This is a great video, just what I was looking for. I have just done this mod, but I didn't bother with modifying the pin part, I just did the resistor part and soldered a pin on the other end of the wire that I plugged in to the battery balancing port (third one giving 4.16v ish). Works perfectly!!! Thank you very much.
I did this mod to the -ia6b rx and upgraded the fs-i6 tx firmware. All is working great! The rx SMD circuitry is really small. The series resistor (for voltage telemetry sensing) cracked during mod... had to replace with 39.2 K ohm resistor. Voltage reporting is very accurate. Great mod(s)! Thanks to all for the good ideas and firmware upgrade!
Great mod, I've done it many times. Always tricky, I do a simplified version by running the wire from the 38.4k resistor out a small hole in the case, strain relief with a spot of glue on the PCB. No other hacks needed. The tiny resistor always falls off on me, then I connect a 39k resistor externally. Note that you don't need this mod if you can set up iBus telemetry in iNav or Betaflight! You can enable iBus telemetry using the diode/resistor trick described in iNav documentation, or using Flit10 receiver. iBus telemetry parameter 2 is battery voltage from the flight controller by default (connect FC battery monitor pad to your battery V+). In your transmitter (I use FS-I6 with 10channel firmware mod) change "Int LiPo" to "Ext LiPo" in receiver battery settings.
I want battery telemetry can you send me a link i really want to have that i dont have goggles and i crash alot in LOS battery monitoring is difficult for me i just have to check with external meter. Which distub my momentum
Hi Georgie, I just read that you were using iNav telemetry with iBus and the XA6B receiver. Did you also use GPS with your FC? I'm trying to get the complete GPS-telemetry data but showing up on my transmitter is only temperature, course, status and current, so in principle there is a data transfer from the FC to the receiver to the transmitter. But what I'm missing is latitude, longitude, speed, alt etc.. Unfortunately there is nearly no information available and what is written in the iNav telemetry docs doesn't seem to work as described. Greetings from Germany, Martin
Thanks so much for this, just done mine at it worked perfectly. It's great with the modified firmware as it has settings for 3s, 4s etc. By the way in the modified firmware you can skip slowly scrolling through setting the alarm voltage alarms by pressing and holding the OK button in each alarm.
It's funny that I have a car that uses two li-ion batteries, in series they make around 7 volts so I can directly power the transmitter from there and read the voltage, no need for mod, then in parallel with the transmitter I have a voltage multiplier followed by the motor driver so it's perfect for me! I didn't know about this mod but I used this configuration to make it work. Thanks for the mod tho, very useful for future projects!
Thanks for video, it's really helpful. By the way, in FSi6 10ch mod you can set up more than 10v max voltage, even you can set up battery type and cells count.
I just stumbled onto this channel. If you set up a fesistor network of ...say.... two 1K resistors, one end to ground and the other end on your battery, in the middle of your two resistors you will get a reading of half of your battery voltage. so a 12volt battery would give you 6 volts on your alarm setting.
yeah that's what i was thinking too. Use a simple voltage divider, so that the 14.0 - 16.8V 4S battery will power the receiver with 5.41 - 6.5V, then set your alarms accordingly. It'll work for 4S and 3S without any hardware changes, as the output voltage for 3S will be 4.06 - 4.875V. the FlySky ia6b receiver needs 4.0V~6.5V, so all of these figures are within that range.
very useful video !! I have done in my two receivers and works perfectly with the help of Flashed transmitter with the 10-channel version, that version can set the alarm battery voltage 3s to 6s, I recommend upgrade the version of the transmitter.
Don't need to go to all the trouble, just hook up vbat to power it, I've tested to 3S works great, when I get ready to blow one I'll test it at 4S, but for now, 3S shows 12.6v at my receiver! (of course it goes down as quad runs on)
this is good. I have this transmitter and receiver, I have been using my no telemetry turnigy 9xr more but i may have to try this mod as the sticks as so smooth on this transmitter. You can repair the receiver antennas cheap if you find an old wireless modem router, some of them have 2.4g external antennas. I bought one from an op shop. thanks for the vid dude
+iforce2d gotta like bangood. it seems like ibus sounds about as fast as sbus. and your other vid on updating the firmware is excellent. fingers crossed i can get it to work even for the voltage alarm alone
finally tried this and it works, awesome mod vid. there must be a similar option for the non 'b' receiver too as it also downlinks the rx voltage. there is the same bank of 2 resistors... hmm :)
Nope, just got it connected to iBus (vcc, gnd, and signal to sbus) the transmitter connects fine and she flies...but now it just beeps and shows low Rx voltage, I've messed around with some settings and can't seem to figure it out
Are you saying your not using the B-Det plug but have vcc going in on your 1 ibus plug? A picture would be better if you could post 1 in the RCGroups forum here www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2734291
RCFlyer85 I know this video is old , but can’t one just wire this receiver directly to the flight battery so you can power the receiver still like normal without doing all this work ? , or is that just not a safe way to wire the rx ? Dose the rx need to have a steady and constant voltage and is that reason we are using a dedicated pin in the middle of the bind pins ?
Thank you for showing the modification. How do you now bind the receiver after disabling the supply line in the bind slot. Suggestion:-Would it not be easier and less destructive to remove the series resistor rather than cut up the board. Use the resistor pad to place the wire and run it out directly Dave
Binding just connects the signal pin to ground, it does not require a 'supply'. I'm not totally sure but I would expect that resistor is part of a voltage divider, as well as obviously limiting the current flow, and it might even be connected to other things too. I doubt it could simply be removed, you would need to at least solder an equivalent resistor in series with the wire coming from vbat. Overall I think removing the resistor would be more destructive because you risk damaging the pads on the PCB, and soldering it back in would be a pain in the ass so it's not really easier either.... In contrast the middle row of exterior pins are all connected in a common rail so even after cutting the trace you still have another six identical pins to use.
Overall though, this mod is not very convenient. I only did it once and since then I just use the voltage sensor module for ibus, the FS-CVT01. It costs about $4 and isn't too big or heavy.
I did not quite understand where the ground from the battery goes, can you please explain? Dose the ground that comes from the 4s battery can be solder with the ground that comes from the FC to power the RX (5v and Gnd)?
i recently bought fly sky FS-i6. but the problem that i am facing is the it is not getting bound by the receiver which is FS-iA6. i tried all types of binding. still it is not binding. can you help me with this
Hi i've done the mod on two receivers but it doesn't give back any voltage i just get a empty RX on my I6 and on my I10 just a ? mark on the battery icon :/ any ideas??
Great Hack, thank you for sharing. One question... works this hack also for the iA10B? is pretty much the same Receiver but with 10 Channels instead of 6... Thanks!
Is adding the other telemetry sensors (like altitude TGY-CAT01) more straightforward? I can't find a single video or review on the altitude sensor TGY-CAT01.
The Tx/Rx package at ~$65 USD @ BG is a good value. But the 9XR Pro is the same cash outlay and may use OpenTX , or ER9X both of which are still being improved and upgraded. It has Haptic, Voice, and SDCard to store FW and Model mixes. And with a FrSky DHT 2,4Ghz Telemetry capable Tx module (for instance), one may have any variable you can send via soft serial, or UART from your FC or Smartport, be it Mavlink or what.... But who is looking at the screen of their Tx during FPV anyway :-)
Hi there! Is it possible to operate the IA6B receiver with a 2s Lipo pack? Im kinda struggling with finding a suitable Battery, because the voltage limits printed on the case (4V-6.5V) seem too high for 1S LiPo (like, 3.2V-4.2V) or too low for a 2S-Pack (6.4V-8.4V). Thanks in advance!
No, it's made for 6v max. What problem are you trying to solve exactly? I have tested these radios and got 13 hours from a set of 1500mAh rechargeable NiMH batteries. They are much more convenient than a lipo because you don't need to worry about returning them to storage charge if you won't be using the radio for a while, also very easy to keep a set of normal dry cells in the car or whatever in case you need them. If you are simply following the trend of changing to a lipo, I would suggest not to bother. Just get some rechargeable AAs and a wall-socket charger.
Thanks for that! just did it, works great! this is an amazing controller/RX combo for the price! any video for lipo conversion? also any other things we can add to telemetry?
Hi Matewouldn't you be better off buying on of these Turnigy TGY-CVT01 Voltage Sensors and be don with. Rather then the cutting and soldering? Just my thoughts. If there's a reason why you chose not to buy voltage sensor please do let me know. By the way I enjoy all your videos which I find very informative. Well Done.
Great video, i've been wanting to do this for a while but couldn't find the right instructions. I usually depin and decase my ia6b receivers, so I can just cut the traces on the resistor and run a wire directly yeah? no need to worry about that pin. And yes with the modded firmware you get quite a different Rx Battery menu
It worked, but I cutted only between the resistence and then I pulled out the cable for the battery sensing. It's strange the fact that the voltage meter and power supply are together.
Just built my first quad so very new to this and had a couple of questions. How do you connect the battery to the receiver and what influence does the 'high' value on the transmitter have?
Usually the receiver and the flight controller both run at 5v, so you would connect the receiver to the flight controller. The flight controller will need a 5v power source, usually this is done with a BEC. Most power distribution boards often have a 5v BEC on them.
***** sorry probably wasn't clear enough. What I meant was how do I connect the battery directly to the pin that you separated from the rest, so that the receiver can detect the battery voltage. I might be really confused hear and this may not make any sense to you, in which case don't worry! thanks.
You'll have to make up some kind of connection yourself I think. I usually cut a little of the silicon shielding off the wire coming from the battery and solder into there.
Hello collegue. I was wondering if there is a possibility to use my receiver as battery monitor in my apm aswell? Or is there only alarm on transmitter? Hope you reply me soon. Good luck mate
did you do the tx firmware? its a whole new world when you do that, the fs-i6 becomes a 10 ch full feature unit that competes with much more expensive units! im running a version that also gives me rssi and a load of other telemetry on my tx display plus you can set 3 separate alarms for say low rssi or any other telem function you want .
iforce2d ahhhh, yep lol. I've tried so many different versions, some have been unstable and a huge number have collective pitch broken in the variable pitch Heli menu eventually I found a version that was fully featured, stable and allowed me to use that menu, it's fine if your flying a flybarred Heli, use the 120 swash and the mixing is all done in the tx but if you want to run a flybarless controller your stuffed without the independent channel output of the other menu as the FBS controller cannot use an already mixed input! But this is all part of out hobby, working out problems and modding stuff gives satisfaction when you succeed.
Sounds a bit risky. Usually the innards of the receiver run at 3.3v and it will have a step-down regulator to change the 5v input to 3.3v. Step-down regulators usually 'drop' about 1 volt internally, so to provide 3.3v it would require 4.3v input. Often a 3.3v device can still run at about 3v, so a 4v input might be enough. A fully charged lipo would be 4.2v, but then as it discharges while flying....
Then I thought what about people with a 1S model they will be seeing what I think I can replicate. Set the warnings at 3.2,3.5,4.2 I know it says 4v-8.4v but the 1cell would only be 0.8 below that at worst. I am building a GPS bird so I could try this and the worst that would happen is it would return to home.
No, the 1 cell will discharge down to about 3.5v or whatever you let it while flying. It will only be above 4v for a very short time. Pretty much as soon as you throttle up the voltage will go below 4v.
I carried out an experiment today and it seemed to work! I took the props off my Bugs3 and plugged the RX into the bugs battery balance plug. I ran it for half an hour and then got bored. Because there was no load it was taking forever. I measured the end voltage as 3.78 per cell. I had hoped that both transmitters would go into low battery mode together. My next experiment will be to fasten the RX underneath my Bugs and take it out for an actual flight using the two transmitters. I did try to load the motors by putting my sleeve over my hand and trying to grasp them but it got too hot. But the experiment wasn't a bust and it will only take me 10 minutes in the field to see what happens. I'm an old retired engineer and seeing this problem for the first time,it just seemed natural to try. Will let you know how I get on either way but it won't be tomorrow my wife is putting a new roof on my garage. ;)
If you are going to keep up this kind of nerdy pursuit you could probably use a little variable voltage 'bench power supply', that way you could just dial down the voltage to pretty quickly see where it starts to brown out :) ruclips.net/video/W5gjrq_9t_s/видео.html
Can you also do a video on using IBUS on Clean/Betaflight? I want to do it but there aren't clear instructions/videos that I can follow... This radio has all the functions of really expensive radios!
I'm not sure if that's worth a video... I was actually intending to, but when I looked at how it's done, it's all over in less than a minute or so. In the cleanflight configurator (ports tab) enable Serial RX for port 2. In the configuration tab under Receiver mode select RX_SERIAL and in Serial Receiver Provider choose IBUS. Connect the ibus signal pin of your receiver to RC input pin 4. More details (but admittedly incomplete) here: github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight/blob/master/docs/Rx.md
i use iBus for the ia6b - i need too because i am stuck with the NovaX firmware since i messed up my input order before flashing. the iBus is simple, its just a Serial Transmit at 115200 baud. you need to connect it to the Spectrum Sattelite input pin and enable it in the firmware. i have even written a Arduino Leonardo to read it and emulate a joystick at my computer. FPVFreerider friendly! :)
why all the work to get that wire onto that pin when you could leave that pin alone and just cut the other traces and have the wire just come out on its own. it seems safer that way you would never accidentally plug it into one of those 5v pins.
Hello!! In Timbutus hack, it seemed that he eliminated the power to the #1 channel and had to re-route a supply for it. It looks as though you only took the power from the bind plug. Is this correct? So does this end the need to wire anything else?
I'm not "taking power" from the bind plug row, I'm using that pin to input the main battery voltage. So it needs to be disconnected from the rest of that rail because the other pins will be around 5V and the main battery will be much more.
Oh yes,... Sorry. I meant eliminating power from the #1 row. So it is a little different from Timbutus approach. Correct? You are eliminating the 5v supply to the bind row instead of the #1 row? Looks like your blue wire connects the mid bind pin to the resister on the other side. Correct?
I have the i10 reciever with the telemetry module, but the voltage reading fluctuates so much that it immediatly sets off the alarm when I throttle up.
Gotcha! OOPS Tributu (the guy whos video that you referenced in your video) Thank you so much!! Im getting ready to do this tonight. Have you seen your voltage fluctuate enough to set off your alarm?
My Mobula7 FlySky version has some sort of telemetry that I can’t seem to figure out. Some stick inputs work and I get the beep that it does when it is Input proper, some don’t work at all. Now what I did find out, is that currently I have my RX battery displayed on my screen as yours is. I have the i6X version TX. If I do the save input on the sticks, so throttle Low; Yaw Low; Pitch Low; Roll Low. I will get a beep as if it were to save my current trims and calibrations. If I hold it tho for like a fraction of a second it actually removes the RC battery display on my TX. Does anyone know if the FlySky telemetry inputs are different than say Frsky?
i already cut the trace, but seems i dont have any respon voltage reading from the rx.. should it be connected well? what i have done is, i cut the trace, connect my esc to the rx(which got the bec) then connect the +ve wire on ch1 to the first cell port. but then still no signal am i doin it wrong? or, can i do this just to see either im doing it right. 1.i cut the trace 2.i connect my esc (bec) to power the rx 3.i connect the +ve pin on ch1 to first cell on battery will i get the data? i do it at fsia6 rx btw
I don't know how it's done for the ia6, but if you take a look at the link in the description (if I had a dime for every time I've said that....) you will find that the original thread on rcgroups is all about doing this mod on the ia6.
so how I understand,, this transmitter has low voltage alarm, when your battery drops on critical level, i am newbie and i am building mine first quad, so that knowledge would be important for me
Hello mate...I do believe if you do the 10channel mod ver 1-1 thru 1-5, that should take care of the telemetry displaying without cutting anything for the battery alarm to work.... it seems to be working for me.
Before the mod , i never fly more than 700 m ... (i worried about my batt capacity) ... But after mod , i try to fly as far as possible . And get High Error Rate ( 70-100 % ) at 1,100 meters .. more than that .. the signal indicator is blank ... i see some FS - i6 review ... there can more than 2 km .. but it is impossible for me ...
The 2km would be the absolute most, if you had a perfect set up with your receiver and were in an environment with no interference on 2.4Ghz. There are various videos online showing how to position your antennas to get more range, your best option is to watch some of them
just revisited this vid to get the beeper going again... i smashed my voltage alarm beeper, so i'll need to use this attery warning even though its too quiet .... where would we be without these vids?..... on the ground... ps i also did the 10channel mod... works beautifully. i'm amazed i managed the solder job....
good work mate :) I'll share this video to my friends.. a lot if them have the i6 as well... oh and do you know what the errors means on this tx? I get them with most of my quads! like 1% up to 15%
iforce2d you also get it in ppm but not pwm ofcourse, i set my up yesterday in ppm on a sp f3 board and it went really nice, in betaflight its great to have more then 6ch as i use channels to start/stop blackbox and on/off airmode on top of the normal mode switch and arming switch Tomorrow i will try to set up the battery monitoring telemetry, thanks for this video on how to do it 👍
Maybe we are using a different firmware mod. If you look at the video I linked to (at about 26:26), you can see on the scope that ppm still has only 6 channels.
I've done everything as it mentioned in this video, but unfortunately, I've accidentally rip the right resistor :(. Does anybody know what was the resistance of that resistor? Thanks.
@Castle of Glass oh...it was long time ago. I'm not sure...please, try here www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2402288-FlySky-Turnigy-iA6-%28and-iA6B%29-voltage-telemetry-mod
Mine quit when I did a factor reset with the firmware update (cause I messed with the RX battery in the TX flysky.) and I'm using a FS-iA6B receiver... Don't mess with the RX battery settings!
Thanks a lot for your quick reply. Still new and curious if that will work fine for a 4s build? I saw on the forum that most talked about using a resistor wired directly to the battery? Subbed and recommended to friends. Awesome channel.
Yes, I used it for 4S. These days I just use a ready-made voltage sensor though, this mod was a real hassle and I don't think I will be doing it again. Sensor is about $4 goo.gl/PoFKM8
look at you already on BLhelli_s I know I nag you all the time but please let me know are you interested in coming on the podcast "let's drone out? I'd love to have you on!
***** Oh wow, i think i have not been right correcting you in the last month even once :D I think i should stop trying and accept the fact that you know way more about quads than i do :)
There's a voltage sensor you can get for about $3 (hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__76687__Turnigy_TGY_CVT01_Voltage_Sensor_EU_Warehouse_.html) I use one with my equivelent Turnigy radio and reciever and I monitor my 8S setup.
For better low voltage alarm install this firmware on your TX: github.com/benb0jangles/FlySky-i6-Mod-/tree/master/10ch%20Mod%20i6%20Updater/10ch_MOD_i6_Programmer_V1_5
+ It also delays the annoying beeping when you dont move any controlls so instead of beeping after a minute, it beeps after 10 minutes i think. And i have a question: Is the isolation of that pin needed? Or can i just connect stuff to the little wire and leave the pin as it is without cutting it ?
Yeah the modded firmware would be worth it just to shut up that beeping :) If you were to extend that little wire to come right out of the case then no, you wouldn't need to do anything with the 5V pin trace. It's just that it's very convenient to be able to plug something into one of the existing pins. Gotta be real careful I get the right one now though :)
Last question: I use a hi-volt lipo, do you think the RX will be able to handle 17,4V at input? I only have one RX and i dont want to risk it until i know it wouldnt fry it :)
The pictures on the thread were so unclear so I hesitated to do the mod... Thanks so much for making this video!
This is a great video, just what I was looking for. I have just done this mod, but I didn't bother with modifying the pin part, I just did the resistor part and soldered a pin on the other end of the wire that I plugged in to the battery balancing port (third one giving 4.16v ish). Works perfectly!!! Thank you very much.
I did this mod to the -ia6b rx and upgraded the fs-i6 tx firmware. All is working great! The rx SMD circuitry is really small. The series resistor (for voltage telemetry sensing) cracked during mod... had to replace with 39.2 K ohm resistor. Voltage reporting is very accurate. Great mod(s)! Thanks to all for the good ideas and firmware upgrade!
Great mod, I've done it many times. Always tricky, I do a simplified version by running the wire from the 38.4k resistor out a small hole in the case, strain relief with a spot of glue on the PCB. No other hacks needed. The tiny resistor always falls off on me, then I connect a 39k resistor externally. Note that you don't need this mod if you can set up iBus telemetry in iNav or Betaflight! You can enable iBus telemetry using the diode/resistor trick described in iNav documentation, or using Flit10 receiver. iBus telemetry parameter 2 is battery voltage from the flight controller by default (connect FC battery monitor pad to your battery V+). In your transmitter (I use FS-I6 with 10channel firmware mod) change "Int LiPo" to "Ext LiPo" in receiver battery settings.
I want battery telemetry can you send me a link i really want to have that i dont have goggles and i crash alot in LOS battery monitoring is difficult for me i just have to check with external meter. Which distub my momentum
Hi Georgie, I just read that you were using iNav telemetry with iBus and the XA6B receiver. Did you also use GPS with your FC? I'm trying to get the complete GPS-telemetry data but showing up on my transmitter is only temperature, course, status and current, so in principle there is a data transfer from the FC to the receiver to the transmitter. But what I'm missing is latitude, longitude, speed, alt etc.. Unfortunately there is nearly no information available and what is written in the iNav telemetry docs doesn't seem to work as described.
Greetings from Germany, Martin
Thx for sharing this - its awesome. I have only make one cut and use a jumper wire to the balancer (from the resistor). Now I am ready to fly.
Slick workaround and finally a useful use for rx readout telemetry voltage. I always thought that was daft. I heard the C version does this function
Just made the cut and added the wire. Now I have a voltage telemetry I can use!! Thanks for making it easy!!
Thanks so much for this, just done mine at it worked perfectly. It's great with the modified firmware as it has settings for 3s, 4s etc. By the way in the modified firmware you can skip slowly scrolling through setting the alarm voltage alarms by pressing and holding the OK button in each alarm.
pwrkiter sounds like a great firmware update! Do you have a link to the download? Been annoying me that there's a 10V limit! Thanks in advance!
github.com/benb0jangles/FlySky-i6-Mod-
ruclips.net/video/eaj0M218HSM/видео.html
It's funny that I have a car that uses two li-ion batteries, in series they make around 7 volts so I can directly power the transmitter from there and read the voltage, no need for mod, then in parallel with the transmitter I have a voltage multiplier followed by the motor driver so it's perfect for me! I didn't know about this mod but I used this configuration to make it work. Thanks for the mod tho, very useful for future projects!
The Flysky X6B receiver has battery telemetry built in, along with RSSI (great for tracking a lost model). It's smaller too but still has great range.
i know it's an old video but i did this today and it worked perfectly. Cheers.
Just finished this mod and worked perfectly
Thanks!
yes that was very interesting!
I guess the 2 cell option you mentioned would work perfectly fine.
Thanks for video, it's really helpful. By the way, in FSi6 10ch mod you can set up more than 10v max voltage, even you can set up battery type and cells count.
please help me out on as to how do you get to see more than 10 volts please would appreciate it
I think that part was in the transmitter firmware mod, not in the receiver. At least, I'm pretty sure I never showed it anywhere in this video...
I just stumbled onto this channel. If you set up a fesistor network of ...say.... two 1K resistors, one end to ground and the other end on your battery, in the middle of your two resistors you will get a reading of half of your battery voltage. so a 12volt battery would give you 6 volts on your alarm setting.
fesistor=resistor.
aww.... but fesistors sound more fun :)
yeah that's what i was thinking too.
Use a simple voltage divider, so that the 14.0 - 16.8V 4S battery will power the receiver with 5.41 - 6.5V, then set your alarms accordingly.
It'll work for 4S and 3S without any hardware changes, as the output voltage for 3S will be 4.06 - 4.875V.
the FlySky ia6b receiver needs 4.0V~6.5V, so all of these figures are within that range.
yes, I did mention that at one point in the video, but I was planning to do the firmware update anyway which would solve the issue
very useful video !! I have done in my two receivers and works perfectly with the help of Flashed transmitter with the 10-channel version, that version can set the alarm battery voltage 3s to 6s, I recommend upgrade the version of the transmitter.
Yes, I tried that, video is processing now :)
Thanks for sharing your knowlegde. The modification works fine with my FS-IA6B / FS-I6S.
Don't need to go to all the trouble, just hook up vbat to power it, I've tested to 3S works great, when I get ready to blow one I'll test it at 4S, but for now, 3S shows 12.6v at my receiver! (of course it goes down as quad runs on)
this is good. I have this transmitter and receiver, I have been using my no telemetry turnigy 9xr more but i may have to try this mod as the sticks as so smooth on this transmitter. You can repair the receiver antennas cheap if you find an old wireless modem router, some of them have 2.4g external antennas. I bought one from an op shop. thanks for the vid dude
yeah, I have a few of these actually that would work ok, the tiny soldering looks quite tricky but I might give it a try sometime: goo.gl/WsILxW
+iforce2d gotta like bangood. it seems like ibus sounds about as fast as sbus. and your other vid on updating the firmware is excellent. fingers crossed i can get it to work even for the voltage alarm alone
finally tried this and it works, awesome mod vid. there must be a similar option for the non 'b' receiver too as it also downlinks the rx voltage. there is the same bank of 2 resistors... hmm :)
ah its on rc groups, cool.
Great help. Very appreciate your macro pictures. :)
it's working perfectly. Thanks for such informative video
Just to throw it out there...
If you get the new ia6c receiver it will automatically add external voltage to your transmitter
RC Flyer85 having issues with it reading 0.00v and setting my alarm off! any way to fix that you know of?
No I haven't experienced that. We are talking ia6c correct? You have it connected directly to the battery?
Nope, just got it connected to iBus (vcc, gnd, and signal to sbus) the transmitter connects fine and she flies...but now it just beeps and shows low Rx voltage, I've messed around with some settings and can't seem to figure it out
Are you saying your not using the B-Det plug but have vcc going in on your 1 ibus plug? A picture would be better if you could post 1 in the RCGroups forum here www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2734291
RCFlyer85 I know this video is old , but can’t one just wire this receiver directly to the flight battery so you can power the receiver still like normal without doing all this work ? , or is that just not a safe way to wire the rx ? Dose the rx need to have a steady and constant voltage and is that reason we are using a dedicated pin in the middle of the bind pins ?
Great video. i gave a test yestorday done the mod and it working perfect
thanks...
Pretty neat. I will stick with my runcan 2 it has osd with voltage and I can hear my buzzer with the headphones.
Thank you for showing the modification. How do you now bind the receiver after disabling the supply line in the bind slot. Suggestion:-Would it not be easier and less destructive to remove the series resistor rather than cut up the board. Use the resistor pad to place the wire and run it out directly Dave
Binding just connects the signal pin to ground, it does not require a 'supply'.
I'm not totally sure but I would expect that resistor is part of a voltage divider, as well as obviously limiting the current flow, and it might even be connected to other things too. I doubt it could simply be removed, you would need to at least solder an equivalent resistor in series with the wire coming from vbat.
Overall I think removing the resistor would be more destructive because you risk damaging the pads on the PCB, and soldering it back in would be a pain in the ass so it's not really easier either.... In contrast the middle row of exterior pins are all connected in a common rail so even after cutting the trace you still have another six identical pins to use.
Overall though, this mod is not very convenient. I only did it once and since then I just use the voltage sensor module for ibus, the FS-CVT01. It costs about $4 and isn't too big or heavy.
Will this create any problems with future bindings ? PPM and Ibus work good ? Great vid thanks!
No problems that I know of. I don't see why it would be a problem.
I did not quite understand where the ground from the battery goes, can you please explain?
Dose the ground that comes from the 4s battery can be solder with the ground that comes from the FC to power the RX (5v and Gnd)?
Hello ! Great vid. I conect oposite voltage baterry to my fs ia6 receiver AND saw smoke... any ideas for the repair?
i recently bought fly sky FS-i6. but the problem that i am facing is the it is not getting bound by the receiver which is FS-iA6.
i tried all types of binding. still it is not binding.
can you help me with this
Hi i've done the mod on two receivers but it doesn't give back any voltage i just get a empty RX on my I6 and on my I10 just a ? mark on the battery icon :/ any ideas??
Great Hack, thank you for sharing. One question... works this hack also for the iA10B? is pretty much the same Receiver but with 10 Channels instead of 6... Thanks!
Is adding the other telemetry sensors (like altitude TGY-CAT01) more straightforward? I can't find a single video or review on the altitude sensor TGY-CAT01.
Yes, much more straightforward - you just plug them in :)
Well done mate great video
The Tx/Rx package at ~$65 USD @ BG is a good value. But the 9XR Pro is the same cash outlay and may use OpenTX , or ER9X both of which are still being improved and upgraded. It has Haptic, Voice, and SDCard to store FW and Model mixes. And with a FrSky DHT 2,4Ghz Telemetry capable Tx module (for instance), one may have any variable you can send via soft serial, or UART from your FC or Smartport, be it Mavlink or what.... But who is looking at the screen of their Tx during FPV anyway :-)
Hi there! Is it possible to operate the IA6B receiver with a 2s Lipo pack? Im kinda struggling with finding a suitable Battery, because the voltage limits printed on the case (4V-6.5V) seem too high for 1S LiPo (like, 3.2V-4.2V) or too low for a 2S-Pack (6.4V-8.4V). Thanks in advance!
No, it's made for 6v max. What problem are you trying to solve exactly? I have tested these radios and got 13 hours from a set of 1500mAh rechargeable NiMH batteries. They are much more convenient than a lipo because you don't need to worry about returning them to storage charge if you won't be using the radio for a while, also very easy to keep a set of normal dry cells in the car or whatever in case you need them. If you are simply following the trend of changing to a lipo, I would suggest not to bother. Just get some rechargeable AAs and a wall-socket charger.
I cut the traces and now the bind port middle pin has continuity with the ground pin. Surely this can't be right, right?
That's definitely not right...
Can you bind with these modifications?
Hey Chris I'm about to do this mod, can you tell me how you removed the black plastic on the headers? bent my screwdriver trying to lever it off
I used a screwdriver, start from the ends and take turns prying each end a tiny bit, go real slow
Thanks for that! just did it, works great! this is an amazing controller/RX combo for the price! any video for lipo conversion? also any other things we can add to telemetry?
Hi Matewouldn't you be better off buying on of these Turnigy TGY-CVT01 Voltage Sensors and be don with. Rather then the cutting and soldering? Just my thoughts. If there's a reason why you chose not to buy voltage sensor please do let me know. By the way I enjoy all your videos which I find very informative. Well Done.
Thats adding an extra 11g but
Actually these days that's what I do. This mod is not as convenient as just paying $4 and using the FS-CVT01 sensor module for ibus.
hello, thanks for the video, I think I have burn the resistor during soldering and I would like to change it, any idea for its resisting value ?
ME TOO, HELP
Just desolder it carefully and measure it with a Multimeter. Search on RUclips how to desolder SMD resistors
this work on 5s ?
Great video, i've been wanting to do this for a while but couldn't find the right instructions. I usually depin and decase my ia6b receivers, so I can just cut the traces on the resistor and run a wire directly yeah? no need to worry about that pin. And yes with the modded firmware you get quite a different Rx Battery menu
Yes, that would be right.
how bout 5s?
very interesting job. Thank you!
It worked, but I cutted only between the resistence and then I pulled out the cable for the battery sensing. It's strange the fact that the voltage meter and power supply are together.
Just built my first quad so very new to this and had a couple of questions. How do you connect the battery to the receiver and what influence does the 'high' value on the transmitter have?
Usually the receiver and the flight controller both run at 5v, so you would connect the receiver to the flight controller. The flight controller will need a 5v power source, usually this is done with a BEC. Most power distribution boards often have a 5v BEC on them.
***** sorry probably wasn't clear enough. What I meant was how do I connect the battery directly to the pin that you separated from the rest, so that the receiver can detect the battery voltage. I might be really confused hear and this may not make any sense to you, in which case don't worry! thanks.
You'll have to make up some kind of connection yourself I think. I usually cut a little of the silicon shielding off the wire coming from the battery and solder into there.
ok, thanks!
Hello collegue. I was wondering if there is a possibility to use my receiver as battery monitor in my apm aswell? Or is there only alarm on transmitter? Hope you reply me soon. Good luck mate
I don't know anything about APM. I think they have forums though, you could try asking there.
I mean, the thing i was asking for, is there a possibility to monitor the voltage staight from receiver instead of ppm board?
"voltage straight from receiver"? This will always be 5v won't it? I don't understand what "ppm board" is...
diydrones.com/forum/topics/apm-2-5-voltage-sensing
is it not possible to use the balance plug of your battery and put it in the receiver??
did you do the tx firmware? its a whole new world when you do that, the fs-i6 becomes a 10 ch full feature unit that competes with much more expensive units! im running a version that also gives me rssi and a load of other telemetry on my tx display plus you can set 3 separate alarms for say low rssi or any other telem function you want .
ruclips.net/video/eaj0M218HSM/видео.html
iforce2d ahhhh, yep lol.
I've tried so many different versions, some have been unstable and a huge number have collective pitch broken in the variable pitch Heli menu eventually I found a version that was fully featured, stable and allowed me to use that menu, it's fine if your flying a flybarred Heli, use the 120 swash and the mixing is all done in the tx but if you want to run a flybarless controller your stuffed without the independent channel output of the other menu as the FBS controller cannot use an already mixed input!
But this is all part of out hobby, working out problems and modding stuff gives satisfaction when you succeed.
I am a newbie to the hobby BUT what if you powered the RX from just one cell via the battery balance plug?
Sounds a bit risky. Usually the innards of the receiver run at 3.3v and it will have a step-down regulator to change the 5v input to 3.3v. Step-down regulators usually 'drop' about 1 volt internally, so to provide 3.3v it would require 4.3v input. Often a 3.3v device can still run at about 3v, so a 4v input might be enough. A fully charged lipo would be 4.2v, but then as it discharges while flying....
Then I thought what about people with a 1S model they will be seeing what I think I can replicate. Set the warnings at 3.2,3.5,4.2 I know it says 4v-8.4v but the 1cell would only be 0.8 below that at worst. I am building a GPS bird so I could try this and the worst that would happen is it would return to home.
No, the 1 cell will discharge down to about 3.5v or whatever you let it while flying. It will only be above 4v for a very short time. Pretty much as soon as you throttle up the voltage will go below 4v.
I carried out an experiment today and it seemed to work!
I took the props off my Bugs3 and plugged the RX into the bugs battery balance plug. I ran it for half an hour and then got bored. Because there was no load it was taking forever. I measured the end voltage as 3.78 per cell. I had hoped that both transmitters would go into low battery mode together.
My next experiment will be to fasten the RX underneath my Bugs and take it out for an actual flight using the two transmitters. I did try to load the motors by putting my sleeve over my hand and trying to grasp them but it got too hot.
But the experiment wasn't a bust and it will only take me 10 minutes in the field to see what happens.
I'm an old retired engineer and seeing this problem for the first time,it just seemed natural to try.
Will let you know how I get on either way but it won't be tomorrow my wife is putting a new roof on my garage. ;)
If you are going to keep up this kind of nerdy pursuit you could probably use a little variable voltage 'bench power supply', that way you could just dial down the voltage to pretty quickly see where it starts to brown out :)
ruclips.net/video/W5gjrq_9t_s/видео.html
Can you also do a video on using IBUS on Clean/Betaflight? I want to do it but there aren't clear instructions/videos that I can follow... This radio has all the functions of really expensive radios!
I'm not sure if that's worth a video... I was actually intending to, but when I looked at how it's done, it's all over in less than a minute or so. In the cleanflight configurator (ports tab) enable Serial RX for port 2. In the configuration tab under Receiver mode select RX_SERIAL and in Serial Receiver Provider choose IBUS. Connect the ibus signal pin of your receiver to RC input pin 4.
More details (but admittedly incomplete) here: github.com/cleanflight/cleanflight/blob/master/docs/Rx.md
i use iBus for the ia6b - i need too because i am stuck with the NovaX firmware since i messed up my input order before flashing. the iBus is simple, its just a Serial Transmit at 115200 baud. you need to connect it to the Spectrum Sattelite input pin and enable it in the firmware.
i have even written a Arduino Leonardo to read it and emulate a joystick at my computer. FPVFreerider friendly! :)
great vid man!
one question
is there a way to hack the beeper to ring when signal loss rises?
Not that I know of. But there is more work going on with the tx firmware, it might be possible in the future.
that would be ideal!
40 bucks and you have everything!
why all the work to get that wire onto that pin when you could leave that pin alone and just cut the other traces and have the wire just come out on its own. it seems safer that way you would never accidentally plug it into one of those 5v pins.
Hello!! In Timbutus hack, it seemed that he eliminated the power to the #1 channel and had to re-route a supply for it. It looks as though you only took the power from the bind plug. Is this correct? So does this end the need to wire anything else?
I'm not "taking power" from the bind plug row, I'm using that pin to input the main battery voltage. So it needs to be disconnected from the rest of that rail because the other pins will be around 5V and the main battery will be much more.
Oh yes,... Sorry. I meant eliminating power from the #1 row. So it is a little different from Timbutus approach. Correct? You are eliminating the 5v supply to the bind row instead of the #1 row? Looks like your blue wire connects the mid bind pin to the resister on the other side. Correct?
I have the i10 reciever with the telemetry module, but the voltage reading fluctuates so much that it immediatly sets off the alarm when I throttle up.
Yes, the 5V pins for channels 1-6 remain unchanged. No idea what a timbutus is sorry.
Gotcha! OOPS Tributu (the guy whos video that you referenced in your video) Thank you so much!! Im getting ready to do this tonight. Have you seen your voltage fluctuate enough to set off your alarm?
the 10 channel upgrade changes all the battery stuff, so u won't have to run that resistor for 4s
My Mobula7 FlySky version has some sort of telemetry that I can’t seem to figure out. Some stick inputs work and I get the beep that it does when it is Input proper, some don’t work at all. Now what I did find out, is that currently I have my RX battery displayed on my screen as yours is. I have the i6X version TX. If I do the save input on the sticks, so throttle Low; Yaw Low; Pitch Low; Roll Low. I will get a beep as if it were to save my current trims and calibrations. If I hold it tho for like a fraction of a second it actually removes the RC battery display on my TX. Does anyone know if the FlySky telemetry inputs are different than say Frsky?
can we put long range system on this transmitter? if yes please show me one link
i already cut the trace, but seems i dont have any respon voltage reading from the rx.. should it be connected well?
what i have done is, i cut the trace, connect my esc to the rx(which got the bec) then connect the +ve wire on ch1 to the first cell port. but then still no signal
am i doin it wrong?
or, can i do this just to see either im doing it right.
1.i cut the trace
2.i connect my esc (bec) to power the rx
3.i connect the +ve pin on ch1 to first cell on battery
will i get the data?
i do it at fsia6 rx btw
I don't know how it's done for the ia6, but if you take a look at the link in the description (if I had a dime for every time I've said that....) you will find that the original thread on rcgroups is all about doing this mod on the ia6.
so how I understand,, this transmitter has low voltage alarm, when your battery drops on critical level, i am newbie and i am building mine first quad, so that knowledge would be important for me
or just buy a flysky voltage telemetry sensor for £4 and plug it into reciever
If you dont have the space for it, this is better. Also this resiver is very big.
Easier said than done on soldering!
Hello mate...I do believe if you do the 10channel mod ver 1-1 thru 1-5, that should take care of the telemetry displaying without cutting anything for the battery alarm to work.... it seems to be working for me.
The battery alarm I want is for the main flight battery. How can I connect that (16.8V) directly into the receiver?
after i did this modification, my Tx/Rx range only 1km maximum....
did you feel this mod reduce the TX / RX range...?
What was the range before ?
Before the mod , i never fly more than 700 m ... (i worried about my batt capacity) ...
But after mod , i try to fly as far as possible . And get High Error Rate ( 70-100 % ) at 1,100 meters .. more than that .. the signal indicator is blank ...
i see some FS - i6 review ... there can more than 2 km .. but it is impossible for me ...
The 2km would be the absolute most, if you had a perfect set up with your receiver and were in an environment with no interference on 2.4Ghz. There are various videos online showing how to position your antennas to get more range, your best option is to watch some of them
Excellent 👍🏻 Cheers
just revisited this vid to get the beeper going again... i smashed my voltage alarm beeper, so i'll need to use this attery warning even though its too quiet .... where would we be without these vids?..... on the ground... ps i also did the 10channel mod... works beautifully. i'm amazed i managed the solder job....
What does the battery-powered power supply called ?
ruclips.net/video/W5gjrq_9t_s/видео.html
good work mate :) I'll share this video to my friends.. a lot if them have the i6 as well... oh and do you know what the errors means on this tx? I get them with most of my quads! like 1% up to 15%
I think it's like a reverse RSSI indicator, just tells you what percentage of packets that were sent did not make it to the receiver and back.
can we connect battery and bec both to receiver?
it seems like the receiver is being powered by a bec, but the value being fed to the sensor is coming directly from the battery
is it same step for FSIA10B receiver
There is a beta firmware that support 4s battery and it also give you 10channels in ppm
I think you mean 10 channels in ibus right?
ruclips.net/video/eaj0M218HSM/видео.html
iforce2d you also get it in ppm but not pwm ofcourse, i set my up yesterday in ppm on a sp f3 board and it went really nice, in betaflight its great to have more then 6ch as i use channels to start/stop blackbox and on/off airmode on top of the normal mode switch and arming switch
Tomorrow i will try to set up the battery monitoring telemetry, thanks for this video on how to do it 👍
Maybe we are using a different firmware mod. If you look at the video I linked to (at about 26:26), you can see on the scope that ppm still has only 6 channels.
I've done everything as it mentioned in this video, but unfortunately, I've accidentally rip the right resistor :(. Does anybody know what was the resistance of that resistor? Thanks.
bay a lipo volt meter split in a Y ( man women ).. rap it in your drone. en suc6 !
@Castle of Glass oh...it was long time ago. I'm not sure...please, try here www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2402288-FlySky-Turnigy-iA6-%28and-iA6B%29-voltage-telemetry-mod
Mine quit when I did a factor reset with the firmware update (cause I messed with the RX battery in the TX flysky.) and I'm using a FS-iA6B receiver... Don't mess with the RX battery settings!
after all of it ,how did you connect yellow cable to lipo battery? through PDB?
Yes
Anyway you can take a screenshot of the connection to the PDB?
Connect it to any + point on the PDB.
Thanks a lot for your quick reply. Still new and curious if that will work fine for a 4s build? I saw on the forum that most talked about using a resistor wired directly to the battery?
Subbed and recommended to friends. Awesome channel.
Yes, I used it for 4S. These days I just use a ready-made voltage sensor though, this mod was a real hassle and I don't think I will be doing it again. Sensor is about $4 goo.gl/PoFKM8
look at you already on BLhelli_s
I know I nag you all the time but please let me know are you interested in coming on the podcast "let's drone out? I'd love to have you on!
I'm not very good at that kind of thing I'm afraid
Actually these ESCs are not BLhelli_s (I had to look up what that meant heheh) they are XM30A
but they have the BLHelo Software on them :)
sounds like you need to look it up too :)
Notice the _s on the end
*****
Oh wow, i think i have not been right correcting you in the last month even once :D
I think i should stop trying and accept the fact that you know way more about quads than i do :)
?can i use 3S 11.1v battery direct with FS-iA6B receiver
No. Read the label on the ia6b. It says 4.0 - 6.5v.
Does this mod need done with version 2 rx? Ia6b
I didn't know there was a version 2
Is it possible to send data from an Arduino via i-bus?
Should be, looks like somebody has figured out the protocol:
forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=548520.0
iforce2d Thank you! It is not common to get an answer from a youtuber with that much subs.
What's the point of monitoring regulated voltage?
Read the video description.................
ok thanks :)
Can you do this with a8 receiver the micro one
No
How did you cut with what kind of tool
a very sharp knife. craft knife, or box-cutter most people seem to call them
Thanks
OT, I know, but I'm really surprised at your accent turning rhotic at times... like when you say "here"
for your alarm setting
How do I do this with out cutting anything?
You don't. Why would I bother cutting anything if I didn't need to?
what max volt can do?
I tried it up to 4S ok.
Now I have a headache ! LOL
nice video but 2018, vbats, OSD and active buzzers, 1 minute fix and you good to go
update your transmitter and then you can go a lot higher on the High settings.
That all isn't needed. Just isolate the pin of channel 1 from the 5v rail and that's it
how to modify a ia10b receiver for voltage telemetry??
what is better radiolink at9 or flysky i6?
thanks
The flysky is the only one of those I have used, I woudn't know.
That right angle PCB for the pins needs to be completely removed.
.... in order to do what?
+iforce2d To make it cleaner/lighter...using Ibus most of those pins will do nothing...just solder direct.
+iforce2d I kind of find it fugly...
+ лайк
Hell no
There's a voltage sensor you can get for about $3 (hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__76687__Turnigy_TGY_CVT01_Voltage_Sensor_EU_Warehouse_.html) I use one with my equivelent Turnigy radio and reciever and I monitor my 8S setup.
Yes, for a bigger quad I might do that. For a little one though there is enough crammed in there already.
For better low voltage alarm install this firmware on your TX: github.com/benb0jangles/FlySky-i6-Mod-/tree/master/10ch%20Mod%20i6%20Updater/10ch_MOD_i6_Programmer_V1_5
yes, as I mentioned in the video, I will try that
+ It also delays the annoying beeping when you dont move any controlls so instead of beeping after a minute, it beeps after 10 minutes i think.
And i have a question: Is the isolation of that pin needed? Or can i just connect stuff to the little wire and leave the pin as it is without cutting it ?
Yeah the modded firmware would be worth it just to shut up that beeping :)
If you were to extend that little wire to come right out of the case then no, you wouldn't need to do anything with the 5V pin trace. It's just that it's very convenient to be able to plug something into one of the existing pins. Gotta be real careful I get the right one now though :)
Last question: I use a hi-volt lipo, do you think the RX will be able to handle 17,4V at input? I only have one RX and i dont want to risk it until i know it wouldnt fry it :)
I don't know, and don't have a good reason to try since I don't have any of those myself - give it a shot :)
Hello ! Great vid. I conect oposite voltage baterry to my fs ia6 receiver AND saw smoke... any ideas for the repair
Is it possible to send coordinates to the flysky fs-i6?
nope
function for 4s battery ???