Futaba M6 Fr Sky 2.4 ghz DIY Conversion

[Paul Luby]

Hi Pat

Yep if your sketch runs on a Nano it'll run on a Uno. Though don't forget a Uno only has 6 Analogue to Digital Converters but it does have twice the memory.

Haven't time to do much the last few days cause I'm a little busy with my Maine Coon kitten.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

[Keiran Arnold]

Paul

Are you going to put that picture on the front door to scare the local kids off?

[Paul Luby]

Hi Keiren

Its hard to take a picture using your tablet when you have a 3 month old Maine Coon kitten that weighs five pound using you as a bed. He's still in the same place. We bring his half brother home in two weeks and I think I mentioned before, there is no kids near us, its heaven, or it will be when our son moves out.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

Just done this Futaba Gold 7FG for a mate. I used the original encoder cause that's what he wanted but I had to do a few wiring repairs and pcb repairs.

I think when these were being made they were cramming in that much that they were using thin cable and old pcb technology so pcb tracks were lifted during manufacture and cables were ready to let loose.

Anyhow, they had a weird battery that was a 9.6 volt pack with 9 cell where one was a blank. With a few mods on the battery bay I've managed to squeeze in a 9.6 volt LSD 2500 mAh NIMH pack.

It needed a lot of TLC as it was covered in 20 year old Castor Oil grime. I think it looks pretty good now.

Another guy has asked me if I can do his Futaba Gold 7FG but the pcb is all burnt out so can I do it with and Arduino and keep the pot type adjusters for the mixers, atv and rates.

First impression is I'm gonna need about 20 ADC's which is way above what any Arduino has.

So, for the next week I'll be playing about with a few analogue multiplexers to see if they'll do the job.

I'm gonna be trying these two initially as loads of Arduino guys say there pretty good,

74HC4051

74HC4067

I'll post the results when I have something to report.

I've also put the article on hold a little cause this may be worth mentioning in there.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

Edited By Paul Luby on 27/08/2014 11:36:18

[Phil Green]

I used the MC14551 in my dual-receiver adapters Paul (the one that HK mysteriously brought out a few weeks later)... Its a quad 2:1 multiplexer, so you'd have 4 inputs each with two alternative sources. They're very linear.
Re the article, go for it, you can always do a supplementary update later! KISS ! (no, not that way...)

Cheers
Phil

[Paul Luby]

Hi Phil

I'll get a couple and give them a try to see which ones suite my stuff best.

Cheers.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

 

 

Edited By Paul Luby on 27/08/2014 18:47:40

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

Just to let you see my latest conversion.

I think its rather a neat one.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

[Paul Luby]

Oh

By the way, here's what happened to my 88 inch span Blackhorse Wyvern when I was doing low flybys and showing off at my local club.

I stalled it in a very tight banking turn at about 30 feet. It just tip stalled,flipped over and "big game over".

On the plus side cause it was going fairly slow the engine seems ok, just got to strip it, rebuild it and run it.

It was my only ever ARTF as I build all my models normally. The sad thing is it flew lovely.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

[XK50]

Thanks to Paul and Phil, I'm about to adapt a Remcon Quantum Six, from the early '70s.

Things are eased by the fact that its sticks have mechanical trims. However, I look at the "Level" meter on the front and wonder if, in these latest sets, either of you have any preferred way of getting the meter to do something useful?

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Many thanks,

John

[sgwlm]

I have been looking for one of them forever and a day, never can find one, Remcon Quantum Six was one of my first 'proper' radio's.

it is thanks to both Paul and Phil that has got me interested in the arduino,, to update a retro set, I have got a few, but would still like to obtain a Remcon set

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the nice words.

John

Regards the meter, each manufacturer had their own meter, be it battery or RF strength indicator.

We don't have the option to make it an RF strength meter so what I do is turn it into a battery level type meter.

I hook a 100k pot in series with it and power the meter circuit with the battery I intend to use, I then adjust the pot so at full battery charge I almost get full scale deflection of the meter.

I then replace the pot with a fixed resistor of the appropriate value.

You then have to check it with a battery that is discharged to a level that is your "stop flying" level, check where the meter then reads and mark the meter appropriately so you can see when your "stop flying" battery level is.

It's better than nothing but all your doing is really turning the meter into a crude voltmeter.

Hope this helps.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

[XK50]

Thanks, Paul. That is what I will do. Also, the meter was illuminated, from below, by a torch bulb (!). I'll replace that with an LED. The original DEACs were only 500mAh. I bet that level meter went down like the fuel gauge on a Mark X Jag!

sgwim: As I've intimated, above, nostalgia is a fine thing. This radio set was originally kitted for home-build. A full kit, with four diy-assembled servos would have cost you 98 quid, in 1972 (at least £1,200, today). The stick assemblies were innovative at the time but now feel crude, with very strong springs and the frequency crystal was soldered in ... but hey, it was six channel, fully propo and it worked.

I'll put some pictures up, when it's finished.

John

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

If any of you are going to Old Warden Festival of Flight you may see a guy flying a vintage model with the Skyleader I converted for him.

I may be down there as well, but will know nearer the date.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

Did the trip down to Old Warden today. Spoke to Leon from Belairkits who I did the previously shown Skyleader for. I'm now doing his Digifleet and Sprengbrook. Also bumoed into a couple of guys who know me, and you Phil, from the forums. So hi to Martin and Mevin (think I got that right).

I'm getting the bits for my new Vailly Typhoon off Leon.

I was gonna put a DJ-80 in it or a DLA 85 that I have kicking around but, my lovely wife knows I have always been a Hawker Typhoon fan, I even have the original RAF Flying & Maintenance Air Publications for it (AP1804A).

I was looking at a video of one on Youtube with a DLE 85 in it and whilst nice it sounded wrong. I then spotted a P40 with a Roto 85 FSI in it (twin cylinder inline 85cc 4 stroke petrol engine). It sounds lovely, turn up the volume when you listen to the P40 video.

Wifey then said, you have just finished 30 years in the RAF, do the Tiffie how you want to do it, treat yourself, so I did.

What a fantastic wifey.

Will be test running my Roto 85 FSI next weekend and will post a video. Should have a mental grin on my face.

Paul

(AKA Veri-GAsh)

Edited By Paul Luby on 27/09/2014 23:01:04

[Martin Whybrow]

Good to see you today Paul, very interesting to chat about the conversions you're doing. Not sure who Mevin is, but you got Martin right!

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

Heres the Youtube link to my new Roto 85 FSI thats going in the Vailly Typhoon I'm building.

Roto 85 FSI

It started second flick right out of the box.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

Edited By Paul Luby on 04/10/2014 14:09:52

[Phil Green]

Beaut Paul. Sounds good too!

Just got a card through the post from HMC&E, my last two Sparkfun orders had no import duty to pay, but they've charged me £15 for this identical order! Might as well go to a UK distributor even though they charge more for the same board - cheaper than markup+duty!

Cheers
Phil

[Paul Luby]

Hi Phil

£10 of that will be their admin fee.

Got to love them don't you.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

[Patrick Thieleman]

Thanks to Phil and Paul, here is my conversion. Kraft Series Seventy-Two.  Works great, still needs some cleanup inside. I love the single stick and S/C.

Edited By Patrick Thieleman on 21/10/2014 06:14:06

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

Been a very busy couple of months, what with new job and two new Maine Coon kittens.

Our second one came home the day before I started my new job and I've been turning my garden into Stalug 52.

Reason is, well, check out the pictures below. We've never shown before and he did rather well at his and our first show. So I've been installing cat escape proof fencing and better CCTV. I think my wife has a new hobby, which means I'll do all the work and she'll collect the Rosettes.

On the plus side I now have all the parts for my Vailly Typhoon.

Down side is we have decorators coming to do the hall in two weeks, so if I get chance to do anything I'll be amazed.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

Edited By Paul Luby on 01/11/2014 23:00:25

[Phil Green]

Hi Paul

I'm having some PCBs done commercially for the Pro-Mini version of the encoder, specifically the genuine Sparkfun one, would you be interested? I know you use a different pro-mini with a different pinout so these might not suit you but I thought I'd ask. I'm doing them at cost, I don't want to make anything on them. Using twisted servo leads for all the pot & switch connections makes a really neat job.

Edited By Phil Green on 08/11/2014 22:57:31

[Paul Luby]

Hi Phil

No thanks Phill, I'm in the process of convincing the wife to let me have a PCB printer, a little like a 3D printer but for PCB's.

Don't want her to think I can get them elsewhere or she might not think I need one

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

[Phil Green]

That sounds good, what do you have in mind Paul? I've seen some that print etch-resist directly to the copper but you still have the messy ferric chloride phase. Are PCB printers commercially available or is it a DIY project?

Cheers
Phil

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

It's been a while but here's a late Christmas present, some may say its long winded but it is easy to follow. Its a stick/pot auto calibration routine using a double byte configuration.

Its pretty easy to work out and I hope it helps.

It should be placed in the setup routine and is activated by a digital INPUT having 0 on it (defined by "switchpotCalibrate" in this case).

Enjoy.

Paul

(AKA Veri Gash)

if (digitalRead(stickpotCalibrate) == 0) //start of stick calibration routine

{

int rudMin = analogRead(A0);

int rudMax = analogRead(A0);

int eleMin = analogRead(A1);

int eleMax = analogRead(A1);

int throtMin = analogRead(A2);

int throtMax = analogRead(A2);

int ailMin = analogRead(A5);

int ailMax = analogRead(A5);

int flpMin = analogRead(A4);

int flpMax = analogRead(A4);

int rudVal = 0;

int eleVal = 0;

int throtVal = 0;

int ailVal = 0;

int flpVal = 0;

do

{

rudVal = analogRead(A0); // read and set stick min and max values

eleVal = analogRead(A1);

throtVal = analogRead(A2);

ailVal = analogRead(A5);

flpVal = analogRead(A4);

if ((rudVal) < (rudMin)){

rudMin = rudVal;

}

if ((rudVal) > (rudMax)){

rudMax = rudVal;

}

if (eleVal < eleMin){

eleMin = eleVal;

}

if (eleVal > eleMax){

eleMax = eleVal;

}

if (throtVal < throtMin){

throtMin = throtVal;

}

if (throtVal > throtMax){

throtMax = throtVal;

}

if (ailVal < ailMin){

ailMin = ailVal;

}

if (ailVal > ailMax){

ailMax = ailVal;

}

if (flpVal < flpMin){

flpMin = flpVal;

}

if (flpVal > flpMax){

flpMax = flpVal;

}

} while (digitalRead(stickpotCalibrate) == 0);

EEPROM.write(1,lowByte(rudMin)); //write stick values to eeprom

EEPROM.write(2,highByte(rudMin));

EEPROM.write(5,lowByte(rudMax));

EEPROM.write(6,highByte(rudMax));

EEPROM.write(11,lowByte(eleMin));

EEPROM.write(12,highByte(eleMin));

EEPROM.write(15,lowByte(eleMax));

EEPROM.write(16,highByte(eleMax));

EEPROM.write(21,lowByte(throtMin));

EEPROM.write(22,highByte(throtMin));

EEPROM.write(25,lowByte(throtMax));

EEPROM.write(26,highByte(throtMax));

EEPROM.write(31,lowByte(ailMin));

EEPROM.write(32,highByte(ailMin));

EEPROM.write(35,lowByte(ailMax));

EEPROM.write(36,highByte(ailMax));

EEPROM.write(41,lowByte(flpMin));

EEPROM.write(42,highByte(flpMin));

EEPROM.write(45,lowByte(flpMax));

EEPROM.write(46,highByte(flpMax));

}

}

int rudMin = (int(EEPROM.read(1))) + (int(EEPROM.read(2))*256); //read stick values from eeprom on non-calibration start up

int rudMax = (int(EEPROM.read(5))) + (int(EEPROM.read(6))*256);

int eleMin = (int(EEPROM.read(11))) + (int(EEPROM.read(12))*256);

int eleMax = (int(EEPROM.read(15))) + (int(EEPROM.read(16))*256);

int throtMin = (int(EEPROM.read(21))) + (int(EEPROM.read(22))*256);

int throtMax = (int(EEPROM.read(25))) + (int(EEPROM.read(26))*256);

int ailMin = (int(EEPROM.read(31))) + (int(EEPROM.read(32))*256);

int ailMax = (int(EEPROM.read(35))) + (int(EEPROM.read(36))*256);

int flpMin = (int(EEPROM.read(41))) + (int(EEPROM.read(42))*256);

int flpMax = (int(EEPROM.read(45))) + (int(EEPROM.read(46))*256);

[Paul Luby]

Hi Guys

Here'a another code Christmas pressie.

I'm modifying a Digifleet XP/FM for a guy and he'd like adjustable rates. Given the Arduino I like to use has a limited number of ADC's and the Digifleet uses pot trims all 8 ADC's are used just for the primary flight control axis and the associated trims.

So what I've done is a start up routine that detects a zero on a digital input/output pin and if present allows you to set the aileron and elevator low rate using the throttle trim lever and elevator trim lever whilst monitoring the aileron and elevator (these trim levers are below the respective rate select switches on the Tx).

When you remove the zero the code writes the low rate values to EEPROM

Every time after that when you power up the Tx it loads the rates value from EEPROM.

Code below.

Its also got the stick/trim pot autocal routine.

Cool or what.

Enjoy.

Paul

(AKA Veri-Gash)

 

if (digitalRead(rateSet) == 0) //start of rate set routine

{
int ailRateVal = 0;
int eleRateVal = 0;

int eleTrimMin = (int(EEPROM.read(16))) + (int(EEPROM.read(17))*256);
int eleTrimMax = (int(EEPROM.read(18))) + (int(EEPROM.read(19))*256);

int throtTrimMin = (int(EEPROM.read(26))) + (int(EEPROM.read(27))*256);
int throtTrimMax = (int(EEPROM.read(28))) + (int(EEPROM.read(29))*256);

do
{
ailRateVal = map(analogRead(A1),eleTrimMax,eleTrimMin,0,pulseHigh); // read and set rate values
eleRateVal = map(analogRead(A6),throtTrimMax,throtTrimMin,0,pulseHigh);

for (int pulseNo = 0; pulseNo <= 4; pulseNo++ ){

digitalWrite(ppm, HIGH); // make ppm output high
delayMicroseconds(initPulse); // initialisation pulse
digitalWrite(ppm, LOW); // make ppm output low

if ( pulseNo == 0 ) delayMicroseconds(basePulse); // control pulses
if ( pulseNo == 1 ) delayMicroseconds(basePulse+eleRateVal);
if ( pulseNo == 2 ) delayMicroseconds(basePulse);
if ( pulseNo == 3 ) delayMicroseconds(basePulse+ailRateVal);
if ( pulseNo == 4 ) delayMicroseconds(frameLength-((initPulse*5)+(basePulse*4)+(eleRateVal+ailRateVal)));
}

} while (digitalRead(rateSet) == 0);

EEPROM.write(41,lowByte(ailRateVal));
EEPROM.write(42,highByte(ailRateVal));
EEPROM.write(43,lowByte(eleRateVal));
EEPROM.write(44,highByte(eleRateVal));
}

 

float ailRate = (int(EEPROM.read(41))) + (int(EEPROM.read(42))*256);
float eleRate = (int(EEPROM.read(43))) + (int(EEPROM.read(44))*256);

Edited By Paul Luby on 03/01/2015 20:53:23