Hitech HG-5000 Gyro Setup / Review

[RMG2]

As I mentioned in an earlier reply, I bought the Hitec package which includes 4-servos and the gyro. I bought it even after Bob told us the piro rate wasn't as fast as he likes. As a beginner to CP helis the price point fit what I wanted to spend and I am not dissapointed with my decision.

I am only doing average sport flying so far but I am very pleased with the performance of the gyro. The tail does not "bob" on hard rudder directional change, and the tail does not drift with temperature change. Bests of all, the tail is LOCKED in HH mode!

The key to getting the gyro to perform as described is what Bob has told us in so many of his videos. That being, the tail servo MUST be setup/adjusted to achieve zero yaw in RATE mode before relying on HH mode to hold perfectly under all conditions.

In summary, this gyro holds well, doesn't drift and the piro rate is more than fine for ME. I would recommend this gyro to any new, or average flyer and suggest you will like it just fine.



Sorry for the weird photo distortion, my very old digital camera gives everything the "fisheye" appearence.

[Finless]

Cool... looks good!

Seems you are happy with it which I know a lot of people will be. Insane piro rates are not something everyone wants and as I said before the gyro holds really well and does it's job! Glad your happy with it!

So you know on Saturday I flew the crap out of my beam with this gyro forgoing the piro rate issue. With atv at 150 it was OK but I couldn't do my "crack ho insane" piro's like on my other 450s. Even still I really worked on some backwards inverted stuff I have been needing to get better at, and it worked well! It's hold characteristics CANT be doubted.....

Bob

[muscleflex]

Originally Posted by bflores

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with this gyro/servo combo. Just curious to see if you have a better experience than myself and the others. PLEASE provide an update! Thanks so much muscleflex.

i will do. i'm still waiting for the cnc head and tail replacements that i ordered before putting this gyro on my 450 so might be another week before i can test this.

[muscleflex]

what heli is this?

Originally Posted by RMG2

As I mentioned in an earlier reply, I bought the Hitec package which includes 4-servos and the gyro. I bought it even after Bob told us the piro rate wasn't as fast as he likes. As a beginner to CP helis the price point fit what I wanted to spend and I am not dissapointed with my decision.

I am only doing average sport flying so far but I am very pleased with the performance of the gyro. The tail does not "bob" on hard rudder directional change, and the tail does not drift with temperature change. Bests of all, the tail is LOCKED in HH mode!

The key to getting the gyro to perform as described is what Bob has told us in so many of his videos. That being, the tail servo MUST be setup/adjusted to achieve zero yaw in RATE mode before relying on HH mode to hold perfectly under all conditions.

In summary, this gyro holds well, doesn't drift and the piro rate is more than fine for ME. I would recommend this gyro to any new, or average flyer and suggest you will like it just fine.



Sorry for the weird photo distortion, my very old digital camera gives everything the "fisheye" appearence.

[Finless]

Pretty sure it is a mini titan 450.

Bob

[RMG2]

Originally Posted by Finless

Pretty sure it is a mini titan 450.

Bob

As Bob said, Thunder Tiger Mini Titan. "Plain Jane" plastic version but I am totally pleased with it's performance for where I am in the learning curve. Very very stable and predictable control!

With the confidense this heli brings (coming from a fixed pitch), if I am not doing basic (loops, rolls, flips) 3D by Summer's end I will never be doing 3D

[davidwp56]

Originally Posted by bflores

Once again.. someone has confirmed that a Spartan DS760 gyro / Futaba s9257 tail servo combo can actually be cheaper than the HiTec / Logitech combo.

Brian,
While I apprieciate your dislike of the Logitech gyro,I can purchase the logitech combo for around $215 without too much trouble, would really like you to point me in the direction of where I can buy the Spartan/Futaba combo for that price, will order a couple as soon as I get the details.

[muscleflex]

where is the best place to put this lil gyro on a 450 XL???

[muscleflex]

hi all - i have a question about the included servo on this gyro - will this work on a normal FM receiver? i'm still using my hitec eclipse radio.

i've just plugged the servo to the receiver and it doesn't work. i move the stick to the right and the servo only start to move when i'm near max on the stick. moving left doesn't do anything at all to the servo.

any ideas pls?

edit:
never mind - i have been told that this servo is ONLY compatible with the included gyro and will not work w/out the gyro. hence why it didn't work when i plugged it straight to the receiver. and when i plugged it to the gyro, it wouldn't respond but thinking back now... the gyro defaults to light 3 which means it's on analog servo so i need to set it to the first light. hopefully that will fix it.
i'll let you guys know tonight.

[orlbuzz]

Bignose13, (reference post #37) you need to read the whole thread, or at least the previous page of that link you gave. Those piros are with a 401. He is complaining that he CAN'T get that rate with the 2100.

orlbuzz

[bflores]

Originally Posted by muscleflex

i'll let you guys know tonight.

Muscleflex... any word on your Hitec HG-5000 endevour?

[muscleflex]

Originally Posted by bflores

Muscleflex... any word on your Hitec HG-5000 endevour?

hi - yes, i've finally managed to finish and set it up the other night. not flown it outside yet as it's been windy as heck this weekend but i did a test hover in the kitchen and WOW! apart from a CSM 360 i had a looonng time ago, this is the first heading hold i've owned and after following bob's videos, it locks on so darn good! i really am very impressed!
not too impressed with rate mode tho as it doesn't seem to do much..but heading hold is another matter.
i'm just a beginner tho so i wont be doing fast piros or anything like that so i wont be able to test this gyro to its limit..

and as soon as the wind stops, i'll be test flying this outside and will report more.
but for now... i'm quite happy with this thing!

[TallDoode]

Originally Posted by muscleflex

hi all - i have a question about the included servo on this gyro - will this work on a normal FM receiver? i'm still using my hitec eclipse radio.

i've just plugged the servo to the receiver and it doesn't work. i move the stick to the right and the servo only start to move when i'm near max on the stick. moving left doesn't do anything at all to the servo.

any ideas pls?

edit:
never mind - i have been told that this servo is ONLY compatible with the included gyro and will not work w/out the gyro. hence why it didn't work when i plugged it straight to the receiver. and when i plugged it to the gyro, it wouldn't respond but thinking back now... the gyro defaults to light 3 which means it's on analog servo so i need to set it to the first light. hopefully that will fix it.
i'll let you guys know tonight.

Ya, I had the same issue on the servo and thought it was bad. Called Hitec and a very nice guy told me that the default on the gyro is a standard servo and that I needed to program it for the servo that came with it. He mentioned that they do that because if you plug a regular servo into the gyro and it is defaulted to the servo that comes with it, it will nuke the regular servo.

Cheers ,

dave

[TallDoode]

All,

I have the HG-5000 package and a DX7. I have watched Finless's videos for setting up the DX7, the GY401 and the HG-5000 (but he used a 9303 with the HG-5000). I have watched pretty much everything he has put out (Thanks man!). But as a newer heli-guy, I seem to be programming challenged. Nothing I do will allow the Gear switch to move me between HH and Normal for properly centering the servo arm. I end up having to take my rate manually down to less than 50% to turn off the TL light which is a real pain. Also, when I am trying to adjust my endpoints so that I am not binding the tips in the video are not working. I need to adjust my 401 on my Trex 500 as well but the POT limit is not doing it.

What I am ultimately trying to do is make it so that when I go full left stick (right or left) I am at the ends of the slider. Right now, 1/2 way to the right or left on my stick and I am at the ends so it is making my tail way too sensitive.

If you are a hardcore DX7 user with the GY-401 and/or the HG5000 I would love to get your setup either here or in PM so we dont clog the base. Not sure if others are challenged like I am but it is driving me nuts. I am also beginning to wonder if I have a bad Gear switch on my radio.

Thanks,

dave

[Finless]

What I am ultimately trying to do is make it so that when I go full left stick (right or left) I am at the ends of the slider. Right now, 1/2 way to the right or left on my stick and I am at the ends so it is making my tail way too sensitive.

DO NOT DO THIS! What you are seeing is the piro rate. On the bench it will appear as if 1/2 stick movement causes the slider to go all the way over! In the air it doesn't work this way. The gyro is expecting the tail to MOVE when you give stick input and thus is moving the slider all the way over with just a little amount of stick movement. THIS IS NORMAL!!! You do NOT try to compensate by reducing rudder channel end points! Leave them at 100%. The rudder channel DOES NOT set travel limits on a 401 or the HG-5000.... The gyro setting does that. On a 401 its the limit pot and you adjust that so it wont go far enough over to BIND the servo. DO NOT WORRY that it goes all the way over with 1/2 rudder stick as again that is normal to see on the bench!

Bob

[RMG2]

Originally Posted by Finless

DO NOT DO THIS! What you are seeing is the piro rate. On the bench it will appear as if 1/2 stick movement causes the slider to go all the way over! In the air it doesn't work this way. The gyro is expecting the tail to MOVE when you give stick input and thus is moving the slider all the way over with just a little amount of stick movement. THIS IS NORMAL!!! You do NOT try to compensate by reducing rudder channel end points! Leave them at 100%. The rudder channel DOES NOT set travel limits on a 401 or the HG-5000.... The gyro setting does that. On a 401 its the limit pot and you adjust that so it wont go far enough over to BIND the servo. DO NOT WORRY that it goes all the way over with 1/2 rudder stick as again that is normal to see on the bench!

Bob

Dave, you can prove to yourself what Bob has said above is true. Set your tail slider travel with the gyro travel adjust then go into your TX and change the rudder travel limits (just for testing). You will see that the the tail slider still moves the amount you set with the gyro travel adjustment and the TX endpoint changes you made have no affect on actual travel volume at the slider. Don't forget to max-out your rudder ATV in your TX when you are finished testing or your rotation rate will be affected.

Personally, as beginner just about ready to try my first simple 3D maneuver, I love the Hitec (Logitec) gyro servo combo. The tail holds perfectly on hard pitch transition!

I did fly the Hitec gyro with a 9257 and the tail did not keep-up perfectly with that servo. The linkage ball was exactly the same distance from center axis on both servos so it was a fair test for both.

[TallDoode]

Thanks Bob. I appreciate the reply. I was trying to do this based on a tip from a flying buddy who flew my 500 and said the tail was too sensitive.

If anyone out there is running the DX7 I could still use some tips on why my Gear switch doesn't switch me from HH to Normal regardless of my settings. Not sure how to troubleshoot to see if it is a bad switch.

I have posted my settings in case anyone can verify them.

Input Select: Aux2,Aux2 and Gear, Gyro
Travel Adjust Screen - Everything set to 100%
Sub Trim - Everything set to 0
Gyro Sens - Auto
Rate: 0 - 72%
Rate: 1 - 48% (isnt this what is supposed to allow me to flip Gear and get Normal?)
F.Mode: Norm: 0, SNT:1, HOLD:0

What am I missing?

Thanks,

dave

[Finless]

The reason the gear switch doesn't work is you have GEAR set to GYRO in the power up master menu. The menu where you hold the buttons down and power up. Go in there and change GEAR to GEAR instead of gyro and you will then be able to toggle the gear channel with thew gear switch.

For me help watch Jermo's DX7 setup video.

Bob

[TallDoode]

In his video (which i just re-watched to make sure I didnt incorrectly interpret it) he also had Gear/Gyro set, but for demo purposes moved Gyro to AUX2/Gyro.

He states "Just for grins and giggles I will go ahead and make it the Aux channel" and "make sure the gain channel gets plugged into Aux2 instead of Gear". I want to use the Gear Channel for my Gyro.

So is this saying that if I follow his recommendations (i.e. Gear/Gyro), that I wont be able to use the Gear switch to move from HH to Normal? I am pretty much confused right now.

Thanks,

dave

[Finless]

If you use the gear channel for gyro gain then you have 2 options.
1) If gear is set to gyro then the MODE switch (normal, idle1, idle2) will control the gear channel. In the gyro menu you set to auto and you will notice you can set 3 different values for each mode. To go in and out of heading hold you could set normal for 0 and idle 1 for 100 and then toggling the mode switch between normal and idle1 should switch between normal and hh.
2) If gear is set to gear then the gear switch will control the gear channel and you can switch in and out of heading hold.

In the end you can go into the MONITOR menu and watch the gear channel do it's thing for a switch....

Bob