Hi all,
I soldered the four motors and did a resistance check across each of them to confirm 2Ohms. (NOTE: The reading stabilizes to 2 ohms after about 3 or 4 seconds). Everything seems to be fine so far.
When I plug it into a PC, the green LED quickly flashes 5 times and the red led blinks after that. The blue LED is on.
Unfortunately, the motors do not spin -- not even momentarily. I have not attached the propellers yet. I attached tiny pieces of scotch tape to look for motion. This way I thought I could tell if the motors even nudge. Unfortunately, there is no sign of rotation.
Any and all pointers would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Thas
[SOLVED] Motors not spinning on bootup
Re: motors not spinning on bootup but LEDs flash correctly
What happens if you power it on via battery? Also, when you connect to it, what does the log output say?
Also: AR.Drone 2.0 (RC-enabled thanks to self-soldered MiruMod) and Hubsan X4 H107
Re: motors not spinning on bootup but LEDs flash correctly
First, thank you so much for the prompt response!
I have not done these steps yet. I was worried when the boot-up did not show all the expected behavior so I did not proceed any further. I will do these tests later this evening and post back. Thanks again.
Thas
I have not done these steps yet. I was worried when the boot-up did not show all the expected behavior so I did not proceed any further. I will do these tests later this evening and post back. Thanks again.
Thas
Re: motors not spinning on bootup but LEDs flash correctly
Hi again,
So here is my update after following your suggestion:
- I attached the props and plugged in the battery
- I did not attach the USB cable to the micro USB port
- The LEDs flashed in the correct sequence
Outcome:
- Three of the four motors rotated correctly (M1 and M3 in CCW direction and M4 in CW direction)
- Unfortunately, M2 is not spinning.
I did check for 2 ohms across contacts and that seems to be fine across all motors. I am also able to turn the device on and off using the miniature button. The bootup sequence repeats consistently after every 'on' action.
I have, however, not connected the device to the host pc and its application yet. I will do that tomorrow.
Any and all suggestions will be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Thas
So here is my update after following your suggestion:
- I attached the props and plugged in the battery
- I did not attach the USB cable to the micro USB port
- The LEDs flashed in the correct sequence
Outcome:
- Three of the four motors rotated correctly (M1 and M3 in CCW direction and M4 in CW direction)
- Unfortunately, M2 is not spinning.
I did check for 2 ohms across contacts and that seems to be fine across all motors. I am also able to turn the device on and off using the miniature button. The bootup sequence repeats consistently after every 'on' action.
I have, however, not connected the device to the host pc and its application yet. I will do that tomorrow.
Any and all suggestions will be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Thas
Re: motors not spinning on bootup but LEDs flash correctly
When I put mine first together, I accidentally created a bad solder joint for M1. Do you have a close-up picture of your soldering job? Does M2 spin freely when you give the propeller a nudge with your finger?
Also: AR.Drone 2.0 (RC-enabled thanks to self-soldered MiruMod) and Hubsan X4 H107
Re: motors not spinning on bootup but LEDs flash correctly
Thank you for the clue. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the solder joint on the M2 wire closest to FET#2 (Q2's Drain) had pushed through and lifted the solder pad 
During our initial tests, the resistance check across all the motors worked because I was testing directly at wire connections. When my son and I looked through the circuit diagram we realized that M2's wire should be connected to Q2. So we did a temporary short between the M2 lead and Q2's Drain and bam! all four motors spun-up !!
While we were at it, we confirmed that this connection between the Px and corresponding Qx was all fine for the remaining three motors. We were not able to test the diodes because they are across the motor windings. We are crossing our fingers and hoping that the diodes are all fine.
Our next step... buy a real soldering iron with a fine tip and do a proper jumper connection between the offending M2 wire and Q2's Drain. Will post back the result after the surgery.
Lesson learned: you have to use a fine tip soldering iron at approximately 300C. Any excess solder on a fat soldering iron WILL jump across joints -- particularly joints that are electrically connected.
Cheers
Thas & son
During our initial tests, the resistance check across all the motors worked because I was testing directly at wire connections. When my son and I looked through the circuit diagram we realized that M2's wire should be connected to Q2. So we did a temporary short between the M2 lead and Q2's Drain and bam! all four motors spun-up !!
While we were at it, we confirmed that this connection between the Px and corresponding Qx was all fine for the remaining three motors. We were not able to test the diodes because they are across the motor windings. We are crossing our fingers and hoping that the diodes are all fine.
Our next step... buy a real soldering iron with a fine tip and do a proper jumper connection between the offending M2 wire and Q2's Drain. Will post back the result after the surgery.
Lesson learned: you have to use a fine tip soldering iron at approximately 300C. Any excess solder on a fat soldering iron WILL jump across joints -- particularly joints that are electrically connected.
Cheers
Thas & son