I got an Aura 5 Lite. I want to pair it with a FlySky FS-i6X transmitter to use the S-Bus function on the Aura 5 Lite. Can I use the FlySky FS-i6X transmitter (10 channels) as a master transmitter for instructors with a FlySky FS-i6 transmitter (6 channels) for students with a trainer cable between the two transmitters, flying in basic four channel mode on both boxes?
FlySky Buddy Box
- Thread starter Marlin
- Start date
Foamforce
Elite member
Did you ever try this? I’ve found that I can buddy box an I6 with another I6, but when I try an I6 with an I6X, I get odd results. In one case where I made the I6X the trainer and the I6 the trainee, I get jittery servo movement when controlling from the trainee I6. In another case, when I have the I6 as the trainer and the I6X as the trainee on a plane that uses elevens, then the elevon mixing doesn’t work. I’m curious what results you had.
Foamforce
Elite member
I made a breakthrough tonight! I read that the trainer port just expects a PPM signal and that you could build a wireless buddy box connection that way, so I gave it a try.
The wiring harness was pretty simple. I used a 2s battery because the receiver accepts up to 8.4v. So the wiring harness was an XT30 for power, a servo lead to connect to the receiver, and a couple exposed male pins for the radio. I’ll replace those with a proper s-video cable when I get it. The PPM signal is the white wire.
The trainer transmitter (i6x) is bound to the airplane‘s receiver just like normal and then I turn on trainer mode.
The student transmitter (i6) is bound to the buddy box receiver under a new profile with no settings. Then I changed the receiver output to PPM. Note that student mode isn’t turned on because as far as the radio knows, it’s directly controlling the plane.
Now it works as expected! When I had them connected via the cable from i6 (student) to i6x (trainer), I get smooth control without chattering. Also, only channels 1-4 are controllable on the student transmitter, whereas before the other switches (kill switch and gyro mode) were also controllable from the student transmitter, which was undesirable. All settings including servo reversals, trim, elevon, etc, are only needed on the trainer radio, whereas before I had to duplicate them all on the student radio.
Now, if I switch the radios and make the i6 the trainer and the i6x the student, it doesn’t work as well. I still have smooth control, but all control and settings from the student transmitter is passed through to the transmitter, meaning that I have to duplicate every setting, including trim, on the student transmitter.
My conclusion is that the i6x has normal trainer mode functionality, meaning that it only takes in channels 1-4 and then applies its own settings and trim before transmitting those to the plane. The i6, on the other hand, appears to directly pass the student signal straight through to the transmitter, ignoring all of its own settings. This is odd, because in some early forum posts back in 2015-2016, several people described it as having the normal behavior, but mine definitely do not.
In summary, the i6 appears to only be able to correctly buddy box with other i6s. The i6x can probably buddy box with other brands, since it works fine with the standard ppm output of a receiver.
The wiring harness was pretty simple. I used a 2s battery because the receiver accepts up to 8.4v. So the wiring harness was an XT30 for power, a servo lead to connect to the receiver, and a couple exposed male pins for the radio. I’ll replace those with a proper s-video cable when I get it. The PPM signal is the white wire.
The trainer transmitter (i6x) is bound to the airplane‘s receiver just like normal and then I turn on trainer mode.
The student transmitter (i6) is bound to the buddy box receiver under a new profile with no settings. Then I changed the receiver output to PPM. Note that student mode isn’t turned on because as far as the radio knows, it’s directly controlling the plane.
Now it works as expected! When I had them connected via the cable from i6 (student) to i6x (trainer), I get smooth control without chattering. Also, only channels 1-4 are controllable on the student transmitter, whereas before the other switches (kill switch and gyro mode) were also controllable from the student transmitter, which was undesirable. All settings including servo reversals, trim, elevon, etc, are only needed on the trainer radio, whereas before I had to duplicate them all on the student radio.
Now, if I switch the radios and make the i6 the trainer and the i6x the student, it doesn’t work as well. I still have smooth control, but all control and settings from the student transmitter is passed through to the transmitter, meaning that I have to duplicate every setting, including trim, on the student transmitter.
My conclusion is that the i6x has normal trainer mode functionality, meaning that it only takes in channels 1-4 and then applies its own settings and trim before transmitting those to the plane. The i6, on the other hand, appears to directly pass the student signal straight through to the transmitter, ignoring all of its own settings. This is odd, because in some early forum posts back in 2015-2016, several people described it as having the normal behavior, but mine definitely do not.
In summary, the i6 appears to only be able to correctly buddy box with other i6s. The i6x can probably buddy box with other brands, since it works fine with the standard ppm output of a receiver.
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