Thread: My run through of the align 3gx setup

Hi all, iv noticed there's not a lot of info that explains how to set up a 3gx v2.0 so i did a little write up to try and clear a few things and help a few people out, im fairly new to the 3gx system but iv got my head around it and it flys nice. So i thought i would share,, enjoy..



ALIGN 3GX V2.0
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#Servo orientation:
Looking down boom to front of heli,
Left side of heli - Pitch
Right side of heli - aileron
Centre of heli - elevator
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#Tx settings


swash mixing set as
aile - 50%
elev - 50%
pitc - 50%
as a starting point


Gyro/gain - 50%


pitch curve - 0 - 25 - 50 - 75 - 100


No other sort of mixing or duel rates/expo at this point as we want everything to be as linear as possible
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#3GX unit

DIR mode ( dissables gyro's to mechanically set up machine )


*Turn on tx, Hold 'Set' button and power up machine. Release Set button before lights flash from 1 - 5*.




1.Once released check servo's are moving in correct Direction (ele/ail/pit) if not reverse accordingly in
remote (as it was a flybard machine).


2.Put throttle stick centre on tx and make all servos 90* level swash and 0* on blades.


3.After machine is all 90'd up and is at 0 deg pitch at mid stick on tx, Align the blades so the blades are parallel with the
tail boom, Then move throttle stick to its max position and adjust swash mix (pitch only) till you have your desired collective pitch value,
eg on my trex 700n 12* is what i run so on my tx my swash mix is set to 40%
Once you have done this put stick all the way to the bottom and you should have equal pitch values ( eg +/- 12) if you have
uneven readings recheck mid pitch setting by adjusting the links as desired.


4.Once you are happy with the collective value, its time to do the cyclic geometry, The aim of this is to set your swash mix
so that when you put in full aileron stick input the blade only tilts exactly 8 deg. so to do this put your blades parallel with the tail boom
once more and mid stick your tx so the pitch reads 0 deg, without knocking ur pitch put full aileron stick impute in and read what the pitch
gauge says, use your aileron swash mix to increase/decrease the value so when your aileron stick is hard over to the side the blade only reads
8 deg.


eg on my 700 it is 45%


5.Then once you have found ur swash mix which sets your geometry, use the same swash value for elevator; Eg if your aileron swash mix is 45%
set your elevator swash mix to 45% also


6. if you have not done all ready, put your throttle stick so the blade reads 0 deg, Then push the Set button


7. Now the 2nd LED should flash indicating we are in elevator limit, this stage basically tells the 3gx unit how much travel your tx has.
With the blades still at 0deg, Push the elevator stick forward (do not faze it with aileron) for about 3 seconds then return to centre.
Push the Set button to save this. 3rd Led will flash


8. We are now in elevator reverse, Simply tilt the machine forward and backward observing the swash plate, if you tilt the heli forward
and the swash plate tilts forward also you need to reverse the swash, simply move the elevator stick till the "status" Led changes colour
the tilt the machine agen, if you tilt the machine forward and the swash goes backward this is correct and you can move on, if your swash
tilts the right way when you enter this menu you dont have to touch anything, Push the set button to move onto the next step


9.Just like elevator limit in step 7, move the aileron stick over to one side, hold it for 3 seconds then return to centre, Push set button once more


10.this is aileron reverse, just like elevator reverse in step 8, tilt the heli to the left and observe the swash movement, if it goes to the left also
use aileon stick to reverse it until it tilts the opposit way of which you are tilting the heli, eg tilting heli to the right, swash plate goes to the left
is correct, push the set button and thats DIR mode done and dusted
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Rudder Gyro Setup


if you are familiar with the gp750/gp780 gyros, the menu's and how to setup is exactly the same, so if you know how to you can skip these steps


To enter the gyro setup menu, simply hold the 'Set' button for about 2 seconds, the Status LED should flash indicating your in gyro mode.


1. the first led is asking you what your servo frequency is either 1520 or 760, Most digital servos are 1520 but do check before you select as you could kill your servo,
to select the value, use rudder stick (left and right) to change the value, the status light will change colours red/green as you move the stick as this relates to the
value * the values are wrote on the unit itself, 1520 is in green writing, 760 is in yellow* so simply move the rudder stick left or right to select the correct colour
the click the set button to save the value and move onto the next step


2. The next step is telling the gyro if the servo is digital or analogue, digi been green and analogue been red, as before use the rudder stick to select the correct
colour which suits your servo and push set


3. This is where you tell the gyro if it is going the right way, to do this simply turn the heli and observe the pitch slider, if it is going the wrong way move the rudder
stick to change the colour status/value of the setting, green been normal, red been reversed. then push set




4. Next is limit, move the rudder stick to the left and hold it there until the pitch slider is at its max travel (before u hear the servo buzzing), if you go too far push
the rudder stick the opposit way a fraction until the buzzing goes, release the rudder stick until the status gyro flashes red, then do the
same the opposit way until the led flashes agen, then push set, travel limits done


5. Delay, for this menu if you have a big machine ( eg a 500/600/700) move the rudder stick till the green light comes on, if you have a smaller machine ( eg 450/250) move the rudder
so you have the red led, the move rudder stick you use the more delay is added into the gyro, normally no delay is needed, so just nudge the stick a little bit to change colour,
Push set and thats the rudder Gyro side of things done!


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Flight Mode Settings


This is the menu that you should try and learn off by heart as these are more field adjustments if you will, but lets crack on with them,






To enter the flight mode settings, Hold the rudder stick over to the left or right and hold the Set button untill some lights come on.
During these menu's there will be a series of blinking lights, the rule for when you are doing these menu's is...


The Status Led will flash different times to indicate what menu we are in,
Eg, flash*delay*flash*delay*flash*delay is menu 1
flashflash*delay*flashflash*delay*flashflash*delay * is menu 2
flashflashflash*delay*flashflashfladh*delay is menu 3 and so on


And the 5 led's below indicate the value ...


Flashing light is 10%
Solid light is 20%


Sooo lets say on the 3gx we are doing aileron max roll rate (step 1 below) and 3 lights are solid and one light is flashing... this would represent 70%
as its 3 x solid (20%) and 1 x flashing (10%) = 70% if you understand it, its abit confusing at first but its fairly easy once you know how, So lets get started!


1. when you first go into the flight mode parameter the first menu we go to is aile/ele roll rate, if you move the aileron stick left + right you will see the led's
light up or go out, the more lights the quicker the roll rate, its the whole flashing light is 10% solid light is 20% rule, soo if you wish to increase the roll
rate move the aileron stick left to increase the number of lights/value or to decrease go to the left, the amount of led's that are lit up at the end represents the
value of the roll rate , *DO NOT PUSH SET AT THIS POINT*


2. Just like the step above, do the same with elevator, push elevator down to increase the lights/value or up to decrease the value to adjust the flip rate of the
machine, these value's can be adjusted down at the field to suit the pilots preference, after you are happy with both these values, click the Set button


3. Elevator End point setting, this menu basically tells the machine how much it can tilt the swash without binding, once you are in this menu move the throttle to around mid
stick, The swash plate will tilt forward, pushing the elevator stick forward and backward will increase/decrease the value of the lights (as mentioned before regarding solid
and flashing light value), 70% is average for most machines, but nudge the elevator forward until the swash is at its maximum travel without any binding issues then push Set


4. Aileron end point, exactly the same method as above but with aileron this time, not elevator, then click set


5. Cyclic/Collective pitch Dampening, the higher the value the softer the helicopter will feel, sort of like what expo does but for pitch and cyclic,
use the aileron stick to higher/lower the value for the CYCLIC pitch dampening and the elevator stick to higher/lower the COLLECTIVE value.
Use 50% to start off with (2 solid lighs one flashing) and change it to your liking, 3d guys would like this as a lower setting whilst FAI/beginners may benefit
from a higher value, click Set to continue onto the next value


6. Swash plate accelerate setting, just like above use the aileron to change the cyclic value and elevator to chance the pitch value, swash plate acceleration basically
makes the machine feel alot more instant, 3d guys would like a slightly higher value but dont go above 50% unless you have a good bec system, starting with maybe 20% and changing
as desired, beginners i would recommend having this value set to 10% as it will make the machine very lively. Click set








CONGRATULATIONS
you have just programmed your align 3gx v2.0 system! plug your heli into the pc now and click the "Read" button to download your settings into the computer as a backup and
then you can fine tune your parameters Finley to suit your flying style.




all is left to do now is to set your throttle curves for idle up (if you do 3d)
and your tail gain, i wont go through all the tail set ups as its a 101 of its own, but in short fire the machine up ,if tail feels loose, increase the gain, if it feels uneasy and shakes,
decrease the gain, once it is holding in heading hold, flick ur gyro switch and the status led on the 3gx will go red, slowly take the machine up and it MAY rotate so be on your guard, if it does
take note of which way it is rotating and adjust the link as needed
remember...
if it spins to the RIGHTy tighty (tighten the rod)
if it spins to the LEFTy loosy (loosen the rod)




same with the pots on the 3gx, in the hover if the machine feels loose, increase gain, if its shaking, decrease the gain, all though 10:00 seems to work well on my machine




Hope this has made it abit easier to understand the 3gx as the instructions provided are well chinglish haha


Happy flying !

Just updated last night and plan to setup tonight, so well timed thanks alot



cheers,

John

Made this a sticky in the relevant section

Let me know how you get on super pm me if you need any more help

and made2fade thanks for the sticky !

I don't use this unit, but after my foray into flybarless - guides like this are a godsend

big thumbs up from me

Piece on cake!
Was very easy to do with this guide. Top job.

Cheers

John

My run through of the align 3gx setup.pdf

Here are the destructions put into PDF, make it easier to print them off.

Cheers,

John

Originally Posted by Trex-Deanoo

5.Then once you have found ur swash mix which sets your geometry, use the same swash value for elevator; Eg if your aileron swash mix is 45%
set your elevator swash mix to 45% also

Hey.

Well done on taking the time to put this some times complicated task into a clear, easy to read set of instructions which will help many people. I think these will be a good addition to everyones flight box as a quick reference guide on on the strip.

There is one thing I might change perhaps, after reading the instructions within the software and that is the above sentenance. To be sure that you are getting the required 8 degree's in both aileron and elevator axis's I would check and adjust both cyclic controls, as from past experience the elevator swashplate mix values can differ from the ailerons to achieve the same travel range.
The instructions do not specifically say to do so, but do mention these two cyclic controls as individual checks, so it might be worth checking.
.

super:

Glad you found it easy to follow and managed to set it up, Does the heli fly allrihght? Cheers for putting it in the pdf, its alot easier

coolice:

That is a good point you made there, in the align 3gx manual it doesn't say anything about doing elevator geometry, i believe once you do the aileron it is ment to set itself for elevator too, how true that is i dont know but so far its working well on my 700 i shall look into this tho mate cheers for pointing it out

Not flown yet, just setup.

Yeah, thinking about it, I need to check my pitch again. I think it's wrong. I'll double check and post back.

cheers,

John

keep me informed buddy, best to be safe than sorry ay

Hi,

Yep, had to change it.
They where almost the same, but still different, so best to check.

As for changes from the defualt 3GX settings, I lowered Tail lock gain, and Eli/Ali end points to get 14deg.
3GX pots still both at 12, need to play with them still to see if things can be improved.
Put 8 packs through it, in gusty conditions, and was well happy with it.

Flies like a dream, must nicer than 1.2 was, for my type of flying anyway. Not doing 3d, just fast forwards stuff right now.
Much easier to get it to fly well with out having to mess with pages of settings.

Cheers

John

what are the pots for?

Originally Posted by muscleflex

what are the pots for?

Hey.

To raise or lower the Alieron and Elevator gyro gains when you're nto using a PC/Laptop to do it with.
.

as what coolice said, they are to adjust your gains, if your gains are to high,, if you you stab your cyclic forward for example and the heli bounces, you need to turn the gain down ( such as if your tail bounces) same with the aileron pot,

if the gain is too low the machine feels like it wont stop sharp/ it drifts to a stop basicly, one of them things u have to play with