ADF2 Issue.... or is it me???

[alad61]

Without additional thought I got an adf2 for my robbe sea wolf. After setting it up in the tech rack it seemed to do it all straight up except that the only way to get the rear planes to respond is to plug the rear plane leads into the rx after everything is switched on. But as it still worked the planes automatically I figured ok I'll just run the forward planes off the tx. Only out at the lake things took a turn... The adf did a flip instead of commanding rise when the bow dove down it commanded dive!!!
The result was a crash dive in every sense, with the nose driving down almost to the bow planes in the mud. As today was the first sea trials I hadn't primed or painted it yet so I could see the blurred white image beneath the water just hanging at rather sharp angle. Full reverse did the trick and pulled it free but minus its sail and forward superstructure. Pictures to follow.

Back home for a post mortem I ran through the whole system again.... Checking each lead and its position and then unplugging and repluggin them all back.

Now when I try to boot up into set up mode it wont... All I get is an orange/red light that changes to a solid green...
Now matter what I try it will not let the tx run the rear plane servo without unplugging and repluggin it with everything switched on...
To be truly sure that now interference is happening I have mounted it away from both motor, battery and power cables.
And it only orientates the planes in reverse. I even tried reversing the stick direction via the tx which works manually but no effect to the adf.

So now I am stumped re the adf and minus one sail & forward deck :(

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Maybe, during the 'three blink-green' phase of set up you pointed the ADF down instead of up before hitting the 'set' button?

David

[alad61]

Yeah I had thought of that little faux-pas. The main issue is now it won't enter set up stage. All that happens is a fast orange/red blink then only the solid green when it's sitting level.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Yeah I had thought of that little faux-pas. The main issue is now it won't enter set up stage. All that happens is a fast orange/red blink then only the solid green when it's sitting level.

Make sure you are mashing the ADF2 set-up button before turning on the SD's mission switch and hold it till you get the green two-blink cycle.

[KevinMc]

David's got the right answer on this one - but I thought I should jump in so no one thinks I'm asleep at the wheel! The button has to be pressed before power is applied to reliably get into setup mode. Also, I find it strange that it wouldn't work from the receiver before things took a turn for the worse - what Rx brand/model are you using? Also, did the orientation of the ADF2 get changed between programming and your first run?

[alad61]

Ok. If I press the button any harder I reckon I will punch it through the other side & yes I do this before I run power to the rx. :) Now regarding the orientation I always postion my adfs flat but I did relocate it when I found out at the lake that I needed to unplug & replug in the pitch servo. It was still flat/horizontal but I had rotated it 180 degrees. So I will check that tonight I hadn't considered what effect the horizontal rotion might have. (Insert very sheepish gesture & tone...) As for the rx unit it is a corona 6 channel synthathised 36mhz. I normally run a JR rx but I had two of these spare. What I don't get is why it won't let me into set up?? I knowy other boats run for quite aways at periscope depth and maintain a reasonably level run.

[KevinMc]

Re: orientation- that's why your planes were working backwards. By flipping the ADF2 around what you taught it for UP is now DOWN.

Re: have to plug in after power up- that's the Corona at work. By the time those things start transmitting a signal the ADF2 has given up waiting.

Can you feel the mechanical "click" when you push the button?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

http://www.sub-driver.com/electronics/battery-eliminator-circuit.html

[alad61]

Hi Kevin,

Yes the button clicks because I can adjust the sensitivity settings. I was wondering if my rx might be partly at fault. I resat the adf and bow down now equals rear planes to rise... Ok insert one very embarrassed image here... Apart from that I still can't get it to enter set up mode again. The little beast has really locked me out of that part. On the plus side to all this it seems to have kept the first initial set up so till I get another rx I can live with having to plug in the pitch servo lead. In the mean time it's now a test of my scratch building abilities to knock up a ne forward superstructure deck & sail.

David I will defiantly be adding a couple of those eliminaters to my next order.

[KevinMc]

It just went click - you're not able to get into the setup menu because (with a Corona Rx connected) the ADF2 doesn't know what you want to set up. The setup function is programmed to only allow you access to the setup section for the functions you have connected. (That way if you need to redo your pitch setup you can go through only that section by disconnecting the failsafe lead before you power it up.)

Disconnect the ADF2 from your Rx, power up RX, hold ADF2 setup button, plug in ADF2 and you'll be able to get into the setup section for the lead you connected.

What model of Corona are you running - I'm going to buy one to work out this compatibility issue as this is not the first time it's come up.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Alec,

I applaud your sticktoit attitude here.

For decades I operated boats without the heavy-duty BEC and most of them worked just fine. I have never used a dedicated devices battery; all power bused off the receiver hot and ground strips, supplied by current by the ESC's BEC. The black and red wire on most servo-device leads are the 'power' wires that feed current to the device it's connected to.


Keep in mind that most ESC BEC's are designed to power devices aboard a model car or boat, model vehicles that employ only one or two other devices (other than the ESC) within the vehicle: a rudder-steering servo usually the only other device requiring receiver bus power. In those applications, total device current load, even with a stalled servo, remained under the 1.5-ampere limit of the ESC's BEC.

However, this is not the situation in our very device heavy r/c submarines.


As my r/c submarines became ever more complicated (addition of a second mode of ballast management, addition of bow planes, addition of a depth keeping device, addition of a camera, addition of an electronic switch for lights/torpedo launch/buoy release,etc.), the total current demand from the receiver bus exceeded the 1.5-ampere limit of the BEC that is built into the circuit of most brushed motor electronic speed controllers, and I would suffer the occasional device 'glitch', as long as I could operate the model, who cared.


I went on like this for decades. But, recently, with the addition of another ballast management device (the usual vent-blow servo AND the MPC) -- the pin that broke the camel's back -- the glitch occurrence rate went up to an intolerable level. And that's when Andy Lawrence came to the rescue, identifying the problem and suggesting the fix. Simple: install a dedicated, high-current capable BEC to feed the devices with all the current, at the correct voltage, they required. Problems (glitching) solved!


On our submarines of today, the load can peak to 4-amperes in some situations! Way, way.... way in excess of what the ESC's little BEC can handle. The fact that most of the time, that BEC WILL pass the demanded current is just this side of wonderful. But, over time (and you guys with glitching problems, tell me if this is not the case), as the system warms up and the current demands increase, things start glitching as a result of lowered system voltage, dropping way below the standard norm of 4.5-volts. When some devices don't get the voltage (and hence the current flow) needed, they start misbehaving.


Bottom line -- if you have more than two devices in that model submarine dining off the receiver bus, you need a high current passing BEC. Yet another device to wire in parallel off the power cables!


David

[alad61]

Thanks David, I don't like giving up but occasionally I've been known to walk away only to have a go at a differant door...

Kevin the rx is a corona rp6d1 synthasized light.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Thanks David, I don't like giving up but occasionally I've been known to walk away only to have a go at a differant door...

Kevin the rx is a corona rp6d1 synthasized light.

Good man. We'll work it through. At your pace.

David

[Anuci]

Alec, To touch on the opening subject matter, (ADF-2 issue, or is it me). No, it's probably not you. I really don't know all that much about electronics to that regard, the internal structure and make-up to any degree. However, although I consider myself somewhat of a novice to the hobby, I have found that some of these electrical issues are simply the nature of the beast.
Many who have been there and done that may say one way of addressing the issue would be to isolate the various components one by one which I believe you may have already done in your efforts to deternine the culprit affecting your system.
The long and short of it is, and which many seasoned veterans may have experienced from time to time is that many of the various devices used and incorporated within the tightly fitted motor compartments of each model have there own idiosyncrasies. These various components do not always work well with one another for one reason or another. The reason is not always apparent, especially when using some of the more basic tools at hand to diagose such issues.
My personal rule of thumb is to try as best as possible to pair together the required components which have been tried and proven in the field to work best, and well lets say get along with one another. Not to say there is anything wrong with the receiver you are presently using, but this receiver for whatever reason may simply work well to a point, and then develop a compatiblity issue with one or another device. eg. I have personally had issues regarding excessive chatter to one or more servo's, and found the need to substitute one type of receiver for another.
Not to promote any given piece of equipment here, but for eg. I have found the receivers offered by Sombra Labs to work well in close quarters in a noisy environment with other devices, as many of the others may not be so inclined. Point in question, you may want to relieve yourself of the time consuming and sometimes frustating approach in specifically pinpointing the cause of the problem by simply trying to replace what you may consider the most obvious piece of electronics in the mix causing the disruption and go from there. Just my personal point of view here, as I'm really not in a position to give any qualified response to the issue at hand, but more so simply trying to provide you some food for thought.

Best of luck,
Al,

[trout]

Al! Great to hear from you! I pray you are doing well.
Peace,
Tom