nwmtech
09-20-2010, 10:26 PM
This will be an on-going thread and I will re-edit and add info as I have time and accumulate more information. Please reply if you have additional information. I'll also be keeping a blog now so additional comments will be in there as far as tuning and new finds. Also, attached at the bottom of this post is the flight log I use to keep track of changes while I'm tweaking and tuning. Nothing fancy but it works.
Setup Videos:
Done by Brian http://www.allmyrc.com/forums/r-c-he...s-total-g.html
Firmware Uploading:
The manual isn't very clear about this but be aware that when you update the firmware on the Head side of the unit you also need to update the firmware in the Tail/Gov section of the TotalG as well.
Software:
Numerous users have reported issues with Windows Vista. Most of the time it only results in the communication between the unit and software freezing up but there are a couple cases of some very weird and random parameter changes after being in the software.
Sometimes a yellow highlighted parameter in the software will not respond or show any change. Usually just moving the mouse over to a different one then back again will "wake" it up.
Servo setup:
Servo placement is not critical with 1.02 but will be with further releases. If the elevator is in the FRONT of the swash plate then the LEFT REAR would be Aileron and the RIGHT REAR would be Collective. If the elevator is in the REAR then the RIGHT FRONT would be Aileron and the LEFT FRONT would be Collective (looking from the back of the heli).
When setting up swash level and checking pitch ranges it is easiest to turn the FC gain all the way down. This will take the control loop completely out of the equation.
If you are coming from VBar and had your mechanical setup dead on with Mikados specs then you'll find you will need to move your ball position on the servo horns out a bit. For example... if stock was 14mm and VBar was 10mm then 12mm will be close. Generally the Align 3G hole positions work fine for those coming from 3G.
Mechanical setup is very critical to get correct if you want to get the most out of the TotalG. From what I've found if you didn't have to go into the software to increase throws to get 14* of cyclic/collective then you have far too much mechanical gain and need to move your servo ball distance in. What some people find is that when going in on the servo balls they can achieve the 14* of collective fine but struggle to get it on cyclic even with the software throw increased. In these cases you can increase the inner swash ball length to help.
Mounting tapes:
For most helis, the thinner the mounting tape the better. Anything much thicker than a single layer of thick gyro tape (or two layers of thin tape) will cause bobbles on hard stops during hard 3D maneuvers. On electrics and a low vibe nitro even a single layer of 3M Red mounting tape can work. Both Zeal and Align gel result in pretty wicked bobbles and even tail bounce on the stops.
Secure the wires firmly about 2" away then let leave a moderate amount of slack going into the unit.
Make sure your mounting location is stiff and firm. Flimsy gyro trays will just cause problems.
Wiring/Power Supply:
The two data ports on the top of the unit share the same power and ground bus as the servo connectors do so it can be used for power/ground for items such as PushGlo's, etc. Negative wire goes towoards the front of the unit (where the servo wires are)
For regular servo ports the signal wire faces up and the negative is down
EXT1 and EXT2 should NEVER be given more than 5.5v
For activating a channel activated device (SwitchGlow, etc.) you can use either EXT port for the signal wire and either of the top ports for power and ground.
Power supply (this is my personal choice and experience). For a system running 2s (either LiPo or LiFe) to the cyclics and a 5v regulated tail/throttle this works great. http://www.helidirect.com/perfect-regulators-remote-failsafe-switch-channel-regulator-p-19650.hdx Straight 2s power is actually feed into the TotalG through both the throttle and tail power wires that plug into the unit. The signals are then ran through the failsafe switch and continued with a 5v regulated power out to the servos. This gives redundant 2s power to the unit and doesn't take up the space of a power lead. This is just a personal recommendation from my own experiences and is in no way affiliated with CJYE.
Spektrum/JR info:
A great explanation of how 2.4 works and where satellites should be mounted to be the most effective. http://www.archeli.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=136223
You must have a satellite plugged into the port opposite the servo wires or the unit will not bind. That is the main satellite port.
When assigning channels to control gain values (TR, FC, Gov, etc.) you will need to increase the ATV's on those channels to at least 120 in the radio to allow complete range of gain adjustment in the software. Be warned that the numbers in the radio DO NOT match the values in the software.
Governor:
To check the governor sensor you must have the mouse pointer OVER the sensor light.
DX7 setup for 3 flight modes in Gov. Gov off in normal mode. The bold values will set the actual head speed (I've input some ballpark values just to give you an idea. This are not exact and will vary with your setup and gearing). Value "A" is normal mode. This is set all the way negative to turn the gov off. Value "B" is your Idle1 headspeed. You'll be able to see the actual headspeed change in the software as you change this value. Value "C" is your Idle2 headspeed. This is a percentage that's added to value "B" that's why it's so much smaller. Again, just watch the headspeed parameter in the software and stop when you've got it where you want. Now if you want to run the gov in normal mode then just start increasing value "A" towards zero until you get to your desired headspeed. This value stays negative since it's a subtracted percentage from value "B".
INPUT SELECT: AUX2/AUX2 GEAR/GEAR
TRAVEL ADJUST: AUX2 +93%/-100 (A)
MIX1: AUX2-> AUX2 ON/OFF
RATE: -100% (B)
0%
SW: F-NR
OFFSET: 0
MIX3: AUX2-> AUX 2 ON/OFF
RATE: = +15% (C)
0%
SW: F-S2
OFFSET: 0
Tail Tuning Tips:
Default settings are quite low for tail gain. Not uncommon to end up with gain values up near 85 in the software. It's pretty common NOT to get a high gain wag like most tail gyros unless you REALLY work the tail hard. Some folks reported a slingshot type tail effect during piro maneuvers when gain was too high.
Default stops are set for a VERY soft tail. Don't be afraid of increasing these quite a bit if you like crisp stops.
Recommended tail servo horn length on 50/90 size helis is 17mm
Tail seems to have some built in expo. Lots of folks to have reported running 10%-15% on the tail before the TotalG now running 5%
Tuning FC gain:
CRITICAL: With the current 1.02 firmware there have been numerous reported issues (I have also personally confirmed this) with running the FC gain on an AUX channel in your radio. Until this gets sorted out set the FC assignment to GView. If you do not the unti will still fly but will be far more difficult to tune and you'll find many of the values below won't apply.
Even if you don't plan to use Gov mode you still need to set the Throttle High and Throttle Low parameters in the software. If you don't you won't be able to go into TrimLock mode.
Initializing the uniit with 0 FC gain may cause swash drifting. Always initialize with some amount of FC gain.
Lower FC gain values will give a more "flybar" feel to the heli and will give a slight coast between cyclic inputs. Higher gain values give a more conventional FBL feel and will lock the cylic control in a more rigid fashion. 50-55 is a pretty good starting point for most. Don't get too caught up in getting as high of a FC gain as possible as you'll find yourself creating more bobbles and trying to combat them with stop gains not to mention it will cause weird piro interactions.
Consistently folks have reported great results with changing the Flip Rate Gain to around 20 and the Flip Heading Gain to about 15. This is to combat elevator bobble.
Stop gains are very sensitive. Sometimes the difference between a coast and a bobble can be only two points. Also, they need to be adjusted individually as fas as fwd elev/back elev, etc.Setting these to high and getting coasting can effect pitching/diving in FF
Blades can make a HUGE difference in how the heli feels so if you get a chance try and fly as many different sets of blades as you can. You'll be suprised in that settings that work with a certain brand of blade won't work with others. Don't be afraid to try conventional non-fbl blades as well as lots of folks are reporting much better luck on normal blades than other FBL systems.
Adjust your Expo to "feel" rather than to what you conventionally run as far as numbers go. The unit seems to have some built in expo in comparison to others so if you were running 30% before start with 20% and adjust per feel.
Setup Videos:
Done by Brian http://www.allmyrc.com/forums/r-c-he...s-total-g.html
Firmware Uploading:
The manual isn't very clear about this but be aware that when you update the firmware on the Head side of the unit you also need to update the firmware in the Tail/Gov section of the TotalG as well.
Software:
Numerous users have reported issues with Windows Vista. Most of the time it only results in the communication between the unit and software freezing up but there are a couple cases of some very weird and random parameter changes after being in the software.
Sometimes a yellow highlighted parameter in the software will not respond or show any change. Usually just moving the mouse over to a different one then back again will "wake" it up.
Servo setup:
Servo placement is not critical with 1.02 but will be with further releases. If the elevator is in the FRONT of the swash plate then the LEFT REAR would be Aileron and the RIGHT REAR would be Collective. If the elevator is in the REAR then the RIGHT FRONT would be Aileron and the LEFT FRONT would be Collective (looking from the back of the heli).
When setting up swash level and checking pitch ranges it is easiest to turn the FC gain all the way down. This will take the control loop completely out of the equation.
If you are coming from VBar and had your mechanical setup dead on with Mikados specs then you'll find you will need to move your ball position on the servo horns out a bit. For example... if stock was 14mm and VBar was 10mm then 12mm will be close. Generally the Align 3G hole positions work fine for those coming from 3G.
Mechanical setup is very critical to get correct if you want to get the most out of the TotalG. From what I've found if you didn't have to go into the software to increase throws to get 14* of cyclic/collective then you have far too much mechanical gain and need to move your servo ball distance in. What some people find is that when going in on the servo balls they can achieve the 14* of collective fine but struggle to get it on cyclic even with the software throw increased. In these cases you can increase the inner swash ball length to help.
Mounting tapes:
For most helis, the thinner the mounting tape the better. Anything much thicker than a single layer of thick gyro tape (or two layers of thin tape) will cause bobbles on hard stops during hard 3D maneuvers. On electrics and a low vibe nitro even a single layer of 3M Red mounting tape can work. Both Zeal and Align gel result in pretty wicked bobbles and even tail bounce on the stops.
Secure the wires firmly about 2" away then let leave a moderate amount of slack going into the unit.
Make sure your mounting location is stiff and firm. Flimsy gyro trays will just cause problems.
Wiring/Power Supply:
The two data ports on the top of the unit share the same power and ground bus as the servo connectors do so it can be used for power/ground for items such as PushGlo's, etc. Negative wire goes towoards the front of the unit (where the servo wires are)
For regular servo ports the signal wire faces up and the negative is down
EXT1 and EXT2 should NEVER be given more than 5.5v
For activating a channel activated device (SwitchGlow, etc.) you can use either EXT port for the signal wire and either of the top ports for power and ground.
Power supply (this is my personal choice and experience). For a system running 2s (either LiPo or LiFe) to the cyclics and a 5v regulated tail/throttle this works great. http://www.helidirect.com/perfect-regulators-remote-failsafe-switch-channel-regulator-p-19650.hdx Straight 2s power is actually feed into the TotalG through both the throttle and tail power wires that plug into the unit. The signals are then ran through the failsafe switch and continued with a 5v regulated power out to the servos. This gives redundant 2s power to the unit and doesn't take up the space of a power lead. This is just a personal recommendation from my own experiences and is in no way affiliated with CJYE.
Spektrum/JR info:
A great explanation of how 2.4 works and where satellites should be mounted to be the most effective. http://www.archeli.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=136223
You must have a satellite plugged into the port opposite the servo wires or the unit will not bind. That is the main satellite port.
When assigning channels to control gain values (TR, FC, Gov, etc.) you will need to increase the ATV's on those channels to at least 120 in the radio to allow complete range of gain adjustment in the software. Be warned that the numbers in the radio DO NOT match the values in the software.
Governor:
To check the governor sensor you must have the mouse pointer OVER the sensor light.
DX7 setup for 3 flight modes in Gov. Gov off in normal mode. The bold values will set the actual head speed (I've input some ballpark values just to give you an idea. This are not exact and will vary with your setup and gearing). Value "A" is normal mode. This is set all the way negative to turn the gov off. Value "B" is your Idle1 headspeed. You'll be able to see the actual headspeed change in the software as you change this value. Value "C" is your Idle2 headspeed. This is a percentage that's added to value "B" that's why it's so much smaller. Again, just watch the headspeed parameter in the software and stop when you've got it where you want. Now if you want to run the gov in normal mode then just start increasing value "A" towards zero until you get to your desired headspeed. This value stays negative since it's a subtracted percentage from value "B".
INPUT SELECT: AUX2/AUX2 GEAR/GEAR
TRAVEL ADJUST: AUX2 +93%/-100 (A)
MIX1: AUX2-> AUX2 ON/OFF
RATE: -100% (B)
0%
SW: F-NR
OFFSET: 0
MIX3: AUX2-> AUX 2 ON/OFF
RATE: = +15% (C)
0%
SW: F-S2
OFFSET: 0
Tail Tuning Tips:
Default settings are quite low for tail gain. Not uncommon to end up with gain values up near 85 in the software. It's pretty common NOT to get a high gain wag like most tail gyros unless you REALLY work the tail hard. Some folks reported a slingshot type tail effect during piro maneuvers when gain was too high.
Default stops are set for a VERY soft tail. Don't be afraid of increasing these quite a bit if you like crisp stops.
Recommended tail servo horn length on 50/90 size helis is 17mm
Tail seems to have some built in expo. Lots of folks to have reported running 10%-15% on the tail before the TotalG now running 5%
Tuning FC gain:
CRITICAL: With the current 1.02 firmware there have been numerous reported issues (I have also personally confirmed this) with running the FC gain on an AUX channel in your radio. Until this gets sorted out set the FC assignment to GView. If you do not the unti will still fly but will be far more difficult to tune and you'll find many of the values below won't apply.
Even if you don't plan to use Gov mode you still need to set the Throttle High and Throttle Low parameters in the software. If you don't you won't be able to go into TrimLock mode.
Initializing the uniit with 0 FC gain may cause swash drifting. Always initialize with some amount of FC gain.
Lower FC gain values will give a more "flybar" feel to the heli and will give a slight coast between cyclic inputs. Higher gain values give a more conventional FBL feel and will lock the cylic control in a more rigid fashion. 50-55 is a pretty good starting point for most. Don't get too caught up in getting as high of a FC gain as possible as you'll find yourself creating more bobbles and trying to combat them with stop gains not to mention it will cause weird piro interactions.
Consistently folks have reported great results with changing the Flip Rate Gain to around 20 and the Flip Heading Gain to about 15. This is to combat elevator bobble.
Stop gains are very sensitive. Sometimes the difference between a coast and a bobble can be only two points. Also, they need to be adjusted individually as fas as fwd elev/back elev, etc.Setting these to high and getting coasting can effect pitching/diving in FF
Blades can make a HUGE difference in how the heli feels so if you get a chance try and fly as many different sets of blades as you can. You'll be suprised in that settings that work with a certain brand of blade won't work with others. Don't be afraid to try conventional non-fbl blades as well as lots of folks are reporting much better luck on normal blades than other FBL systems.
Adjust your Expo to "feel" rather than to what you conventionally run as far as numbers go. The unit seems to have some built in expo in comparison to others so if you were running 30% before start with 20% and adjust per feel.