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Importing a new version from external source
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:FAQs and troubleshooting|noerror}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:FAQs and troubleshooting|noerror}}
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===I use Dual rate in my radio to decrease rotation rates but AR7200BX/AR7210BX/AR7300BX still drives my servos to full deflection when testing on the workbench.===
===I use Dual rate in my radio to decrease rotation rates but AR7200BX/AR7210BX/AR7300BX still drives my servos to full deflection when testing on the workbench.===
This is absolutely normal and doesn't say anything about the rotation rates you will see in flight. Similar to the tail gyro in HeadingLock mode the system measures rotation rates and tries to maintain the rotation rate that is commanded by stick input. Now if you move the stick while the heli is standing on the ground you tell the system to rotate the heli with a certain speed. The system measures the speed and sees that nothing is happening. So it will apply more and more servo input in order to move the heli but as the heli can't move the servos will be driven to the maximum allowed deflection.<br />
This is absolutely normal and doesn't say anything about the rotation rates you will see in flight. Similar to the tail gyro in HeadingLock mode the system measures rotation rates and tries to maintain the rotation rate that is commanded by stick input. Now if you move the stick while the heli is standing on the ground you tell the system to rotate the heli with a certain speed. The system measures the speed and sees that nothing is happening. So it will apply more and more servo input in order to move the heli but as the heli can't move the servos will be driven to the maximum allowed deflection.<br />
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:FAQs and troubleshooting|noerror}}
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===RPM Governor - What is this and what does it?===
Using the governor function you can simply preset your head speed with the transmitter, i.e. when you like to fly your heli with 2500rpm, you set your throttle curve in idle 1 to straight 62.5% in the TX. Then you just place your heli on the flight field, switch to Idle1 and it'll autonomously will spool up the rotor rpm to 2500rpm. Then you can take off and fly and you will get 2500rpm all over the flight, no matter what load condition the battery is or if your nitro motor will run lean. The governor will try to hold these 2500rpm as good as possible. When rotor head load increases, it'll increase throttle as necessary, when you unload the head and the head speed increases due to aerodynamic force, it'll decrease the throttle automatically. Typically this is a lot better than only controlling the motor with static curves made in the transmitter. And next time, again you will get those 2500rpm when flying the next battery/fuel tank, although this battery might be old and voltage is slightly different or the nitro motor may run more rich or lean.<br />
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For '''electric helicopters''' the governor function is a good thing if you use an ESC with bad head speed governing capability. Most (cheap) ESCs do not have a very good governor or don't feature any governor function at all. For example with some ESC you may get tail pumping at some specific rpm ranges or very abrupt throttle inputs when the load on the rotor head changes. Here you can get good results with the BEASTX governor as besides observing the motor rpm/head speed this will allow to give direct throttle input to cyclic/collective stick input. So it always will be one step ahead compared to a traditional governor function. Using a high priced ESC on the other hand, these typically have so good governor algorithms that it doesn't make any sense to use an external governor and the ESC has knowledge of what the motor is doing at the moment and what's the momentary current, voltage, etc. So here the BEASTX governor function probably will not give any performance boost.<br />
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So if you are not afraid of the additional wiring and setup procedure using the RPM governor of AR7210BX can make your heli and your ESC get a very consistent head speed governing at minimum effort. Of course if you think your ESC is working OK and that the governing is working to your satisfaction there is no need to use the governor feature.<br />
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Especially for the '''nitro helicopters''' using the governor functionality of the AR7210BX can be very handy as the unit necessary for this is already mounted to your heli. There is no need for an extra device. Just connect a rpm sensor of your choice to the unit and after performing the governor setup procedure you will not have to adjust complicated throttle curves anymore. Just choose the desired head speed you want to fly with and set it up in the transmitter, AR7210BX will do the rest including soft start and autorotation bail out feature.<br />
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===Is the RPM Governor function also available for AR7200BX / AR7300BX?===
For the SPEKTRUM AR7200BX / AR7300BX there is a firmware with nitro governor functionality available (Version 4.0.14) which you can get by updating with the StudioX software.<br />
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===Nitro RPM Governor - When recovering from an autorotation using the autorotation bail out function the throttle increases up to nearly full throttle and stays there===
Nitro helicopters react very sluggish during rpm rampup. Especially when the clutch is worn out it can take a lot of time until the rotor gains full head speed while the motor already runs at full speed, trying to spool up the rotor. This will cause the RPM Governor to stay at full speed as it detects the desired rpm seems to be faster than the helicopter allows. So you need to prevent the throttle from opening completely during spool up by decreasing the Governor quick change rate (Parameter menu point K) to a value that represents the maximum speed the helicopter is able to ramp up the throttle.<br />
===How to adjust Parameter menu point I (RPM Governor - Throttle response)===
Use menu point I to change the response of the RPM Governor. This determines how fast and hard the system will open or close the throttle when the rotor rpm changes. With ideal throttle response you get a very consistent rotor head speed - the head speed should recover quickly and definite but not hectic when loading and unloading the rotor head.
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* If throttle response is too low the main rotor may speed up immediately in unloaded conditions, e.g. when the helicopter is descending and the RPM Governor will only give soft throttle inputs when the head speed decreases.
* If the response is set too high on the other hand, the throttle may stutter audible when unloading the motor and/or the motor rpm will kick in very hard and overshoot after the rotor head was loaded and the rpm decreased, causing the tail rotor to turn due to the immediate load change.
The height of throttle response highly depends on factors such as heli size (blade size), motor power and performance and/or the throttle response behavior of the speed controller (when flying an electric heli). If you need to adjust the throttle response, we recommend to start with the lowest value and increase accordingly. Also you should use a lower head speed for adjustment as here you can see the effect more distinct.
Only increase the throttle response stepwise and make sure the throttle will not start to oscillate.
Note that with nitro helicopters high throttle response can cause the motor to quit when the throttle
is opened too fast. With electric helicopters changing the throttle very fast can cause the speed
controller to overheat and especially hard changes from unloaded to loaded conditions can cause incorrect
commutations of the ESC (depending on the type of motor) which can damage the ESC if this does not have
appropriate protection mechanisms.<br />
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==AttitudeControl==
===How can I get the Version 4.x.x ProEdition upgrade with AttitudeControl (Rescue bail out)? What does it cost?===
To upgrade your SPEKTRUM AR7210BX you need the latest StudioX Software. This allows to connect to the freakware Network and register your device to your personal account when you connect it to the computer. Then all available updates and upgrades for the device will be displayed individually.<br />
<p>Regular device updates are free of charge. For upgrades that enable new functionality we may charge some fee. You can see the prices and buy them directly from StudioX. Available upgrades and prices also can be checked at the [[BEASTX_Devices/en|product overview page]].</p>
<p>Please have a look [[StudioX_UpdateInstructions/en|here]] if you need further information about the update/upgrade process.</p>
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===Is AttitudeControl (Rescue bail out) also available for the SPEKTRUM AR7200BX/AR7300BX?===
<p>No, unfortunately this features can only be offered for AR7210BX and MICROBEAST PLUS / MICROBEAST PLUS HD. Older devices can't be used due to limitations of the hardware.<br />
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===AttitudeControl can not be activated although it is switched on at Parameter menu point M===
Assign the switch channel for AttitudeControl in Function assignment menu either by moving the switch on the transmitter at menu point B or by skipping menu point B in order to use the gyro channel for the AttitudeControl.
===Using the tail gyro gain to activate AttitudeControl, how can I control AttitudeControl and switch the tail gyro gain with flight mode switch?===
If applicable you may use the free programmable mixing functions of your transmitter to mix your AttitudeControl switch on the tail gyro gain output. To enable AttitudeControl you must reverse the sign of the tail gyro gain channel. So by flipping the AttitudeControl switch you must subtract or add enough channel output so that the gyro gain channel will give the amount of desired AttitudeControl gain. In the following example it is shown how this may work out on a Spektrum DX18. We use switch H to activate/deactivate AttidueControl. The AttitudeControl gain is 50% (-50% channel output in this example).<br />
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{|class="gallery"
|-
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_1.JPG|192px|none|border]]
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_2.JPG|192px|none|border]]
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_4.JPG|192px|none|border]]
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_3.JPG|192px|none|border]]
|-
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|Create a new programmable mixer
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|Here we just use a very simple mixer from Switch H to GYR channel
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|As the gyro channel (GYR) is 50% at the moment we subtract 100%
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|So when flipping the switch the channel moves to -50%
|}
We use a mixer from switch H to the GYR channel that subtracts 100% when flipping the switch. As the gyro gain may differ between different flight modes you can create one mixer for each flight mode. Each mixer subtracts as much as necessary to get always the same amount of AttitudeControl gain (in our example -50%).<br />
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{|class="gallery"
|-
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_5.JPG|192px|none|border]]
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_9.jpg|192px|none|border]]
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_7.JPG|192px|none|border]]
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_6.JPG|192px|none|border]]
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|[[Image:AttitudeControl_Spektrum_8.jpg|192px|none|border]]
|-
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|Mix1 subtracts 100% to get -50% in flight mode 1
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|Create a similar mixer for flight mode 2
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|In flight mode 2 gyro gain is 58%
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|Mix2 subtracts 108% to get -50% in flight mode 2
|width="200pt" style="padding:0px 20px;"|Create additional mixer for the other flight modes if necessary
|}
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===When switching on AttitudeControl on the workbench and moving the heli by hand the servos sometimes make some jerky movements===
This is absolutely normal behavior as the system doesn't simply apply full aileron, elevator or pitch input. The control input works in a much more sophisticated way. There are different curves and algorithm in the software which apply control input in a very special manner so the heli will be turned and leveled without loosing height and without moving to much around as good as possible. When turning the helicopter on the workbench this can cause some oscillations or bigger steps in servo movement (servo jumping) as the helicopter does not turn the same as it would do in reality.
===AttitudeControl does not level my helicopter perfectly===
''On the ground everything seems perfect and even the first time I switch on AttitudeControl in flight on the helis levels OK. But after some time the heli is (extremely) tilted to the side when I switch on AttitudeControl again.''<br />
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The AR7210BX AttitudeControl (SAFE mode) uses gyro sensors and accelerometers to build up the artificial horizon which is necessary to determine the heli's absolute position in space. This artificial horizon is highly dependent on the sensor data input and if the sensors fail, also the artificial horizon will. The sensors can especially be influenced by vibrations which cause them to show wrong data or loose some data at all. This will cause wrong calculations and in consequence cause a wrong repositioning of the heli. The gyro sensors of AR7210BX typically are very vibration resistant and you might not see the influence of vibrations in normal flight without AttitudeControl. But as the calculation of the artificial horizon mainly is a big sum of all the sensor inputs, even the smallest influence can cause an offset of the system. Additionally the accelerometers are much more sensitive to vibrations than the gyro sensors. As these are not used in normal flight most of the time, you will not see a direct influence of vibrations on them. But for the AttitudeControl these sensors have an important role and the system can only work with limited capability if these sensors fail.<br />
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* Make sure the system is perfectly aligned to the helicopter's rotation axis. Otherwise the measurements will be incorrect by principle.
* Make sure the system is not touching the helicopter's canopy and loose wires can't hit the device in flight.
* Please make sure your helicopter is running smooth and absolutely free of vibrations. Particularly with very small electric helis this is sometimes a difficult task, as there is not much mass to compensate for the vibrations and all electric components are placed very close to each other. If you see or hear any abnormalities like twitching tail or loud, vibrant noise it is very likely the AttitudeControl will not work as expected. You may try to place the AR7210BX unit at a different location on the heli or mount it with a different sort of gyro pad to compensate for those vibrations. Anyhow the best solution is to find the source of vibration, i.e. by removing tail and main blades and letting the motor run on the ground, and change defective/unbalanced parts.<br />
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* High temperature changes can cause the sensors to drift and in consequence cause the artificial horizon get offset. When it's very cold outside or very hot make sure the system can acclimatize when moving the helicopter from warm to cold or from cold to warm.
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