Failsafe

Thinker2

Junior Member
This is an excellent suggestion and part of my interest. May I expand on it to make a more comprehensive show request?

Your videos on Any Copter and Rotor Bones have inspired me to want to build my own, but the area where I am weak is Electronics (radio (tx/rx), GPS, telemetry, video feed, etc).

Your videos seem to focus on Flight and Aerobatics. I am more interested in Videography.

Please do a show recommending Electronics that are short on cost and weight and long on reliability, functionality, and versatility.

Thank you
 
Last edited:

Snarls

Gravity Tester
Mentor
I know setting up a failsafe can vary from TX to TX, but a general overview would be nice. I suggest an episode that covers all types of failsafes such as from the TX, a flight controller, RTH, and overall what to do when something goes wrong. For example, I use the Turnigy 9X which is a TX a lot of people use, but it does not have a failsafe. Instead I have the failsafe programmed into my Multiwii config.
 

severed

Member
I'm planning on going with the FrSky Taranis X9D Plus and I know you program the failsafe within the receiver, I'm just not sure how. I also know you wouldn't want to have the same kind of failsafe for a fixed wing as you would for a rotary. I think this should be covered.
 

KRAR

Member
Hi severed, depending on the flight module you do not want always want to fail safe the receiver. I fly with the Naza V2 and you failsafe the naza such that it returns to home if there is loss of signal not the receiver. If this is not done, when you failsafe the receiver throttle goes to zero... not good for the copter.

That all being said, they should pick the one flight controller they recommend the most and show how to setup everything. There are just too many different different flight controllers for them to put it all into one video. If they did that I would be very impressed.
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
. . . and there's the rub.

Other than their current long-term review of the graupner line (new and unknown to most pilots-- I'd expect a balanced overview of these in the near future) FT has been relitively Radio agnostic. Each brand exists, some are better than others, but they didn't take sides beyond what works. Their shop has pretty much one of most every brand, and which one is used almost becomes the taste of the builder.

Failsafes are all outside the transmitter -- even the flight control based failsafes -- and they're all slightly different. Picking one brand or one board then promoting and training everybody how to use it leaves all the other brands out. This is really something the radio OEM's need to focus on. if Horizon or Futaba or Graupner or HK isn't producing clear manuals and videos on setup of their recievers, they need to step up to the plate. FT at most, IMO, should touch on what a failsafe is then point you back to your radio's manual . . . which unfortunatly takes less than 5 minutes.

The failsafes *in* the flight control boards are worse. Each brand/family has it's own, some ROMs of the same family can be radically different, and the strategies are all over the map and can be controversial -- do you go dead-duck if you don't have a GPS lock on mid return? auto land? if auto land isn't working, when do you stop the propellers? Do you allow the pilot to take over if control resumes? These are great topics in a forum, and might make a great artical, but it's far too fractured of a topic for an episode, again, IMO.