First 500 X Rebuild

[wehlke]

Finishing up my first 500 X (first Beast X) rebuild. Relatively minor crash; main and feathering shafts, tail boom and blades.

Just wondering what and how I need to do for set up; swashplate level, 0 degrees at mid stick, TR center or does the Beast X do that for me?

[Uriah]

You can basically go through the setup menus of BeastX in their listed order. The menu most pilots seem to struggle with is setup menu G. Basically, setup menu G is where you mechanically center your servo arms, digitally digitally center your servo arms, level your swashplate, and set zero pitch. The key to setup menu G of the BeastX is to start from the bottom up - quite literally in this case. Below are the steps to properly doing setup menu G.

Guide To Setup Menu G

1. Disconnect all swashplate linkages before powering up for the first time! This helps avoid stripped gears and mechanical binding.
2. Enter setup menu G of the BeastX. While the light is black (no light), mechanically adjust your servo arms so they are 90 degrees to your main shaft. Make sure you're in the black light when you do this! Please note that you may not be able to get an exact 90 degree center - this is expected and that's what we'll correct in the next step. Just get the servo arms as close as possible to 90 degrees to your main shaft.
3. While still in setup menu G, go through each of the cyclic servos (purple, red, & blue lights) and trim them to have perfect 90 degree angles to your main shaft. Follow the instructions in the BeastX manual for adjusting each sub-trim in setup menu G. Do NOT use transmitter trims/sub-trims - use the BeastX's built in sub-trims!
4. While still in setup menu G, select any light (purple, red, or blue light). You're now going to level your swashplate. Do NOT do this when setup menu G is in the black light (no light)! Setup menu G must be in one of the three lights while you level your swash!
5. While still in setup menu G, select any light (purple, red, or blue light). You're now going to set your zero (0) pitch. Do NOT do this when setup menu G is in the black light (no light)! Setup menu G must be in one of the three lights while you set your zero pitch! There's several ways to do this, but the best way I've found is:
   1. Use a hex driver or screwdriver and run it through the bolt holes of one of your blade grips. Choose the tightest driver you can find (you don't want it jiggling at all in the blade grip).
   2. With your grips parallel to your tail boom, align the driver perfectly with your main shaft, adjusting the linkages as necessary. Only do this on one of your blade grips!
   3. Now mark the grip linkage you just adjusted (a sharpie will work). Now take the other linkage off of the other grip and use digital calipers to adjust it to the EXACT same length as the one you just used to set zero pitch.
   4. You should now have a perfect zero pitch and your blades should also track perfectly. You shouldn't even need to waste your time with tracking tape (unless you have junk blades or bent grips - in which case they would need replaced).

Important Notes

When you're in setup menu G, the black light (no light) will remove all of the digital trims, so it will appear that your swashplate and servo arms are not exactly level anymore. This is why setup menu G is so confusing for a lot of people. But the purple, red, and blue light of setup menu G will re-apply all of your trims, just like when you power up your heli and put your collective stick at exactly 50% pitch. So remember to only use setup menu G's black light to mechanically center your servo arms! All other items in this post should be done in the purple, red, and blue lights of setup menu G!

Aside from setup menu G, the BeastX is pretty self explanatory. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask here in the forums and I'll help as best I can.

[wehlke]

Thank you very much, this is a great start. I don't see where it talks about what to do with the motor. Should it be unplugged during this process or should throttle hold be on?

[Uriah]

Excellent question! For safety, I would highly recommend that you unplug two of the motor wires while you're doing the BeastX setup (you can unplug all three if you want). You won't need your motor for anything pertaining to setting up your FBL unit.

And to re-iterate, you can basically do the BeastX setup in the order the menus appear (A, B, C, D, etc.). You'll just find setup menu G to be the most confusing. Also be sure to not confuse the setup menus with the parameter menus of the BeastX. The setup menus must be completed for your bird to fly. The parameter menus simply pertain to the flying characteristics and behavior. Don't worry about the parameter menus right now - the default parameter settings should safely get you airborne and you can tweak them later to suit your flying style and configuration. The only thing you MAY want to change up-front in the parameter menus is the control behavior (parameter menu B). I would recommend you set the control behavior of parameter menu B to "blue solid" (transmitter), this way you can use your transmitter's dual rates (D/R) and expo settings.

[Superholgi]

Remember not to use any D/R or Expo while programming the Beast, or else the heli will be extra extra nasty around zero pitch.

[D22597]

Originally Posted by Uriah

perfect 90 degree angles to your main shaft.

Just to clarify, I thought you adjusted mechanical and digitally 90* to the servo and not the main shaft. Am I mistaken?

[Uriah]

Originally Posted by D22597

Just to clarify, I thought you adjusted mechanical and digitally 90* to the servo and not the main shaft. Am I mistaken?

Good question. Yes, you are mistaken, but it's no big deal on the 500X/3D since all three of the cyclic servos are mounted vertically, and so 90 degrees to the servo is the same as 90 degrees to the main shaft.

On all collective pitch helis, you want the servo arm to have a 90 degree angle to the linkage rod attached to it, and ideally you want the linkage rod to be parallel with the main shaft at neutral collective. The 500X/3D has a well designed frame (aside from limited servo/motor options), so both of these are easily achievable. Basically, the effectual mechanical movement of each linkage rod changes as the servo arm pivots around the servo. The goal is to have this effectual change in movement happen at the same place on all three cyclic servos, so your swashplate rises and lowers as evenly as possible. This is why you'll often hear the term "servo geometry". The Blade 500 has really good servo geometry. Some birds, such as the Blade 300X, don't have good servo geometry, and that's one of the things Blade improved in the 300CFX.

[Warts]

can I please ask a stupid question ?

is the beastx the same as the ar7200X

and thanks for menu G explanation

most of the menu's no problem.. but I always skip it.. and compensate by flying with English they always fly worst after a crash for me.. I can never get it to fly the way it came out of the box!

cheers
Warts

[wehlke]

Maiden went great other than my hands shaking so bad I couldn't hold the sticks still. Gotta love the rush.

[Uriah]

Originally Posted by Warts

can I please ask a stupid question ?

is the beastx the same as the ar7200X

That's not a stupid question at all. BeastX = Be Absolutely Stable. There are two primary BeastX units - the MicroBeast and the AR7200BX. The AR7200BX is a version of the BeastX licensed to Horizon Hobby's Spektrum division. The AR7200BX has a full-size receiver built into it, with the ability to add an additional external satellite for redundancy. The MicroBeast (the other official BeastX unit) needs an external receiver and/or satellite(s) in order to work. However, both the MicroBeast and AR7200BX are running officially licensed BeastX firmware, and they both have identical programming setups and flight characteristics. There are also other offical BeastX units available for micro setups and such, but they all run the BeastX firmware.

Originally Posted by wehlke

Maiden went great other than my hands shaking so bad I couldn't hold the sticks still. Gotta love the rush.

Congrats!

[Warts]

sorry to hijack !!

thanks so much... I have always been unsure.. wasn't confident working on it.. when I would utube or read instructions.. I was confused if the beast and ar7200 setup the same!!

thanks very much for taking the time to answer me.. helps a ton!!

cheers
Warts

[Caeguy]

How do you measure the servo's exaclty at 90deg? Eyeball it?

[ThomasG]

I eyeball it , it´s good enough in my opinion

[EBrom]

Originally Posted by Uriah

That's not a stupid question at all. BeastX = Be Absolutely Stable. There are two primary BeastX units - the MicroBeast and the AR7200BX.

Thanks for the BeastX explanation Uriah. I've always kind of wondered that myself.