't forget to include your AUX1/AUX2 switch. When your Taranis is ON, your pitch/roll and yaw in the CF Receiver tab should read 1500 (centered) and your throttle 1000 (down). Left and Pitch up are 1000 values, Right and Pitch Down are 2000. Once you've got that settled, make sure you have "Disarm motors regardless of throttle value (When arming via AUX channel)" checked on the Configuration tab in the ESC/Motor Features column. oblig. caution edit: take your props off.

Thanks, this was more or less the problem!

Taranis was TAER1234, both in Inputs and Mixer, albeit stating AETR in the configuration. Cleanflight was AETR but i noticed i could manually type in the field with the drop down menu where you can select the other types of radio, so i typed TAER1234 there and rebooted and now everything works!

Now to tackle the FPV components (Camera doesnt fit mounting plate, Vtx has 5V out but camera aparently need 12V, etc)

Ineptitude fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Apr 24, 2016

moron izzard
Nov 17, 2006

Grimey Drawer

Google Butt posted:

Speaking of batteries, how harmful would it be to keep lipos fully charged for 8 to 9 hours? I was thinking about charging them before I leave for work and fly when I get off. If that's cool, in definitely ordering one of those lipo bags so my car doesn't blow up.



Ive charged mine the day before. I try to not leave them at 100 for more than a week (I charged some friday and probably wont touch them until monday because I've been ravaged the worst illness I've experienced in 7 years).

dont leave them in a hot car.

Combat Pretzel
Jun 23, 2004

No, seriously... what kurds?!
Regarding props, 6030 or 5045?

I keep reading that bigger props are more efficient, but when trying to find actual comparisons, I came across a test table that lists a 5045BN with 4.7g/W efficiency compared to a 6030 with 3.5g/W (at least at 100%). That doesn't seem right. --edit: And oh, the 5045 had more thrust, too.



--edit: The lower amps for the Gemfan 5045BN compared to the DAL seems no fluke. Similar results are in other tests say vs. HQProps, too. Apparently the GF ones are "hybrid bullnose", whatever that means.

Combat Pretzel fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Apr 24, 2016

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

Welp, I think I shorted a motor or my ESC. I took all the mounting screws out to apply a bit of blue loc tite and I think I cranked them down too much.. plugged in the battery and a small puff of smoke came out of the motor, unplugged the battery as soon as it happened. It will kind of stutter when armed while the other spin, if I turn it off and arm it a few times it WILL spin up. I felt all the ESC's while it was armed and the one attached to the motor gets warm, while all the rest do not. Motor doesn't feel warm at all.

So should I buy a new motor or a new ESC?

This is a cruel rear end hobby, drat.

edit: I used the supplied screw, I did tighten them more than they were, but I didn't think they would supply screws long enough to touch the coils. Hmm

Google Butt fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Apr 24, 2016

bring back old gbs
Feb 28, 2007

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Google Butt posted:

Welp, I think I shorted a motor or my ESC. I took all the mounting screws out to apply a bit of blue loc tite and I think I cranked them down too much.. plugged in the battery and a small puff of smoke came out of the motor, unplugged the battery as soon as it happened. It will kind of stutter when armed while the other spin, if I turn it off and arm it a few times it WILL spin up. I felt all the ESC's while it was armed and the one attached to the motor gets warm, while all the rest do not. Motor doesn't feel warm at all.

So should I buy a new motor or a new ESC?

This is a cruel rear end hobby, drat.

Yeah it's a muddafugga. When I'm in your position I'd first do a motor swap to the opposite arm. That will rule out motor or ESC because the problem will follow the motor or stay with the arm.

Depending on the motor brand they will give you screws that can hit the windings because they don't know if you've got 2mm, 3mm, or 4mm arms.


I was on a train today, wanted to turn my quad on so badly to see wtf it would do. Probably nothing interesting because boring relativity.

bring back old gbs fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Apr 24, 2016

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

bring back old gbs posted:

Yeah it's a muddafugga. When I'm in your position I'd first do a motor swap to the opposite arm. That will rule out motor or ESC because the problem will follow the motor or stay with the arm.

Depending on the motor brand they will give you screws that can hit the windings because they don't know if you've got 2mm, 3mm, or 4mm arms.


I was on a train today, wanted to turn my quad on so badly to see wtf it would do. Probably nothing interesting because boring relativity.

That won't potentially damage the other ESC?

bring back old gbs
Feb 28, 2007

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Google Butt posted:

That won't potentially damage the other ESC?

Haha well you should be 100% sure you're using the correct screw lengths the second time;)

Google Butt
Oct 4, 2005

Xenology is an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. At its core is a flawed assumption...

that an alien race would be psychologically human.

bring back old gbs posted:

Haha well you should be 100% sure you're using the correct screw lengths the second time;)

Uh, I reused the screws that were shipped with the fully assembled quad. I just removed them to put a dab of loctite on and screwed them back in. I guess a few turns too tight was all it took, but I'm just speculating that's the issue because I don't know enough to figure it out. At any rate I'm just going to order a new motor and ESC.

edit: Searching for a replacement ESC, little confused. I know I need a 20a oneshot OPTO ESC, but all the ones I've found have a twisted pair connector, and you can see how the esc is connected on my Tyrant:



Do I just need to solder the signal (yellow) wire from the twisted pair to that pad?

Google Butt fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Apr 25, 2016

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bring back old gbs
Feb 28, 2007

by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Google Butt posted:

Uh, I reused the screws that were shipped with the fully assembled quad. I just removed them to put a dab of loctite on and screwed them back in. I guess a few turns too tight was all it took, but I'm just speculating that's the issue because I don't know enough to figure it out. At any rate I'm just going to order a new motor and ESC.

edit: Searching for a replacement ESC, little confused. I know I need a 20a oneshot OPTO ESC, but all the ones I've found have a twisted pair connector, and you can see how the esc is connected on my Tyrant:



Do I just need to solder the signal (yellow) wire from the twisted pair to that pad?

Well if you were doing a straight transplant of the motors with the only 4 screws they came with, that is very strange and should not have happened. I've accidentally hit windings before when using motors that came with a ton of screws for all different arm thickness. the shorter screws worked fine but the longer ones would always cause cogging even if they didnt appear to be touching anything. But even with the cogging and me throwing the throttle around like crazy trying to get around it I never actually shorted anything or smoked a motor right off the bat...

Some ESCs use a twister pair signal and ground, others just use signal and use the ground from VCC I suppose. You should contact Diatone about getting the correct replacement ESC and not just another type with the same amp rating. Things like timing, oneshot, and active breaking could make that one motor behave differently than the others, so if you're replacing them with a different type I'd replace all of them at once unfortunately. Motors are whatever, unless your old motors are compleeeeeetely hosed you won't notice much of a difference between brand new and slightly used ones other than them just sounding nicer.

FWIW my first quad was a mess of me crashing, a motor cogging, having ZERO idea about where the break may be, screwing wiring and soldering up, and being intimidated to fix it or swap parts once my confidence had been smacked around a bit. I considered myself pretty capable with a soldering iron and building poo poo but quads had a way of beating me every time. It's all gone now though, as far as racing quads go I'm pretty confident 1.5 years in that I could build and troubleshoot any racing quad. Ok,ok, forget it if it's a custom mixed tilt racer or whatever

I finally got my hands on the 5 ZTW 18a spiders I ordered and 2 of the 5 bags were cut open and had no ESC in them :argh: The buy 5 when you need 4 rule failed meee. My morphite is never getting back in the air. Luckily I bought locally and the guy is sending 2 more out but I feel like such a scam artist. One of the bags was very clearly cut open above the stapled cardboard top and the other just looked ripped. The actual envelope with the company logo on it and everything was untouched though.

bring back old gbs fucked around with this message at 01:15 on Apr 25, 2016

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