Hey guys.
Complete newbie here coming from budget gps drones.

So I came into possession of a Redcat Carbon 210
For those who've never heard of it, it's basically a Tovsto/Walkera f210 that's set up as a RTF toy kit.
So the whole point is NOT to connect it to cleanflight/betaflight...lol

But there's an issue that when I arm the motors they spin up and freak out!

So I managed to get it connected to cleanflight and in the receiver tab all the (gimbal?) values are jumping around like crazy (sometimes some, sometimes all) and it's giving an i2c error 3
That's all I got...I can't even find an errors log or any information on i2c error codes or even an error codes list for cleanflight...
Not surprisingly... I'm baffled...

Any Ideas??

Make sure your channel mapping is correct.

I'm completely ignorant of any functions of beta/cleancleanflight.

Thing is, it's supposed to be RTF they even warn you not to hook it up to cleanflight if you're a complete noob.

It actually worked fine at first.
But it seemed the battery that came with it was bad.
It charged up perfectly fine and balanced.
But after about 1 minute of testing it gave a low voltage warning and then started acting up.
When I removed the battery the top of it was very warm.
And a balance checker showed 1 of the cells at a much lower voltage than the others.

Could this have thrown off the channel mapping or even damaged the receiver? (It persist even with a new fully charged batt)

It’s possible that you have a hardware or calibration issue with the transmitter or receiver. Looking in the manual for the Redcat Carbon 210 Racing Drone (HERE) I see no instructions for calibrating the gimbals of the transmitter so it might not be possible to do that.

While the Carbon 210 uses a custom flight controller (see section 12.3 on page 16 of the manual), it does use an external 6-channel PWM receiver (see section 12.5 on pages 17 & 18 of the manual) which means that the possibility does exist of completely replacing both the transmitter and receiver with supported ones from a more commonly used manufacturer such as FrSky or Flysky, both which have PWM receiver offerings.

The over-the-air communication protocol between the transmitter and receiver is probably proprietary to Redcat Racing so just swapping out only one of either the transmitter or receiver for something different is probably not possible which is why you would likely need to replace both if you were to go down that route. It would however require some soldering equipment and skills to transfer the connections from the existing 8.pin FC-to-receiver wiring harness over to a different receiver.

If you have the required test equipment (digital multimeter and oscilloscope) you can measure the resistance on the connections to the gimbals to see if you are getting any resistance jitter when not even moving the sticks. If you do, then it means that the potentiometers in the gimbals are worn out. If the gimbals all look good you can use an oscilloscope to measure the PWM signals coming from each of the 6 channels of the receiver to see if you are getting any jitter from those when the transmitter is switched off, and when switched on (and bound to the receiver) without moving the sticks.

Below is a photo of the flight controller. The long white rectangular 8-pin connector is on the bottom left of the board is for the PWM receiver (5V, GND and 6 channels signal connections)…


 
And below are the pin-out schematics for the flight controller and the receiver as found on pages 16, 17 & 18 of the manual…





I think the problem is unlikely to be an issue with the flight controller itself or Cleanflight settings, but as you now have a Cleanflight Configurator connection to the flight controller can you please run both the "dump" and "diff all" commands in the CLI tab and copy/paste the results back here so we can take a quick look over them for anything that might look to be obviously amiss.

Sorry about the delay. I thought I had found a shop that could help...but it went nowhere.

Here's my dump.
But I could (don't know how to) get the diff...
I did find one other obscure post in another forum with the same exact FC 1 person replied and made the guy do some tests that included a servo tester. (I have none/such tools). In the end it was simply recommended to get a new receiver/transmitter.
# dump

# version
# Cleanflight/SPRACINGF3 0.0.0 Oct 17 2016 / 02:29:56 (c4cdf32)
# dump master

# mixer
mixer QUADX
mmix reset
smix reset


# feature
feature -RX_PPM
feature -VBAT
feature -INFLIGHT_ACC_CAL
feature -RX_SERIAL
feature -MOTOR_STOP
feature -SERVO_TILT
feature -SOFTSERIAL
feature -GPS
feature -FAILSAFE
feature -SONAR
feature -TELEMETRY
feature -CURRENT_METER
feature -3D
feature -RX_PARALLEL_PWM
feature -RX_MSP
feature -RSSI_ADC
feature -LED_STRIP
feature -DISPLAY
feature -ONESHOT125
feature -BLACKBOX
feature -CHANNEL_FORWARDING
feature -TRANSPONDER
feature RX_PPM
feature VBAT
feature FAILSAFE
feature TELEMETRY
feature ONESHOT125
feature BLACKBOX


# map
map AETR1234


# serial
serial 0 1 115200 57600 0 115200
serial 1 1 115200 57600 0 115200
serial 2 0 115200 57600 0 115200


# led
led 0 15,15:ES:IA:0
led 1 15,8:E:WF:0
led 2 15,7:E:WF:0
led 3 15,0:NE:IA:0
led 4 8,0:N:F:0
led 5 7,0:N:F:0
led 6 0,0:NW:IA:0
led 7 0,7:W:WF:0
led 8 0,8:W:WF:0
led 9 0,15:SW:IA:0
led 10 7,15:S:WF:0
led 11 8,15:S:WF:0
led 12 7,7:U:WF:0
led 13 8,7:U:WF:0
led 14 7,8:D:WF:0
led 15 8,8:D:WF:0
led 16 8,9::R:3
led 17 9,10::R:3
led 18 10,11::R:3
led 19 10,12::R:3
led 20 9,13::R:3
led 21 8,14::R:3
led 22 7,14::R:3
led 23 6,13::R:3
led 24 5,12::R:3
led 25 5,11::R:3
led 26 6,10::R:3
led 27 7,9::R:3
led 28 0,0:::0
led 29 0,0:::0
led 30 0,0:::0
led 31 0,0:::0


# color
color 0 0,0,0
color 1 0,255,255
color 2 0,0,255
color 3 30,0,255
color 4 60,0,255
color 5 90,0,255
color 6 120,0,255
color 7 150,0,255
color 8 180,0,255
color 9 210,0,255
color 10 240,0,255
color 11 270,0,255
color 12 300,0,255
color 13 330,0,255
color 14 0,0,0
color 15 0,0,0


# mode_color
mode_color 0 0 1
mode_color 0 1 11
mode_color 0 2 2
mode_color 0 3 13
mode_color 0 4 10
mode_color 0 5 3
mode_color 1 0 5
mode_color 1 1 11
mode_color 1 2 3
mode_color 1 3 13
mode_color 1 4 10
mode_color 1 5 3
mode_color 2 0 10
mode_color 2 1 11
mode_color 2 2 4
mode_color 2 3 13
mode_color 2 4 10
mode_color 2 5 3
mode_color 3 0 8
mode_color 3 1 11
mode_color 3 2 4
mode_color 3 3 13
mode_color 3 4 10
mode_color 3 5 3
mode_color 4 0 7
mode_color 4 1 11
mode_color 4 2 3
mode_color 4 3 13
mode_color 4 4 10
mode_color 4 5 3
mode_color 5 0 9
mode_color 5 1 11
mode_color 5 2 2
mode_color 5 3 13
mode_color 5 4 10
mode_color 5 5 3
mode_color 6 0 6
mode_color 6 1 10
mode_color 6 2 1
mode_color 6 3 0
mode_color 6 4 0
mode_color 6 5 2
mode_color 6 6 3
mode_color 6 7 6

set looptime = 1000
set emf_avoidance = OFF
set i2c_highspeed = ON
set gyro_sync = ON
set gyro_sync_denom = 1
set mid_rc = 1500
set min_check = 1100
set max_check = 1900
set rssi_channel = 0
set rssi_scale = 30
set rssi_ppm_invert = OFF
set rc_smoothing = OFF
set rx_min_usec = 885
set rx_max_usec = 2115
set serialrx_provider = SPEK1024
set sbus_inversion = ON
set spektrum_sat_bind = 0
set input_filtering_mode = OFF
set min_throttle = 1040
set max_throttle = 1900
set min_command = 980
set servo_center_pulse = 1500
set motor_pwm_rate = 400
set servo_pwm_rate = 50
set 3d_deadband_low = 0
set 3d_deadband_high = 0
set 3d_neutral = 0
set retarded_arm = OFF
set disarm_kill_switch = OFF
set auto_disarm_delay = 10
set max_arm_angle = 25
set small_angle = 25
set fixedwing_althold_dir = 1
set reboot_character = 82
set gps_provider = NMEA
set gps_sbas_mode = AUTO
set gps_auto_config = ON
set gps_auto_baud = OFF
set telemetry_switch = OFF
set telemetry_inversion = ON
set frsky_default_lattitude = 0.000
set frsky_default_longitude = 0.000
set frsky_coordinates_format = 0
set frsky_unit = IMPERIAL
set frsky_vfas_precision = 0
set hott_alarm_sound_interval = 5
set battery_capacity = 0
set vbat_scale = 110
set vbat_max_cell_voltage = 43
set vbat_min_cell_voltage = 32
set vbat_warning_cell_voltage = 35
set current_meter_scale = 400
set current_meter_offset = 0
set multiwii_current_meter_output = OFF
set current_meter_type = ADC
set align_gyro = DEFAULT
set align_acc = DEFAULT
set align_mag = DEFAULT
set align_board_roll = 0
set align_board_pitch = 0
set align_board_yaw = 90
set max_angle_inclination = 500
set gyro_lpf = 188HZ
set gyro_soft_lpf = 60
set moron_threshold = 32
set imu_dcm_kp = 2500
set imu_dcm_ki = 0
set pid_at_min_throttle = ON
set yaw_motor_direction = 1
set yaw_jump_prevention_limit = 200
set tri_unarmed_servo = ON
set servo_lowpass_freq = 400.000
set servo_lowpass_enable = OFF
set failsafe_delay = 10
set failsafe_off_delay = 200
set failsafe_throttle = 990
set failsafe_kill_switch = OFF
set failsafe_throttle_low_delay = 100
set failsafe_procedure = 0
set acc_hardware = 0
set baro_hardware = 0
set mag_hardware = 0
set blackbox_rate_num = 1
set blackbox_rate_denom = 1
set blackbox_device = SPIFLASH
set magzero_x = 0
set magzero_y = 0
set magzero_z = 0

# rxfail
rxfail 0 a
rxfail 1 a
rxfail 2 a
rxfail 3 a
rxfail 4 h
rxfail 5 h
rxfail 6 h
rxfail 7 h
rxfail 8 h
rxfail 9 h
rxfail 10 h
rxfail 11 h
rxfail 12 h
rxfail 13 h
rxfail 14 h
rxfail 15 h
rxfail 16 h
rxfail 17 h

# dump profile

# profile
profile 0

# aux
aux 0 0 1 950 1450
aux 1 1 0 1000 1150
aux 2 2 0 1175 1325
aux 3 0 0 900 900
aux 4 0 0 900 900
aux 5 0 0 900 900
aux 6 0 0 900 900
aux 7 0 0 900 900
aux 8 0 0 900 900
aux 9 0 0 900 900
aux 10 0 0 900 900
aux 11 0 0 900 900
aux 12 0 0 900 900
aux 13 0 0 900 900
aux 14 0 0 900 900
aux 15 0 0 900 900
aux 16 0 0 900 900
aux 17 0 0 900 900
aux 18 0 0 900 900
aux 19 0 0 900 900

# adjrange
adjrange 0 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 1 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 2 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 3 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 4 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 5 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 6 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 7 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 8 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 9 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 10 0 0 900 900 0 0
adjrange 11 0 0 900 900 0 0

# rxrange
rxrange 0 1000 2000
rxrange 1 1000 2000
rxrange 2 1000 2000
rxrange 3 1000 2000

# servo
servo 0 1000 2000 1500 0 0 100 -1
servo 1 1000 2000 1500 0 0 100 -1
servo 2 1000 2000 1500 0 0 100 -1
servo 3 1000 2000 1500 0 0 100 -1
servo 4 1000 2000 1500 0 0 100 -1
servo 5 1000 2000 1500 90 90 100 -1
servo 6 1000 2000 1500 90 90 100 -1
servo 7 1000 2000 1500 90 90 100 -1

set gps_pos_p = 15
set gps_pos_i = 0
set gps_pos_d = 0
set gps_posr_p = 34
set gps_posr_i = 14
set gps_posr_d = 53
set gps_nav_p = 25
set gps_nav_i = 33
set gps_nav_d = 83
set gps_wp_radius = 200
set nav_controls_heading = ON
set nav_speed_min = 100
set nav_speed_max = 300
set nav_slew_rate = 30
set alt_hold_deadband = 40
set alt_hold_fast_change = ON
set deadband = 10
set yaw_deadband = 10
set yaw_control_direction = 1
set 3d_deadband_throttle = 17920
set throttle_correction_value = 0
set throttle_correction_angle = 800
set default_rate_profile = 0
set gimbal_mode = NORMAL
set acc_cut_hz = 15
set accxy_deadband = 40
set accz_deadband = 40
set accz_lpf_cutoff = 5.000
set acc_unarmedcal = ON
set acc_trim_pitch = 0
set acc_trim_roll = 0
set baro_tab_size = 21
set baro_noise_lpf = 0.600
set baro_cf_vel = 0.985
set baro_cf_alt = 0.965
set mag_declination = 0
set pid_controller = MWREWRITE
set p_pitch = 40
set i_pitch = 15
set d_pitch = 65
set p_roll = 30
set i_roll = 15
set d_roll = 40
set p_yaw = 45
set i_yaw = 60
set d_yaw = 22
set p_alt = 50
set i_alt = 0
set d_alt = 0
set p_level = 50
set i_level = 20
set d_level = 100
set p_vel = 120
set i_vel = 45
set d_vel = 1
set yaw_p_limit = 500
set dterm_cut_hz = 0
set gtune_loP_rll = 10
set gtune_loP_ptch = 10
set gtune_loP_yw = 10
set gtune_hiP_rll = 100
set gtune_hiP_ptch = 100
set gtune_hiP_yw = 100
set gtune_pwr = 0
set gtune_settle_time = 450
set gtune_average_cycles = 16

# dump rates

# rateprofile
rateprofile 0

set rc_rate = 80
set rc_expo = 70
set rc_yaw_expo = 40
set thr_mid = 50
set thr_expo = 0
set roll_rate = 63
set pitch_rate = 63
set yaw_rate = 70
set tpa_rate = 35
set tpa_breakpoint = 1400

#

The following CLI commands will set the Cleanflight receiver configuration to be for a PWM receiver...

Hmm..I got unsubscribed from my own thread...

Currently the lead is connected to the PPM port on the receiver.
That is how it came configured from the manufacturer.
(I believe the x6b only transmits OSD through PPM?)
Regardless that is how it was set up when I acquired the kit.
AND it did function properly for the first couple of times I did an arming test on the quad. It was only when I 1st tried to do a lift off and the battery tanked (original battery was apparently bad and had a cell that immediately dropped to 3.1 when the battery had previously shown itself to be fully charged and balanced) once the low voltage warning began is when the issue manifested and never worked properly again.
Even with a brand new fully charged and balanced battery.


Should I still try what you described above and switch to PWM?
The FC only has that single 8 pid connection plug. To which the PPM is originally connected to. Also the receiver's PWM port is only 3 pin.


NEW INFO I tried replacing the receiver with an exact model x6b receiver...but the problem persists exactly as before. (Ruling out a bad receiver?) Possible bad transmitter? Or something beyond my non existing knowledge? lol

Wow. I completely failed to notice the receiver being used in the Redcat Carbon 210 Racing Drone is actually just a Flysky FS-X6B receiver  For some reason I thought Redcat they were using their own proprietary receiver. At least it is using a known receiver and a standard over-the-air Flysky AFHDS 2A protocol.

What confuses me is that the flight controller only seems to have provision for input from a PWM receiver via the 8-pin PWM connector (12) on the mainboard. Unless there is some kind of funky design on the flight controller which changes the function of some of those 8 pins from PWM to PPM. Some photos of the connections and wiring between the receiver and the FC might be helpful.

Did you try re-seating the 3-pin connector to the receiver and also the connector to the FC by unplugging and re-plugging them? If you didn't then try doing that.

As a side note, the receiver connection to the FC has nothing to do with OSD. That is a feature of the flight controller which has an onboard MAX7456 OSD chip which merges the image signal coming out of the camera with OSD characters before then sending the resulting image to the VTX and then onto your goggles.

This is the basic tear down.
The loose lead you see is for the VTX.
The empty plugs on the FC are 4 for LEDs and 1 for the camera. That's pretty much it and how it came.

Once again, do you think disposable AA lithium batteries could damage transmitters? I say this because I also used them on a toy MJX bugs 6 transmitter and it also worked great for a couple of flights then stopped binding to it's radio.

Edit.
Am I not allowed to post images?
It've tried twice already.

Like I said there's nothing to the wiring.
It's all stock. It's all plug n play as far as modules.
Only the ESCs are hardwired to the FC.

To upload images, see the following thread. I suggest you use the Imgur option whicb is what I always use.

https://intofpv.com/t-how-to-upload-pictures

If you are using the mobile version of the forum on a mobile device, scroll all the way to the bottom and click the "Switch to Full Version" link. Then you will get all of the image upload options that you don't see in the mobile version. Once you have finished uploading, you can switch back to the mobile version view of the forum again if desired by scrolling to the bottom and clicking the "Mobile Version" link.

Using disposable batteries in the transmitter isn't going to cause any issues. Voltage is volage no matter what type of batteries it comes from.

From your latest reply you seem to suggest that the transmitter is no longer bound to the receiver. With your transmitter switched on can you please confirm if the red status LED on the receiver is either flashing red or is solid red. The LED is next to the 8-pin connector on the receiver.

Hopefully this time it'll upload.

No, the receiver IS bound to the FC. 
I have no issues with binding.
I was simply stating I tried a NEW receiver since the general consensus I've gotten from other online forums has been a "possible bad receiver"...but that's definitely not the issue.

OK, so it looks like the 8-pin connector on the FC is capable of handling either a PWM or PPM signal depending on the receiver settings configured in Cleanflight.

I guess it's possible that there is an issue with the trasnmitter but that's not going to be easy to diagnose unless you can get it working with a Flysky FS-X6B receiver that is connected to a different flight controller. You could try getting hold of a cheap known working Flysky FS-i6 transmitter (which is compatible with FS-X6B receivers) then bind it and see if you have any luck with that.

Alternatively, you could try re-flashing the Cleanflight firmware to the FC in case something has become corrupted in the flash memory of the MCU. Looking at the header section in the dump you put in post #5 the version number is specified as "0.0.0" for some reason but the data is shown as "Oct 17 2016". The closest Cleanflight release prior to that date that isn't a release candidate is v1.13.0 which can be found at the following link...

https://github.com/cleanflight/cleanflig...ag/v1.13.0

You will need to download the cleanflight_SPRACINGF3.hex file and then use the "Load Firmware [Local]" button in the Firmware Flasher tab of Cleanflight Configurator to load the downloaded firmware HEX file into the configurator so you can then flash it to the FC. Make sure you you switch on the "Full ship erase" option. You will need to put the FC into bootloader mode first by holding down a boot button on it or bridging a pair of boot pads while you plug in the USB cable. From the images of the FC that are available I don't see any obvious boot button or pads but the resolution of the images are too low so you will have to try and locate that on your particular FC. Hopefully there will be a "BOOT" label somewhere on the silkscreen of the circuit board.

Before you flash any new firmware make sure you run the "dump" command in the CLI and save the current configuration to a file on your computer so you can reapply all the same settings again via the CLI after reflashing the firmware.

Ok I'll give it a shot. As at this point I have little alternative than simply replacing the FC to something else entirely.

The dump I uploaded should be the same as I have not touched a single setting from factory.

I was unable to flash the firmware.
There is no physical button on the board.
Nor any recognizable (by me) bootpads or jumper on the board.
This FC seems to be custom made for RC racing.
It's like they had no plans beyond it being a toy grade quad...lol
There's no info about it anywhere on the net (though I may have found an RC shop that may have 1 in stock...lol

I'm posting a couple of better pics including to get underside. The parts hidden by the arms contain nothing but the ESC pads.

Where there is no obvious boot button or bridgeable boot pads on an FC you can get the MCU into DFU bootloader mode by connecting the BOOT0 leg (#44) to one of the VDD legs (#48, #36 or #24), then plug in a USB cable while those two legs are connected together. If you try this be extra careful not to accidentally bridge one of the adjacent legs or something else on the board because doing so will risk frying something. It would be safest to solder a tiny wire to each of the two legs and then connect the other ends together, making sure that the solder or wire isn't bridging across any adjacent legs.

Below is the pinout for an F3 MCU along with a photo showing what pins you need to bridge together to get it into DFU bootloader mode. Make sure you also switch on the "No reboot sequence" option in addition to switching on the "Full chip erase" option in the Firmware Flasher tab of Cleanflight Configurator before attempting to (re)flash new firmware.