Radio Modes

[Phil Green]

Our group all fly mode zero:

Mode zero is single-channel flying with just a button for control, zero being the number of sticks!

Confusingly, Doug is pictured here with his reeds set... but he does fly mode zero. Reeds of course was the origin of mode 1 where primary controls are on separate toggles. There were mode 2 bang-bang sets which had a 4-position switched joystick, Metz and Grundig being popular examples.

Cheers
Phil

[ron evans]

Kc..I'm the only gay in the village too, all my club mates are mode 2. Just to add to the confusion I fly throttle reversed as well ! I've not needed anyone to take control so far, but yes it would be a problem in that event.

I have taken control of a mates P2K glider who had an eye watering experience, and even managed to land it, but don't think I'd have fared so well with something hot. I've now got the hang of a mode 2 indoor heli, what a smashing little thing it is and cheap as chips. I'd have sold me granny for that when I was a kid.

.I play a bit of guitar, so my left hand has a mind of its own anyway.

Martin....Yes a free hand with mode 2 is an advantage, I need a longer nail to keep me hat on in a wind.

Simon....The W.S....I've had little full size experience to judge, just picked up other peoples comments over the years.

Phil, as I've said before, I was useless on the button ( mode 0 ) although might make a better fist of it now

[kc]

It seems to me that games controllers are Mode 1 ......people use both thumbs don't they? And most youngster walking the streets texting seem to be Mode 1 as they use both thumbs on their phones at once.

[John Lee]

Posted by kc on 17/08/2015 12:50:16:A Mode 2 flier uses mainly the right hand when flying. A fundamental differnce in using ones brain I suppose........Discuss!

After Mode zero my first proper radio (Waltron 4-5 in the 70's) was on Mode 1 and I struggled. I'm strongly right handed and after a few months changed it to Mode 2 and at once felt much more comfortable & progressed quicker. For full size I flew Cessnas & Pipers for 20 years in the left seat, stick left, throttle right and was OK; but then I became an instructor & on changing to the right seat with throttle left, stick right (Mode 2!) it felt so much better to me. So I guess my brain was born & developed as Mode 2.

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

[Stuart Z]

Fascinating reading all the responses. At least Mode 1 is still out there and vibrant!

In my gliding days it was aileron and elevator on the stick and feet on the rudder and turning in to land was 2 feet on the rudder, one hand on the aileron ( right hand) and left hand on the air brake. So sort of mode 1 given the pitch controls air speed.

Back to models, I found I could fly Mode 1 for all my planes right up to F3A and train the more senior members on their vintage types using Mode 2. Including inverted to see how they went.

Hopefully then I'll be OK on Mode 1 when I get back to it given that I'm looking to start with a "plodder" to get my hand eye coodination back. I have still got in my loft a "Hooligan" and a 46 size "Saphir" when I feel ready.

Thanks for the feedback

[TheFlyingCrust]

Just picked up this thread. Interesting discussion.

My father and I used to fly model gliders together back in the 80's. I had a Fleet system on mode 2 and he used a Futaba 27MHz 2 channel set. It was mode 1. I guess some of us older ones started on a 2 channel set and many just set their multichannel sets to what they were used to. I adapted to the set I acquired. Well, its a thought.

Ian

[Phil Green]

I dont follow the common belief that you can only fly one mode, I think its just a mental block that is easily overcome.

A parallel is motorbikes. The gear lever is foot operated and is on the right on vintage Brit bikes, and on the left for oriental and later Brit bikes. The shift pattern can be "one down, neutral, five up" or the "one up, neutral, five down" favoured by racers. Any of these arrangements can be mixed, plus my Monkey-bike has "neutral-down, all up" and the Vespa has the gears on the twist-grip. The rear brake is foot operated on most, and on the left handlebar on automatics. There are thumb-brakes, quick-shifts and foot-clutches. Its a mish-mash.

So how come we riders are equally happy with any of these, and will hop from bike to bike without a problem? "Ah", you say, "but how would you react in an emergency?" - well you react with what you have. I think your brain deserves far more credit, its actually pretty good at adopting to strange circumstances and reacting accordingly!

Many of our club members including me are equally happy flying mode 1 or mode 2. Every time I switch from a propo model to a reeds model I change modes - reeds being mode 1 whereas my propo sets are mode 2 . No confusion in an emergency, no aileron toggles broken by trying to pull elevator. You react with what you have!

/2p

Phil

[kc]

Well Phil if some bikes steered left when turning the bars left and some steered right it might be nearer the Mode situtation! But anyway your argument is a bit undermined by the leading British Moto GP rider who yesterday blamed last weeks poor start on selecting the wrong gear on the grid!

The more interesting discussion is whether Mode 1 suits ambidextrous people more than others. I think it could be a factor.

[The Wright Stuff]

Posted by kc on 17/08/2015 18:36:17:

Well Phil if some bikes steered left when turning the bars left and some steered right it might be nearer the Mode situtation! But anyway your argument is a bit undermined by the leading British Moto GP rider who yesterday blamed last weeks poor start on selecting the wrong gear on the grid!

I think we continue to underestimate the capabilities and sophistication of the human brain.

I've had a go on one of those 'joke' circus pushbikes, which did indeed steer in the opposite direction to the handlebars. And unsurprisingly, I fell off within half a second. However, the performer who was able to ride it around the arena was also perfectly capable of riding an ordinary bicycle.

Point, is, that if you (say) switch from mode 2 to mode 1, it's a new skill to learn. However, you don't 'unlearn' mode 2 at the same time, and subsequently switching between the two is perfectly possible. It might look like the same transmitter with the controls reversed, but your brain treats it (to an extent) as a separate skill...

[Phil Green]

Thanks WS thats what I was trying to say. I dont know what happened to Bradders with his poor start but it wasnt a 'wrong reaction in a panic situation', he'd have been thinking about his start throughout the sighting lap and right up to the lights going out.
What he was thinking after the lights went out probably isnt repeatable on a public forum

I'm trying to find what actually happened but what I've read so far is that he was in first but with LC disengaged, caused by him shifting 2nd to 1st on the lights... so I dont think it was like a panic reaction that went wrong.

Anyway, back on topic, there are many, many people who happily fly mode 1 and mode 2, I'm one and I'm not ambidextrous, in fact I'm not any-dextrous...  

Cheers
Phil

 

Edited By Phil Green on 18/08/2015 19:46:42

[Geoff S]

Phil, I started motorcycling back in 1956 with a 98cc Excelsior that had a 2 speed gearbox operated from a handlebar lever rather like a pedal cycle hub gear but all my foot change bikes were right foot operated one up 3 down. However, when I got my BSA Lightning in 1965 it had its right foot gears in the Triumph configuation of one down and 3 up and I very occasionally changed ,'up' at high reves from 3rd to 2nd which put the tacho into over drve So it did happen to me even as a very experienced 30k miles plus/year rider at the time. My vintage bkes were all over the place, though as regards control layout.

One of our club members taught himslef to fly helcopters and effectively invented his own mode - not sure exactly what but he's a very good pilot. Like most pilots at my club he flies fixed wing on mode 1 which is what forced me (as a mode 2 flyer) to bite the bullet and test fly my own models. Though I get Ian Redshaw to test fly anything I'm very nervous about. Whlis a few say they can fly the 'wrong' mode for them, none of them are very keed to do so becuase they're afraid of doing the wrong thing in an emergency. Funnily they all choose mode 2 when it comes to the small helis we fly indoors in the winter.

Geoff

[Boots]

am i odd ?

when flying 3ch i am mode 4, but flying 4 ch i am mode 2. basically i like throttle on left finger and Primary controls on right.

my first radio a macGregor digimac 3 must have been mode2/4 ?

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I don't know if you're odd or not

...but I think most of us programme the rudder on the aileron stick when flying rudder only. It works fine except on the ground where muscle memory tends to make directional control rather non instinctive. The easy answer is to mix in some rudder control from both sticks.