First Test Flight of Holybro X650 - Drone Did Not Take Off

Flight Testing & Log Analysis
1

Hello everyone,

I recently conducted the first test flight of my Holybro X650 despite some ongoing issues with motor pin reconnections (described in a separate thread). Here’s a summary of the flight and the challenges I faced:

Flight Summary:

  • The drone and its subsystems (compass, GPS, motors, and receiver) appeared to work as expected.
  • Propellers were spinning, and there was a stable connection to both the remote control and the ground station via telemetry.
  • However, the drone did not lift off the ground.
    Details and Observations:
  • Battery Voltage: Before the flight, I checked the battery charge with a multimeter. It showed 15.3V, while the fully charged voltage should be around 16.4V (4S LiPo).
  • Environmental Conditions: It is currently winter, and the temperature during the test was -3°C.
    My Assumptions:
    I suspect the drone’s failure to take off is primarily due to an insufficient battery charge. However, I am unsure if other factors might also be contributing, such as:
  1. Power Distribution Issues: Could there be inefficiencies or wiring problems in the power system?
  2. ESC Calibration: Could improperly calibrated ESCs limit the motor output and prevent the drone from lifting off?

Question to the Community:
Has anyone experienced similar issues where the drone won’t take off even though all systems seem to be working? I’d appreciate any advice or recommendations on what else to check or test before my next attempt.

Thank you in advance!

2

Okay, I think a found an issue, but still I need to test it.
Action button called trim action or whatever on a controller is an additional motor speed parameter.
It was turned to minimum during my test.
Now I’ve turned it up and it needs to be tested. After the test I will report the result.
Controller is Taranis x9 lite

3

hello,
I recall I have tested with 1.15 and was ok.
Could you share a log from your flight by any chance?

4

What pins do you have the ESC wires connected to on your flight controller? (Main 1-4 or Aux 1-4)

What ESC protocol do you have those pins set to in your Actuators tab? PWM400, DSHOT600, etc)

I had an issue similar to yours with a larger build. Ended up being ESC configuration (AM32 comes default setup for 14 poles 2250kv) I had to switch it to 22 poles and 220kv to get full throttle range. But your issue may be something else, as the X650 Dev Kit should have come with preconfigured ESCs and more or less plug and play.

I believe your issue is that you are using a 4S battery on a 6S build. That’s my shot in the dark on it without seeing logs from your test flight.

5

When I download the log file it shows up as gibrish mixed with English words. I will attach a text file, but how can I format the file into human language?

logs.pdf (1.4 MB)

6

ESC protocol was set to DSHOT600.
My first assumption was also that 4s battery is not enough for holybro x650.
I will write to them directly and ask about it.

7

Logs are binaries so you cannot see their contents.

This link will help you on that. You ca upload your ulog files to flight review and share the link.

8

4S is not gonna work for you.

They have mentioned what is recommened:

You might consider reading more about things before you start doing them. Many steps are usually documented.

9

Ok, I rebuilt and recalibrated the drone.
Also changed the battery from 4s to 6s and did a new test flight and the drone took off. I consider the problem solved for me, I’m moving on to the next stage of development, connecting the drone to an LTE modem via the auxiliary computer on the drone and transmitting data from the sensors to the ground station.
And the implementation of sensors, of course.

10

Awesome. Glad it worked out.,

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