ST16 problems

[Dave0080]

The problem was with the original Yuneec batteries. I was more upset at their response that there was only a 30 day warranty and their tough **** attitude.

You think Yuneec is bad I bought a Hubsan brushless when they 1st came out it was wrong right out of the box no GPS would just fly away at power up..did all the ridiculous Hubsan updates which made it worse. When I finally got a response they told to go stick it where the sun don't shine...then they came out with a totally revamped one with a new controller and all...so Yuneec is a god send compared to them.
.Never got a solution from Hubsan just have a dead drone on a shelf. Thing was never in the air for more than 3 min...

 

[AH-1G]

Did you just copy/paste from Puffed Lipo Battery: Why they swell and what to do about it • LearningRC ? I'm just kidding,

Yes LiPo fires are scary and it's the main reason to be cautious when using LiPos, not only when they are puffed, but in general.

A few months back I researched on the subject of LiPos and shortly after that I decided to invest on a true smart-charger that allows me to closely monitor the individual cells of my 'puffed' packs for both voltage and internal resistance. (as I mentioned only one of the cells shows slightly higher internal resistance in one pack and it's the one that provides less flight time). The voltage between cells don't show any difference between them to be concerned about (yet), and also neither of them show any signs of overheating after charge/discharge.

I do take special care not to take these particular packs to too low voltages (first low battery warning is waaay too low) precisely to prevent from overheating and further 'puffing'

Technically speaking, both packs are fine, they both perform acceptably, with no sudden voltage drops, and very close to my newest packs in terms of flight time.

Greetings!

YES, saved me time explaining it

 

[AH-1G]

When these batteries are puffy they are a tight fit into the H battery chamber let alone taking it back out. I had 8 go puffy on me and only 3 months old. For me it's not worth the risk.

 

[JulesTEO]

When these batteries are puffy they are a tight fit into the H battery chamber let alone taking it back out. I had 8 go puffy on me and only 3 months old. For me it's not worth the risk.

Wait! You had packs swollen enough to be hard to fit into the aircraft!? Do you happen to have any pictures? I've always wondered how would they look when swollen enough for that to happen, does the hard shell bends? or is it the flat "stickers" keep bulging up? (excuse my excitement, but I find this interesting hehe)

Also, thats why I type 'puffed' in quotes.. There's no say how swollen a battery is before some one considers it truly 'puffed'

Here's a photo of my 'puffed' batteries, 1st from the left is a completely flat pack, the 2 on the right are the ones I monitor more closely. Some might consider them fine and others 'puffed' enough to be discarded (puffiness gets much more noticeable after use but definitely not swollen enough to cause problems to fit in or out of the battery bay)

Greetings

 

[AH-1G]

Yes, and Yes.I have 3 exactly like yours left threw out one because is was soft. The other 8 were venom, but being replaced at no charge.

 

[Dave0080]

Charge em up!

 

[Joe Santi]

Anyone else having calibration problems. The sticks aren’t properly working. I️ did a hardware check and both sticks are not registering all the way up or down and side to side. My local RC store looked at it and told me to call Yuneec. I did, they ran me through some checks and it worked fine of course. Next time I flew it did it again. I called Yuneec and they had me send both the drone and controller in. After about 4 weeks. I got it back and it worked for a few flights. It is now doing it worse. I am totally frustrated with Yuneec and don’t know what to do.
I loved this drone in the beginning but now have serious doubts about the quality of Yuneec.
I don’t know if I should give up on Yuneec and go to another manufacturer or keep complaining to yuneec.

I took it upon myself since calling Yuneec is a waste of time. I bought a can of plastic safe fast evaporating electric contact cleaning spray.
I removed the rubber plugs on the back of the ST 16 station, inserted the straw and sprayed the sticks from the inside while moving them in all directions. I waited about 5 minutes and gave the stick another burst of spray from the inside also while moving the sticks and let it completely evaporate for 20 min.
And OH my the ST16 is operating and typhoon H is now flying.
The Lord must have put them holes on the back of the ST 16 for a reason.
The can of electric contact spray cost me $8.00 at Menards

 

[Steve Carr]

It was a good design to add the access ports on the back just for this reason.

 

[DoomMeister]

It was a good design to add the access ports on the back just for this reason.

In addition to using the contact cleaner I finally took the advice of @h-elsner and removed the connectors at the gimbal end and soldered them directly to the interface card for the potentiometers. I did this on the ST16 that seemed to get the corrosion in just a couple of weeks, and it now is a lot more stable than it ever has been. I’m not sure if the issue is in the pins of the connectors or if it is the crimp connection on the wires. This is a much more stable solution than cleaning with contact cleaner on a regular basis. It does require competent soldering skills and a good small tipped iron.