ZipZap Drone won't start

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MasterRacer3000

Member
I just got a Zip & Zap drone, and the Zap (the red one) works fine, but the blue one refuses to connect to the controller. I turn both of them on, and then move the throttle up and down like it says, and the controller beeps, but the lights on the drone keep flashing. How can I fix this?
 
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MasterRacer3000 said:
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I'd try with only the one on make sure it's not just an interference thing but other possibility is the controller isn't "bound" (binding is process of pairing the transmitter/controller to the receiver on the quadcopter). With the "toy grade" stuff (anything that doesn't have a betaflight based flight controller board) it's basically proprietary and up to the manufacturer how the binding process is meant to work. Binding typically involves holding a momentary button down (or shorting some pins) while powering the quad to put the receiver into bind mode then doing something similar on the controller to have it "find" the receiver that is waiting for a binding connection then they agree on "identification"/channel and all to use for communicating. After being bound the procedure generally doesn't need to be done again as the quad/transmitter will retain the settings in memory.

Long story short if you can't figure it out or find someone with the same issue and a resolution then contacting the vendor is your best bet or getting a replacement.
 
Turn your Zip on, then turn your transmitter on. Push both sticks to the bottom-right corner. (Push both sticks down, then to the right). Now push your left stick all the way up, then all the way down. Hopefully it will arm now
 
I tried that. The manual says to turn it on, and then turn the controller on, and then put the thruster to full, and back to off. I did that, and it beeped like it said, but the lights still keep blinking. It works for the other controller, and I even tried with the other controller. Problem is, I can't get a refund, because I got it as a prize from an arcade where there isn't a refund policy.
 
Blinking lights usually indicate low battery voltage. You sure it's charged properly? Do you have a multimeter to check the battery voltage?
 
It's not blinking fast, but it's turning on and off, the working drone does that when it's not yet paired. Yeah, it is fully charged. I know this because I put the same battery in the red drone before I put it in the blue one.
 
Looks like it's time to tear it down and see if you have any loose connections on the motherboard
 
Don't just start removing screws, you may never get it back together again. When I was starting out in this hobby, I'd take close-up photos of every step so that I had pics to reference when it was time to reassemble.
 
Agree keeping piles of screws along with the part they go with in a bag or bin is a good idea too makes it easier to determine which screws you should have put back by the time a given part is secured.

Personally not sure it's worth the time given the pair is "only" $73 but if you're just tinkering and doing it as a learning experience for free then I don't see an issue with it (otherwise might be sinking more time into it than it's worth really). https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B078T3CVRD/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=new
 
There's no wasting time in this hobby. Once we sit down at our workbench, we are sucked into the 4th-dimentional vortex of the space-time continuum and all concept of time ceases to exist.
 
I remember my first control-line airplane. It was a plastic model P51 and had an .089 glow engine. It was so under powered, it crashed more times than it flew. Story of my flying career. I crash my quad into trees more than it flying or even hovering.
 
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