FrSky Taranis - user chat

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Interesting and important note about the aerials Phil, thank's for that.

[David...]

Posted by Chris Bott - Moderator on 03/05/2014 11:36:19:

Posted by David... on 03/05/2014 08:05:01:

I can't quite see yet how to set a voice alarm for a given % or battery voltage!

Hi David. For a voice alarm you need both a Custom Switch and a Custom Function.

Set up the CS function as A<S and with the sensor selected and a value set.

Set up the CF so that the switch is the CS, the function is Play Value and the Param is "batlow" or other suitable audio.

Chris, many thanks, I've just been this setup and once you know how Thanks to you, it's easy and logical, but I would not have made the link to the CS to be honest, not from the documentation anyway. This is making this Taranis better as each days goes by.

Ive been out flying this morning, worked like a dream. Once again thank you for your help.

[David...]

Hi BEB, thank you I've now successfully imported my settings, amended them and written them back, so easy to do. Yes I shall need to be disciplined on the backups and version control, I tend to use file names ccccmmdd-name-v01 so I'll use that format to help out.

Im like a kid with a new toy, because I've never been able to do anything like this with my DX6i and DX8i.

[David...]

Range Checking - how are you chaps doing that?

I always do a quick range check before I fly after a gap off a few days, so I put the Taranis into range check mode, walked out 30M or so and everything worked fine, so on that basis I figured the range should be good. Does that sound right to you?

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Yeap - just select the "range" option on the Radio Setup page. 30m should then be a good distance to check over. You can of course get the Taranis to display the RSSI (received signal strength Indicator) as part of the telemetry and set alarms up on that in addition to the defaults. Bear in mind though that it is a logarithmic scale!

BEB

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Been having a look at a tx at the field today, the owner ran me through a few bits. Box feels ok in the hands and sticks are nice. Birthday's in July so its a done deal. Imagine that, a dinosaur with a Taranis

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Its custom made for you John! Two months and you'll be wondering how you managed without one!

BEB

PS 21 (again) is it?

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Yes BEB for the 3rd time nearly

[David...]

I realised when I insisted the range check that it displays RSSI data and at about 30m the low signal alarm went off, so with that distance and a factor of 30 quoted that gives me nearly a Km.

I have now figured out how to perform a channel mix, which is not intuitive, but once done becomes easy, that said I don't really understand the offset value.

Flew with the GPS V 2 module today, units are km100 for sped my typical speed was 0.44 or 44Km/ Hr. Height is in

metres and distance appears to be distance from take-off point in 3d, so if I fly overhead it reads height.

[Rich too]

Posted by David... on 03/05/2014 08:05:01:

Hi BEB, thanks for those additional ideas, I had not realised power used was an option and that it integrated the two (V and I),as you say that's a much better indicator of battery capacity than voltage.

I can't quite see yet how to set a voice alarm for a given % or battery voltage! I'll have a go through the menus. if I had a criticism it is the manual needs much more input from the community to add in all the features. The GPS v2 module is a case in point, I can find little or no information as to what all the parameteres are, so I went through the taranis source code to see what the telemetery module was doing, that's how I figured out GAlt was GPS derived altitude, of course I should have figured that out as the other source of altimeter is that from the air pressure derived vario. Even the units are hard to determine, I will know today when I've flown it all. I'd like to know a bit more about the half-duplex S-Port but can't find any details of it, to add my own vario, which is odd as it's supposed to be an open system, still by the time I've purchased a Bosch BMP085 and an Arduino I will have spent more than buying a ready made unit! If that keeps Frsky in business then that's what I'll do.

Its amazing that they are selling out as soon as they come into stock, so I watch with interest the current survey.

Once someone has seen and experienced these radios, it seems hard to contemplate why anyone would purchase any other brand.

David

Edited By David... on 03/05/2014 08:13:45

You lost me after the first few sentences - that's why!! I can't be doing with all the setting up, it all sounds too technical to me.

Rich

[David...]

I can assure you it is far easer to setup than a DX8i what I'm doing here is taking the design to the next level and for me replicating and adding my own sensors, can't do that with the big four propriety designs.

Taranis is without doubt the best radio I've owned in my 35-years of model flying, because it is so flexible I can change it anyway I like and no more am I stuck with options from the manufacturer that don't quite meet my needs, it is truly a versatile Tx.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[David...]

I'm now finding one of the most useful features is RSSI - Received Signal Strength Indicator, because I fly on the edge of an industrial estate, I have found consistently that when I fly over a large building I get reports of "low RF Signal", so now I avoid that place, it's a very repeatable result for me. The corollary for me is I never knew that with my Spektrum DX8, so that's another huge plus for Taranis/OpenTX.

My other learning points is the voice feedback is for me essential and I can never go back now - it makes for safer and more assured flying if you have a penchant for looking at the screen for say battery voltage or fuel levels.

Today I am going to add a altitude annunciation triggered by a switch, because I can and check what height I'm at. It's quite surprising that 200M is a long way up, doesn't seem so, but IMO it is.

I have never enjoyed flying my models so-much as now with this Taranis.

I will be getting a LiFe to increase flying time on the Tx.

Edited By David... on 04/05/2014 09:45:04

Edited By David... on 04/05/2014 09:45:20

[Fatscoleymo]

Posted by Andrew Ray on 04/05/2014 08:10:48:

Posted by David... on 04/05/2014 07:55:11:

I can assure you it is far easer to setup than a DX8i what I'm doing here is taking the design to the next level and for me replicating and adding my own sensors, can't do that with the big four propriety designs.

Taranis is without doubt the best radio I've owned in my 35-years of model flying, because it is so flexible I can change it anyway I like and no more am I stuck with options from the manufacturer that don't quite meet my needs, it is truly a versatile Tx.

I will second that.

I will third that! (35 years of RC flying for me also).

Taranis is not hard to use, just a little different. I had MRC (?) as 1st Tranny back in the 70's, then onto Futaba and over the last 15 years or so JR. All systems were very capable, but Taranis just has total flexibility if you want it. At about £140. Amazing bit of kit.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Posted by David... on 04/05/2014 09:44:26:

I'm now finding one of the most useful features is RSSI - Received Signal Strength Indicator, because I fly on the edge of an industrial estate, I have found consistently that when I fly over a large building I get reports of "low RF Signal", so now I avoid that place, it's a very repeatable result for me. The corollary for me is I never knew that with my Spektrum DX8, so that's another huge plus for Taranis/OpenTX.

My other learning points is the voice feedback is for me essential and I can never go back now - it makes for safer and more assured flying if you have a penchant for looking at the screen for say battery voltage or fuel levels.

Today I am going to add a altitude annunciation triggered by a switch, because I can and check what height I'm at. It's quite surprising that 200M is a long way up, doesn't seem so, but IMO it is.

I have never enjoyed flying my models so-much as now with this Taranis.

I will be getting a LiFe to increase flying time on the Tx.

Edited By David... on 04/05/2014 09:45:04

Edited By David... on 04/05/2014 09:45:20

I'll be getting a LiFe

Careful what you say David

[David...]

Yes, very droll

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Don't worry David - you don't need a LiFe - you've got a Taranis!

BEB

[JAMES S]

Have spent a day last weekend and about two days this bank holiday weekend setting up and flying with my new Taranis. A bit of a stretch to understand how it worked after over five years using a DX-7 but I think I'm now sold on the radio.

Reasons for liking it....

• cheaper then a DX-8
• voice alerts
• more mixes and features then my head will ever be able to cope with
• good support on forums, I spent 5 hours watching Scott Page's videos
• ability to program and copy files on the PC

I'm using an Orange module to make use of my investment in about 8 spektrum Rx's and since this module doesn't have model match I've set up voice alerts to tell me what model I've selected when I change to a new model.

The first model I set up was a multiplex Cularis, a 4 servo electric glider which my DX-7 struggled with. On the DX-7 I ended up with a simple on-off switch for the motor as the throttle is used to controls the flaps for landing. However using Mike Shellims F3B eeprom as a starter for my Cularis I've now got 'full house' airbrakes, reflex etc and have the throttle on the right slider, with voice alerts to remind me on start-up that is where the throttle is.

Very impressed. Next thing I'm going to buy is some simple telemetry stuff and a few FrSky Rx's so I can check battery voltage is flight.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Your experience seems to be typical James. Yes a bit of effort at first - because its different. But once you "get it", which isn't so hard, its actually very easy. You start to realise that its actually easier to do the things you want to do when you don't have to fight the straight jacket of the programming the manufacturer decided you should have! I've actually come to the conclusion that you have to be damn site clever - certainly more devious! - to program a "standard" radio to do something it wasn't intended to do then you need to be with Taranis!

Once you have it sorted most folks seem to have a "no going back" attitude! I know I have, I've just sold the last of my Futaba gear - there is no way I would use it again having tasted this.

BEB

[Spice Cat]

Sorry if this is a repeat question but I have looked through the thread and can’t find it anywhere.>>

At the end of the day I store my Taranis back into its ally case having removed the Spektrum module from the rear. I then noticed that when I restarted the Taranis, there was no customary series of beeps. I seleceted the Travel Air and again no beeps. Upon switching the model on, the rx was not bound. Switch all off, switch on again and the rx bound.>>

The same happened with my lace w:st="on">Phoenixlace> glider. Once bound though no problems at all >>

Am I missing something pretty obvious??>>

And the crow braking on the lace w:st="on">Phoenixlace> did exactly what it said on the tin. Although I may switch the control to a proportional one for added control.>>

Regards. >>

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

This certainly isn't something I've come across SC. Does this model use the Spektrum module?

Edited By Chris Bott - Moderator on 05/05/2014 17:28:28

[Spice Cat]

Yes Chris. I will try again this evening and will update you.
Regards

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

SC - do you turn it off with module attached? Then when you turn it on is the module attached? Or do you connect the module after its turned on?

Does the current default model (the one that will be active on power up use the module?

I ask because activating the module is part of the model set up screen, I don't know how the Tx would react if it powered on with a module activated but not in place - or vice versa in place but not in the set up?

BEB

Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 05/05/2014 18:48:34

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

SC does it do it every time or just once in a while?

One (unlikely) possibility, if it doesn't always do it, it that the Spektrum protocol "listens" for clear channels before it transmits. If for any reason it can't find any, it doesn't turn the transmit section on.

Is this something that happens when you're near some other source of 2.4Ghz signals maybe? Home WiFi or something Bluetooth maybe?

[Spice Cat]

Thanks chaps but I think I may have found the problem. Me!

Up until now I was binding a model, single, to the Taranis and working on it. Then set up another model, binding and working, and so on. The one thing I was not doing was switching between models.

When binding, I noticed that the module had set itself to the type of rx in use and indicated this by the green light flashing, i.e. two flashes; DSM2 etc.

Now I have found that when swapping to a new model you have to manually reset the module to the type of rx in use. If this has been mentioned somewhere, I've missed it and feel a bit thick.

Other than that I am happy again.

Thanks for taking the time though.

PS Promise to proof read my submissions when cutting from a word document. I was concentrating on the bbq as well at the time.