Hi John

I'll bet Keith or Andy will weigh in soon, but the two timers are operational interchangable, I recently go some from RSM and they only had Version 2 in stock at that time.

the 1.2 does not have the active gain
V2 does.

1.2 has the LED on the programmer
2 has the LED on the timer

I dont think you can use the 1.2 programmer for V2  but you can use the V2 programmer on 1.2

OK Folks Please everybody listen up.  The terms hardware and firmware mean the following:  Hardware is the physical unit itself, the timer-governor you can hold in your hand.  Firmware is the program that Keith designed and he or I can download into the hardware.  As to which level of Firmware you need continue reading.  The programming stick is the device you plug into the timer-governor in place of the on/off switch and use to change the RPM, Start up Delay, Flight Length, and Gain Value.

Which firmware you need depends on two things:

1. Which hardware version of the timer-governor you have?  Version "1" has the Red LED on the programming stick and NO LED on the Timer-governor.  Version "2" has the LED on the Timer-governor and NOT the programming stick.  

2.  You ask yourself the question:  Do I have a version 1 Programming Stick (the one with the LED on it) and do I want to use it with a Version 2 Timer-governor (it also has a LED on it).

Keith allows people who purchased an early version 1 timer-governor and the version 1 programming stick to use the version 1 programming stick with version 2 timer-governors so they would not have to buy a new version 2 programming stick.  It was for this application he designed the Version 1.2 firmware.

Below is a matrix of what goes with what.
Version 1 timer-governors with version 1 programming stick, you use Version 1 firmware.
Version 2 timer-governors with version 2 programming stick, you use Version 2 firmware.
Version 2 timer-governors with version 1 programming stick, you use Version 1.2 firmware.

Version 1 timer-governors with version 2 programming stick is not allowed.

One last thing as far as usability the version 1 and version 2 hardware/firmware work the same.  I use both versions in several planes and they both work just fine.

If you still have questions contact me directly at 714-401-6514 or at abborgogna@hotmail.com

I know it is a bit confusing, but I hope this helps, if not call me, I'm here to help.
Andy

Glad I could be of help.   
Andy

What's "active gain" or "gain value"?

It's the feature of a KR timer that allows an electric motor to act like it has a 2 stroke 2-4 break.  The Kr timer provides constant (setable) RPMs.  When you go into a manever the motor tends to sag. The KR timer adds power to the motor to keep it at the set RPM.  The gain setting controles how aggressive this action becomes.  You can tune the motor to suite your airplane and flying style.

Sorry I missed this thread, but I was off-line yesterday as I was trying to get a new desktop pc up and running. I'm also trying hard to finish a new stunter for the world champs so that I don't have to use the Electron. Andy has done a great job of explaining how the versions work. The reason for the ver. 2 update in hardware was due to needing a better pc board layout for quicker manufacture and also to allow for extra features like retracts etc. The ver.1 used an 8-pin processor chip and to get 3 functions for programming I had to use the one remaining pin with a voltage control input. This cause all kinds of hassles with various esc's, so when I updated the design, I used a 14-pin chip and then I could use ON/OFF logic on individual pins.

The system has been so much more popular than I imagined (thanks so much for the support!) that the ver.1 programming card was too slow to build. It had tiny resistors plus the LED and switches, so I simplified it, the resistors for the voltage divider were no longer necessary, and I stuck the LED on the timer board. Both systems work the same and as Andy says the ver.1 timers can have the new firmware for the adjustable gain if you you send them to him or myself (if you live closer to my side of the planet).

The variable gain is more of a differential gain as it only adds gain when the system is loaded. This gain factor can be set from 1 to 7. I used a 10 factor myself and it gets too wild! It's quite an interesting thing in fact and some customers have said that they really can't see much difference. In this case it's usually due to lightly loaded models so they just don't load the system much at all and therefore the governor does not need to react much. It's not at all like the 4/2/4 system that Igor has developed that uses accellerometers or gyros to sense the attitude of the model. Mine has no added extra gadgets and just works on the rpm sensor, but for what it is, my system works well and I believe that it makes the system a lot more useful in serious competitions. I will be flying this system at the world champs in August, as will my friend Percy Attfield as well as Loren Nell from Wynn's part of the world.

My apologies for the confusing changes (Andy and I give Eric Rule lots of extra grey hair!) but with all of the great feedback from customers, we are getting to do less changes right now. Please don't be shy to ask any questions from Andy or myself.

Keith R

Neat feature! ...but like you said it would be useless on an E/ Ringmaster but a nice option on a 60" stunter.

The varable gain is not the only reason I want one on my Ringmaster.  It also allows me to use a cheep speed controller and still get RPM control.  All in all it looks like the way to go at all levels - from sport flying to world class competion.