Dromida Kodo will not take off

[B-Scene Films]

Was flying my Kodo yesterday in the back yard doing my usual practice. That practice always includes a few crashes as I push my abilities. After one, not overly violent crash, the Kodo would no longer take off. The motors spin, just not enough...

I examined each prop and they all move quite freely and the airframe in general seems fine physically. I tried multiple batteries that I had charged at the ready but no dice. The motors spin up but not enough to really take off. It just gets off the ground slightly. Nothing more... I tried the same batteries in my other Kodo and they work fine.

Any idea what might be the issue here?

TIA!

 

[B-Scene Films]

Well, further investigation reveals that replacing the moderately beat up props has restored it's ability to fly. Now, if one prop was bad I could see the drone not being able to fly and wanting to roll and pitch towards the corner with the bad prop. But not still able to just get off the ground and still be able to hover... Anyway, issue solved but mystery remains...

 

[Old Man]

The Dromida stuff isn't really high performance in any way. Fun and pretty durable, but not high end. They work, work pretty darn well for the price point, but in general more or less built on a minimalist approach. That would also likely include the props where thrust and efficiency is concerned. They aren't much more than a sheet of formed plastic.

 

[B-Scene Films]

Well, I spoke too soon... It worked for about an hour with the new props then went back to it's inability to really take off. Before it started doing that, it was acting slightly erratic.

Anyone have any thoughts on what I can look for here?

 

[Bartman]

the Kodo is a nice little RTF heli and the camera is a fun feature. like a lot of the smaller RTF quads it isn't the most durable of fliers although the Ominus is very durable. I suspect the motor shafts got jammed a few times too many and the motors are now tight. i'd probably grip the motor shafts with a pliers or something similar and give them each a little tug, not enough to dislodge them but enough to maybe un-jam them. you said everything spins freely but even a little binding can spoil performance.

IMHO, naturally since I'm not there!

 

[Old Man]

I've experienced similar with a Dromida. It may well be the motors need replaced or there are some damaged gears in the drives. Easy to correct.

Some of the smaller toy quads have press on props, and if pressed on too hard, bind on top of the frame/ motors.

 

[B-Scene Films]

Thanks, Gents. I will give the motor armatures a tug and see what I get. I have blasted out the motors with compressed air and ensured that the props are not binding. This quad is not very old, a little over 2 weeks to be exact (flown daily). My previous Kodo came down with brain damage after a particularly nasty crash but that one I had for months with no issues...

 

[Bartman]

after seeing your post about the Kodo I dug mine out and charged it up, will probably fly it this afternoon to blow off some steam!

 

[B-Scene Films]

This video shows an X5C doing the exact same thing as the Kodo:

Concensus seems to be a bad motor but this Kodo is not even a month old

 

[Old Man]

I doubt there's a lot of difference between the fancier body Kodo and other Dromidas of similar size. I planted one of mine in grass taller than the props quite a few times and found out the grass was stronger than the motors, in turn burning out one of the motors. Meaning they aren't really high end equipment and the components are likely the minimum necessary to do the job.

Parts are relatively inexpensive and available via Tower hobbies. It might be worth picking up a couple motors and replacing the one corner you know had a problem.

 

[Bartman]

with the micro and mini RTF quads the drive-trains are very fragile so you absolutely positively have to chop the power to zero before you hit something. i've smashed my Ominus and my old Blade MQX into walls but I kill the power before impact and they are both still flying.

the Kodo, FWIW, probably shouldn't be classified as a starter quad, it's a little heavier for the size due to the camera being in there and the construction of it isn't as tough as the Ominus. It's a fun flier and the camera adds to that but it doesn't take a beating the way Ominus does.

 

[B-Scene Films]

I bought replacement motors and extra props when I bought the Kodo. Looks like I will be soldering this weekend heh.