A drink is what I feel like! Did another Acc calibration, Compass calibration, repositioned weight. Still the same.
Ashley good to check the trim but are the sticks 'really' centered? You don't mention what TX you are using but in most of them you can look at the servo channel monitor. See if the values for channels 1 thru 4 are at zero. You may ned to do a stick calibration if they are not at zero.
I watched the GPX file in playback and don’t really see anything out of the ordinary. Do you have a video of the flight and what the copter’s actually doing? It might be helpful to see that, and to see how exactly you have the copter set up (including how your weight is attached).
G'day. That's it.... Sorry, I've not been around Aussie's for a while and my Strine is wearing off. (For non-Brit, none Aussies, Strine is what they speak in Strylia...y'know dahn undah....e.g. Emma Chizzitt? How much is it? Affabeck Lauder. Alphabetical order. And no, I'm not making it up (this time) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strine ) Andy.
Thanks for taking the time to look at the GPX file, Steve. (Chris: Steve is very experienced with looking at GPX files and also some of his friends are magnetic trees too. Eucalyptus trees, even.) Andy.
I have been doing this for a while, and am still not an Arboreal Avoidance Master. But at least I’ve figured out how to safely remove pine needle sap from spendy carbon fiber props.
Hello Ashley, Please also look for cold solder joints on the ESC.\ where the motor wires solder to the pads. Greetings, Adam
So I’ve had some time to do a bit more testing and a few more changes. I’ve done two compass calibrations. Two Acc calibrations. No change. I’ve checked the trims on the Tx and Mk tool. I’ve had a look at the solder joints and can’t see anything wrong. I’ve put new motors on booms 1,7 and 8. Motors 4&5 were sounding like they had bearing issues so I’ve replaced them with motors 7&8 to see if the copter now rolls towards 4&5. Which it doesn’t. A couple of days ago I flew 3kg without any issues. As soon as I put 5Kg on it began rolling towards boom 7 again. I took it back to the company that did the installation of the BLv3. We used a different 5kg weight and the problem still occurred. I’ve attached a few GPX files in case anyone has time to look. Those ending in 302, 304,305 are with 3kg and the flights were level. The rest of the files are with 5kg. All of which roll towards boom 7&8. Thanks for any help or advice guys Ash
G'day Ash: Hmmm. That's very strange situation. Can you confirm if you EDIT: suspend (not suspect!) the copter with some cord from the center of the battery plate (you'll have to tie the cord around the LiPo's and the battery plate, of course), that the copter hangs level? Andy.
Based on what I’m seeing in the GPX file, I wonder if you have a problem with the BL #7. It could either be the controller, or could be the wires from the pads to the motors. Changing the motors didn’t do anything, so the problem’s not the motor. But in each of the GPX files, BL #7 is running much lower than the others, and it appears they may be trying to compensate. Why they can’t, I don’t know, as I’ve been able to fly a fully-loaded Cinestar after completely losing a motor. But maybe that’s easier than a motor that’s running at 50% of capacity. Have you told us what motors you’re using? I also asked if you had any flight video (just a GoPro is fine) as sometimes there’s telltale signs you can either see or hear while the copter is in flight. I’d also try and do a very short flight with a lot more weight...maybe even tethered to the ground, and see what happens, with, say, 10kg or so.
Hi Andy and Steve, the balance is a touch forward when there is no weight attached. Due to the legs. But when adding weight I've made sure it's balanced. I've even weighed the legs to make sure one isn't heavier than the other. Steve that was my thought that it looks like BL#7. I'm returning it to the company again tomorrow for them to investigate so I'll keep you posted. I did a quick go pro video so will upload that as well. Thanks for taking the time to have a look guys. Cheers
A week later and an update. The two German engineers that installed the PDB spent a couple of days trying to solve the problem. They eventually tracked it down to a faulty ribbon cable. There were no error codes and to me and them the drifting seems like strange behaviour from having a faulty ribbon cable. Anyway, they have replaced it and it has now had a number of flights at an AUW of 10.1kg without any issues. However, looking at the GPX files ESC and motor #7 still does not seem right to me. If anyone has time to look at the files I'd be grateful to hear what others with more experience think. Cheers
#7 seems a little low as far as max current but its not that far off from #1. This could simple be a matter of the copter's CG being a little off, the flight control board not being absolutely level when you calibrate the ACC or just bad reporting of the BL which I have seem on the older 2.0 boards. Right now your average current and temperature readings are all good and I have more weight on the averages than the max numbers. Your power numbers are also really good. I think you are fine. I would just double check to make sure the CG is as good as it can be.
G'Day Ashley, Any idea how the ribbon cable fault was identified? Was it just through trial and error of replacing components, or by comparison of flying with the NC disconnected from the FC? .... Or was it the molex cable running from the FC to the PDB? Cheers Chris
Hey Chris, Trial and error really from what they told me. They initially had the same problem I had with it drifting. They pulled it all apart, put it back together and same problem. Then before one of the flights they adjusted a few minor things and it flew without issue. They retraced their steps and eventually narrowed it down to the actual ribbon cable. Made a new cable and flies as it should. Fingers are crossed this continues.
G'day Ash: If I understand what you're saying correctly, this could be the ribbon cable that transmits the I2C bus between the various boards. If you have a dodgy ribbon cable, all sorts of weird and wonderful things then happen as the data blocks whizzing between the various boards get mangled in ways beyond imagination. Andy.
A side note to my issues with the BL board in case anyone finds they get the same error msg. Yesterday we went out early to do some filming. We took the copter out and did pre-flight checks. Within a few minutes we noticed condensation on the props and immediately covered the centre boards. We waited about 10 minutes and tried to start the copter. Motor number one wouldn't start. (Andy I immediately recalled your story on the DVD of moisture causing a single motor not to start but couldn't remember what the error msg number was). I wasn't sure if it was more BL issues or moisture issues. We hooked up MK tool and got Error 32. Did a quick search for this but couldn't find anything more than this. 32 "BL Sefltest error" One BL-Ctrl reports a selftest error. We tried a number of different solutions but nothing would work. Eventually (2 hours later) it started. Tested it for a while without the MoVI and it was fine throughout the day.