09-Mar-2017, 01:01 PM
My package arrived from China on Tuesday. Inside was an Eachine Bat QX105 and 5 extra 600mAh batteries...
I decided to be patient and spend my time charging batteries and make sure I do my due diligence when doing setup. I struggled through a few first-timer issues such as not knowing how to download betaflight (until doing a search for This post). I did my set up and fought some issues with the taranis (which I still need to sort out why I couldn't get deadband to work in betaflight)
Then I went for a quick LOS flight...
up in the air, wobble wobble crash... just as expected! was under no delusion... Then I picked it up put it on my bed as a launch point and realized... 2 props had fallen off... I go back to the crash sight and there they were... OK well better falling off than busted so I was fine with that... get it in the air a second time, hover shakily for about 15 seconds until I lose my ability to recover from the tiny ghost inputs that the taranis is making on me (I really have to fix that) and boom... crash again... prop falls off I recover the whole thing and I am good. I determine that I'll need more space before I try more.
So last night it's evening time, sun is almost down but I have just enough time to give it a shot. I grab the bat, my goggles, the taranis... I head outside, get everything started up, vrx on the right channel, put the quad on the ground... pop up on the trottle but not enough, hit the ground then quick flip on it's head crash again this time from FPV... oops...
Time to put some of that simulator knowledge to use and give it a confident pop of throttle as I know I'll need... I do it and tada I am up in the air hovering calmly in "stab" mode as the OSD abreviates. I apply some yaw, get a look around, keep much better control of the ghost inputs. about 30 seconds in or so I realize I am getting a little higher than my 2 story house and should be careful since the branches on the trees start to become a problem about 10 more feet higher than that. I am coming back down as smoothly as I can but not being used to these throttle inputs on it I come down a little too quick, overcorrect right as it taps the ground. It flys off to the side and bonks into a tree.
When I use the word "bonks" here I use it intentionally... "Crash" would suggest a much tougher hit, but "tap" would have been underplaying it. I took off my goggles thinking "hey great my first legitimate crash into a tree and it wasn't too bad lets go see if the props managed to stay on this time." Sure enough, I get over to the tree pick it up and everything looks just fine! I was very happy to see that the props stayed on this time.
I put it down on the ground again, goggles on, pop the throttle and bam... flip on head... wait, what?
Take goggles off... LOS... pop throttle and bam... flip on head... something is wrong here...
like a mouse in a maze... I try it again because I don't believe it... bam flip on head... nooooooooo!
At this point I feel I need to know whats up and I am not getting any answers from trying to fly it so I pick it up, arm again (I've taught myself the habit of disarming when crashing in the simulators. Map the reset button to SF)... apply a little bit of throttle, it twists viciously in my hand. "No wonder I am having problems with throttle control", I think "this thing has a huge deadband on the throttle and once it does kick in it gives it waaaaay too much..."
I have a look at it, drop the throttle, apply more, drop it... I start to think "this one motor must just be spinning up too much, maybe something is wrong with the flight controller?".... Then I see it... one of the props isn't spinning at all!... and I am smelling electrical burning a little... yikes! (perhaps that's a symptom of new brushed motors, or maybe something else is wrong)
Upon further inspection there is a wire not connected on the dead motor... closer look... it's the super tiny 2 pin connector that has come loose from the main board... I can't solder that back on there, I'd need to be the size of a bug.
Game over... Status of the toy: Either defective, or damaged... I am not sure which!...... Repairable? probably... Can you get replacement all-in-one boards for the QX105? I guess I'll need to find out, but first I may consider trying to call out with bangood or eachine that the connector should be tough enough to endure during a crash?
So why tell my story here? Because I am new, and there are plenty of stories out there from the pros. Grumpy Trevor doesn't like the goggles 2 because he cant see as good. Steele takes it easy on his first battery to scope out a place before flying. Oscar's blog has taught me probably about half of what I know.
Also because I think it'll be fun to document and come back and remember how my first FPV flight went.
I also received the Vortex after more than a week of battling bank issues with the folks at flite test. Now I am waiting on a better receiver. I've signed up for a membership with a local RC flying park so that I can get my practice in at a big open space. Hopefully this weekend I can get out there and I'll have better luck with a quad that my simulator quad is based on... and, when I crash maybe it won't completely kill the thing x.x I'd love to make it past my first battery at least!
I decided to be patient and spend my time charging batteries and make sure I do my due diligence when doing setup. I struggled through a few first-timer issues such as not knowing how to download betaflight (until doing a search for This post). I did my set up and fought some issues with the taranis (which I still need to sort out why I couldn't get deadband to work in betaflight)
Then I went for a quick LOS flight...
up in the air, wobble wobble crash... just as expected! was under no delusion... Then I picked it up put it on my bed as a launch point and realized... 2 props had fallen off... I go back to the crash sight and there they were... OK well better falling off than busted so I was fine with that... get it in the air a second time, hover shakily for about 15 seconds until I lose my ability to recover from the tiny ghost inputs that the taranis is making on me (I really have to fix that) and boom... crash again... prop falls off I recover the whole thing and I am good. I determine that I'll need more space before I try more.
So last night it's evening time, sun is almost down but I have just enough time to give it a shot. I grab the bat, my goggles, the taranis... I head outside, get everything started up, vrx on the right channel, put the quad on the ground... pop up on the trottle but not enough, hit the ground then quick flip on it's head crash again this time from FPV... oops...
Time to put some of that simulator knowledge to use and give it a confident pop of throttle as I know I'll need... I do it and tada I am up in the air hovering calmly in "stab" mode as the OSD abreviates. I apply some yaw, get a look around, keep much better control of the ghost inputs. about 30 seconds in or so I realize I am getting a little higher than my 2 story house and should be careful since the branches on the trees start to become a problem about 10 more feet higher than that. I am coming back down as smoothly as I can but not being used to these throttle inputs on it I come down a little too quick, overcorrect right as it taps the ground. It flys off to the side and bonks into a tree.
When I use the word "bonks" here I use it intentionally... "Crash" would suggest a much tougher hit, but "tap" would have been underplaying it. I took off my goggles thinking "hey great my first legitimate crash into a tree and it wasn't too bad lets go see if the props managed to stay on this time." Sure enough, I get over to the tree pick it up and everything looks just fine! I was very happy to see that the props stayed on this time.
I put it down on the ground again, goggles on, pop the throttle and bam... flip on head... wait, what?
Take goggles off... LOS... pop throttle and bam... flip on head... something is wrong here...
like a mouse in a maze... I try it again because I don't believe it... bam flip on head... nooooooooo!
At this point I feel I need to know whats up and I am not getting any answers from trying to fly it so I pick it up, arm again (I've taught myself the habit of disarming when crashing in the simulators. Map the reset button to SF)... apply a little bit of throttle, it twists viciously in my hand. "No wonder I am having problems with throttle control", I think "this thing has a huge deadband on the throttle and once it does kick in it gives it waaaaay too much..."
I have a look at it, drop the throttle, apply more, drop it... I start to think "this one motor must just be spinning up too much, maybe something is wrong with the flight controller?".... Then I see it... one of the props isn't spinning at all!... and I am smelling electrical burning a little... yikes! (perhaps that's a symptom of new brushed motors, or maybe something else is wrong)
Upon further inspection there is a wire not connected on the dead motor... closer look... it's the super tiny 2 pin connector that has come loose from the main board... I can't solder that back on there, I'd need to be the size of a bug.
Game over... Status of the toy: Either defective, or damaged... I am not sure which!...... Repairable? probably... Can you get replacement all-in-one boards for the QX105? I guess I'll need to find out, but first I may consider trying to call out with bangood or eachine that the connector should be tough enough to endure during a crash?
So why tell my story here? Because I am new, and there are plenty of stories out there from the pros. Grumpy Trevor doesn't like the goggles 2 because he cant see as good. Steele takes it easy on his first battery to scope out a place before flying. Oscar's blog has taught me probably about half of what I know.
Also because I think it'll be fun to document and come back and remember how my first FPV flight went.
I also received the Vortex after more than a week of battling bank issues with the folks at flite test. Now I am waiting on a better receiver. I've signed up for a membership with a local RC flying park so that I can get my practice in at a big open space. Hopefully this weekend I can get out there and I'll have better luck with a quad that my simulator quad is based on... and, when I crash maybe it won't completely kill the thing x.x I'd love to make it past my first battery at least!
carl.vegas
Current Quads: Operational: Diatone GT2 200 In need of repair: Bumble Bee, tehStein, Slightly modified Vortex 250
Current Quads: Operational: Diatone GT2 200 In need of repair: Bumble Bee, tehStein, Slightly modified Vortex 250