Welcome to Multi-Rotor UK. Please login or sign up.

Friday,March 29, 2024, 04:58:25

Login with username, password and session length

Shoutbox

Bad Raven:
26 Mar 2024 08:41:05
 :(
Andy7:
25 Mar 2024 14:49:21
An excess of work and rain.  :thumbdown:
Bad Raven:
23 Mar 2024 18:12:38
Almost a personal Blog, it would seem. LOTS of members, but NO posts.  :-/   :shrug:
Gaza07:
06 Mar 2024 16:59:49
Anyone still here  :shrug:
ched:
24 Dec 2023 11:48:48
Hope you all have a Great Christmas and a happy New Year.
Bad Raven:
20 Dec 2023 06:17:47
 ~~   :beer2: 
Gaza07:
19 Dec 2023 22:20:27
Merry Christmas All  :beer2:
Bad Raven:
01 Dec 2023 06:59:57
New Simulator Section started!   :beer2:
Bad Raven:
17 Jun 2023 06:52:23
Yes, smaller, same as lots of things as time passes.
Andy7:
08 Jun 2023 22:49:18
 ~~
Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 201,420
  • Total Topics: 20,260
  • Online today: 31
  • Online ever: 530
  • (Tuesday,June 26, 2012, 08:34:46 )
Users Online
Users: 0
Guests: 13
Total: 13

Theme Changer





3d - Printworx

Issue with Crius AOI arming motors

Started by Jesse101, Wednesday,December 12, 2012, 14:04:52

Previous topic - Next topic

Jesse101

 :help:
Please forgive my ignorance I';m new to rc and struggling a bit.
I';ve seen this post a thousand times and I';ve checked everything suggested a thousand times.
My set-up is:-
Crius AIO board
30A Multi-Rotor ESC (SimonK RapidESC)
Brushless Motor 2217Q, 880Kv
Tx Spektrum DX5e and Rx AR600

Motors wont arm either when connected to the GUI or to the Lipo.
I have changed the max/min throttle range in the config.h to suit SimonK rating.
I have tried calibrating each ESC both singularly (at which point beeps are heard at max/min and the motors turn), and through the config.h_no_fly flash (at which point all motors turn for c.4 seconds and the ESCs beep at the end).
One last observation there are 3 LEDs on the Crius labled A B C respectively. If I put the sticks to max throttle and max left or right roll both the A and C LEDs blink green and red respectively and continuously!?

Strangely, during the build process, I did arm the motors fine once but never again.
Can anyone shed some light on my case, before I make the Quad fly into the bin?
Thanks in advance!

teslahed

Have you tried upping the travel on your throttle and rudder channels? On some transmitters 100% isn';t enough - bump it up to the maximum, usually 115 or 125% in the transmitter menu, and it may suddenly work.

It';s definitely worth having the props off the quadcopter for this stage, if you haven';t already. Otherwise sods law states you';ll get the motors to arm at the worst possible moment (when you aren';t expecting it) and the quadcopter will go flying.
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

Jesse101

Yes, I';ve tried increasing the range of the Tx but to no avail.  :shrug:
And don';t worry, props are off!

Gaza07

Hi Jesse101 and welcome to the forum what firmware is it you have got loaded on your AIOP it might be worth reloading a fresh copy of the firmware in case the one you have already got installed has become corrupted  ~~  :bravo:
[url="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN6zN99iLCIJea5FCQPKf_g"]YouTube[/url]   [url="https://www.printing-3d.co.uk"]printing-3d[/url]  [url="https://www.thingiverse.com/Gaza07/about"]Thingiverse[/url]  [url="https://www.3d-printworx.co.uk"]3d-printworx[/url]

Jesse101

Thanks for the welcome guys.
Isn';t it always the way, you try everything then post a question on a forum and the next second you work it out? (this time by complete luck)  :hmm:
So, this is what I plugged into the config.h
      #define MINTHROTTLE 1064 // special ESC (simonk)
      #define MAXTHROTTLE 2000
      #define MINCOMMAND  1064
: do these look right?
Anyway the motors are arming (although not disarming!?) and the relative motors showing on the GUI.
However, its not an even distribution over the 4 motors. I re-calibrated the ACC and MAG. So not sure what the next step is.... :crossfingers:

teslahed

#5
I think you want the MINCOMMAND value to be different and lower to the MINTHROTTLE command. MINTHROTTLE is the signal being sent to the motors when you are at 0% throttle and MINCOMMAND is the value the motors will be receiving when you are disarmed. Having both set the same may cause some confusion (i don';t know for sure, never tried it).

For sake of comparison I';ve just looked at my values;

#define MINCOMMAND  1000

Is my MINCOMMAND value - the default. I';d suggest leaving that at 1000 and playing with the MINTHROTTLE value.

MINTHROTTLE allows you to alter the signal the motors will be getting when you are idling. You can adjust so that the motors will either stop rotating or always rotate at idle power levels. Some people prefer their props to always spin when armed so they can easily see if their quadcopter is armed or disarmed and some people prefer a lower MINTHROTTLE value so their props stop. Trial and error around the values suggested in the comments is your best bet here.

I have my minthrottle set to 1180 so that i can loop without having to worry about my props stopping and losing control half way round just because I throttle down a bit whilst upside down - but it';s personal preference really.


QuoteHowever, its not an even distribution over the 4 motors. I re-calibrated the ACC and MAG. So not sure what the next step is.... :crossfingers:

If you are finding your motors throttle up unevenly - it may be because your radio is out of trim. Or it may be that your radio signal defaults to 1530 (say) rather than 1500 - meaning you';ll be 30 ';points'; off from straight and level before you do any trimming at all.

The easiest way to narrow this down is to have your quadcopter hooked up to the GUI on your PC whilst you fiddle with the radio. It will show you signal bars that move left and right when you move your sticks and it will give values that alter with stick positions - like 1530 or 1500, for each channel. If your values are only a few points out from 1500 with sticks centred you can use subtrim in your radio menu to get them all to 1500. If you notice that every single channel is (say) 30 points out it may be your radio equipment not defaulting to 1500. Some don';t. There is a bit in the multiwii config you can alter;

/**************************************************************************************/
  /***********************     motor, servo and other presets     ***********************/
  /**************************************************************************************/
    /* motors will not spin when the throttle command is in low position
       this is an alternative method to stop immediately the motors */
    //#define MOTOR_STOP

    /* some radios have not a neutral point centered on 1500. can be changed here */
    #define MIDRC 1525


You can see that my radio was about 25 points too high on all channels, so rather than messing with sub trim on each one i just altered the code to centre on 1525 instead.
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

secretman

finetune your trim to 1500 at center in wiiconf, then just dont worry about engine start b4 an other once in air change nothing..

Jesse101

#7
Thank you both for your replies.
I will adjust the mincommand. Plus I';ll see if I can fine tune the Tx, although I think maybe the DX5e maybe a little bit crap at centring on 1500 each time.
Guess after that I';ll have to fix the props and give it some welly. I';ll let you know if I find all the pieces after the crash  :smiley:

teslahed

Quote from: Jesse101 on Wednesday,December 12, 2012, 18:45:05 I think maybe the DX5e maybe a little bit crap at centring on 1500 each time.

My cheap Turnigy9x radio is usually out by 4 or 5 points in either direction. If i knock one of the sticks and allow it to re-centre itself the value can be different by a couple of points or so. It';s not worth worrying about all that much, but you can alter the multiwii code if you want;

/**************************************************************************************/
  /***********************                  TX-related         **************************/
  /**************************************************************************************/

    /* introduce a deadband around the stick center
       Must be greater than zero, comment if you dont want a deadband on roll, pitch and yaw */
    #define DEADBAND 6


You can see I';ve set mine to 6 to allow for my transmitter.

You don';t want the values to be out by more than about 4 or 5 though if you can help it.

(if you are wondering why it says i edited your message - it';s only because i clicked the wrong button. Sorry!).
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.


Gaza07

The Dx5e is a very basic transmitter and you would be better off with a proper computerised radio set,
it would certainly make thinks easier for you, like Chris says the 9x is a very affordable option or go for any other brand of 7 or 8 channel transmitter  ~~
[url="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN6zN99iLCIJea5FCQPKf_g"]YouTube[/url]   [url="https://www.printing-3d.co.uk"]printing-3d[/url]  [url="https://www.thingiverse.com/Gaza07/about"]Thingiverse[/url]  [url="https://www.3d-printworx.co.uk"]3d-printworx[/url]

Jesse101

One more question.
Now the motors are turning fine, I';ve noticed that at about 1/4 throttle a full roll or full yaw will stop one or more of the motors. Re-center of the sticks brings the motors back on.
That';s not right is it? Surely on a quad all props must turn all the time in flight?
Would an increase in minthrottle solve this?
Thanks

teslahed

Increasing min throttle may solve the problem, but you might also find the problem goes away when you add the props and get the thing in the air. The speed of the motors will change based on readings from the gyros and accelerometers - when the quadcopter is immobile with the props removed you wont get the same results as you will in flight.

I would suggest you find some nice long grass and do a few low passes to test things out gently to start with. I';ve had some pretty serious crashes into half meter long reeds and escaped with zero damage in the past, it makes a big difference.

One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

Jesse101

It worked!
First flight was a success. I';ve discovered LEDs are essential to work out which way I';m pointing! So that';s the next project. I';m hoping to power them direct from the board.
Thank you for your input guys, really appreciated.
Jesse

teslahed

You are definitely not the first person to realise LEDs are vital for orientation. If you buy some ';High Density LED tape'; for a couple of quid per meter you can produce very nice effects by wiring it direct to the 12 volts from the lipo (or any live and neutral spots on the power distribution board if you have one of those). 2 different colours, one front and another back, seem to work the best.

[smg id=96]

Glad to hear things are working for you now!
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.