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| Baron Johnson, Team JR |
The new JR XP9303 transmitter has many great features that come in handy while programming, and it's also quite intuitive to navigate through the menus and functions with the rolling selector. In the first installment of this article, I will outline the basic steps of setting up a giant-scale aerobatic aircraft on the XP9303. The second installment will continue with more advanced programming functions commonly utilized on giant- scale aerobatic aircraft.
Note: It is recommended that you follow these steps in order.
1. Start with a clean slate!
Many times I have helped people solve their programming questions in the field and discovered that the entire problem was due to using a program that was left over from a previous aircraft without having been reset. This can definitely lead to problems, especially if you don't catch an issue until you're airborne. Therefore, you should always start with a fresh program in the computer radio's memory.
To do this, you must access the System Menu by holding either ENT ("Enter") or the rolling selector down while you turn on the power switch. Now that you're in the System Menu, scroll with the rolling selector to the right of the display until you have highlighted "Model SEL" (short for "Model Select"). With the correct menu item highlighted, click either the ENT button or the rolling selector to enter the Model Select page. To select an unused model, scroll the rolling selector until "MODEL X" (where X is the number of the active model) is highlighted, and click the rolling selector. This will bring up a sub-window that allows you to scroll through all thirty models in the transmitter's memory by the rolling selector. Each line in this menu represents one of the models, and it provides you with the model number, type, modulation, and name (if it has been assigned one). Once you have scrolled to an empty model memory, click the rolling selector to select that model.
If you've run out of open model memories, you can reset one that you no longer use. Even if you think the model memory you selected has never been programmed, it is still a good idea to reset it when you start just to be absolutely sure there is no extraneous programming. To reset the model memory, we go back to the System Menu by clicking the "LIST" button to the left of the display (you can still access the System Menu by the method discussed earlier as well). Now, you scroll until "MDL Reset" (short for "Model Reset") is highlighted and click either ENT or the rolling selector. Now the current model is displayed, along with its type, modulation, and name (if present). If you look at the CLR ("Clear") button, there is now a "RES" ("Reset") displayed on the screen next to it, telling you the current function of that button. Press the CLR button to reset the memory of the current model. A message appears asking if you are sure you want to do this, and the Yes and No options are displayed on the screen next to the appropriate buttons. Once you click "Yes" the model will be completely reset, and you can start programming with confidence.
2. What's in a name?
Now that you've got a model memory dedicated for your particular aircraft, you certainly want to name it to avoid any confusion. To do this, you must once again access the System Menu as discussed above. This time, we will scroll until "MDL Name" (short for "Model Name") is highlighted, and then click ENT or the rolling selector to access the Model Name page. Now the current model's information is displayed, and the name is inside the brackets "<" and ">". Hopefully you followed the steps above to reset the model memory and therefore have no name present between the brackets. You'll notice a small triangle underneath the name space. This is moved by the rolling selector and points to the character that you want to add/change. Once you have moved it to the desired character, click the rolling selector and a sub-window will appear, giving you the full menu of characters from which to choose. Scroll to the desired character with the rolling selector and then click the rolling selector to place that character in the chosen space. Now you can choose another character to add/change and repeat the process until you have the complete name chosen. You can then click LIST to return to the System Menu.
3. Sometimes typecasting can be a good thing!
If you're flying an aerobatic plane, you probably don't want the helicopter programming enabled, and vice versa. So, to check on your model type, access the System Menu then highlight and select "Type SEL" (short for "Type Select"). The Type Select page is quite simple. It has 3 pictures, one for GLID (Glider/Sailplane), one for ACRO (Aerobatic/general fixed wing aircraft), and one for HELI (Helicopter). The current type on the active model has a box around the picture. For our aerobatic application, we will want ACRO selected. If this is not already selected, scroll with the rolling selector until ACRO is highlighted, then click the rolling selector. You can then click LIST to return to the System Menu.
4. Modulation
To ensure that this model works properly with the receiver you have installed in your new aircraft, you must make sure the modulation is set appropriately. Once again, this function is accessed from the System Menu. Select "MODULAT." (short for "Modulation") and click the rolling selector or ENT. Highlight "Modulation" with the rolling selector and then click the rolling selector to bring up a sub-window with the modulation options, SPCM and PPM. Check your receiver to see if it is either SPCM or PPM (FM), then highlight the appropriate selection and click the rolling selector. Now you can return to the System Menu by clicking LIST.
5. Device Selection
Since many large aerobatic planes use two channels per flight control, one for left and one for right, we need to make sure these auxiliary channels are not utilized by any of their switches. Otherwise, next time you turn on your aircraft with the flap switch in a different location one aileron will be extremely out of trim.
From the System Menu, highlight and select "DeviceSEL" (short for "Device Select"). Other aircraft may warrant keeping any of the switch functions available on this page (GEAR, FLAP, AUX2, AUX3, and AUX4) active, but for a giant-scale aerobatic plane we can simply inhibit all of them. For each of the five columns, scroll to where the bottom row is highlighted then click until it reads "INH" (short for "Inhibited"). Once the entire bottom row reads "INH" we can move on. Click LIST to return to the System Menu.
6. Wing Type
The final option in the System Menu we need to use is "Wing TYPE." Once you highlight and select this function, you will be taken to a page with numerous options. The first thing to change is the wing type itself. Scroll with the rolling selector until "Wing" is highlighted and click the rolling selector. A sub-window will appear giving you three options for the wing type: Normal, Flaperon, and Delta. For our aircraft, we need two channels dedicated to the ailerons (left and right), and one way to program this is by selecting flaperon as the wing type. Flaperon assigns the flap channel to be the left aileron channel, and the standard aileron channel is, by default, the right aileron channel. One of the greatest features of the XP9303 is that it renames the channels RAIL (Right Aileron for channel 2) and LAIL (Left Aileron for channel 6 - Flap/AUX1). This feature is very handy in later programming. Now, in case you don't have the left aileron hooked up to FLAP/AUX1, there is a manual way to assign the 'flaperon' function to a different channel. Scroll with the rolling selector until the 'MATE' underneath "AILE" is highlighted. This should be inhibited by default. If you click the rolling selector, a sub-window will appear that allows you to select any of the available channels to use as your second aileron channel. Scroll over so the channel you wish to use is highlighted, then click the rolling selector to make your selection. Note: You must keep the wing type set to "Normal" in order to change the Mate for the aileron channel.
Now for elevator and rudders that require two channels, we can set their Mates manually as well. Just scroll over until you have highlighted the Mate in the column for the desired channel, click the rolling selector, highlight the channel you wish to use as the second channel for that control surface, and click the rolling selector once again. Now aileron, elevator, and rudder channels will all be designated L or R in all future programming, instead of AUX2, AUX3, GEAR, or FLAP. Remember: The primary channel is defaulted to the left, so you should be sure to plug the left side of your aircraft into the standard channels (1-3), and plug the right side into the appropriate second channels. The very bottom row on the Wing TYPE page activates the Flap Trim and Aux Trim levers, which are located on the top of the front of the transmitter, to the inside of the switches. These do not function like normal trim levers, though. They make both control surfaces move in the same direction, such as 'reflexing' or 'drooping' the ailerons. Therefore, the entire bottom row should read either "INH" or " -". The rest of the options on the Wing TYPE page can be ignored for now because we're not setting up a V-Tail aircraft or a twin-engine aircraft.
7. Control Throws
Now we're done for the moment with the System Menu. To access the other menu, the Function List, you need to get to the main screen by either turning the transmitter off then on without holding any button or, if you are still in the System Menu, highlight and select "INFO-DISP" (short for "Info Display"). Now from the main screen, press LIST to access the Function List.
The first function you need to program in the Function List is "REV.SW" (Servo Reversing). Scroll to this item and click the rolling selector. On this page you will see a 'switch' for each channel, indicating the direction of travel. By default, all the switches are in the down position. If a particular channel needs to be reversed, simply scroll until that channel name is highlighted and then click the rolling selector to move the switch to the upper position. If you made a mistake, simply click it again to move the switch back to the lower position. Note that if you set up Mate channels for aileron, elevator, or rudder in the Wing Type function, the channels are already renamed in this function, making for much simpler programming from here on out. Now you can return to the Function List by clicking LIST, or return to the main display by clicking ENT.
The next function to utilize is "Sub Trim." Of course, you should always try to adjust your setups mechanically to achieve the proper geometry, but if you have to use the Sub Trim function, it's quick and easy. From the Function List, scroll to and select "Sub Trim." Once on the Sub Trim page, simply scroll until the channel you wish to sub trim is highlighted, then click the rolling selector. This will bring up a small sub-window that allows you to adjust the sub trim for the selected channel. Scroll with the rolling selector, to the right being positive and to the left being negative, until you have the control surface where you want it, then click the rolling selector to return to the original Sub Trim page. You can repeat this process for all channels that need to be sub trimmed. Once again, click LIST to return to the Function List or click ENT to go to the main display.
To ensure that you don't try to move the control surfaces farther than they're physically able to go, we need to set the "TRVL ADJ." (short for "Travel Adjustment"). From the Function List, highlight and select "TRVL ADJ." Once on the Travel Adjustment page, you will see all channels listed, along with the percentage of throw in each direction (should be 100% in both directions right now). To change a particular channel, highlight that channel name and click the rolling selector. Now a sub-window appears that allows you to change both directions of the selected channel. To select which direction, move the appropriate control stick in the direction you wish to modify. That direction should then become highlighted, and you can change the number with the rolling selector. Rolling to the right increases the travel percentage and rolling left decreases it.
Once all of this is set, you can now use "D/R & EXP" (short for "Dual Rate & Exponential"). Highlight and select "D/R & EXP" in the Function List. Once on this page, highlight "AILE" on the left side of the display. Click the rolling selector and a sub-window will appear that allows you to choose between the 3 primary flight controls which can be set up with dual rates and exponential: aileron, elevator, and rudder. Highlight the channel you wish to set up and click the rolling selector. You'll notice at the top of the screen there is a small arrow pointing to a number, either 0 or 1. This indicates the current switch position of the selected channel. Flip the dual rate switch for the selected channel and note that this number on the display changes accordingly. Now that you're familiar with which switch position is 1 and which is 0, you can see that you can modify each position independently. To change the dual rate value, scroll until the desired position is highlighted (Pos-0 or Pos-1), as well as the percentages under the "D/R" column. Click the rolling selector to bring up the sub-window. If you don't touch the stick, both directions will be highlighted so you can change the percentage together in one easy step with the rolling selector. However, if you wish the change the percentage in each direction independently, you can move the appropriate stick in the desired direction and now only one percentage is highlighted. Use the rolling selector to change the value, and then click the rolling selector to finalize your selection and return to the full D/R & EXP page. Note: The dual rate percentage is a percentage of the travel, which we set earlier. It is still possible to overdrive the control surface by using a dual rate of greater than 100% even if the travel adjustment is set properly.
To change the exponential, you scroll until the desired position is highlighted as well as the values in the EXP column (should read LIN for both in a new model, indicating linear servo movement). Click with the rolling selector. Just like altering the dual rate above, you can change both together, or move the stick to change each direction of travel independently. To make the control throw softer around center (the most common use of exponential), make sure you set the exponential to a positive percentage. You can watch the graph of the control throw change in real time on the right side of the screen as you change the expo value. The servo output is on the vertical axis and the stick input is on the horizontal axis, so you should see the center of the graph 'flatten out' with positive expo. Once you have adjusted the exponential value for each direction of travel, click the rolling selector to return to the full D/R & EXP page.
You should set up your dual rates and exponential for each position of each channel. This part of the setup procedure varies greatly between different pilots and aircraft, so it is best that you find a setup combination that is comfortable for you by experimentation. Some pilots prefer little to no exponential, while others like to use large amounts. The same goes for the amount of control throw to use, both on high and low rates.
Your giant-scale aerobatic ship is now ready for flight! Don't forget to do all the proper control checks, range checks, and secure every component to ensure a successful maiden flight. To fine-tune your setup, proceed to installment two of this article where more advanced programming items are discussed. |