Springbok Flyer

Hi Bob,

Any luck with the 18mz menu photos or the gyro tutorial that you mentioned?

Regards,

Jan

Bob_B

My Feedback: (11)

Make a copy of your model before you start!

First assign a channel for your gyro function you can see in photo 1, I used channel 9
next pick a switch I'm using SB. You have to set the switch on position for each of the conditions too

in photo 1, the column that has "INH" make active, the column showing "AVCS" change each to "normal" this is what tells the gyro which bank you want to the gyro operate in "normal" is bank one, "AVCS" is bank two. Do not concern yourself with the columns "Gyro 2" or "Gyro 3"
remember you can totally customize each bank using the PC.
bank two default is HH but with click of the mouse it can have any settings you choose.

photo two show switch SB in the top position leave the value in the gyro menu set to "0" the gyro is OFF Led will be red

photo three shows the switch SB in the middle position, set the gyro menu gain to 20%, led will be amber, gyro gain is 68% as shown on the servo

photo four shows the switch SB in the lower position, set the gyro menu gain to 40%, led will be Amber gyro output is 83% as shown on the servo monitor

Ragz

Hi, this is a nice tutorial. Is it ok to have SW-B in AVCS mode as well in this setup? Basically..

SW-B in UP pos. NORMAL on futaba screen...GYRO OFF (red light)
SW-B in middle pos. NORMAL on futaba screen...GYRO in Rate mode (amber light, say -65%)
SW-B in DOWN pos. AVCS on futaba screen....GYRO in HOLD MODE (GREEN light, say +40%)

Thanks in advance.

Bob_B

My Feedback: (11)

Yes AVCS mode switches the gyro to bank 2, you can set bank 2 how ever you like using the PC, experiment with it.

Ragz

Thanks.. this is great.

gooseF22

I think this is as good as any forum to keep going as questions arise in the cortex..

remember you can go in and modify the individual gains as needed if you are worried or experience aileron vibration.. thats the major worry most have.. so go in and lower it two points, and try again, then up the gain a little..

Most jets can tolerate more rudder gain than anything. However if its coupling, I would recommend addressing the pitch coupling first, which should then reduce the roll coupling somewhat, as you fine tune it..

In a rafale, for instance, it took all the rudder we can produce, so the aileron and elevator had to be lowered by half, and the rudder upped, and the gain pretty close to 100.. for example..

I put one in a giant scale trainer as a demo, stock settings, and it took a lot of elevator due to power/pitch changes...etc.. so each is different.
Most conventional fast movers have been coming in around 30-60% gain with stock settings.. If you lower the aileron a point or two, you can usually turn up the overall gain

That said, another way is to relearn the system with the ailerons in LOW rate, so the overall movement is reduced.. this can be done int he field and it will have the same effect because the overall available throw for the cortex is reduced.. a little trick.. actually works on any axis that is too hot..

Springbok Flyer

Guys,

I think Goose has hit the nail on the head. I have now flown my Flash with the Cortex, on the settings as earlier reported....all was good, but I could not tell any difference from before. Maybe I had too little gain......

My main concerns with the Cortex is possibly too much gain and how to overcome that while in the air. Surely, oscilations should be overcome by pilot input to that surface only. Secondly, why should one go back to the PC to change the overall gain - I want to be able to change the individual control surface gain whilst flying, then lock it in. From my understanding it also lack connectivity and interfacing with S.bus setups.

My first impressions only.

Cheers,

Jan

Bob_B

My Feedback: (11)

Then put the gain control on a slider and increase it until you find the sweet spot, then move it back to your three position switch.

wfield0455

My Feedback: (7)

Hi Jan,

Your main concern is easily overcome by simply assigning your gain control to a knob that will allow you to turn it off or slowly increase the gain until a control axis starts to osciallate. Start at off or at a very low gain and work your way up slowly. Since the Cortex only has a single, overall system gain control from the receiver, it's simply impossible to adjust the gain of each axis in flight from the transmitter. To do so would have required 2, additional gain channels and that would limit it's usefulness to those with relatively high end transmitters that support multiple gain channels. Using the PC, it's still possible to find and set ideal gain values for each axis but it is does require a bit of trial and error. While I'm sure you are far from the only one that would like the abilities you mention, I think the designers did quite a good job of providing the controls that are really needed while still keeping the unit realtively simple to connect and setup for the vast majority of users. Since the Cortex does have the ability to accept it's inputs from an SBus receiver, I agree it would be nice if it could also provide an S Bus compatble output as well. Still, for those of use that don't fly Futaba, it's not a major issue.

Springbok Flyer

Bob,

I get that .... I have it on a slider. BUT it alters the gain for ALL the controls, not just the one that oscillates. So I still have to go back to the PC and reduce the gain on the oscillating surface and fly again to see if all the surfaces are happy. This way it can mean multiple PC trips before I hit the sweet spot (on one bank, for one set of circumstances only).

Am I making sense?

Jan

Springbok Flyer

Wayne,

From my understanding, that is exactly what you can do when you setup an iGyro!

Furthermore, I am lead to believe, that with the iGyro when a surface oscillates, you simply touch the control and it stops - no need to switch it off or reduce speed. Obviously if it continues to oscillate, one should not continue with what you are doing.

Jan

757Driver

My Feedback: (90)

I want to request a third bank! Please update software to include bank 3. I've got a need, indeed. I'm exploring several different "HOLD" modes.
Is a third bank possible?

wfield0455

My Feedback: (7)

I just took a quick look through the iGyro manuals and I saw nothing that indicated it has the capabilities you describe. The manual clearly states that you need to fly, adjust the gain for an axis, land, play with airspeed factor if needed and then repleat the process for each axis. It clearly states that depending on your radio, it may take up to 6 flights to adjust all the gain values. The process they describe sounds almost identical to what I suggested for the Cortex. The only difference I could see was that you didn't need to connect a PC to make any adjustments as the iGyro has a simple screen based menu system built in.

I would suggest you read the entire iGyro manual in detail so that you understand exactly what they say must be done, rather than being lead to believe it can do something it perhaps cannot.

757Driver

My Feedback: (90)

Loving the Cortex. Just completed testing using heading hold on the nose wheel steering for takeoff only. Worked perfectly!

Bob_B

My Feedback: (11)

You are making sense. Let me suggest this, Redo the learning step, but this time set all of your surfaces to travel same amount at full stick deflection. You can do this by selecting a different rates or limit the travel with end points.
So to be clear as an example, have every surface travel a max of 1/2" each direction. Then teach the the gyro the radio setup. Go back to your previously established throws and Go fly. I have yet to have an over sensitive control doing it this way.

757Driver

My Feedback: (90)

Contrails had a nice article on the igyro and it explained the setup in detail. It seemed to be a lengthy process when done properly.

number27

If you have the latest iGyro's then the add-on setup assistant will help you and only ONE flight is necessary to set your gyro up.

https://www.powerbox-systems.com/upl...leitung-en.pdf

wfield0455

My Feedback: (7)

Thanks for posting the link. It appears to automate the process of adjusting the gain by cycling through each axis each time the iGyro is disabled and enabled again. Pretty clever way to reduce the number of flights required to adjust the gains and perhaps something the Cortex could implement in a future software release.

Interestingly enough, while looking for further iGyro info, I noticed the iGyro3E, which looks to be very similar to the Cortex, right down to using a PC to adjust the settings. The price looks quite nice too. Once the iGyro3E is out there I suspect the Cortex guys will need to continue to add value through additional software, etc and perhaps reduce the price as well. Competitions a wonderful thing for the consumer..

siclick33

Just a quick note to say that I have reassessed the price of the Cortex based on a couple of developments in the UK market. I can only ship to UK buyers.

Colin Gontier

I've been watching the growth in use and understanding of the Cortex over the past few months and I have been very impressed with how it works. Anything that offers minimal user input to get a great flying experience is a plus for me and the Cortex does just that - whilst still allowing you to fine tune more specifically through the PC if you require.

This led me to decide to stock the Cortex at Boomerang. Our first batch has sold out pretty much instantly after only coming in earlier this week so its clear to see the following is building. More stock in early next week of course

Of course the iGyro is also a great piece of equipment and the new iGyro 3e will certainly give the Cortex a run for its money. The algorithms used in each product will be different so ultimately it will come down to user preference and / or brand loyalty in some cases. Yet again its great to see a choice of such high end products available to our niche hobby !

757Driver

My Feedback: (90)

Can someone shed light on trimming of the airplane with gain off and on? What actually happens if I trim the airplane with stabilization gain on? When flying there seems to be a slight difference in trim settings with gain zero vs on.

wfield0455

My Feedback: (7)

I basically trimmed the plane, adjusted the control throws, etc, to meet my needs before I even enabled the Cortex. Once I had the maximum control throws that I wanted, I repeated the setup procedure for the Cortex so it could learn the maximum throws that I wanted it to use. From there it was simply a matter of finding the point where the plane started to oscillate and backing off until it didn't. I setup an additional flight mode with the Cortex enabled so I could modify the expo settings so the sticks always have the same feel with the Cortex enabled or disabled. At that point, I just flew it. I could possible get things slightly better by attaching a PC and tweaking individual gains, etc, to be the absolute optimal values, but the plane flies so well as it is, I never saw the point in messing with it further.

757Driver

My Feedback: (90)

My question relates to trim, not gains. My gains are set. With the Gyro off the airplane holds level flight when I turn on the Gyro in stabilization mode, the airplane tries to dive just a bit.

CraigG

My Feedback: (40)

Should be just the opposite. If anything, the gyro should hold/stabilize the plane better in all 3 axis. That's how mine works.

Maybe BobB or Goose can offer some explanation for what you are seeing.

Craig

gregg f

My Feedback: (20)

Check to see if the tray it's mounted on is level or if the front is slightly higher. I've had one install that had an issue of elev coupling on roll. Turned out my tray was lower in the front than back to the thrust line. Made a wedge to put the gyro level and problem was solved.