Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 This is hopefully a helpful thread where you can post any quick technical questions you have about OpenTx. For example: 1. how to do a particular task or 2, why maybe your set up or you progarmming isn't working just how you planned! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy48 Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 BEB It would appear that the Frsky Horus firmware does have a command to allow you to alter the speed of your retracts. I presume this will also be available in OpenTX 2.2 for both Horus and Tranis. Edited By Andy48 on 23/10/2016 17:35:53 Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 23/10/2016 23:38:33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 That' interesting. But surely the problem is that a retract servo isn't actually equiped to do it! It ignores changes in pulse width until they pass a set threshold (usually 1500us) then simply switches? So how can the Tx get round that I wonder? BEB Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 23/10/2016 23:38:59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Tayler Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Presumably a retract servo has a brushed motor,if the voltage to the motor or the duty factor of a pulse width modulated voltaage were changed the speed of the motor could be varied.What about one channel to switch the retracts up and down and another channel to change the speed? or what would you like? An arduino should be programmable to do this. Suggestions? david Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 23/10/2016 23:39:37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 I don't think specialist retract servos are built like that! They have the switch over logic built into them. Pulse lower than midpoint - position A; pulse longer than mid-point - position B. No intermediate position allowed. \no potentiometer returning position. Lots of power required to ensure the gear travels decisively and cleanly and then locks and holds - reducing voltage to them wouldn't be a good idea! I think! BEB Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 23/10/2016 23:40:05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Tayler Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Yes one couold not reduce the voltage to the servo,but with some surgery one could reduce the voltage to the motor.Maybe just a simple trim pot to control the speed? I must but a retract unit and try. David Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 23/10/2016 23:40:43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Just daydreaming: The only way I can see of altering the speed might be to have bursts of up/down pulses biased to have more 'up' to retract the leg and more 'down' bias to extend, thus keeping the motor reversing direction with a bias one way or the other. The current drain would be huge as the motor keeps reversing, not to mention wear and tear on the worm drive. Altering the motor voltage is likely to just result in a stalled motor, it doesn't take a lot to stop the legs moving on the average retract unit. David's idea of introducing a variable duty pulsed power amp into the motor drive might work as the pulse rate could be high enough that the motor doesn't stop between pulses while using the full available voltage to maintain power and avoiding the initial start-up current surge. I suspect that this is how the programmable units work. An add-on would certainly invalidate the warranty though. Have you seen the price of Lado units? Realistically I don't see the need to slow down electric retracts as they are already much slower than mechanical or pneumatic units. Edited By Bob Cotsford on 23/10/2016 22:39:23 Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 23/10/2016 23:41:11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Tayler Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 With an arduino and a"H" bridge one could arrange it so the retract was off when the pulse to the retract was 1500 microsec long and then move faster up as the pulse width was increased, and faster down as it was decreased. The end stops on the retract lead screw would stop it as at present.The pulse widths would be programmable from the taranis transmitter. I have ordered a bridge to try.The major problem may be miniturising and ruggedising the electronics.David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Blandford Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 My solution to having slow retracts involves using a standard, Hi-torque servo. I used a Towerpro SG5010. This has the same torque rating as a Hitec HS-75BB Retract Servo. I then use a "Servo Pulse Stretcher" I made using a small processor. This extends the range of the servo pulse so I get this servo to rotate 180 degrees end to end. As it happens, I also have the slow operation built in to this, but it would work just as well using a slow setting in an openTx or er9x/ersky9x mix. If there is interest I can make the details of the "Servo Pulse Stretcher" available. I re-used the same hardware I designed some years ago for a glow plug driver that was published in (another) magazine. Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 I have used one of Mike's "slowers" and can confirm that it works well. But that of course is, as he describes, with a conventioonal proportional servo, albeit high torque, with positional feedback. If using such a servo you could of course alternatively simply use the the "slow" function in OpenTx. But neither of these will work with a standard retract servo. Sadly! Regarding reversed biased timing - I can see how that might work in principle, but I'm not sure how well the average retratct servo would stand up to it load-wise? I guess experimentation is the only way to know! BEB Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 24/10/2016 12:45:22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Posted by Mike Blandford on 24/10/2016 12:27:42: ..... If there is interest I can make the details of the "Servo Pulse Stretcher" available. I re-used the same hardware I designed some years ago for a glow plug driver that was published in (another) magazine. Mike. What - and put the 'E' back into RCM&E? Is that allowed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Blandford Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 I did offer it to RCM&E first, but it was declined! Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wihtgar Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Is there any advantages in selecting which control functions are handled by which RX channel or is it just up to personal choice or programming default? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy48 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Purely personal choice, but its probably wise to decide on a particular order then stick to it with all your models. My personal channel order is TERA, simply because I nearly always use two wing servos and use channels 4 and 5 for the ailerons. Having 8 channels available, I prefer to use 2 channels for the ailerons rather than a "Y" lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Interestingly (or not!) the new Frsky S6R receiver I'm currently having problems with has to specify the channels because of its stabiliser function and that uses the Futaba AETR sequence I've used ever since I bought my Multiplex 3030 which replaced a Futaba FF7 Super. Is this right place to ask where to get an OpenTX version 2.2 to use on my Taranis. I downloaded a version 2.2 of OpenTX Companion from here but it just closed itself when I tried to update my Taranis. Plus I have read that a new Voice package is needed for v 2.2 OpenTX but there was no indication of where to acquire it. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Geoff if you've not already done it you need to go into companion settings, choose your transmitter type and options. Then in Settings - application settings turn on "Use companion nightly builds". Then and only then, download the opentx file for your Tx. I now struggle sometimes to write from PC to my old Taranis. So I end up putting the file on the SD card, and doing it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 This is a good place to start with 2.2 there's a link to the SD contents part way down the page there too. Just NOTE it's not a fully polished version of the software, at least read the warnings on that page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Richardson Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 This may be a dumb question, my high range hearing is pretty much non existent so is there a way to set the flight timer to vibrate when time is up instead of a voice or beep. Just curious as sometimes sneeking a peek at the timer with the TX at eye level can be distracting. Tony..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy48 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Yes you can use vibrate. However, I have a similar hearing problem, and the real answer is decent hearing aids! I'm profoundly deaf in my right ear, and have been since early childhood, however now I can hear better than my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy48 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 I set my own sound warnings, 2 minutes, 1 minute, then time to land. 1. Set a logical switch to be active when a certain time is reached. 2. Then use a special function to give an alert, here it gives a voice alert. (Timer 2 is one of the messages I have generated and says "Timer, 2 minutes" To have haptic instead of sound all you need to do is change the above to say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Richardson Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Thank you Andy, I agree different hearing aids would be a great solution, unfortunately I do not have the several thousand $ required, being on a fixed income, at times is frustrating, again thanks for the info will apply it ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Tayler Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 How about using a cheap class D amplifier and an inductive loop to couple the voice into the hearing aid. The amplifier could be powered by a 3S lipo The loop could be worn round the neck.This would mean the pilot could have a loud warning or other voice and it would be nearly inaudible to fellow pilots. Such an amplifier and loop would only cost a few pounds. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy48 Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Posted by Tony Richardson on 30/10/2016 17:06:48: Thank you Andy, I agree different hearing aids would be a great solution, unfortunately I do not have the several thousand $ required, being on a fixed income, at times is frustrating, again thanks for the info will apply it ASAP. Its a great pity the NHS cannot supply reasonable ones that work. They offered me just one for my left ear. However, its worth seeing just how much going private actually costs, especially if you don't want all the bells and whistles. A hearing test is free, and you can get a month's trial for free. I cannot pretend mine were cheap, but the difference is amazing. I can now listen to the TV with just the hearing aid in my right ear, and the TV volume completely off, yet I've never been able to hear speech before in my right ear since my childhood. -Think it was down to measles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Posted by Andy48 on 30/10/2016 15:57:54: I set my own sound warnings, 2 minutes, 1 minute, then time to land. 1. Set a logical switch to be active when a certain time is reached. 2. Then use a special function to give an alert, here it gives a voice alert. (Timer 2 is one of the messages I have generated and says "Timer, 2 minutes" . . . . . Thanks for posting that Andy48. One of my models uses either 5S A123 or 4S LiPo, and with the former I need to land three minutes earlier than with LiPos. So, rather than have two different timers going, I've programmed it to give an "A123 prepare to land" warning at 3:20, and another one at 3:10, in addition to the stock countdown. One question though; why did you use a~x instead of a=x? I found that using a~x the message is triggered about half a minute before the time specified, whereas a=x triggers it exactly when I want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy48 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Sometimes a=x can prove unreliable on the seconds count and miss triggering altogether. a~x does trigger a bit early, I think this is one of the things that is being improved for OpenTX 2.2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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