Levi Wags

Hey team,
Just having a few dramas with my powerbox smoke pump. I have a mix activated by a switch that mates the smoke to the throttle. When the mix is activated it works fine increasing and decreasing with the throttle but when I turn off the mix the pump runs flat out.
I've reversed the smoke channel but that only reverses the mix to full smoke at idle.
Im running an 18MZ and I've checked end points and sub trim and can't find a solution.
Any help would be great.

Kind Regards
Levi

quist

My Feedback: (198)

How did you program the radio? Did you use logic for the dual switches?

Levi Wags

No I'm sure I didn't use logic. Im using a two position switch.

ww2birds

My Feedback: (14)

What controls the smoke pump when the mix is off? It must be on some channel itself .. and that channel must have some "value" .. a stick position, a lever, etc. So since I am not sure what that is you might check on the servo monitor screen.

A simple solution to this would be to setup an offset mix, have it active in the switch position that turns the throttle mix off (thus the pump is controlled in one position of the switch by the throttle mix, and in the other position of the switch by an offest mix with a set value, so there is no ambiguity), and set the offset value to whatever makes the pump go off. Remember that you select offset mix on the main mix screen before you go "into" the mix to set it...

A simpler solution would be to make sure you know what channel is controlling the pump when the mix is off, and make sure that channel defaults to the pump in the off position, but the suggestion above should be a simple fix too.

Hope this helps.

BTW Quist is good to point out the logic mixes .. they are very handy for fancy stuff after you get more time with the radio .. but they are not needed here..

Dave McQ

A343

My Feedback: (4)

Levi
Is this a new PB pump? I had major problems with a year old PB jet smoke pump (2 outlets). A call to Mr Deutsch revealed that older pumps doesn't work with the 18MZ. A quick turn-around at the PB factory for a software up-date solved the problem.
Thomas

Levi Wags

Hey Dave,
The smoke is on its own channel and I have it set as NULL in the function screen so it only works with the mix. I've checked all the smoke channels details but will check again. Great idea about the offset mix that could be a solution. Cheers for the advice.

Thomas that's an interesting point. Mine is a new pump and obviously new 18MZ.
I appreciate the help guys.

Levi

ww2birds

My Feedback: (14)

Interesting point Levi. So if the main channel for the pump is controlled by "NULL" ... when the mix is off, I guess it does not "know" what value to have, and it happens to default to "smoke on".

Perhaps a super-guru on 14/18MZ programming knows a way to set the default value for a control that is hooked to the "NULL" function ... but my offset mix solution will work, at the cost of using one more mix.

If anyone knows how to specifically set the default value for NULL, I'd be curious :-)

Dave

flyinfool1

My Feedback: (2)

When you reversed the smoke channel did the smoke now turn off when the switch is off?
If so then you just need to reverse the mix to get back to hi smoke at full throttle.

Levi Wags

Hey Jeff
The pump still ran flat out in the off setting when I reversed the channel. It's like it's default off setting is full biscuit. I was thinking I could change over the + and - on the pump but as u know it's a sealed unit.