I would zero in on the voltage reset first. There are alot of questions to ask, but the main one is power delivery. Ask him about his setup, look it over, see if any servos are binding, how many plugs on the batt...etc... nothing new.... Its just that this baby is more sensitive to downspikes. When I set up my suky, I used a futuba ppm just to get things going as waited for the first dx7, and took some voltage readings while bangin the sticks, and I noticed a larger swing in voltage with the 7000. I am assuming that is due to the speed, it can bring the servo to its fullest speed because it can reverse the signal so quickly. So my thinking is that the same system could have a larger downspike. So, the regulators become more critical if you run them, ones that have high capacity, and dont heat. Heat is a killer. So do powerful batteries, and good wiring and double switches. It has to do with the load slope on the motors in the servo. Dick said awhile back plan 1 amp per 100oz for good margin - good for me.
Capacity. most manufactures of electronic components advertise peak power. Use 50% of that for max sustained, and 70% for average power with minor surges, but then look at the plugs. no more than 4 amps per connector. For examply my suky with dual miracle switches is supposed be 10 amps continuous, 20 peak.. thats crap. its about 7-8 maybe 9 amps sustained. I figure anything above that could cause a spike out on the AR receiver series. The problem is that the AR even sees a momentary spike down, you could be in trouble. What we need is a stabilizer circuit with a built in capacitor that can smooth out the millisecond spikes like a shock absorber. any brainiacs?
keep the info comin guys.
g
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Quote: Originally Posted by 1bwana1 |
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Yesterday, we tested the system in a 40% Carden Extra. Once again, the transfer of the programming between the 72 MHz 9303 and the new 2.4 X9303 went perfectly. This time the RX was mounted to a Smart-Fly power Expander. I read somewhere that the Smart-Fly power expander line is the only system that has never shown a reboot during testing at Horizon, so this seems the safest way to go. We got a perfect range test at double the recommended distance. When we range test, we always rotate the plane so that we test from all angles. Three of us flew the plane on multiple flights with perfect results. We all agreed that the plane felt "touchy" so we ended up increasing the Expo in the radio and it settled in perfectly. Could this be the result of the higher resolution?
The current setup still only has the main RX and one satellite. The extra satellite RX and data logger have arrived so they will be installed prior to the next test. The connection seems solid but without data, we could be on the edge and not know it. It will be interesting to see the results.
There is another guy flying a DX-7 based system (AR9000) at the field. It is in a 2.6m CompARF Extra. He has the main RX and 2 satellite RX installed, as well as the data logger. He has flown many flights with the system. However, on his last flight, the plane went into lockout for about three seconds. Fortunately, it came back before he crashed, and he was able to land without damage. When the data logger was examined, it showed no dropped frames, fades or any other problem. We assume that this means that the RX re-booted, wiping out the data. I always thought that it took longer than that for a re-boot, but with no other indication of problems, what else could have happened? I guess this means that the data logger is not useful for diagnosing voltage issues. This is a problem, as it seems voltage drops are the most frequent cause of crashes with this system. He is now afraid to fly the plane. He did not have a power expander installed, so I have suggested that he get one.
Given what we have learned so far, I can see the need for a product designed specifically for the Horizon/JR 2.4 systems. It would include the current power expander features, plus a data logger that includes voltage info that persists after a re-boot. It should also include some system that absolutely keeps the voltage above the re-boot limit (assuming the batteries don’t fail).
We will continue to experiment with the system as we escalate it up to the competition planes. We’ll keep this thread updated as we do. In the mean time we are interested in hearing from the rest of you. |
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