Solved Receiver redundancy

[Hai-Lee]

I am currently a very busy lad, being a trainer and support volunteer at my local club as well as being a constructor for a local retail outlet. Part of my duties as a volunteer to is assist other club members in getting their new purchases or creations into the air.

Well I do not currently use Spektrum radios and of course their are a number of Spektrum radios being purchased and a lot of what I call entry level junk, (including a lot of vendor specific radio systems). In addition I fly mode 1, (I started in RC when 27MHz was the band of choice).

Well some radios I can buddy box to but I do not have control of when the control is handed over and so in some/many cases by the time the control is handed over the bird is doomed. The one problem I have is that often even when the control is handed over with sufficient time ot normally effect a save the radio system often has or is in a LOS condition where my control inputs are not received by the doomed plane.

In my various meanderings around the internet I actually found a device that actually allows me to connect my own receiver into the Plane whilst not upsetting the original radio control system. With the device I can switch between receivers at will and so in the case of a LOS or other control issue I can assume control to save the plane from crashing.

It also allows the original radio system and installation to be compared directly with the radio system and antenna setups I recommend and use religiously.

Whilst I have found 2 such devices so far this one is the cheapest and simplest to use version I have yet found and so I am awaiting its arrival.
https://www.banggood.com/RC-Model-T...ane-p-1616037.html?rmmds=buy&cur_warehouse=CN

I can even setup the bird to switch to the second receiver in the event of a LOS event, using failsafe. Now I can plug my Rx into those doubtful quality retail offerings and give some amount of protection from crashing for almost any radio related reason. All that is needed is for the original receiver have standard servo PWM outputs and I can plug on in.

No more need for dodgy buddy box cables or even vendor specific equipment!

More on its performance when it is finally air tested.

Just a heads up on what is out their for us to use.

Have fun!

 

[Hai-Lee]

Just had another thought on the device's uses and I realised that it can be used for source control on take off and the destination, control at the landing ground thereby allowing proper airborne radio range testing as well as using the plane as an inter-site transport/courier.

In the case of transporting goods across distance the destination landing can be locally controlled at the destination allowing for safe delivery and return of the plane as well as allowing for the effective mission radius to be doubled with the destination able to change out the battery and reprogram the plane for the return journey.

Why didn't I find this item sooner.

Have fun!

 

[Piotrsko]

Almost sounds too good to be true if it works. Space cg and other considerations on others planes.... my stuff, there is hectares of room. I am skeptical of regaining control in LOS incidents however. Will you be using it in your planes or trainees' planes?

By any chance did you notice the postings of ragland/fliers1 over in flight school post #29?

 

[Wildthing]

Pretty slick if it works

 

[Hai-Lee]

Almost sounds too good to be true if it works. Space cg and other considerations on others planes.... my stuff, there is hectares of room. I am skeptical of regaining control in LOS incidents however. Will you be using it in your planes or trainees' planes?

By any chance did you notice the postings of ragland/fliers1 over in flight school post #29?

I intend to use it to explore the possibilities of redundant receiver installations of course. Also by using 2 receivers I will be able to test the performance claims on some of the geofenced flight controllers around.

For the local club I will be using to when test flying the planes I repair for the club members and to teach the newbies who arrive with the obsolete and ultra cheap radios that they got on special and they want someone to teach them how to fly with their crap radio gear.

The regaining control after a LOS is based on setting the control input channel in the failsafe settings of the primary radio system to switch receivers to the secondary or standby receiver. So if a LOS on the primary radio system occurs the failsafe settings automatically select the redundant receiver through the setting of the control channel output. Once selected the redundant Rx takes control and maintains control until the primary control radio system regains communication whereupon the change back to the primary channel is instant.

As for value, if it saves a single crash it will have paid for itself as in my case some of my propellers cost more than the device itself.

Have fun!

 

[Piotrsko]

Oh auto switching on LOS SAME transmitter. Well done then, sort of a slave remote receiver. I was thinking switching "buddy box" style to regain control might not work in time on the second transmitter.

You might consider using a gasser prop and take the thrust penalty. 40+ years on my 8-6. Maybe 35 years on the master airscrew 7-4, outlasted maybe 40 aircraft.

 

[Wildthing]

So could run dual rx's which are both bond to your tx and have one as a back up?

 

[Hai-Lee]

So could run dual rx's which are both bond to your tx and have one as a back up?

Most modern transmitters do not allow the binding of 2 Rxs to the same Tx slot but if you could then I do not see why not.

The greatest advantage are buddy box control using 2, (normally incompatible), radio systems, separate take off and landing zones with two separate pilots, (geographically separated, and as a safety handover of control in the case of a LOS.

Have fun!

 

[Bricks]

It acts like a pass thru if I understand what Bangood wrote about it. Pretty darn simple concept.

 

[Hai-Lee]

It acts like a pass thru if I understand what Bangood wrote about it. Pretty darn simple concept.

Effectively an electronic 4 pole switch controlled by the input from the control input, (fifth channel on the master receiver).

Simple means less to go wrong and low cost! Mine is on order, (for functional evaluation of course).

Have Fun!

 

[Andrew]

Most modern transmitters do not allow the binding of 2 Rxs to the same Tx slot but if you could then I do not see why not.
.......
Have fun!

Actually most transmitters can bind many receiver's to the same TX slot/model memory, BUT if both receivers have telemetry sending data back to one transmitter, that would corrupt telemetry information.

 

[Wildthing]

Actually most transmitters can bind many receiver's to the same TX slot/model memory, BUT if both receivers have telemetry sending data back to one transmitter, that would corrupt telemetry information.

I have 14 plus rx's and if I was to plug a battery into every plane they all would respond. The dual rx's is a cool thought but in all reality for me my planes don't last that long or I get bored of it and move onto the next one.