[Sub]

Hi,
A question for the Master Luke..
Whilst upgrading my Challenger 2 to Open Panzer i have utilised just about all the functions available plus some with some lateral thinking and a bit of my own humble electronic bodgery, however i want to try something else that i have not seen documented any where ( could be i just cannot find it )
Anyway here goes.....
I have the ability to set up mixed channels on my Tx that i can activate via a dual rate switch when i want them and then go back to normal mode... now the big question, would the TCB understand what was going on and mix them on the tank OR would it just confuse the heck out of it OR cause damage ?
I think i am up to about 15 functions at press so any info would be great.
Regards
Sub.

[LukeZ]

It is certainly possible to leverage transmitter mixing to expand what is possible, and I don't think you will damage anything by doing so, but depending on what you do you might confuse the TCB a little! It helps to have a good understanding of how the TCB works, which I suspect you do.

Maybe if you describe what you are hoping to accomplish I can be of more help?

Note also that it is possible to assign multiple functions to a single switch (or trigger source) in OP Config, sometimes this can be useful if you are running out of controls on your transmitter, but it just depends on what you're doing. I've definitely used 15 functions and more before, so I know how it can be!

[Sub]

Hi Luke,
Thx for getting back so quickly...
In a nut shell i am trying to mix tank steering with turret movement to replicate a turret lock style feature, i have seen the marvelous systems others have made but thats too complicated for my little brain, so i was wondering if i could mix steering to turret movement so as the tank turned say left the turret turned proportionally right and vica verca  the Tx can mix Aileron and Rudder as these are the channels i am using and the dual rate switch on the Tx will turn this on and off when set up, so i can go back to individual movement when turret lock is not needed, or is this a step too far.
Regards.
Sub.

[LukeZ]

Not a step too far at all! In fact it is a clever idea. I have always used my thumbs to create the effect you describe but it is not always easy!

As you say, you just need to slave the rudder channel (turret traverse) to the aileron channel (steering). Of course your turret is likely to move at a different speed than your model can perform a neutral turn, but you can compensate for this by adjusting the ratios in the mix. No doubt some experimenting will be needed to get the correct mix, but I think your approach will work very well.

I see no problem with this at all and the TCB won't even know you're doing something fancy on the radio side. For all it knows you are using your two thumbs to give commands to the turret and steering at the same time. The ability to turn the effect off and on using another switch on the transmitter is also a good touch.

Give it a try and let us know what happens! If I see a dark mushroom cloud on the horizon I'll know it was you (just kidding!)

[Sub]

Hi, Luke.
I managed to apply the settings on the TX and the activation switch , It did work, the only issue is as we thought trying to sync the turret speed as it always moved much earlier than the motors did. I tried altering the percentages of the settings but could not get over the lag of the drive motors, i will keep trying over time to see what can be done.

On a positive note i managed to apply a dual rate to the 2 position flap/ Gyro switch that i use for cannon fire and recoil, this now turns that switch into a 3 position switch so i can have cannon fire on the flap switch and independent mg fire on the same switch when the dual rate  is applied, so some progress in the end.
Regards.
Sub.

[LukeZ]

I managed to apply the settings on the TX and the activation switch , It did work, the only issue is as we thought trying to sync the turret speed as it always moved much earlier than the motors did. I tried altering the percentages of the settings but could not get over the lag of the drive motors, i will keep trying over time to see what can be done.

I presume you have disabled any inertia/momentum on the drive motors? Those would cause the drive motors to be slow to start, but they might simply be slower to move anyway since they have a lot more drag to overcome than the turret. As a final hack you could possibly increase the Deadband on the turret rotation channel, which would delay when the turret starts moving, but not its overall speed...

Anyway it is a good effort and you learned some new things about your transmitter.

[Sub]

Hi,
I have left the inertia at the default settings, i have now uncovered a new issue, when doing a neutral turn going right all is fine both motors move in different directions and at the same speed, however when doing a neutral turn left the inner motor goes into reverse but the outer moror hardly moves until it gets right to the end of the tx travel then only just moves the motor.
I have reset everything on the OP tried a new speed controller and even a new drive motor but to no effect, its weird if the side is going backwards for the turn its fine but when its needed to go forward only in a neutral turn it slows down, normal forward and reverse and moving turns are fine, have i just missed something on setting up ??
Sub.

[jhamm]

Did you the Throttlerange calibration at your ESC ?

[Sub]

Hi,
Thank you for your reply, i did all the usual calibrations inc the Esc's and all were fine, however this morning i removed both Esc's plus drive motors and set them up again individually with the correct forward and reverse programming on the Tx ( green light for forward and Red for reverse ) made sure the wires to the motors had correct motor orientation ie speedo forward = track forward etc when both set individually they were ok, however when i went to use them in pairs one Esc lagged behind the other on start quite considerably, i re programmed the Esc just as i did the other several times but it just would not wake up at the same time as the other, so i tried each controller into the other port on the TCB to make sure that it was not the TCB which i did not think it was and Hey Presto the same Esc lagged behind again.
The Esc's are the same make, same type and same Amperage so should have worked in sync when the TCB applied power but no.
It took a fair bit of time to find this problem as when each speedo is tested and set up on its own it works fine without any issue its only when you try and match it to its counterpart.
I removed both speedos and fitted another " pair " same make type etc and tested again, both this time very virtually exactly in sync, plus the low speed movement now is awesome, very slow turns and movement is achievable which previously was not.
All this was tested with Neutral turn disabled, but the turns left / right with the inner track stopped were the best they have ever been and virtually neutral in diameter, i will re enable neutral turn on the OPZ when i get time but i think this issue may now be solved, all down to an ESC not working within tolerance of an exact counterpart.
Hope this helps someone that may encounter a similar issue, don't assume two exact speedos work exactly the same and initiate movement of the motor at the same time.
Regards to all
Sub.

[Sub]

Ps.
I might now have more chance of syncing the turret to the turns now...time will tell.
Sub.

[LukeZ]

Hi Sub, thanks for the doing all that troubleshooting work and reporting back, it certainly could help someone else in the future. Out of curiosity, what ESCs were they? In my testing even the cheap Chinese ESCs seem to be pretty well matched but there is always a first time for everything.

[Sub]

Hi Luke,
They were Mtroniks 15 amp Vipers been ok before.

I have just done a stupid thing whilst connecting my TCB to the computer i forgot to switch on my TX now it says cannot read radio, the TCB can upload to the OPZ and i can alter things on it and it will accept the commands but will not read the radio its just flashing all the lights for radio signal failure, i have removed and checked the RX its fine, sorry to be a pain but i had just got everything sorted.
now need some serious help.

Sub.

[LukeZ]

I have just done a stupid thing whilst connecting my TCB to the computer i forgot to switch on my TX now it says cannot read radio, the TCB can upload to the OPZ and i can alter things on it and it will accept the commands but will not read the radio its just flashing all the lights for radio signal failure, i have removed and checked the RX its fine

That's not a stupid thing, you are allowed to connect to the computer with the radio off, that's fine, I do it all the time.

When you say "it can't read the radio," do you mean that you are trying to run through Radio Setup in OP Config and that is where you are getting the message? Or do you mean more generally, even when not connected to the computer, your TCB is not recognizing your receiver?

What transmitter and receiver are you using? Did you maybe accidentally change a setting so the receiver is no longer in PPM/SBus/iBus mode?

[Sub]

Hi Luk,
its a Spektrum DX6i with an orange receiver running through the top set of plugs on the TCB, i cannot get any radio connection at all it just wont see the radio at all

[LukeZ]

What is the exact model number of your receiver?

We know it worked before, so something has changed. You need to try to figure out what that might have been!