Flymentor - Flashing red light

[pril250]

Turning on the RADIO is the first thing you need to do before powering up the receiver and FM, The whole chain needs to be working and active for FM to boot up and work is that not clear enough

[rjmachy77]

OK, the radio is on first (set to PPM). Everything is hooked up correctly, but the only servos plugged in the FM are the elevator and the aileron. Next I turn on the power for the RX and get the same flashing. PS. I looked again and the FM manual says nothing about turning on the radio at this point.

[pril250]

As I mentioned before I have not enough experience with Futaba equipment and even less with 72MHz PPM to further diagnose this problem, so lets hope Ivor chimes in soon for his input. As far as the FM manual it doesn't say a many things and misses most of the essentials, if it was helpful or that well written, there wouldn't be the thousands of posts and stickys dealing with setup queries/problems.

[rjmachy77]

I have noticed that 99% of all the video and forum info on the internet are with the Spectrum radios. I am watching a SpectrumDX6 2.4 GHz Transmitter on Ebay right now. 2 hrs left. We will see what happens.

[pril250]

That will require you to get at least a Spectrum RX as well. Also a DX7 is more suitable as it has the extra channel to control FM modes. With your setup I would still try it in PCM just to have it all covered.

[rjmachy77]

I started out in PCM and had the same reactions. I found info on a forum that said it had to be in PPM.
When I bought my Futaba, it was a top of the line radio. Now I see its a outdated machine. I am really going to look at a Spectrum radio and receiver.
Money is a issue, so it will be 6 channel min, but more than likely a 7 channel.

[pril250]

That is a good decision on your part DX7+AR7000, is a very solid cost effective duo (what I use)..

[Dr Phibes]

If money is tight you might want to consider a Walkera Tx & Rx. I recently swapped to a Devo 10 which is probably one of of the best bang for buck radios around. It's tough, reliable, very well priced at the moment, packed with more featue than you can shake a stick at, has 10 channels (giving lots of options for controlling FM from the Tx) and works flawlessly with the Flymentor set up I just installed on a CopterX 450BA (with Devo Rx1002).
The flashing red light means Flymentor is not initialising. Flymentor is initalised by the Rx but the Rx can't do this if it is not itself bound and intialised by the Tx - at least as far as I understand! I set my flymentor up using Ivor's excellent instructions - did you follow the steps in his guide?

[rjmachy77]

The problem I have had since day one is, that all the instructions I've looked at, don't follow the Futaba radio.
Because its so common, I think if I upgrade, I will stay with the Spectrum.

[pril250]

I don't think Ivor's instructions are tx/rx system specific and relays on the fact the principals are the same. Funny enough he does use Futaba radios. At the end of the day the most important aspect of a heli radio which is the CCPM mixing gets disabled as FM is installed and takes over using its own mixer.

It is correct that FM will only initialize when there is a valid bind between radio and rx and the rx itself is fully initialized. There are certain exceptions with some radio systems which FM can't resolve the flowing signals.

[Ivor Hill]

There is no binding required with the TX/RX you are useing. The TX must bo switched on before you power up anything else.
The correct way to connect the gyro and ccd is clearly shown on the main FM module.
The servo wires should be connected with the neg - wire on the outside and lined up with the USB mark
Slow flashing red LED means that Flymentor is not initializing. TX not switched on or moving the heli will stop it from initializing.
Connect the servos back into the RX to check that there is no problem with the reciever.
If the RX is ok reconnect FM making sure that all connections are correct and power up everything. Feel the back of the FM module to check if it is getting hot, if it is then FM is damaged. FM can be damaged if it is wired incorrectly, it will tollerate it for a while but if incorrectly wired for any length of time the module can get damaged.
Let us know how you get on.
If you are looking for a better used TX then have a look at Futaba C9.and buy a Frsky conversion. The conversion is very good and very cheap and changes the TX to 2.4.
Futaba C9 and above are fitted with a 3 way switch and slider pots that can be used to change FM modes and gain. Do some reading on the C9 and Frsky.

[Ivor Hill]

Originally Posted by rjmachy77

The problem I have had since day one is, that all the instructions I've looked at, don't follow the Futaba radio.
Because its so common, I think if I upgrade, I will stay with the Spectrum.

Pril is correct the instructions are not TX specific. I use the terms aileron port,elevator port etc rather than port numbers because port numbers are different on different systens. Your TX manuel will tell you what port is the aileron port elevator port etc.
But to be clear with Futaba the FM wire with 3 wires in the plug connects to port 1 on the reciever, the yellow connects to port 2.the grey to port 4 and the orange to port 6.
The blue and green wire should not be connected during set up,when they are connected the green wire connects to port 5 and the blue to port 7. Hope this helps.

[rjmachy77]

All the wires are hooked up correctly. I powered the radio first, then the Heli which turns on the RX and FM at the same time. I have a fast red flashing light for five or six times, and then it slows to about about one per second and continues. After five minutes I use my laser temp meter. I get 68 degrees on the frame and 69 degrees on the FM. Are there any settings in the radio that could affect it?

[Ivor Hill]

As far as I know there are no settings is the Tx that would stop it from initializing but the reciever must be working. Btw I used FM with a Futaba C7 35 Mz useing FM ppm and pcm 1024 with no problems for 2 years before I changed to a C9 and 2.4.
Try it with the camera disconnected.
It does sound like you have a faulty FM it is rare but does happen.

[rjmachy77]

Tryed it with the CCD disconnected, then CCD and gyro disconnected. No change

[Ivor Hill]

Be sure your RX is working by connecting servos directly to it.

[rjmachy77]

You want me to hook all my servos back up to the RX and try them?

[Ivor Hill]

Originally Posted by rjmachy77

You want me to hook all my servos back up to the RX and try them?

Disconnect FM and connect at least one servo to check that reciever is working.
They have been 2-3 guys on here that have spent days trying to get FM to work only to find in the end that the reciever is faulty. It's unlikely but you should check.

[rjmachy77]

I unplugged the FM and plugged the servos back in, change the model back to my 600. Every thing works, but the elevator and throttle are reversed. I created a new model for the FM, so my 600 should not have changed. Also. I have all the settings in a Excel file and they are set the same as they have been for the past year. I am confused, because they are back wards.

[pril250]

You may have mixes up which servo is which because pitch and aileron for example are interchangeable. At least you verified the RX is working. I guess now you should plug FM back in without changing model yet and see how that pans.