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HELP APM2 wont power via Output rail :-(

Posted by Graham Miller on August 8, 2012 at 6:06pm

Hi guys I have finally got round to fitting my APM2 to a frame all fitted with the new 3DR GPS :-)

But to my horror I have come across a problem!

I cant get the board to power up via the Output rail and the jumper is on the JP1 as per manual, I have tried another jumper and have even tried a spot of solder across the JP1 pins and it still wont work.

If I power from the receiver end the board powers up, it will arm and motors power up but at 3/4 throttle

has anyone got any ideas please its driving me mad did have these problems with my APM1.

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Replies

  • Crashpilot1000 August 15, 2012 at 11:29am

    Can this happen to me?

    I have a very limited understanding of electronics. So far my APM2 runs fine. It came with 2 extra parts (fuse/zenerdiode) i did not attach. The APM2 controls a quadrocopter wich is powered seperately by a extra BEC that provides 5,4V over the outputrail. The ESC are just connected with their signal wires plus and minus are chopped off. The minimosd (set to 5v by soldering the 2 pads below) is powered directly by the extra BEC with two normal diodes to reduce the voltage (4.6-4.7V measured, videochip doesn't get so hot anymore and works flawlessly). The only thing that is powered by the APM2 is my Frsky sumsignal receiver D4FR. So my question is: will my APM2 fry some day and cause a crash?

  • Dan Gray August 9, 2012 at 2:17pm

    Hi all,

    This same thing happened to my APM2, several months ago.  

    I downloaded the board files (Eagle) and found the bad Schottky diode. 

    So my solution at the time, was, I found another Schottky diode in our electronic bins, and rather than attempt the solder since that diode is hard to get to, I just wired it externally.  Wiring it the way I did, it's connected EXACTLY the same as replacing the diode, just a LOT easier.

    The diode I used was oversized, but that doesn't matter, however, it is very important that it is a Schottky diode, because of the lower voltage drop over a standard silicone diode.

    I'm attaching a picture of my mod.  I took off the insulating tape so I could take the picture.

    Dan Gray

    APM2DiodeFix.jpg

    https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3692486655?profile=original
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson August 8, 2012 at 6:09pm

    Have you contacted tech support from the store you bought it from?

This reply was deleted.

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