Phoenix Setup FAQ

[P.I.Engineer]

Originally Posted by Galvanic Panic

I was hoping that somebody in this thread would be able to help me out a little. I have a dx6i and it has been calibrated (multiple times), throttle is channel 1 and collective is channel 6. The issue I seem tobe having is that the heli will only begin to hover at approx 3/4 stick, when I watch the bars in control setup and go to full throttle the collective will only go up to 3/4. Is this a radio issue or a sim issue ?

thanks in advance

what's your pitch curve in your dx6, 0-100? it should be. Make sure all your endpoints are 0-100 or 100-100, i'm not sure what it should be, i fly futaba, but i have set up and used a dx6i on phoenix.

then recalibrate.

[scott s]

just used bums thread for set up and it saved me a ton of headaches! Thanks bum!

[OzzyDevil]

Were is a good place to get curves for your heli.. I just Bought myself a DX8 and phoenix and have know idea what i'm doing.. I like the Trex's in there and i want to learn to fly them... I did what i was meant to do here but thats all i know...

[luciuswillson]

I am pretty new to heli's. I am trying to set up a trex 500 with my dx8 so I can fly it like it is the real thing. I have no idea how to set it up. I have watched finless bob's videos on the dx8 so I know how to navigate the screens but not how to actually set up a heli in phoenix to my DX8. Is there a walk through of the process for the DX8?

[rdlohr]

Originally Posted by minnzoo

I got it. Here's the pieces that I was missing:

I had to recalibrate after going to single servo gyro mode, but that's not it. The first time I recalibrated it still did not work for the following reason: I was recalibrating in normal mode. Well, I have my radio programmed with a throttle curve in normal node so it was not seeing the entire travel of channel 1 when I recalibrated. What I did to fix this was go into ST2 and reprogram my throttle curve to straight line 1 to 100. Now it could see the entire travel of channel 1. Of couse my pitch curve was already straight line in ST2. So I now calibrated in ST2 and fly in normal and ST1.

I also had to edit my radio and reassign pitch to channel 6.

After that, it worked. Thanks soooo much you guys for all your help. Especially Alan for his handy dandy setup guide.

Now I'm gonna go fly. I already got 1 flight in today. Beautiful and 45 here in PA. I'll get my Atom time in today and now I have my Phoenix all ready for the rain tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

David

SWEET! Thanks. This helped me on my JR 9503. Had to fix all my normal setups to be typical with linear pitch and throttle then re calibrate. Now all works well!

Rick

[Vinno]

Hey guys,

Using a DX8, my friend was mucking around and ended up resetting the profile and swtching on acro on the controller.... well i thats what i figure he did.

I cant remember if i had to set the f hold and enter in values for stunt mode in the controller or not.

Do you need to change the values in the controller from 0 25 50 75 100 to 100 100 100 100 for idle up mode or does phoneix enter the best valuves for the helicopter you choose?

Right now hitting f mode to 1 and Thorttle hold, does nothing in phoenix, unless i set it in the controller then it works in pheonix. hmm

[LiveAction]

Can someone give me some help with Gyro settings in Phoenix and on the transmitter:
For calibration I had the TX gyro settings at 0 and 100. In Phoenix the models default to heading hold 60%. Does that mean I can just leave the TX at 0 and the model will fly accurately or do i need to adjust the settings in the transmitter too? (first experience with RC Helis so I don't know how the model should "feel")

Thanks for the help.

[TheBum]

The gyro settings in the sim should be plenty good enough for learning.

[bjbutler76]

I purchased the Phoenix Simulator for Christmas and it worked perfectly until yesterday. Every time I try to spool up and take off the helicopter lifts up and tilts over immediately. Sometimes it tips to the right and other times to the left but never either way consistently. I have re-calibrated my Spektrum DX6I numerous times and I have also reset the model I created and started over from scratch but it still isn’t working. I don’t know what else to do to correct this issue. I have reviewed everything in the manual and on the website and nothing seems to rectify it. Please help!!

[PSV-1]

Is your TX turned to the off position when your on the sim. I cant think of anything else right now.

[Jimi]

Thanks for reposting a link to this here. I tried it, and now it look's even better, though I didn't see any compression lines in skies that have gradient coloring. the sky as well as the back ground (grass and everything) seem to look more detailed, and it is still as smooth as it was before I tried the mod. I didn't think it would make a difference on my computer, because I don't have a fancy 3d video card, I am just using the Intel graphics accelerator that is built into the mother board on this computer. I may buy a better graphics card someday, but the simulator works and looks great the way it is, I get no choppiness at all, running in 1024 X 768 (85hz) with the display setting on high (in Phoenix) I could go to the next highest screen res. and it still works good, but it is not quite as smooth, unless I set the graphics quality down to medium. It seems to look better at 1024X768 with the graphics quality set to high especially after this mod.
Thanks again...........a whole bunch..............Jimi

[fickjr]

Do I need such an adapter for a JR XP8103 tx? The program looses contact with my transmitter frequently and it is most annoying.

[railfan1975]

Hey all. First of all, thanks Bum for doing this FAQ and thanks to everyone for taking time to answer our questions.

I just got Phoenix v3 installed and running today. I have a DX7 radio. I've followed the set up in the first post and have set up everything in my radio. I'm trying to fly the trainer model as I've never flown helicopters before.

When I throttle up and start trying to hover, the helicopter begins to drift to the left. I've tried adjusting the trim on my TX and that doesn't seem to help. I have CCPM mixing off (set to 1 servo) on the TX, so I'm pretty sure it's not that. I have re-calibrated my radio several times as well.

At this point, I'm really at a loss as to what to do. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

JT

[TheBum]

Leftward drift is normal. You have to tilt the rotor to the right to offset it. The amount of tilt depends on the model and even the wind conditions.

[railfan1975]

Thanks Bum for getting back to me so quickly.

I've read that left drift is normal, but this seems to be somewhat more than that as it takes quite a bit of right aileron to stop the drift. Here is video showing what I'm experiencing.



Thanks for your patience!

JT

[Opie420]

I am using my Heli-Max TX624 TX with my Pheonix Simulator. It hooks up and works but not when I go into idle up mode. When I turn on the idle up switch on my tx and pull down on the stick for the helicopter to go down it actually goes up.

When I go to the calibrate screen to see what happens when I move the left stick up and down with the idle up switch on. The calibrate bar goes all the way up with the left stick and when I go down with the left stick the calibrate bar goes half way down and then back up. So when I am in idle up and pull the left stick down the helicopter goes up

[Opie420]

I have a Heli-Max TX624 that I use with my Phoenix Sim. It hooks up fine and works for normal basic flight for helicopters and airplanes. But when I go into idle up mode it doesn't work properly. When I am in idle up mode and pull the left stick down the helicopter goes up. So I went to the calibrate window to see how the stick movement goes. So in the calibrate window with the idle up switch on; I pull the left stick up and the calibrate bar goes all the way up. With the left stick in the half way point the calibrate bar is in the half way. When I put the left stick all the way down the calibrate bar goes up.

Any suggestions?

[HopSkipFlop]

NM, sorry wrong place to post.

[TDubya]

I just used the finless bob video for dx7 set up . Love the way it works now.

http://video.helifreak.com/?subpath=...name=dx7v3.wmv

[HelisRock]

Thanks very much for this tread, it has been of tremendous value. Thanks to all the Heli Veterans that take the time to help us Newbies out -- your time, patience and generosity are greatly appreciated.

Even though I am very computer literate and know my way around many complex applications, Phoenix + a computerized radio is a handful. The combination of not knowing all the heli terms, and what is done in the radio vs what is done in Phoenix can be overwhelming. All the options in Model, Edit are enough to make you go cross-eyed. But, Adobe Photoshop and Premiere are just as intimidating to a beginner, so I'm hopeful. I think I have everything configured properly after reading all 16 pages of this tread multiple times. Idle Up and Throttle Hold and all the gimbles seem to do the right thing, so I'm diving into it.

The (obvious to everyone except newbies) points I found most helpful were:
1) Set up 2 new models in your radio - one new heli for Sim calibration with all standard linear curves, and one new heli with all the beginner curves, dual rates and expos you've decided to start with. Go thru setup/calibration with the first, fly with the second.
2) Use the original post to make sure those pieces of Phoenix are configured properly.
3) Go to System, Your Transmitter to check that Phoenix is seeing full throws on all your channels. On a DX8 they are:
Channel 1 Throttle
Channel 2 Aileron
Channel 3 Elevator
Channel 4 Rudder
Channel 5 Gyro switch
Channel 6 Collective
Channel 7 Gov switch
4) Keep the transmitter turned OFF when you plug in and fly Phoenix - who would have thought of that!
5) Use Training Gear, it really helps chasing that marble (Model, Edit, Options).

After all this comes the hard part, learing to fly these things. Boy, is that analogy of a marble on a glass plate ever accurate! I can't even imagine how many years it would take me to get to competency in the old days without a sim, not to mention the expense and trips to the hospital. I ROFLMAO everytime I hit myself with my Phoenix heli - yes, while trying to hover!

Thanks again to all of you who are a tremendous help to us newbies!