Init failed, retrying...

Hi,

I wonder what is the reason for this message on vbar log.

I had a crash today because the collective and cyclic stopped responding during flight. I have many entries like this in a row on the log.

Also, what does "elevator/aileron sensor value out of range" mean, please? It also appears on the log.

Hi,

Init failed, retrying means something was interfering with the NEO learning the center positions of the sensors and/or stick positions, at power on.
The NEO is re-iterating until all parameters meet the requirements, worst case, infinitely (init never happens).

If you miss that and fly in that condition, init still in progress, no confirmation on the radio screen, no pitch-twitch, anything can happen.

In case of something not working properly, like swash plate drift or Rescue not working properly, such entries in the same log can be evidence for an init gone wrong, because technically/statistically, it's possible that the init goes through just at the time where, coincidentally, all requirements are met.
Very rare, but possible.
Remedy, switch off, make sure the model is sitting still and no one's handling the radio, switch on again, make sure the init happens within the usual 3-5 seconds.

Sensors out of range mean just that: the sensors have reached the limit of their measuring range. This is usually evidence for a shock impact, like the actual crash. But depending on what you find on the model, it could also be evidence for a NEO come loose in flight (if the entries are there way before the impact), or for a case coming apart, electronics coming lose, or for extremely high vibration.
You can also trigger this entry if you move the NEO briskly in your hand, not mounted to a model.

As always, I'd be curious to see the whole log, because often enough, it tells the whole story, or at least can be interpreted that way.
Interpreting single entries, without knowing when and in what context they appeared, is only like poking around in the fog.

Kind regards

Eddi

Born to fly ...
forced to work.

hi,
this is the log file.
thanks.

hi,
this log belongs to another unit.
it also has caused me a crash with no apparent reason.
could you please check it out and tell me if there is something abnormal with this 2nd unit?
thanks.

Hi again,

OK, in the segments where there were flights, there's nothing special.
A single retry is not bad, it's there for a reason, and if the next attempt succeeds, all is well.

Seems like the unit initialized properly even in the segments with the sensors out of range (marking the impact or aftermath, pg. 4/5) and tests on the bench maybe (pg. 12).

Question would be, what else do you maybe find, when inspecting the remains of the crashed model?
Anything particular?

Since there is no evidence of packet losses/holds/fail safes, for the NEO, everything was OK at all times.
Did the motor stop at the time you lost control?
What's interesting is, there are no motor switch entries the log but motor off, at the beginning.
Are you using VBar Control? Or maybe a different radio/receiver?

Kind regards

Eddi

Born to fly ...
forced to work.

hi,
I use VControl.
what I experienced during flight was a complete loss of signal just after a flip.
the heli wouldn't respond to any collective or cyclic input.
no, motor didn't stop. it kept running all the time.

by the way, I have had another crash with similar conditions. complete loss of control. I just do not know if I was running the same Neo.

so, summing up, you see no reason for retiring these Vbar Neos, correct?

Hi,

well, this unit's from 2015 and (pardon my french ...) has maybe seen some sh*t during it's service life, so if in doubt, it's maybe better to retire it, or keep it for bench testing or 'expendables' like foamies or such.

What still strikes me as odd, in the log, you should see the usual entries for each segment, which contains a flight.

Like
. Power on
. Bank Loaded
. Motor Off
. Calibration finished
. Motor On
...
. Motor Off

Only if you were not using the Motor Switch and Bank Switch, to control the motor, the entries would be missing.
Like, if you were using a 3rd party radio, and bypassing throttle through AUX3.

But in the log above, this does not compute. Maybe the entries there are from a lot of testing on the ground, and the actual entries have been overwritten.
In this case, the logs from VBar Control could help.

Kind regards

Eddi

Born to fly ...
forced to work.