Motor issues when running ESC calibration

[Alex Kushleyev]

@rdjarvis ,

I have added the parameter file (here) . I used your exact motor and 3076 tri-blade propeller.

If you have slightly different propeller, all you should have to do is just run the calibration procedure (please use voxl-esc tools from main branch) , update the a0,a1,a2 params and upload the new esc param file to the ESC.

I think this should perform pretty well, i did some aggressive testing (rpm step from 10k to 30k rpm), using the following command, and the results are very smooth. You can use this test and start with a lower step amplitude and make sure that works well and then increase the step size as you gain confidence. you should see smooth results like this, if you see any unusual spikes, let me know and send a plot.

#only test this with battery (not power supply) due to regenerative spikes
./voxl-esc-spin-step.py --id 2 --rpm 10000 --step-amplitude 20000 --timeout 3 --enable-plot 1 --cmd-rate 2000

Please upload this param file, and run the calibration, you can also do the ramp test to 100% using

./voxl-esc-spin.py --id 2 --power 100 --ramp-time 2.0 --timeout 2.5 --enable-plot 1 --cmd-rate 250

Produces the following results on my setup (very smooth):

You can update your max rpm based on this result, but beware that max rpm is a function of voltage.

[rdjarvis]

@Alex-Kushleyev We will test soon and get back to you.

As always, thank you for all the help!!

RDJ

[Alexander Saunders]

@Alex-Kushleyev

We ran the calibration script and failing to see where/which directory the html file is being stored. Could you point me to the location?

[Alex Kushleyev]

@Alexander-Saunders , the file should be saved in the same directory where you are running the calibration script from (current directory). here is the line of code in the calibration script, which saves the figure right before trying to plot it in a browser.

[Alex Kushleyev]

here is the calibration result i got with my setup (and the a0, a1, a2 params are already in the xml file i linked before):

[rdjarvis]

@Alex-Kushleyev after uploading the new params you sent the ESC no longer communicates with the VOXL2.

The ESC board is no longer recognized by VOXL2. All hardware is set up properly.
Screenshot 2024-04-17 110112.png

voxl_uart_read_byte bus 12 is not initiated

Please point us in the right direction.

[Alex Kushleyev]

@rdjarvis , the latest params switched baud rate from 250k to 2mbit, but that should not be an issue. You should make sure voxl esc param in px4 is 20000000.

Please try voxl-esc python tools directly and make sure px4 is disabled when you run them (instead of running the voxl-esc wrapper like you did).

Sometimes stopping px4 gets the dsp in a weird state, in which case you can disable px4 from autostart, reboot and then do a voxl-esc-scan.py

[rdjarvis]

@Alex-Kushleyev Copy all, we will try. Thank you.

[Alexander Saunders]

@Alex-Kushleyev

For the esc tools, we were running the commands from /usr/share/modalai/voxl-esc-tools. To clarify, for the baud rate changes, do you want 2,000,000 or 20,000,000. We will try the tools again and confirm px4 is stopped via systemctl stop voxl-px4.

[Alex Kushleyev]

@Alexander-Saunders, my bad too many zeros. 2,000,000 (2Mbit)

[Alex Kushleyev]

The screen shot in earlier post today shows running “voxl-esc” which is a wrapper for the python tools, sometimes it is easier just to use python tools directly, but make sure they are latest version. the version in /usr/share/modalai is probably not latest. Normally you dont need to update the tools but if something is not working as expected, it is good to try the latest.

[rdjarvis]

@Alex-Kushleyev

We verified PX4 was not running.

systemctl stop voxl-px4

[Alexander Saunders]

@Alex-Kushleyev

No worries. We also verified if the issue was with the particular param file and ran the command to upload a different one. No luck with that and we still receive the same error (Bus 12, ESC not detected, etc)

[Alex Kushleyev]

@Alexander-Saunders

Can you please try voxl-esc tools from dev branch on github? Instead of /usr/share/modalai/voxl-esc-tools

[Alex Kushleyev]

Also, which SDK are you using? i am surprised to see this issue.

Also, can you please double check the ESC bootup sequence:

• apply power
• 4 blue leds flash quickly for 1 second, then turn off
• 4 blue leds blink twice
• motor makes a quick chirp (three tones based on the latest params that provided)

[rdjarvis]

@Alex-Kushleyev ESC gave

4 LEDs quickly flashing
4 LEDs flash 3 times
Motor chirps

[rdjarvis]

@rdjarvis

[Alex Kushleyev]

One more suggestion, it often helps to use a direct connection between the ESC and your linux PC and run the voxl-esc tools there. This way you can see the plots instantly during testing and also if there are some issues with communication to the ESC, you can always connect it to the PC and check the ESC that way.

Do you have a USB to serial adapter cable that plugs into the ESC <-> PC ?

[Alex Kushleyev]

@rdjarvis said in Motor issues when running ESC calibration:

@Alex-Kushleyev ESC gave

4 LEDs quickly flashing
4 LEDs flash 3 times
Motor chirps

OK that is good!

[rdjarvis]

@Alex-Kushleyev, yes we have the USB/Serial connector.