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Servo Burnout

Discussion in 'Radian' started by Scott Rieckens, Sep 24, 2012.

  1. Scott Rieckens

    Scott Rieckens New Member

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    I have a 2 axis (roll, tilt) Radian system setup on my 360 Cinestar Gimbal. I mounted both axis, daisy chained them, ran a power source through a 3C lipo to a BEC, to a AR8000 receiver and out from there via Aux with a standard servo extension to the Radian Roll Module. I unplugged the Roll & Tilt Servo connections from the Radian Roll & Tilt Modules, and connected the Radian Programming Module via USB to the Freefly Software. I made a connection and determined the default was correct for the Roll Axis. I then connected the Roll Servo to the Radian Roll Module and fired up the system, connected to the Freefly software.

    The roll axis did the initializing "twitch", then rolled to the right as far as it could go. I started reading how to adjust the center point, or Angle Trim to try and level this out. As I'm preparing to adjust that, the servo starts smoking. I immediately killed power and let it cool. It's apparent the servo is ruined.

    After reading over the entire manual and watching all of the tutorials, I was under the impression the roll axis would initialize relatively close to level. The power is being regulated by a BEC (a system I've been using for months with no issues), the servos are Freefly and there are no peculiar mounting issues going on with our rig. Any ideas why this would happen?
     
  2. Josh Lambeth

    Josh Lambeth Well-Known Member

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    Was everything level and still (not moving) before you initialized the system? Also are you sure it was set to Roll and not tilt or pan?

    Josh
     
  3. Scott Rieckens

    Scott Rieckens New Member

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    Yes, it was literally on the floor. It wasn't moving (still) and was not touched when the system was initialized. It was definitely set to Roll.
     
  4. Matt White

    Matt White New Member

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    Any chance your radio was commanding a roll to the radian? Did you check the slew indication on the roll module using the config software?
     
  5. Scott Rieckens

    Scott Rieckens New Member

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    That is very possible, I was able to use my right elevator on the DX 8 to move the roll axis, but it was really far off so I was in the process of figuring that out when the servo burnt out. I couldn't have had the system powered for more than 3 minutes, the servo didn't seem to be having trouble, but with a new system I didn't know what to expect...

    The weird thing there, I had the slew set to Off on the Roll-1 setting.
     
  6. Tabb Firchau

    Tabb Firchau Administrator
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    Hi Scott,

    Sorry for the issue you had.

    just as a general rule if you ever lot a servo stall for any amount of time it will certainly damage / burn the servo up. For initial setup it is always nice to power the gimbal with a power source that has a switch. That way if you have an issue you can quickly turn it off without damaging anything.

    The 'angle trim' option is really only for very small adjustments to compensate for mounting deficiencies.

    I am unsure why your roll axis went hard over....can you describe your setup a bit more in how you have it wired. Also a note it will be easier cleaner wiring to just use the spektrum Satellite then the entire AR8000 as the Satellite sends all the channels in one data stream.

    Best,

    Tabb
     
  7. Wing Gee

    Wing Gee New Member

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    I know you said you powered up on the ground, but this was my experience. I had the rig hung on a rope while tuning. I powered on without having it on the ground. I "thought" I could keep it still enough with my hands during initialization. I was wrong. After a minute or so, The tilt when full up and was trying to go fully around. It started to bind, since it hit the rear arms of the gimbal. I immediately powered down. Since I stopped powering it on in the air, I never ran into that again.
     
  8. Tabb Firchau

    Tabb Firchau Administrator
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    Hi Wing, yes it really is shocking how perfectly still the Radian needs to be for initialization. I thought I could hold it still enough also but could not.

    Tabb
     
  9. Dave Halton

    Dave Halton Member

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    Ahh b***ger.. So it wont initialise on a ship! :(
     
  10. Tabb Firchau

    Tabb Firchau Administrator
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    HI Dave, I have had no problems on a big ship, but on a small boat in rough turbulent waters it might have an issue. Really anything with gyros is going to have a tough time getting an initialization on a moving platform.
     
  11. Dave Halton

    Dave Halton Member

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    Guess I wont be flying if its that windy anyway!
     
  12. Scott Rieckens

    Scott Rieckens New Member

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    Thanks for the reply Tabb! Sorry I haven't replied sooner, we were out shooting. Because we had the shoot coming up, I had to revert back to our Hoverfly stabilization until I could order a new servo and reset the Radian. So alas, I have no pictures to share right now! That said, I can clear a few things up. We are running the spektrum satellite through the Radian module, as indicated in the manual. The AR8000 is only being used as a coupler of sorts, we have the BEC running into the AR8000, then we run power out from there to our HDMI Converter and Transmitter, and now the Radian. So the AR8000 is only providing power. Otherwise, the setup is exactly how it's shown in the manual. I did have a thought. When we setup the Hoverfly Gimbal settings, I had to change the Roll Servo setting to "Reverse Direction". I wonder if the servo still thinks it needs to be in reverse, but the Radian runs opposite...causing the compensation to run the opposite direction? Sorry if that is confusing, just fishing for a good reason. I just received the 3rd Radian module so once I get a new servo, I will retry setting the system with 3 axis and watch closely for servo stall.

    Scott
     

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