dhyde79

what radio do you guys like for a dual stick setup and how're you configging it? I'm looking at probably going for a Spektrum DX6i

(will be running 4WS, the R2 2-Speed transmission with dig, probably mounting the transmission backwards to get it to rear dig instead of front, as front wheel drive will be more beneficial when climbing than rear wheel only as I have a hunch front wheel drive with rear wheel locked or free spinning will help pull up the rock without flipping)

any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Zim-uh-tosa

I have been using the DX6i and only the DX6i for my Crawler. I love it!!! I use it because I fly Helicopters and Planes from the same radio. Makes it real easy to change from one to the next because it will hold up to 10 different models in the memory. I also bought my radio when they were giving away a free reciever for every reciver you bought!

I have 4WS set-up so I can flip a switch and have the rear steering turn automatically in the reverse direction. With the switch up, I can steer the front axles with the Aileron channel and the rear axles with the rudder. I am thinking about moving the rear independent steer to the elevator(would be weird to move the stick up and down) because I seem to lose throttle continuity if I try and steer with the rudder independently...Who knows, I might like just using the elevator to give the rear wheels the proper angles to make it up certain hits....Experimenting with it is the only way to know.

To set up the rear steer to move automatically you simply have to go into Mix1 in the submenu and set whatever channel your rear is on to move with the aileron. You can even give it a number value from 0-100 to assign how far the servo will travel while in rear steer mode. You then choose which switch you prefer for chosing between independent steering and auto 4WS. You also have to go to the reversing menu to assign the rear channel to turn opposite the front one....

You can ask me more questions and i will help you later if you actually buy this radio. The manual will tell you how to use Mix1-2 though...

Later!
Z

dhyde79

I'd certainly take any help you can throw me with it, with your setup, is there a way to reduce it from flip a switch from position A and it mirrors and B it's independant control to A it mirrors and B it's locked centered with no rear steer? (I ask because after reading the USRCCA crawler rules, if you have rear steer and it's not disabled, no matter what size and scale your crawler is, you have to run in super class, and TBH, there's little to no chance that I'll be getting an AX10 that's tweaked to be competetive with an 8th scale or larger crawler)

as far as what stick's running what, I want the left stick's vertical axis for throttle and the right stick's horizontal axis, the rest of the setup is totally up to what needs to happen to make it work however it needs to.....(this is honestly where I wish they'd make a pistol grip controller for stuff like crawlers that's got more channels and is tweakable to whatever degree you need it to be....with on/off settings for each channel)

Zim-uh-tosa

The answer would be yes, you can render the servo "off" with the flick of a switch. You might have problems with judges saying that you could cheat and flip the switch during a run? You could show them in the programming that it is off and physically show them on the sticks that it is rendered usless? I am not sure of the rules, but I believe that you have to have the rear completely locked out with hardware.

The way I explained before when the switch is independent mode is one way to stop the servo form moving. The other would be to simply go back to the Mix1 and set it to INH...That would turn it off completely. The best way though, would probably be to set the Mix for the rear channel to 0% instead of having a + value...That way, it would keep the rear steering "locked" because it would still be under power...I believe that if you go all the way to INH, the servo could move under the pressure/force of rocks and such. I can test that theory later on after I get home from school tonight for you....

Peace!

Z

dhyde79

thanks! I appreciate the help.....now just to decide whether or not it'd be worth the extra work....the R2 2-speed+dig is gonna be a headache already, not sure if the rear steer would be worth it or not....

dhyde79

got the dx6i and the hardware for the rear steer's enroute, if you could send me a step by step on how you set that up with the switch, that'd be awesome....

Zim-uh-tosa

Cool, I really like driving my rig with the sticks, hope you like it as well! While everything is explained in the manual, The manual in it's own right is written poorly! I am more than happy to help!

First thing you want to do is go into the menu(pushing the roller button on the bottom right of the Radio gets you into all menus, rolling the "roller" scrolls through the options). SEE PAGE 31 in manual>
1.Go/scroll to SETUP LIST, then MODEL TYPE. You need to select the symbol that looks like an airplane. If you select the Helicopter, you will be in CCPM mode and will will not work properly. To get out of any menu, you need to de-select any option you are editing(in this first case, you wont have to do that) and scroll until you are on the upper right hand text that says LIST(Main is to get you back out of the entire menu list).
2.Scroll to the Model NAME screen and give a name to the model(you can add 10 total to this radio at any time).
3. Scroll to Power SETTINGS screen and verify the setting. Should say US not A-EU(Europe)
4. Scroll and select back to the ADJUST LIST
5. Scroll and select MIX1- Here are my settings. Set yours to suit your needs...

Mix1 Aile-> Rudd ACT
Rate L+100% R+100%
SW ELE D/R TRIM ACT

The above means that when I move my Aile stick(Aileron:right stick left and right), the Rudd(Rudder:left stick left right), will move automatically at a rate(Rate L+100% R+100%)of 100%...You can change that number(100) to anything you want. If you only want half the movement from the rear, then 50 would be the value.


There are lots of options that you can add later of course but I will get to the meat of setting 4WS and then help you later when you have the radio, if need be. I know for a fact that you will have to REVERSE one or the other of your servos to make it work correctly. Just go back to the SETUP LIST, choose reverse, and reverse the proper channel....

More later. I ran out of time...Let me know when you need more help.

Z

bckyrdbshr

My Feedback: (35)

If you use a stick radio how do you keep the throtle stick centered for your forward and reverse functions??

dhyde79

well, I don't know how the others have done it but, I just went in and put the other strip in that it came with that gives it a bit of a ratcheting feeling, and tightened the springs up a bit, I don't want the throttle to automatically snap back to neutral, as I'll be crawling about 5 or 6 clicks forward where things are just barely starting to move, as I've found that it's got a ton of grip when I do things that way.

as far as mixing it all, I got it figured out, I set mix 1 and mix 2 both to handle the rear steer function, the mix switch is set up to enable mirrored steering to allow tighter turning, one of the switches on the other side is set up to "crab walk" simply because I couldn't figure out a way to lock the rear up, I've got a few setting tweaks to try still because no matter what, the L/R on the left stick still will override whatever I've got mixed...

Zim-uh-tosa

Sounds like you have a radio that has an internal spring to bring it back down to zero?

My radio does not have any sort of ratchet or spring at all. When I set the ESC to except the limits for forward, reverse, brakes and neutral I keep the stick in the center and work from there. If I had a radio that had a spring and were planning on using it for a surface vehicle, it would be taken out for sure(open radio up and remove it!). I use the Sidewinder ESC that has tons of settings for dead zones, brake force, drag brakes, timing, throttle punch, etc....When punching up a rock in a tough spot, I can get my truck to stop on a dime before it plummets off the rock forward. I can also traverse super-steep downhill trail sections without sliding too much or rolling over forward.

I don't have a ratchet either but IMO believe it to inhibit a smooth transition from forward to brake to reverse. You need to be able to perform fine stick adjustments all the time. I dance with the stick around the center position constantly, so for me, the ratchet would only make it more choppy. Everyone is different of course and their styles vary...Go with what feels correct to you!

Since I do not have to crab walk very often, I simply activate it manually using the rudder sticks(while 4WS is off). You can really tackle some crazy lines when you steer the rear independently I have found. Two days ago, I did a little bit of testing with my Crab walking. A simple back and forth with the rear wheels allow the rubber to search and "catch" nubs on the rock eventually....I did all my testing on lines that I previously could not make. Since it is a little awkward to get used to working two sticks, I never really used it much. I keep inadvertently messing with my throttle. I mentioned this before, but I think that moving the rear wheel independent steering to the elevator channel might be a better solution. That's just one more theory I have to test.....

Congrats on getting everything completed! Now go out and kick some arse! Video/pictures of your rig would be appreciated!

Peace,

Z

dhyde79

I've got a couple more parts I'm expecting today from UPS, mostly cosmetic but, it's the rear steering's metal linkage as well so, as soon as they're in, I'll try to get a few pics shot and post em for ya....and if I can get someone to shoot vid while I drive, I'll grab that too

dhyde79

oh, here's it when I broke the steering linkage.....stupid rock.....(pre-rear steer, if I'd have had it, I'd have made it up even with the broken front linkage)

cobravenomx

wow nice truck