Neuron 60s won’t connect to blheli32

[I_soar]

Spent about 4 hours today trying to configure the esc. I need to turn off the brake function. Esc is in a glider and on a switch, when turning off the motor it stops abruptly.
I used the blheli program, set com port, connected with frisky USB adapter, connected battery, no communication. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Nigel]

Aha! I ran into a similar issue when I was connecting my Neuron to configure stuff as well. I found this video to be quite useful:

Let me know if you still need help!

 

[I_soar]

Nigel, thanks for your reply. I went through the video, the Neuron 60s won't even connect. I reset, powered on/off several times. All I get is the window telling me to cycle power. The USB adapter appears to be working, at least the lights come on and sometimes blink. I'm at a loss here and dead in the water.

 

[Nigel]

You may need some USB drivers so the Neuron can communicate with BLHeli through the USB port. When I get home I'll do it on a fresh computer and see if I can find the problem.

 

[I_soar]

Nigel,
Thanks for your help, I've tried this on 2 computers but it could be drivers that are needed. Also do you happen to know the comm port settings needed?
John

 

[Nigel]

Usually the standard comm port settings are correct. I used a different configurator used for quads (Betaflight) to identify my comm port (as shown in the video), which was one of my issues. Try a couple different comm ports regardless, and see if you can get anything to connect. I'll watch over the videos I used to solve my problem and see if I can pinpoint what I missed when I couldn't connect.

 

[Nigel]

There's a couple of things that I remember doing:

1) Ensure you have the full BlHeli Suite downloaded, not the Chrome extension
2) Make sure you've removed the positive wire from the adapter harness from the Neuron to the Linker
3) While in BL Heli suite, select the third box from the left at the top "Select AMTEL / SILABS Interface", and in the drop down select C, which should read "SILABS BLHeli Bootloader (USB/COM)"
4) Try connecting

This should clear up any comm port issues, and if it doesn't then it may be a driver issue. Are you on Mac or PC?

 

[I_soar]

Nigel,
Yes to 1&2, will have to check #3 when I get home. Will do a check for new driver.

 

[Kilrah]

Looks like you've got the plug reversed on the adapter, see the S and G markings.

 

[Nigel]

Well spotted

 

[I_soar]

I already checked out but if that’s the case I’ll have a very red face

 

[I_soar]

Guys, I have to say thank you. Obviously I didn’t see the forest thru the trees. Can’t tell you how many times I checked this. The connections were reversed.
I do have a question though, with brake set to off, why do I have such an abrupt stop? Should I set it to 1%? I would like the prop to coast to a stop. is this somehow related to the altitude permit shut off controller, doesn’t seem like it ought to be since it is ahead of the esc.

 

[Nigel]

Make sure you're 'writing' your configuration after you change it. It shouldn't brake at all if it's turned off, otherwise check for a brake strength setting.

 

[I_soar]

Well I checked and braking is turned off. The stop is just way too abrupt. I am powering a power line micro 1025 motor spinning a 16:8 folding prop and when going from full on to off it is sudden. In my other sailplane with the same motor it is a much tamer stop. Instructions on motor call for a .5 second stop, this is much faster. Is there any other settings that could effect this? The timing is set within the motor specs. This is a fine controller but possibly not right for my motor/prop combo. Any thoughts, anyone using this same setup?

 

[Nigel]

Can you post a picture of your settings? I'm curious if there's something else I might be missing.

 

[I_soar]

I have to admit there is a lot for me to learn about these settings, but nothing is jumping out at me that might be the source.

 

[I_soar]

this pic may be clearer

 

[Nigel]

What does turning the brake on do? Is it even more violent?

 

[I_soar]

I was a bit afraid to try, I would have thought that with it off there would be no braking and turning it on would be even more violent

 

[Nigel]

I'd give it a shot. Definitely only cut your throttle from an idle, it shouldn't yank terribly hard. You could remove your prop if you want less force on your motor mount or whatnot.