Jeti/Lua Smart Smoke Controller
10-07-2019, 05:50 AM
#1
Jeti/Lua Smart Smoke Controller
Hi All,
At Georgia Jets I saw a number of planes flying with the new PowerBox smoke controller that does pulsed smoke for certain input control settings. It really looked sharp!
On the drive home I got to thinking about what we could do with a Lua program on the Jeti system to take that to the next level.
A while ago, I did a simple smoke controller that permitted the use of voice commands but could also be controlled by switches/sliders as usual for Jeti. That was fun but more of a novelty. It is kind of cool to be flying and say "Hey Jeti! Smoke On" and "Hey Jeti! Smoke Off".
So I took that base and added the following capabilities:
1) You can create a file with each line representing an arbitrary sequence of smoke on/off represented by + for smoke on, - for smoke off. When on, and a line in the file selected, the smoke controller repeats that pattern at a settable base rate (e.g. 1/2 second). For example +-+-+-+++-+++-+++-+-+-+ would be Morse Code for "SOS". Or just random sequences +++---++-++----+-+-+++++-+ .. whatever you like.
2) Speaking of Morse code ... you can create another file with each line consisting of strings made from letters and numbers. You select a line from the Jeti app menu and the the system translates the line of text to Morse code and pulses it out. There are two telemetry windows available for the TX screen, one shows the sequence "playing" in realtime, the other shows the smoke control signal. For example, strings could be "RC JET SMOKE" or "SAMUEL FB MORSE" or whatever you like, one per line in the file. As with the sequences these are selected from the Jeti App menu on the TX.
3) Telemetry: You can associate a telemetry sensor with the smoke controller, and set a hi and low limit for the telemetry value. The smoke system varies the smoke pulse duty cycle linearly from 0 to 100% as the telemetry signal goes from low to hi. This would be cool with a G-force sensor, or a speed sensor and could draw some interesting shapes during maneuvers.
4) Safety features: There is an interlock to make sure smoke does not come on at powerup. There is also an optional settable min throttle setting, below which smoke is stopped and an optional minimum EGT setting below which smoke does not come on.
I would love to have a few beta testers who have basic ability to install and operate Lua code on the DC/DS-24 -- I am sure there is a lot of room for more good ideas and fun things to do with it.
PM me if interested!
Dave McQ
At Georgia Jets I saw a number of planes flying with the new PowerBox smoke controller that does pulsed smoke for certain input control settings. It really looked sharp!
On the drive home I got to thinking about what we could do with a Lua program on the Jeti system to take that to the next level.
A while ago, I did a simple smoke controller that permitted the use of voice commands but could also be controlled by switches/sliders as usual for Jeti. That was fun but more of a novelty. It is kind of cool to be flying and say "Hey Jeti! Smoke On" and "Hey Jeti! Smoke Off".
So I took that base and added the following capabilities:
1) You can create a file with each line representing an arbitrary sequence of smoke on/off represented by + for smoke on, - for smoke off. When on, and a line in the file selected, the smoke controller repeats that pattern at a settable base rate (e.g. 1/2 second). For example +-+-+-+++-+++-+++-+-+-+ would be Morse Code for "SOS". Or just random sequences +++---++-++----+-+-+++++-+ .. whatever you like.
2) Speaking of Morse code ... you can create another file with each line consisting of strings made from letters and numbers. You select a line from the Jeti app menu and the the system translates the line of text to Morse code and pulses it out. There are two telemetry windows available for the TX screen, one shows the sequence "playing" in realtime, the other shows the smoke control signal. For example, strings could be "RC JET SMOKE" or "SAMUEL FB MORSE" or whatever you like, one per line in the file. As with the sequences these are selected from the Jeti App menu on the TX.
3) Telemetry: You can associate a telemetry sensor with the smoke controller, and set a hi and low limit for the telemetry value. The smoke system varies the smoke pulse duty cycle linearly from 0 to 100% as the telemetry signal goes from low to hi. This would be cool with a G-force sensor, or a speed sensor and could draw some interesting shapes during maneuvers.
4) Safety features: There is an interlock to make sure smoke does not come on at powerup. There is also an optional settable min throttle setting, below which smoke is stopped and an optional minimum EGT setting below which smoke does not come on.
I would love to have a few beta testers who have basic ability to install and operate Lua code on the DC/DS-24 -- I am sure there is a lot of room for more good ideas and fun things to do with it.
PM me if interested!
Dave McQ
