Phoenix Setup FAQ

[puzom]

Hi,

How to Properly Set Up the Spektrum DX6i Transmitter with Phoenix Flight Simulator

Cheers!

[Eric, Jr.]

Ok, I've read the thread, some nice info. But nothing really to tackle one remaining problem I'm having. Got some serious left drift and switching models or using trim seems to help. Not necessarily looking for hands-off hovering, but the accelerated drifting to the left is telling me I might be missing something. Hopefully someone can tell me what it is, or what parameters to explore for a fix. Thanks!

[TheBum]

Originally Posted by Eric, Jr.

Ok, I've read the thread, some nice info. But nothing really to tackle one remaining problem I'm having. Got some serious left drift and switching models or using trim seems to help. Not necessarily looking for hands-off hovering, but the accelerated drifting to the left is telling me I might be missing something. Hopefully someone can tell me what it is, or what parameters to explore for a fix. Thanks!

Run the transmitter calibration again and make sure you follow the instructions to the letter.

[supermofo]

Greetings all,

Just a quick inquiry - with the JR XG7 there appears to be a slight error when in idle up mode; in a normal hover the throttle stick is 2 marks below the center stick position, but when I am inverted the throttle is more or less right on the center position. I used to use a DX7 with Phoenix 2.5 and it used to behave as expected; i.e. whilst hovering inverted the throttle stick position would be virtually a mirror of an upright hover - 2 marks or notches above the center line. Has anyone else experienced this behavior, and is there a quick fix?

Thanks,
Carl

[rojack]

Honestly I don't think there is anything that needs to be fixed? Are you still flying Phoenix 2.5? ...or Phoenix 4? What heli model are you flying? Is this behavior the same with all helis? ...or just a specific one?

There can be several reasons for asymmetrical thrust behavior, from the blade pitch setup on the heli model, to your end points, swash mix, travel adjust, pitch and throttle curves, etc., in the transmitter.

What kind of setup are you running in the JR? All defaults, all 100%, no trims, etc? Straight, plain curves?

Perhaps your observation does indicate something, but I'm not even sure I've heard of anyone even noticing such a thing, or feeling the need to fix it. But we'll try to help. Also, you might want to post in the main Phoenix section which will let you add an eye-catching title for better response.

[TheBum]

Did you recalibrate the sim with the new transmitter? If not, that's likely your problem.

[supermofo]

Hey Rojack,

Thanks for your reply! Quick bit of background - I've been out of the heli game for about 2 years, in fact Alan (aka the Bum) helped me with a few tips on setting up my (now deceased...hence the heli break) Compass 3D Plus...last used Phoenix when it was on version 2.5 but recently upgraded. From memory, and as is the case with all the CCPM helis I've flown, inverted used to behave as described previously. Since the upgrade to V4, and since I changed from a DX7 to the XG7, this strange inverted behaviour has appeared.

To answer your questions: 100% defaults, straight curves, no trims, and yes it happens with all the heli models I've used in Phoenix. I've even tried to compensate for this behaviour by adjusting the curves in the radio, adjusting the curves in Phoenix, changing the mid stick pitch angle in Phoenix to a positive/ negative value...I've tried everything! Recalibrating, setting up a fresh custom radio...nothing seems to alter the 'inverted hover at mid stick' thing. Even my current heli, a humble Blade 450 3D hovers inverted at about 1.5 notches from mid stick. Stumped!!

The only thing I haven't tried is reinstalling V2.5 to see if the inverted strangeness occurs then...in which case it must be something with this radio. I'll try this experiment and report back..

Cheers,
Carl

[supermofo]

..Tried re-installing V2.5 and the mysterious inverted anomaly remains...
Back to the drawing board!

Cheers

[supermofo]

Finally, got this inverted thing sorted - just added 30 'subtrims' in the pitch channel of the radio...upright and inverted balanced!

Cheers

[supermofo]

I really screwed up with this whole inverted thing...even after the last 'experiment' the sim just wasn't behaving as I remembered it to from 2.5 (I've been asking myself for the last month or so since I started flying again, 'damn, have I really lost all my skills in just 2 years?!) Apparently not...
Well to cut a long story short, the mistake I'd been making was to calibrate the radio in Phoenix whilst I had pitch/ throttle curves already programmed in, so the 'endpoints' for these channels were always going to be false...leading to this strange inverted behavior! The monitor screen in the radio told me all I needed to know.
So apologies for admitting to following the OP's instructions at the beginning of this thread, and for admitting to having straight curves, no trims etc on the Tx...maybe some will benefit from my stupidity

Cheers,
Carl

[torch8]

Originally Posted by puzom

Hi,

How to Properly Set Up the Spektrum DX6i Transmitter with Phoenix Flight Simulator

Cheers!

Trying to setup my dx6i, why set travel adjust to 125%? I thought we are suppose to setup throttle curve/pitch and other adjusts on PH Flight SIM and not radio. I started reading this posting and it looks like we are suppose to set thrim and all curves to linear?

[rojack]

Originally Posted by torch8

Trying to setup my dx6i, why set travel adjust to 125%? I thought we are suppose to setup throttle curve/pitch and other adjusts on PH Flight SIM and not radio. I started reading this posting and it looks like we are suppose to set thrim and all curves to linear?

I have no idea why 125% travel setting on the Tx would be useful in Phoenix, other than maybe it *might* give you a little more resolution. I've found the resolution just fine at 100% with my DX7, but then maybe a pro-flier could feel the difference more than I could.

Phoenix is going to scale whatever you send it anyway, it's not like you are getting any more "travel" out of the virtual servos... As soon you as you do a calibration, full stick deflection, whatever number the Tx sends to Phoenix, whether it be 70 or 125, is going to be 100% inside Phoenix.

Anyway, I, and I'm sure plenty of other folks use 100% travel adjust and are quite happy with it, so worry not my friend. Feel free to leave the travel at the default 100%.

[lcc014]

I just setup the simulator and Tx (Futaba T7C) again based upon the information from the Beginner Setup FAQ. What I noticed was that throttle/pitch response from mid-stick to max stick was instant jump. In other words, throttle stick a little bit above the mid-stick position, throttle and pitch would jump to max. This was also be seen in the simulated Tx located in the lower left hand corner. Any stick movement below mid-stick had no response. That is, when I moved the throttle stick from lowest position slowly up to mid-stick position, throttle stick in simulated Tx (in lower left hand corner) did not move up at all.

I tried Tx calibration a couple times, same result. I virtually had no control of throttle and pitch either 0% or 100%, nothing in between. Both pitch and throttle curves were default to linear in both Tx and simulator program.

Any suggestion to fix this throttle issue is appreciated.

Thanks

[TheBum]

Make sure throttle is center stick and not in the down position when starting the calibration. Also make sure your Tx throttle and pitch curves are linear when calibrating. Some people devote a model in the Tx just for calibration purposes.

[lcc014]

Originally Posted by TheBum

Make sure throttle is center stick and not in the down position when starting the calibration. Also make sure your Tx throttle and pitch curves are linear when calibrating. Some people devote a model in the Tx just for calibration purposes.

Oh, that must be my mistake - throttle stick was fully down during calibration. I will give it a try.

Thanks.

[lcc014]

Originally Posted by TheBum

Make sure throttle is center stick and not in the down position when starting the calibration. Also make sure your Tx throttle and pitch curves are linear when calibrating. Some people devote a model in the Tx just for calibration purposes.

It worked !! Thanks so much.

[RAM]

Great thread as it's been very helpful.

I'm still wondering how to make the cyclic response more realistic for a 550+ bird? I've read ad nauseum the roll and pitch rates need to be slowed down, but I have yet to find a concise description of how that is accomplished. What/where is that setting(s)? And what else do you recommend for a more realistic experience?

If I'm missing countless threads on the subject, my bad. If not, please be specific with the parameters that need to be adjusted to make the model fly like the real thing.

Thanks guys

RAM

[rojack]

Hi RAM. Quick response, though probably you've got past this by now. Everyone's real helis fly a little differently. The blade pitch range, balance, weight distribution, transmitter and setup, tuning, battery choice, blade choice and other stuff. make each real heli a little (or a lot) different from each other, so what is a "realistic" setting on the sim to one person, may be "way off" for another, comparing to their own real heli. This is confirmed over and over in the threads. There is no single magic setup on the sim that makes the heli feel just like everyone's real heli. You have to match the sim to your real heli. How do you do this?

...As you probably know, it's under: Model --> Edit --> Detailed.
Also in: System --> Your controls --> Edit Profile

There are several ways to reduce roll and pitch, and it's not that one way is better or worse than another. These kinds of helis are complicated and sensitive in real life and to simulate them well, there are a lot of parameters that can be tweaked. Unfortunately it not as simple as you probably wish it was, and also you may find that changing one thing affects other things, so it's even more complicated to get the feel you are looking for. It's a lot of trial and error at first, but you tend to figure out what works and what is worth changing after a while.

Scroll though the editable parameters and as the cursor touches each item, a description and explanation will pop up for each parameter. There is a lot to learn at first, but after a while you'll get to know what to change.

Expo can be set at each model, and also in the sim's transmitter setup (as well as in the real transmitter. This reduces sensitivity around the center of the stick. At the transmitter (both sim and real) you can also lower the maximum output, which will lessen the effect of a particular stick throw overall. There are other things, such as lower the maximum blade pitch, changing the model weight or headspeed or center of gravity that help you match the feel of your real bird.

It does tend to take some time and comparative flights to get the sim tuned well.

All that said, there may be someone out there that just happens to have your model heli, and went through all the above and might post the settings they use. That could get you pretty close and save some time. Otherwise it's several tuning sessions and some trial and error.

[RAM]

rojack,

I had a feeling there probably wasn't a universal solution for optimizing these characteristics given all the variables. As I'm learning, nothing in this hobby is easy. But that's a big part of the challenge and the reward that keeps us hooked. That being said, I will revisit the settings you mentioned and experiment with some different models as well.

Thanks for your response. I have to admit I spend more time flying the real thing versus using the sim and I have plateaued. More sim time is necessary....

[dwahid]

I've had the Phoenix sim for several years and gave not been able to set it up correctly with a spektrum dx9. The problem is I'm always in idol up mode no matter what I try to do. I have calibrated several times and I'm not able to solve this. Can anyone please pm instructions or provide me with a contact number that I can call to sort this. I've tried tro call horizon hobby several times with no help.