Help:FAQ:Helisetup

Can't access menus and also can't perform factory reset.

I am trying to access the menus but if I press the button either after powering on or before, the "A light" never goes solid or blinks. Also if I hold it for 10 seconds it doesn't appear to perform the factory reset.

To enter one of the menus you have to wait until the self test and initialization is finished: The Status LED must get blue or purple and the cycling LEDs A to G and H to N must have stopped. Factory reset only can be performed when being within Setup menu. So you have at least to get to Setup menu point A (or later), release the button and then push it and keep it pushed for at least 10 seconds. Note that factory reset will only revert all parameters of parameter menu and setup menu to default. It has no influence on receiver menu parameters. If the unit does not initialize due to wrong receiver setting the factory reset will not help. In such case also have a look here.

Selection in the menus with the rudder control stick does not work.

Maybe there is not enough movement or any movement at all on the rudder channel.

• Check servo throw and dual rate setting for the rudder channel in the transmitter and increase the throw.
• Receiver type "Standard": Check that the connector for the rudder channel (orange wire) is inserted correctly in the receiver.
• Is the correct stick moved? Check stick mode of transmitter and have a look at the servo monitor. Is there any movement on the channel that you have connected the orange wire for rudder function to (Receiver type "Standard")?
• Serial-wire receiver: Was the rudder channel assigned for rudder function at receiver setup menu?
  

Setup menu points B to D - What are frequency and neutral pulse for a specific servo?

Here you can see a list of collected data: The BEASTX servo list
This list is not intended to be complete or accurate! Please ask the servos manufacturer about his recommendations regarding servo specs and usability in helicopters with flybarless systems.

• Neutral impulse: The neutral impulse normally is 1500-1520µs on any servo. Only special high speed tail servos use a different impulse and are normally fitted to a specific gyro -> Futaba gyros 760µs -> LogiTec gyros 960µs. MICROBEAST supports all types of different neutral impulses for the tail servo. On cyclic you are not able to adjust the pulse.
• Update frequency: The higher the frequency the faster the control loop will work and the more accurate the system will perform. But also the servos will be more burdened as they get more work to do and the current consumption will greatly increase.

If using a digital servo it definitely should be capable of more than 65Hz. So if we have a unknown servo we carefully increase frame rate step by step by testing on the workbench and then fly shortly and check servo temperature very often. If there are no abnormalities like extreme heat production we again increase the frame rate and again test carefully.

This procedure can lead to damage and severe injury if not obtaining safety rules. If you want to be on the safe side go with 65Hz unless the manufacturer doesn't give you another classification. We cannot tell you the specs of a servo unless we don't have any data of this specific servo ourselves. Please ask the servos' manufacturer. We do not produce or sell any servos, we only give you the possibility to use those servos. Therefore we do not accept liability for incorrect setting.

Setup menu points B to D - My servos aren't listed on the website's servo list. Can I use them anyway?

The servo list on the website only is a collection of some servos' data. It does not say that if a servo is not on the list that you must not use it. If a servo is not on the list we simply did not test it ourselves or we could not find any data about it. Also we can't know any servo on the market. In fact the BEASTX flybarless devices are compatible to nearly any servo on the market. Anyhow, when choosing a servo for your flybarless helicopter please note this topic: Servos for flybarless usage.

Setup menu point E - How to get servo horn to a 90 degrees angle?

I cannot get any servo horn arm to be mechanically 90° to the tail boom and MICROBEAST doesn't have a tail "sub-trim" feature. Is trimming in the transmitter allowed?

Don't trim the rudder servo by using the transmitter as this will apply a constant rotation command to the unit! When you can't get the servo horn exactly 90 degrees this has no significant effect. The "90 degrees rule" only should give some good basis for initial linkage adjustment. In flight the system will control the servo all the time anyway, so it's not an issue if center position is slightly offset. It's more important that the tail servo linkage is adjusted correctly in general, so that you get asymmetric tail pitch throw: 40 degrees against main rotor torque direction, approx. 6 degrees at center position and 20 degrees in main rotor torque direction.

By the way: Actually you can trim the tail servo center position using StudioX App or by using Parameter Menu Point A. But as mentioned above this usually isn't necessary to do. Only in some rare cases (using tail gyro in rate mode), correcting center position may be needed.

Setup menu point K - Adjust cyclic throw to the left or right or in both directions?

You only have to adjust one direction, whether it's left or right, it doesn't matter. Important is to exactly adjust 6° when the blades are aligned on the aileron axis as this teaches the unit the servo throw. Push the aileron stick to adjust the pitch and when the blade pitch is 6° simply push the button briefly and that's it.

Setup menu point K - I don't get blue color at 6 degrees cyclic throw

Is it OK to leave it like this? What does this setting actually do?

When setting up the cyclic throw, you must/should always set exactly 6 degrees. The entire control loop is tuned to this value. If you set more or less, the predefined gain values, feedforward settings, etc., will no longer match. Of course, you can use a larger or smaller angle, but in that case you will most likely have to adjust parameters so the control loop does not oscillate and continues to operate properly.

Key rule: Always set cyclic throw to 6° cyclic pitch during setup.

The color of the status LED is only informational and indicates how much of the available servo travel is being used.
The more servo travel is used, the better, because this allows more sensitive and precise control. For good system performance, it is important that the status LED lights "as blue as possible", meaning a large amount of servo travel is used to reach the 6° cyclic pitch. If the 6° cyclic pitch is reached too early, this indicates that not all of the available servo travel is being used. As a result, control precision suffers because part of the servo’s resolution is lost.

With high-quality, precise and backlash-free servos, this may still work well even with limited travel (and Status LED not blue at 6° cyclic pitch). However, especially on small helicopters of the 250 to 450 class, this is often not the case, because the servos are usually not as accurate there and the mechanics often have considerable play in the linkages. So it is mandatory we see at least a blue light at this setup step. In any case, we recommend to mechanically increase the available control travel to exclude any possible issues from the beginning.

How to get a blue light?

This can be achieved, for example, by increasing the distance of the linkage point on the blade grip using longer balls, thus moving the linkage point further away from the rotor head’s rotation axis (feathering shaft). Alternatively, the ball links on the servo horn can simply be attached further inward. But with both of these options, note that the available collective pitch range is reduced. These measures therefore do not change the ratio between cyclic and collective pitch — both are reduced equally.

To change only the cyclic travel, shorter balls must be mounted on the inner ring of the swashplate. This moves the linkage point closer to the rotation axis so that a cyclic tilt of the swashplate results in less movement at the blade grip. Or, you can extend the balls on the outer ring of the swashplate, causing a given servo movement to produce less tilt of the swashplate. Of course, both options are often not as easy to implement as simply moving the linkage one hole further inward on the servo horn.

Setup menu point N - Adjusting pirouette optimization is not accessible anymore or testmode does not work

With firmware version 4.x.x you have to choose the exact mounting direction of the device at Setup menu point A. So we can directly determine the necessary direction for pirouette optimization. Manual adjustment is not needed anymore and therefore it was removed from Setup menu point N. Instead menu point N now serves to enable the internal Headspeed Governor (but only in combination with a single line receiver/remote satellite!). Please carefully read the manual for your firmware version and especially make sure you've set menu point A correctly!