Quick Tip: Diagnosing Motor Vibrations

Another Quick Tip, for today I am going to show you how to find that pesky motor that is causing all your oscilations. I hope you guys find this helpful. I'll be back tomorrow hopefully with some fun flying. See you then.
Frame Xhover MXP200B 4mm xhover.com/collections/frames/...
Xhover 2206 2360kv xhover.com/collections/motors/...
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[@DroneShotFPV]

I truly never thought about looking at the gap between the base and the bell, that actually makes my life easier than my current method. Good lookin out, Stingy!

[@JoseSierradeLeste]

Not gonna lie, man, your videos are probably the most useful videos out of the myriad vloggers that have popped up recently. I genuinely look forward to watching them. Thanks for taking the time to make them, I know it's not a "quick" process, and I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I appreciate it.

[@ThePbstar224]

Awesome video, I like the quick tip videos. Oscillation and prop wash is something we all deal with, and not everyone would think to go through and check all the motors like that.

[@thanatos3511]

so helpful! Over the past month or two your videos have become my favorite. your flying is incredible and your instruction is soooo helpful. thanks for taking all the time.

[@csz8220]

This is great! Along side with the propwash- and RR-loop video where you also take time to explain things - works really well. Happy new year to all!

[@jarrodbath2375]

Hey stingy In that page over on the right you can see the X Y & Z axis. You can hit the reset and spin each motor and the accelerometer will tell you exactly how much vibration in g's that particular motor has , then hit reset again to clear it and check the next motor. I love your flying style bro.

[@awalfpv9440]

Nice vid. Keep up the great work. The community appreciates all you do. Way to go on the subs! Climbing pretty quick!

[@muricafpv5692]

Stingy! Your the MAN! Perfect timing literally was dealing with this today after a damn light pool jumped in the way! I did what you did with checking the vibration from each motor! Defiantly off balance changing it out now! Keep up the hard work man, love watching you and the RR guys! I really wouldn't be flying today if I never came across y'all, thanks for the inspiration!

[@BRadFPV0227]

I live in Chattanooga! First day off was looking forward to stick time. That's a negative. Windy as crap as well here! Good vid thanks for the tip! Keep it up!

[@AtticusG3]

helpful video Kev. good to see you don't get overcomplicated with it. kinda of like, if it feels bad, it is bad.

[@matthewtinsley3688]

Hey, thank you for this video. I had 4 xhover motors that have been put through about a year of abuse. So I replaced them but kept them off to the side for just in case. Well after your rain proof quad episode I decided that I was going to build one and use the old motors for it. So after it was built I took it out for a maiden and it was flying horrible and couldn't figure out why. Well, I had a bent bell so I could never get it tuned even close well I have an old emax on it right now and it'll work till I get a replacement. Thank you for the video on how to diagnose the problem and because of you I have a rain proof quad that flys well enough to have some fun no matter the weather.

[@skillydan]

Just wanted to say I've really enjoyed this series. Some great videos, Kevin. I'm going to miss the daily updates!

[@donaldheon]

Also you can turn on the accelerometer while placing the quad on a rag or towel. while spinning the motors using the up and down arrows key for the smoothest ascent look in the upper right on the motors tab at the x, y, and z axis to find out the largest vibration for the motor you are spinning. A little tip courtesy of Joshua Barwell. Great explanation love the daily videos.

[@michaelallensteele]

This is gold! Thanks for tips I never heard of.

[@nickelindgren]

Love your Quick tip videos! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@HodgkinTattoo]

Great videos man, keen to see more of you're daily life too!!

[@young_laredofpv8717]

You must be some kind of clairvoyant or some such...I've been fighting with this for a week trying to figure out where a particular mid to low throttle buzz is coming from. I've tried new props, I've put 2 new motors on because "this will fix it for sure!", I've tried lowering D because somebody on a forum said that helped. I've even prayed to Ganapati, the Hindu remover of obstacles and Torngasuk, the Inuit sky god. Still the very noticeable motor buzz around mid throttle (hovering). Your video came at just the right time. I was moments away from sacrificing a goat to the Mayan Serpent of War. The things in your video are actually really simple and in hindsight seem like common sense. I actually feel kinda dumb that I didn't try this first. But thanks anyway, Stingy! I'm gonna miss your daily videos!

[@kennethchadroc973]

thanks for making these rad vids new to the rc world so I'm finding these vids very helpful !!! keep up the great content

[@MrHauf85]

liking the tips, dont have many friends that's into quads, so all i learn is from youtube and forums;) keep up the good work.

[@3000gtwelder]

Good trick. I use the graph in the GUI sometimes to check for vibrations.

[@sadistix82]

Thanks! very informative, and your video making skills are improving for sure.

[@ScrewMuggz]

Thanks for the tips Stingy, good stuff to know.

[@SickocrowAU]

In my limited experience I've noticed that certain frames can resonate as well. Making some vibrations worse. I had a dead cat frame that I could not get the vibration out of. Put all the gear into another frame and it was 90% vibration free.

[@MIKEMIKEwolf]

I seem to having this same issue. I'll try this method thanks!

[@ardeneques]

Great video thanks StingersSwarm! Could you maybe do a video on your Betaflight setup please?

[@krishnakumarmalu9400]

I love you quick tip videos! nice job... A great way to diagnose the vibrations is to download the iseismometer app on your phone and watch the vibration levels precisely for individual motors on all axis... The app uses the gyroscopes in your phone

[@stingersswarm]

+Krishnakumar Malu Not a bad idea but a bit of overkill. If it is bad enough to cause oscillations it will be pretty obvious just by feeling it. This motor was just barely causing issues and then just about made my hand numb from vibrations lol.

[@dennislee8253]

That was great, Thank You! As a follow up to this is there a way to determine a bad ESC?

[@F5Tornado44]

Another good way to check which motor it is is to put the quad flat on a hard surface (table or desk). Open up the battery strap if you have to, so the quad will sit on the motor screws. Connect to betaflight (or the configurator of your choice) and spin up each motor. You'll clearly see which one is out of balance. The quad will try to vibrate off the table. If you suspect a motor to be out of balance, make sure you test it without the prop nut also. I have noticed many prop nuts from Emax RS2205-2300 motors are out of round or unbalanced.

[@trcpath]

You said METAR and TAF, you're such a pilot geek. Everyone else is like "what???" Except maybe Josh.

[@PeterKornum]

Another GREAT video!

[@QuadView]

Perfect tests!!! Thanks.

[@morvdrey9828]

Stingy, I love your vlogs and your helpful tips. Your Vlogs really improved my flying, so thanks for that. I can't wait to see what’s next.. Don't worry about the nerdy thing. I think all FPV pilots relate to that. I am an Army officer, long working days, but every chance i get after work, I drive to a spot to rip a pack or two before going home. My wife knows my 'Need for FPV' (LOL). Question: I am running the 18A Kiss ESC at the moment, just because it is more affordable than the 24A or 30A. But what is the benefit of a higher amp? Because I can imagine that he KV of a motor will stay the same, regardless of the esc amperage. Maybe you can elaborate about this.

[@tonydrony2670]

Great vid stinger love tips like that cheers

[@alonpesso8240]

hi stingy the video is very helpful love it can u make a vido on PID and .Your philosophy for calibration drone thanx for the video they are helping so much

[@hacktillwedie]

Nicely done

[@joe0932]

Nice video thanks! I wonder if the filters on Betaflight could be tuned using the blackbox spectral analysis thing to make the motor noise low enough that you wouldn't have to swap out the motor? Just a thought :)

[@ianrice1778]

Hey stingy thank you for this video. I need your help!!! I just got new motors for my Arris c250v2. They are the aokfly 2500kv motors and I'm having very bad vibrations when I go full throttle. Now I had to also change these other motors that are called Garrt and the magnets were going closer and further apart from the magnets as I spin the motors so I got these motors that good reviews. Now I had 2300kv motors and then went to 2500kv. Is this a tune issue you think? She flies fine but when I hit full throttle she wobbles and vibrates like crazy. I hope you can help. Thank you.

[@luckyslider1051]

lov your vid grate information.quick question I have no flight experience would flight simulator be a good place start & what one should I try any help would be appreciated

[@rolandcabana5170]

Thanks for the tip! Having some crazy oscillations after a hard crash even after replacing all 4 motors. Thinking now it's an ESC (Kiss24A) waiting on replacements but it's hard to feel the vibrations without a prop on. I only notice oscillations mid to high throttle. I checked the FC mounts and all other hardware. everything looks ok. Any ideas how to diagnose a damaged ESC?

[@thebridgeninja]

I've heard people saying they'd replace the bell, but what does that entail? Is it cost effective? And when you put a new motor in, can you tell it's newer than the others when you fly? Like when you have 3 old tires and 1 new one, you can feel it when you drive. Thanks dude

[@jamesmanderson5311]

great bro great tip how to check your motors

[@zacharybrasseaux4264]

great tip man

[@BumpierDrake960]

Kevin,Where are you getting your source power from for your VTX? DoDo?Also then are you getting FPV cam power from the VTX 5v out?Thanks.

[@punkrocker1984]

its hard to tell from the video/audio only, but I was surprised that you would change a motor like that. I feel like I fly with much worse motors and get away with vibration on the HD camera using foam pads, keeping it going till the fc is overwhelmed by the vibes. would you say that you change 1 motor each 3 to 5 sections? 10 to 20? how often roughly? cheers, have a nice holiday!

[@Ie0n1]

Stingy what do you think about sturdy props destroying motors? My friend destroys about a prop every second pack and the HQProp durables (3" though) lasted me 30 packs so far. I already have slight motor vibrations. Should I fly Dalprops/HQ Durables and often replace motors or use normal props and spend more on those?

[@jaxwyld]

So now that some time has gone by and you're done with the swap out. Did it actually fix the oscillation problem?

[@EricKonasty]

Great tips! Can you make a video on those bad things that happen??

[@ThatFlyinRyan]

Konasty lmao a complication I know I learned my lesson like I'm scared to plug in the batt while on the computer just take the time to take the props off not worth it it fucked me up good from shin all the way up to the shoulder

[@TheMadmacs]

good tip, i can't believe that left rear is ok though... plus what about the crash that smashed the gopro protector? that was a sickening thud.

[@_visuallycaptured1628]

Good video stingy !

[@FPVish]

what about in the gui when you have the usb plugged in and on the same motors tab, when spinning up the motors by hand, i usually get a displayed graph representation to each spin, some are worse than others. what do those mean? could you check a motor that way?

[@d44n86]

hi stingersswarm! how do you flash your flightcontrollers with betaflight on your mac?

[@henryhagemann9820]

Nice video I can't wait til my quad comes in the mail I'll tell you how it goes stingey when it comes

[@246rs246]

I have question. Which plate break more often, top or bottom? Or 1.5 mm for top plate is enough and 3mm on bottom? on 5inch quad.

[@johnmyers2941]

How can I get betaflight and can it be used with any drone? Thank you and Happy New Year!

[@noelmason2305]

Nice tip stingy 👍🏼

[@Bjarkediedrage]

Hey man, thanks the tip! I debugged my BNF as you instructed, and one of my motors was nosier than others after a crash and the drone flipped out when i pushed the throttle. I replaced the motor, but it's nosier than the others, and I can feel slight vibrations from it too. It's also drawing more amps to get the the same amount of spin as the other motors. Could this just be caused by bad soldering on my part? (I did a really shit job of it^^ (first time!))

[@ShaneMatthews27]

dang you're picky about those motors! If my motor still rotates I'm flying it! I've had some held together with jbweld lol

[@ofiasdfnosdf]

In your experience, what's the life expectancy of the typical motor? Does lubricating have any noticeable benefit?

[@stehodge9049]

So it looks like you use active breaking on your ESC's. Is this for any particular reason, or is it just the GUI making it look like active breaking???

[@slothFPV]

In the motor tab you can reset the accelerometers and measure tje motor vibration in the gui, more accurate. I think in general if the vibration is less tjan a tenth of a g then its all good

[@stingersswarm]

+bo holland nice tip.

[@slothFPV]

StingersSwarm credit joshua bardwell

[@ThePromptWizard2023]

Yes I was about to say that, great tip there from J. Bardwell. I use the accel. to do this test, works great.

[@stevejhkhfda]

yup this is good bardwell tip...very good to diagnose with accelerometer...actually with filtering you can fly with up to a full 1.0 or even I have a 2.0 on my setup...but I will change anyway because it is not ideal...expect 0.01-0.03 for new motors...

[@stevejhkhfda]

I forgot to mention - these help me fly a quad with noisier motors... bmc3d.myshopify.com/products/motor-vibration-isolation-pads?variant=33302329103

[@theibault]

Nice tip Stingy!

[@noladroneworxllc3115]

good tip.

[@multikillgaming2639]

Stingy loving the dailies man, I know it's coming to an end but good stuff. I have a question for ya. With you all (Atlanta Crew) flying so many concrete spots, and smashing motors regularly I imagine, why not use 3D printed motor guards? Wouldn't the extra few grams be worth knowing your motors are more protected? I'm pretty new, and not sponsored lol, so protecting my gear is important to me. Love to hear your thoughts.

[@stingersswarm]

+MultiKillGaming It is a great idea in practice but in reality it does very little. The 3D printed parts break much easier than the motors which rarely get significant damage. Plus if an impact is bad enough to actually damage the motor it probably won't matter that there was a piece of plastic between the concrete and the motor. This one the impact was on the prop nut so no protection would've been able to do any good here either. Everyone I've taken to concrete spots with those protectors has left with shredded 3D parts.

[@multikillgaming2639]

StingersSwarm Good to know. Maybe a rubbery TPU print would hold up to crashes better and still give some impact absorption from straight hits to the bell. Or maybe I should just rip and take the hits as lessons learned lol. Thanks man

[@stevejhkhfda]

yes I have been thinking about TPU guards...after noticing my motors all have bad vibes...Im sure it must help? Also vibration dampeners...I mount all mine with them now...helps a lot...

[@Jgawalters72]

Another good tip whenever my quad gets here.

[@OmniFPV]

"Whatever, I'm a nerd" I think most of us in your audience can relate 😜. Loving the vids man!!

[@CrocoFabs]

I've a question about dirty motors, sometimes i crash into grass and mud. After crash my quad, particulary my motors are very dirty (and they make tons of vibrations ^^). How do you do to clean your quad? What is for you the best technic? As usual it's a good video =)

[@Mcdonaldt001]

CrocoFabs Air duster works for me most of the time.

[@dario_hxc]

I'm getting the AVAIL and Tim Barry vibes!

[@Ozem_Israel]

infamous words "I know what I am doing, I am Charpu"

[@mtlracing1567]

oh yes

[@MarcChep]

Could it have been the crash where you smashed your GoPro into that overhead walkway?

[@alexadabic]

hi, i am still a noob in RC quad world, what is a belt on motor?

[@guus10]

Alexa assuming you mean bell then it is the top part of the motor that moves. The bottom part is called the base

[@alexadabic]

so you can insted of buying the new motor, just buy new bell and solve the problem, or as stingy said in some cases you need to buy a new motor.

[@stingersswarm]

I could have just replaced the bell here but not everyone sells just the bells. I didn't have any spare bells at the moment so I just put on a new motor.

[@25trajcer]

man when i need to swap anything that means one week waiting for delivery and minimum 30€. it hurts

[@mikepeterson4051]

I guess I'm a nerd too haha I always call the nearest ATIS haha 👍

[@deeeeeds]

I'd love to see a video of you trying to repair a motor, rather than replacing it. I can't be replacing $20 motors every time I have a majour crash. :(

[@sckulpa465]

he needs to place the quad flat on the table WITHOUT TOUCHING IT to get a good reading. If he holds it, the acceleromiter cant read the vibrations because they are being absorbed into his hand

[@dingalsbe88]

great "pro tips".

[@JacobBlocker]

I'm putting this out here just for people to have a laugh. So today I got the dodo flight controller I soldered everything together and plug in the battery. I saw the magic smoke so I unplugged it and looked around untill I saw it. I put the negative to the positive and positive to negative. I just looked at it like wow I just did that.

[@MrJgois]

Verry nice tip. about remove props before, yes it's true, yesterday I cut my finger because I'm dumdum 😀

[@jesterwaterwizard2917]

No it's the bell end mate on the motor bell

[@CharlieFaulk]

Change that arm to. Looks like it would cut you just looking at it :)

[@stingersswarm]

+Charlie Faulk No way!! I've got to get my carbon supplement. If not splinters where would I get it?

[@floatypiet]

What, ever I'm a nerd :D

[@g-nice4928]

lol holy chewed up arms

[@lukeburwell903]

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