BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
11-18-2011, 04:14 PM
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BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
hey guys . i have a dx6i. one of my rx is a ar6200. it is not new,has been in service for five months. taking it out of the plane, no crash damage, gave it away. anyway upon rebinding my rx to the tx, it bindes ok, servos work ok........but as soon as i move one of the servos with the control stick,the rx starts blinking again. tried it ten times ,still does the same thing. does not lose it's bind at all just starts the lites blinking again. turn it off,both rx and tx. turn it on, it is fine no blinking lites until i move one a the servos back and forth..starts blinking again. as far as i know i was flying the plane before i noticed it..maybe for weeks. anybody got any input on this? checked everything over and battery volts etc.....ok. thanks for you help in advance...............RON
11-18-2011, 04:52 PM
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RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
Low voltage
But if that all checks out good, try changing the satellite leads out. There is a known problem with the connection for the satellites.
Of course, it could also be just the countdown timer working (until the mighty lockout occurs).
But if that all checks out good, try changing the satellite leads out. There is a known problem with the connection for the satellites.
Of course, it could also be just the countdown timer working (until the mighty lockout occurs).
11-19-2011, 07:36 PM
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RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
i used the battery that i had ,with blinking lites and plugged it in direct. same thing happened when i moved the servo. the battery volts were 5.2 on my esv. tried another fully charged battery and it worked good. no blinking lites at all. this battery measured 5.8 volts on the esv. hummmmmmmm. why? these rx are supposed to run down to 4.5 volts or so without showing signes of low voltage. anyway i'm going to cycle that battey a couple times i'm not going to use it however.............thanks for all your help..........RON.
11-20-2011, 09:43 AM
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RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
I would think you will find the battery that was causing the problem drops in voltage a lot under the load og moving serbos. Measuring with a small load on an esv doesnt tell the whole story. Nimh batterirs can have considerably higher internal impedance when compared to nicd batteries. Glad you found that marginal battery before it caused a mysterious crash, those blinking lights did you a favor
11-22-2011, 12:37 PM
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RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
yes they did however i wasn't using this rx at this time. switching to another battery solved the probelm. this puzzels me because both batterys measured 5.6 volts right off the charger. why would one battery make it blink and another not. there is nothing wrong with the voltage either. the tests were done on an esv from tower hobbies that puts a 200 mah load on the battery pack simulating the servos moving. can't undestand why one pack would make it blink yet another the same mah rating and voltage would. unless it's something in the battery pack plug itself not being able to supply the needed volts. can't find anything wrong. thanks for the help............RON
12-03-2011, 06:11 PM
#9
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RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
Funny that this shows up today, when I am looking into switching radio systems.
I have a DX 7 and have eaten several aircraft for reasons that were unknown originally. The first was a GS Pitts that I had flown with the DX 7 and a big RX for over a year. I went to a fairly well attended event and lost control of just after takeoff and crashed. Very scary. I thought that was something I might have done wrong with the switches since MY RX, switches, and batteries all checked out as good. The second was an electric Corsair that suddenly went whacko while in flight. When the bird was recovered, nothing worked until we rebinded it and then everything was just fine, except my confidence in my equipment and my motor shaft.
I built another GP GS Pitts and put the same RX in that the original GP GS Pitts had since all testing indicated no problem, much as you report. Went to the field, range checked good, set up well and took off. Just after rotation it became uncontrollable and went in. Did not taste very good at all.
Sent the entire rig (big RX and TX), back for repair with a letter describing failures, because we suspected the TX. They kept it for a month or so and sent it all back with the comments that nothing out of the ordinary could be found and it binded well.
Put the same (big)RX (now effectively certified by Spektrum) in a new GS Pitts Monster. Went to the field, range checked, set up stuff and suddenly it got whacko. After about an hour of fiddling around, switching transmitters with a friend, switching RX's, we determined the original RX and or satellite was toast. By the time we finished testing, it would bind and then loose bind (blinking lights) in less than a second.
I think there is a problem in the bind circuit that shows up when the board warms up in operation and only on older components. I am fairly comfortable in suggesting that the bind test used by the vendor's repair guys is wimpy and misses those cases where the RX will unbind after time. Clearly they need to keep it up for something like 30 or 45 minutes before they say the bind circuit is ok. That would cover most of us since we don't fly that long very often.
But that could be just me being grumpy and broke and an internal guidance technician in another lifetime.
Since I have discovered yet another bad 6 channel RX in my collection (plug into 2nd aileron slot and the throttle gets some sort of signal), I am very seriously considering switching brands. That is why I poking around here.
I have a DX 7 and have eaten several aircraft for reasons that were unknown originally. The first was a GS Pitts that I had flown with the DX 7 and a big RX for over a year. I went to a fairly well attended event and lost control of just after takeoff and crashed. Very scary. I thought that was something I might have done wrong with the switches since MY RX, switches, and batteries all checked out as good. The second was an electric Corsair that suddenly went whacko while in flight. When the bird was recovered, nothing worked until we rebinded it and then everything was just fine, except my confidence in my equipment and my motor shaft.
I built another GP GS Pitts and put the same RX in that the original GP GS Pitts had since all testing indicated no problem, much as you report. Went to the field, range checked good, set up well and took off. Just after rotation it became uncontrollable and went in. Did not taste very good at all.
Sent the entire rig (big RX and TX), back for repair with a letter describing failures, because we suspected the TX. They kept it for a month or so and sent it all back with the comments that nothing out of the ordinary could be found and it binded well.
Put the same (big)RX (now effectively certified by Spektrum) in a new GS Pitts Monster. Went to the field, range checked, set up stuff and suddenly it got whacko. After about an hour of fiddling around, switching transmitters with a friend, switching RX's, we determined the original RX and or satellite was toast. By the time we finished testing, it would bind and then loose bind (blinking lights) in less than a second.
I think there is a problem in the bind circuit that shows up when the board warms up in operation and only on older components. I am fairly comfortable in suggesting that the bind test used by the vendor's repair guys is wimpy and misses those cases where the RX will unbind after time. Clearly they need to keep it up for something like 30 or 45 minutes before they say the bind circuit is ok. That would cover most of us since we don't fly that long very often.
But that could be just me being grumpy and broke and an internal guidance technician in another lifetime.
Since I have discovered yet another bad 6 channel RX in my collection (plug into 2nd aileron slot and the throttle gets some sort of signal), I am very seriously considering switching brands. That is why I poking around here.
12-03-2011, 06:34 PM
#10
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RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
ORIGINAL: Jim Branaum
Funny that this shows up today, when I am looking into switching radio systems.
I have a DX 7 and have eaten several aircraft for reasons that were unknown originally. The first was a GS Pitts that I had flown with the DX 7 and a big RX for over a year. I went to a fairly well attended event and lost control of just after takeoff and crashed. Very scary. I thought that was something I might have done wrong with the switches since MY RX, switches, and batteries all checked out as good. The second was an electric Corsair that suddenly went whacko while in flight. When the bird was recovered, nothing worked until we rebinded it and then everything was just fine, except my confidence in my equipment and my motor shaft.
I built another GP GS Pitts and put the same RX in that the original GP GS Pitts had since all testing indicated no problem, much as you report. Went to the field, range checked good, set up well and took off. Just after rotation it became uncontrollable and went in. Did not taste very good at all.
Sent the entire rig (big RX and TX), back for repair with a letter describing failures, because we suspected the TX. They kept it for a month or so and sent it all back with the comments that nothing out of the ordinary could be found and it binded well.
Put the same (big)RX (now effectively certified by Spektrum) in a new GS Pitts Monster. Went to the field, range checked, set up stuff and suddenly it got whacko. After about an hour of fiddling around, switching transmitters with a friend, switching RX's, we determined the original RX and or satellite was toast. By the time we finished testing, it would bind and then loose bind (blinking lights) in less than a second.
I think there is a problem in the bind circuit that shows up when the board warms up in operation and only on older components. I am fairly comfortable in suggesting that the bind test used by the vendor's repair guys is wimpy and misses those cases where the RX will unbind after time. Clearly they need to keep it up for something like 30 or 45 minutes before they say the bind circuit is ok. That would cover most of us since we don't fly that long very often.
But that could be just me being grumpy and broke and an internal guidance technician in another lifetime.
Since I have discovered yet another bad 6 channel RX in my collection (plug into 2nd aileron slot and the throttle gets some sort of signal), I am very seriously considering switching brands. That is why I poking around here.
Funny that this shows up today, when I am looking into switching radio systems.
I have a DX 7 and have eaten several aircraft for reasons that were unknown originally. The first was a GS Pitts that I had flown with the DX 7 and a big RX for over a year. I went to a fairly well attended event and lost control of just after takeoff and crashed. Very scary. I thought that was something I might have done wrong with the switches since MY RX, switches, and batteries all checked out as good. The second was an electric Corsair that suddenly went whacko while in flight. When the bird was recovered, nothing worked until we rebinded it and then everything was just fine, except my confidence in my equipment and my motor shaft.
I built another GP GS Pitts and put the same RX in that the original GP GS Pitts had since all testing indicated no problem, much as you report. Went to the field, range checked good, set up well and took off. Just after rotation it became uncontrollable and went in. Did not taste very good at all.
Sent the entire rig (big RX and TX), back for repair with a letter describing failures, because we suspected the TX. They kept it for a month or so and sent it all back with the comments that nothing out of the ordinary could be found and it binded well.
Put the same (big)RX (now effectively certified by Spektrum) in a new GS Pitts Monster. Went to the field, range checked, set up stuff and suddenly it got whacko. After about an hour of fiddling around, switching transmitters with a friend, switching RX's, we determined the original RX and or satellite was toast. By the time we finished testing, it would bind and then loose bind (blinking lights) in less than a second.
I think there is a problem in the bind circuit that shows up when the board warms up in operation and only on older components. I am fairly comfortable in suggesting that the bind test used by the vendor's repair guys is wimpy and misses those cases where the RX will unbind after time. Clearly they need to keep it up for something like 30 or 45 minutes before they say the bind circuit is ok. That would cover most of us since we don't fly that long very often.
But that could be just me being grumpy and broke and an internal guidance technician in another lifetime.
Since I have discovered yet another bad 6 channel RX in my collection (plug into 2nd aileron slot and the throttle gets some sort of signal), I am very seriously considering switching brands. That is why I poking around here.
It is unlikely that the Rx lost the Bind with the Tx.
I have only had that happen when I inadvertently laid the DX7 down against a surface that pushed in the large Bind Button, on the back of the Tx. When I turned on the Tx, with that Bind Button depressed, I had to ReBind it to the Rx again.
12-03-2011, 07:51 PM
#11
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RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
Gosh Rich,
You must work for Spektrum because I have not been called a stupid liar in several years. Thanks bunches!
If you had bothered to read carefully, I am an experienced electronics technician.
What that really means, is that I probably have a better idea of testing and electronic problem isolation that many and surely know and understand the rigor needed in the test procedures of a suspect piece of equipment. The RX in question was tested with several different battery packs, with and without servos, with and without switches (gotta eliminate anything that MIGHT mask the problem) and the tests were repeated with the same equipment on someone else's RX with different results. His works.
I suppose it is possible that in another universe this RX does not loose bind, but I fly in this one. You are welcome to believe whatever it is you need to.
Your tale of having to rebind your RX because you sat your TX down on the bind plug might work in that other universe, but in this one the RX needs to have the bind plug inserted. I am sure you are smart enough to remove it once the system went through bind.
You must work for Spektrum because I have not been called a stupid liar in several years. Thanks bunches!
If you had bothered to read carefully, I am an experienced electronics technician.
What that really means, is that I probably have a better idea of testing and electronic problem isolation that many and surely know and understand the rigor needed in the test procedures of a suspect piece of equipment. The RX in question was tested with several different battery packs, with and without servos, with and without switches (gotta eliminate anything that MIGHT mask the problem) and the tests were repeated with the same equipment on someone else's RX with different results. His works.
I suppose it is possible that in another universe this RX does not loose bind, but I fly in this one. You are welcome to believe whatever it is you need to.
Your tale of having to rebind your RX because you sat your TX down on the bind plug might work in that other universe, but in this one the RX needs to have the bind plug inserted. I am sure you are smart enough to remove it once the system went through bind.
12-03-2011, 08:06 PM
#12
RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
ORIGINAL: Jim Branaum
Your tale of having to rebind your RX because you sat your TX down on the bind plug might work in that other universe, but in this one the RX needs to have the bind plug inserted. I am sure you are smart enough to remove it once the system went through bind.
Your tale of having to rebind your RX because you sat your TX down on the bind plug might work in that other universe, but in this one the RX needs to have the bind plug inserted. I am sure you are smart enough to remove it once the system went through bind.
12-03-2011, 09:16 PM
#13
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RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
ORIGINAL: Jim Branaum
Gosh Rich,
You must work for Spektrum because I have not been called a stupid liar in several years. Thanks bunches!
If you had bothered to read carefully, I am an experienced electronics technician.
What that really means, is that I probably have a better idea of testing and electronic problem isolation that many and surely know and understand the rigor needed in the test procedures of a suspect piece of equipment. The RX in question was tested with several different battery packs, with and without servos, with and without switches (gotta eliminate anything that MIGHT mask the problem) and the tests were repeated with the same equipment on someone else's RX with different results. His works.
I suppose it is possible that in another universe this RX does not loose bind, but I fly in this one. You are welcome to believe whatever it is you need to.
Your tale of having to rebind your RX because you sat your TX down on the bind plug might work in that other universe, but in this one the RX needs to have the bind plug inserted. I am sure you are smart enough to remove it once the system went through bind.
Gosh Rich,
You must work for Spektrum because I have not been called a stupid liar in several years. Thanks bunches!
If you had bothered to read carefully, I am an experienced electronics technician.
What that really means, is that I probably have a better idea of testing and electronic problem isolation that many and surely know and understand the rigor needed in the test procedures of a suspect piece of equipment. The RX in question was tested with several different battery packs, with and without servos, with and without switches (gotta eliminate anything that MIGHT mask the problem) and the tests were repeated with the same equipment on someone else's RX with different results. His works.
I suppose it is possible that in another universe this RX does not loose bind, but I fly in this one. You are welcome to believe whatever it is you need to.
Your tale of having to rebind your RX because you sat your TX down on the bind plug might work in that other universe, but in this one the RX needs to have the bind plug inserted. I am sure you are smart enough to remove it once the system went through bind.
I apologize if it appears I have slighted you. That was not my intention.
I wish you good luck in your search for the answer to your problem that caused your crash.
12-04-2011, 06:30 AM
#14
My Feedback: (3)
RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
Rich,
It is clear that you are convinced that I just got in the hobby and have not been involved very much like a checkbook modeler, because both of your responses seem to be canned and ignore clearly stated facts.
I already explicitly told you exactly what caused the loss of two giant scale airframes and almost cost a third, no feelings involved sir.
Let's look at your comment "As has been mentioned many times in many threads, the Blinking Lights usually mean that the Rx lost power (Brownout) and Rebooted." because I think your blind allegiance to that sentence is confusing you.
Two points for you to ponder. First, you used the term 'usually'. For most, that suggests that there may be cases where that is not true. That is also one reason I think you have used a canned response because I already covered the 'usually' in testing.
Second point is actually fairly simple. If the blinking cannot be stopped IT IS BROKEN!
If I cannot make it bind and hold bind WITH THE EXACT SAME EQUIPMENT OTHER RECIEVERS USE WITHOUT FLAW, it is useless.
KC, it never occurred to me that anyone would turn on a TX without insuring the binding button was not depressed! Duh..
It is clear that you are convinced that I just got in the hobby and have not been involved very much like a checkbook modeler, because both of your responses seem to be canned and ignore clearly stated facts.
I already explicitly told you exactly what caused the loss of two giant scale airframes and almost cost a third, no feelings involved sir.
Let's look at your comment "As has been mentioned many times in many threads, the Blinking Lights usually mean that the Rx lost power (Brownout) and Rebooted." because I think your blind allegiance to that sentence is confusing you.
Two points for you to ponder. First, you used the term 'usually'. For most, that suggests that there may be cases where that is not true. That is also one reason I think you have used a canned response because I already covered the 'usually' in testing.
Second point is actually fairly simple. If the blinking cannot be stopped IT IS BROKEN!
If I cannot make it bind and hold bind WITH THE EXACT SAME EQUIPMENT OTHER RECIEVERS USE WITHOUT FLAW, it is useless.
KC, it never occurred to me that anyone would turn on a TX without insuring the binding button was not depressed! Duh..
12-04-2011, 06:35 AM
#15
RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
ORIGINAL: Jim Branaum
KC, it never occurred to me that anyone would turn on a TX without insuring the binding button was not depressed! Duh..
KC, it never occurred to me that anyone would turn on a TX without insuring the binding button was not depressed! Duh..
12-04-2011, 07:02 AM
#16
My Feedback: (2)
RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
ORIGINAL: Jim Branaum
Rich,
It is clear that you are convinced that I just got in the hobby and have not been involved very much like a checkbook modeler, because both of your responses seem to be canned and ignore clearly stated facts.
I already explicitly told you exactly what caused the loss of two giant scale airframes and almost cost a third, no feelings involved sir.
Let's look at your comment ''As has been mentioned many times in many threads, the Blinking Lights usually mean that the Rx lost power (Brownout) and Rebooted.'' because I think your blind allegiance to that sentence is confusing you.
Two points for you to ponder. First, you used the term 'usually'. For most, that suggests that there may be cases where that is not true. That is also one reason I think you have used a canned response because I already covered the 'usually' in testing.
Second point is actually fairly simple. If the blinking cannot be stopped IT IS BROKEN!
If I cannot make it bind and hold bind WITH THE EXACT SAME EQUIPMENT OTHER RECIEVERS USE WITHOUT FLAW, it is useless.
KC, it never occurred to me that anyone would turn on a TX without insuring the binding button was not depressed! Duh..
Rich,
It is clear that you are convinced that I just got in the hobby and have not been involved very much like a checkbook modeler, because both of your responses seem to be canned and ignore clearly stated facts.
I already explicitly told you exactly what caused the loss of two giant scale airframes and almost cost a third, no feelings involved sir.
Let's look at your comment ''As has been mentioned many times in many threads, the Blinking Lights usually mean that the Rx lost power (Brownout) and Rebooted.'' because I think your blind allegiance to that sentence is confusing you.
Two points for you to ponder. First, you used the term 'usually'. For most, that suggests that there may be cases where that is not true. That is also one reason I think you have used a canned response because I already covered the 'usually' in testing.
Second point is actually fairly simple. If the blinking cannot be stopped IT IS BROKEN!
If I cannot make it bind and hold bind WITH THE EXACT SAME EQUIPMENT OTHER RECIEVERS USE WITHOUT FLAW, it is useless.
KC, it never occurred to me that anyone would turn on a TX without insuring the binding button was not depressed! Duh..
While no one would knowingly turn on a Spektrum transmitter with the Bind Button depressed, unless they were trying to Bind, it is easy to do accidentally, with the DX7, because the Bind Button is large and protrudes from the back of the Tx. I have had this happen to me, twice, with a DX7 transmitter. I am more careful where I lay the transmitter, now. I have never lost a Bind with any of my JR/Spektrum 2.4 radios. In discussing the possibilities of losing a Bind, with fellow pilots who fly in competition at the highest levels with these radios, they all say it has never happened to them, as well.
As for your situation, any electronic device by any manufacturer can have a malfunction or be defective and it is very possible that you have a defective product.
I once went to a local airport to fly one of my jets. I needed to ReBind my Rx because I made some major changes to my setup (Binding also sets the Failsafe conditions). I tried, repeatedly, to Bind, but one light on the Main Rx box would not go Solid. I called Horizon and found that because I was trying to Bind next to a large metal hangar, it would never Bind. I moved out away from the hangar and I was able to Bind without issue. I am more careful, now, where I am when I go through the Bind Process.
12-05-2011, 01:25 PM
#17
RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
ORIGINAL: Jim Branaum
If you had bothered to read carefully, I am an experienced electronics technician.
If you had bothered to read carefully, I am an experienced electronics technician.
When you put a receiver into bind mode, it shows this status by blinking the LED rapidly. The only way to put most (ie, non-BNF micros) into bind mode is by use of a bind plug that shorts the BIND/DATA pin to ground. When the receiver completes its side of the bind process, it writes to internal flash memory the necessary Model Match data. Note that it ONLY writes to that block AT THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION of a bind.
A transmitter, OTOH, erases its information regarding the type of rx it is connected to AT THE START of the bind. Entering the bind process varies with the different tx's, but in a DX7 it is accomplished by applying pressure to the button on the back while powering up the radio. I used to have a DX7, and it wasn't uncommon (until I figured it out) to have the tx laying on the ground as I turned it on, pushing the button into the dirt and entering bind mode unwittingly.
Since the bind is only changed in the rx at the successful completion of a bind, a receiver NEVER loses bind. A tx, though, can if it is improperly handled at powerup. Been there, done that.
Now, if you are referring to the rx lights blinking after a flight, this indicates that the rx was reset, typically by insufficient power applied. This can be accomplished by a bad switch, a bad connector, a poor battery, an inadequate BEC, an undersized power supply, a bad servo, poor linkages, too-thin wiring ... The solution is to carefully determine why your receiver didn't have enough power.
It could also be that you power-cycled the rx without power-cycling the tx. The blinking lights indicate that the transmitter is still on the same two channels it was on for the previous power-up of the rx.
If your rx is going into bind mode and you don't think it should be, check your wiring!
Andy
12-06-2011, 07:39 AM
#18
RE: BLINKING LITES ON RX & SATTALITE
Also, some BEC's and reg's, when plugged into the battery port have been known to put a ground on the signal line through their internal circuitry.
Andy, great post about the receiver type being cleared from the TX, I learned something new today!
Andy, great post about the receiver type being cleared from the TX, I learned something new today!
