New V-BAR owner wanting a head start

[torpedoarmed]

Hi guys I just made an order for the new Silverline and have a week or two before its arrival.
I would like to ask if you fellows could point me to relevant links on VBAR installation, setup, tuning, as well as general tips and tricks.

I currently have a Trex 500 with a 3GX, DX7, with DSMX sats (I think are, they have the X on the case)

-I was planning on mounting the sensor on my TX tray and I would prefer the controller in an easily visible place, my fist thought was the boom block or on the outside of the frame. Thoughts?

-Any suggestions for tame settings for a newbie pilot? I have hours in hover training and now maybe 2-3 hours in FF/FFF. On my 3GX I use EXPO and rates and with firmware V2 I eliminated the EXPO on the TX and instead set it in the 3GX settings, is the VBAR similar?

-Logs and vibe analyzer, do I need a Bluetooth adaptor to capture either/both or does the VBAR store such data internally which can be retrieved on the ground via USB?

-If I need a BT adaptor, can someone recommend a more cost effective solution then stock (120.00 USD) BAD007, the source you pointed to in another thread MDFLY is out of stock
http://www.mdfly.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_47&produc ts_id=769

-I think I still have a vibe that has been causing everything from nosing right, to pitching backward in hover and FF/FFF to intermittent left drift in hover. OR just maybe a PoS 3GX. Is there a thread or place I can gain some greater understanding on vibe analyst, maybe with examples like on the VBAR site or some informative threads here.


TIA
Chris

[TheBum]

Originally Posted by torpedoarmed

Hi guys I just made an order for the new Silverline and have a week or two before its arrival.
I would like to ask if you fellows could point me to relevant links on VBAR installation, setup, tuning, as well as general tips and tricks.

The bible on VBar installation and setup in video form is here:
https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=194297

I currently have a Trex 500 with a 3GX, DX7, with DSMX sats (I think are, they have the X on the case)

-I was planning on mounting the sensor on my TX tray and I would prefer the controller in an easily visible place, my fist thought was the boom block or on the outside of the frame. Thoughts?

Control box placement is not critical. I have it mounted to the side of the frame on both of my VBar'ed helis.

-Any suggestions for tame settings for a newbie pilot? I have hours in hover training and now maybe 2-3 hours in FF/FFF. On my 3GX I use EXPO and rates and with firmware V2 I eliminated the EXPO on the TX and instead set it in the 3GX settings, is the VBAR similar?

If you have the Pro firmware, yes. If not, there is a certain amount of expo built in and you can add to it using transmitter expo. IMO, it's better to use transmitter expo than VBar expo because you don't need to plug in the VBar (physically or via BT) to adjust it.

-Logs and vibe analyzer, do I need a Bluetooth adaptor to capture either/both or does the VBAR store such data internally which can be retrieved on the ground via USB?

The data log is retrievable post-flight. The vibe analysis using the spectrum analyzer is only real-time, so you'd need BT (highly recommended) or a really long USB cable (NOT recommended). You'll also need to upgrade to the Pro firmware to get access to the data log and spectrum analyzer.

-If I need a BT adaptor, can someone recommend a more cost effective solution then stock (120.00 USD) BAD007, the source you pointed to in another thread MDFLY is out of stock
http://www.mdfly.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_47&produc ts_id=769

There are a number of threads in the forum regarding aftermarket BT adapters. Just about any adapter on eBay with an RS-232 interface will work.

-I think I still have a vibe that has been causing everything from nosing right, to pitching backward in hover and FF/FFF to intermittent left drift in hover. OR just maybe a PoS 3GX. Is there a thread or place I can gain some greater understanding on vibe analyst, maybe with examples like on the VBAR site or some informative threads here.

This is a pretty good primer on Mikado's website:
http://www.vstabi.info/en/node/385

[Deet]

AND

On s 500 you want the ball on the servo horns at 16mm, maybe even as low as 13mm

[torpedoarmed]

Bum, Deet, thanks for the replies and insight.

Deet, tell me, 3GX had a manual meant for it and an Align heli and was specific on ball distance.

You mention 16 or as low as 13mm, what am I looking for to get it right? or how will I know when I get ti right?

[Larry227]

You'll know you have your ball spacing right when you get to the Collective range part of the setup. In that part you will have a slider that you move to get the collective range you want like +12/-12*. The slider should end up somewhere between 80-100, if it's below or above that you need to adjust the ball spacing on the servo arms. I think it's move them out more on the servo arms if it's below 80 and in on the arms if it's above 100.

Another thing that will give you a head start is to go to Vstabi's site and download the software now. Install it and start playing with it. You don't need a Vbar hooked to it for it to open so you can go ahead and look through all the steps and pretend you're setting one up. That way you'll be familar with the layout and can read all the tips along the way. Then when it comes to the real setup you won't be seeing all that stuff for the first time and it might make things flow a little better.

[Larry227]

Oh and here is the BT adapter I bought. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Wireless-Seri...item27c3ba9470

All I had to do to get it to work is swap the rx/tx wires. You have to first add it as a device in Windows when you connect the first time (pairing code is 1234) and rename it to vbar. After that it works just fine.

[TheBum]

I would say you need to make sure the Cyclic setup tab parameters are in range before worrying too much about perfecting collective pitch ranges. Cyclic throw is much more critical.

[Deet]

depending on the 500, somewhere between 16 and 13mm with give you really good cyclic and collective numbers in the setup, mine are 100 and 98 (100 being spot on)

[torpedoarmed]

Guys thanks for all the repplies and the info, keep it comming if you have it to offer.

Deet- Help me understand, so is moving the joint in or out on the servo arm altering the throw? If so, could one not just increase/decrease the length of the links? The reason for the question I thought it was better to have the ball joints on the arms whereby they make the link to the swash as perpendicular as possible.

[TheBum]

When you move the ball out on the servo arm, it increases the amount of linear movement for a given angular movement. Changing the linkage lengths does not impact the amount of linear movement, just where the swash is on the main shaft.