Setting up DX6i for ELEV-8?
LawrencL
Posts: 49
Hi:
Can anyone give me details on how the DX6i should be configured to operate the ELEV-8?
Thanks,
Lawrence
Can anyone give me details on how the DX6i should be configured to operate the ELEV-8?
Thanks,
Lawrence
Comments
You want to make sure and calibrate the speed controllers one at a time while connected directly to the receiver (throttle channel) before you plug the speed controllers (and receiver) into the HoverFly board.
I understand how to change gear channel's default settings:
I don't understand how to calibrate the speed controllers.
Could you give a little more detail on this?
Thank for your help,
Lawrence
I don't know how much RC experience you have, but I've built and flown many different airplanes and helicopters and I still thought setting up the ELEV-8 was a challenge.
I've made some screen shots of the pertainent sections of the ESC instructions and the HoverFly instructions.
Here are the instructions for setting the ESC range for Turnigy speed controllers (I think these instructions also work on "Hobby King" brand ESCs).
Each ESC needs to have its range set individually. Here are the HoverFly instructions for doing the same thing.
You also need to configure each ESC. Here are HoverFly's instructions on what configuration settings to use.
I think the reason "NiMH" is used for the battery type is many ESCs will reduce the power level when the batteries drop below a predetermined voltage. It's fine with an electric airplane if the ESC starts to reduce the power level to the motor, but with a quadcopter having one ESC starting to reduce power before the other ESCs is likely to cause severe control problems.
While it's possible to configure an ESC without a programming card it isn't much fun. If you don't already have one, there available from Parallax and HobbyKing.
I'm building a hexacopter and I'm to the point where I need to perform these configuration steps on the ESCs. If any of this isn't clear, I could make a short video of me setting up one of my ESCs. Let me know if you think a video would be helpful.
Very helpfull.
Thanks for the info,
Lawrence
I was just configuring my six ESCs today and I stop to take a picture of the programming card.
I hope someone corrects me, if I'm configuring these incorrectly.
Each ESC needs to be configured. Make sure and press "OK" before disconnecting the programming card from the ESC so the new settings are saved.
Edit: The "Timing Mode" should be set to "Middle" not "Low". I also ended up using Nick's suggested battery mode settings. See post below for updated picture.
What is your battery configuration that you are flying with your Hex that you have in the picture? I am interested to know how much flight time you are getting because you have your batteries set to a low cutoff voltage. I have mine set to "Middle" just so that I know in the back of my mind that I will be able to get back from wherever I am at the time my batteries begin to drop off, but I have not flown with the batteries configured for a low cut-off voltage. On my Hex I am getting between 12-15 minutes of flight time using two 3300mAh batteries in parallel. Just curious as to what type of a flight time you are getting!
Nick,
I haven't flown my hex yet. I have a bunch of 3S 5Ah packs I plan to use with it (but only one at a time). I know I can get at least 15 minutes from a 5Ah pack with my ELEV-8. I don't think the cells ever get below 3.5V.
I used the Ni-xx setting since the HoverFly manual says to do so. I also set the low cutoff voltage so the ESC wouldn't do anything on their own. I use a low voltage battery alarm and I'd rather have it tell me my batteries are low than have the ESCs cutting power to the motors.
I used the above setup because I thought it was more in line with what HoverFly recommends.
The ESCs in my ELEV-8 are setup with Li-xx and middle cutoff but I didn't feel comfortable recommending a different setup than what's in the HoverFly manual.
If you think Li-xx and middle are a better choice, I'll go with those settings myself.
I have plans to have the cell voltages monitored and sent via video overlay to a ground stattion. I also plan to use a Emic 2 module on the 'copter(s) and have a Propeller chip send updates through the video link's audio channel. Hopefully I'll be able to monitor the battery and other parameters from the ground.
I was just setting up another model memory on my DX7 and realized it defaults to "HELI" mode. You want to make sure your TX is set to "ACRO" (airplane) mode.
The mode it defaults to will depending on whether your TX is an airplane version or a heli version. If you have an airplane remote, I'd suggest opening it up and removing the metal bar that causes the "clicks" in the throttle. Helicopters and quadcopters are a lot harder to fly with a clicking throttle stick since you'll often want to increase of decrease the throttle by a value less than a single click. With a clicking throttle stick, the throttle setting will likely be either too high or too low.
I just realized I thad the "Timing Mode" set incorrectly in my earlier post.
Here's what I hope are the correct settings.
Once again, I hope Nick and others will correct me if I'm wrong.
Everything looks good! With your current setup you will really be optimizing the potential of your batteries and your gear, and should get optimal results! I am also very interested to see what you do with your ground station, as I have done a less feature rich version of what your plans are, but I wanted to have a few pieces of information when I fly. I have the two LCD's which give me the Lat/Long of where I am at, and also one for the Lat/Long/Alt/Airspeed of the craft, along with housing my screen for when I fly FPV. I attached a few pictures, and I will post pictures of my GPS antenna tracker when it has been re-fined one last time!
Thanks for the reply.
So far my "ground station" is a LCD TV with the video receiver and battery (one of my 3S 5Ah packs) tied together with Velcro. I haven't had the guts to fly the quad using FPV yet.
I think you posted some information about the gear you're using in the ELEV-8 camera thread, but I don't recall how you're getting the GPS inforation from your quad back to the base station?
BTW, very nice looking base station. You've given me several ideas I might include in my own.
I look forward to seeing your antenna tracker. I'm debating buiding my own or ordering a kit to save some time.
Thanks,