Tim Ballinger
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Posts posted by Tim Ballinger
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Alan,
Alan,
Can’t help much I’ afraid but I do remember the stabilised Rx were causing a few issues for the testers reporting on Github . While I can not remember the detail I had thought it was all about missing frames and how they were handled which was getting a little esoteric. You can always ask a simple question of the beta testers on github, like is it safe to fly ?. With luck you will get a simple answer!
Regarding Sport access , I see your Rx has an Sport pin and I suspect a wiring harness that connects to it, possibly the wire is not terminated in a plug. Anyways ignoring other parameters, your key parameter is RSSI which will come back from the Rx to the Tx.
Assuming you see RSSI displayed on your Tx then all you have to do is make sure data logging is turned on and you can review the data for its session by downloading the log file , possibly easiest with companion if you use that.
Tim
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Alan,
In short I do not know enough about ACCES. I have not gone out of my way to research anomalies that have been flagged other than one user on RCG who was having problems with QX7 and a G-RX8. FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH my thoughts on that are 7 posts above this one.
Personally I feel there have been sufficient issues over this upgrade that whatever setup I was using I would want to check the telemetry logs, particularly RSSI levels before and after the upgrade. So if you did not feel the need to test fly each of the upgraded rxrs on a relatively benign model as I did then at the very least I would run them each for 10 mins, including reduced power range tests. Make sure the results are logged and then carefully check through the data for any anomalies.
Long answer i know but I am an ex flight test engineer and caution in a minefield is innate !
Tim
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Mark,
All I can say is that if I had an Access Radio I would want to proceed through my own logical test sequence before flying.
Tim -
I said I would fly the RX8R pro and provide the comparison plot before and after the upgrade to V2.01. Here it is.
As with the other Rxr's the before and after RSSI is pretty much the same . The post update flight is again a 20 min soaring flight while the pre update comparison is only a 10 min flight in a sports power model. (never had the RX8Rpro in a glider before today !) Altitude range is however pretty similar ( this time measured with a GPS Rx).Again there are no RSSI drop outs or failsafes noted for the entire flight.
That wraps it up for me . I am happy with the upgrade.
Tim
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Devon,
My solution to the noisy vario is not much different to yours. I do not use OpenTx so any filtering is done within the confines of the Horus OS.
This is what I do.
1. Set a logic SW for Vert Speed outputs > 2.0 ft/s. Set the duration of this LSW to 1.0s . ( If my interpretation is correct this means the test must be true for all samples in a 1 second window for the LSW to be set true. The manual does not make the description terribly clear !)
2. set a special function to play the vario if the LSW is true and the Flight mode is thermal.
3. I use a flight mode switch to turn on a 'thermaling' mode, principally to give me an automatic trim change. However when coupled with the LSW above I only have to listen to beeps when I need them.
As I say, a long way from perfect and there is obviously a lag between the beep and the model entering the lift so you just learn to compensate. Clearly if your Mk1 eyeball is A1 then you will see the model react anyway !
Tim
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Mark,
I isolated the user testing in RCG you highlighted. I note the following:-
Not surprisingly all testing in FCC not LBT as we use in Europe. This could be very significant depending on RF environment. It certainly represents a significantly different test scenario.
All testing done with the latest Taranis QX7 which is delivered as access protocol and was used in ACCST mode . Again a significantly different test scenario.
The user may have tested other Rxrs but not in the thread I viewed. They were all G-RX8. So not clear whether he has highlighting a Rx/Tx or RF issue.
I have had none of the telemetry loss or failsafe warnings this user has experienced with any of my Rxrs but my testing was with the HORUS X10 using EU/LBT ACCST D16 V 2.1 . The telemetry plots I showed bear witness to this as drop outs would be easily seen even if missed real time during the 20 min flight .
I am not qualified to comment on the real significances of the different test hardware perhaps others that are will do so.
I am still happy to go fly with the V2.1.
Tim
Edited By Tim Ballinger on 24/05/2020 10:57:31
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Lucas,
Sorry to hear about the mishap, hopefully you can repair it . I also needed a significant amount of up trim but still had sufficient control authority. I decided I had probably been too conservative with the cg and marked it up to move the battery slightly rearwards for subsequent outings. Not got chance to see if there is any difference because the field has been in lockdown ever since and my ‘ home ‘ flying field is too small for such a missile !
Good luck for the next trip.
Tim
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Mark,
I have just checked Github where the beta testing is discussed. I see no current issues over failsafe.
There is an ongoing discussion over the accuracy/noise levels on the vario's vert speed output. Some users want the same quality as can be achieved with a dedicated vario sensor , some are quite happy that the altitude output is accurate to +/- 5 m , others are not. Frsky altered the vert speed output filter between v 2.01 and ver 2.1 which gave better response at the expense of more noise . It may revert to the lower noise/greater lag filter in a future release.
From anything I have ever experienced or logged the vert speed has always been noisy . If used raw with audio it has always been unusable. Thats why i gate the value I use to create the logic sw that for me triggers the audio alert ( = vario beep). Long way from ideal as a vario but it works. In my opinion none of this has anything to do with the Rf upgrade which was the raison d'être for V2.01 and subsequently V2.1.
This is of course is only my view and only strictly relevant to ACCST D16 and Horus X10 as I tend to read past the other variants.
tried checking on RCG chat but sort of lost the will to live .
Tim
Edited By Tim Ballinger on 23/05/2020 18:55:08
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Well I flew with it for 20 mins and as you can see from the plot, no drop outs, no failsafe.
Since it’s wet and windy I’ll have another read and see if I can fathom what they are talking about. As I say when I checked the beta testers on Github they seemed happy and then the firmware was issued ( not a beta).
Tim
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Mark,
last checking I did was on the beta testing on GitHub, that was probably a month ago now and about the same time as FrSky published their March (the something) issue of that Firmware. The last impression I got from RCG was that if you delve deep enough you can always find someThing that could be better.
Do you think I missed something significant ?Tim
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Devon,
This was ACCST D16.
Tim
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The picture below shows the before and after telemetry plots for the GRX8R.
I am very happy with this as there are no dropouts over the course of the 20 min flight and the RSSI levels are virtually identical both for the preflight range check and the flight itself. The lowest recorded in flight was @50dB at 650 feet. The vert speed I have omitted for clarity but suitably bounded and combined with an audible beep I find makes thermaling much easier.
The next plot is for the RX6R. I belatedly realised I had not kept a pre update telemetry plot for the RX6R but the RX4R must be virtually identical ( firmware is the same) so I used that .
Given that the flight profile for the RX4R was much different ( Gnat as opposed to a glider !) I am again very happy with the correlation.
I guess I had never looked closely enough at the absolute levels of RSSI value between different Rxr's but they do seem to vary. I have heard that the RX6R has a greater range than the RX8R so perhaps there is some design consistency ( especially I guess since we probably all use the same warning level from one Rx to another ). I'll leave that one for those that know to elaborate on if necessary.
I will test fly the RX8Rpro as soon as the wind drops but all in all I am very happy to go fly with the upgraded firmware.
Apologies for the perhaps excessive detail but I thought it might just inspire confidence in those yet to undertake this upgrade.
Tim
Edited By Tim Ballinger on 22/05/2020 13:59:42
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Just thought I would post my results of upgrading to the latest FrSKY OS ( TX & Rxs) on my HORUS X10.
The Tx upgrade is now at 1.3.07 and the Rx firmware at V2.01.
I use the Horus OS not OpenTX.
I upgraded 8 Rx's 4 RX8Rpro, 2 RX6R, 1 RX4R and a GRX8R and of course the Tx.
Upgrade process was as per manual and no problems.
I had held off until now as the G series Rx's were the last to be updated/released following Beta testing in March/April . (S series are not there yet but I have none)
My flying site is still in lockdown but I can fly anything without an undercarriage from fields next to my house. Hence flight tests completed with a glider using both the GRX8R and the GRX6R. I will flight test the RX8Rpro in the glider as well but as soon as the wether is good enough.
Yesterdays weather was brilliant for thermaling so I had 2 flights of around 20 mins each up to heights go 650 feet on which to collect data.
All went well with no problems or discernable difference to pre upgrade flights.
Detail telemetry pictures and comment to come in the next post.
Tim
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Geoff,
Its an Overlander Thumper 3548/05 . I test ran it at the weekend:-
newly charged 4S , 10,000 rpm, 60A at 14.7V giving me 882W . I used an 11x8 wooden prop.
Thats pretty much max allowable so I may drop to an 11x7 and see if it takes the top off !
I suspect there will not be too much max throttle to begin with as it came out under the target weight at 4lb 2oz (1.872kg).
Frustratingly our field is still closed .
Tim
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Peter/Geoff,
Thanks for that.
Tim
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Great stuff Geoff,
still waiting for my club to open up and I will be out with my new Oodelallay as well.
Just setting up my control throws . No info anywhere I can see , what did you use ?
Tim
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I have monitored this situation pretty closely since it started in January and have decided in recent weeks that the time is right for me to undertake the upgrade. I do not use stabilised Rx’s so those remaining issues do not bother me. I have had no problems at all in 2 years of operating my Horus X10 so my motivation is simply to keep up to date and remove any minor risks of the sort noted in Germany. I have under a dozen separate Rx’s so the task , for me, is not immense. I plan to start the upgrade next week while I am waiting for my club to reopen .
Tim
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Peter,
Thought you would appreciate it.
Tim
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My version of another Peter Miller classic.
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Lucas,
I used my iron at 127 deg which is actually the temp I use for tacking the film in place normally . Seems to stay stuck and does not deform the canopy. I use a glove on the iron and do not loiter. Go hotter at your peril ! Personally I glue the canopy in place first, then add the trim.
Tim
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And hooking your finger through the cheat hole to push out the hatch attached with magnets makes life really easy.
Tim
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Lucas,
Provided the dry run on the bench and a trial fit is good the gluing in place is easy.
Tim
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Lucas,
I never bothered with a fan hatch. If surgery is required so be it, I have a saw and a knife!
Tim
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Chris , looks like you have it. So your setup qualifies for this parameter due to a low KV and 4S voltages or below.
Your last set of results seem to indicate 5S was ok with 50 % ramp up and low rpm on ( ie default) but I thought you had a problem on that combination originally. Perhaps the difference was having a prop on ?
Anyway good to know how to sort it when/if w meet the issue.
Tim
The Lockdown Restrictions Have Been Relaxed. Who's Been Flying?
in Chit-chat
Posted
Had my maiden Of Peter Millers Oodalallay today. Almost no wind. Peter said it would be quick , at full power it was blindingly fast ! Glad I started with some reserve and only used 3/4 throttle for take off. Flying was a delight, it is probably the most precise sport model I have ever built. Might manage a complete circuit at full throttle one day. Here's a few pics from todays 3 flights.