Flymentor - Flashing red light

[rjmachy77]

I am trying to learn how to fly on my own. So far I can only hover. For that reason, I purchased a Flymentor. I have everything mounted and wired per manual and videos on internet. I went ahead and tried to set it up. When I power up, I have a red flashing light (about one per second). I have been checking and re-checking wires and reading articles on the internet to 2 days now. I can’t find the cause of it. I need to resolve this issue, so I can proceed to set it up.
Specs. Trex 600E, Futaba T7CHP, All Futaba servos and receiver.

[pril250]

Hi

Seems your RX is not connecting with FM could be due to FM booting earlier than the RX. Unplug the three wire FM cable from FM to the RX, power up the heli and then ten seconds later re-plug back into the RX. If you then get a flashing green so this is the reason..

[rjmachy77]

When I unplug the three wire plug from the RX, power up, nothing happens on the FM. Is that where the FM gets it power from?

[pril250]

Yes, the idea is to power up FM later than the RX.

[rjmachy77]

I unplugged the FM 3 wire from the RX. Turned power on. At this time, the RX only powered up. Plugged 3 wire FM back in. The red LED flashes fast about 6 times, and then flashes about once per second.

[pril250]

Are the gyro and ccd unit plugged in and correctly. The next thing to tackle is whether there is enough power to supply the RX, Servos and FM. Are you using supply from the ESC and if so what amp rating it has. Normally they are rated at around 5-6A in which case may not have sufficient power to drive FM as well. You can try running it with say the tailservo unplugged and see if that makes a change.

On a Trex600 I used a 10A external BEC to power up the electronics including FM.

[rjmachy77]

It doesn’t really show clearly in the manual, but I have the black wires on top on both plugs. I have a separate 4.8v battery pack for the electronics. I tried it with the elevator and Aileron only plugged in, so I don’t think it is a power supply issue.

[pril250]

Black wires on top is correct when the unit is upright with the writing the correct way up. The fact still remains though that FM is not booting up with connection to the RX. Since I only use Spektrun I don't know the ins and outs for the Futaba. I hope Ivor chimes in since he is definitely a Futaba man and also knows his stuff on FM. The last suggestion I have is to try and re-bind the rx/tx with FM connected if you haven't tried it already.

[rjmachy77]

What do you mean by bind it. Maybe I missed something

[pril250]

Is your Futaba TX 72MHz or 2.4GHz.

[rjmachy77]

In specifications it shows
Operating System: 2-stick, 7 channels
Transmitting frequency: 50 or 72 MHz bands
Modulation: FM/PPM or PCM, switchable
Power supply: 9.6V NT8S600B Ni-Cd battery
Current draw 250mA
I don't see 2.4 GHZ anywhere

[pril250]

Not sure but that may be the reason FM is not working. I think it only works with 2.4GHz DSM or similar.and does not understand PCM.but I may be mistaken.

[rjmachy77]

The FM manual says it works with FM/PPM radio equipment. This is correct to my radio. Because the FM controls the action between the RX and the servos, I don't see a issue.
But you are correct that we have to make sure. There are no system requirements in the FM manual.

[rjmachy77]

My radio is switchable to PPM or PCM, but at this point my radio is not even on.

[pril250]

I know, I researched a little more on Google and found posts of FM working with this setup so I am, at least for the moment, fresh out of ideas as to where the problem leis.

[rjmachy77]

I'm starting to think I might have a bad unit. This is something I really don't want to consider. I took 3 1/2 weeks just to ship it from over seas.
I bought it from Hobby King The reviews on them are pretty good.

[pril250]

Originally Posted by rjmachy77

My radio is switchable to PPM or PCM, but at this point my radio is not even on.

WELL IT SHOULD BE ON! for FM to have a chance to work.

[rjmachy77]

I'm going over to the Flight Stabilization section and give it a try there. They aren't talking about anything that relates to me, but there are a lot of guys on right now.
Thanks for all the help anyway. I will keep checking back to this thread.

[pril250]

So turning the TX on first didn't help?

[rjmachy77]

I think you mean the RX, and no it doesn't make any difference. I haven't gotten to the point of turning on the radio.
One more thing. What did you mean by binding the RX to the FM?