CLI upload caused my F4 1S 5A FC to not be recognized through USB | Betaflight | Page 1

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 4:31 AM

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I haven't had any luck finding similar issues out there so hopefully someone can help me. I think I bricked it somehow.
(I'm pretty new to the hobby)
I just built/soldered my first Meteor65 Pro, flashed the latest ESC and Betaflight firmwares. I had everything set up, motors were tested and I had them spinning in the correct direction for props out. VTX was working and transmitting to my goggles.

Next I was working on getting my transmitter bound and calibrating the gyro. I was having issues getting my transmitter bound (after the Betaflight update, the binding phrase option is no longer available on the transmitter tab).
I got it to work (I don't remember how), then I calibrated the gyro. It wasn't working well, it looked a little laggy and pitch was acting as roll and roll as pitch. I made sure I was looking at the FC correctly, the motors 1, 2, 3, 4 all turned on as expected. I tried to calibrate a few times with no improved results.

Here is where I think I went wrong. I hadn't loaded the CLI dump to the FC yet. I think my understanding of CLI's needs improvement, but I think I mis-read BetaFPV's website and selected the wrong one. I used BTFL_cli_F4 5A ELRS instead of BTFL_cli_F4 5A ELRS_NEW. I don't know if this can cause the FC to not be recognized through USB or not, but that's what happened right after the CLI was loaded. Maybe the battery ran a little low and caused the problem?

Currently, if I plug it in, windows doesn't recognize it, then after 60 seconds I can connect to it over WiFi (ExpressLRS RX). I tried flashing firmware from there to hopefully recover it, but it gives an error that there's not enough space. It doesn't seem to enter DFU either. It is still bound to my transmitter and will reconnect to the transmitter with no problem. I have tried other USB cables and USB ports (direct to my PC) with no different results.

Did I cook it? Components look fine, and I have had fans on it the whole time. No shorts with my solder job.
Is there a way to go back? I'm at a loss.

A. Betaflight Configurator 10.10.0 (c97deaf)
B. F4 1S 5A FC https://betafpv.com/products/f4-1s-5a-aio-brushless-flight-controller
C. Betaflight Version
D. Steps taken noted above
E. I'm not sure how to get the Blackbox file with it not connecting
F. I can't get to CLI, but have the file used and the backup for before that
G. No screenshots available

BETAFPV Hobby

F4 1S 5A AIO Brushless Flight Controller (ELRS 2.4G)

The classical ultralight F4 1S brushless FC comes back with SPI ExpressLRS 2.4G receiver. Now the default firmware for F4 1S 5A AIO Brushless Flight Controller (ELRS 2.4G) is updated to Betaflight V4.3.0 Official version, which supports ELRS V2.0. Please check the below link to download the firmware. Download the betaf

sinful ospreyBOT Apr 6, 2025, 4:31 AM

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severe willow I haven't had any luck finding similar issues out there so hopefully someone can...

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severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 5:22 AM

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sinful osprey Hey! We think our bot can help with your question; click the button below to gen...

I can't get to the CLI tab

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 12:34 PM

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You cannot update BetaFlight firmware via the ELRS Wifi. Only ELRS firmware can be updated this way.

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Loading a CLI dump can not prevent USB connection, so something else is wrong. Have you tried installing the USB drivers via Zadic or DriverFixer?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:07 PM

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I haven't heard of Zadic yet, but I've run driver fixer and it never progresses past the searching part. I'll start researching Zadic.

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:09 PM

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Does it make a sound when you plug in?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:26 PM

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When I plug it in with no battery, it flashes green, green, orange orange orange, then flashes green green until 30 sec when it flashes rapidly for wifi. After about 3 seconds from plugging it in, I get the message attached

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No sound

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I get the melody I wrote to it when I plug in the battery, and nothing else happens

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:28 PM

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Okay, you need to distinguish between the ELRS receiver that has ELRS Firmware on it and the Flight Controller that has Betaflight firmware on it. The LEDs you describe is the ELRS receiver.

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It can be confusing on these small integrated AIOs

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:31 PM

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Yeah there's not much info on the Betafligh website on the LED's

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:31 PM

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Zadic is spelled Zadig, sorry

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:31 PM

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Those are on the bottom of the board. On the top, there's a green LED that stays solid the whole time.

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This is how it shows up in Device Manager

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:32 PM

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Ok, I´m 99% sure that the problem is with Windows drivers

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Try downloading Zadig 2.9

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:32 PM

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The Betaflight website says there's a blue led on the bottom for the FC, it doesn't light up

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Ok working on it

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Oh I forgot, I installed that before I passed out last night. I wasn't sure how to use it

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:36 PM

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Connect the drone, run Zadig, click Options, choose List all devices, show screendump

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:36 PM

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:37 PM

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Select Unknown USB Device

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:37 PM

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Ok

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:37 PM

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Press Install Driver

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It will take some time

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:38 PM

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Ok it's installing

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:39 PM

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Reboot PC

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:39 PM

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Ok

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:41 PM

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Try installing again. If it doesnt work, remove the Unknown USB Device from Device Manager and try again

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If asked to remove drivers when you remove the device, choose Yes

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:47 PM

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Ok it failed again, so I uninstalled from device manager and tried again and it failed. It didn't prompt to remove drivers

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I showed hidden in device manager, found multiple unknowns so I removed those and am trying again

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It failed

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:51 PM

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Strange. Do you have a different PC that you can try?

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Just to plug in to see if it makes a sound?

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Does the Unknown USB Device disappear when you unplug the drone?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:54 PM

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It disappears, I'll try another PC, and a laptop. brb

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From the second PC

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:57 PM

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Same cable?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 3:57 PM

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Yeah

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 3:58 PM

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Try one that can connect your phone memory to your PC

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Ie verify that the cable can handle data

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Sorry, its not the same plug, you cant verify that way

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 4:01 PM

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I will test with my other drone

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 4:01 PM

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Do you have any other device with the same plug?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 4:01 PM

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Just drones

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My Mobula6 connected to betaflight with the same cable just now with no issues

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I'm trying it with everything unplugged except the soldered M03 VTX

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Same result

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I have another AIO that was a backup incase this one broke, I'll try it too

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 4:14 PM

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I will get my Meteor65 Pro and do some testing. If you say that you have the binding phrase set in Betaflight then it tells me that you have an SPI based ELRS. But the Meteor65 Pro have a serial ELRS as far as I remember ... ?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 4:15 PM

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Yeah it's serial, sorry I'm still learning. The store page says serial

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Well, the second F4 1S 5A connected to Betaflight with no problems

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It must be a hardware issue then? I don't see any physical problems though

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 4:29 PM

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Dinner time here. Take a closeup photo of the board, and I will get back to you.

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 4:48 PM

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Ok, breakfast time here. Thanks for all the help so far, I really appreciate it

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I'll get a photo in a little bit, my phone camera isn't helping

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 6:28 PM

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I have photos, I'm not sure how many I'm allowed to post here but here we go

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I added two angles of the solder joints for motors M1 & M2, it's hard to see with the leftover flux. I'm looking into a better solder setup (smaller tip and maybe a no-clean flux pen)

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 6:34 PM

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Can you measure continuity between the contacts inside the USB plug and the corresponding trace on the board?

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It could look like there is a red strand on one of the contacts inside the USB socket. Maybe nothing ...

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 6:36 PM

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Yes I'll test it

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 6:57 PM

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I think one contact might be shorted somehow, it's hard to measure these 😅

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Nevermind, one is just ground with the usb plug shell

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They all tested good

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Oh no

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Thought I soldered the vtx wrong but I made sure I didn't

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I'm taking a break from it, I might desolder the VTX later and test it that way

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It just entered DFU mode! I'm not sure what happened. Maybe there was something in the USB plug? I blew on it haha

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 7:46 PM

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I got it back to where it was! Flashed firmware and now it's working. Still have Pitch and Roll swapped, I'll figure that out later. Thanks for the help!

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 7:55 PM

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Great! Change the gyro direction to fix swapped axes.

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Configuration tab

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 7:58 PM

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Got it, changed First Gyro from 180º to 90º

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How should I enter the binding phrase?

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It's set up on my radio already but there's no spot on Betaflight Receiver tab

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:00 PM

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You cannot set it in BF, when it is a serial receiver.

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You can set it in the ELRS firmware via ELRS Configurator and flash the firmware to the receiver.

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:01 PM

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Oh ok

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:02 PM

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Or you can set it via Wifi

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:02 PM

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I just set it with wifi

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but it doesn't register in betaflight

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:03 PM

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BF does not know about the ELRS firmware. You need to set the Receiver tab to Serial and CRSF protocol, is that set?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:04 PM

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Yes

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Oh ports

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:04 PM

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Is the radio and the receiver on the same major version of ELRS? 3.x?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:04 PM

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Nothing is set to serial there

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I think so

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When I disconnect the receiver, my radio says Telemetry lost

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:05 PM

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In Ports, UART1 needs to have Serial Rx selected

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So the radio is talking to the recceiver, but the receiver is not talking to the FC

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:06 PM

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That did it!

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I thought it was UART1 but wasn't sure

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:07 PM

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And UART2 has VTX (TBS SmartAudio) selected in Peripherals?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:07 PM

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No

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:07 PM

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It should, otherwise you will have no control of the VTX

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:08 PM

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Ok

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It wants a VTX table

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I think I have it but have to type it in

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:09 PM

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Use a preset, its way easier

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:09 PM

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How?

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:10 PM

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Go to Preset, search for VTX and select Default 4.x VTX table settings

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:12 PM

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Ok, select pick, then save and reset? It didn't fill out the table

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:12 PM

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Or download from https://support.betafpv.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410949062809-CLI-for-VTX

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Select the correct version of the M03

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:14 PM

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I did, ended up typing it in

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:15 PM

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Now it should say Yes in Device Ready in the Video Transmitter tab

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:16 PM

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It says False

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:17 PM

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Did you set UART2 to VTX (TBS SmartAudio) under Peripherals?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:18 PM

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Yes, attached a picture

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:19 PM

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Looks correct. Do you have an image in your goggles?

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I have a different VTX on my quad, maybe thats why...

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Or you should put the CLI for the VTX in the CLI tab, to ensure everything is setup correctly.

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Last option is that you switched TX and RX around when soldering the VTX

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TX on VTX to RX on FC

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:28 PM

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I'll check, I had video feed before

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Also, the gyro doesn't respond as quick as my meteor75 or mobula6, wonder if that's a firmware version thing

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:30 PM

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What is your PID loop frequency set to?

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Config tab

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And CPU load?

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Bottom of the window

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:33 PM

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Video feed is working

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:34 PM

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Looks good, did you calibrate the gyro?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:34 PM

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Yeah

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:35 PM

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Only Accelerometer selected? No baro or mag?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:36 PM

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Yes that's correct

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:36 PM

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What firmware of BF?

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Version?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:37 PM

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4.5.2

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:38 PM

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Ok, I run 4.5.1, so that is not the problem. Maybe its not a problem ...

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How slow is it?

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This is how mine reacts

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:49 PM

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:51 PM

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Wow, thats slow.

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:52 PM

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It's calibrated and pointing the right way, it just takes forever. I could just disable it, I really only fly acro anyway

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I flashed it with the firmware through "load online" in betaflight

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:54 PM

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Does it say CALIBRATING in the Arming Disable Flags under System Info on the right?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:54 PM

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Yes

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:55 PM

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You should remove OSD (Digital) from your firmware build. Its not recommended to have both analog and digital.

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And remove GPS as well

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:56 PM

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You mean go from HD to NTSC?

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 8:57 PM

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No. In the firmware tab you have 7 white boxes in the top left. Remove GPS and OSD (Digital) and reflash

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 8:59 PM

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Oh I didn't see that before

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:02 PM

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And then you need to setup everything again ...

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But start with the gyro, check if it is responsive

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 9:03 PM

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It's the same

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woah

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spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:08 PM

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Still CALIBRATING in the Arming Disable Flags?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 9:08 PM

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Yes

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:09 PM

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So it can not complete calibration because it thinks it is moving all the time. My lines in the Sensors tab is all straight, no waves.

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Is the desk vibrating?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 9:10 PM

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No

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:11 PM

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Could it be the fans?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 9:13 PM

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I'll check

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Nope, I turned the fans off and removed them, no difference

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:16 PM

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Im all out of ideas. You should post a new thread on this problem, maybe someone else have some tips.

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 9:17 PM

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Ok, thanks for all the help! I really need a break now haha

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:19 PM

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I see now that you have selected F411RX firmware, mine is just F411. Maybe its loading a wrong gyro driver

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 9:19 PM

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Oh ok, I'll try that

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That was it!

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I think I misread on the betafpv website.

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:26 PM

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So its responsive now?

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 9:28 PM

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Yes but the X axis has the same kind of spikes

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:29 PM

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Ok. Put it together and try to fly. Ask again if you run into problems.

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Its midnight here, Im going to sleep now, so dont expect a response for the next 8 hours 😴

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 9:32 PM

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Dang! Have a good one, thank you so much for the help!

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I'll send a picture before I fly it, and when I'm done painting the canopy

spark hare Apr 6, 2025, 9:33 PM

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Great! Im glad that I could help you out.

severe willow Apr 6, 2025, 10:07 PM

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It flew, but started trying to fly all crooked. I did some flips and rolls but don't trust it like my other drones. Maybe I damaged the accelerometer/gyro with the wrong firmware, I'll test out the other fc tomorrow

spark hare Apr 7, 2025, 5:41 AM

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You cant damage the gyro with wrong firmware.

severe willow Apr 7, 2025, 6:26 AM

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Ok that's good to know. I was kinda overwhelmed earlier

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I'm just getting back to it. I decided to connect the backup brand new F4 1S 5A FC and take screenshots of everything, and learned how to create a backup using both the CLI tab and the Presets tab. I connected the one with some issues, and flashed it back to Betaflight 4.3.0 (instead of 4.5.2), loaded the backup from the new FC and there doesn't seem to be any more issues.

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I'm trying to find a manual PDF for the FC but am having no luck with that, just their product page. I was hoping it would state what versions of betaflight it is compatible with

spark hare Apr 7, 2025, 10:43 AM

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Now that you know how to get back to a known good config, you can experiment. As mentioned before I run 4.5.1 without issues. There is no reason it shouldnt run the newest stable version.

severe willow Apr 8, 2025, 5:18 AM

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Ok I'll give that a shot tomorrow

severe willow Apr 20, 2025, 12:51 AM

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Sorry, I haven't had a chance to do this yet. Our outage just started so I'm on 6 12hr night shifts. I plan on testing it tonight though, thanks again for all the help!

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I did paint it before getting a test flight in which went well!

#CLI upload caused my F4 1S 5A FC to not be recognized through USB