GY601 voltage sensitivity?

[trillian]

'Just curious if this is a known thing or maybe it was something unrelated.

I have a GY601 on a heli and the rx is powered by a NiMh 5 volt pack. When the pack is fully charged it reads about 5.3 volts.

Anyway, today I flew a couple tanks and then the voltspy was on about the 3rd light down from the max and when I took off the tail started drifting when it had been fine previously. The gyro showed 4.7 volts after saying 'hello'.

I put a freshly charged pack on and then no more tail drift.

So is the 601 sensitive to a drop in voltage like that?

Or perhaps it was something else and just coincidence.

Also, I have the gain at 91% now, does that sound high for the 601?

[Kwickkwack]

I had a couple of issues in the past with my 611 (similar I believe). I have been told that temperature effects things, all I did was to alternate between HH and rate two or three times and all was fine, . as for a slight drop in voltage, I cannot see that being an issue and as for the gain, what is the reading on the gyro itself (not the tranny) as this is the figure you should work to, if I recall correctly then 36-40 is the range you would expect.

[trillian]

as for a slight drop in voltage, I cannot see that being an issue and as for the gain, what is the reading on the gyro itself (not the tranny) as this is the figure you should work to, if I recall correctly then 36-40 is the range you would expect.

Yeah maybe it didn't initialise properly that one time and after I changed the rx battery it then initialised correctly.

Hmmmm, I need to look at the LCD, I'm not sure what it says for gain. I kinda treated it like a 401 and just fired it up without fiddling with it so I suppose I better have a look through the manual. It does seem to be working very well though.

[DIJ]

I believe the 601 is pretty similar to the 611, and the maximum gain that the 611 should display is about 40% as stated above.
Just set whatever gain is needed on the TX to show the required gain on the display. I have mine set to 37% which seems to be the norm, and that holds rock steady.

[Steve]

NiMh pack voltage can give you misleading information - it may well be showing 4.7V in idle state but the voltage might be dropping off very sharply under load (i.e. when it's in use) which might explain why the heli is drifting in flight. Sounds like your pack might need looking at and/or getting rid of.

But, I know nothing about such things of batteries and the like and could well be talking a load of cack, as my friends will justify!

[0h5h1t]

was the 4.7v showing when the model was static, by that i mean NO stick inputs from the tranny, if it was then wiggle all the sticks and you'll see the voltage drop even further. I used to find that low voltage always affected the tail servo first which is a good sign to land and check the battery pack.

[trillian]

NiMh pack voltage can give you misleading information - it may well be showing 4.7V in idle state but the voltage might be dropping off very sharply under load (i.e. when it's in use) which might explain why the heli is drifting in flight. Sounds like your pack might need looking at and/or getting rid of.

But, I know nothing about such things of batteries and the like and could well be talking a load of cack, as my friends will justify!

You could be right about it pulling down more under load but it's only because the pack was not fully charged. It's a 4300mah pack and when fully charged I can fly almost all day but I had not charged it the night before and brought along the spare knowing this.

Nonetheless, I might end up fitting a regulator on there at some point.

[Steve]

A regulator won't stop the voltage from dropping low. It only caps the top end from going too high.

[trillian]

A regulator won't stop the voltage from dropping low. It only caps the top end from going too high.

Yes but when you're starting with a 7.4 volt LiPo as the source you have a lot further to go before you dip down near 4 volts etc. (I was talking about ditching the NiMh pack for a reg and Lipo, not just sticking a reg on with the existing battery)