Typhoon H - Won't Arm

[azmachinegunguy]

First-time poster here, although I've owned a Typhoon H since they were first released in 2016—I was even on the waiting list. I've never really needed to ask for help until now.

My Typhoon H sat unused for a little over a year because life got busy with work travel, home renovations, and all the usual non-flying priorities. Before I put it away, it flew perfectly.

When I finally took it back out, I ran into several issues.

I updated both the aircraft and the ST16 to the latest firmware versions I could find.

ST16 Controller

• System Version: v03.01.b30
• APK: v01.00.45

Aircraft

• Autopilot: v1.35
• Gimbal: v1.25
• Camera: v3.2.34(a)
• RealSense: v2.01

I've also:

• Performed multiple compass, accelerometer, and gimbal calibrations.
• Factory reset the controller.
• Created a new model and re-bound the aircraft.
• Repeated all required calibrations after the reset.

Timeline of Events​

• My original ST16 controller became mostly unusable. The stick and control test screen barely registered any movement.
• I purchased a new-old-stock ST16, which completely resolved the controller issue.
• I successfully bound the new controller to the aircraft.
• The drone refuses to maintain a GPS lock, even though it consistently sees 15–20 satellites. I also left it in a completely open area for 30–45 minutes with no improvement.
• It will occasionally obtain GPS lock for a few seconds, then immediately lose it.
• The drone will not arm or start the motors. It makes no difference whether GPS mode is enabled or disabled. Pressing the start button results in three short beeps from the aircraft and nothing else. Distance from the controller (3 feet or 50 feet) makes no difference.
• Thinking the GPS module might be faulty, I purchased a new-old-stock upper shell with the GPS assembly already installed. After installing it and repeating all calibrations, nothing changed.
• The drone still will not arm or start the motors—just the same three short beeps every time.

GUI Testing (v1.2.13 — although the application oddly reports it as v1.02)​

Everything appears to function normally in the GUI:

• I can run all six motors together or individually.
• All sensors appear to report correctly.
• I seem to remember there being a "Safety Circle" setting in the past, but I can't find it anymore. I may be remembering incorrectly.

I've attached a short video showing the firmware versions, GUI screens, sensor operation, and what happens when I attempt to arm the motors.

At this point, I'm completely stumped. I've spent over 12 hours troubleshooting this and, aside from replacing the controller, I'm really no closer to solving the problem.

Has anyone run into this before or have any ideas what I might be missing? I'd really appreciate any suggestions. It's been a great drone, and I'd hate to see it end up as e-waste over something I'm overlooking.

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[WTFDproject]

First-time poster here, although I've owned a Typhoon H since they were first released in 2016—I was even on the waiting list. I've never really needed to ask for help until now.

My Typhoon H sat unused for a little over a year because life got busy with work travel, home renovations, and all the usual non-flying priorities. Before I put it away, it flew perfectly.

When I finally took it back out, I ran into several issues.

I updated both the aircraft and the ST16 to the latest firmware versions I could find.

ST16 Controller

• System Version: v03.01.b30
• APK: v01.00.45

Aircraft

• Autopilot: v1.35
• Gimbal: v1.25
• Camera: v3.2.34(a)
• RealSense: v2.01

I've also:

• Performed multiple compass, accelerometer, and gimbal calibrations.
• Factory reset the controller.
• Created a new model and re-bound the aircraft.
• Repeated all required calibrations after the reset.

Timeline of Events​

• My original ST16 controller became mostly unusable. The stick and control test screen barely registered any movement.
• I purchased a new-old-stock ST16, which completely resolved the controller issue.
• I successfully bound the new controller to the aircraft.
• The drone refuses to maintain a GPS lock, even though it consistently sees 15–20 satellites. I also left it in a completely open area for 30–45 minutes with no improvement.
• It will occasionally obtain GPS lock for a few seconds, then immediately lose it.
• The drone will not arm or start the motors. It makes no difference whether GPS mode is enabled or disabled. Pressing the start button results in three short beeps from the aircraft and nothing else. Distance from the controller (3 feet or 50 feet) makes no difference.
• Thinking the GPS module might be faulty, I purchased a new-old-stock upper shell with the GPS assembly already installed. After installing it and repeating all calibrations, nothing changed.
• The drone still will not arm or start the motors—just the same three short beeps every time.

GUI Testing (v1.2.13 — although the application oddly reports it as v1.02)​

Everything appears to function normally in the GUI:

• I can run all six motors together or individually.
• All sensors appear to report correctly.
• I seem to remember there being a "Safety Circle" setting in the past, but I can't find it anymore. I may be remembering incorrectly.

I've attached a short video showing the firmware versions, GUI screens, sensor operation, and what happens when I attempt to arm the motors.

At this point, I'm completely stumped. I've spent over 12 hours troubleshooting this and, aside from replacing the controller, I'm really no closer to solving the problem.

Has anyone run into this before or have any ideas what I might be missing? I'd really appreciate any suggestions. It's been a great drone, and I'd hate to see it end up as e-waste over something I'm overlooking.

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Most of this seems a good match for the flight controller issue discussed in length by @h-elsner. These links are from a good thread on the issue:
"http://h-elsner.mooo.com/pdf/GPS_acquiring_problem.pdf"
"H motors not starting"
"H motors not starting"

 

[azmachinegunguy]

Most of this seems a good match for the flight controller issue discussed in length by @h-elsner. These links are from a good thread on the issue:
"http://h-elsner.mooo.com/pdf/GPS_acquiring_problem.pdf"
"H motors not starting"
"H motors not starting"

Thank you quick reply After reading those, this sounds exactly what I have going on. Checked Yuneec Skins they are out of stock but from a few on Ebay. Goons grab at least 2 in case this happens again.

 

[h-elsner]

Magnitude of 873mG maybe near the threshold for not working calibration. I do not exacly know what the FW accepts and what not but I think it's worth to try some accelerometer calibrations (3 - 4). Sometimes one try is not enough.
Another approach would be to cool it down in a freezer and try a calibration and repeat it when the temperature is back to normal.

 

[azmachinegunguy]

Magnitude of 873mG maybe near the threshold for not working calibration. I do not exacly know what the FW accepts and what not but I think it's worth to try some accelerometer calibrations (3 - 4). Sometimes one try is not enough.
Another approach would be to cool it down in a freezer and try a calibration and repeat it when the temperature is back to normal.

I just tried to do 6 accelerometer calibrations and none helped the situation. It kept saying on the controller that my altitude was anywhere from -5 to -12 feet.

 

[h-elsner]

I just tried to do 6 accelerometer calibrations

OK, understood, you have already done all you can do. It's a pity that the Yuneec FW doesn't allow proper acc cali. When I use the same IMU with a customized PX4 FW (so called Thunderbird), IMU calibration is possible and one can fly with it.

Nest steps will not help you, just to satisfy my curiosity:
Could you try the alternative GUI ("H480GUI")? There we can see the calibration values and some more text messages from the flight controller. At the time I did the my research regarding this problem I didn't have the new GUI and later as I had it, all my MCU modules with this fault are gone or become "Thunderbirds". Now I want to see how this is looking like in the alternative GUI:
- error text messages - are there some on page "System/Settings"?
- Acc calibration values x, y, z before, after try to calibrate it? This is on page "Sensor information".
Is it possible you can do that for me?

User manual: http://h-elsner.mooo.com/pdf/H480GUI_manual.pdf
GUI for Windows: http://h-elsner.mooo.com/downloads/H480GUI.zip
GUI for LINUX: http://h-elsner.mooo.com/downloads/H480GUI.tar.gz