Hi Guys,
I have bought a fuselage, an Airwolf Bell 222. I have also bought a retract mount and additional servo for the wheels. There is no open channel for the extra servo. Do you know if it is possible to somehow splice in the extra servo? I have a R146ip Futaba receiver and Futaba T6EXHP Radio. Currently, I do not think that all 6 channels are being fully utilized as the 2 switches on the top (ch 5/aux and ch6/RUD/D/R) are not controlling anything?
TIA,
Crash

I think you just out grow your radio ,,, if your getting in to scale it may be a good time to look at a 7 or 9 ch radio ,, then you have much more options and programing too ,,,

I have the 7chp and use 6 for heli control and the 7th for retract,
1) aileroon
2)elev
3)throtle
4)rudder
5)remote gyro gain with the 401-Maybe if you dont use the 401 you can use it for retract not sure
6)pitch
7)auxilery -retract

Let me get this straight ... you have ALL the slots filled on a 6 channel RX and
you think it's not "being fully utilized" ???
You may want to rethink that.

If "something" is plugged into ALL 6 channel slots on the RX then the RX/Channels are being
fully utilized and there is NO place to plug the retracts ... period!

Your options are (as previously posted) get a 7+ channel system (TX & RX)

or ... go down the list of currently used channels for your heli and see if there is any channel you can do without and still fly ...

1-Aileron - not likely - no help
2-Elevator - not likely - no help
3-Throttle - not likely - no help
4-Rudder (T/R via Gyro) - not likely - no help
5- Gyro Mode/Gain - maybe - depends on the requirements of your gyro ... which you never stated what model gyro you have.
6-Pitch - not likely - no help

IF (that's a big if) ... if your gyro can be operated without the Mode/Gain lead plugged into channel 5 (and still have a fully flyable/controllable heli) then maybe you can disconnect
the gyro from channel 5 and plug your retract(s) servo into channel 5. Just remember to disable the gyro function so that the TX treats channel 5 as GEAR and not GYRO.

BTW ... just because you have a switch that does nothing doesn't necessarily mean that the channel does nothing. You can set the gyro mode/gain (channel 5) to change as your flight mode changes via
the flight mode switch leaving the CH5/GEAR switch unused. Does this mean ch5 is unused and available ... absolutely not ... it just means the SWITCH is unused.
Besides " ... ch6/RUD/D/R ... ". First ... RUDder D/R (dual rate) should be on Channel 4 ... not 6. Channel 6 is collective pitch which should be controlled via your ATVs and flight mode/Pitch curves.
Is this the switch you are referring to??

Looks to me like d/r control for Ail (ch1), Elev (ch2), and Rud (ch4). How did you get " ... ch6/RUD/D/R ... " from that???

Thanks for all the info Tippy
regards,
Crash

I have a 401 in the T-rex and a 240 in my Axe. here is a my reply when I ask the guy who help me build the T-rex:

you can get a GY240 gyro (almost as good as the 401 you have...but, not
quite). with the 240 you don't need the remote gain wire to take a
channel, the gain is adjusted on a pot right on the gyro. then, you can
use the free channel for your retracts. however, the cost of the 240 is
right at $100, you will lose the superior heading hold function of the
401, and extra resolution of the digital S9650 (though it can still be
used--it just won't be running in digital mode).

regards,
Crash

now your going scale you need more channels or do gear down with out retracts

For now, I think I am going to go with gear down fixed wheels. Eventually, after several more crash/rebuild cycles, I will probably upgrade the radio/receiver combo. But for now, I think the fixed down set-up will look and fly great.

Regards,
Crash