Controller signal after mainboard swap out.

sparke · Dec 2, 2018

Had a rough landing with the P3S which snapped the compass female connector off the mainboard. Bought a used mainboard online and installed. A/C functions perfectly and A/C flies with no problems except for this? First, I've had the ARGtech antennas installed since I first bought the A/C. This is my favorite A/C even though I have a P4P. When I fly I get the weak controller message and A/C returns to home. The A/C won't fly further than about 700' from home point? At one point I had it hovering about 200" straight above the R/C and I was still getting the weak R/C message. Both batteries in the A/C and R/C are 100%. Haven't had a chance to try my buddies R/C yet to see if it's R/C related or A/C related issue. Thought I'd post this to get some input from the pros. Thanks in advance.
Sparke

3rdof5 · Dec 5, 2018

I doubt it has anything to do with your RC since the only variable that has changed is the AC. Is it possible that during the hard landing one of the antennae in the landing gear of the AC was damaged? And are they correctly connected to the replaced mainboard? Typically, flying directly overtop of the RC will cause weak signal unless you point the RC antennas away from you at a 90° angle. But other than that you should get 700 feet range away easy.

sparke · Dec 5, 2018

3rdof5 said:
I doubt it has anything to do with your RC since the only variable that has changed is the AC. Is it possible that during the hard landing one of the antennae in the landing gear of the AC was damaged? And are they correctly connected to the replaced mainboard? Typically, flying directly overtop of the RC will cause weak signal unless you point the RC antennas away from you at a 90° angle. But other than that you should get 700 feet range away easy.

3rdof5, thanks for the information. I'll change out both antennas since I have new ones with the replacement board. l left the original antennas on the A/C and didn't use the antennas that came with the replacement board. There is one caveat to this story. I shipped my A/C and R/C to Cloud City Drones in RI to repair the gimble, which they did. I guess it's possible that something happened to the R/C in shipping? I'm waiting to borrow my buddies R/C to see if his makes any difference before tearing apart my A/C. Nevertheless, thanks for replying to this post. I'll keep you updated on my progress and findings.
Sparke

3rdof5 · Dec 5, 2018

sparke said:
3rdof5, thanks for the information. I'll change out both antennas since I have new ones with the replacement board. l left the original antennas on the A/C and didn't use the antennas that came with the replacement board. There is one caveat to this story. I shipped my A/C and R/C to Cloud City Drones in RI to repair the gimble, which they did. I guess it's possible that something happened to the R/C in shipping? I'm waiting to borrow my buddies R/C to see if his makes any difference before tearing apart my A/C. Nevertheless, thanks for replying to this post. I'll keep you updated on my progress and findings.
Sparke

I think its unlikely they did anything to the RC. But it cant hurt to try a different RC for comparison. Im curious as to how you make out

sparke · Dec 5, 2018

3rdof5 said:
I think its unlikely they did anything to the RC. But it cant hurt to try a different RC for comparison. Im curious as to how you make out

They tested the A/C before returning so I think on their end it worked fine, but not sure if they did any distance tests. The problem could have been in the return shipping but only a guess at this time. I've had great service and success with Cloud city so no complaints. Promise, I'll keep you updated since we are now both curious. Thanks for the reply.

supra01 · Dec 6, 2018

sparke said:
They tested the A/C before returning so I think on their end it worked fine, but not sure if they did any distance tests. The problem could have been in the return shipping but only a guess at this time. I've had great service and success with Cloud city so no complaints. Promise, I'll keep you updated since we are now both curious. Thanks for the reply.

supra01 · Dec 6, 2018

I just wanted to say I had a similar problem with my drone after an update. I ended up ordering another main board. I need fixed my problem where my drone would not go very far at all. It may be possible that someone sold you a good motherboard but they did not distance test it. Anyway I’m not very good with this stuff but. Just wanted to share that info with you. Someone in here showed me how to do a mod to the range chip. To make my drone fly as far as possible. I took it to a couple people because the chip is so small. But supposedly if you Sautter a jumper across it . Problem is solved .

sparke · Dec 19, 2018

As promised, I'm reporting back after trying another R/C unit. Unfortunately, about the same results. At about 400' I get the weak signal then A/C disconnected and RTH kicks in and the A/C returns home w/o any issues. I thought I had a spare antenna for the A/C but later found out I didn't. I'm going to remove the shell and look over the connections. I don't think anything is loose but still, need to verify. After that, I'm stumped. Guess my next move is to find a replacement main board and replace? Ugh! This little drone behaves so well but just can't get any distance. I have enough invested in this machine that I could have bought a new other. But for some reason, I've grown a liking to this little guy?

3rdof5 · Dec 19, 2018

sparke said:
As promised, I'm reporting back after trying another R/C unit. Unfortunately, about the same results. At about 400' I get the weak signal then A/C disconnected and RTH kicks in and the A/C returns home w/o any issues. I thought I had a spare antenna for the A/C but later found out I didn't. I'm going to remove the shell and look over the connections. I don't think anything is loose but still, need to verify. After that, I'm stumped. Guess my next move is to find a replacement main board and replace? Ugh! This little drone behaves so well but just can't get any distance. I have enough invested in this machine that I could have bought a new other. But for some reason, I've grown a liking to this little guy?

Well it's definitely not an RC issue. Too bad you dont have new antennae to try.

sparke · Dec 25, 2018

Haven't given up just yet. Talked with Ian from Cloud City Drones in RI. Great guy for sure. He recommended to reload the BIN file, which I did but it didn't seem to make much difference. I'm about to separate the shell and see if any of the antenna wires are nicked or damaged. Hate to buy another main board since the cost is $169 for a new board. Getting too much money in the A/C to try and make it fly further like it once did. Now I'm limited to about 700' max. Ugh!

sparke · Jan 27, 2019

Still doing my research on this P3S. I found my original mainboard and was trying to determine which board I have? How can I tell and what numbers do I look for? Also, I always was under the impression that the P3S was a 2.4gig signal but when looking for a replacement mainboard I keep seeing the 5.8gig boards. Since I'm having a range issue is my replacement board only a 5.8gig. Need some education on these two different questions. And, if I'm on 5.8 how can I switch back to 2.4gig's. Could this be the answer I've been searching for? Don't want to buy another mainboard until I can understand the difference. Geez, I have less trouble with my big drone you see in my picture. That is my 500.

3rdof5 · Jan 27, 2019

sparke said:
Still doing my research on this P3S. I found my original mainboard and was trying to determine which board I have? How can I tell and what numbers do I look for? Also, I always was under the impression that the P3S was a 2.4gig signal but when looking for a replacement mainboard I keep seeing the 5.8gig boards. Since I'm having a range issue is my replacement board only a 5.8gig. Need some education on these two different questions. And, if I'm on 5.8 how can I switch back to 2.4gig's. Could this be the answer I've been searching for? Don't want to buy another mainboard until I can understand the difference. Geez, I have less trouble with my big drone you see in my picture. That is my 500.

Wish I could help more but I'm no expert on the P3S, my P3P is a different bird entirely.
Update, after searching, the P3S uses 5.8 for control signal and 2.4 for video so yes the correct board will be a 5.8.

3rdof5 · Jan 27, 2019

I would definitely open it up and inspect the antennae connections at the main board and everything else.

sparke · Jan 27, 2019

3rdof5 said:
I would definitely open it up and inspect the antennae connections at the main board and everything else.

I do have it open and everything checks out. No nicks in the wires, connectors are perfectly seated so I ruled out the antenna portion. Still wondering if I have a mismatch for mainboard? The a/c flies perfectly but about 600 to 800 feet out it does an auto RTH? Before I could get 4 to 5k feet away with the antenna mod on the R/C. Just can’t figure this one out?

3rdof5 · Jan 27, 2019

sparke said:
I do have it open and everything checks out. No nicks in the wires, connectors are perfectly seated so I ruled out the antenna portion. Still wondering if I have a mismatch for mainboard? The a/c flies perfectly but about 600 to 800 feet out it does an auto RTH? Before I could get 4 to 5k feet away with the antenna mod on the R/C. Just can’t figure this one out?

I'm not sure what you mean when you say a mismatch for the mainboard. How is that possible and still be flying?

sparke · Jan 27, 2019

3rdof5 said:
I'm not sure what you mean when you say a mismatch for the mainboard. How is that possible and still be flying?

I read in one of the posts where the motors and the mainboard can differ and cause problems. Also is there a 5.8gig mainboard or a 2.4 mainboard? I was about to buy another mainboard and it was listed as a 5.8gig mainboard. I always was under the impression that the P3S was strictly a 2.4gig A/C? And, just remembering something else I read which was the 5.8 did not have the range the 2.4 had? Just grasping at straws at this point. Not sure which way to proceed?

I think I’m getting paralysis through analysis?

3rdof5 · Jan 27, 2019

sparke said:
I read in one of the posts where the motors and the mainboard can differ and cause problems. Also is there a 5.8gig mainboard or a 2.4 mainboard? I was about to buy another mainboard and it was listed as a 5.8gig mainboard. I always was under the impression that the P3S was strictly a 2.4gig A/C? And, just remembering something else I read which was the 5.8 did not have the range the 2.4 had? Just grasping at straws at this point. Not sure which way to proceed?

I think I’m getting paralysis through analysis?

Did you read my previous post? All of the boards for the P3S use 5.8 Ghz for control signal. Unless there's a board I don't know about. If it's a P3S then that's what it is.
As far as the motors go, yes on some models of the P3 there are 2 different boards and motors based on their version but I do not know if that was true for the P3S. Regardless, either board would be the same for control signal.

sparke · Jan 27, 2019

I did see your previous post but still confused. My P4P can change between 2.4 & 5.8. So your saying the P3S is only 5.8? I thought I was on to something when I saw all the used boards on fleabay stating 5.8gigs. That’s what lead me down the path of thinking the replacement board may be different than my original board. Now I'm disappointed, thought I was on the way of figuring out this problem without buying another mainboard. Thanks for sticking with me while I’m trying to figure out the distance issue. This just doesn’t add up why the A/C is distance limited?

3rdof5 · Jan 28, 2019

sparke said:
I did see your previous post but still confused. My P4P can change between 2.4 & 5.8. So your saying the P3S is only 5.8? I thought I was on to something when I saw all the used boards on fleabay stating 5.8gigs. That’s what lead me down the path of thinking the replacement board may be different than my original board. Now I'm disappointed, thought I was on the way of figuring out this problem without buying another mainboard. Thanks for sticking with me while I’m trying to figure out the distance issue. This just doesn’t add up why the A/C is distance limited?

Yes the P4 can switch but none of the P3's do. Your control signal stays at 5.8 Ghz. I'm at a loss to explain your distance issue, like I said I don't own a P3S so I'm not familiar with their particular quirks.