User manual

may reduce reliable range. Likewise, locating the aerial wire very close to motor wiring, the
battery or other conductive objects may reduce reliable range. A satellite (remote receiver)
enhances reliability by adding signal diversity. It provides a second independent receiver
that can be well separated from the main receiver, thus sampling a different part of the
radio transmission field. From moment to moment, the main receiver selects the stronger
of its own signal or that of the satellite. If a satellite is connected, most reliable reception is
obtained when its aerial and that of the stabilizer are at right angles. The two wires of the
satellite aerial should be in a straight line. The satellite should be mounted so that it cannot
move around in the model.
Note: The brownout warning will be triggered if you turn the receiver off and back on again
without also power cycling the transmitter.
To verify a new installation or to check radio operation before the first flight of the day, use
the range check function on your transmitter. This temporarily attenuates transmitter
power so that range is reduced by a factor of about 30. With Spektrum™ and similar
transmitters, full control at “30 paces” (roughly 27yds/25m) with the transmitter in range
check mode indicates ample range for normal visual flying. In many cases the receiver will
show considerably more range than this, but the important thing for safe flying is that it
meet the 30 paces go/no go standard.
Master Gain Control
If the transmitter has eight channels or more, then Aux3 (channel 8) controls the overall
Master Gain of the stabilizer system. The Master Gain function multiplies the setting of the
individual gain pots by a factor that can range from 0 to 2. In other words, with Master Gain
turned full up the gain setting of each individual axis will be roughly doubled. If turned full
down, there will be little or no stabilization on any axis, regardless of the setting of the pots.
For Master Gain to be useful it is best controlled by a knob, slider or lever on the
transmitter. To check operation, make sure stabilization is ON (green LED on, red off) and
set the Master Gain control to one end of its travel. Move the model rapidly about the yaw,
pitch and roll axes. If the control surfaces respond vigorously when the model is disturbed,
you have identified the full gain setting. Test again with the control at the other end of its
travel. If nothing much happens either way, make sure stabilization is turned on and the
individual pots on the receiver are somewhere around middle setting or higher.
You can use channel reverse in the transmitter to reverse the operation of the
knob/slider/lever controlling the Aux 3 channel. Most people intuitively think of clockwise
as increase for a knob and upwards as increase for a slider or lever.
Understanding Master Gain
Think of the three stabilized channels as the three inputs of a three-channel audio mixer.
The on-board rotary controls or pots (potentiometers) are like the three individual volume
controls. The Master Gain is the overall volume control. It modifies the levels of all three
channels and turns them up or down together. The individual gain values are all multiplied
by the value of the Master Gain, controlled by Aux3 (channel 8).
With the Master Gain in the center (Aux3 = 0%) the gain value is 1 and the individual
gain values as set by the pots are unaffected.