Author Topic: End of run signal with CC Phoenix ESC (Read 3632 times)

John Cralley · « **on:** February 23, 2009, 09:22:26 AM »

OK maybe this has been already discussed, but I don't recall that it has. Most timers designed for C/L use have an "end of run" signal that is used to let you know that the timer is about to shut down. This is in the form of one or two drops in the RPM (one for a Hubin timer and two for others). This is the same as closing the throttle briefly and then reopening it to the previous setting. From reading other posts I gather that when using governor mode these blips in the RPM are masked by the governor so that the end of run signal is not generated.

Disclaimer: I have only one flight with a Castle Creations Phoenix ESC in governor mode and there was no end of run signal. I have had the same NO end of run signal with several flights using an Align ESC in governor mode.

When setting up my new CC Phoenix 45 ESC in Control Line Governor mode (using the new firmware upgrade) I see that I can set the RPM in three different Throttle settings (called "Head Speed 1,2 and 3). Head speed 1 is for throttle settings from 0 to 50%, Head speed 2 is for 51% to 99% and Head speed 3 is for over 99% throttle.

Why can't I set the RPM for Head speed 1 at say 500 and that for Head speed 2 and 3 to the desired flight RPM (10,000 in my current case). Then when the timer tries to do the end of run signal by briefly closing the throttle (below 50% and thus into Head Speed 1) the RPM should drop briefly to 500 and then return to 10.000. I haven't tried this and do not wish to do it in a static test but rather am waiting for a weather break so that I can flight test it. Sure would be nice to get those end of run signals again rather than watching my watch during the flight.

Has anyone tried this??

Alan Hahn · « **Reply #1 on:** February 23, 2009, 09:54:08 AM »

John,
Assuming your timer really is issuing the end of run "blips", you should hear something---I do with my JMP-2 and Castle Creations ESC.

Now as I recall, the three speeds are for:
1) above 0 but less than 50%, --I am pretty sure that "0" doesn't spin the prop!
2) above 50% but less than or equal 99%,
3) 100%

I set my governor so (1) is 7500 rpm--great for takeoff, (2) 7950 rpm (target flying rpm), (3) 7950 rpm (why not??)

My Timer/throttle is setup for period 1 of 48% throttle for about 1 minute (forgot exact details), and then the throttle ramps up to 100% at the end of the flight. This setting allows the throttle to pass the 50% point in between the 1st and 2nd lap before the wingover--so I get my normal lap speed plenty of time before the wingover. At the end of the flight I get the 2 blips--the timer throttle goes to "0" twice-- but attenuated a bit by the governor and the time constant of the throttle spoolup/down.

If you truly aren't getting the blips, then maybe your throttle spool up/down is set for a really long time, or for some reason your timer isn't giving the blips. I know it is possible to turn off the blips on the ZTRON timer. I actually prefer not to have the blips (and the jerk in the flying speed) since I use a "Talking timer" which gives me a time countdown so I know exactly anyway when the timer is going to shut off anyway.

Dennis Toth · « **Reply #2 on:** February 23, 2009, 02:51:09 PM »

John,

I have had the same problem and reset the ZTRON 3 timer to make sure I had the 2 blip set. Never got it. When I first started before we had the Fixed RPM mode and only Governor (no CL mode for the brake) I did get the two blips in governor mode. I wonder if the Fixed RPM cancels the blips. I have gotten confortable with the flight time and don't worry about the end of flight as with my set up for 5min 20sec I get the complete pattern with 6 laps. This is confortable and still leaves room for a brain fart or two for extra laps. So far it is OK.

Best, Dennis

Crist Rigotti · « **Reply #3 on:** February 23, 2009, 04:32:49 PM »

<snip> I haven't tried this and do not wish to do it in a static test but rather am waiting for a weather break so that I can flight test it. <snip>
[/quote]

Why not?

John Cralley · « **Reply #4 on:** February 23, 2009, 05:48:36 PM »

Quote from: Crist Rigotti on February 23, 2009, 04:32:49 PM

<snip> I haven't tried this and do not wish to do it in a static test but rather am waiting for a weather break so that I can flight test it. <snip>

Why not?

Crist,
Well for one thing with my setup some things (motor/battery) start to warm up in a static run. I'm fearful of a thermal runaway. I'm using a Will Hubin timer with a minimum of 2 minutes 15 seconds. Still if I take off the prop and run with no load heating might not be a problem.

I'll give it a try tomorrow and closely monitor the temp with an infrared thermometer.

William DeMauro · « **Reply #5 on:** February 23, 2009, 07:59:49 PM »

John,

(Why can't I set the RPM for Head speed 1 at say 500 and that for Head speed 2 and 3 to the desired flight RPM (10,000 in my current case). Then when the timer tries to do the end of run signal by briefly closing the throttle (below 50% and thus into Head Speed 1) the RPM should drop briefly to 500 and then return to 10.000. I haven't tried this and do not wish to do it in a static test but rather am waiting for a weather break so that I can flight test it. Sure would be nice to get those end of run signals again rather than watching my watch during the flight.)

Has anyone tried this??

I have tried this and did a bunch of testing for Will Hubin using his timers with the Phoenix 45. Here are my findings so far,at least what has and hasn't worked for me, and yes you are on the right track.

A very low first RPM while it gives a nice "idle" on the ground gives a terrible warning at the end of the flight. We played with warning blips from 1/4 sec up to about 2 sec. (I have a timer where I can adjust this). No matter what I did the spooldown spool up time took too long!!!(usually 4-6 seconds for the whole process). This was no good!!!!

The trick that works for me is to lose that nice "idle" and set that first RPM which is also used for warning to an RPM close to your flight RPM. For example in your case if your flight RPM is 10000, set that first RPM at 9000. When you hit the warning it will feel like you briefly took your foot off the gas and stepped right back on it again. You also don't lose airspeed and if your in the Clover you have the time and power to recover. The other way was like slamming on the brakes!!!!

The Idle time and speed can be played with and tweaked from there to get something that you are comfortable with. I will give you the settings that I use on my ARF Cardinal that work well for me.
1. Idle speed 8000 RPM for 20 sec. Good for takeoff and level flight with plenty of power.
2. Flight speed 9000 RPM for 5min 20 sec gets me through the pattern with plenty of power
3. 1 sec warning at first RPM (8000), quick but noticeable.
4. 6 seconds to shutoff.

RPM 3 is set for 9100 and is used in place of RPM2 if its windy or very hot out and lift is bad.
By the way,If you want to do a static test just put a small prop on it. I replace my 12x6 APC thin E with an 8x6. This pulls about 10 amps as opposed to 30 with the bigger prop. I set up my times and RPM this way and have no fear of thermal runaway.

Alan Hahn · « **Reply #6 on:** February 24, 2009, 07:59:06 AM »

Quote from: William DeMauro on February 23, 2009, 07:59:49 PM

John,

<snip>...
By the way,If you want to do a static test just put a small prop on it. I replace my 12x6 APC thin E with an 8x6. This pulls about 10 amps as opposed to 30 with the bigger prop. I set up my times and RPM this way and have no fear of thermal runaway.

Yes this is the way to go for bench testing. Heck you could even leave off the prop if you just want timing or to listen to the blips.

To reiterate what I said, but in fewer words--I do hear the blips at the end of the flight, but they are rpm "dips" since the throttle time constant (how fast the throttle is allowed to change) and/or the throttle spool up speed doesn't allow the motor current to drop to zero in the short time of the blips. It does drop some and I can certainly feel and hear it.

So for my money, check those two parameters in the Castle Creation ESC setup. I usually choose a moderate throttle time constant and set the spool up to be as fast as possible.

John Cralley · « **Reply #7 on:** February 24, 2009, 08:22:41 AM »

William.

Thanks for the information. I am curious as to what your settings are for the CC ESC in Control Line Governor mode. Specifically: Throttle Response, Governor Gain, Initial Spool-Up Rate, Head Speed Change Rate, Governor Mode Type and Motor Start Power. Also I wonder how you are able to switch to Desired Head Speed #3 when you are flying in windy conditions. In addition I wonder if Will Hubin has setup your timer specifically for the CC Phoenix ESC. I have a couple that he setup for Align ESCs but none for the CC ESCs.

Oh yes, switching to a small prop should work for me as well. Today I tried running without any prop and all components were more or less cool (battery at room temp, motor went up to 96 f and the ESC peaked at 124 f). I did not, however, get the RPM blip at the end that I had hoped for.

That is why I'm wondering about your settings and the timer you are using.

Alan Hahn has given me some hints as to what the setup should be in the previous post so this seems like I ought to be able to make it work for me. Thanks Alan!!

Thanks,

John

William DeMauro · « **Reply #8 on:** February 24, 2009, 01:23:27 PM »

John,
When I get home later today. I will check the settings as they were setup in September and I don't remember them off the top of my head. I will have to plug it in as Ive since replaced my harddrive. Will Hubin did specifically set the timer for my Phoenix 45 in Set RPM Mode. He set me up with a special 4 pot timer that I was using for testing. Basically it went like this:
Pot 1- idle time 2-30 sec at speed #1 or less than 50% throttle.
Pot 2- Flight time 2 1/2-6 1/2 minutes
Pot 3- Warning time 0-2 seconds,6 seconds before the end time, this is speed #1(This was done so I could fine tune the warning).
Pot 4- Controls speeds 2 or 3. First half of pot is set for 50-99%. Second half for 99+%. This make it real easy to choose since all i have to do is twist the pot to either extreme to change flight speeds.Its like tweaking a needle on a gas engine.
The most important thing that I have found with my setup is that a low first speed setting does not work!! at least for me for warning.
Another option with this setup is; Suppose you want a traditional run up and no "idle time" You can set your first speed at whatever you choose for a warning speed the set your idle time for the 2 sec minimum. When you press the button you will have that first speed but will spool right through it like its not even there. You will still have it at the end for warning. Hope this helps.
William

John Cralley · « **Reply #9 on:** February 25, 2009, 08:24:09 AM »

Thanks William,

I guess I had better contact Will Hubin and find out what my timer specifications are for the end of run signal. When you have a chance it would be good to know what duration you found to be good for the warning signal. Did you by chance find that 2 seconds was needed? Maybe, if necessary, Will can reprogram my timers to the best duration for the warning. Two of mine are set for a 1 second reduced power (don't how much reduced) followed by 5 seconds before shutdown (I'm not sure about the other one). If the reduced power does not go below 50% my timers will not trigger Head Speed #1 with the CC ESC and thus NO end of run signal!! Naturally mine don't have a pot to adjust the duration of "reduced speed" setting like yours.

One of my Hubin timers (FM-1) is setup to run up to full throttle and down when the start button is pushed (this is to set the upper limit that some ESCs need to work properly). Then when the button is pushed a second time the timer goes into the regular timing sequence. The other two (FM-2) are set up for an Align 45 ESC and they go directly into the timing sequence when the button is pushed. They run the throttle up to I believe 70% to 80% throttle depending on the setting of RPM pot. No matter where the RPM pot is set for these it should be in the Head Speed #2 mode for the CC ESC.

I do have a Ztron timer and a ZMP-2 but Hubin timers, with their pots, are so much simpler to setup that I have not tried either of them yet with the CC ESC. Trying them may be my next step.

Thanks again,

John

Will Hubin · « **Reply #10 on:** February 25, 2009, 12:15:57 PM »

My calibration of the Phoenix High RPM mode (made before the new firmware giving SIMPLE and SET RPM modes) gave a range of pulse widths from about 1.3 ms to 1.43 ms to get RPMs from 9,000 to 11,000, so I have used a pulse width of 1.25 ms (about 8500 RPM) as the reduced power setting, and that has given an easily-recognized warning in the planes I have flown with it. But perhaps I need to use a lower pulse width, in case the inflight RPM is too close to 8500. Another option is to give a throttle off signal of 1.0 ms -- but I don't believe the recovery would be fast enough to get a flyer out of trouble if the plane was currently situated in a high place... I'm open to suggestions. Perhaps increasing the warning signal to two seconds would also help.

Giving a warning when the Set RPM mode of the Phoenix is used is a harder problem, I think. Currently I am setting up timers so that they use the first RPM if that is not being used, and the third one if that is in use. Again, giving a throttle off signal will really transfer the end-time message to the flyer, but recovery to flight power can take five or more seconds.

I can easily program timers to use the first RPM of the Set RPM for the first 10 or 20 or whatever seconds of the flight (and also for the last five or ten seconds, too, if desired), if the flyer is willing to dedicate the first RPM to that use (still allowing the flyer to choose between the second and third RPM for the flight, based on field conditions). That's a nice use for the mode, I think.

It can be difficult to tell how good a warning will be when running on a test stand -- and it is still chilly outside here.

Alan Hahn · « **Reply #11 on:** February 25, 2009, 12:33:54 PM »

Let me make a comment--I've stated this earlier, but maybe it got overlooked (maybe on purpose!

)..

I fly almost every flight with a timer that has a countdown "voice" that gives me the remaining time every minute until 1 minute, when it then goes every 10 seconds. With electric flying, I know to the 10 second mark when the timer is going turn off. Currently I am using a JMP-2 timer which I would like to turn off the 2 blips, because when the blips occur, the flight "bobbles a bit as the power is withdrawn and then reapplied. Then about a lap later the motor quits entirely.

Since I already know when the flight is going to end, I prefer not to have the warning, but unfortunately you can't seem to disable the warning blip---in spite that the instructions intimate that it is possible. I know you can turn off the Ztron, but I don't use it as much as the jmp-2.

But I do recommend this timer, it is advertised in Model Aviation ("Talking TImer") and costs about $20. It is available from many sources, here is an Amazon.com link. http://www.amazon.com/Compact-Talking-Timer-Clock/dp/B0007LNEO6

John Cralley · « **Reply #12 on:** February 25, 2009, 12:56:23 PM »

Quote from: Will Hubin on February 25, 2009, 12:15:57 PM

It can be difficult to tell how good a warning will be when running on a test stand -- and it is still chilly outside here.

Will,

Amen to the above - though today is warmer here, the wind is also up and rain due tomorrow! LOL

Thanks for chiming in! I'm still waiting for William's settings since there are a number of variables that can be programmed in the "new" Control Line Governor Mode available with the new firmware from Castle Creations. Throttle Response, for instance, can be set to a high level which may make a brief RPM change discernible while not leaving you out to dry if you are in a critical flight position.

Alan,

You wrote: "I fly almost every flight with a timer that has a countdown "voice" that gives me the remaining time every minute until 1 minute, when it then goes every 10 seconds. With electric flying, I know to the 10 second mark when the timer is going turn off. Currently I am using a JMP-2 timer which I would like to turn off the 2 blips, because when the blips occur, the flight "bobbles a bit as the power is withdrawn and then reapplied. Then about a lap later the motor quits entirely.

Since I already know when the flight is going to end, I prefer not to have the warning, but unfortunately you can't seem to disable the warning blip"

I hear you on the turn it off wish -- but I'm, right now, just concerned with sport flying and though I have a "talking timer" it is just one more thing to mess with. Maybe if I religiously used it for series of flights I would become a convert. I know it would be useful in a contest situation!!

Alan Hahn · « **Reply #13 on:** February 25, 2009, 02:35:53 PM »

John,
Actually it is best for sport flying. There you really do need to keep track of timing! During a contest, you don't do a lot of improvisation (or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

).

I set my talking timer (TT) for 6 minutes, and when I release the start button on my Jmp-2, I press the start on the TT, and walk out to the handle. Somehow it is comforting to see everything hitting the minute marks so precisely every flight. No over or under runs! Just like clockwork. It does take a little or the thrill out of CL flying--not knowing if your engine is going to sputter and stop on the last loop of the clover as you are pulling out of the maneuver!

William DeMauro · « **Reply #14 on:** February 25, 2009, 05:47:27 PM »

John,
Sorry for the delay. I didn't realize my son had basketball practice last night. I will paste my settings in here but keep in mind that these are whats working for me with an Atlas 2921/11 almost 1200 kv motor that is actually being run slightly out of what the "so called optimum limits" would be. I have had similar success on a Scorpion 3020/14 944 kv motor but don't have the exact settings that I used but they were close to these anyway.
Brake Strength: 100
Brake Delay: No Delay
Brake Ramp: Immediate (*)
Cutoff Voltage: Auto Li-Po (*)
Current Limiting: Normal (*)
Cutoff Type: Hard Cutoff (*)
Motor Start Power: 59
Motor Timing: 2
Direction: Forward (*)
PWM Rate: 12 Khz (*)
Hex55: 85
Vehicle Type: Control Line
Throttle Type: Governor Mode
Throttle Response: 5
Governor Gain: 21
Initial Spool-Up Rate: 9
Head Speed Change Rate: 10
Auto Rotate Enabled: False
Governor Mode Type: Fixed
Vehicle Setup - Battery Type: LiPo
Vehicle Setup - Number of Cells: 4
Vehicle Setup - Battery Voltage: 14.8000
Vehicle Setup - Gear Ratio: 1.000
Vehicle Setup - Motor Kv: 1200
Vehicle Setup - Motor Number of Poles: 14
Desired Head Speed 1: 7904 (Actual about 8200 on my tach)
Desired Head Speed 2: 8706 (Actual about 9000 on my tach)
Desired Head Speed 3: 8865 (Actual about 9150 on my tach)
I don't know why I have the 300 RPM discrepancies unless my tach is off or I'm feeding one wrong value into this,or slight software error, but in anycase use a tach that you trust to verify your RPM's. I worked this till I got my desired lap times then I tached it and worked off that. If you haven't noticed I like fast response times and hard braking. I know some people fly with slightly milder setting. but these are working for me.

For my warning blip I am currently set for about 1 second and thats working fine for me. I am using RPM #1 as my warning speed, because its close to my flight RPM its basically is a quick blip. If it were to warn me in the clover I have no fear of my plane falling out of the sky at that setting.

Like Alan I also stopwatch every single flight,which is a habit I got into years ago. Mine doesn't talk .

John Cralley · « **Reply #15 on:** February 25, 2009, 06:49:17 PM »

William,

Thanks a million for the specs. I know my setup is different from yours in that I have a different motor but this gives me a idea of one combination that works. I now have a new Scorpion 3014 - 22 motor which I'm going to try in a new Ringmaster I am currently building (yes Alan you convinced me to go with a Scorpion LOL). we will see how that works out.

I guess I had better fire up my talking timer and join the crowd.

This evening would have been a perfect time to run some test flights -- the wind dropped and the temperature was around 50. Dog gone it , I had to pick up my granddaughter from school and help her with her homework. Anyway, a preview of Spring has finally come to the Midwest and there is cause for hope.

Will Hubin · « **Reply #16 on:** February 26, 2009, 09:02:14 AM »

I have re-checked my pulse width versus RPM calibration for the updated Phoenix CL firmware that provides suggested pulse widths for various RPMs ("Desired Head Speeds" for the Low RPM and High RPM choices. In sum, the High RPM (and presumably the Low RPM) calibration doesn't change (within my +_ .01 ms source accuracy/precision) based on what you put in for the three Head Speeds. 9,000 RPM starts at a pulse width of 1.29 or 1.30 milliseconds and a pulse width of 1.45 gives a little over 11,000 RPM. My motor/ESC combination started to turn at a little over 1.10 ms (using 1.00 ms as the throttle off pulse width) and gave about 8100 RPM at 1.20 ms, so that should be a good end-of-flight warning -- perhaps it just needs to last more than one second, especially if the governor response is set to slow or medium.

For my motor/ESC combination, the Phoenix firmware suggested a minimum RPM of 9591 or greater in order to change from red to black and it was happy with RPMs above that, at least to 11,000 RPM. But the calibration was affected, even if you tell it a very low RPM, such as 8000 and ignore its warning!

I also re-checked the "Simple" CL mode, which doesn't require the input of any motor specifications. It also allowed RPMs up to 11,000 but it started at about 3400 RPM (1.15 ms) and required a much greater pulse width (1.66 ms) to reach 11,000 RPM. (My timers that contain both a "coarse" and a "fine" RPM control could use this, if desired, because they cover the whole pulse width range. The end-of-flight warning of 1.20 ms would give about 4700 RPM...but again perhaps 1 second worth might not be enough with a relatively slow governor response time).

As soon as we find a combination that gives a recognizable end-of-flight warning for those using the High RPM calibration, I'll update my timers at no charge.

John Cralley · « **Reply #17 on:** February 26, 2009, 10:09:51 AM »

Thanks Will,

I, for one, will be waiting for your results.

John

Dean Pappas · « **Reply #18 on:** February 26, 2009, 01:56:02 PM »

Hi All,
Hunt and I have no problem detecting the 1/2 second OFF-ON-OFF-ON sequence we had set up with Andy Kunz' and my home-made timer. (destined sometime soon to become a Horizon Hobby product

) The governot did not mask this, but do remember that we have been working our settings all along to get the fastest response time from the governor that we can, so that helps. I still do not have optimal settings for the new Castle software, so I am hesitant to give you a list of settings. I need to test in-air. Come on flying weather!

later,
Dean

Will Hubin · « **Reply #19 on:** February 27, 2009, 10:40:40 AM »

Typo in my 2-26-09 post ("NOT" was missing): But the calibration was NOT affected, even if you tell it a very low RPM, such as 8000 and ignore its warning! (This referred to the "High RPM" mode of the Phoenix, not the "Set RPM" mode.)

Dean: Are you using the High RPM or the Set RPM mode of the Phoenix? It seems that the problem people are having may be only with the Set RPM mode.

I can always set up a timer to work with the Set RPM mode like it does for DeMauro (4 pots, a modification of the FM-2a @ $17 + $2 shipping). Alternately, rather than using a one second change in the selected head speed, the change (to any of the three head speeds, say the 3rd one if that is not in use) could be maintained for the last 5 or 10 seconds. I'll try this latter approach when the weather improves...

Alan Hahn · « **Reply #20 on:** February 27, 2009, 12:37:21 PM »

I'm not Dean, but I'm using the CL RPM mode on my Phoenix and I can feel (as I have said) and hear the end of flight blips.

Here is how mine is setup. It wasn't the last version but pretty close.

#######################################################
# Castle Link Data File
# Created: Friday, July 25, 2008
# Do Not Edit This File By Hand
#######################################################
Brake Strength: 100
Brake Delay: .3 sec
Brake Ramp: Slow
Cutoff Voltage: Auto Li-Po (*)
Current Limiting: Insensitive
Cutoff Type: Soft Cutoff
Motor Start Power: 59
Motor Timing: 0
Direction: Forward (*)
PWM Rate: 12 Khz (*)
Hex55: 85
Vehicle Type: Control Line
Throttle Type: Governor Mode
Throttle Response: 5
Governor Gain: 14
Initial Spool-Up Rate: 5
Head Speed Change Rate: 2
Auto Rotate Enabled: False
Governor Mode Type: Fixed
Vehicle Setup - Battery Type: LiPo
Vehicle Setup - Number of Cells: 4
Vehicle Setup - Battery Voltage: 14.8000
Vehicle Setup - Gear Ratio: 1.000
Vehicle Setup - Motor Kv: 900
Vehicle Setup - Motor Number of Poles: 14
Desired Head Speed 1: 7500
Desired Head Speed 2: 8000
Desired Head Speed 3: 8000

To refresh memories, I take off at 7500 rpm, then transition to 8000 a lap before the reverse wingover.

Dean Pappas · « **Reply #21 on:** February 28, 2009, 02:07:08 PM »

Alan ... as my wife says, "Flattery will get you everywhere".
You put your finger on it, though. I only ever ground tested constant RPM mode during the beta release days with a servo driver rather than a timer. I'll bet the slew from one RPM setting to the other masks the blips.

I have always flown in governor HI mode, because I have plans (more like fantasies

) about someday adding a sensor and circuit that adds or subtracts a few micro-seconds of pulse width in just the right places to improve the flavor of our horsepower. That requires sticking the Gov HI.

I need to build a copy of Erik Janssen's RPM transient response test-rig. That will allow me to greatly speed up the search for optimal governor settings.

later,
Dean

Clancy Arnold · « **Reply #22 on:** February 28, 2009, 07:47:18 PM »

William
A quick calibration check of your tach is to point it at a florescent light. It should read 3600 RPM (60 Hz line frequency x 60 seconds)
Clancy

Will Hubin · « **Reply #23 on:** March 01, 2009, 06:06:15 PM »

I set up a test (on my test stand) of the end-of-flight warning for the Set RPM mode of the Phoenix ESC by programming a timer to choose RPM #2 if RPM #1 was used in the flight, RPM #3 if RPM #2 was used in the flight, and RPM #2 if RPM #3 was used in the flight, separating these RPMs by 500. I tried 7500, 8000, and 8500 RPM and then 8500, 9000, 9500 RPM. The key was to transition to the other RPM for the whole warning period (started at 10 seconds but then switched to 8 seconds because the transition was so obvious) rather than just try a one-second blip.

In each case, the change in sound and power was obvious within a second or so. So I think this will be a very viable end-of-flight signal (and using a higher RPM gets one out of trouble, if necessary); I could always add a 5 second or so lap at RPM #1, too, if that was not being used in flight, to alert the judges.

Here are the parameters I used in the latter test:

#######################################################
# Castle Link Data File
# Created: Sunday, March 01, 2009
# Do Not Edit This File By Hand
#######################################################
Brake Strength: 50
Brake Delay: .6 sec (Delayed) (*)
Brake Ramp: Immediate (*)
Cutoff Voltage: Auto Li-Po (*)
Current Limiting: Normal (*)
Cutoff Type: Hard Cutoff (*)
Motor Start Power: 59
Motor Timing: 5
Direction: Forward (*)
PWM Rate: 12 Khz (*)
Hex55: 85
Vehicle Type: Control Line
Throttle Type: Governor Mode
Throttle Response: 5
Governor Gain: 7
Initial Spool-Up Rate: 5
Head Speed Change Rate: 5
Auto Rotate Enabled: False
Governor Mode Type: Fixed
Vehicle Setup - Battery Type: LiPo
Vehicle Setup - Number of Cells: 4
Vehicle Setup - Battery Voltage: 14.8000
Vehicle Setup - Gear Ratio: 1.000
Vehicle Setup - Motor Kv: 1200
Vehicle Setup - Motor Number of Poles: 14
Desired Head Speed 1: 8503
Desired Head Speed 2: 9002
Desired Head Speed 3: 9500

John Cralley · « **Reply #24 on:** March 02, 2009, 07:27:00 AM »

Will,

You have tweaked my memory of how glow powered planes can perform. That is, by using the three programmable "Head Speeds" you set up your timer to bump the RPM UP for the last 6 or so seconds of the run. Then it would mimic the last few lean laps that some of those old Fox 35s will do. Or, as I think you indicate, you could do the high RPM lap (the alert signal) and then drop to a sedate lower RPM for a smooth pre-landing lap.

Humm, that appeals to me!

Will Hubin · « **Reply #25 on:** March 02, 2009, 09:51:26 AM »

I tried giving the different RPM (last post) for only 2 seconds and then reverting to the flight RPM. That also gave a clear signal of the end of the flight time, so it is an alternate approach.