Failsafes

[Nick X-Cell Pro 2k]

Does anyone know about failsafe systems for helis and how they work?

Is there anything as I cannot find any forums on this.

Also does anyone know about the co pilot failsafe as this seems like a brilliant idea, maybe better than buying a sim?

[Smoothound]

Mine are all set to throttle idle and hold last position on all others

[Nick X-Cell Pro 2k]

Mine are all set to throttle idle and hold last position on all others

Thanks Phil but how do they work, are they easy to set up, connected to the receiver etc?

[robgt]

You program the receiver - it remembers what you tell it to do should the signal from your Tx be lost.
Different receivers are setup in different ways so you're best bet is to check your receivers manual to see how it should be programmed for failsafes.
It's normally quite straight-forward.

Cheers,
Rob

[kevinh]

ppm or pcm receivers? or both

[Gaza07]

Its written in the air navigation order now that all failsafes if fitted to a model must be set to idle the engine on loss of signal
it even covers the small dsp type rx,s with failsafes to

[simon_s]

ppm or pcm receivers? or both

That would be PCM receivers. You set the fail safe positions on the TX and the TX will send the positions to the RX every time you turn on.

[Ade_Law]

PCM and some DSP (digital signal processing) ppm recievers have it. Easy to set and VERY worthwhile.

its not about saving the model its about preventing flyaways and reducing the energy that the model has when it hits.

Ade

[robgt]

Yeah, I always thought that when it came to helicopters, "failsafe" was a little ironic
LOL
Cheers,
Rob

[Nick X-Cell Pro 2k]

PCM and some DSP (digital signal processing) ppm recievers have it. Easy to set and VERY worthwhile.

its not about saving the model its about preventing flyaways and reducing the energy that the model has when it hits.

Ade

Hello Ade

Threads going off track a bit I really wanted some specifics as I am a newbie.

Where do you fit them, near the receiver?
Are they programmed or the receiver?
How much are they?
Can they be used to drop throttle and change pitch?
Is there anything to stop failure due to receiver batteries failing or a wire failure? I know on rallycross we used to wrap a strong elastic band round the throttle servo horn to reset to neutral if power was lost is this possible?
Has anyone used the co pilot system?

Thanks for the replys so far.

[robgt]

Where do you fit them, near the receiver?

It's not an external thing - it's part of each receiver (that supports it).
Some receivers store the failsafe settings onboard (in non-volatile memory, so it isn't wiped out when the power is off) - some don't store the settings like that and need them sent from the Tx every time it's switched on - this is an automatic thing that you don't need to worry about, once you have set it up the first time.

Failsafe settings are only transmitted when you first set them up with the Tx.
The whole point of failsafe is that the receiver knows what to do when signal from the Tx is lost.

Can they be used to drop throttle and change pitch?

Yes, the idea is that you drop the throttle to idle and then either hold last known inputs, or centre them for other channels.

Cheers,
Rob

[Nick X-Cell Pro 2k]

Thanks Rob

I di not know the receiver had a memory to be programmed like that, I have a Futaba 149 DP receiver which seems to be at the higher end of the range, and a FF9 super transmitter so am sure it can do this and when I get it set up by an expert will get it programmed properly.

[phil485]

I think also you are getting confused with external co pilot systems too. These are totally diferent to fail safes..
Not sure how they work and not ever seen one used. I have seen adverts but I think they are targeted more towards planks which are inherently more stable. I doubt there is anything that would save your heli and give it a safe landing if you muck up.

[phil485]

http://www.revolutionmodels.co.uk/ac..._Co_Pilot.html

this is what I think nick is thinking about..
As I said before never seen one used before, maybe some of the more experienced have used or seen these.

all the advice about failsafes is correct though which is inbuilt into a pcm receiver. pretty much just ensures you hit the ground with the engine at idle. These co pilots reckon they can help stabilise and help a newby

[robgt]

I use the 149DP receiver myself - I've not had any problems with it.
Cheers,
Rob