First Quad build - 220 Martian II 5" Racing Quad - Build Log

[HexDecimal]

RESULT!

I did a factory reset via cleanflight and cleare all the settings that seemed to be not responding correctly such as ARM MODE.

Now ARM mode does light up when enabled via AUX and the motors spin up as they should.
I then have Radio control of the ESC';s.

Now to setup FC based failsafe...

Oh, OK. Seems I was trying to solve an earlier problem.

When you toggle the arm switch can you see the slider (In modes) move in Cleanflight?

Yes the AUX was visibly working but ARM channel would not turn green, after the reset it works now.

[ched]

That';s good news, well done.
Re Failsafe, I think the FS-iA6B rx can also be configured to failsafe via tx. So as well as failsafe on FC it';s best to set rx up for failsafe as well.

[HexDecimal]

That';s good news, well done.
Re Failsafe, I think the FS-iA6B rx can also be configured to failsafe via tx. So as well as failsafe on FC it';s best to set rx up for failsafe as well.

Well I had Radio failsafe setup pretty easily via Aux killswitch, my concern is when I turn the radio off (or lose signal) the motors don';t spin down.

So I need to set that up properly in CF.

Also just lost a soldered connection that I had to resolder. I guess some glue will help prevent that happening in flight.

[ched]

Make 100% sure your failsafe works. Otherwise your quad may fly off and never be seen again!!!!!!

Good soldered joints are normally very strong. You don';t normally need to add glue. It might be worth practising  soldering on scrap wires/components. There are some good videos on youtube.

[HexDecimal]

Okay I set all my failsafes on the Radio to ON with throttle (Ch3) , aux 5 and aux 6 at -%100.

When I turn radio off it cuts the motors now.



Time to head out to a field for some basic testing 

[ched]

Well done. Just take it easy at first and stand a good safe distance back.
Don';t forget to video the first flights  ::)

[HexDecimal]

Well that was fun, I learnt a lot from that session and just getting the quad into the air was a great feeling!

The first takeoff, literally was almost directly up, kind of took me by surprise because I was not expecting that much punch from the 3S 25c batteries! 
It seemed zippy enough! I was flying mostly line of sight as this was just to get used to and to check the handling mostly.

Lessons learnt from first flight:

1> Need to adjust calibration/endpoints? a little more as it kept creeping in one direction with only Throttle to keep it in the air.
2 > Battery needs to be more secure - it kept coming off despite being cable tied and strapped. Almost had a fire situation as it hit the rotors and got marked up a little (but no air exposure).
3> VTX seems to cut out or freeze. Not sure if this is distance related but I didn';t ever get very far away.
4> RX Antenna need to be more secured, I lost one to the props despite it being cable tied. Quad still worked on one antenna (well 1.5).
5> I need more practice!

[HexDecimal]

ABout to do some repairs and tweaks...

I lost an antenna so am about to desolder a good one (from same side as lost one) from the original fs-ia6b that I effed up. Seen some threads on de-pinning, I think that project can wait a little.


Still not entirely sure why the video would freeze once airborne, my initial thoughts are voltage sag causing vtx dropout... 

[Reman]

Depinning the iA6b isn';t a particularly easy job. It uses a riser board for the pins that';s soldered vertically on the end of the main board, so there';s a lot of desoldering and tracing which pin on the riser goes to which track on the main board.

I moved over to the FS-X6b a while back due to it being a lot simpler to package in a quad. It';s a bit of an odd ball because it';s got a pair or 30.5mm spaced holes for building it into a stack, But the holes are only 2mm rather than the more usual 3 to 3.2mm. I';ve been drilling out the holes in the boards to 3mm without any ill effects. God knows why Flysky made such an obvious blunder, But even with that, They';re pretty good boards.

Rumor has it that the Failsafe only works in iBus mode, But the only one I';m using with PPM (All the rest are on iBus) seems to disarm fine when I turn off the TX.

The aerials use a couple of little plugs on the board, So swapping them would be a 10 second job. It';s also not using those bulky "BODA Antennas", subsequently its usually easier to fit because you can route the aerials with bends where they';re convenient, Rather than locating bends where the aerial isn';t a thick rigid lump.

[ched]

One very important point on vtx. If it is powered on without an antenna it will die!!!!!! Sometimes this shows up as a loss of range or other times no signal at all.
As for the rx antenna, the only important part of the antenna is the last 31.25mm at the tip. this is normally stripped back. The 31.25mm is a quarter of the 2.4Ghz wavelength and is very critical to good range.

I am using a X6B as it has antennas that just clip on and off  ::) So if I damage one I can easily replace it, well I could if I had spares  ::)

As for the image freezing, check all solder joints look good and shiny.

[Cheredanine]

Assuming as above, arm mode is et up correctly, reasons quad will not arm usually:

Throttle signal not below min_check value

Quad not flat, still and level when arming

Quad not flat and level when powering up

CPU load at 100%

Edit: Having fc mounted upside down without telling it should also be there

[HexDecimal]

https://youtu.be/VsOCjuE67X4

Hopefully I';ll have some better footage next weekend...
This was all about just seeing it take off...which it did and then I proceeded to crash land it a lot... :)

[Bajadre]

Nice matey keep practicing that throttle control and she will stay exactly where you want her 

[HexDecimal]

First FPV group outing today, got some flying done at Trent Park (Cockfosters) with a group I found.
Learnt a few things, plenty of drops but no broken props. Was literally getting my brain used to throttle control.

Was flying LOS for a fe hours just to get the feel of her.
First time with the FPV goggles was nervy and I felt out of control but then I got into it and had a blast!

Prior to this, I replaced my VTX with a FT48X and a nice SMA aerial to match.

I think a solder joint came loose towards the end, was expecting much worse - she held it together pretty well.