Flysky radio that came with Terranaut won't stay bound

[desmobob]

My Terranaut radio (Flysky FS-MG6A-BS) doesn't stay bound overnight. I have to try several times to get it to re-bind, then it says bound for the rest of the day.

For example, I ran the Terranaut early last evening and when I turned on the Tx a few hours later, the green light on the left (the "G-LED") stayed steadily lit and everything functioned as expected when I powered up the Terranaut's Rx. It will function normally like this for a few hours.

But when I turned on the Tx this morning, the G-LED green light on the Tx display is flashing green and the Tx beeps continuously. The G-LED green light will stay flashing even after I power up the Terranaut's Rx. The Terranaut will respond to the Tx normally but the continuous beeping from the Tx makes it unpleasant to use. It takes repeated attempts and cycling the Tx on and off to get it to rebind.

I'm using fresh Energizer "Ultimate Lithium" AAs in the Tx and I'm turning the Tx and Rx on and off in the normal sequence.

Any ideas? I'm hoping I'm missing something obvious and having some kind of brain fart...

 

[desmobob]

Strange...

The Tx lost bind after the first time I turned it off this morning. I took the Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries out of the Tx and replaced them with regular Duracell alkaline. When I turned the Tx back on, it was bound again. Hmmm... maybe the problem had something to do with those Energizer lithiums? I'll know by tomorrow morning!

 

[Doom!]

Hope it was that easy of a fix. Sometimes these problems make no sense.

 

[CertifiedMike]

Any chance you are not returning your trims to zero prior to power up? Just a thought. It does sound like something simple, whatever it is.

 

[desmobob]

Any chance you are not returning your trims to zero prior to power up? Just a thought. It does sound like something simple, whatever it is.

I did try returning trims and rates to zero and I still had trouble getting it to bind.

I'm wondering if the lithium AAs have slightly higher voltage than normal alkalines and that has something to do with it? Mysterious...

It seems to be working fine with the alkalines. I won't know for sure until it sits overnight... it has never retained its bind overnight with the lithiums in the Tx. I really enjoy running this thing around the living room and doing lots of backing, maneuvering and crawling. It's load of fun.

 

[desmobob]

I did try returning trims and rates to zero and I still had trouble getting it to bind.

I'm wondering if the lithium AAs have slightly higher voltage than normal alkalines and that has something to do with it? Mysterious...

It seems to be working fine with the alkalines. I won't know for sure until it sits overnight... it has never retained its bind overnight with the lithiums in the Tx.

Everything OK after letting it sit for nearly 24 hours. Apparently, the issue was with the batteries in the Tx. Alkalines are working fine and the Tx stays bound as expected.

 

[Doom!]

Glad to know it wasn't something more difficult to figure out. Now you can enjoy your new Terranaut worry free.

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

The lithium batteries do have a higher voltage. Some transmitters dont like it. I run 2 FlySky GT5's and one will tolerate it, the other occasionally dumps all the memory on start up.

 

[desmobob]

Thanks.
Then I guess it was the lithium AAs causing the problem. I've tried alkaline and eneloop NiMH and both work with no binding issues.

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

The GT5 has a battery voltage displayed on screen and the first time I used lithium batts (rechargable) I noticed the higher voltage. It even changed the pitch of the beeps. They also last a lot longer and I hate using disposable batteries. Ill live with it.

 

[WickedFog]

Those Energizers are putting out 1.8v each when fresh. So yeah, that is the likely culptit.

I was curious...
Doing a little research (as I don't know a lot about electronics) it seems the Tx has a voltage check when turned on, basically over-voltage protection. So if it sees more than 7v, it powers on in "safe mode" just like a PC does to protect components. So it is skipping the handshake with the Rx when in safe mode.

And the lithium batteries deliver an instant hit of 8.2v, vs the Duracell voltage ramping up to 7v slowly.

So hmm. Learned something. So there you go. That is likely the problem I guess.