Newbie needs help.

[dmassey321]

Hello,

I have recently purchased a used Phantom 1 from a realtor friend that upgraded.

I've read as much as I can find and watched videos but can't get it operational. I've updated the firmware, calibrated, everything I can think of to get it to work.

When I attempt to turn the motors on, three of them flutter and chirp. The fourth seems dead. At no time will any of them spin up to pre-flight RPMs.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[N017RW]

One of the most common causes of motors acting like this is damage associated with the prop guards.
Not from the guards themselves but they require different length screws to attach. Then when removed if the longer screws are installed with out the guard they extend into the motor coils and destroy some of the windings.
You'll need to remove the motors and inspect the windings through the holes to see if you see deformation, etc. If any damage has occurred the motors are trashed.
They can also be tested with an ohm meter when removed but if you see the damage from the screws there's no need.

Also the ESCs could be damaged but aside from visually inspecting them for burnt parts there's not much more you can do except swap known good ones for the bad to see if the problem is corrected.

 

[rockydog]

How about speaking to your realtor friend.....?

 

[IflyinWY]

Yep, like 7RW said, it's probably because the previous owner removed the prop guards to sell it and put the wrong screws back in the holes. Remove an outboard screw from one of the motor mounts (underneath the motor) and measure it. Remove an inboard screw from one of the motor mounts and if the inboard screw is shorter... you're screwed, so to speak. That will be 4 new motors.

Check with the previous owner and you may not even have to measure the screws. If you hear the words "Prop Guards", you can bet the screws are the issue.

When you go to remove the little tiny Phillips head screw at the end of each arm, BE CAREFUL not to strip the screw. It's really small, maybe a "0". Squeeze the top and bottom halves of the shell together while removing the screw. It helps a little.

Oh yea,
Welcome to the party dmassey. This show is a hell of a kick, and educational. There are some helpful links in my signature.

Enjoy the show.

 

[dmassey321]

Thanks all. On a business trip but will check it out when I get home this weekend and report back.

Cheers

 

[dmassey321]

Sorry for the delay... The assumptions above were spot on. Screws of improper length were driven into the coils on the motor(s)... well, at least one of them for sure. Everything is boxed up and ready to be shipped back to my "realtor friend" in Colorado. Hopefully, he will do what's right. Either way, I have learned a bunch and am most surely hooked.

While I certainly don't want to get flamed for this... while at the hobby shop trying to figure all this out, Yuneec's Typhoon Q500 4K was sitting on the counter and caught my attention. The nice man at the shop took me out front for a demonstration flight and handed over the controls to me. What's that phrase that car salesmen use?... ah yes, "hands on the wheel seals the deal". Yes, that concept is true in my case and I have had a blast all week flying and filming. While I am sure I will own a DJI product in the future, I am certainly going to have fun with this one.

It flew perfectly right out of the box. The images are amazing on the 4K TV (no jitter, no fish eye). While there are most certainly upgrades that are out there...I can't really imagine needing anything unless I wanted to extend the range a bit. It is extremely stable, responds to every command as you would want it to, returns to home, follows me and has pretty good geo fencing to keep me in check. Hoping for waypoints in a future release but so far about 12 flights (each of about 20-22 minutes) and no mis-haps. Came with a handheld device (looks like a StarTrek contraption) that holds the gimble and camera so I can now walk around just about anywhere and shoot really stable 4K vids. Running around the back yard with the dogs has produced some really cool footage.

Thanks again for the help and willingness to help a newbie.

Dave

 

[cheebs]

Glad you were able to diagnose the problem! In my haste, I did the same thing and ruined a motor when I was just getting started. Lesson learned! Replacing that motor helped a lot with "fear of opening her up" and now it's become second nature.
Aside from my Phantoms, I also own a Q500 (the + model) and it does fly smooth and steady. You made a great choice! With that said, traveling with that giant Yuneec case is kind of a pain, so it's the P1.1.1 that I usually take on trips. Don't hold your breath on the waypoint thing, Yuneec said they were not going to develop this option. Hopefully they will open up their SDK and let a third party create an app. After all, the "tablet" inside the ST-10 runs Android.