f*%# this 3gx s*@t

[JStilt]

So I am just about to literally take a crap on this 3gx. I have gone through setup like 20 times. everything seems as it should when I do a quik bench test. all servo's move in the direction, swash levels its self when I tilt it every direction. at first i dialed everything down to 50 on the pc software. i was affraid that it might be alittle to crazy from what i had read. the first spool up resulted in it tipping over before I even got it off the ground. the heli tipped right, i gave left input but nothing happend and so I smacked some blades on my driveway. figured for the second try I would just put everything back to default and give it a try, except I did turn the gain dials up to about 60 on the 3gx unit. bench test, yep everything moving like it should, swash levels fine no matter how i move the heli around. go outside and spool it up, sitting there on the ground spinning smoothly, i did a check to see how things were. I give just a little left stick and she kinda tilts forward and left, so I bring the stick back to center and she then leans back and to the right. I try to level it but ends up tipping over with another blade strike.

what am I missing here????????? this can't be that difficult. I'm not an idiot but this thing just feels out of control before it even gets off the ground. does anyone wanna give me a hand as far as setting go and maybe share what there using for #'s.

[mediclavina]

Sounds like the phasing is 45 degrees off? You may have to check the head alignment.

[Deet]

when you check the direction of the correction, it is very easy to get it wrong

the 3g and 3gx both have a very fast initial movement then a slower movement that returns the swash to a neutral point

what a lot of guys do is miss the first quick initial swash movement then think the slower one is the swash correction. Doing this will make you set the correction to the wrong direction

go through the DIR setup again and watch very carefully for the first initial swash movement

to make it more obvious crank the gain up to full while you do it

[torpedoarmed]

Originally Posted by JStilt

So I am just about to literally take a crap on this 3gx. I have gone through setup like 20 times. everything seems as it should when I do a quik bench test. all servo's move in the direction, swash levels its self when I tilt it every direction. at first i dialed everything down to 50 on the pc software. i was affraid that it might be alittle to crazy from what i had read. the first spool up resulted in it tipping over before I even got it off the ground. the heli tipped right, i gave left input but nothing happend and so I smacked some blades on my driveway. figured for the second try I would just put everything back to default and give it a try, except I did turn the gain dials up to about 60 on the 3gx unit. bench test, yep everything moving like it should, swash levels fine no matter how i move the heli around. go outside and spool it up, sitting there on the ground spinning smoothly, i did a check to see how things were. I give just a little left stick and she kinda tilts forward and left, so I bring the stick back to center and she then leans back and to the right. I try to level it but ends up tipping over with another blade strike.

what am I missing here????????? this can't be that difficult. I'm not an idiot but this thing just feels out of control before it even gets off the ground. does anyone wanna give me a hand as far as setting go and maybe share what there using for #'s.

FISRT DO NOT GIVE STICK INPUTS ON THE GROUND WITH A 3G or 3GX, you will tip over. They say they fixed this in v 2.0 but I am sorry I don't want to test that.

Second, fallow Deets suggestion, you may have to reverse/normal your servos in DIR setup.
As he points out is is very hard to tell if you are getting the right correction ont he swash. Remeber the correction is the oposit of the tilt direction
When tilting the bird forward to check correction your ali/pitch servo arms shoudl go up, and elv servo drop down. Use your thumb on one of the forward servos to feel the initial movment, it sometimes helps. When doing ALI REV using your thumb can be very useful to determine the aliron correct.

[LogoFreak]

Don't bother with the POS align fbl! They don't know what they're doing. Get a vbar/skookum/beast X... You won't regret it.

[jakalope]

Try spooling up w/o the main blades. Does the swash tilt? Sounds like it could be a vibration issue. FBL is sensitive to vibes and tilt to the R or L is usually the result. My money is on vibrations.

[billmjam]

Originally Posted by LogoFreak

Don't bother with the POS align fbl! They don't know what they're doing. Get a vbar/skookum/beast X... You won't regret it.

AMEN! Very well said! Ditch the POS 3GX and get a good system! Align makes great heli's but the only flybarless sytem that they make that is worth anything is the 3G.

[Zaneman007]

Yes, it will tip over.

After you have gone through the set up. Initialize the 3Gx and make sure that the swash is moving in the correct direction when you tilt it(the swash should move in the opposite tilted in order to keep the swash straight) and that the stick inputs are correct. Be sure to verify the direction of the tail also. All of this can be done before you spool it up.

If they are not moving in the correct direction, contact Assurance RC. They do all of the warranty and repair work for align. The unit could be faulty.

[tomd27858]

Originally Posted by jakalope

Try spooling up w/o the main blades. Does the swash tilt? Sounds like it could be a vibration issue. FBL is sensitive to vibes and tilt to the R or L is usually the result. My money is on vibrations.

I would do a spool up with no main blades and the tail control rod removed...so it won't spin on you and to allow the tail blades to center at no thrust.

Check swash movement at speed to confirm everything is doing like it should at speed. I agree with Deet. Double check the swash movement

[snjbird]

[sarmeneau]

i have three of the units and have had zero issues with them. dont know why everyone is so eager to blame the equipment first.

[Maypole]

Originally Posted by sarmeneau

i have three of the units and have had zero issues with them. dont know why everyone is so eager to blame the equipment first.

I'm on my second one and it's been flawless, just as the first one was. Another thing I don't understand is why there seems to be a consensus of opinion that they're hard to set up. I heven't found that to be the case at all.

[CeeveeSiN]

never had an issue with my 3gx either.. sold it to because I wanted Vbar gov though.
but it flew great.

[Pard]

I have 2 units that work well. Yet, obviously there is a problem if so many people have difficulties on their machines and then report after switching to another brand their machines work well, no other changes. I suspect there are just some faulty units. My heli's are not set up with any extreme care, and they don't drift.

[JStilt]

UPDATE.......

just to be fair, I am not giving up on the 3gx. the problem is probably more me, and understanding the instructions and how it should be setup, then the unit not working.

I did all all the things that you guys recommended, and everything checked out like it should. I tried again tonight after verifying that my setup. I did find some vibration due to some chipped tail blades so changed those out and it was much better. i decided to drop my ball sack and just throw it in idol up and give it a quik bump to get it off the ground and hope that all was working correctly and it would stay level......well it did sta level, but the heli went into a mad spin, I freaked and slammed it back down into the ground, skids first. one skid strut broke and I ate up another set of blades and some other things, but.......she did stay level the whole time . im guessing the gyro must have been set the wrong way so i will revers that and try again. I did check the gyro and was quit sure it was going in the right direction but I could have been wrong. I had spun it before in my garage on the slick asphalt to see if she would spin and she didn't so I assumed it was correct.....I guess I wasn't.

[sarmeneau]

could be you just had your gain set way off in iu. go though your radio and make sure your settings are good for all 4 settings. ie in my dx8 normal is 31% IU1 is 33% IU2 is 33% and hold is also set at 33%

[Zaneman007]

If your having trouble setting up the tail, you really need to have an experienced pilot familiar with the 3Gx look it over, before you spin it up.

If not, you got a 50/50 chance, on the cyclic aileron and elevator, and tail. That is assuming that you have the sticks on the radio going in the proper direction.

And purchasing another system will not change your odds.

[Rollin_3z]

Hmmm..I'll add my two cents. You wonder why some guys complain about "Piro Consistency"? I had the 3gx/beastx and sold them all for vbar. I would do piro rainbows or tail slides from really high up and start spinning the tail on the way down or I would do continous fast piro flips and the tail would speed up/slow down by itself! It would do it once in awhile, it really got me confused, I thought it was my thumbs!
It is more noticable on smaller helis like the 450/250 size because they are so small, twitchy and more nimble.

On the larger helis, its not that bad or noticable because the 3gx/beastx have time to compute/react (Or the sensors do) to the slower flip and roll rates of the larger helis.

Trust me, I switched to the vbar and guess what? It doesnt happen anymore, even on my 450!

The Vbar kicks ass if you have the heli mechanically setup right, ie swash level, etc, etc..In my humble opinion, it has a better piro/tail than beastx/3gx and is worth the 350.00 bux..Every penny!!! Not to mention, it has a good governor as well!

It really comes down to how you fly... I watched a couple of guys fly at the field that have 3gxs on a fusion 50. All they were doing was sport flying with slow half piro flips. It was flying well and good enough for them..

[jack726]

I have set up literally dozens of 3G and 3Gx, The only problem I have ever had was with Align 500s. I can never get the tail to stop randomly kicking. I changed to the beast x. I personally have 30 helicopters, with most of them being scale. I have used V- bars, 3Gs, 3GXs, skookums, and Beast Xs. I can not recommend the V-bar for scale. My favorite for scale is definitely the Beast X. I watched one of the super pros roll a V-Bar on takeoff on his maiden flight. Don't touch the sticks.

[LogoFreak]

I will explain why the 3GX is not worth a pile of doodoo... It's not that it can't be setup to fly, it's because it takes waaaayyyy to much messing around to set it up. All the post I see about proper 3GX setup and how you need to do this and that while standing on your head an touching your nose and looking at it from 4 different angles is just ridiculous! Take a vbar/skookum/beast x and they are so much easier to setup. With the vbar for example it takes maybe 30~45 minutes to do a complete setup, set gains to where the software recommends them to be and you will have a successful maiden and 99.9% of the time no tweaking will be required. This hobby is to have fun not spend hours messing around to try to have fun...