DX7 Today First Flight Tomorrow

[cliffkp]

Just received my DX7 today. Charging and have to pick up a bind plug. This is my first ccpm machine and I'm looking for a basic "trainer" like set up. Of course I've never set up a dx7 before either so someone who owns one that explains this would be preferred. Not sure if heli info helps but ill spell it out anyway. Gaui 200 belt drive Stock motor and escFutaba 401 gyro Futaba 3154 on the tail HS 45 servos AR 6100 receiver DX7 Heli Mode 2

[cliffkp]

Also forgot to add to add that computer crashed so I'm using a blackberry to surf the net so I have no access to videos. Makes it tough so I would really appreciate it if someone could help me.

[cliffkp]

Bump the thread so I don't crash the heli lol

[stoatnchips]

Ok... look back at previous posts and you will be able to find out everything you will need to know. Everyones setup is different and milages do vary (i think thats the right americanism...) so we really cant tell you which figures to set in the Tx.

First setup a new model.... select swash type as 3 servo 120 degrees.... leave aux2 and gear as is... name it... select Heli as the model type and you are ready to go. Next get the ccpm and servo reversing set right. If in doubt watch Bobs vidz on CCPM in the 450 build guide. then set servo horns level, the swash height correct and level it. Then setup the rest of the head. It depends on which hole on the servo horn you are using but this will dictate the ccpm pitch mix value. Should be good to start with... bya ll means ask specific questions and we'll help. "What figures" is just a little open ended :-)

http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=11373

[cliffkp]

Thanks stoat n chips. However I don't have access to the videos because I'm stuck with a blackberry only right now. I know this is annoying but I'm just wanting someone to maybe throw a few key pointers as to how to set up normal mode to just practice basic hovering and make this thing as tame as possible.. I'm completely new. Never set a throttle hold. Pitch curve. Throttle curve. Dual rate. Expo. Its all basically foreign to me. I have basic concepts but no idea how to apply them yet. Can someone please give me a simple basic set up? I binded it today and went it locked on the awash went cock eyed so I'm assuming I have so adjusting to do? Can someone please step me through this? Sorry to be a pain but I am hoping to get it hovering tomorrow

[cliffkp]

Anybody?

[mjbrands]

First, disconnect at least two or all three wires from the ESC to the motor!!!

Make sure your DX7 is off and press 'down' and 'select' - while keeping these down, turn the TX on. You should now be in the 'model select' screen. Select a new, clean model to start with.

In the 'type select' screen, make sure you've selected heli. Depending on whether you've got a heli or a plank (aircraft) version, one or the other will be selected. In the 'swash type' screen, select '3 servo, 120 degrees'. Now press 'down' and 'select' again to save your changes and to leave setup.

Press 'down' and 'select' again to get into the menus. Go to the servo reversing menu. Now move your throttle stick and note in which direction the swash servos are moving. Change the directionion of the one servo that is moving in the other direction - if they are all moving in the same direction great. Now go to the 'swash mix' menu.

If you move your throttle (pitch) up, your swash should move up. If it doesn't, change the positive value for pitch to a negative. Your swash should now move up if you increase throttle. Next up is aileron; if you move your aileron to the left, your swash should also tilt to the left. If it doesn't, change your value for aileron to a negative. And last but not least: elevator. Moving the elevator up should also tilt the swash forward. Adjust the elevator value in the swash mix screen appropriately. The default values for the swash mix are 50%, but with the 200 you can probably increase these up to 58-60% without binding. I would keep them at 50% for now though. (Swash directions are as seen from behind the heli.)

Next up is rudder. Pick your 200 up and look at the servo horn for the tail servo. If you
rotate your heli (along the axis going through the main shaft) in a clockwise fashion, you should see the servo horn also moving in a clockwise direction. If it is not, change the direction if the servo in the gyro setup (it is probably a little switch on the gyro). Put your heli back on the table and turn your main rotor, so one tail rotor blade is sticking up. Looking at the heli from behind, if you press your rudder stick to the right, the tail rotor blade that is sticking up should rotate in a clockwise direction. If it isn't, change the direction of the rudder in the servo reversing screen.

You've now set up the basics. Go to one of the curve menus and center your throttle - it should read 'in 50, out 50' at the bottom. With the throttle centered, the distance (per the manual) between the swash and the frame should be 7 mm. If it is not, you should modify the length of the links going from the swash servos to the swash plate. Actually, before doing this you may want to fiddle around in the 'sub trim' menu to make sure all swash servos horns are level (horizontal) at this (neutral) pitch setting. After tweaking all this, make sure the swash is exactly horizontal (level).

Now you need to set 0 degrees pitch (also with the throttle centered). You need to modify the length of the links that go from the swash to the small mixer arms attached to the blade grips. If you don't have a pitch gauge, fold the blades back in the grips (either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction). At 0 pitch, the folded back blades will be in the same plane - put differently, the blades will line up and form a straight line.

For the throttle curve, follow the Gaui manual. I have it set to 0 - 45 - 65 - 85 - 100 myself (that might be what the manual specifies - not sure). You don't need to bother with idle up (ST-1 and ST-2) just yet.

For the pitch curves, I like to set -3 at low throttle, 0 at center throttle and +10 at max throttle. (On the Gaui 200 with the swash mix values cranked up to 60% or more you can easily reach 11 to 13 degrees of pitch). I have the aileron and elevator swash mix values set to 45% (pitch at 58%) and I use the following pitch curve: 50 - inh - 67.5 - 90. I would suggest you try to follow the pitch curve suggested in the manual though.

I strongly recommend you to configure and get into the habit of using throttle hold, even though your engine will stop at low throttle with the mentioned throttle curve. To configure throttle hold, go to the 'thro hold' menu. Set the top value to -20% and select the switch you want to use at the bottom. I use aux2 for throttle hold and gear for my gyro. Another common switch for throttle hold (it is also labeled as such on the transmitter) is rudder dual-rate.

You still need to configure your gyro. What I like to do is use the gear channel for that. Go into the setup menus (turn your radio off, press down+select, and turn it on again). Go to the 'input select' menu and make sure gear is set to gear, not gyro. Now press down+select twice to get into the normal menus. In the 'travel adjust' menu, you can now set gyro gain by changing the values for the gear channel. The exact values are pretty much dependent on your gyro.

You can also use the gyro gain menu. Instead of setting gear to gear in the 'input select' menu, set it to gyro. If you now go into the normal menus and you will have a new menu, 'gyro sens'. The first values, which defaults to 'auto', lets you choose how you want to switch between gain settings. 'Auto' uses the flight mode switch, rudder d/r the rudder dual-rate. I would like to use the gear switch here, but as this is not possible I don't use the gyro sens menu and adjust the endpoints for the gear channel instead.

When modifying gear channel endpoints to set the gain, remember that -100 is 0% gain (maximum gain in rate mode), 0 is minimum gain (50% sensitivity) for rate mode/heading hold (it usually is the switchover point between rate mode and heading hold, but that is a bit dependent on the gyro) and +100 is maximum gain in heading hold mode. 70% gain would be 40 ((70 - 50) * 2) and 25% would be -50 ((25 - 50) * 2). The gyro sens menu lets you set the desired value directly.

You should really check out the 101 videos in the video section. They explain everything much better.

Anyway, I hope this helps, but please be aware that these are just some pointers - it is not a substitute for a proper setup. Also, it is fairly likely I made one or more mistakes - I'm an enthousiast like you, not a pro.

[mjbrands]

Pfft, I have blisters on my fingers :lol: