Aosenma CG035 User guide

(Not so) Basic guide for the Aosenma CG035

Introduction and Foreword:
So, you have or are considering a CG035 and found the chinglish manual....lacking.
You have questions and need answers.
Welcome to a world of trials and tribulations called CG035 ownership.
Congratulations.
First off, a word of caution, if you have not done so already I would NOT advise you to buy
this as your first ever quadcopter, it has too many issues that can severely dampen your
enthusiasm for the hobby if inexperienced. As a classification this could be regarded as a
high end toy grade quadcopter verging onto the hobby grade in some regards. A smaller
quadcopter should be used as a practice platform first.
I feel the need to issue my version of a disclaimer:
This, my rendition of a reworked manual and everything contained herein, is my work (with
the help and advice of others), based on my experience in the electronics and electrical
engineering field, as well as my previous experience with RC vehicles, (though quad copters
specifically are a relatively new field for me having only flown for a year or so at this time so
I in no way consider myself an expert in the field), and is in no way affiliated with Ao Sen
Ma. As such it should be taken as my opinion only and is in no way an official guide to the
CG035 Quadcopter. Please be aware there may be errors contained in this document and it
is constantly being updated as a ‘live’ document, constantly added to and revised to reflect
new and changing issues and it should never be taken to be a finished product at any time.
All advice contained in this document is just that, advice.
Any modifications or procedures based on my advice which are carried out by you are done
at your own risk!
I am providing this document in an attempt to help the community of CG035 owners and it
is no way funded or produced in an attempt for renumeration.
Feel free to steal portions of this document and re work it if you like.
Think that would satisfy a lawyer?
Probably not, but is my way of absolving myself from the eventual backlash of someone
doing something I have not foreseen based on this document, and also to say that it is freely
available to everyone to use, copy and distribute.
If you have something to contribute and would like it added to this document please let me
know via the Facebook cg035 page, linked below.
Thanks to all who have contributed so far (knowingly or otherwise �) especially for some of
the internal pictures taken from the group’s Facebook page! (Closed group, acceptance
from admin required).
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Aosenmacg035/
I have included a link to a current (as of 20th February 2017) version of the ‘VAST’ software
for changing the parameters of the CG035.
CAUTION: I personally do not advocate it's use as it can brick your quad. However several
people have had no issue any can happily use it. Not for Beginners. You have been warned.
http://www.drone-maniac.com/news-aosenma-cg035-fpv-ground-station-sofware-
available/aosenma_vast_gcs/.
Elio. (aka Alex Arcano, it's my old gamer tag from YouTube and it kinda stuck. �)

Initial setup:
Before use charge all batteries and use 4 fresh, good quality AA type Alkaline batteries in
the controller.
On the main charger for the cg035 battery there are 3 lights, they refer to each cell of the
battery, the first 2 will initially be red and will change to green when the battery is fully
charged. This may take some time. As much as 5 hours with the stock battery charger!
If you have the FPV model, then there is a USB charger which is used for both the monitor
and camera. Conversely this starts as having no light on it and changes to red once fully
charged. This usually takes about an hour for each, depending on your usb power supply.
NOTE: before plugging the battery into the quad (which will switch the new model of CG035
on as there is no on/off switch) remove the foam pad covering the deans T connector on the
battery and clean the area around it.
Before even thinking about flight of the CG035 check and double check all screws, most
especially on the motors. Several have come with loose or even missing screws which hold
the motors on, try to get into the habit of performing this before every flight.
Only do the first test of the motors and initial start up with the props taken OFF. Mine tried
to take off for the moon when I first tried to idle the motors in manual mode. Fortunately I
was holding it down at the time. I had to calibrate everything twice in order for it to work
correctly.
Make sure when you are refitting the props that they are on in the correct position for the
motors direction of rotation, the motors with the
silver caps turn anti clockwise, the black clockwise
and on the props the leading edge (highest edge
when you hold it flat, highlighted in red) points in
the direction of rotation. The factory props have a
slight circular indent underneath around the hole
to indicate the downward face and the blades are
domed on top. Apparently someone got one a
while ago with 3 Clockwise props fitted from
factory and it did not go well at all.

Controller setup:
There are 4 LED’s across the bottom of the controller, these indicate (from left to right) GPS
lock on the drone, GPS lock on the controller, drone out of range, and low battery warning.
Once all lights are off this means the internal checks confirm ready to fly status.
Changing mode 1/2
If you want to change from mode two (the default left stick throttle) to mode one (right
stick throttle):
Push both sticks to upper right corners and switch on the controller.
Release sticks.
Led above auto land/take off button should flash.
Move right stick to the right to have right hand throttle (mode 1), or to the left for left hand
throttle (mode 2) Led should now be solid on.
Switch controller off.
To calibrate the controller:
Push both sticks to upper left corners and switch controller on.
The red LED above the auto take off/land button will now flash.
Release both sticks and then press the auto take off/land button once.
Move both sticks to full throw in all directions and allow them to return to centre position.
Press the auto take off/land button once again.

The led will now be solid red.
Switch controller off.
As simple as that.
To calibrate the drone:
Switch controller and drone on.
Flick SWB from position 1 to position 2 four times.
The rear white LED’s on the drone will come on.
On a flat level surface rotate the drone 6 times clockwise (mine seems to only need 3
rotations but the original manual says 6). The white led should now flash intermittently.
I then point the drone nose down and rotate it again, but the manual does not call for this.
Place again on a flat level surface
The white LED's should now not be on and it will be only the red, green and blue eye lights
once more.
Switch everything off. Calibration now complete.
GPS Lock:
DO NOT try to fly at all for the first few minutes of the first flight, find a nice open space,
switch the controller and drone on and put them both down, take a few steps away and
don't touch them. The red lights on the controller should all go off on their own, especially if
you are a few paces away, your body can partly block the gps signal and slow down a gps
lock, have patience.
Note: Be gentle with it on the first flight, get used to the controls by doing simple
manoeuvres such as short point to point take off and landings, slow banked turns etc. and
try to resist the urge to go full throttle.

Flight controls:
For those new to the CG035 and the world of drone flight in particular there are listed below
the instructions on the use of the controller as well as details of all the buttons and
switches.
Mode 1 and Mode 2
It has been described earlier during the controller setup as having two modes and is by
default in mode 2, the differences are outlined below (importantly!) with the CG035 facing
in the same direction you are:
In both modes 1 and 2:
Left stick:
Left = rotate anticlockwise.
Right = rotate clockwise.
Right stick:
Left = slide left
Right = slide right.
In mode 1:
Right stick:
Forward = climb (throttle up).
Backwards = descend (throttle
down).
Left stick:
Forward = away from you.
Backwards = closer to you.
In mode 2 (the most common and default for the cg035):
Right stick:
Forward = away from you.
Backwards = closer to you.
Left stick:
Forward = climb (throttle up).
Backwards = descend (throttle down).
Note: If you have the quad facing towards you then sliding and forward/reverse controls are
inverted in relation to you, sliding to the left is accomplished by pushing right on the right
stick, sliding right is moving the stick left. Moving forward is backwards and backwards is
forwards!
To eliminate this you can use Headless Mode as outlined below.

Ready to fly:
This term will refer to the CG035 and controller being switched on with a full gps lock on
both as outlined previously.
Starting and stopping the motors:
Note: Occasionally this can initiate a partial auto take off, (in either fully manual mode or
GPS mode on mine anyway) so if the props are on make sure to only do this outdoors!
To do this you can, from ready to fly, pull both sticks down and in or down and out. This
places the drone in an idle state with all motors rotating gently ready to take off manually
by throttling up.
Once the drone is manually landed the motors can be stopped by simply holding the throttle
down fully for a few seconds.
Alternately an emergency shut down of the motors can be accomplished by holding down
and in/out on both sticks from ANY altitude. Note: do not use this unless it is a genuine
emergency as doing it from any altitude causes the drone to drop like a rock. Smashing,
swearing and tears will ensue.
Auto take off and landing button:
Self explanatory really, this is the big oval button in the centre
of the controller below the power switch.
From ready to fly in GPS mode 3 presses of the button in rapid
succession starts the motors spinning and launches it into the
air to hover at a height of approximately 1.5 meters.
From any height during flight another 3 presses initiates auto
land where it descends straight down from wherever it is
hovering, lands and then shuts the motors off.
SWB:
SWB Position 1
Normal mode.
In this mode the quad will roughly maintain height if calibrated correctly and with no wind
but nothing else, it will drift with the wind and be less stable in flight but will fly faster.
SWB position 2
GPS hold mode.

Using this mode it will hover in place and actively fight wind to maintain a static position.
Used in combination with other functions outlined later.
SWB position 3
Return To Home.
In addition to landing if the RTH is used it flies back to the initial point of takeoff (slowly)
then lands.
SWA:
SWA Position 1
Used for all normal flight modes, effectively this does nothing.
SWA Position 2
Point of interest aka ‘circle mode’.
Used in combination with the gps hold to circle a point of interest (POI).
A somewhat variable experience for most owners, this is usually used in combination with a
camera, it is supposed to find a centre point to circle around until switched to another
mode, with the radius of circle determined by moving the stick assigned to forwards and
backwards to tighten or widen the circle.
SWA Position 3
Headless mode.
Used to ensure that forwards is always forwards, left is always left etc. in relation to the
take off point. Useful if you are new to piloting and wish to get into the air without
performing any manoeuvres like banked turns, whirlpools etc. or if using some camera
techniques, for instance to maintain a moving subject in frame (without a 3d/4d camera
gimbal with full controls, and no you're not going to be getting that on the CG035), while
the quad moves sideways.

SWC:
The outer button (furthest right).
Binding. (Aka ‘Internal fequency’)
Normally only used in the factory as this involves
disassembling the quadcopter to access the binding
button inside the chassis on the receiver/transmitter
board there.
I have never personally had to do this but from reports it
is accomplished by holding down the bind button inside
the quadcopter then inserting the battery and then
pressing the Binding button on the controller while
switching it on. Procedure in troubleshooting later.
The inner button.
Follow me mode.
The drone is supposed to point towards and follow the controller with no guidance from
you, however you can still alter its height and distance from you using the controls while in
this mode. Again, you may experience 'variable' results with this such as it pointing in the
wrong direction.
SWD:
These are both camera controls for use with the factory
First Person View camera and alleged 'gimbal'.
Inner button
Starts and stops on board video recording, one press to
start, a further press to stop.
Outer button (furthest left)
Takes a photo. You cannot take a photo while continuing
to record video. If you press the photo button it
immediately stops video recording.
Gimbal control:
This button is to the left of the Auto takeoff button, and is used
to control the pitch and roll of the camera. Slowly, unreliably
and overall, Badly.

Camera Switch:
This is to the right of the auto take off button. And thats about
all I can tell you about it without completely reverse
engineering the whole quad. Ok? Yes. Well..... Anyway your
guess is as good as mine, no-one seems to know what this
does and it appears to perform no discernible function.

The Gimbal/Camera.
Ok, you have charged the battery on the camera. There is one external switch on it
controlling the power, it is either on, or off.
You can change the
internal transmitter
channel if you really want
or have to by removing
the 4 screws and taking
the plate off the top, this
gives access to the internal
battery, wiring and a bank
of 3 dip switches (circled
in blue) giving the option
of 8 different channels.
No, i don't know which
channels, but they can be
found by using the
monitor supplied with the
FPV system for the
terminally curious.

The gimbal is clipped onto the CG035 by a simple slide clip on it's belly. Electrically it is
connected with 3 sets of wires plugged into the quad, their use outlined below.
Number 3 supplies power to and
controls the roll remote function of the
gimbal.
Number 2 supplies power to and
controls the pitch remote function of the
gimbal.
Number 1 controls the start/stop video
control as well as taking picture control.
Plugs number 1, 2 and 3 can be
disconnected to disable any all of these
functions.
Additionally as the fpv camera and transmitter has it's own battery and does not draw
power from the quad it can function independently as a fixed FPV camera and transmitter if
so desired.
There is a place to put the FPV antenna
inside either landing strut, but nothing
supplied to attach it with. I use electrical
tape.

The FPV Monitor:
Simple in the extreme in operation. Screw the antenna into the available SMA socket on top
before use. There is one slide switch on the right hand side to switch the power on. Up is on
and down is off. The other button is on the front of the monitor, also at the right hand side,
press this button once the monitor is switched on to start scanning all it's available channels
to receive the the camera transmission. Range approx. 200 meters under good conditions.
Limited information is displayed on the top left corner of the screen:
Here you can see the current
channel and it’s associated
frequency.
The current signal strength.
And finally the approximate
voltage and % remaining in the
battery of the monitor.
Note: the percentage displayed is
always incorrect, the maximum I
have been able to see is 75%.

Some other items and procedures that I would recommend:
Try all the functions as soon as you can (probably during the second flight after you are
familiar with the normal flight controls) to be sure they work. As i think most will agree, this
little bird has more than it's fair share of issues. The quicker you identify any minor
problems, the quicker it can (hopefully) be fixed before causing any major problems. Like
crashing.
As soon as the low voltage alarm comes on, bring it back and land, no point in running the
battery into the ground as this can shorten it’s lifespan.
Do a post flight check on all major components to make sure nothing has come loose or
damaged as soon as possible.
Check should include:
Chassis screws and motor screws. These literally hold the quad together and hold the
motors in place, they can work loose from the in flight vibrations. Tighten as necessary.
Motors. If they are excessively hot after immediately after landing this may be an early
symptom of a defective motor. If this happens refer to troubleshooting section for help in
diagnosis.
Propellers. Check for nicks and cracks in the blades, especially after hard landings or even
seemingly gentle tip-overs. Any damaged props should be immediately replaced. Check the
prop nuts as well, these should actually get tighter with use but are worth checking too.
Battery. Check for excessive heat and swelling of the main battery, this will indicate a
battery with potentially dangerous issues and should be replaced as soon as possible. Check
battery voltage and balance if you can, excessively low voltage or imbalanced cells can be
another indication of a battery about to fail. If you have the FPV version do the same for the
camera/transmitter battery built into the gimbal. Wait before recharging the LiPo battery, it
will be quite warm (but not hot) after flight and it needs to cool before charging it up again,
this will further extend the life of the battery.
Chassis. Inspect the actual chassis of the quad for any signs of damage. Remember that this
is the body of the quadcopter and that it has no reinforcing internal structure or ‘skeleton’
and any cracks, chips or excessive flex can be a weak point that could potentially fail in mid-
flight.
Your second flight will be perhaps even more telling, if you are used to the controls, push it
a bit further and faster, try straining the motors a bit, do a full throttle 'punch' straight up
and note any odd noises, rattles or erratic behaviour as this may indicate a screw loose or
badly imbalanced prop. If all seems fine then start to play with it more, let it stretch its legs
so to speak, do full speed passes or take it higher, whatever you feel comfortable with to
your skill level.

Again, once LVA comes on bring it back and land. My LVA only gives 1 minute of hover
before it tries to auto land, and again as soon as you can, do a full post flight check to make
sure everything is in order, if nothing has gone wrong by now you are probably all good to
go and use it however you want with less fear of it either trying to eat its self or actively try
to kill you. �
Further purchases
A basic list of additional spares, further equipment and tools you may wish to consider
purchasing for use with quadcopters in general and especially if you intend to continue with
the hobby, maintain, modify, or upgrade the CG035.
Spare propellors (6045 type as standard not 5045 as is quoted in manufacturer’s manual).
Spare landing gear.
Spare batteries.
Spare motor caps/prop nuts.
Spare Electronic Speed Controllers (a particularly soft point on the cg035).
TF (aka micro sd) card, class 10 for HD recording.
Better balance charger to more precisely and quickly charge the LiPo(s)
Cellmeter and battery tester for quick testing of all batteries.
Multimeter for troubleshooting and diagnostics.
Needle nose pliers.
Precision screwdrivers.
Precision Tweezers.
Side cutting snips.
Soldering iron (low or variable wattage electronics and not a heavy duty or ‘gun’ type), with
solder, sponge etc. to go with it.
Most of the above could be considered basic essentials for running repairs, faultfinding and
minor upgrades for the CG035.
Hope this helps!
�

Trouble Shooting
This section assumes you have at least a passing familiarity with electronics, though I have
tried to simplify things wherever possible to open the process to as many as I can.
OK. Time for some fun and games.
Let’s start with something simple.
List of tools you will need.
As listed above in ‘further purchases’these now become more or less indispensable.
Screwdriver set, long reach, thin precision type.
Multimeter, (and for convenience a cell meter) preferably with audible continuity test.
Soldering iron, (lower powered electronics or variable temperature type) solder, soldering
sponge.
Desoldering tool.
Snips.
Needle nose pliers.
Cordless drill or drill of some sort with variable speed control (you’ll find out in a bit).
DOA
You have inserted the battery into the quad and nothing happens, no lights, no noise.
Completely Dead On Arrival.
A few things can cause this issue.
Best case scenario is that you have forgotten to
remove the foam protective pad over the Deans T
connector.
If this is the case then simply remove the pad to
make it look as shown.
However, if you have forced it in then there then
you may need to clean the contacts of the battery
and inside the quad to ensure a good connection.
There may be pieces of the pad or residue of glue
that needs removed. Try using tweezers to remove
the debris and lightly scratch the surfaces to take
them back to bare metal.
Another option is the LiPo battery has failed, either by physical damage or through being
drained far past normal levels. Generally speaking this is fatal for the battery and it will need
replaced.

Test this with a cell meter as shown or a multimeter set to the 0-20 Volts DC range, (all
measurements from here on out will be done using this range and setting unless otherwise
stated) measured across the Deans T connector. The stock battery is a 2 cell (2s) 7.4 Volt
with an alleged 3200mAh capacity, though in practice it is usually nearer 2800mAh or less.
A functioning and fully charged battery is around 8.4V, 4.2V per cell (each cell should have
near identical voltages). If it is dramatically low, like 5V total across the T connector then it
is a good indication that the battery may be dead and needs replaced, though it may be
recoverable with a good quality balance charger. A cell meter as shown above offers the
information in a simpler way, just connect it to the balance charging port and it shows the
voltage of each cell and the total of all cells. Another possibility is…..
The charger
Could have failed and is only charging one cell or not at all. Measure the output of the
balance ports on the charger while it is switched on. Be careful not to short out the contacts
with the meters probes while doing this.
The voltage on a correctly functioning
stock charger (with no load) is
measured as 4.8Volts across each cell.
Pin 3 is ground (or –terminal, furthest
right). Pin 2 is cell 1, pin 1 is cell 2. So if
you put the negative probe of the
multimeter on the negative pin of the
charger and the positive probe of the
meter on pin 2, you get a reading of
4.8V. Now move the positive probe to
pin 1 and this gives you a cumulative
value of 9.6V, 4.8V per cell, if you move
the negative probe to pin 2 this shows
you the value for cell 2, which again
should be 4.8V.
If you do not get quite near these values, the charger is probably broken and will need
replaced.

If the battery and charger check out as ok
then the issue is within the drone, look
inside the battery bay and if you can see a
damaged Deans T connector then that is
probably the issue.
If looking inside the battery bay you see
nothing untoward then you may wish to
open the chassis of the quad for further
inspection.
Another possibility is the red and/or black
power wires are not soldered correctly
onto the main board, or at the back of
the T plug, check this for faults too.
If everything is ok it should look as
pictured here.
If none of these are the issue then the
quad is more than likely dead and will
need a new main flight board. Major
surgery involved.

Constant beeping from the controller.
Low voltage indication
The right most led on the controller is flashing and the quad refuses to move. In this
situation the lights may flash on the quad for a time and even the start up tones may sound
though it goes no further.
Again a couple of potential issues here. The battery or charger may be damaged and not
charging correctly, though still have enough charge to partly power the quad giving rise to
the above condition. Test the battery and charger as outlined in the above DOA section.
Another possibility is a faulty voltage sensor within the quad or even the voltage reading not
being transmitted correctly back to the controller. Unfortunately if it is either of these it is
likely to be a fault in the main board and the only solution I know of is replacing the whole
board.
Though unlikely another possibility is a fault in the controller in it’s communication with the
quad. As a last resort you could attempt to re-bind the quad and controller as outlined
further on.
Gps failure/out of range warning
Also the third light on the controller
is flashing. This indicates the
controller thinks the quad has had
GPS failure (out of range warning),
due to not receiving any GPS data.
Check the quad and make sure there
is a green light on under the GPS
dome of the quad, if not then this is
a known and common fault.
There are a couple of possibilities for
this problem, faulty wiring leading to
the gps unit or a faulty gps unit it’s
self are the most probable causes.
Test all the wiring going to the gps pod for continuity and a good solid solder connection.
Back out with the multimeter, this time set for audible continuity test. If you do not have
this on your meter then set it to resistance. All continuity readings should read as 0 Ohms
resistance. Test from one end of the wire to the other with the GPS unit disconnected from
the quad. If the wires and solder joints all check out as ok then the GPS unit will need
replaced as further fault finding on it is near impossible at home.

Controller has became unbound from the quadcopter
An all too common problem, this is annoying as hell to fix because it is so simple yet
complicated at the same time. You will know if this is an issue as the quad will accept no
input from the controller at all and the red LED above the auto take off button will be
flashing.
To fix this you need to disassemble the chassis by taking out all 22(!) screws and removing
the props in order to access the bind button on the quadcopter.
The procedure to bind is as follows:
Hold the bind button(circled in blue, above) down while inserting the battery on the drone,
the led next to the button will now flash. Release the button.
Next hold down the ‘internal frequency’
aka ‘bind’ button (circled in blue, across)
on the controller then switching it on. The
led next to the bind button inside the
drone is now solid red, as will be the red
led above the auto take off/landing
button.
Simple.
Job done and ready to fly, once you
reassemble, screw all 22 screws back in
and put the props back on that is.