Guess the registration fiasco was the death knell. I'm still fooling around with my UAVs, but haven't had much to report--still trying to get the CX-20 flying the way I think it should.
@ruouttaurmind You want the litany? Stand by. The first thing I did was open it up to make sure everything was tied down / mounted correctly. And I found what seemed to be a broken wire--so I soldered it where it looked like it should go. Buttoned it back up and hooked it up to Mission Planner, ignoring the firmware upgrade suggestion. Went through the calibration, etc, then took it out to fly--and it just didn't seem right. (It's been long enough now that I don't remember just what I didn't think was right, but it sure wasn't a Phantom clone.) Disappointed, I put it on the shelf and got on with my life. When the 3D gimbal arrived from HK, I stuck that on with a camera and tried it again, with much the same results, except now I couldn't control the gimbal either. So earlier this week I tore it all the way down, moved the GPS into the dome, shielded it with some aluminum tape, remounted the FC with "Zeal" gel and buttoned it back up. Later today I plan on hooking it up to Mission Planner again and redoing the calibration. If it's still not 'right,' I'm tempted to order a Nova from HK and starting over. (It's been a while since I spent serious coin on a drone.) :-)
@fultonmartin When I first received my CX-20, like you, the first thing I did was open it up and check the build quality, looking for broken/questionable solder joints, loose connectors, etc. Mine also had disconnected wires, but in my case they appeared to be cut rather than broken. After tracing the wires I realize the cut wires were the BEC feed coming from the ESC. Three of the four were cut. The fourth was connected, presumably to feed the FC. It's been quite a while ago, so I only vaguely recall the details, but with some research I tripped across some info indicating the 3 spare BEC wires were eliminated due to some sort of ground fault issue which caused potential stability issues.
I'm sorry to hear yours isn't working out. As you saw in the 3D vid I posted a couple months ago, mine hovers quite well.
FYI, the Nova is EXACTLY the same on the inside as the CX-20. I am 99% sure it comes off the same assembly line and is simply rebranded as the Nova. FWIW, HK has a PNF version of the Nova for $200. You can use your existing CX-20 xmitter (or any other xmitter I guess).
When I get home from work today I'm going to open the CX-20 and trace the circuit you identified in the pic, just to satisfy my own curiosity.
@fultonmartin Pardon the poor image quality. I struggle with macro focus on my old phone.
In this pic you can see the same wire you identified in your pic. Note mine has been cut. It was like that when I received it, brand new in box.
I haven't traced it out on the PDB yet, but it's the signal lead for the wires going into the RX, connected to channel "4" (technically channel 8, but labeled as 4 on the RX housing).
@Thumperchick, Do you have the ability to split this? Since my "Deader than Disco" posting actually netted some useful info, it would be cool to have this thread moved into it's own post in the Tech category, titled something like "Cheerson CX-20 PDB connections". As always, your assistance is valued and appreciated!
@fultonmartin Right, DOME. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes. :-)
Both the Tali & QR X350-Pro have the GPS located in the dome, secured with screws & shielded with copper foil. That's not a bad idea. I think I'll follow your lead & move mine as well. It seems to work fine where it is (strapped to the top of the RX) but it's sure not gonna hurt anything by moving it.
@ruouttaurmind I used some aluminum tape I had on hand, but just got in the 4" wide copper tape I ordered. You (or anyone else) is welcome to a chunk (4"?) via a SASE. I got 10' and don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of it...
@ruouttaurmind Sorry, I thought I'd answered this already. I can't really 'split' a post. Just delete/modify contents if needed. Creating a new post with the parameters you want is the way to go.
Sorry, I haven't had much time for drone stuff lately. I know every little bit of participation counts, and I hate to see it go. It seemed like we were close to achieving some sort of critical mass but I know I fell off the face of the drone earth and many others may have as well.
I still check in from time to time, but it had been so long this time that my login expired :(
I'm still invested, and I check in here every day as part of my morning ritual. I'm still fooling around with my CX-20, and yesterday I flew the Spedix hex for the first time in forever--it needs tuning, there's a wobble in it that's not right...
I check in daily, but now that I know I'm completely in a no fly zone it's hard to find time to drive out to somewhere I can fly :( I did register so I'm not giving up on this. It's to much fun and I have enough invested in it to not want to quit.
Guess the registration fiasco was the death knell.
I'm still fooling around with my UAVs, but haven't had much to report--still trying to get the CX-20 flying the way I think it should.
@fultonmartin What's up with the CX-20? Mine is the most reliable bird I have.
@ruouttaurmind You want the litany? Stand by.
The first thing I did was open it up to make sure everything was tied down / mounted correctly. And I found what seemed to be a broken wire--so I soldered it where it looked like it should go.
Buttoned it back up and hooked it up to Mission Planner, ignoring the firmware upgrade suggestion. Went through the calibration, etc, then took it out to fly--and it just didn't seem right. (It's been long enough now that I don't remember just what I didn't think was right, but it sure wasn't a Phantom clone.) Disappointed, I put it on the shelf and got on with my life.
When the 3D gimbal arrived from HK, I stuck that on with a camera and tried it again, with much the same results, except now I couldn't control the gimbal either.
So earlier this week I tore it all the way down, moved the GPS into the dome, shielded it with some aluminum tape, remounted the FC with "Zeal" gel and buttoned it back up. Later today I plan on hooking it up to Mission Planner again and redoing the calibration.
If it's still not 'right,' I'm tempted to order a Nova from HK and starting over. (It's been a while since I spent serious coin on a drone.) :-)
@fultonmartin When I first received my CX-20, like you, the first thing I did was open it up and check the build quality, looking for broken/questionable solder joints, loose connectors, etc. Mine also had disconnected wires, but in my case they appeared to be cut rather than broken. After tracing the wires I realize the cut wires were the BEC feed coming from the ESC. Three of the four were cut. The fourth was connected, presumably to feed the FC. It's been quite a while ago, so I only vaguely recall the details, but with some research I tripped across some info indicating the 3 spare BEC wires were eliminated due to some sort of ground fault issue which caused potential stability issues.
I'm sorry to hear yours isn't working out. As you saw in the 3D vid I posted a couple months ago, mine hovers quite well.
FYI, the Nova is EXACTLY the same on the inside as the CX-20. I am 99% sure it comes off the same assembly line and is simply rebranded as the Nova. FWIW, HK has a PNF version of the Nova for $200. You can use your existing CX-20 xmitter (or any other xmitter I guess).
When I get home from work today I'm going to open the CX-20 and trace the circuit you identified in the pic, just to satisfy my own curiosity.
@fultonmartin Pardon the poor image quality. I struggle with macro focus on my old phone.
In this pic you can see the same wire you identified in your pic. Note mine has been cut. It was like that when I received it, brand new in box.
I haven't traced it out on the PDB yet, but it's the signal lead for the wires going into the RX, connected to channel "4" (technically channel 8, but labeled as 4 on the RX housing).
@Thumperchick, Do you have the ability to split this? Since my "Deader than Disco" posting actually netted some useful info, it would be cool to have this thread moved into it's own post in the Tech category, titled something like "Cheerson CX-20 PDB connections". As always, your assistance is valued and appreciated!
@fultonmartin I'm curious what you did with the magnetometer when you moved the GPS into the dome?
@ruouttaurmind What I meant by 'dome' was the upper part of the main body, calling where the magnetometer is mounted the 'puck' - like this
@ruouttaurmind I'll take mine apart again and cut that wire--maybe it'll fix my problem!
@fultonmartin Right, DOME. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes. :-)
Both the Tali & QR X350-Pro have the GPS located in the dome, secured with screws & shielded with copper foil. That's not a bad idea. I think I'll follow your lead & move mine as well. It seems to work fine where it is (strapped to the top of the RX) but it's sure not gonna hurt anything by moving it.
@ruouttaurmind I used some aluminum tape I had on hand, but just got in the 4" wide copper tape I ordered. You (or anyone else) is welcome to a chunk (4"?) via a SASE. I got 10' and don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of it...
@ruouttaurmind Sorry, I thought I'd answered this already. I can't really 'split' a post. Just delete/modify contents if needed. Creating a new post with the parameters you want is the way to go.
Where do all the cool kids hang out if not for drone.horse?
@sportykev If you were one of the cool kids, you wouldn't have to ask... ;-)
@ruouttaurmind that's why I'm asking =*[
@ruouttaurmind didn't know i wasn't the cool kid :(
Sorry, I haven't had much time for drone stuff lately. I know every little bit of participation counts, and I hate to see it go. It seemed like we were close to achieving some sort of critical mass but I know I fell off the face of the drone earth and many others may have as well.
I still check in from time to time, but it had been so long this time that my login expired :(
I'm still invested, and I check in here every day as part of my morning ritual. I'm still fooling around with my CX-20, and yesterday I flew the Spedix hex for the first time in forever--it needs tuning, there's a wobble in it that's not right...
I check in daily, but now that I know I'm completely in a no fly zone it's hard to find time to drive out to somewhere I can fly :( I did register so I'm not giving up on this. It's to much fun and I have enough invested in it to not want to quit.
@DJMajickMan paint the drone sky blue so it'll blend. no one will know.................