(To see a list of all my Quadcopter blogs, click here).
I spent the better part of my Saturday slowly and carefully figuring out how to wire everything up and then executing the wiring. It’s pretty easy, but I found no single source explaining everything.
My first questions were how do you provide power to the flight controller and to the radio receiver as no one seems to talk about it and there are no obvious power connections.
The flight controller gets its power through the positive/negative leads from the ESC connected to the M1 header. So you simply connect the motor and the flight controller has power.
The radio receiver will get power from the flight controller. I’ll show how this is wired up down below.
Here is how I wired up the KK 2.1 flight controller and the Fly Sky FS-R6B radio receiver.
- Unplug the motors from the ESC if they aren’t already. The motors shouldn’t be fired up until initial testing is done.
- Put some tape on each motor spindle so you will be able to tell which way it is spinning. The propellers should not yet be mounted.
- This is my connection diagram:
- Looking at the diagram, note each motor’s number. Oops, I see I numbered them wrong. Front left is 1, then go clockwise 2, 3, 4. I accidentally swapped 3 and 4 in the diagram.
- The ESC controller for each corresponding motor is connected to the header pins M1 through M4 on the right hand side of the controller.
- The black wire for each ESC plug goes on the right side of the connection, near the edge of the controller.
- This website shows a really clean way to connect the radio receiver to the flight controller:
http://oddcopter.com/2012/12/19/easy-diy-quadcopter-build-part-2-the-build/
I’m going to borrow his picture in case it disappears because it clearly illustrates what to do:
Between my notes and his pics, hopefully this is clear. You only need to provide the +/- on channel 1. For channels 2-5, you simply need to connect the signal pins. I was originally going to wire the +/- to all 5 channels which would have added a lot of unnecessary wire. This solution is much nicer.
Here is my setup. Each wire is separately colored which might also help illustrate what is happening:
At this point I’m ready to plug it in. Note: I discovered that if you don’t have the radio on before you power up the quadcopter you will get the error No yaw control. Just make sure the radio is on first.
And it fired up on the first try! Yay!
Big Dan the Blogging Man 
Dear Random Internet User,
Thank you for publishing such an insightful method on how to correctly wire these components because I had absolutely no clue and I could find nothing on how to do it anywhere else online.
Sincerely,
Another Internet User
As alex above says,there is virtually no info for complete beginners with zero computer or electronics knowledge…thanks again Dan !
Is it ok to power the receiver from the KK controller? Is there a danger of brown outs? I’m a bit stuck on this problem atm.
Yes. Note in my diagram that +/- is connected between M1 on the flight controller and channel 1 on the receiver. I don’t know how much power the flight controller can source but it has been enough for my receiver.
my quad is not taking flight can u help
It has been a long time since I have done this. What are the symptoms? Like no power?
I prepared my quadcopter but there is a huge problem that I can’t calibrate my kk2.1.5 board and transmitter is flysky ct6b.I want to learn how to arm it and complete calibration.So,if you can help me then plss help..
I haven’t played with this stuff in a long time and you didn’t give any specifics about what you are having issues with. I would suggest going to my table of contents and looking at all of the Quadcopter entries to see if any will help your specific issue. If not, try google. It usually has the answer, you just have to look. I’ve not seen kk 2.1.5. If it is at all different than 2.1, you may need to be searching specifically for that revision.
THANK YOU. Can’t understand why this info is not included with the kk controller, or the wires either. Great job my friend!
Great instructions – as indicated by an earlier comment there is really no info on how to wire up.
One question. The controller specs indicate input voltage is 4.8-6.0 V. My power distribution board connector would be supplying 12V to the controller. Is there a built-in regulator on the board to bring the 12V supply to 5V?
The flight controller is powered by the ESC connected to the M1 header as I understand it.
I’m looking at mine as I write this and I don’t see a regulator near M1 which leads me to believe the ESC is providing the appropriate voltage.
I’m using a 12V battery as well, so either the ESC or the flight controller is properly handling the voltage.
Interesting… Thank you!
This might help, it’s the HobbyKing KK2.1 user manual.
Click to access 861944502X1166223X15.pdf
Does this flight controller support brushless motor ??????
Yes!
DEAR sir , i am using kk board 2.1 version and i am not able to arm the quad .. i tried calibrating the esc’s but they does not calibrate i get the beeps correct but still no motor movements please help sir .. i am usign a FS CT6B transmitter
Are you moving the left joystick to the full down and left position? I believe that is the arming position while full down and right disarms.
YES SIR i have tried that quite a lot the throttle is pulled all the way down then it gives some beeps and taking to the left doesnt seem to work all the channels are reading correct on the kk board and revised i have a kk board 2.1.5 sorry for the mistake
You have me stumped.
I am sorry sir .. I did not get that can you help me please if i send a video of my setup ??
Hello sir thanx fr ypur help i got my motors working up almost together all thanx to u.. And now a little priblem is arriving .. My frst motor would not start up as fast as my rest three are.. What can be the glitch??
You need to calibrate the motors. Looks like the procedure is different for 2.1.5. See http://multirotorforums.com/threads/how-do-i-calibrate-escs-on-2-1-5.20309/
This involved bringing the motors up to full speed, so make sure the props are off.
I have done the same procedure but still the first one is off the balance might i try it for a number of times to get it spot on… And again thanx a lot sir.
Kk2 is not working with fs i6 plese help this is my first drone
will kk2.1.5 and fs ct6b work out to be a good pair??
I wired everything up (using Afro Esc’s) as explained above.
When I plugged in the battery, the ESC’s give off a beep…
…and then nothing.
After that, they beep once every few seconds, yet the kk never powers up.
Verify you have proper voltage on the +/- pins of the receiver since that is where the KK is getting its power.
hi I am not able to arm the kk 2.1.5 board . All the beeps are correct. Plesce help me.
Move the left joystick to the full down and left position!
Hi sir, I have been using kk 2.1 for my quadcopter (X). I have calibrated all the esc s’ perfectly (25A esc Unbranded ones bought from the local rc shop).but when i connect all the escs to the kkboard and power it on and armed it ,the motor 1 was not starting (no movement or rotation). It is starting when i give full throttle whereas remaining three motors were working perfectly.This 1st motor was giving the same problem even if re-calibrated each and every motor many times.I couldn’t find what the problem was! Could you please help me out ! Am using Turnigy Tx (9X9) & Rx. 1400kv motors. 2200mAh Battery 3s 25C 11.1V.
I would suggest swapping motors and ESCs around to see if either the motor or the ESC has an issue. If not, then work back to the KK 2.1 and make sure it is connected properly.
hello sir,
my when I connect my kk 2.1 to receiver, the receiver doesn’t get lights up. infact it does not get power. what should I do? please help me sir. I have wired it all correctly. but still no use. where can be the problem sir?
thank you.
Well, now. The rcvr gets power from the KK board. So you should have single + and – leads coming from KK into the rcvr. Is the KK powering up? If it is, then something is wrong with these leads (or maybe the rcvr itself). Look at my wiring diagram carefully as + and signal are on opposite sides.
Good luck!
Hey so I was just wondering how your battery connected into all of this? thanks for the great insight on all of the other wiring!
I don’t have a pic of it, but if you follow the instructions I based mine off for the bill of materials, you will find a power distribution board that sits below the controller. Specifically, https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobby-king-quadcopter-power-distribution-board.html.
The power comes in from the battery to this card and then goes out to the 4 motors and the flight controller.
Hi hello
My quadcopter is not working and kk2.1.5 show prfect but motor not working
How can i start my quadcopter
hi after “armed” my motors are spinning very less time(2sec to 5 seconds) after that nothing is working may i know what changes i need to change ..i am using fs-i6 transmitter and receiver with kk 2.1.x board .
It’s been so long since I did this project I really don’t recall much about it. However, from your symptoms it sounds like the battery, motors, and ESCs are good. There is something about the controller that causes a shutdown, so I’d focus on that.
Hi I need your help please, I’m using kk2 flight controller I’m using simonk esc, i have connected all the three esc one by one to channel 1 but only one esc out of 3 power up the quad, is that how it’s or the remaining 3 are not good?
I have a question, i have the spedix s250 and has the kk2.1.5 and i have had no issues with it. But over the years let it sit but recently wanted to fire it up and now im getting jo signal from M1 on my kk board. The kk board looks perfect and it is the black colored model if that matters but also has pins for m1-m4 on the bottom along with the power pins and beeper pins because it plugs down onto the PDB board which is the bottom of the spedix drone. What would cause only that motor output to not put out a signal? Please help if you or anyone can as i have tried to think in every direction on what could be the cause. Its on the kk board because i test it on the board and not on the pdb where the esc plugs also and same result. No signal. Any help will greatly be appreciated. Thanks
Sounds like you’ve isolated it to the KK board. You wouldn’t think a solid state component would just “die” sitting in storage but I imagine it is possible. If it were me, I would look very carefully at the KK board with a magnifying glass to see if anything looks burnt or corroded, then maybe there would be something that could be done. I just did a quick check and I don’t see any availability for a new or used KK board. I haven’t messed with this stuff in nearly a decade so I have no idea what type of replacement might be available if any.
Thanks for the reply. I have the kk 2.1.5 v3 with that issue and a new kk 2.1.5 but the one with the issue is s.bus and the other does not have s.bus and i would also have to flip all the pins to the bottom of the board to try to use that other kk board but i wonder if i can run it in X8 configuration and only use M5-M8 and only use those 4 motors. Maybe ill try that later but i am going over the troubled board with a microscope to see if i find any issues. I use a volt meter on all esc pins and het 5v on all center pins and on signal pins i get 3.1v on M2-M4 but nothing on pin one. Is there anything particular on the board i should check with my fluke knowing that info or just comb over the entire board?
It’s been so long since I’ve even seen my old Quadcopter I wouldn’t know where to start on the KK board. If you can find a schematic that might give you some idea where to look.
Ok. I just figured out why it does not work. I just accidently shorted M4 to ground because I didn’t pay attention that the wires on that esc out was touching since I was changing esc. But when they touched the board remained on but the screen letters went away but backlight remained but after I made sure wires were not touching I re connected the battery and kk is back on like normal. Now m1 and also m4 no signal so I’m guessing m1 shorted a while back. No smoke nothing burnt or anything but only 3v on signal so don’t know what I could check or replace to get signal voltage back on those 2 motors. Was going to run it as X8 and only use m5-m8 but not sure is that will fly. Thank you for any help and for responding brother.