mcpx v1 with dual esc---soldering too difficult

[muscleman]

I have the dual esc and the v1 board (got them as parts of another purchase). I checked the map online, and found this one:
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/007...nal.jpg?102054

But the soldering looks really difficult to me. It is so tiny.
On the other hand, I see the two signal wires are attached to two-pin plugs. I wonder if they could be just plugged into the main and tail motor power sockets and make it work?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OVERSKY-DUAL...item419318a23c

I tried that and it didn't work for me. (Mine doesn't have the plug, just the wire. I stuck the wire into the main and tail motor power sockets and push the throttle. Nothing happens.)

Can anyone please help?

[NCcraig]

Originally Posted by muscleman

I have the dual esc and the v1 board (got them as parts of another purchase). I checked the map online, and found this one:
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/007...nal.jpg?102054

But the soldering looks really difficult to me. It is so tiny.
On the other hand, I see the two signal wires are attached to two-pin plugs. I wonder if they could be just plugged into the main and tail motor power sockets and make it work?
Oversky Dual Brushless ESC MCPX MCP x V2 FBL100 10A 3A PNP Programmable Blheli | eBay

I tried that and it didn't work for me. (Mine doesn't have the plug, just the wire. I stuck the wire into the main and tail motor power sockets and push the throttle. Nothing happens.)

Can anyone please help?

Did you try using the other side of the main and rear motor plugs on your 3-n-1? You can only get the ESC signal from the positive side. Do you get a series of ascending beeps when you plug the battery in?

[muscleman]

Originally Posted by NCcraig

Did you try using the other side of the main and rear motor plugs on your 3-n-1? You can only get the ESC signal from the positive side. Do you get a series of ascending beeps when you plug the battery in?

Thank you! I will give that a try. I think that is much bigger and easier to solder.

I didn't solder the main battery wires from the ESC to the V1 board, so I plugged in two separate batteries to the ESC and to the V1 board. Then I used my right hand to hold the signal wire onto the V1 board's supposed signal spot as shown here:
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/007...nal.jpg?102054

Then I used my left hand to push the throttle on the TX. Nothing happens.

Do you think soldering on the above spot is equivalent as soldering on the power socket? Do you think my approach to plug in two separate batteries have anything to do with my problem here?
I did hear a series of ascending beeps from the dual ESC. It was previously working fine with the Turnigy FBL100 board before the board started to have issues. Do you think the BLH code is the same for Turnigy FBL100 board and the MCPX V1 board?

[NCcraig]

Using two batteries is probably part of the problem. No common ground.I would also use the resistor signal taps instead of the motor output plugs. Lastly assuming the governor is turned on and set to GOV TX, you would have to arm the ESC to get the motors to spool up.

[muscleman]

Originally Posted by NCcraig

Using two batteries is probably part of the problem. No common ground.I would also use the resistor signal taps instead of the motor output plugs. Lastly assuming the governor is turned on and set to GOV TX, you would have to arm the ESC to get the motors to spool up.

Got it. So it sounds like soldering is unavoidable in this case.
Could you please tell me a bit more about these terms like "governor", "GOV TX", and "arm the ESC"?

Note that before the original turnigy FBL100 motherboard is cut off from the dual ESC, I just need to plug in the battery and the mother board would bind to the Turnigy TX and the motor will spin when I push the throttle. This probably means the ESC is already properly flashed, right?

I checked the resistor signal taps and there seems to be some clear glue or something covering part of it. Do I need some tool to remove that before soldering?

[NCcraig]

Originally Posted by muscleman

Got it. So it sounds like soldering is unavoidable in this case.
Could you please tell me a bit more about these terms like "governor", "GOV TX", and "arm the ESC"?

Note that before the original turnigy FBL100 motherboard is cut off from the dual ESC, I just need to plug in the battery and the mother board would bind to the Turnigy TX and the motor will spin when I push the throttle. This probably means the ESC is already properly flashed, right?

I checked the resistor signal taps and there seems to be some clear glue or something covering part of it. Do I need some tool to remove that before soldering?

Here is a good write up on the BLHeli code and what everything means,
https://www.helifreak.com/showpost.p...38&postcount=1

As to the question in your second paragraph, I suppose the ESC is flashed properly. Hard to say without hooking it up to the BLHeli software and checking the settings. My question back to you is are you using a Turnigy TX on your mCPX?

Finally, you can remove some of the conformal coating by heating it with a soldering iron to soften it then scrape it away with the tip of an Exacto knife or micro screwdriver. A hot air rework station or heat gun will also work to soften the coating.

[muscleman]

Originally Posted by NCcraig

Here is a good write up on the BLHeli code and what everything means,
https://www.helifreak.com/showpost.p...38&postcount=1

As to the question in your second paragraph, I suppose the ESC is flashed properly. Hard to say without hooking it up to the BLHeli software and checking the settings. My question back to you is are you using a Turnigy TX on your mCPX?

Finally, you can remove some of the conformal coating by heating it with a soldering iron to soften it then scrape it away with the tip of an Exacto knife or micro screwdriver. A hot air rework station or heat gun will also work to soften the coating.

Thank you for your generous help!
I am using DX6i for the mcpx v1 board. I don't think the turnigy TX would work.
I bound the DX6i to this V1 board, plugged in two batteries separately to the V1 board and to the ESC, and then used one hand to put the ESC's tail signal wire onto the v1 board's resistor tap, used the other hand to push the throttle in the TX. Nothing happens. I only connected the tail motor, not the main motor. Maybe I should connect both?

Anyway, I will try to install the BLHeli software, plug in the flash stick and check the settings.

[NCcraig]

Originally Posted by muscleman

Thank you for your generous help!
I am using DX6i for the mcpx v1 board. I don't think the turnigy TX would work.
I bound the DX6i to this V1 board, plugged in two batteries separately to the V1 board and to the ESC, and then used one hand to put the ESC's tail signal wire onto the v1 board's resistor tap, used the other hand to push the throttle in the TX. Nothing happens. I only connected the tail motor, not the main motor. Maybe I should connect both?

Anyway, I will try to install the BLHeli software, plug in the flash stick and check the settings.

I think you biggest problem is using two batteries. There is no common ground between the board and the ESC

[muscleman]

Originally Posted by NCcraig

I think you biggest problem is using two batteries. There is no common ground between the board and the ESC

Got it! That makes most sense. I will try to do some soldering and use one battery and see how it goes.

Regarding the signal wires, has anyone made it work by directly plugging the pin into the brushed motor power socket? I am not confident that I can do a good job soldering the wire onto the resistor tap.

[muscleman]

Hi NCcraig,
Do you know anyone who succeeded by soldering the wire onto the back of the motor power sockets? Do you know of the two, which one is positive and which is negative?


Thanks,
Zehua

[NCcraig]

Originally Posted by muscleman

Hi NCcraig,
Do you know of the two, which one is positive and which is negative?


Thanks,
Zehua

I know for sure that the positive pin is the inner most one on the main motor plug. Not quite sure about the tail motor plug and I don't have a 3-n-1 I can look at. It's been a while since I have had one laying around on my bench.

[muscleman]

Originally Posted by NCcraig

I know for sure that the positive pin is the inner most one on the main motor plug. Not quite sure about the tail motor plug and I don't have a 3-n-1 I can look at. It's been a while since I have had one laying around on my bench.

Thank you!

[dr dremel]

You can look at the plugs on the board, the side with the green stripe is the negative side, so seen from above (-) is on the right, (+) on the left.

FWIW it´s also easier to solder the signal wire to the original main/tail motor plugs, at least for testing.

GL
Dr

[muscleman]

Originally Posted by dr dremel

You can look at the plugs on the board, the side with the green stripe is the negative side, so seen from above (-) is on the right, (+) on the left.

FWIW it´s also easier to solder the signal wire to the original main/tail motor plugs, at least for testing.

GL
Dr

Thank you!
I see you replied in the other thread for a person with similar ESC as mine.
https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=668524

So it sounds like if the dual ESC is in governor mode, soldering the signal wires onto the power sockets won't really work?
Is there a way to configure the ESC to be in throttle mode?

[dr dremel]

IDK if the esc even has a dedicated gov mode, I never experimented with gov on mine (I´ve a standalone 10A main esc). So I can´t be sure, but if you´re just running a flat curve (like me) or gov it should make no difference where the esc gets its signal from.

[muscleman]

Hi NCcraig,
I finally had time to install the BLHeli software on this board, and I flashed the dual esc with the latest firmware. It auto converted the existing params from 12.1 version to 13.1 version. Can you please help me take a look and see if they are properly configured?

One more question, since the dual esc can be properly read from the BLHeli software, can I safely assume that it is still in good condition and it should work properly when I solder it?

Lastly, what does governor mode TX mean for the main motor setup here? Does it mean that I will be using the TX to program the throttle curve? dr dremel said if I solder the main motor signal wire to the power socket for V1 board, I can get at most 60% throttle if I use governor mode. How about soldering directly to the resistor tap? Any difference?



Thanks!
Muscleman

[muscleman]

Regarding the setting: "Governor mode: TX", I found a video here:

ESC Heli Governor Mode Setup Tutorial (18 min 14 sec)

So it means I should use my TX to set the throttle curve to something like 70
% flat, for both 3D idle switch on and off?

[NCcraig]

Originally Posted by muscleman

So it means I should use my TX to set the throttle curve to something like 70
% flat, for both 3D idle switch on and off?

Set your normal to 65% flat, IU1 to 70% and IU2 (if you have it) to 75% flat. That will allow you to have different head speeds for each mode. You need to run flat throttle curves in all flight modes with a BLHeli flashed ESC set to "TX GOV".

As far as your BLHeli settings. The default settings for the tail motor are fine. I would bump the I and P gains on the main motor to 2.0.

[muscleman]

Originally Posted by NCcraig

Set your normal to 65% flat, IU1 to 70% and IU2 (if you have it) to 75% flat. That will allow you to have different head speeds for each mode. You need to run flat throttle curves in all flight modes with a BLHeli flashed ESC set to "TX GOV".

As far as your BLHeli settings. The default settings for the tail motor are fine. I would bump the I and P gains on the main motor to 2.0.

Thank you!
The other member dr dremel says that MCPX V1 board can have at most 60% throttle. Is that true? Should I set normal to 50% flat and IU1 to 60% then?

[NCcraig]

Originally Posted by muscleman

Thank you!
The other member dr dremel says that MCPX V1 board can have at most 60% throttle. Is that true? Should I set normal to 50% flat and IU1 to 60% then?

I ran my personal converted mCPX with a HP06V2 motor at 85% in IU2. I flew it in that flight mode most of the time and it had great power. I don't know where those low numbers are coming from unless you want to dumb the motor down.