Hi:
After much thought and skills assessment (and review of my flight test), I decided that I did not know enough about drones to continue my development with the Quadrino Nano.
This forum is the only place I have ever found on the internet that mentions this FC and there is not much documented. I needed more information to get up to speed.
I recently received the Pixhawk flight controller kit that I ordered through you folks. 2 day shipping is great!!! Most pleased.
Converting from the Quadrino Nano to the Pixhawk was not too big a deal and I am far more comfortable than I was. Mission planner has been a huge help is telling me about pre-arm issues that were holding me back. There are also lots of video tutorials available that go through setup and first flight etc.
My Pixhawk came with a much different safety switch that is only a single colour LED, but I have that understood now.
The GPS that came in the kit is a RadioLink SE100. I got nothing but compass errors between this external unit and the onboard compass, until I realized that the compass in the SE100 is not aligned properly inside the case. (or I have not set things up properly) I got past the error by rotating it.
Today I was running it up on the floor, and the motors do not start at the same time. As I increase the throttle, the motors start 1 at a time. I figure that’s an ESC calibration error. What is of real concern is when I run it up until it looks like it’s almost ready to lift off.
Mission Planner shows the amperage around 6A which is fine, but after a few minutes running, my left front motor will slowly spin down and come to a stop as if it has lost signal.
I’m using the ESCs I picked up for the Quad 500 which are the Lynxmotion 12A BEC SimonK versions. A quick search on Pixhawk with SimonK ESCs pulls up lots of links with issues indicating that there are compatibility issues between these two products that result in loss of synchronization.
Will these ESCs work properly with the Pixhawk, and if not, which ESCs should I be ordering?
Thanks
Tim
edited for spelling
Hi Tim,
Those ESC’s should work just fine but might need re-calibration first. (HERE)
Thanks DiaLFonZo
I did calibrate them individually on the throttle channel of the receiver. I shall do the "all at once"and see if that lines them up.) I used the same min and max settings that worked on the Quadrino. Without those, it would not arm.
Best
Tim
Hi DiaLFonZo
You were right, and I thank you once again. I followed the instructions that you linked and my motors now all start at the same time.
In a much earlier post, you indicated that you felt I might get a reasonable flight time with my configuration (4 motors, not 8). You are right on that score as well.
I have been running it up here on the floor and after several minutes, none of my motors coasted to a stop.
I’m recharging the battery to see how long it will run from a full charge while it is on the ground. I haven’t decided if I am going to connect it mission planner to know what current I am testing at.
I certainly got 15 minutes out of it here, but it was not a one shot deal. Some of that was without props while testing. Some of that was with the props upside down so it was pushing up instead of down. I got a solid 10 minutes with the props on at a little under 50%. I flipped the props around to get them pushing the right way and it ran another 5 minutes before I got an alarm buzzer re the voltage.
Very very pleased and appreciative of your help and support.
Best.
Tim
Edited for spelling as usual
Great news!!
But, my battery charger looks like it died. I ordered it Feb 2nd of this year. B3 Prop 18W by Imaxrc. 3 red lights stay on solid and it gets really hot. Tried a couple different batteries. Don’t want to leave it plugged in. My batteries are 3s.
Any warranty, or had that expired?
Thanks
Tim
Great news!!
But, my battery charger looks like it died. I ordered it Feb 2nd of this year. B3 Pro 18W by Imaxrc. 3 red lights stay on solid and it gets really hot. Tried a couple different batteries. Don’t want to leave it plugged in. My batteries are 3s.
Any warranty, or had that expired?
Thanks
Tim
Hi Tim,
I’ll look tomorrow once at work but might still be under warranty.
Can you check voltage with a multimeter ? (on the battery i mean)
Hi DialFonZo
11.76.
It had been on the charger for at least a couple of hours. None of the lights had turned green.
My battery buzzer is set at 3.5 and it had tripped. I shut down the motors right away.
Thanks,
Tim
Hi Tim,
Good, that mean the batteries are still good which is a good news.
The charger should still be warranty according to the manufacturer informations. Can you create a support center ticket about it ?
This is a very basic charger, i would recommend something better if you are serious about it. Either of those would be an improvement:
H6AC LiPo LiFe NiMh Battery Charger 50W (US)
H100AC 100W 10A LiPo LiFe NiMh Battery Charger
Hi DiaLFonZo
I am serious about this. I intend to stay involved for the foreseeable future.
The H100AC 100W says anything from single cell to 6S. Not sure I will ever get to 6S although most of the EDFs I have been looking at are 6S.
The diagram shows only a 6S connection by the labels and it doesn’t look like most of the others that have a series of connections for the different sizes.
I will think it over between the two. I knew I wasn’t going to stay with the 18W.
My decision can be influenced by your expertise, so … What would you do?
Thanks,
Tim
Tim,
The biggest improvement with another charger will be the current.
A typical LiPo battery can be charged at 1C which is one time the capacity. A 1000mAh will be able to be charged a 1A for example.
The H100AC/DC will allow up to 10A, that’s nice.
We’ve just updated the product images so you can have a look. There is a little board where to plug the batteries.
Hi DiaLFonZo
Thanks for the info. The little board makes sense. I will have a look.
I will likely go with that model.
Thanks,
Tim
