3 BeastX questions

[trillian]

OK, I think I have the beastX pretty much setup but a few things I am still not totally clear on (and I have searched on the Beast X forum and still didn't see these questions being answered)

I am using a DX7 and the beastX is on a 450SE with a Microheli FBL head.

1. The manual says start with the TX travel adjusts at 100. Should this actually be 150 on the DX7 since that is the maximum?

2. I have the control behaviour menu B set to transmitter to adjust via the travel adjusts. From what I can tell this only limits the servo travel and does not affect the actual swash gain. Is there any way to change the swash gain remotely or is it only adjustable via the pots?

3. When in menu L for the cyclic swash limit, it wanted crazy amounts of swash deflection to get a blue light. The manual talks about setting the mechanical setup to 'increase the throw' but the problem is too much throw! Obviously the only thing it 'knows' is how much it is moving the servos but with the linkage set very conservatively and all very well aligned, it seems the Beast X still thinks the servo should be moving further and yet if it was moving any more the geometry would be terrible at the extremes (my guess here is that it cannot possibly know what is a reasonable amount of servo movement for all helicopters / servos so it's just plain wrong in this case). Right now I think where I left it was at a point just before the swash binds but I really should reduce that a bit further, which will surely show black (light off) on the Beast X. Alternatively I could leave that menu setting alone and just reduce the travels in the TX.

[Lynx.1677]

Hey dude,

1. I left the travel adjust at the default setting of 100, I found that 150 sort of overdrives the limits.

2. Swash gain is adjustable via the pots.

3. Step L: I set this to bind and then backed off a little. You need blue at this stage also for max available throw. (same as step J)

[trillian]

Hey dude,



3. Step L: I set this to bind and then backed off a little. You need blue at this stage also for max available throw. (same as step J)

Step J was fine, 'got blue at 6 degrees no problem. But no way can I get blue at step L, it's trying to move the swash way too far. Here's where I think it's just plain wrong, because it cannot know how far out the swash links are or how big the swash physically is. All it 'knows' is the signal it is sending to the servo and once again not all servos travel the same amount for the same command. So I am going to ignore what the Beast 'thinks' about this and just reduce the travel adjusts in the TX to suit what I think is a reasonable amount of swash travel.

[Lynx.1677]

Well, you have two choices here. Ignore it, fly it and see what it feels like or fiddle around moving in the servo balls as close as poss to get more resolution.

Personally............I say get it as close as you can, screw the colour and see how it flies.

[trillian]

Well, you have two choices here. Ignore it, fly it and see what it feels like or fiddle around moving in the servo balls as close as poss to get more resolution.

Personally............I say get it as close as you can, screw the colour and see how it flies.

Yeah, I could try moving the ball links inwards on the servo arms but what would be a better solution in terms of keeping the geometry more consistent would be to extend the ball links on the swash somehow.

I have a 450 pro swash which is slightly wider, so that might be an easy solution as well (although, the inner swash is also wider so I would have to reset the 6 degrees in menu J).

[GravityKills]

>> it wanted crazy amounts of swash deflection to get a blue light

From what I know of other FBL controllers (wouldn't call my BeastX trials a success), you should shorten the servo arms, modify the swashplate or use longer arms on the blade grips.
See my blog article on FBL common sense: If the servos are overloaded, they don't do as they are commanded, and the flybarless controller has a hard time to do accurate work. It matters most in abrupt stops from flips, less so if only buzzing around.

What you're describing is the most common problem with FBL I know of.

[trillian]

>> it wanted crazy amounts of swash deflection to get a blue light

From what I know of other FBL controllers (wouldn't call my BeastX trials a success), you should shorten the servo arms, modify the swashplate or use longer arms on the blade grips.
See my blog article on FBL common sense: If the servos are overloaded, they don't do as they are commanded, and the flybarless controller has a hard time to do accurate work. It matters most in abrupt stops from flips, less so if only buzzing around.

What you're describing is the most common problem with FBL I know of.

I put a 450 pro (clone) swash on there which has the balls farther out. At the moment it would not be possible to shorten the servo arms at all because the elevator servo linkage would then contact the anti-rotation guide (unless perhaps the servo was flipped around with the arm going from the opposite direction but this is just an abstract thought). The links on the blade grips are not even an issue here because the problem is too much swash movement and the swash binding.

The Beast X has no way of knowing if the servos are likely to be overloaded because it does not know how much torque they have.

I think it's simply an example of how a 'one size fits all' device is not always going to be in its pristine ideal desired state in every instance.

It seems perfectly happy with the 6 degree calibration though, and that is the only indication it actually has of how much servo signal results in a certain amount of blade movement.

[dav20043]

it sounds as if you need to increase your mechanical throw unless you are running very high collective pitch which would also cause this problem

[trillian]

it sounds as if you need to increase your mechanical throw unless you are running very high collective pitch which would also cause this problem

Collective is set at +/- 10 at the moment.

The links on the servos are 12.5 mm out and this should be a very acceptable point. Any shorter and you start getting big geometry issues and severe lack of cyclic at high or low collective.

Right now step L is giving me red. So we'll see how it flies that way.

Looking closer I can also see there is no way to move the links in any closer on the servos because the elevator servo is the limiting factor as it is already nearly touchng the anti-rotation guide.

[jwatts007]

I fly mine in the set pro mode just needed to add some expo on the tail with the raptor, both heli have flown fine, now hes a thing, yesterday I got a rc logger pitch gauge, when I put it on my 600 at centre stick I had 2.5 deg, I had set J up thinking I was at 0 deg, but as I said it flew fine, L I think is just to set the limits just set the throws as far as they go without binding you should get a blue light, that is my understanding, the BX forum is very good and a guy named Stefan he answers any questions promptly

[dav20043]

Collective is set at +/- 10 at the moment.

The links on the servos are 12.5 mm out and this should be a very acceptable point. Any shorter and you start getting big geometry issues and severe lack of cyclic at high or low collective.

Right now step L is giving me red. So we'll see how it flies that way.

Looking closer I can also see there is no way to move the links in any closer on the servos because the elevator servo is the limiting factor as it is already nearly touchng the anti-rotation guide.

i mean to move them out increasing your throws

[trillian]

i mean to move them out increasing your throws

That would make the situation worse, there is already too much.

[Andy from Sandy]

What is the distance from the centre of the head to the blade grip ball. I have an RJX head and the distance is 21mm. Although I am using a v-bar controller in the setup the geometry is spot on.

[dav20043]

if you increase your throws you can get the six degrees in menu j for less servo movement equaling less servo movement to keep the blue light in total swash limit menu L

[trillian]

What is the distance from the centre of the head to the blade grip ball. I have an RJX head and the distance is 21mm. Although I am using a v-bar controller in the setup the geometry is spot on.

It's 16mm but on this head the link to the swash is not a direct connection, there is a mixer arm that provides some leverage.