snatch13

Im from South Africa and bought a DF V Ti last year in August. I crashed it a bit hard in the first two weeks and it stopped working. I contacted DF Innovations but they reffered me to Spectrolutions. I went through all the trouble to send it to them and I paid my $65 and got it back yesterday. (Quick hey!) I would not even start on the service at Draganfly Innovations!!!!! OK, Now I got my DF back and guess what? Its still not working!!!! They didnt even give me a note to say what was wrong or if they got it to work!!!

Maybe there is someone out there that could help me. When I switch it on, all the lights, red one at the top and 2 green ones in front, just flicker. When I give it some gas its not doing anything at all. Any advice?

Regards

TheHindmost

Flickering randomly, or blinking? If all three LEDs are blinking (but not flickering randomly), it sounds like a low battery indication...If the LEDs are just flickering randomly, then something's wrong with the board.

Will

Sky High

Did you arm it? Make sure the transmitter is ON before arming it! From your description of the LEDs flickering, it sounds like either the transmitter wasn't ON or it wasn't armed. Even if the transmitter is ON, if a trim lever is set to an extreme, it will not arm until the trims are centered. So, make sure all trims are centered, the transmitter is ON, and then press the arming button. Also make sure the Ti switch is OFF if indoors or in an enclosed area outdoors.

ElVela

The same here!

My DFVTI board just came from Spectrolutions after some repairs involving TI. (Flight without TI was OK).

Since I received the board it is working AS YOURS. With and without TI.

Process:

1.- Transmitter ON. (All trimmers centered, of course)
2.- DF ON
[3].- Calibrate TI if it's ON
4.- ARM the DF

AND.... All LEDS blinks. I mean: All on -> All off and so on.

- No response to transmitter. Even if I retry all process steps.
- Randomly it works after 5 minutes trying.
- On next power on the problem is back.

Note:
- Tx is OK because it was OK before I sent the board to Spectrolutions.
- Tx is OK because when the DF is NOT ARMED and I move the throttle stick the red LED in the board blinks quicker.
- When I arm the DF the motors move a little (thats normal. It's like a "click"). When the problem is present it does the same so power is reaching the motors.
- The problem seems to appear randomly. Sometimes it works perfectly the first time I arm it.

TheHindmost: So 3 leds blinking are due to low battery? mmmm... that's a clue on where the problem is located but I tried with 2 different batteries fully charged.

NEW BEHAVIOR: It happened twice while I was trying to correct the problem by repeatedly OFF->ON->ARM. It seems to be armed but the motors spin sloooowly. Even at full throttle. That's why I think the problem is due to power issues. It's like a component draining a lot of power and sometimes the DF can't even be armed showing the 3 leds blinking.

Any ideas? Thanks!!!!

(Sorry about my english. I hope you can understand all I write)

TheHindmost

Yes, ElVela, at least for my DF V TI...When the battery starts getting too low on power, the max throttle allowed gets more and more limited, forcing a (hopefully gentle) landing...When in this mode, all three LEDs (two green "eyes" and the red "hat" as I call it) blink in sync. Fortunately, this has never happened to me at any real altitude or range, but I have seen it happen in the air and it's pretty obvious when the DF starts limiting throttle, and after landing, the three LEDs are blinking...

So it really does sound like a power issue...or at least, the board thinks there's a power issue.

Will

Sky High

Yes, and when those LEDs blink in unison it's like every 1.5 seconds and not rapidly like when there is no Tx signal. I have no idea what to tell you about that strange behavior. Intermittent issues are the worst! [:@] It seems like snatch13 just disappeared.

ElVela

If the problem becomes persistent I'll send the board back to Spectro. There should be some kind of guarantee in the repairs.

kokomiko

Same here.
The DF went crazy, flipped over, bended the boards. Fixed it back but no signal receiving from the Tx. Sent it to spectrolutions, waited 3 weeks to get it back and ......crazy as before.[:@
Just to make sure I changed all motors and used different batteries (all new & checked). Sometimes it works for a minute or three, then it suddenly shuts down, changes speed on some motors randomly, looses signal from Tx and all kind of other behavier.[:-]

And now?

Is it a problem of the Tx (I don't think so) or still a problem with the board, as others have the same or similar problems after receiving it back from repair

HEEELP.....

Update:
Got an email from Mike that they test-flight the board and it was ok. There was also no damage from the shipping. So, the only things left to check from my side is the wireharness and Tx.
Will keep you updated what I can find out.