Homebuilt quad-rotor won't fly - I need assistance (0 min 22 sec)

My buddy and I built this from parts. Uses HK blue KK style controller. We flashed it with Xcopter V4.7 KK by kapteinkuk.

It seems to do the right thing when I hold it in my hand. The controller attempts to keep it level. When I force one corner down, that motor speeds up and pulls that corner back up.

I have tried the pots at one-third, two-thirds, on full-gain. No matter what, the copter is uncontrollable. Within a second or two, it flips upside down and crashes.

The transmitter sticks also seem to make it go the right way (when I am holding it in my hand). Right aileron makes it lean to the right, etc.

We build a second one using the same parts list (my buddy bought enough parts to build two of these). The second one does the same thing.

ESC Detrum 30A
Props CW on left front and right rear, CCW on left rear and right front (X-configuration)
Battery 3 cell 11.1 V 2200 mAh
Motors Bumblebee 930 KV "designed for multi-rotor"
Frame Aluminum - unknown manufacturer
Receiver HK Orange 6 ch
Transmitter Spektrum DX8 - no mixing

Could be a defective controller?

Looks like a motor layout mismatch... + vs x for the board alignment? I've seen the exact pattern before when I forgot to update kk2 after a reset and it was trying to do + on a X configuration.

Originally Posted by unfaix

Could be a defective controller?

I've tried two different controllers (both HK). Not sure about the software I used to flash it. I used kkMulticopterFlashTool.cmd to flash it and used hex code from Xcopter V4.7 KK by kapteinkuk.

What would be a good beginner (simple reliable) hex code to use?

Originally Posted by brontide

Looks like a motor layout mismatch... + vs x for the board alignment? I've seen the exact pattern before when I forgot to update kk2 after a reset and it was trying to do + on a X configuration.

I have the arrow on the board pointing to the number 1 motor. I believe the hex code I flashed is for "X" config but don't know how to confirm that.

Originally Posted by dmcquinn

I have the arrow on the board pointing to the number 1 motor. I believe the hex code I flashed is for "X" config but don't know how to confirm that.

That's incorrect, if arrow is pointing towards number 1 ( forward ) then you need to be in + configuration not X.

Originally Posted by dmcquinn

What's wrong with this X-copter

Probably vibrations.

Edit: If FC's angle is right, of course.
Otherwise, correct FC's orientation...

Originally Posted by brontide

That's incorrect, if arrow is pointing towards number 1 ( forward ) then you need to be in + configuration not X.

This sounds like the best answer so far. How do I tell if I'm using the "X" or "+" configuration? (I really don't care which one I use -- I just want it to fly).

I flashed it with kkMulticopterFlashTool.cmd and selected file "Xcopter V4.7 KK by kapteinkuk"

What would be a good simple "+" configuration to use?

Either you need to turn the FC 45 CW or I think you want the quadcopter FW rather than the xcopter firmware. Not farmiliar enough with those boards and my google-fu is not turning up what I need to know to be sure.

Rotate your KK board so that the corner arrow is pointed towards motor #1 as so:



Verify the motor layout is correct along with the propeller rotation.

You should not have to do any adjustments to the firmware or the controller other than the rotation. If the quad fly's, that would be your problem.

FYI:
I had the same exact problem as you when I failed to change my KK2 board from + to X layout, so Im sure this will take care of your problem too

Quad rotor is flying now!

Problem was that I had initially tried the "+" configuration and had the controller oriented toward the #1 motor. I was never successful with this approach for some unknown reason, so I flashed with an "X" configuration firmware but failed to re-orient the controller 45 degrees to align between the #1 and #3 motor. Now that I have done that it seems relatively stable. At least I can fly it for 5 - 10 seconds. Now I need to experiment with more and less gain, etc.