Flight stabilitazion AP-2000i for trex600?

[roinides]

Hi,
I am looking for a flight stabilizer, i am a begginer and maybe it saves me money from a crash..!
would this spartan AP-2000i CCPM Mixer & Flight Stabiliser, fit the trex600?
Will it work ? With my DX7?

http://www.spartan-rc.com/direct/product.php?productid=141

Need some advise before i order.

[edjamakated]

I just got mine working (on the 600). It could certainly save you a ton of money on crashes although most people use them for AP work. Essentially when you turn on the Ap 2000 unit it will put the heli in a near perfect hover. Your inputs still take effect but as soon as you let go (of the right stick) it will return to a hover. So you can use it as an always on solution to learn hovering etc or use it more as an oh SH!!!!!!!t switch. You can set your Aux2 channel on the DX7 to activate the device at 70% gain. Should you sense that you are losing it just hit the switch. It does not control pitch or throttle so that part is up to you. Alot of people might scoff at the thought of using one of these to learn to fly but after having used one on my bergen and Rex 600 I sure wish I had it when I got started LOL!!!!!! If you need one I have the Spartan AP2000I unit with the FMA sensor and cable required all brand new if you are interested. :D

[roinides]

I am not sure yet.

I think need first some more lipos ,- fly time-and then maybe i will see the spartan...

But if a friend wants i will ask them...Whats the price of your ap edjamakated?

Thank you
Roinides

[jackheli]

I used a FMA Copilot a lot. It worked really well.

[roinides]

Does it fit the trex600? is it for ccpm?

[jackheli]

Yep, the co-pilot will fit any eCCPM system.

I didn't used it specifically on the T-600 but I can't see why it would not work. My other helis are all eCCPM.

Things to consider, though:
1- The FS-8 will replace your receiver, so you can't use it with the DX7, for example
2- It will not maintain the heli's position relatively to the ground since it does not have a built-in GPS. The heli will drift with wind, etc.
3- If you decide to go for it, purchase the computer interface. It is almost impossible to set it up for eCCPM without it.
4- If you run into trouble (which you might well do), specifically with setting up limits and binding, give me a buzz.

[edjamakated]

hmmm. Co-pilot thats FM only if I recall. Bad idea for such an expensive bird.

[roinides]

I prefer to stick to the dx7!

I think i will wait and get the spartan, or maybe the robbes helicommand .

***I am production manager on a tv network!
If i make some good aerial shots ,now as it is, maybe the company gets a bigger heli, with a good camera and stabilization systems,and not me paying for them now!!!

[jackheli]

FM only
Bad idea for such an expensive bird.

Actually, both PPM and PCM systems transmit in FM. I think you are mixing up the fact that in general PCM systems have fail safe and PPM do not.

Both are quite bad actually. A locked up PCM receiver is as bad as a twitching PPM receiver.

PPM + Glitch = Crash Here
PCM + Glitch = Crash There

I don't know much about the spartan, but the co-pilot has the best fail safe system I have ever encountered. As soon as it detects a bad signal it puts the heli on a steady hover, no matter what attitude the helicopter is on. You can turn on two transmitters at the same time, on the same frequency, and the co-pilot will hold the heli in place.

You can't ask for better than that for something that is not "an excavation tool".

Another cool feature is that it can log the heli's attitude and stick inputs, which you can later review as a video on the computer. That is how I streamlined the timing of my rolls.

[lovetofly]

Another good option for flight stabilization on a CCPM heli is the Stabilizer 3D: http://www.fxaeromodels.com/product_info.php?cPath=128&products_id=2665

I've got one of these on my 600 and it works great. It will even stabilize upside-down! I rarely use it, but it's nice to have in case you loose orientation or just want to take a breather and look at/program your radio or something, or let a buddy fly...

The AP-2000i does look interesting, as it will do the ccpm conversion for you, as well as stabilize, so you could use it with a couple of CSM SL720 gyos to go completely flybarless too. I don't know if it's as high performance as the CSM CL1 Cyclock though. It's nice to have so many great options.

[mosh1]

I too am interested in an 'oh sh*t' switch. How well will any of these solutions work and how quick? Last two times I crashed I lost orientation - I think it will help for that.

[lovetofly]

I too am interested in an 'oh sh*t' switch. How well will any of these solutions work and how quick? Last two times I crashed I lost orientation - I think it will help for that.

I can only comment on the Stabilizer 3D (but the others are probably similar), where you can set the stabilization gain in your Tx and when you flip the switch it will snap level in a couple of seconds depending on how high the gain is. The higher the gain the faster it will level out. I think a unique feature of the Stabilizer is that it works upside down too. Note that you still have to control the pitch, as these solutions all only control cyclic for you.

[simarRC]

will stabilizer3d work with a dx7?

[lovetofly]

will stabilizer3d work with a dx7?

Sure will. That's how I'm using it. I've got it on the Aux2 switch. Any free channel on any radio should work fine.

[dennis052]

Will it work while the heil is in inverted? I have trouble to hover the heli inverted tail in, just wondering will this thing help.

[lovetofly]

Will it work while the heil is in inverted? I have trouble to hover the heli inverted tail in, just wondering will this thing help.

Yes, the Stabilizer 3D will keep it level while inverted if you activate that function before flight. Be default it will level it out right side up unless you push the button on the sensor before flight (to put it into 3D mode).

If you want to use it as a learning aid, you can turn the gain lower and then you can fly with it always on, then if you release the controls it will gently level out, either normal or inverted. It works quite well.

[simarRC]

anyone do a comparision between the stabilizer 3d and the ap2000i? I'm trying to figure out which one to order....

[lovetofly]

anyone do a comparision between the stabilizer 3d and the ap2000i? I'm trying to figure out which one to order....

I haven't used the AP2000i, but it ends up being about the same cost as the Stabilizer 3D, and with the addition of two top end gyros like SL720's you can also go flybarless.

The same could be said for the CSM CL1 and SL720 combo - you could add the Stabilizer 3D to it and achieve the same thing (stabilized & flybarless).

Some things to keep in mind:
Both the AP2000i and CSM CL1 are CCPM mixing devices.
The Stab 3D is a pure CCPM device.

The AP2000i is pretty attractive considering that you can get basically the same functionality of the CL1 + SL720's + Stab 3D in one box, as long as we're talking the full monty of stabilization, mixing, and flybarless capabilities. I know this is a little beyond the scope of what's been discussed earlier, but might as well bring this up since we've come this far.

CL1 + 2) SL720 + Stab 3D = ~$700
AP2000i + Sensor + 2) SL720 = ~$675

It probably depends on what you are trying to do, but my take on this is that the AP2000i is best for AP, and the Stab 3D is best for 3D but they seem very similar. I was planning to get an AP2000i later this summer for my not yet ordered 2nd 600 and then I could compare to the Stab 3D, but hopefully someone will beat me to it.

I don't know if the AP2000i will stabilize upside-down, so if you are looking for that feature, the decision may be easy...

[edjamakated]

Actually, both PPM and PCM systems transmit in FM. I think you are mixing up the fact that in general PCM systems have fail safe and PPM do not.

:lolol :lolol

Yeppers thats kinda what i said. "FM only" . The spartan works fine with with the DX7 or any radio system your little heart desires. :dontknow

[luckyflyer]

I don't know if the AP2000i will stabilize upside-down, so if you are looking for that feature, the decision may be easy...[/quote]

I'm also interested in these devices. I called and talked to Mark Webber at Webber Aerial Imaging and R/C, the US Spartan retailer. He told me that the AP2000i will not hover inverted. He said that it did not have enough memory to be able to do that. He is also out of stock on the AP2000i untill the second half of May. I ordered the Stabilizer 3D from FXaeromodels today. I'm at the stage where I can hover pretty well with my 600 and I'm ready to start pushing the envelope some. Im hoping this will help me to not crash. I would rather spend my time learning to fly rather than rebuilding. Thanks to the OP for bringing this device to this noobs attention.
luckyflyer

[BoneDoc]

I wonder if this will help me recover from a botched inverted backwards :D.

[lovetofly]

I wonder if this will help me recover from a botched inverted backwards :D.

Of course it will help anyone recover from any attitude, but it's not a miracle maker. If you've screwed up bad and flip the switch just before impact...it will still crash!

Depending on how you've got it configured (gain) and your attitude at that moment, it could take considerable space to swing one way or the other and get level, and it's still up to you to input positive or negative collective as needed to keep it out of the dirt.

However, if used within the realm of reasonableness, it can save your bacon many times over. I justified the cost of this by saying; if it saves me one crash, it's paid for. I've probably got around 100 flights on my 600 and no crashes yet (though in all honesty, most of the reason for that is sim practice, but the Stab 3D helped by calming my nerves in the beginning because I knew I had a bail out - even though I rarely used it).

Also - I want to play around with AP at some point. :)

[lovetofly]

It is worth mentioning that the Stabilizer 3D probably cannot be reliably used with either the AP-2000i or the Cyclock CL1 (and any other gyro stabilized device) in the flybarless configuration. This is because the gyros will "fight" against the Stabilizer 3D. If you want stabilized flybarless then you need a device that goes in front of the gyros, such as the FMA CPD4.

[mrj]

Where do you get the CL-1?

[lovetofly]

Advantagehobby is the main distro for CSM CL-1 in the US. You can get a CL-1 with two SL-720 combo pack for a decent price, and another 5% off if you are a first time customer.