I am updating my ArduCopter software to 3.1.2 on a APM 2.5 and am doing the ESC calibration for Afro 30A ESCs (they have SimonK update also)..
I have completed the radio calibration already. I put my throttle stick to max throttle and plug in my lipo. This powers the APM, RX, ESCs, and Motors (using the 3DR Power Module). After a few seconds, the APM starts to beep. I disconnect the battery and reconnect it. Here is when I am not sure if the ESC calibration worked as expected. When I reconnect the battery, I get a single beep and then nothing. (still at full throttle). When I lower the throttle stick to minimum position, I get 2 beeps and the LED light on the ESCs all change to green. As I move the throttle stick up and down the motors start to spin and get faster as throttle is applied (this is what i expected).
Does this mean that the ESC calibration is complete? I was watching a ESC calibration youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYoknRObfOg) and they mentioned 3 beeps to signify that you are on 3S battery and then a number of beeps to signify full throttle and a number of beeps to signify min throttle during ESC calibration mode.. I did not get these same steps...
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Chirag
Replies
Thanks guys.. I will try and power my RX independently of the APM, ESCs, and Motors and see if I get similar results or if I am able to get results closer to the Wiki. Thanks!
Read the wikis, it has a better sure way of calibrating your esc. The best way to verify is of course to use the throttle to verify that the motors are spinning up and down. of course it goes without saying you do all this without any props attached.
Hi,
For ESC calibration you need to have throttle at max, then turn on the ESC, wait for the beeps and put throttle at minimum. Sounds like in the other situation you did this correctly.
In some situations at powerup the rx doesn't get a lock on the radio fast enough and in the startup procedure emits failsafe prior to emitting the throttle max position and this could prohibit the firmware from reading max throttle to initiate the calibration procedure.
So in those cases I use a simple alkaline battery to power my rx and temporarily remove the red wire from the ESC servo cable (otherwise it would be powered by both alkaline battery and lipo at same time and this is bad). So from ESC to rx I have the black and the signal cable going there only, not the red one.
Then when I plug in the lipo to the ESC, the ESC also gets power, gets the max throttle already established on the rx and starts the calibration procedure. Then you lower the throttle to bottom, wait for the other beeps and it's all hunky dory.