Tello CCW Motor Failure

[Murdock17x]

Hello all! FYI, I have been working with Tello and Tello EDU for years now. I actually have been servicing a fleet of over 150! On a side note, a little sad they have been discontinued... But let me get to the point. Our fleet has been used to teach 6-16 year olds how to fly in the New York State Tristate area and have been flown/crashed hard. I have replaced hundreds of motors over the years but recently have noticed I am replacing a lot more counterclockwise (CCW) motors than Clockwise (CW) in recent months. Not just the front but the rear as well! Has anyone else noticed this?

Also, I had been reading in the threads about the possibility of installing a CW motor in a CCW position by soldering black wire to positive (+) and blue to negative (-). Going to try that out this week and will let you know how it goes. My current favorite motor to use as replacements is the RCGeek 8520: Amazon.com My only issue with them is the shaft is not as long as the OEM tello motor. If anyone has a suggestion, please comment bellow!

 

[Bruchpilot]

Hello Murdock17x,

I have already installed the 8520 motor with a shorter shaft, it works, see photo, the propeller rotates freely, no friction. Tello flies like before.
I've also read about twisting the connection cables, CW then becomes CCW and vice versa, but I haven't tried it myself yet.
When changing the motor, did you solder the wires to the circuit board or twist the wires on the outside?
Where did you read that the Tello is no longer manufactured?

Best regards

 

[Murdock17x]

I always solder to the motherboard as I don't want the wires to ground out and create other problems. The reason I ask about the shaft is the aftermarket propeller hubs are larger and can rub the motor. This fleet has been teaching 4-18 year olds for quite a while now and I can't always expect them to install properly. Actually becomes a teachable moment!

Here are a couple of articles where they are pretty much relating Tello is discontinued. We also have our supplier that has said as much... Tello drone discontinued? Here's what we know about the DJI-affiliated STEM drone.

DJI Tello EDU Drones

The Tello EDU from DJI is one of the most reliable educational drones, empowering students to learn piloting, programming, and more in STEM or CTE classes.

www.eduporium.com

DJI to continue after-sales support for education division in US

Tech giant DJI has confirmed to DroneDJ that it plans to shutter its STEAM Education division, that includes Tello drones, in the US.

dronedj.com

DJI Tello drones are set to disappear as drone giant ditches education

DJI's educational programmable robots – the Ryze Tello drone and the RoboMaster – are disappearing in the USA and China

www.digitalcameraworld.com

 

[Bruchpilot]

Hello Murdock17x,

very interesting, here in Germany I couldn't find any clear information about it.
Luckily I still have some original spare parts, hopefully the batteries will continue to be produced.
I just ordered another set of motors from China, if they have the longer shaft I'll post the link here.
During my repair, the motor wires coming from the main pallet were cut in the middle of the strut and then twisted with the shortened new motor wires, tinned and protected with heat shrink tubing. This is very simple, does not change flight behavior and does not result in an easily measurable increase in weight. But it doesn't look nice.
How do you remove the protective layer from the soldering points on the motherboard to solder the new motor wires?

Best regards

 

[Murdock17x]

How do you remove the protective layer from the soldering points on the motherboard to solder the new motor wires?

Comes off very easily with an exacto knife and or a set of pointed-end tweezers. I don't desolder from the motherboard either, just cut the wires off. A little flux and the right temperature and the new wire sinks right in!