E sky Lama v3 Electronics or battery?

[sotu]

I just bought a E sky Lama v3 RC helicopter from a friend, and took it appart to use the electronics.

This was offcourse used many times before i bought it, but when i got it i started to take it appart, then recharge the battery. I started to recharge the battery while it was still plugged into the microcontroller. The motors and servo started to switch and turn around out of control without the RC control/transmitter was even ON.

a couple of hours later i plugged it out, the motors and servos had now stopped moving. I couldn't see any sign of the LED (which is going to glow if it recharged) making any sign of rechargement. So i tried plugging the battery in, and started to move the stick in hope of seeing the motors move. But they dident. They had moved when i tested it before, but the battery was so low, that they stopped working.

So my question is:

Do you think that it's something wrong with the battery, charger or the circuit and electronics?
Im hoping of the battery/charger, couse they can easy be replace, but they still cost some, so i dont want to do any hasty decisions.
i DID look at the current of the battery, and it showed that the electrcity left in the battery was low.

Look at http://www.rcbutikken.no/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=144&gclid=CIOjubqs1pUCFQ5MQgod6QfkXg for info about the helicoptor (sorry for norwegian text)

And heres the microcontroller/reciever: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.15134
(name: EK2-0705B 4in1 Controller for Lama)

[Razor Concepts]

Charging the lipo while its still plugged into the 4-in-1 isnt good... the battery should be fine, but the motor controller part of the 4-in-1 might be fried. Normally you should unplug the battery from the 4-in-1 and then charge the battery. Try plugging the battery into the charger (and not the 4-in-1) and see if it charges. Once its charged, plug it in into the 4-in-1. The motors might not work, but the servos should move.

[sotu]

It seemed that the battery had been totally outcharged, and this isn't good for Li-Po batteries, they should be charged before they run completely out. So i purchased a new battery, and tried it on. The servos worked as you said, but not the motors. Im charging the battery now, so i'll see if the motors work when its completely charged up. But if the motors still wont work, is it something wrong with the I/O for the motors and the electronics or the motors themselfes? So i can just replace the motors? Thnx

[sotu]

yepp, the motors dont work.
Will it work to replug the wires to a new motor that has the same voltage requirements?

[Razor Concepts]

The motors are fine, its the electronics that are controlling the motor that would be the issue. If you charged the battery while it was still plugged in, you subjected those electronics that control the motor to wayy to much power, which burnt them out. The reason the servos still work is because inside the little box (4-in-1), there are actually two separate boards, one is the speed controller, and the other is the receiver. The reciever part works, but the battery connects to the motor controller, which is why only that fried. The reciever does not fry because the motor controller automatically outputs 5 or 6 volts to the reciever at all times.

I would purchase a new 4-in-1, you can probably find new ones for less than the $30 price at dealextreme. Keep in mind you dont have to use the E-sky 4-in-1, you can purchase the controller for any coaxial helicopter as long as the reciever part is a 72mhz reciever.

[sotu]

Ok, hate doing mistakes that cant be fixed!

Last question (i think )
Can i replace the two small servo on the 4-in-1 board with two hexTronik HX12K HI-SPEED servos? Or are the volt to different?

[Razor Concepts]

The volts are the same, they all run on 4.8 to 6 volts. The thing is, the HX12Ks are huge standard sized servos, and the ones on the E-Sky are micro servos. The power to the servos comes from the motor controller unit, and it might not put out enough amps to drive the big HX12Ks. They would still work, but the servos wont have the power its supposed to put out. If you want to use the HX12Ks you can either plug in a 6v battery to the BATT port on the 4-in-1, or just take the reciever out of the 4-in-1 and use all 4 channels along with the 6v battery.

[sotu]

Ok, so if im buying a new 4-in-1 (for about ~40$ i guess) Will the new 4-in-1 reciever work at the same frequence as the old 1, so i can control both at the same time with my transmitter control?

Example: If i move the left stick up, the servos at the old 4-in-1 will go to a degree, as well as the servos at the new 4-in-1?
So i can control em both at the same time, without them having to be wired up together?

[Razor Concepts]

Yes that will happen. But the new 4-in-1 won't come with a frequency crystal, so you'll have to get a matching one. On the back of your existing 4-in-1, there is a crystal. Take that and go to your local hobby store, and find a replacement on the same frequency. The 4-in-1s dont come with a crystal, which is why you have to buy a matching one if you want to control both 4-in-1s at the same time.

[sotu]

Thanks for all your help Razor Consepts

I got some good news
I manage to modify some pins and motor I/O's and got the motors to start working again Really happy for it, no i saved money and extra time on ordering a new one.

[Razor Concepts]

If you need any more help with the heli, check out www.crackroll.com or www.rcgroups.com (both run by the same guy). It's like SOR but with rc

(a crack roll is an aerobatic move for RC helicopters, not... crack  )