Hubsan x4 Out of control

[Joe Race]

I bought a Hubsan x4 H107 mini quad and was quite please with the results. In a couple of days I had it hovering and maneuvering all over my house and in and around objects. However, it is now uncontrollable. It tilts left and right and back and forth and won't behave. I have changed props, recalibrated the controller, checked to see that the blades are clear, tried trimming and don't know what else to do. Maybe I have a bad motor, but which one? They all work. Or maybe the board is going out, or getting a weak signal? Anyone else experience this? I also have another drone that I fly regularly and have never experienced this issue.

 

[Jackson]

I have changed props,

Make sure you have the correct props, CW/CCW on the correct motors.

 

[Mike H.]

On the hubsan models the controller must be in high rates to be able to properly calibrate...Ill assume the manual explained this to you and you followed it correctly....Other than that its possible the gyros on the board are going bad.

Does it still hover and fly?..If so ,the props are probably correct...If its just tilting and not taking off ,then as suggested by Jackson the props are probably not installed properly.

 

[Joe Race]

On the hubsan models the controller must be in high rates to be able to properly calibrate...Ill assume the manual explained this to you and you followed it correctly....Other than that its possible the gyros on the board are going bad.

Does it still hover and fly?..If so ,the props are probably correct...If its just tilting and not taking off ,then as suggested by Jackson the props are probably not installed properly.

Thanks for the responses. Yes it will hover and fly, then just tilts without any input from the controller. I did install the props A B B A as shown in the manual. It wouldn't fly otherwise. Not sure what "controller must be in high rates to calibrate" means. The manual does not mention this under Controller Calibration. I'm thinking there is something up with the gyros, which is a shame because it was fun to fly for week.

 

[Mike H.]

The hubsan X4 has 2 or 3 flight rate modes...Low and high...The button on the very top left of the controller changes the rate....The x4 needs to be in high rate which should give you either 2 or 3 beeps when its pressed...Now the quad needs to be on as level a surface as possible then calibrate the gyros by moving the right stick back and forth from left to right quickly until the quad lights blink...If you press the button and hear one beep its in low..2 beeps is either med rate or high and 3 would certainly be high..if you hear 2 then press it again and hear one beep then 2 beeps is high rate.

Its been a while since ive done this with my x4 but you can find videos on youtube on how to re calibrate the x4, not re bind as you may have been doing and thinking it was re calibration...Re calibration should take care of those issues you are having.

Simple small crashes and less than easy landings can throw out the gyros often...I usually just do a re calibration before every flight and if i crash, do it again as needed...Its typical behavior of the toy gyros so, its normal for a quad to act funny sometimes.

Just so you are aware, in high rates the x4 will be a different animal so be ready ...You can switch back to low rates after you re calibrate if you like by pressing the same button until you hear one beep.

I think youll be up and running again and back to the fun when you do the proper procedure to re calibrate...Let us know how it works out.

 

[Joe Race]

The hubsan X4 has 2 or 3 flight rate modes...Low and high...The button on the very top left of the controller changes the rate....The x4 needs to be in high rate which should give you either 2 or 3 beeps when its pressed...Now the quad needs to be on as level a surface as possible then calibrate the gyros by moving the right stick back and forth from left to right quickly until the quad lights blink...If you press the button and hear one beep its in low..2 beeps is either med rate or high and 3 would certainly be high..if you hear 2 then press it again and hear one beep then 2 beeps is high rate.

Its been a while since ive done this with my x4 but you can find videos on youtube on how to re calibrate the x4, not re bind as you may have been doing and thinking it was re calibration...Re calibration should take care of those issues you are having.

Simple small crashes and less than easy landings can throw out the gyros often...I usually just do a re calibration before every flight and if i crash, do it again as needed...Its typical behavior of the toy gyros so, its normal for a quad to act funny sometimes.

Just so you are aware, in high rates the x4 will be a different animal so be ready ...You can switch back to low rates after you re calibrate if you like by pressing the same button until you hear one beep.

I think youll be up and running again and back to the fun when you do the proper procedure to re calibrate...Let us know how it works out.

Just not having any luck. I found the youtube videos and followed the instructions in the manual. Put it in Expert Mode (that's what it's called on my version) and calibrated several times. When I try to fly the quad actually shakes left and right and then shoots off in a random direction and smashes into a wall. Nothing seems to help. Thank you for your suggestions. You have provided me with information that is not contained in the manual. Not sure what else to try.

 

[RENOV8R]

When you're recalibrating, do the lights go to rapid blinking and then go to solid to confirm that the recalibration is successful? The key to this question is do the lights blink rapidly which shows that it's in calibration mode

 

[Joe Race]

Soooo...... I finally noticed the left front motor was not rotating with the other three motors. On slow revs it barely moved, and on high revs didn't spin as fast. Great! I got a bad motor. So I found the YouTube video on how to replace a motor. Managed to solder the wires onto an area no bigger than a pinhead, and put everything back together. But...... new motor is behaving exactly the same. It's just out of sync with the other 3 motors. So, control board problem? If it was a loose connection, I don't think the motor would spin at all.

Thanks to everyone for their support.

 

[Mike H.]

Unless you've done the proper calibration its not easy to proceed and tell you if the board is bad or not bad...When a gyro is out of sync it causes improper rpm to the motors making them out of sync as well causing the quad to fly like crap or drift badly...Its not uncommon for just one motor to be off........Calibrate the gyro properly and let us know what happens.

 

[Joe Race]

sooooo..... long before I disassembled my quad, snipped and re soldered wires to replace a motor...... I went through the calibration process. Using both the instructions from my manual that says to put both sticks in the upper left position, then turn on the controller, rotate the sticks two times, then press any trim key. I did this with the quad on, and with the quad off. I did this at least 2 dozen times. Then I tried calibrating with the method you described, moving the right stick left and right quickly, until the leds flash, so that I know it is calibrated. I did this at least 2 dozen times. I have tried trimming the quad over and over. I did this in normal mode and in expert mode. Now that I have reassembled my quad with the new motor, I have tried to calibrate using these two methods multiple times. I did find that using the trim, I can get any of the four motors to stop rotating. So the issue may not be with that one motor. However, there is a randomness to the way it "flies". One time it jumps left, one time it jumps right, one time it shoots backwards into a wall. I can get it to fly for about 30 seconds by trying to "catch" it with the controller, when it jumps one way or the other by pushing the stick the opposite direction (and I can literally see it jump, or tilt) . But it is basically uncontrollable. I did not have this issue when it was new and found the quad very easy to trim, hover and maneuver. I do not know what is different now.

Thanks

 

[Mike H.]

I just plug in my quad then put it down on a level surface... turn the radio on and make sure the trim levels are centered and bind it...i then put it in high rate and calibrate it....Takes me all of less than 10 seconds...If you think you've done all that properly then just try a new board...Be sure to calibrate the new board as well..Best of luck and let us know how it works out.

 

[Joe Race]

Thanks Mike for all your patience and advise. Obviously there is something going on here besides a trim and calibration issue. Just like you, it only took about 10 seconds to trim and calibrate the quad when it was new. So thank you for helping me trouble shoot this problem. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to replace the board and solder all the wires in place. I think it would be much less hassle to just by a new X4 and use this one for parts. But I am afraid to buy another one, only to have the same problem after a week. So I might try to replace the board if for no other reason than good practice.

Thanks again!

 

[Joester_FPV]

Hey Joe, I don't know how far you have got now, but i have a LOT of experience with the hubsan x4. I 3D printed a new frame for it and have about 20 broken motors from constantly replacing them. I have even gone through something like 3 control boards. The issue you are describing is 100% the gyro in the board. I had this once before which is why I had to get a new board. If you have a soldering iron and a bit of skill :0 then don't go and buy a new one, order a new control board for like $10 off ebay and solder in the new motor and you will be ready to go. I no how frustrating it is when you cant control it, so keep going and im sure you will be flying in no time.

I also fly with a larger 3D printed racing quad with a camera so I started a youtube channel. If you could help me out by dropping a like or subscribing I would really appreciate it! It is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtwVs0Y88hIJtVsHDZygiPA

Here are a few of my vids so far:

 

[Jackson]

Joe's been gone for 7 months.

 

[Jakerock]

I had exactly these symptoms, plus the thing would just power down in mid air... Being a noob I blamed myself and looked online for days.
I exchanged it, and all of these problems went away.