brand new 'out of the box' phantom won't start

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hello from costa rica!! i'm a new member and i want to thank you in advance for taking the time to read this.

i just received my second phantom unit, so i am reasonably knowledgeable about the inner workings of DJI and its Phantom model.

a friend brought me a brand new phantom which i purchased from b&h photo in new york.

i assembled it in two minutes (i told you i have some knowledge)

when i tried to turn it on however: nothing.

i took it outside and toggled the control mode switch ten times to do a GPS calibration. The light on the phantom turned to solid yellow which indicates to me that there is some communication between the transmitter and the phantom.

still, i decided to open the case to link the transmitter and the receiver. the receiver control board appeared normal when i opened it up, still i decided to do the linking procedure again and the linking procedure appeared to work. the led light is solid red when the transmitter is turned off and it led light turns off when the transmitter is turned on. again that indicates that there may be some communication between the two.

so my question is.... what is it? why isn't my phantom starting? anyone faced a similar issue and can suggest what it might be? remember this thing has never flown! it's so frustrating because i live thousands of miles away and can't just return it and get a new one.

help!
 
can you point me in the right direction as to how to get that procedure started?
i have removed the shell and the landing legs on my phantom, do i need to put it back together before doing that or can i just plug it in 'as is'?


BadWolf said:
Looks like you need to calibrate the transmitter in the Naza assistant. The joysticks look to be out of calibration.
 
You should be able to do it without putting the legs back on. As long as it is level, on a table or something.

You have experience with using the Naza assistant software, and you've downloaded the firmware from DJI to the IMU
on the Phantom correct ?
 
I have downloaded it and the phantom is definitely communicating with the NAZA program, however it isn't clear to me that the RC Transmitter is being acknowledged or is communicating with the NAZA program. For example, when I connect my other Phantom unit it the RC definitely communicates (you can see changes when I touch the joysticks for example) on the new one, nothing.

Audaciter said:
You should be able to do it without putting the legs back on. As long as it is level, on a table or something.

You have experience with using the Naza assistant software, and you've downloaded the firmware from DJI to the IMU
on the Phantom correct ?
 
So to recap:

Phantom unit is brand new.
Motors won't start (ignition procedure is being done correctly)
Transmitter does seem to have some communication to the quadcopter. When I toggle the switch for a GPS calibration the phantom does respond correctly. Additionally when I opened up the Phantom case I noticed -and followed- the linking procedure between the phantom and the transmitter and they appear to be paired correctly.
Still, I can't get those motors turning though.

Thanks to everyone who has posted and has tried to help. Any suggestions are welcome. I wish I lived somewhere where I can just return the unit and get a new one but I live in the middle of the jungle, I had to pay $200 to have it shipped to me and will have to pay $200 to ship it back, and $200 to have a new one shipped again (so nearly the price of another brand new unit!)

If I can troubleshoot this with your help I would infinitely rather do that. Help out a pilot grounded in the middle of nowhere.


Audaciter said:
You should be able to do it without putting the legs back on. As long as it is level, on a table or something.

You have experience with using the Naza assistant software, and you've downloaded the firmware from DJI to the IMU
on the Phantom correct ?
 
nosarafern said:
So to recap:

Phantom unit is brand new.
Motors won't start (ignition procedure is being done correctly)
Transmitter does seem to have some communication to the quadcopter. When I toggle the switch for a GPS calibration the phantom does respond correctly. Additionally when I opened up the Phantom case I noticed -and followed- the linking procedure between the phantom and the transmitter and they appear to be paired correctly.
Still, I can't get those motors turning though.
........

Hey, may be your TX has some wires disconnected? did you check inside it?
In addition, i suggest you to ask about your issue in this forum:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1774685
 
Maybe your transmitter is not binding with the receiver. There is a tiny button on that teeny tiny little receiver board,
and you push it to bind with the transmitter.

And if that doesn't work, send it to me, and I'll fix it for free ! You won't get it back, but at least you'll know it is running :D
 
Audaciter said:
Maybe your transmitter is not binding with the receiver. There is a tiny button on that teeny tiny little receiver board,
and you push it to bind with the transmitter.

And if that doesn't work, send it to me, and I'll fix it for free ! You won't get it back, but at least you'll know it is running :D


Awesome! :lol:
 
well the bad news for Audaciter is that I got it going... I just ran a 'battery' of tests until i ran out of battery. i'm not flying it for fear of losing it, i'm just running the motors without the propellers and switching between GPS and ATTi and walking very far away from the phantom to make sure that the Tx is sending commands and the Phantom is receiving them.

I have no idea how I got it to start .. I wish I could say.

Now the problem is when I connect it to the Naza Assistant it recognizes it for about 10 seconds and then it goes dead. That's probably a software issue so I've uninstalled and I'm reinstalling now....

I have to say, cool as the Phantom is, DJI is a sketchy company at best.
No tech support
and
some questionable performance by their products...

They need to tighten up... they are too busy making money I guess

Capodrone said:
Audaciter said:
Maybe your transmitter is not binding with the receiver. There is a tiny button on that teeny tiny little receiver board,
and you push it to bind with the transmitter.

And if that doesn't work, send it to me, and I'll fix it for free ! You won't get it back, but at least you'll know it is running :D


Awesome! :lol:
 
Hola,I am in Samara and have the same problem with a brand new phanthom,the motors wont start.
my number is 8373 3150,maybe we can figure it out,saludos
 

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