search

MegaPirateNG / ardupilot-mpng

MegaPirateNG
GNU General Public License v3.0
117 stars 105 forks source link

Hobbyking Red MultiWii Pro won't ARM without connecting it to my PC at least one time. MPNG 3.0.1 R3B #95

Open motivecodex opened 10 years ago

motivecodex commented 10 years ago

After fixing everything, GPS, and all the calibrations, I could arm my board when connected to Mission Planner (the latest). Then I disconnected from my PC, put on all props and went for a test flight. I could not ARM the board! So I went back with the battery still connected to my PC, and connected it to Mission Planner, while still connected to my Battery, and after connecting, I could ARM the board. So I disconnected only the USB cable, and I could then ARM and DISARM it normally. BUT, after disconnecting my battery from the board, and reconnecting the battery to the board, I could not ARM the board again!, So I reconnected it to my PC and Mission Planner with the battery still connected, and could ARM it again, then disconnected the USB again, and could ARM and Disarm it. It flies very well by the way. Only this problem and it works correct!

So, who knows what is happening here?

PS. Battery is a Nano-tech turnigy Lipo 11.1v, 3S 4500MAH. The voltage was at 11.60 when doing the testing with ARMING. Will check tomorrow with a fully charged battery to confirm if the problem is still there or not.

PSS. Thank you very much for providing support and updating MegapirateNG!

BOBNa commented 10 years ago

See this http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=27245066&postcount=1859

motivecodex commented 10 years ago

Ok, thank you. I will order the UBEC5v-6v http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__4319__TURNIGY_3A_UBEC_w_Noise_Reduction.html and a capacitor 3v-16v http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16223__TURNIGY_Voltage_Protector.html . Hope it works

smurfy commented 10 years ago

You also could try what's suggested here: #73 (decrease the voltage limit)

Add #define BOARD_VOLTAGE_MIN 3000 in APM_Config.h

motivecodex commented 10 years ago

That sounds awesome! I already ordered the parts, but can I change the min voltage within Mission Planner? Can I change the min voltage and use the flashtool? I don't want to edit 3.0.1 R3b and upload it with Arduino, did not work the last 2 times. Flashtools seems to work perfect.

smurfy commented 10 years ago

sadly this option is not supported by the flashtool.

motivecodex commented 10 years ago

Ok then, I will wait till my UBEC 6v and capacitor arrive :watch: Thank you anyways :)

Quato1985 commented 10 years ago

Simply way for that issue is remove a 5V voltage regulator from board and do a solder bridge between vin pad and vout pad, then only what you need to do is connect a 5V/2A external BEC to vin board :) is a best way to solve that issue. Because on servo pins You have 5V not 6V or higher.

motivecodex commented 10 years ago

I have connected the UBEC with 6V on my FC now, is 5V recommended then? Because 5V did not work from my speed controller. I can arm the board with the 6V UBEC.

strips commented 10 years ago

Its not for everyone to remove the 5V regulator.

I have had an support issue with HobbyKing for over a month and it's like discussing with a brick. After me asking they send the issue to an electronics engineer to verify, they closed the case and says it is confidential between them and the factory!!! Impressive! I use a 6V BEC to get around the problem. What I do not like with using a 5V BEC all the components rated 5V only get 3.9V. That includes all the serial in/outs. Maybe it works fine for a while but you really do not know how close you are to the limit. Maybe you buy a new GPS and it gets fried, or maybe you crash. Too low voltage can be as bad as too high.

That leaves soldering on the board which I do not like, or using a 6V BEC.

Quato1985 commented 10 years ago

RED HK have a mistake on board with power distribution.

On board 5V reg is low power and it should feed power only in to board integrated circuits. Not for servos, not for somes GPS or OSD. It need a 5+1.25=6.25 minimum Vin to stabilize 5V on Vout.

But if You connect power source higher than 6~7V then can not connect any servos or something to board ports like RC IN or RC OUT headers. And You can not connect any OSD and GPS to RS port because current limit that 5V reg is to low, and it may cause a reboot Mega.

And there are only two ways to remedy this.

First is use a ext UBEC with Vout ~6.25V, while you still can not connect anything to RC + pin headers (on its is power from UBEC higher than 6V) or RS ports (still powered from 5V reg from board).

Second is remove 5V reg from board do a bridge between Vin and Vout pad where there was a reg. Simply is a solder the smd bridge like resistor with mark 000 on that pads. And connect more power 5V ext UBEC like 2-3A power and some capatitor. Then You have a big stock of power to connect anything You need to the board in which the connector or port You need :)

On my RED HK board i dont have that 5v reg, I plugged my own made 5V - 2,5A step down switching regulator based on L5973D and its powered all board, minimOSD, RC reciver, LEDs, 5V Video transmitter, GPS - L5973D is cold with 4S supply, and i don't have any crash.

bpopp commented 10 years ago

Does disabling the arming check prevent this issue? Early on I did notice that I could not arm my HK MWP unless it was connected to a PC. I remember thinking it was odd because MP is supposed to tell you why it can't arm, but after connecting via USB, it would arm perfectly. I reluctantly disabled the arming check and it seems to arm and disarm fine, now. I've ordered a UBEC, but am still a little unclear as to whether I should set it to 5v or 6v? Could it hurt anything to use 6v?

On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 12:08 AM, Patrick notifications@github.com wrote:

RED HK have a mistake on board with power distribution.

On board 5V reg is low power and it should feed power only in to board integrated circuits. Not for servos, not for somes GPS or OSD. It need a 5+1.25=6.25 minimum Vin to stabilize 5V on Vout.

But if You connect power source higher than 6~7V then can not connect any servos or something to board ports like RC IN or RC OUT headers. And You can not connect any OSD and GPS to RS port because current limit that 5V reg is to low, and it may cause a reboot Mega.

And there are only two ways to remedy this.

First is use a ext UBEC with Vout ~6.25V, while you still can not connect anything to RC + pin headers (on its is power from UBEC higher than 6V) or RS ports (still powered from 5V reg from board).

Second is remove 5V reg from board do a bridge between Vin and Vout pad where there was a reg. Simply is a solder the smd bridge like resistor with mark 000 on that pads. And connect more power 5V ext UBEC like 2-3A power and some capatitor. Then You have a big stock of power to connect anything You need to the board in which the connector or port You need :)

Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/MegaPirateNG/ardupilot-mpng/issues/95#issuecomment-35355571 .

motivecodex commented 10 years ago

@bpopp I have it set on 6V and a lot of people on forums suggest also 6V for the HK red MWP

bpopp commented 10 years ago

UBEC came in on Saturday and it seems to be working well @ 6v. Thanks for the info.

On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 8:54 AM, F4LLCON notifications@github.com wrote:

@bpopp https://github.com/bpopp Best thing is to set it on 6V, I have it set on 6V and a lot of people on forums suggest also 6V.

Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/MegaPirateNG/ardupilot-mpng/issues/95#issuecomment-35893379 .

max2206 commented 10 years ago

Sorry but when you connect a UBEC with 6.1v to the Multiwii pro is this not going to give problems to for example the GPS and Telemetry module who needs 5V. And what about connecting the MultiWii pro with MegaPirateNG 3.1.5 rc2 to the PC with USB.? PC USB works with 5V and the FC has 6V could i not damage my USB interface in the PC ? /\/\ax2206

4920441 commented 9 years ago

@max2206 That's exactly what I had in mind.... its only about 1 V but its a increase of about 20%.
Since the original Multiwii Software used on this board didn't fail a lot (as far as I read about it) it should be better to decrease the voltage Check in the firmware, since most arduinos work even at 3.3volts, and there are no servos driven - or even if they are, they should get enough current at 5.3V or so directly from the ESC integrated BEC - only the logics faint around 4,3 Volt internally...

Or what do you recommend? To which components is the 5V line of the Servo Outputs also connected to? To serial? To Serial/Bluetooth VCC?

Cheers,

UxG

Weekendflyer commented 9 years ago

I found an easier work around that doesn't require soldering or a 6 BEC. I bought a $4 portable USB recharger from Wal-mart. I plug in my Lipo and then I plug the USB Battery. Once the red led quits doing two quick flashes and off and starts just blinking on/off, I unplug the USB, arm, and fly. The board only checks the voltage when it first starts up and never again, so I can arm/disarm until I unplug the Lipo. Haven't had any problems yet ...Hope this helps someone out!!.

http://youtu.be/p-RTOZLyQkE