Problem with ESC calibration

Posted by Tõnis on August 4, 2014 at 9:23am

Hello,

I have a problem with Turnigy Multistar esc's (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__25365__turnigy_multistar_30_amp_multi_rotor_brushless_esc_2_4s.html)

I know that they can not be calibrated using the standard method and that these should have some kind of automatically configured (pre configured) throttle control. They can only be programmed, meaning I can select battery type and so on...

The problem I am having is that some of the motors seem to turn slower than the others. At some point one of the motors sometimes stops and won't run again before I pull the throttle down and move up again. 

I checked the difference of the motors rpm using failsafe config screen in APM planner and the biggest difference can sometimes be over 200. 

Maybe someone has encountered the same problem? 

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Replies

  • Tõnis November 10, 2014 at 10:20pm

    Hey, 

    The same problem came along after a crash. The frame was a bit broken so I bought a new one, X4 instead of previous Y6 and put the copter back together. Loaded new firmware to APM and recalibrated the ESC's just in case.

    Now the problem that occurs is somewhat similar to the previous one as the motors have different rpm values. But it's a bit different as when I imitate forward movement for example then the two motors speed up and stay up even if the stick is back in the center position. After some time the motors might even up but usually they wont and others might speed up or slow down. 

    I have calibrated the ESCs for many times and have tried different setups but they all act in the same way. Also I thought that maybe it's a FC problem and reloaded the firmware, even tried an older version and recommended parameters but all the same. 

    Could it be that just the ESC's are broken or is there a possibility that the APM itself is broken? 

    Thanks, 
    Tõnis


  • Johann van de Venter August 4, 2014 at 9:32am

    I had the multistars on my quad as well and had the same issue. 

    The way I fixed it is calibrate each one on its own. When you hear the beeps, you hear a series off beeps. Wait untill the 5 single peeps pass, then 5 series of 2 beeps follow. Lower the throttle as soon as the two beeps starts. This put the ESC onto NMxx and not lipo. 

    This sorted the problem for me. 

    I upgraded my ESCs now since the multistars,although rated for 4S lipos, overheat in 4 minutes on a 4S to the point of hitting the temp cut off. 

    hope this helps

    • Tõnis > Johann van de Venter August 4, 2014 at 9:45am

      Thanks for your response. 

      I followed your instructions but still no change, the dfifference is about 200 at full throttle and at one point one of the motors stopped completely. 

    • Johann van de Venter > Tõnis August 4, 2014 at 11:31am

      Hi Dude 

      What motors are you running. 

      What battery are you running.

      I use to have RCTimer 2830 -12 850KV motors and the Multistars worked ok on them. I then up to higher quality 5010 530KV motors and this is where my trouble with the ESC speed started. 

      Apart from the overheating, the 4S packs seem to have more constant speed on all motors than the 3S packs. 

      There are some guys that have had good success upgrading the firmware to SimonK but most of them complain about overheating issues on the ESCs after doing so. 

    • Tõnis > Johann van de Venter August 5, 2014 at 2:48am

      Motors: NTM Prop Drive Series 28-30 900kv
      http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=52858

      Battery: 3S, 11,1 V, 5000 mAh

      I read about the SimonK software but I would not like to go that way, it seems too risky that I could burn my ESC's or motors.

    • Johann van de Venter > Tõnis August 5, 2014 at 2:52am

      The 28-30 900KV should work OK. 

      Have you checked after each flight that your ESCs are not too hot?

      Have you tried setting the Motor spin on arm speed to a bit ove a higher value , perhaps try 130

      Also try changing the Minimum Throttle speed to 130, then reboot the APM and see if it's any better.

      Also

      http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uploads/1001782845X7478X42...

      This is the manual. 

      Make sure:

      Brake is off (2 beeps at boot)

      NIXX is set and not LIPO (Drop throttle at group of 2 beeps

      Timing is auto (Drop throttle at group of 4 beeps) 

      Remember that you can change only one setting at a time so you have to do each step for each ESC. You cannot do this with all ESCs at once. 

      Hope this helps 

       

    • Tõnis > Johann van de Venter August 5, 2014 at 7:31am

      Thanks! I will try to do as you reccommended. 

      How can I change the value for Motor spin on arm speed, I could not find it on the parameters list?

    • Tõnis > Tõnis August 5, 2014 at 8:49am

      It seems that it is working now after I programmed the esc as you reccommended!

      I will try to take off and have a test flight to be sure but at the moment everything seems to be good.

      Thank you very much!

    • Johann van de Venter > Tõnis August 5, 2014 at 12:39pm

      Just keep an eye on the ESC temps. The multistars runs a little hotter under the NIxx config compared to LIPO. 

      I suggest just doing a 5 minute hover close to the ground and then landing it to check the temps. If they are ok ... move on to 7 minutes and check again . 

      .... just to be on the safe side.... 

    • Tõnis > Johann van de Venter August 11, 2014 at 12:05pm

      Thank you again!

      Everything is working correctly and the ESC-s do not get hot at all. Problem solved :)

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