Need help understanding FBL units and Satelite rx

[Varooom]

Hell fello Freaks,

I have been flying my Blade 200SRx (actually 2 of them) for about 2 months now and am starting to feel a little confident. I also have the Phoenix sim and spend a lot of time on it.

Its time to start planning my first CP heli.
I am probably going with a Gaui X3 and build it myself.

I have a little understanding of the different FBL units and what they do however, some say they require a satellite rx or maby 2.

My question is what is a satellite rx? Why would I need 2? Do you still use a regular Rx? How do these items connect up?

My TX is a Spektrum DX8

Thanks for your time and valuable info.

Varooom

[banditpowdercoat]

Satelite is another antenna. Some FBL, like BeastX iKon can connect a sat directly. No Rx needed. The FBL is the RX, the Sat is the antenna. 2 Sats is just better diversity and reception. On a small heli,X3, only 1 sat will suffice. But larger, 500 and bigger, 2 is the norm because the carbon fiber frames block the signal. Having 2 increases the reception in all heli orientations

[ShaneJourdan]

Not quite, the spektrum satillite are stand alone full range receivers with dipole antennas.

[Digger1973]

Originally Posted by ShaneJourdan

Not quite, the spektrum satillite are stand alone full range receivers with dipole antennas.

Exactly. I use two sats connected directly to my sk540. Love being able to spend 35 bucks per sat instead of over 100 for a full size rx.

[Varooom]

Hmmm,
I don't think I am getting it. So all I will need besides the FBL unit is 1 satellite rx, which is actually an antenna? Using 2 on a 450 size bird is just good insurance?

Thank you,

Varooom

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by ShaneJourdan

Not quite, the spektrum satillite are stand alone full range receivers with dipole antennas.

Yes, true, But for simplicity sake, they are not a true RX as you can not plug any servos into them. I felt it was just less confusing to the OP to call them Antennas, which I still think they are. They are Rx antennas which output the signal to some form of RX in which your servos then plug into. Just terminology I guess

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by Varooom

Hmmm,
I don't think I am getting it. So all I will need besides the FBL unit is 1 satellite rx, which is actually an antenna? Using 2 on a 450 size bird is just good insurance?

Thank you,

Varooom

Yes, correct. I personally only used 1 Sat on my 450 plugged into BeastX with great results. Never did I loose range. Should loose sight of a 450 before you loose range with 1 sat

[Crowbar]

Originally Posted by Varooom

Hmmm,
I don't think I am getting it. So all I will need besides the FBL unit is 1 satellite rx, which is actually an antenna? Using 2 on a 450 size bird is just good insurance?

Yes, you got it right. The IKON for instance has two port to plug satellites in. The AR7200BX is a Receiver with integrated microBeast FBL System in it, so you don't need to add a satellite, but I'd recommend it, just to maximise reception.

Since you have a DX8, go for "DSMX" satellite, far more reliable than "DSM2". Have the antennas on the outside of the frame and the two satellites pointing at 90° from each other so if one receiver is in the blunt spot, the other one picks up the signal.

[MyRCode]

You don't always need to sats for 550 size and up. I have a frsky receiver on my 550 that gives RSSI and the signal strength is still good pretty far out

[ahahn]

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

Yes, true, But for simplicity sake, they are not a true RX as you can not plug any servos into them. I felt it was just less confusing to the OP to call them Antennas, which I still think they are. They are Rx antennas which output the signal to some form of RX in which your servos then plug into. Just terminology I guess

No this isn't correct. Actually, Spectrum calls their "satellites" remote receivers. They are full blown receivers, taking in the signal from the transmitter, decoding it, and in this case, putting out a serial stream containing the servo positions.

You are correct that they don't have plugins for the servos, but the output is a servo info (plus I suspect other control info). One difference is that Spectrum didn't design them to be stand alone, so some fbl controller manufacturers (almost all I think) have included firmware to enable them to be easily linked. So they do differ from other serial output receivers (like a Futaba S-bus) which are meant to be stand alone (and actually don't need two receiver units for "diversity").

I do agree it is slightly confusing. Especially with the Ar7200BX that incorporates a receiver with the BeastX flybarless unit.

[Varooom]

I think I got it. Just to be clear:

If I am using the AR7200BX it is the rx and FBL unit. The servos will plug into the AR7200BX.
Adding a satellite rx would not be necessary but could be done for rx redundancy?
If so the satellite rx would also plug into the AR7200BX?
Am I correct on this?

Thank you again for your time and help. This stuff is not exactly written down anywhere.

Varooom

[Crowbar]

Yup, you're correct on all accounts.
The sattelites are not needed but it's cheap insurance. You can plug one sattelite directly into the AR67200BX.

[DCflyer]

My rule of thumb is, if it has a sat port i'm plugging a sat up to it. I have two sats on every bird I own. I also just got a CFX with AR7200bx and added a sat to it as well. $399 investment and another $100 or so in upgrades with nice Pulse packs. If a $35 sat will help signal redundancy and help me keep it in the air so be it. Not worth risking a crash over such an amount in the long run.

[Ah Clem]

"Adding a satellite rx would not be necessary but could be done for rx redundancy?"

The satellite is both for redundancy and to prevent "Shadowing." 2.4 is "line of sight," so if the conductive mass of the helicopter is large enough and, in flight, gets positioned in between the signal source (transmitter) and the receiver antennae, it could block the transmitter signal from reaching the receiver (i.e., the receiver is in the "shadow" of the conductive mass of the helicopter.

This is extremely wise advice from DCflyer:

"My rule of thumb is, if it has a sat port i'm plugging a sat up to it. I have two sats on every bird I own."

I have seen single satellites fail, and the cables fail (I had a close friend get hit by his helicopter when the single satellite failed).

Having two satellites, or a main receiver and a satellite, both for redundancy and to prevent shadowing is, IMHO, a best practice. $30.00 is very cheap insurance.

"If so the satellite rx would also plug into the AR7200BX?""

There is a port on the AR7200BX for a satellite receiver.

[jhamel]

If you are going to use the AR7200BX, you are good to go. No need for a DSMX satellite on a 450 size heli. You can always plug in a DSMX satellite to the AR7200BX for peace of mind, but 450 size helis do not need it.