Okay so here is my dilemma:
Not my first build, but have arrived at a brick wall with a recent project.
Frame: Arris M900
FC: Pixhawk 6X
ESC: Tekko32 45a (AM32)
Radio: RFD900/TXMOD
Motors: 22 Pole Eagle Power 5215 220kv
Batt: 22,000mah 25c 6S
PX4 FW: 1.15.1 stable
QGC: 11-16-24 Daily installation now.
Super clean build, ESC signal and ground are routed to AUX1-4, assigned as motors, and DSHOT 600 protocol. They’re digital, shouldn’t require calibrating.
Everything functions as it should all the way through arming. Motors spin, apply upward throttle on left stick (ch3) and motors spool up to what sounds like maybe 1300pwm range, and nothing more. Throttle Percentage on QGC goes al the way up to 100 with no higher output at the motors. I’ve tried all flight modes including acro, and even spin motors from power tab in the field. They do not go further than slightly above idle.
I changed to PWM400 for protocol, no change.
I changed to Main 1-4 pins on PWM400, no change.
Tried to run a calibration even though shouldn’t be required of digital ESCs….i get an error each time saying that I have a battery plugged in when I don’t.
I’ve spent over a week trying to work through this but cannot. I am willing to pay for help at this point…need this thing running.
Unable to use the ESC calibration tool in QGC…it insists that I have a battery connected when I do not. I’ve tried multiple power modules thinking it may be confused based on a CAN module somehow. No luck. Powered by USB only, it tells me to disconnect the battery and I cannot proceed.
I have manually calibrated (high stick/low stick) one by one. I still seem to be missing the range of 1750-2000 pwm while on PWM400 protocol. DSHOT600 seems to be worse, maxing out rpm around 60% throttle and also induces more vibration than PWM.
All this confuses me because I was under the impression that digits ESCs do not require calibration, yet I don’t seem to have full throttle range. Even after calibrating as I would a HobbyWing for a foamie.
Hi, well in the logs there is nothing immediately obvious, except that the drone looks like its slightly tilted, and it seems to try to compensate for it, to bring it back to horizontal, at least that is my explanation for the uneven motor control signals. Check that there is a pitch/roll +rate setpoint. I don’t think that 1.5 degrees should be the main cause, but you might want to recalibrate/level the drone just in case.
What I would check is to see if its mechanically OK, e.g. you can spin up the motors while installed in the drone, but receiving PWM control from a manual RC receiver or something else like an arduino or similar. I have no experience with your particular setup, but I’ve had issues before with ESC-s not delivering what’s in the specs. Also power (voltage) can be lost if the wires are too thin or if some of the connections/soldering is not perfect, which also prevents the motor from reaching high RPM.
Not sure if this helps, but it might be worth checking!
Thanks for taking a look. It ended up being ESC configuration. AM32 came default on them set for 14 poles 2250kv…I changed settings to reflect the specs of these hockey pucks and all is good now.
(Not a very good method for accessing the ESCs currently…I had to run an Arduino Nano flashed with BLHeli bootloader, plug them in one by one, and direct connect to their AM32 desktop GUI. I’d like to see pass through an option from the Type C port)
Yeah that would have been the second advice, to check the ESC firmware config and fix/nuke as appropriate. Good that it’s resolved though.
