Spartan AP2000i or Robbe Heli Command?

[Tonystott]

Thanks Angelos! Your active participation here is yet another great reason for me to gor for the Spartan :)

[MarkWebber]

Thanks Angelos! Your active participation here is yet another great reason for me to gor for the Spartan

That's what got me hooked too!

[GGoodrum]

I agree, having Angelos participate here is great. I believe it was at least partially because of the active discussions we had here a while back that the auto calibration feature was added. That's amazing! :)

-- Gary

[Angelos]

The new firmware is now available for download from our website. The user guide is also updated to describe the new functionality.

http://www.spartan-rc.com/products/ap2000i/ap2000i.htm

-Angelos

[Cryofix]

At leasst you wont get yelled at here Angelos :)

[dreslism]

Sweet. It's night here now, I hope the rain holds off tomorrow so I can try the in air calibration!

[Christopher J]

I can't speak with knowledge about the AP2000i and I've got nothing against it, but I don't care for the FMA sensor. When close to buildings, trees, or hills it had the tendency to "push" or "pull" the heli away. I've been doing some testing with the Robbe Helicommand that Aerial Images bought this summer. I like the braking effect it has when you let go of the sticks as well as the fact that you can dial in how much you want. This is really of no use for AP but I thought it was pretty neat. Beside from that it functions pretty much the same as other sensors and keeps the heli upright and holds a pretty nice hover. I also like the fact that it doesn't "read" a heat difference but senses movement and counters it. It's pretty much a 3 axis gyro with an optical sensor. I'm only using two of the axis since the heli already has a pretty nice gyro onboard.

[MasterCrash]

The new firmware is now available for download from our website. The user guide is also updated to describe the new functionality.

http://www.spartan-rc.com/products/ap2000i/ap2000i.htm

-AngelosI am using the Spred Spectrum 2.4 Ghz radio/Reciever system. I would like to know if this spartan ap2000 will work with it. I do NOT have any "Spare" channels however I could switch to a Standard Gyro that you set manually henceforth freeing up one of my channels. :?:

[Tonystott]

I don't believe the Spartan AP2000i has any relationship with 2.4Ghz so I can't imagine why there should be a compatibility issue.

[MarkWebber]

MasterCrash

The AP2000i is only concerned with the servo signal, not the tx frequency. Provided you are not using a 4 servo CCPM swashplate, you may setup the AP2000i to control your gyro gain thereby freeing up a channel to operate the stabilization gain setting on the AP2000i.

[MasterCrash]

MasterCrash

The AP2000i is only concerned with the servo signal, not the tx frequency. Provided you are not using a 4 servo CCPM swashplate, you may setup the AP2000i to control your gyro gain thereby freeing up a channel to operate the stabilization gain setting on the AP2000i.

THANX!! :glasses2:

[Aguia2]

Hello,
I'm trying to flash the new firmware but the bootloader doesn't seem to detect any com ports!
The usb cable seemed to be detected ok by windows xp (it has no special drivers, right?)
Anyone had this problem?

thanks,
Emilio

[MarkWebber]

Yes, there are drivers for the USB Flashlink. Go to http://www.spartan-rc.com/products/flashlink/flashlink.htm and download and install the driver there.

[Aguia2]

Gee... that was real fast tech support answer... thanks. Sorry i shoul'd have recheked the website before asking.

Anyway, my flash cable is the one with the black plug and is not working with xp sp2 and it is not giving me the option to search the internet.

May i install the drivers for the blue plug flash cable? or there is some link or way to manually install the black plug drivers?

[Angelos]

Go to the Device Manager and check if the cable is listed under the serial ports section. If it shows up with a question mark icon next to it then delete it, remove the cable and attach it again. Allow windows to search for a driver and make sure that the driver is found before exiting the new hardware wizard. Read the messages carefully. Often windows will say that no driver is found but will still let you click on the "finish" button.

Don’t install the blue plug drivers. The cables have completely different USB controllers and the drivers are not compatible. Let Windows search everywhere for the driver and should be ok. If it still tells you that no driver is found contact me and I will find you a copy to install manually.

-Angelos

[Aguia2]

Thanks for the file Angelos. In my case it still needed a little tweaking but it works now!
Thanks for the nice support!

Emilio

[sparky]

This AP 20001, does it stabalize the heli or the camera mount?

How much approx does it cost?

How much trouble setting it up on the heli?

How hard to learn it?

Thanks in advance!

John

[catfight]

sparky,

AP2000i cost $205 for unit+$80 for FMA IR sensor- you have to order elsewhere,+PC cable and IR cable at $60 or so)

It stabiliizes the heli and you need a channel on your radio for the gain/calibrate feature (I use 6 channel and connect gyro to unused port for gyro gain- manual)

It senses the horizon (diff in temp of the ground and sky generally). You get it above the trees in a hover, hit calibrate switch for about 2 sec and release - giving you a reference horizon). In operation you just let go of the cyclic stick and it hovers except for wind drift.

Pretty cool device - I just put in my T600 last week and it was easy install if you can read directions (which I couldn't at first :oops: )

[MarkWebber]

John

The AP2000i is designed for stabilizing your helicopter. It is not difficult to install or operate. I sell the system (less IR sensor) for 252.15USD plus shipping. The IR sensor is available from fmadirect.com.

[sparky]

Thanks both to catfight and mark!
After my wife coms back down from the purchase of the Trex 600 and I get more comfortable flying, I will definitly be getting this!
Should be a way to get some of the investment back as no one where I live is doing anything like this! Also, just for my own pleasure in photogrify!

John

[catfight]

sparky,

You might want to get this first :D to save on parts budget :D

[sparky]

Catfight,
Can you still give inputs to the cyclic while it is on, or do you have to shut it down first to move around?
And correct me if I am wrong, but your gyro stays in heading hold all the time?
so when you first set up the heli, use chanel 6 for set up in normal, set the gain, then move it to an open port on the rx?

Remember, I am an oldschool planker and never had to deal with advanced electronics to fly? Most indepth I have ever been is mixing flaperons! LOL!

[MLaBoyteaux]

Your cyclic inputs go through the AP-2000 so you always have control of the heli. What the AP-2000 does is make corrections to keep the heli level. As you increase the gain on the stabilizer, the more authority it has. At a high setting, you can intentionally roll the heli over to say 45 or 60 degrees and let go of the cyclic. The heli will right itself very rapidly.

When the gain is set high, the cylic will feel "stiff" because the stabilizer has so much authority.

At a lower setting, it will take longer for the stabilizer to level the heli, but it feels more natural in forward flight because you won't feel like your having to "fight" against the stabilzer.

Since the Heading Hold gyro is on the rudder channel, it's not affected by the AP-2000.

However, because some installations are short a spare channel for gain control, it is possible to use the #5 receiver output to control the gain of the AP-2000. This channel is normally used to control the gain for the rudder gyro.

So what you do in this situation, is use the spare output from the AP-2000 and program it to provide a constant output which simulates the gain for the rudder gyro. The downside is you no longer have the ability to change your gyro gain from the transmitter, but most of us using it for AP never change the gyro gain anyway! Mine is always set to 70% and I never change it once I've got the heli set up properly.

I've got 3 AP rigs (2 gassers and an electric Raptor) and all 3 of them have AP-2000's on them. I would also recommend them for low time pilots. I would NOT suggest they are a substitute for a competent instructor, but they will help you master nose in hovering without breaking your heli as often :lol:

[catfight]

I concur with Laboyteaux on all points :D I only have 6 channels so I use ch 5 (gear) and then with some fancy mixing with switches (I can't even explain that to you :D ) I use 2 switches, 1 for off/enabled (to some preset gain setting on the AP2000i) and the other switch to momentarily throw it into calibrate and then back off. People with 7 channels or more can use a "slider" to adjust the gain any way they want! This works for me though!

[sparky]

I see said the blind man! Makes a lot of sense! I bet I could even be able to teach my wife to fly with it!
I have over 60 hours on the sim, quite a few on a indoor heli, and I am anxious to see how the 600 flys in comparison to the hours spent on the sim! On the sim, about 60% of the time, I have no problems on nose in hover. My battel now is side in landing at around what I think is 20 feet in front of me. Can tic toc, rolls, flips, and loops no problem, inverted hover is a crash about 80% of the time at 10 to 15 feet off the ground.

luckly i have 26 days off at a time just for practice. Learned to hover tail in before I got the sim, but that is on fixed pitch!

Thanks again catfight! You have been extreamly helpfull! Wish we could get together for a fly and a chat! but you are almost 20,000 miles away!