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Atom 500 Compass Atom 500 Model Helicopter Discussion |
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09-25-2014, 11:57 AM | #1 (permalink) |
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Is this what they mean by brown-out?
Hey guys,
I'm out at the rig but I have my Atom with me this time. Went to fly yesterday morning, first two flights went awesome, then came the third pack. This was Flight no 23 on my compass since I built it. No crashes yet, but almost had one yesterday. About 20 feet up in the air (7 meters) I had some kind of weird power loss. I hit TH and somehow managed to auto it down. This was my first auto in real life and I guess all the sim training helped. I botched the flare up so it still had some forward speed and stood up on it's tippy toes, but luckily not enough to scrape the grass. Walked over to the little heli and did a quick check, nothing loose. Before I hit TH it sounded like the motor was still running, just not at full speed. I fired the motor up and flew it back to the landing pad, then ran the battery down, no power issues. I have not yet grounded the boom, but about every 6 flights I spray the belt with silicone lube. I'm thinking maybe a static problem, but wondering if anyone else has any input. It's a stock motor, Talon 90 ESC, align servos, robird controller, and spek sats. Pretty simple setup.
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Devo 10 with Deviation Firmware (One to rule them all!). | Compass ATOM 500 Flagship | V120D02S an X-treme kit and a stocker, MSRX - RKH and a stock | CopterX 450 Pro |
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09-25-2014, 01:09 PM | #2 (permalink) |
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Aberdeen, UK
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It 'could be' a brown-out, but there are other explanations that might cause a sudden power loss such as bad connections, ESC fault, sagging battery voltage etc.
With DSM2 receivers you used to get a blinking light to indicate a brown-out had occurred but with DSMX you don't get that.
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Gob 700 BT 'T' | SoXos Strike 7.1 | Henseleit TDR, TDF, TDSF & TDR2 | OMP M1&M2 | UK stockist for OMPHobby M1/M2 ScotiaRC.co.uk |
09-25-2014, 03:23 PM | #3 (permalink) |
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I didn't look at the sats that close, all of my controls were still responding so I didn't think about it. Definitely gotta go over the heli before I fly it again though and check everything out.
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Devo 10 with Deviation Firmware (One to rule them all!). | Compass ATOM 500 Flagship | V120D02S an X-treme kit and a stocker, MSRX - RKH and a stock | CopterX 450 Pro |
09-25-2014, 04:27 PM | #4 (permalink) |
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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I would definitely follow Grumpy_Old_Man's suggestions as to where to look for power problems.
I would also ground the boom (drill it from the underside and within the tail boom mounting block). As far as the silicon spray, that really only needs to be done about once a year. The silicon soaks into the belt, so it doesn't stay shiny, but it still works.
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KBDD-Team Captain, JR DFA Team Pilot. Forza 450, Forza 600N, Forza 700, Compass 6HV-U, Warp, 7HV,Knight Pro,Knight 3D, Atom, Odin II, 6HV, 3D Plus, Knight 50, Chronos, Velos, Steam 550 and 600, OMP M2 (and anything else I can get my hands on...). |
09-26-2014, 07:06 AM | #5 (permalink) |
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Will do guys. If I ever get to fly again soon (long job) I'll try grounding and checking into the sat stuff and see if the problem creeps up again.
__________________
Devo 10 with Deviation Firmware (One to rule them all!). | Compass ATOM 500 Flagship | V120D02S an X-treme kit and a stocker, MSRX - RKH and a stock | CopterX 450 Pro |
09-26-2014, 10:32 AM | #6 (permalink) |
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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A "brown-out" is, technically, a drop in voltage of the electronics (not the motor) below their operating threshold. Many people confuse this with signal issues and other things, unrelated.
If the voltage drops below the operating threshold of the servos, they will not move until power is restored. If the voltage drops below the operating threshold of the FBL unit, it will attempt to reset in the air-many of them will not do this as they need to be motionless to reset. If the voltage drops below the operating threshold of the receiver, it will stop working. In the case of Spektrum, this used to be an issue, as when the power came back up the receiver would have to scan through all 80 frequencies to find the two that it had been using-this could take several seconds. Many do not realize that this was corrected several years ago, when "Quick Connect" was released. This allows the receiver to immediately select the two frequencies it had been using just prior to the voltage drop, so control is restored virtually instantaneously. The best defense against a brown-out is an on board power source that can provide more than enough current to prevent the voltage drop. A good quality BEC will do this with no problem. From your description, it sounds like you did not have a brown-out, but a power issue to the main motor.
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KBDD-Team Captain, JR DFA Team Pilot. Forza 450, Forza 600N, Forza 700, Compass 6HV-U, Warp, 7HV,Knight Pro,Knight 3D, Atom, Odin II, 6HV, 3D Plus, Knight 50, Chronos, Velos, Steam 550 and 600, OMP M2 (and anything else I can get my hands on...). |
09-26-2014, 08:17 PM | #7 (permalink) |
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Thanks for the description Al Chem. This was definitely not a brown-out in that case. I'm just getting off work now and going to bed. Haven't had any free time to scour over the heli yet though.
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Devo 10 with Deviation Firmware (One to rule them all!). | Compass ATOM 500 Flagship | V120D02S an X-treme kit and a stocker, MSRX - RKH and a stock | CopterX 450 Pro |
09-27-2014, 08:05 AM | #8 (permalink) |
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Join Date: Feb 2012
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Might look for loose grub screw on the pinion or a OWB issue as possible cause
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