New E-flite P-51D 1.5

[La7 flier]

OK... interesting. I did an "autopsy" on one of the gear main sets (the first pair that originally came in the plane). Since the tail wheel retract works off the servo tester, I am not concerned with it but what I discovered was it does appear to be a motor board problem. What I did was unsoldered the leads from the board to the motor and used a cutoff servo lead. I resoldered the servo lead directly to the motor bypassing the motor board. Motor works as expected. I am using a multimeter to verify voltages and there are 5 volts coming out of the servo tester after I put a voltage regulator between the tester and the 2-cell lipo pack.I then resoldered the two leads from the board back onto the motor. Nothing. I used the multimeter to confirm that 5 volts are going into the board but .4volts is coming out to the motor leads. Since I don't have the board design (nor would I know what to do with it even if I did), I will presume that my problems are board related. My next step will be to check the next set of mains (the first replacement set sent which worked briefly then stopped). Finally, I will check the set which is currently in the plane (they never worked). If I find the same results on the remaining two retract sets, I will call HH and advise them that they got a bad batch of retract motors. There is no way this is an easy fix since an integral component appears to have a design flaw.....unless someone can tell me I have done this completely wrong and my conclusions are faulty...

[La7 flier]

That is a EMI filter (also known as a choke) which is usually used on the throttle wire lead coming from the ESC to the Rx.
Reading through the back n forth of your and XV's queries to your set up and him getting you to understand that a 2S LiPo is more than 6Vdc please consider the following.
To further expound on the fully charged voltage of 8.4v you should know that the storage voltage value is 7.4v which is still higher than most foamie servos like to deal with.
You indicated that HH said that the retracts could handle "way more" than 6v. What is "way more"??
Sounds like HH is blowing some smoke to fog the issue Yeah the motors can probably handle the higher voltages but can the circuit card that handles the travel limits

Back in the early days of the 2000mm E-Flite T-28 they had problems with the retracts not working properly because the current sensor trip was designed to at too low a sense level
and they (HH) wallowed in BS to the customer base as is written in the common forums knowledge base.
I suggest that the gear motors are fine but the circuit card that control the motors are at issue.
Best regards,

you may be absolutely correct...HH didnt tell me specifically what the retracts could handle but indicated it was higher than 6 volts. Given that, The first and second set of retract control boards may have been "cooked" by my negligence (although I did use a servo tester on the second set which initially worked but then stopped) however, the third set I just received has never seen anything higher than 6 volts as I put a voltage regulator on the battery and verified its output before I hooked up the retracts...they never worked and I have verified that current is flowing from the rx to the retract servo lead. Somewhere between the servo lead and retract motor the currect is stopped and that can only mean the control board. I am thinking of sacrificing one of the retract units and bypassing the control board. If the motor works, then it is clear the board is the likely cause.

[OV10]

Third set of retracts from HH...same difference...dead as doornails...retract tailwheel works off the servo tester with a voltage regulator bringing output voltage down to 6v....3 sets of P-51 mains...3 sets of dead p-51 mains.....I'm out of ideas....what is the magnetic(?) circular "choke" wrapping around the wires in the fuseage? Maybe I can use this for slope soaring......

That is a EMI filter (also known as a choke) which is usually used on the throttle wire lead coming from the ESC to the Rx.
Reading through the back n forth of your and XV's queries to your set up and him getting you to understand that a 2S LiPo is more than 6Vdc please consider the following.
To further expound on the fully charged voltage of 8.4v you should know that the storage voltage value is 7.4v which is still higher than most foamie servos like to deal with.
You indicated that HH said that the retracts could handle "way more" than 6v. What is "way more"??
Sounds like HH is blowing some smoke to fog the issue Yeah the motors can probably handle the higher voltages but can the circuit card that handles the travel limits

Back in the early days of the 2000mm E-Flite T-28 they had problems with the retracts not working properly because the current sensor trip was designed at too low a sense level
and they (HH) wallowed in BS to the customer base as is written in the common forums knowledge base.
I suggest that the gear motors are fine but the circuit card that control the motors are at issue.
Best regards,

[La7 flier]

That's GOT to be frustrating. Does this plane use some kind of "control board" or is it a typical FMS gear sequencer? I'm thinking there must be some bad soldering in one of those devices. My FMS P-51 has the gear sequencer - goes from the gear port (ch.5) on the RX to the input of the sequencer, then doors goes out that output and retracts go out that output.
Regarding the "choke", are you talking about the "ferrous ring" that one of the set of wires wraps around about 3 to 4 turns? That usually is on the power supply lead from the BEC to reduce EM interference.

yes...pretty frustrating because I cannot figure out why they wont work. I used a multimeter on every connection point and the current is flowing. The retracts have a small board inside each unit but they are connected through a gear sequencer (which has also been replaced). I have a feeling I wont ever get this into the air and I was foolish enough to cut up the shipping box before I tested it so no returning this either...thanks for the info on the ferrous ring

[xviper]

Third set of retracts from HH...same difference...dead as doornails...retract tailwheel works off the servo tester with a voltage regulator bringing output voltage down to 6v....3 sets of P-51 mains...3 sets of dead p-51 mains.....I'm out of ideas....what is the magnetic(?) circular "choke" wrapping around the wires in the fuseage? Maybe I can use this for slope soaring......

That's GOT to be frustrating. Does this plane use some kind of "control board" or is it a typical FMS gear sequencer? I'm thinking there must be some bad soldering in one of those devices. My FMS P-51 has the gear sequencer - goes from the gear port (ch.5) on the RX to the input of the sequencer, then doors goes out that output and retracts go out that output.
Regarding the "choke", are you talking about the "ferrous ring" that one of the set of wires wraps around about 3 to 4 turns? That usually is on the power supply lead from the BEC to reduce EM interference.

[La7 flier]

That would be my next step - go with the stock BEC just in case 8.4v is too much for those retracts. I wish I could be more help with specifics but I won't get this plane till spring. For now, it's my FMS V8 version that I go off of, but I think the retracts and sequencer are very similar, even though mine has been modded to 6s set-up.

Third set of retracts from HH...same difference...dead as doornails...retract tailwheel works off the servo tester with a voltage regulator bringing output voltage down to 6v....3 sets of P-51 mains...3 sets of dead p-51 mains.....I'm out of ideas....what is the magnetic(?) circular "choke" wrapping around the wires in the fuseage? Maybe I can use this for slope soaring......

[xviper]

Essentially, yes...I am bypassing the BEC entirely which may be the problem as I typically dont use them. HH said the gear motors can handle way more than 6v but you are right...a 2 cell lipo is closer to 8.4 when charged. I would be surprised if the pack burned both gear sets out. I hope not! I ran the replacement set directly off the battery pack through the tester but will run next set through the BEC.

That would be my next step - go with the stock BEC just in case 8.4v is too much for those retracts. I wish I could be more help with specifics but I won't get this plane till spring. For now, it's my FMS V8 version that I go off of, but I think the retracts and sequencer are very similar, even though mine has been modded to 6s set-up.

[La7 flier]

Essentially, yes...I am bypassing the BEC entirely which may be the problem as I typically dont use them. HH said the gear motors can handle way more than 6v but you are right...a 2 cell lipo is closer to 8.4 when charged. I would be surprised if the pack burned both gear sets out. I hope not! I ran the replacement set directly off the battery pack through the tester but will run next set through the BEC.

[xviper]

Regarding the BEC...I typically don't use one as I use battery voltages higher than BEC's can handle. I run the battery directly into the Rx through the switch. I wasn't sure on this design if the BEC had to be in the circuit although I can't figure out why that would be....hence my statement.
Regarding the battery, it's a 2 cell lipo 2700 mAh 6 volt pack...typical Rx pack I have always used with no problems....it is fully charged putting out 6v.

If you are running a battery directly into the RX, how are you disabling the built-in BEC that's already in the ESC? Are you simply just not plugging in the BEC lead from the ESC?
A 2 cell LiPo typically puts out 8.4v when fully charged. How are you restricting the output voltage to only 6v?
How are you powering the servo tester?

[La7 flier]

Regarding the BEC...I typically don't use one as I use battery voltages higher than BEC's can handle. I run the battery directly into the Rx through the switch. I wasn't sure on this design if the BEC had to be in the circuit although I can't figure out why that would be....hence my statement.
Regarding the battery, it's a 2 cell lipo 2700 mAh 6 volt pack...typical Rx pack I have always used with no problems....it is fully charged putting out 6v.
Regarding the retracts....eflight....they come with the plane. I have tried running them through the plane wiring, a "Y" connector bypassing the entire plane wiring and directly into the Gear port of the Rx, running the "Y" through a servo tester, running the individual gear motors through a servo tester, running an individual gear motor into the Gear port on the receiver. All resulted in the same thing. Nothing. The motors act like they are completely dead. No sound, chatter, movement of any kind. What has really got me stumped is the first pair HH sent me to replace the originals that came with the plane worked fine out of the bag using a servo tester. They worked when I installed them in the wing testing them individually with a servo tester. I plugged them into the "Y" setup in the wing that came with the plane and nothing. What I didn't do is test them individually off the rx gear port which is what I will do with the second replacement gear set HH is sending.
Regarding polarity, I am running a JR Tx and Rx which should be completely compatible with this setup according to HH. It is impossible to reverse polarity because the male/female plugs won't fit in reverse polarity.
Regarding the sequencer, that was also replaced by HH and the polarity has been checked and is correct according to the labeling and the wiring.

Overall, I have been setting up flight systems in this hobby for 40 years so I have a pretty good idea of to do and how things should connect. This is truely a unique situation. There is no way these gear motors can be burning out with only 6v and HH concurred. The wiring is simply a pathway for the electrons to move to where they need to go. If the pathway is wrong, it wont work but if it is right, it should work. I have to chuckle at the irony of "plug n play" because this has been anything but....

[xviper]

Im wondering whether I need to run everything through the BEC

Can you expand on this statement. If you haven't been running via a BEC, how have you been doing it? Can you detail everything from the battery (specs?) to the retracts in each case (ie, when using a servo tester and when going through the RX)?
When you get the next new set of retracts, try to trace the "Y" right from the RX to the retract connection. Is it possible the "Y" changes polarity (bad build)? If it looks good, power the retracts directly at where it plugs into the receiver (ie pull it out of the RX and plug it into the servo tester).
And what about the gear sequencer? Have you examined it to make sure everything is plugged into it correctly with the correct polarity? I have seen some planes shipped with stuff plugged into the sequencer completely wrong. That could cause a non-functioning gear system and can even wreck some components if things are plugged into the wrong pins or if plugs are not plugged in with the correct polarity.

[La7 flier]

no burning smell (that would have been too easy) as it is only a 6v lipo powering them (along with all the other servos which work fine)...HH is stumped, as well and is sending me another set of main retracts (their service is excellent)....testing through a servo tester worked fine until I hooked them into the "Y" connector for the wing mating...then nothing....almost as if the motors go to a preprogrammed shut down because some parameter was exceeded but HH says they are not designed to do that. Connections are all "black to black" so there should be no polarity issues. Im wondering whether I need to run everything through the BEC but that wouldnt account for the weirdness I am encountering.

[xviper]

Thats a nice offer.....unfortunately, it wont help. HH has been great with customer service but nothing will get these mains working. They sent a new pair of mains...I checked them individually on the servo tester....both work beautifully. I installed them in the plane...checked them again with the servo tester and they both work beautifully. Hook everything up as specified.....all channels work.....EXCEPT the landing gear....neither main works......took the tester and hooked each one up individually....nothing.....wait, they worked 5 minutes ago??!!?? Now they are as dead as the first pair. I have a call into HH but honestly, this was the worst buy I have ever made.

Wow, that's a real mystery. Do you smell anything burning? How about polarity of the retract connection and any extensions (or Y's) that may be present?

[La7 flier]

If you lived in my city, I happen to have a used DX8-G2 as a spare but the shipping alone wouldn't make it worth while. A servo tester is great for setting up a new plane even before you put all the pieces together. Centers servos ahead of time so you can put on the rods when you've got lots of room. You can also eliminate dead servos and either settle up with the seller or replace them more easily.

Thats a nice offer.....unfortunately, it wont help. HH has been great with customer service but nothing will get these mains working. They sent a new pair of mains...I checked them individually on the servo tester....both work beautifully. I installed them in the plane...checked them again with the servo tester and they both work beautifully. Hook everything up as specified.....all channels work.....EXCEPT the landing gear....neither main works......took the tester and hooked each one up individually....nothing.....wait, they worked 5 minutes ago??!!?? Now they are as dead as the first pair. I have a call into HH but honestly, this was the worst buy I have ever made.

[BluesDragon]

Little bit of cloud coverage, but no rains! Maiden went well.. I think she's my 'go to' bird for a while.

[BluesDragon]

I used to take him to the 1st field I had joined. It was more out in the desert and the members were more open to him. He is a gentle giant.. unless he smells ya as threat.

Thanks.. the rains are clearing here now.. keepin my fingers crossed for tomorrow though!

[Alpha]

Is that your hand launch partner sitting in the background, BluesDragon ?

I hope the weather brightens up soon so you can enjoy a successful maiden with this bird!

[BluesDragon]

I tried, really I did, but just couldn't wait any longer! I only did a bit of paint on the exhaust, air intake vents, and rear strut & wheel( couldn't stand the white with the mains being silver). Added a few coats of polycrylic over all and finished dailin it in this afternoon. Was hopin' to maiden today, but the weather just isn't having it. "Rain rain go away.. come again another day" lol

[xviper]

I just ordered a servo tester....good suggestion

If you lived in my city, I happen to have a used DX8-G2 as a spare but the shipping alone wouldn't make it worth while. A servo tester is great for setting up a new plane even before you put all the pieces together. Centers servos ahead of time so you can put on the rods when you've got lots of room. You can also eliminate dead servos and either settle up with the seller or replace them more easily.

[La7 flier]

If you know someone with a Spektrum TX, ask to borrow it just to bind it up to your plane and see what happens. Cheaper than buying even a used on only to find out that's not it. A servo tester can be had for a few dollars too.

I just ordered a servo tester....good suggestion