Servos Offline

[swatson999]

There's also the Recent Flight Data Log datafile, which you can look up in the manual, that records the last 15 minutes at the max rate, so you don't have to set your standard data file higher (and thus decrease the amount of time that can be stored). You do have to remember to save the datafiles within 15 minutes of the event, though.

It's all in the manual.

 

[PaulSS]

I think I've written this before but, just in case.......

My autopilot worked perfectly for over a year and then I started to get warnings that my pitch servo was offline and it was.

I chased the electrics and discovered no snags. Deep in the depths of my addled memory I recalled someone mentioning transponders, so I turned mine off and, hey presto, pitch servo behaved itself.

I moved the transponder antenna further away from the pitch servo and have never had any problems with it since. Clearly I was getting some stray wigglies from around the transponder transmitting and this was upsetting the 1s and 0s going to my servo.

As I said, this was a good year into operating with no problems and I have no idea why it started to play up, as I had changed nothing. Maybe have a fly around and turn off your transponder. It's an easy test

 

[jakej]

I think I've written this before but, just in case.......

My autopilot worked perfectly for over a year and then I started to get warnings that my pitch servo was offline and it was.

I chased the electrics and discovered no snags. Deep in the depths of my addled memory I recalled someone mentioning transponders, so I turned mine off and, hey presto, pitch servo behaved itself.

I moved the transponder antenna further away from the pitch servo and have never had any problems with it since. Clearly I was getting some stray wigglies from around the transponder transmitting and this was upsetting the 1s and 0s going to my servo.

As I said, this was a good year into operating with no problems and I have no idea why it started to play up, as I had changed nothing. Maybe have a fly around and turn off your transponder. It's an easy test

Brilliant idea Paul - I don’t know why a few of us didn’t suggest that. Then again not knowing/seeing the install details is one of the difficulties around ‘online’ troubleshooting. . Those electron critters are just waiting to pounce .

 

[airguy]

Brilliant idea Paul - I don’t know why a few of us didn’t suggest that. Then again not knowing/seeing the install details is one of the difficulties around ‘online’ troubleshooting. . Those electron critters are just waiting to pounce .

It can be like herding cats, keeping them all in line where they belong.

 

[Rhino]

Yeah, those critters have gotten me sooooo many times.

 

[mikelupo]

I had a strange problem after adding my remote magnetometer. My servos would not go offline, but I could not engage the AP. I had to remove the yellow wire from the d-sub that goes into the magnetometer. Problem solved.
Some details about my install… I added a hub out in the wing so I would not have to run two long network cables as my conduit was full and could not accommodate the second network cable. That said, I route a network “trunk” from behind the panel, out in the wing through the conduit to a hub mounted on a rib. Then route from the hub to the servo and to the remote magnetometer out in the wingtip.

 

[jakej]

I had a strange problem after adding my remote magnetometer. My servos would not go offline, but I could not engage the AP. I had to remove the yellow wire from the d-sub that goes into the magnetometer. Problem solved.
Some details about my install… I added a hub out in the wing so I would not have to run two long network cables as my conduit was full and could not accommodate the second network cable. That said, I route a network “trunk” from behind the panel, out in the wing through the conduit to a hub mounted on a rib. Then route from the hub to the servo and to the remote magnetometer out in the wingtip.

The A/pilot CABLE IS DIFFERENT to the standard network cable for a reason. The network wires ie pins 1&6 + 4&8 are the network wires common to all the other network wires needed for the system to ‘see’ the other network items. Grounds (I allocate to pin 2) & power (pin 2) are 20 awg with ground going to a local point & power going to its own breaker/s. The Yellow ( pin 3 is my choice) goes to a/p disconnect switch & that’s it. Read the Manual - it has a diagram too.

 

[airguy]

The Yellow ( pin 3 is my choice) goes to a/p disconnect switch & that’s it. Read the Manual - it has a diagram too.

Ouch! RTFM has now gone to "look at the pretty pictures"

 

[mikelupo]

The A/pilot CABLE IS DIFFERENT to the standard network cable for a reason. The network wires ie pins 1&6 + 4&8 are the network wires common to all the other network wires needed for the system to ‘see’ the other network items. Grounds (I allocate to pin 2) & power (pin 2) are 20 awg with ground going to a local point & power going to its own breaker/s. The Yellow ( pin 3 is my choice) goes to a/p disconnect switch & that’s it. Read the Manual - it has a diagram too.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure my soup to nuts install would not have gone well had I not done both! LATPP and RTFM. Everyone is afforded a mistake here and there. Especially trying to digest a 500+ page install guide, with block diagrams, wiring diagrams, third party wiring diagrams, etc... that do not necessarily concur with each other. Anyway...I found mine and corrected it. I'll take the shade... It's hot here today.