Governor?

[enigma]

I'm curious to know how many of you are running governor for AP. Also why or why not?

[askman]

for AP, I find that I get good result without governor. it is also bit more efficient without governor running 100%, geared to correct headspeed. governor is good when you are doing lot of power changes, but in AP, we tend to use small band of power, and bogging is not a big concern.

[rerazor]

Plus, gov mode can cause surges/tail wag etc... I think for AP its not really needed.

[dreslism]

I'm using governor.

Why?

It's all I know! :lol:

[GGoodrum]

If you have a "surging" headspeed, I'm guessing you have a Phx HV 45 or 85, and the "Governor Gan" setting is set too high. It is very similar to when you have the tail gyro gain set too high and you get a "wag".

Using a governor and setting it to 100% is just like not using a governor. Any motor running at partial throttle runs a bit less efficiently than running it at 100%. With the high relative efficiencies of the current crop of motors we use, running any of them at partial throttle settings down as low as 80% should not be a problem. The controllers have a lot to do with this as well. A Jazz, for instance, does quite well running at PT, primarily because it automatically adjusts/optimizes the timing so the doesn't get too hot. The Phx HV controllers and the the new SAE controllers also have this dynamic timing adjust feature, as does the Jeti "Spin" series.

The bottomline is I wouldn't worry too much about running any of these controllers down to the 80% level with an Actro or one of the Z3A/Z50A motors. BTW, it is not the controller that runs hot in an inefficient setup, it is the motor that runs hot. Both these types of motors run cool as a cucumber in an AP/AV environment, the Actro because it pulls a ton of air through it, and the "A" series Z-Powers because of a combination of being very efficient in the first place and an improved airflow that does almost as good a job removing heat as the Actros.

I like running governor mode with it dialed down/geared so that I get the h/s I'm looking for (1750-1800 for a 620-bladed Raptor and 2000 for a Logo 10...) at about the 90% range. That leaves me a power reserve to get out of trouble and/or in case I run my a123 packs down to where they start dumping. In the latter case, it gives me just a bit extra power to land safely. When I feel the power dropping, I just flip to IDLE 2 which I keep at 100%.

-- Gary

[AeroMattics]

For those running the GOV, what values have you lowered the gain to for your desired HS? I'm just wondering if there is a common range for certain headspeeds.

Thanks.

[MLaBoyteaux]

I've got mine at 60% but I'm fixing to lower it to 50 and try that. I'm running a 10S setup on an Actor 24-5 with the R30 gearing. 100% HS is about 1800 and I've dialed it down to 1680, but it still has a little surge with the governor gain at 60.

I'm using the 690 semi-sym blades with 3° of washout.

[Nitrospazzz]

Now the question...Was enigma talking about governor on the ESC or on a gasser motor? Bit different depending on the application.

I am not running a governor on my Bergen gasser, I just set the throttle/pitch curve up for 1600 in hover. If I do a full power climb out I gain head speed pretty quick but its a AP ship so full power climb outs are rare

[enigma]

Now the question...Was enigma talking about governor on the ESC or on a gasser motor? Bit different depending on the application.

I am not running a governor on my Bergen gasser, I just set the throttle/pitch curve up for 1600 in hover. If I do a full power climb out I gain head speed pretty quick but its a AP ship so full power climb outs are rareESC :)

[GGoodrum]

On the 3D eRaptor setups,we usually have them set at around 78-80. My Logo 10 is set to 50. I think for general AP/AV work, anything in the 60-70 range is fine, and anything in the 40-50 range for the Logo 10 size will work.

-- Gary

[Angelos]

I believe the governor helps whether it is a gasser, nitro or electric. All mechanical structures have tune frequencies where they like to oscillate. Parts of the helicopter or the camera mount may oscillate at different frequencies and therefore you need to stay away from them. The governor locks the engine/tail/rotor RPM where you want it; away from any tune frequency.

Try this experiment and you could be amazed with the results. Get a cheap laser pointer and mount it next to your camera. Try to get a lightweight one so it does not affect the mass of the system much. Hover the helicopter in front of a wall and watch the patterns the laser makes from any oscillatetion. Adjust the governor until you find the RPM that gives you the least vibrations.

-Angelos

[GGoodrum]

With the governor mode in the Phx HV controllers there is a separate "Governor Gain" setting which is different than the throttle setting coming from the transmitter. This gain setting is used to adjust the governor resposiveness, much like you do with a tail gyro gain setting. The idea is to adjust it so that the headspeed starts oscillating, or "surging", and then back it off slightly. this allows the least amount of "lag" time between load changes and the governor reacting to these changes. This is great for doing 3D, but probably not noticable with our AP/AV setups. Anyway, this gain setting is what I am referring to in my post above. For larger models, like the Raptors, or a Joker, the gain should be set around 60-70%, and for smaller/mid-size helis, like a Logo 10, it should be around 40-50%.

I agree with Angelos about using a governor is a good thing. What I try and do is gear the system so that the "optimum" h/s for the least vibration is at a governor throttle setting around 90%. That gives the governor a bit of room to work, plus it allows me to set IDLE 2 to a full 100%, which I use when I need a bit of a power boost, such as when I first feel the power start to drop in my a123-M1 packs. Since they dump pretty quick, Having this "reserve" power gives me enough to land without having, in essence, a "forced" auto. :)

-- Gary