AR8000 LED flickering

[getsuyoubi]

I noticed that on my AR8000 and its satellite the LEDs are never really rock solid, they're always slightly flickering. This happens already after powering up, so it has nothing to do with anything that might happen during flight. Is that normal, or is that a sign that something is not right? Any ideas?

[aerocal]

What kind of actual voltage are you getting to the Rx bus?
What does your FL data look like?

[getsuyoubi]

Haven't measured the actual voltage yet, but it's powered through a Castle Pro BEC set to 6 volts.
Today I noticed that at the end of each and every one of 5 flights the LEDs were solid, while they had been flickering when I carried the heli to the flight line.

[aerocal]

Do you look at your Flightlog data or just do a simple Go/No go low power/range test?
You dont say what you are using for a Tx. This is where having some telemetry data would be a huge help.
Flickering is not normal. Is it ever Stubborn to Connect? I would definitely confirm adequate voltage and then check if maybe the remote cable or the remote itself is acting wonky.
If you cant find anything definite and or make it stay good and solid I would send it in to get serviced.

Just because its a "branded" BEC doesnt mean its immune to issues.
If you have a good 6volt pack I would try to power it even temporarily with a good solid direct source and see if the flickering goes away.
Ive had too many weird issues like this with BECs of various flavors.

[getsuyoubi]

I'm wondering whether this is a thermal effect, like a cold solder joint where the BEC input cables are spliced into the ESC cables. The ESC cables get slightly warm during flight, and that may improve that cold solder joint. It's probably a little far-fetched, though.
My radio is a JR X9303, upgraded to DSMX.
I'll take a good look at it over the weekend; hope I actually get to it.

[aerocal]

A bad solder joint on the supply lead to the BEC would definitely cause a problem. A bad connection on the output to the Rx would as well. There are a number of things that can cause erratic voltage at the Rx bus where its needed. This is why measuring it in realtime at the bus during operation is so helpful.
It could also be a cracked solder joint at the cable connection for the remote. Cracked joints can be a bugger. They may only show symptoms before everything warms up.Heat will cause a crack to close.
Both of these things should show up in the data.

Its a little more difficult without baseline data from setup and first flights.
Ive generally found that developing problems can be pretty clearly be seen when comparing data from when it was functioning correctly to the data from when you start seeing an issue. If you track the data and compare it over time you may see a problem developing before any symptoms are visible.

[getsuyoubi]

I'll disconnect the BEC from the receiver and power it through the ESC instead. If the flicker goes away it has to be related to the BEC or its solder joint. If it doesn't it has to be the receiver - unless it's the Deans connector to the battery.

[getsuyoubi]

I re-soldered the spliced connections, just to make sure, but it didn't make a difference. Didn't get around to trying it with the ESC's BEC instead of the BEC Pro yet, but that's next on my list.
I also noticed that the flickering does go away after a minute or so, and when I disconnect and re-connect it without turning off the radio the flickering does not come back. Tried that only two times, though, so I'm not sure that effect is real.

[getsuyoubi]

Just found a video of exactly the same phenomenon I'm observing, though apparently under different conditions (DSMX satellites running DSM2):

Spektrum Satellite Flicker (0 min 33 sec)

According to the comments to the video the problem went away when switching to DSM2 sats...

[aerocal]

You said it was an AR8000 w remote. 2 sats on a FC unit may be different. It may be something and it may not. Check the Rx bus voltage and FL data and if its ok I wouldnt worry alot. Do you have a data reader?

[getsuyoubi]

I agree that my setup is totally different. I just posted that video to show how that flicker actually looks like.
I'll power the receiver from my ESC (just for a test, no flying) to see whether the flicker goes away. If it does, then there is something going on with the BEC Pro. If it doesn't, then it's the receiver itself (but why are both the receiver and the sat showing the same thing?).
I'm off tomorrow; hope to find time to tinker with it then.

[getsuyoubi]

Finally some progress today. I disconnected the Castle Pro and powered the receiver through the Align ESC's built-in BEC - and the flicker was still there. Then I bound the receiver to my old DX6i instead of the JR radio, and the LEDs were solid!
Powered the RX through the Castle BEC again, and they were still solid when using the DX6i. Bound to the JR X9303 (running DSMX, just to remind you), and they flickered!
So the Castle BEC is off the hook, and it looks like it's related to the JR radio. However, on my other RXs (AR6210) the LEDs are solid when using that very same radio.
What's going on???

[getsuyoubi]

I finally sent my radio, RX and satellite to Horizon Hobby last week. The radio checked out good, and they were able to confirm the flickering lights on the RX - and replaced it free of charge, though it was out of warranty by a long shot!
Horizon Hobby's customer service rocks!!!