Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Hi all, my radio is set up so that rudder is master, nose steering is slave

How do I make it so that:

>when retracts switch is in down position so that retracts are down, nose steering is "on"
>when retracts switch is in up position such that undercarriage is "up", then nose steering is turned "off", that way as I steer plane in air using any rudder input, nose gear does not twist from side to side in fuselage and its servo is not moving.

Thanks in advance for your help, and Please folks, I am not trying to reinvent the wheel and adopt your way of programming every other channel on the radio, just want somebody who can simply walk me through this exact issue.

Do I use mixes? conditions? logic? Arrrrgh! [&:]
Futaba 12Z is way too smart for me. JR 12X was so much more limited but also so much easier to program! :D

Thanks again!
Shaz

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

remove and control assignments from the nose steering channel in the functions menu ...

then set a mix from rudder to the steering channel, and set the mix act/off control same as the switch you use to pull gear up / down ... , use mix % settings to adjust the travel of the nose wheel .. you can also use an exponential curve on the mix (that would compound on top of any expo you may already have on the rudder .. )


there is not much toy can't do with this radio [8D]

~V~

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Shaz:

Don't know the exact details for the Z, and you may already know this, but what you want is to have the steering as a slave on a "switched mix" whose switch you'll assign as the retract switch, activating the mix on the gear down position, you may also (not critical but helps) set it up so that the steering channel will always return to center when the mix is switched off (retracts up) the reason I say it's not critical is because most of the circumstances where you'll be flipping the retract switch to retract the gear, you'll not be applying rudder input so the steering will be centered when you hit the switch.

Hope this helps

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Turn the mix on with the gear switch. I do the same thing with my jets. Assign the mix to the gear switch (E) and chose the On position to be the same as when the gear is down. By default the switch is "Null"

One other trick, I assign the rudder trim (T4) to the channel that the nose steering is using. I "Null" the trim for the rudder channel. When was the last time you needed rudder trim in a jet?

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Or you can use the center knob for nose wheel trim. This knob is digital, and won't change setting if you turn it when the radio is off.

Lars

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Shaz,

Call me and I'll walk you through it.

I have the Nano set up just as you are explaining. I have rudder trim on T4 and NWS on VC.

Gear down=NWS on

Gear up=NWS off.


"Works good; Lasts long"

J

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Set up the nose wheel so that one of the dials is the control for that channel.

Now mix the rudder to nose and select athe same switch as you had used for gear up/down to turn it off/on

This will make the nose adjustable (trim) with the dial and will turn off the mix from the rudder when it is retracted.

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Guys, maybe I haven't been clear....I understand and know WHAT I am trying to do....it's just easier said than done on the Futaba 12Z for me since this radio has near infinite possibilities of how to program it. Like i said before, the radio is too smart for me.

I don't need somebody telling me WHAT to do on my radio...I need a Futaba 12Z expert to tel l me HOW to do it on this particular radio.

Thanks again!
Shaz

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Shaz,

Give me a call right now and I'll take you through the steps.

PM sent

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Shaz,

I'll be back in Denver this afternoon and can walk you through it if you're still stuck.

The 12Z is smarter than me two, I mean too.

J

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Supposing that you have defined your model as "Airplane", "2 ailerons", "2 flaps", "ailevator"
You'll have channel 10 available as AUX3.
Go to:
Linkage menu->Function->AUX3 ( page 3 of Function )
Rename AUX 3 as "steering" and assign to control LD or RD at your convenience, with no trim.
Now plug your steering servo on channel 10 and check the way and travel in the servo reverse and ATV pages of the linkage menu.
The ATV page shall be setup so that a full deflection of the volume control ( RD or LD ) gives you the full deflection capability of the nose wheel steering.

Then setup your mix as followed:
Go to:
Model menu->prog mixes->MIX1 ( supposing that this line is available )
Then highlight "inhibit" and make it "active". Keep mode as "Mixing" and group as "group" ( unless you want to assign the mixing at a flight condition, which is a very elegant alternative way of doing it buta bit more complex )
On the page 1 of the mixer setup, keep the mixer as linear ( at least initially ) with the rates you need ( maybe +- 60%, so that the steering when operated from the rudder control is less sensitive than when operated from the volume knob. This is called in real aviation the tiller function, where the tiller gives you something like +-70 degrees of travel, whereas the rudder pedals give you only +-10% for example )
Go to page 2 of the mixer setup and assign master as rudder and slave as steering.
Go to page 3 of the mixer setup and assign in "switch" the name of your gear switch. Highlight the ON/OFF function, and select the gear up position as OFF and gear down position as ON...

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

George got me sorted everyone. Thanks for all your help! :D
Shaz

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

You're more than welcome Shaz.
Anyway, have a look at what I wrote down there. It gives you an idea of the programming philosophy on the Futaba 12 radios.

Assigning the mix to a flight mode is the next step up in terms of programming. Flight mode programming is very nice because it includes a whole set of features that can be specifically assigned for each mode:
1) Neutrals
2) Travels
3) Flight control positions ( like flaps and gear )
4) Mixers behaviour ( like in that case mixer off when the gear is up )
3) Trim effectiveness
5) Timers
And so on...

For example, my basic jet configuration ( the one I use as a base program for all my jets ) includes 3 flight modes: clean, takeoff, landing.
These flight modes are associated to the flap lever position. Flap up = clean, middle flap = takeoff, flap down = landing.

"Clean" has reduced travels, a little bit of expo, 3 D/R positions for the elevators and ailerons set at 100%, 80%, 70%, elevator offset = 0, flaps offset = 0, crow = 0
"Takeoff" has higher travels, a bit of expo, 2 D/R positions for the elevator and ailerons set at 100% and 80%, elevator offset = 30, flaps offset to requirements, crow=0
"Landing" has full travel, no expo, no D/R, elevator offset = 50, flaps offset too requirements, crow preset

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Oliver,

I walked him through exactly what you had written, I just didn't want to write it all down. ;)

I think he has a better understanding now.

I hope you and the family are doing well.

Regards,

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Well done Georges !
Yes, everyone is doing well. Thanks.
Hope to see you before the summer in the States ( shall come in June at the latest ).

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

Shaz,

Can you PM George's number, because my 12FG manual is giving me migraines...

RE: Futaba 12Z programming question.
 

PM sent

"if you forget the pin , system must be send to Futaba for reset "

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