First Logo (550SX). Maintenance questions

[hemp]

Originally Posted by Crowbar

Just wish it had a little bit more power so it doesn't bog if I mess up or need to use the FBL rescue.

This is an advantage of an active FBL governor over a reactive ESC governor, rather than waiting for the load to come and then trying to compensate by dumping more power, the FBL gov sees your collective and cyclic inputs and proactively applies power before the disc has loaded up. Net result is less difficulty maintaining the headspeed. Not all governors are created equal, but it's worth trying on your own to see the differences.

[Crowbar]

Hehe, tell me about it, I love the gov in the IKON. The constant note of the drivetrain is quite annoying, only time I can hear a different note is because of doppler effect.

May I ask what ESC settings you're running on your 550 SX (4025 1100KV I presume)? Or are you using an FBL gov?

[hemp]

Originally Posted by Crowbar

May I ask what ESC settings you're running on your 550 SX (4025 1100KV I presume)? Or are you using an FBL gov?

I always use FBL gov unless it's not an option.

Unfortunately I'm not a good one to ask. Was previously using a HeliJive 120 (after burning up a YGE 90 lv). The HeliJive fried when I blew the motor, so I've just switched to a YGE 120 lv with a Pyro 650.

[Retired2011]

I'm no authority, but I've run my Heli Jive on it's internal gov, and on the Vbar gov, for me the Vbar gov offers much more consistent control.

That is the main reason I won't buy any more Kontronik ESC's.

[jmackey]

Originally Posted by Crowbar

Hmm, haven't tried auto-timing yet but played around with P and I gain today. It's close to perfect at 2200 rpm, only minor bobbles when I come down at full pitch and to a hard stop. When I do a climb out again I feel and hear no bogging whatsoever. Tic tocs are very solid.

On 1900 rpm however punch-outs have a noticeable delay until the gov suddenly kicks in and gives it more power. Same on hard stops, it bogs and wobbles and then it kicks back into gear.

ESC, LiPo and motor don't really get any warm even if I try, I know I can get some more power out of the system but I don't really know how.
P and I gain are currently both one step from maximum (using the little YGE programming card), PWM is currently on "9" (the second lowest setting).

The programming card (v2) says the following about PWM:

That note on PWM from the card is correct. The best way to find out what works best is to experiment with different PWM settings.

So it sounds like your governor is working great at your 2200 headspeed, but not so well at 1900? This is normal. Geared for 2200 like you are, your ESC and motor are working together at their most efficient at 2200 with throttle% from ESC to motor fluctuating between 80-100% (controlled by governor).

Drop your headspeed down to 1900 without changing gearing, and the whole setup is not as efficient or powerful. The governor can not perform as well.

Change your gearing for 1900 @80% and you will see outstanding governor performance at 1900, but 2200 will be unreachable, or very poor performing since there is no overhead left.

I usually gear for the headspeed I will fly most of the time. Fly it as hard as you can at this 80% headspeed and enjoy the performance! Switch back to lower headspeed fun, but be a little easy on it. Flying hard at low throttle % will be poor HS holding at best, and ESC shutdowns, or worse if you are unlucky.

[Crowbar]

Bumping PWM to 10 helped tremendously, flight time is reduced to 4:30 though and the ESC goes over 45°C right after landing as it spools down (no more airflow to cool it).

Switching to 100% throttle (still with governor on) gives quite a bit higher head speed so I might experiment around with 2250 and 2300 rpm just to see if I can get some more oomph out of it without sacrificing flight time and temperature.

Will probably end up cutting the frame a bit so the elevator servo doesn't bump into the top of the frame. Right now 12° pitch is as much as I can do without binding on both ends. It definitely needs a bit more for my liking.