Yikes joy stick J1 would not send drone down

[Socaljj]

Before each session I always check that the joysticks have proper deflection. Flew the first battery OK. Half way thru the second battery I wanted to land the drone and J1 had zero deflection in the down direction. I mean zero. Thank God the RTH worked and the drone landed at home base.

I then took the st16 in hardware mode and checked J1. NO deflection down. I flipped the stick a couple of times and then got down movement. Any ideas?

thanks

 

[Ty Pilot]

This is a very common problem and is caused by oxidation on the electric 'pot' that transforms the physical stick movement into electronic signals. They need to be cleaned. I would caution that doing anything else beforehand will only makes things worse. There has been at least one of these threads nearly every week for almost three years so I get confused which ones have the videos but do a search for 'cleaning the sticks' and you will find the solution.

 

[DoomMeister]

Just a little added information on this subject. When it comes to cleaning the pots you can use the covered holes on the backside of the ST-16 for a quick cleaning, but I prefer opening the ST-16 and removing the gimbals so I am only getting the potentiometers with the plastic safe electrical contact cleaner. This also allows you to check that the potentiometers do not move in their mountings to the gimbal.

All screws go into plastic so do not over tighten them during reassembly. While the back is open you can also check that all connectors are fully seated. After reinstalling the battery be sure to connect to the internet via WiFi and check the time settings are correct on the ST-16.

 

[Phaedrus]

While you have the ST16S opened, check to make sure the pot is not moving in the gimbal. They have been known to come loose, which affects stick motion.

 

[Ty Pilot]

And, once you do get it fixed add 'checking hardware monitor' to your preflight checklist.

 

[Socaljj]

Thank you

 

[Photo]

Just a little added information on this subject. When it comes to cleaning the pots you can use the covered holes on the backside of the ST-16 for a quick cleaning, but I prefer opening the ST-16 and removing the gimbals so I am only getting the potentiometers with the plastic safe electrical contact cleaner. This also allows you to check that the potentiometers do not move in their mountings to the gimbal.

All screws go into plastic so do not over tighten them during reassembly. While the back is open you can also check that all connectors are fully seated. After reinstalling the battery be sure to connect to the internet via WiFi and check the time settings are correct on the ST-16.

DoomMeister, do you mean that one can use air or/and sprayoil in the covered holes on the backside for a Quick cleaning??

 

[Ty Pilot]

This is what you want to use - it is a plastic safe electronic contact cleaner. You spray it into the pots and let then it sit for a minute for the cleaner to evaporate (I spay a little compressed air afterwards) and the pot will be cleaned. Some find that stirring the sticks a bit without cleaning seems to make it work (as in the OP's first post - 'a few flicks and it came down') - but in the end a good cleaning is what is needed.

 

[DoomMeister]

DoomMeister, do you mean that one can use air or/and sprayoil in the covered holes on the backside for a Quick cleaning??

Only plastic safe electrical contact cleaner. Never oil! There are electronics inside the case and oil would get on devices it should not come in contact with. The contact cleaner evaporates without leaving a residue.

 

[KEITH KUHN]

Just a little added information on this subject. When it comes to cleaning the pots you can use the covered holes on the backside of the ST-16 for a quick cleaning, but I prefer opening the ST-16 and removing the gimbals so I am only getting the potentiometers with the plastic safe electrical contact cleaner. This also allows you to check that the potentiometers do not move in their mountings to the gimbal.

All screws go into plastic so do not over tighten them during reassembly. While the back is open you can also check that all connectors are fully seated. After reinstalling the battery be sure to connect to the internet via WiFi and check the time settings are correct on the ST-16.

Great tips I must disassemble my st16 controller as well so I can check one of the pots for wiggle.
it is my right potentiometer it never wants to Center properly.
this is causing my drone to drift to the right. I saw a video where a man used a small amount of hot glue to fix it in place so it would remain centered.