450 Trex 450 Pro Setup help

[eppsy]

Hi all,
I've got myself a Trex 450 PRO with a Spektrum DX8 TX. It's been a pretty good build - my newbie-ness showing when putting things on then needing to take them off again to align/calibrate/wire up.
I'm now trying to setup the gyro. I do the E LIM which is fine so no need to reverse it in E REV. I do the A LIM but in A REV it's reversed. I move the aileron stick but the Status LED doesn't change.
I continue on into the Rudder. Turn everything on, hold the 3GX SET button for a sec or two and I'm into Rudder settings. I move the rudder but nothing. No movement by the rudder servo.

After all of this when I simply turn on the heli the gyro looks like this, which I don't think is right.


My AR8000 is wired like this.

I'm note sure if blue should be in GEAR or AUX2. In stokke's post he originally had it in GEAR, but in a later pic had moved it to AUX 2.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Dave

 

[eppsy]

Hi again,
While looking at the Servo setup on my DX8 I noticed that when I move the throttle stick up it's not the only channel that is changing.



Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

Dave

 

[Tony]

Your throttle when mixed for a ccpm heli will move the throttle, aileron, elevator and pitch at the same time. Your pitch and throttle curves will determine how much they move and how far as will your swash mix.

First question on your first post. Why are you running the AR8000 and not just the satellite Rx's?

 

[eppsy]

I don't have a real good answer to that Tony. I know that you didn't use it in your video. But I also saw the thread from stokke where he did. I supose it came down to the fact that I had a nice new shiny bit of kit and I thought I'd try to use it.
If this is the reason behind my issues then it'll be unplugged in no time...

 

[Tony]

I don't know if this is the reason, but I do know that I could help you with the satellite setup, but I'm not sure on the Rx setup since I have not done it before. I am trying to talk the wife into letting me get another Align 450 Pro DFC though so I can do just that. However that doesn't help here.

 

[eppsy]

Unplugging the AR8000 and just using the 3GX has made the rudder servo come alive. I must have wired up the AR8000 incorrectly.

 

[Tony]

Yup, sounds like you had that one wire in the wrong port.

 

[helicc16]

There is nothing wrong with using AR8000 with 3gx. In fact, the AR8000 allows you to run DSMX 11ms frame rate, which is faster and has better resolution than what you would get using Spektrum Sat. Rx.

For some reason, the Align 3gx only works in DSM2 22 ms frame rate, defeating the purpose of having the more powerful DX8 and spending extra money on DMSX Sat. RX.

Make sure that you set the channel to GEAR (not AUX 2) in the GYRO menu when using the AR8000.

- - - Updated - - -

after initialization, your STATUS LED should be green and your GOV LED should red.

 

[Tony]

Just to clarify, I NEVER said there was anything wrong with running the 8000 with the 3GX. It's just MUCH cleaner to run satellite Rx's on a smaller bird like the 450's.

 

[stokke]

I supose it came down to the fact that I had a nice new shiny bit of kit and I thought I'd try to use it.

That's exactly the same reason I had. I'm still using the AR8000 combined with one Sat - and it's working like a charm

 

[Tony]

Marius, I thought you were just using satellites? Hm, guess I need to pay more attention lmao. I may have to stick my Rx on the next heli I build just to see how it all works.

 

[eppsy]

I find myself having the same rudder issue that you had Marius. I do the Rudder endpoint calibration but then 100% rudder stick movement doesn't relate to 100% servo movement. It's more like 40% rudder stick = 100% servo. As you stated, this makes for super sensitivity which for newbie Dave is bad...

 

[stokke]

I find myself having the same rudder issue that you had Marius. I do the Rudder endpoint calibration but then 100% rudder stick movement doesn't relate to 100% servo movement. It's more like 40% rudder stick = 100% servo. As you stated, this makes for super sensitivity which for newbie Dave is bad...

Relax Dave It does only seem this way because the bird is sitting on the bench while you work the rudder. It will be perfectly manageable when you get it in the air

 

[eppsy]

Well, it looks like I'm about ready to put this bird in the air. I've got everything level/zeroed/ninetied that think I need to. I'm not sure about the responsiveness of the gyro when the heli is on but just with holding it and moving it around - it doesn't seem very responsive at all.

 

[Tony]

Not very responsive? You mean when you are tilting it? If so, that is normal. Just make sure the gyro is correcting in the correct direction. nose down, swash should tilt back, right side down, swash should move left. If you have any questions, just post up. And if you can get a video of the heli and what you are referring to above, it would help us to check it out for you.

 

[stokke]

What Tony said; check the gyro corrections before flight. Also, do not underestimate this bird - it will move about quite alright If you do not have much flight experience I would recommend reducing the roll- and flip rates in the 3GX advanced setup. Also add a bit of expo.

 

[eppsy]

Finally, ready to fly...



I thought I'd throw in a pic of the flybarless head of the PRO DFC.

- - - Updated - - -

After checking all screws, pitch, ele and ail all moving in the right direction it was time to spin 'er up. But approaching half throttle it starts to yaw pretty severely. I wasn't game to raise the throttle any more for fear of a runaway heli.

 

[Tony]

When you say "Yaw", do you mean spinning around by the rudder? If so, your gyro may need to be reversed. check the tail again not only on the stick direction, but also on the gyro directions.

 

[eppsy]

Yep, spinning like a mad man. A now have the heli just sitting on the table. If I push the tail the gyro is correcting the rudder blades by moving in the poosite direction. So, if I move the tail left (looking at it from from the back) the rudder blades turn right.

- - - Updated - - -

The pic below is of the tail just after the battery is plugged in and the gyro initialises.

 

[Tony]

When you push the tail to the right, the slider should go to the left.