I have a quadcopter on a s500 frame with an issue that i just can't seem to figure out.
here is the parts list:
- turnigy sk3 1130kv motors
- hobbyking 20a ubec/escs
- apm v2.8
- turnigy 5200 mah 3s lipo
- hobbyking t6a v2 tx/rx
I do not have a power module, i am supplying the apm with power by using the esc's through the output section of the apm.
I use mission planner, have 3.3.3 firmware installed, it does all the calibrations, compass, accel and radio. I did not use the esc calibration through mission planner. I tried calibrating the esc through the apm, all at once, it didnt work. It will go through the calibration but when i come to raise the throttle after, nothing. the throttle has no response.
my next step was to insure that the esc and motors work, so i individually calibrating each one through the RX. Sure enough, they all work, the motor spins up. It seems to recognize the inputs from the tx, I can do the calibration and arm the drone.
So i then plug it all back in and figure maybe its just a bug in the calibration and it will still launch, so the apm has no problem arming itself, the escs boot up and motors twitch when the escs boot but still no throttle. When i watch it with mission planner, i can see the inputs from the tx.
I tried to adjust the failsafe throttle position reading to positive and negative from the minimum throttle position reading from the tx. I even turned off the failsafe just to see if it would work. I wiped the eeprom and have retried everything, still no throttle response after arming.
I have the flightmodes set properly, it's set to stabilize and mission planner even shows me that its going into stabilize.
So I'm at a bit of a loss, the options i'm considering are the following...
- ESCs aren't compatible with the APM
- TX/RX aren't compatible with APM
- I need to program the TX...I have not touched the TX other than bind it to the RX with the binding cable.
I'm would appreciate any help, I'm not a newbie with RC, but this is my first drone.
Replies
You need to set the radio up with a clean AIRPLANE (ARCO) profile.
And, FWIW that radio is a rebranded Fly Sky CT-6B. I have two of them (LONG story). I rate them two steps below trash.
These radios are barely adequate for flying a simple airplane or helicopter.
These radios cannot be used with any flybarless helicopter gyro.
This radio cannot be adjusted in the field. To make any changes you must connect the radio to a computer.
Range and battery life suck.
This radio will prevent you from utilizing your APM to its full potential.
I get it that money may be an issue, but in all honesty, if you are serious about this endeavour, and if you are serious about flying safely, you need a better radio.
yeah i agree, the radio's are not good by any stretch but I picked this whole quad up for 130 bucks, never flown, guy couldnt get it to work, so I'm trying to not to spend any money until i have it working.
Then I'll figure out what I want to do with the TX/RX
My guess is the issue is that the ESCs haven't been calibrated. Maybe try plugging the RC receiver directly into an ESC and see if you can get the motors to spin. Of course this is only possible if the receiver can output a single channel somehow (many modern receivers output a PWM stream which includes all channels.
I did try plugging the esc into the throttle channel on the RX, it all calibrated properly and I could engage the motor, speed up and speed down.
Flack, unless I'm very much mistaken, you can't use 3.3.3 with the APM.
I think 3.2.*? is the last version that was supported. Perhaps you should try installing ealier firmware, and start again?
you and the other gentleman above have may have found my problem...I'm going to give this a try.
Hey :)
take a look into the WiKi:
The APM 2,xx series can use firmware versions up to v.3.2.1
The higher versions are intended for the PixHawk series with a
different processor.
So reflash to v.3.2.1
that makes complete sense, awesome, thx