A few Spirit questions

[trillian]

I just got a Spirit FBL unit and it's still in the box, I've been reading the manual and just have a few questions before I decide what I'm doing with it.

First of all I would (ideally) be using it with two DSMX sats as I bought the adaptor for the 2nd sat. So my question is on binding and failsafe, do you have the same basic failsafe setup as the older Spektrum RXs where you set the throttle where you want it and then in the event of a radio loss you get a low throttle failsafe and the other channels stay where they are? Or... can you also set the other channels as well so that, for example, you have flat cyclics and zero pitch etc.? (the most important is throttle low)

My second question is about the rescue mode switch. I'm using a DX7S so it looks like the obvious solution is to use the trainer / bind switch. However, the way the unit 'sees' a command to activate the rescue is a little un-nerving in that it looks for a negative tail gyro gain value. I see that you can just lock the tail gain to a value ala the Vortex so that's what I would probably do as I have yet to need the ability to change the gain in flight (except for the initial tuning). However, I'm still a bit hazy on how to trigger the rescue mode and how to set this up for the trainer / bind button on the DX7S.

Lastly, I'm using a Jive with the built-in BEC so it sends power via the throttle channel and then has a 2nd BEC power lead but if I'm using the adaptor for the 2nd sat there's no open ports. Sooooo, do I have to use a Y lead off of another port to connect the Kontronik BEC?

Apologies for the questions but the manual is extremely brief.

[Gunnergolly]

Hello

When you bind your DSMX sats, ensure that your throttle stick is in the "low" position.

During a failsafe condition the throttle will go to that "off" position and all other channels will go to their neutral positions, i'e your pitch will go to zero degrees.

Once you activate the "rescue" option in the "Stabi" menu, negative values of gain from your transmitter will now activate the "Bail" out, basically you can't use "Rate" mode anymore.

The way i do it is to use bank switching, i'e Banks 0 and 1 are my flying modes and Bank 2 has the "acro" rescue mode activated. I have created a mix in my radio on the "Gyro" channel (7) which then changes the banks.

My flight mode switch switches between the Bank 0 and 1 modes and my bail out switch overrides Bank 0 and Bank 1 and activates the bail out on Bank 2.

i.e.

Normal uses Bank 0
Stunt 1 uses Bank 0
Stunt 2 uses Bank 1
Bail out overrides above two Banks and switches into Bank 2

Just for simplicity my tail gain is adjusted within the software, i use a Bluetooth adapter so this makes field adjustments easy.

If you choose to use "Bank" switching then you need to go into the "General" tab and click on the channel button and then assign the "Bank" to a specific channel.

However you must remember to go into the "Sensor" menu in your chosen rescue bank and turn the "Rudder gain" to a negative value for the rescue mode to work.

Also ensure that the negative gain valve is a similar value to what your using in your other banks as it is a "live" gain value also and sets the gain on that bank.

Yes you will have to make use of "Y" leads, the Spirit is a fantastic unit, however it's connectivity is not that great and the wiring can get a little messy.

Hope the above helps and hasn't confused you more.

Once you have got your "head" around the way it works it's easy enough, however the hardest part for me was creating the mix in the Tx.

Regards.

EDIT: i know that you already know this but do not connect that additional power lead from your Kontronik ESC to either the SYS or the ELE/PIT/AIL ports on the unit !!!.

[Mikej]

My second question is about the rescue mode switch. I'm using a DX7S so it looks like the obvious solution is to use the trainer / bind switch. However, the way the unit 'sees' a command to activate the rescue is a little un-nerving in that it looks for a negative tail gyro gain value. I see that you can just lock the tail gain to a value ala the Vortex so that's what I would probably do as I have yet to need the ability to change the gain in flight (except for the initial tuning). However, I'm still a bit hazy on how to trigger the rescue mode and how to set this up for the trainer / bind button on the DX7S.

I use my Spirit with my DX7 - I originally used the standard Gear switch to flip between HH mode and Rescue - however I didn't like the fact that it was an on / off switch, so when I activated Rescue it would right itself then shoot up until I flicked the Gear switch off, and unless I had corrected the throttle / cyclic it would then shoot down as soon as Rescue was dis-engaged.

So what I did is buy a sprung switch (that matches the standard switch) and wired that into AUX 2, I then swapped over the positions of the Aux 2 and the Aileron D/R so that the Rescue switch is on the outside and easier to find. I then assigned AUX 2 to the Gyro channel and Have +/- 34 as my values (+34 is HH, - 34 is Rescue with a Gain of 34).

It's much easier now as I can just "flick" the sprung switch and the heli will flip upright and go up.

A few things to look out for - the Rescue is desgned to right the heli as quickly as possible - it is pretty "voilent" and scares the what-not out of you the first few times you use it. The other thing that Tomas (the Spirit owner / developer) always says that it is essential to check the piro-compensation as it will behave very strangely if it is incorrect. Finally, I had an issue that my BEC wasn't strong enough, so when I activated Rescue (particularly towards the end of the flight) it would cause my RX to brown-out due to lack of power - make sure that your BEC is up to it ....

Good luck - it's a fantastic unit

[madgooner99]

I use my Spirit with my DX7 - I originally used the standard Gear switch to flip between HH mode and Rescue - however I didn't like the fact that it was an on / off switch, so when I activated Rescue it would right itself then shoot up until I flicked the Gear switch off, and unless I had corrected the throttle / cyclic it would then shoot down as soon as Rescue was dis-engaged.

So what I did is buy a sprung switch (that matches the standard switch) and wired that into AUX 2, I then swapped over the positions of the Aux 2 and the Aileron D/R so that the Rescue switch is on the outside and easier to find. I then assigned AUX 2 to the Gyro channel and Have +/- 34 as my values (+34 is HH, - 34 is Rescue with a Gain of 34).

It's much easier now as I can just "flick" the sprung switch and the heli will flip upright and go up.

A few things to look out for - the Rescue is desgned to right the heli as quickly as possible - it is pretty "voilent" and scares the what-not out of you the first few times you use it. The other thing that Tomas (the Spirit owner / developer) always says that it is essential to check the piro-compensation as it will behave very strangely if it is incorrect. Finally, I had an issue that my BEC wasn't strong enough, so when I activated Rescue (particularly towards the end of the flight) it would cause my RX to brown-out due to lack of power - make sure that your BEC is up to it ....

Good luck - it's a fantastic unit

I agree you MUST check piro compensation. I didnt and during the flight the rescue mode becomes more and more erratic to the extent it gave the heli negative pitch during rescue pushing it towards the ground all because i set it up wrong. Only takes two minutes but i missed that stage on the wizard.

I run my Spirits with rescue 'acro normal'. In this setting it doesn't try to get the heli up the right way, it just levels it with the horizon and pushes it away. The rate that it climbs can also be adjusted on the slider on the Stabi tab

Ray

[trillian]

I agree you MUST check piro compensation. I didnt and during the flight the rescue mode becomes more and more erratic to the extent it gave the heli negative pitch during rescue pushing it towards the ground all because i set it up wrong. Only takes two minutes but i missed that stage on the wizard.

I run my Spirits with rescue 'acro normal'. In this setting it doesn't try to get the heli up the right way, it just levels it with the horizon and pushes it away. The rate that it climbs can also be adjusted on the slider on the Stabi tab

Ray

Yeah that's how I would have it set. I don't want it to try to flip upright if I am practising something inverted, I'd want it to stay inverted.

Thanks everyone for the info!