N4 expansion boards for BLDC

[LPR]

Luke

After the param is changed and lipo reattached the lights on the m4 do signal differently than usual then the motors do seem to pulse for a bit. After its all over the M4 LEDs return to normal. I never see the motors actually rotate during the calibration sequence. I was under the impression the motors would run at full rpm for a bit. I was also hesitant to attach the M4 to my laptop with QGC via usb while a lipo was also attached. Is it ok to have a lipo attached and QGC monitoring the calibration via usb? It would be helpful to observe the calibration via QGC.

Yes, you can power the M4 with both the USB and lipo.

No, the motors do not spin when calibrating the ESCs.

Larry

[aBUGSworstnightmare]

[pilotnbr1]

Thanks guys! It sounds like they were successfully calibrated then. I do notice less deadband at the bottom of my throttle vs prior to calibration. I think im ready to thro some props on and fly this thing!

Am I correct that quatos is possible with these external simonk esc? Down the road I may tackle that if so... Thanks again for all the help guys!

Luke

[LPR]

Luke

You should be able to use Quatos with the Simonk ESCs.

You can look for a similar project to yours to find some PIDs that will work for you.

In general default setting work ok on small copters with a stiff frame so you may find the defaults values ok.

It's been a while since I setup a PID copter so I don't know how to help you till I hear how the quad flies.

Merry Christmas

Larry

[Crizz]

i flashed a PID-FW on mine because total weight is 1.4 kg and too much for the free licence of Quatos, and it flies even very good with PID-controls, it´s just a little more work to find proper values.

[pilotnbr1]

While still doing some test flights my quad for some reason flipped over on its back and crashed from about 3 feet. The GPS plug pads were ripped cleanly from the board because my new 35mm by 35mm antenna broke free. So now the m4 will not power up at all. The N4 shows no signs of life, even with the m4 completely detached. Will the N4 power up and blink without an m4?

I'm just trying to troubleshoot the N4 and figure out what I need to order...

I also did try to resolder the plug to the pads but it was too difficult to get the center pin pad.. Its just too small.

On a different subject- how susceptible is the M4 to interference? I was running an Alfa wifi adapter litterally a couple mm above the M4 when the crash happened. Second time I had a crash like that. I had about 75% battery when it happened and after impact the motors kept trying to run- was fairly violent.

You can see how close the Alfa is to the m4... About a 2 mm gap with double sided foam tape between as insurance they don't touch in a wreck...

[pilotnbr1]

So upon further testing of my m4 and n4 not working, the m4 works normally when plugged into a micro USB power supply. For the m4 I ordered a new GPS u.fl smd connector and some small tips for my iron to try and repair it.

The n4 is getting 12.5 volts which it passes to the bt module as 1.68 volts. At the 3.3v output near vsense it also reads 1.68. And at the 5v pad its putting out about 3 volts. Is there a way to test the recom dc to dc converter?

Thanks!
Luke

[JussiH]

For the recom, you would basically measure the input and output pins.

GND is the center pin, the two outer ones are IN and OUT. You should see battery voltage at IN and 5V at OUT.

[pilotnbr1]

[Crizz]

take a magnifier or if you have a smartphone with a good cam this and look for broken connections at the components tipped on the board. As far as i remember, some 0 ohms resistors are used as bridges, and one broken solderjoint by the crash can cause abnormal high resistance and reduce of voltage. I´m pretty sure that this causes the problems with your M4.