Tactic Tr625/ Hobby Eagle A3 V2

[KennyM]

Hey yall I am new here and glad I found yalls site. I just tried to get back into flying and kinda still nervous.I have a Alpha 40 electric trainer and I have a cheap Tactic TTX 610 radio with Tr625 receiver.-- Here is the issue Im having.
I have it all hooked up right and actually did exact thing that the gentleman(ryan) did on youtube thats on here.( I bet I watched that video 50 times-lol)--I am getting ailerons fine,elevator fine,throttle fine but,the rudder is not working. I have it hooked to channel 4 on the receiver. I rechecked and removed the gyro and hooked it straight up to the receiver and it all worked fine.I hate to ask but,do yall have any ideas what is happening?

[KennyM]

Oh Its acting like there is no juice going to the servo.

[xviper]

Have you checked all polarity of the servo plugs and cables running from the RX to the A3? If the servo acts like there's no juice going to it, that usually means the plug is turned the wrong way. Have you fiddled with the gain pots on the A3? The A3 is a very basic gyro, with a gain pot for "normal" and another one for "3D". The manual will tell you which. I suggest you turn the gain to zero on the "3D" pot. You won't need it for that plane. Make sure you've got it set for "normal" on the mode switch. Gain on that pot should be less than mid-point (~25% is a good start). Do you have the master gain connected to a rotary? I'm not familiar with your radio so I don't know if it even has a rotary. In any case, leave the master gain empty and leave the mode plug empty.
Does the rudder respond to movement of the plane on the yaw axis when the stabilizer is plugged in? If it doesn't, there may be something wrong with the unit.

[KennyM]

Have you checked all polarity of the servo plugs and cables running from the RX to the A3? If the servo acts like there's no juice going to it, that usually means the plug is turned the wrong way. Have you fiddled with the gain pots on the A3? The A3 is a very basic gyro, with a gain pot for "normal" and another one for "3D". The manual will tell you which. I suggest you turn the gain to zero on the "3D" pot. You won't need it for that plane. Make sure you've got it set for "normal" on the mode switch. Gain on that pot should be less than mid-point (~25% is a good start). Do you have the master gain connected to a rotary? I'm not familiar with your radio so I don't know if it even has a rotary. In any case, leave the master gain empty and leave the mode plug empty.
Does the rudder respond to movement of the plane on the yaw axis when the stabilizer is plugged in? If it doesn't, there may be something wrong with the unit.

Yes sir I even made sure the wires are ran correctly. I have the wires going out to the servos marked out on the gyro and where its shows in from the rec is set right( I had to use rudder in the #4 on the Rx due to throttle being #3.------------On the gain pots I have not touched the 2nd or 3rd pot.Now on the first one being normal I turned it all the way up thinking that was it.------------I dont have a rotary button,its a basic cheap radio.-----------Now you may have something here, I have the master gain empty but, the mode is plugged into the #5 port on the Rx.,Ryan said on the radio that if the mode wasnt plugged in that it would go back to 100%.------------no sir I tried even another servo in the place of that one and it wouldnt budge.I removed the unit and plugged the system back in without the gyro and it worked fine.what throwed me off was everything else worked good but the rudder,it was dead.--------------------you dont know what it means to me to have you trying to help me here on this. I sure owe ya one.

[KennyM]

This is the one I got

https://www.ebay.com/p/F14117-Eagle-A3-Aeroplane-Flight-Controller-Stabilizer-System-6-axle-Gyro/20009405699?iid=352227810224&chn=ps

[KennyM]

This is the Rx and Tx that I have

https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEKXY&P=3

[xviper]

It shouldn't matter the kind of TX and RX you have. Gyros like this works by splicing in between the RX and the servos. Even without anything hooked up to the master gain or the mode slots, this gyro should work in manual mode strictly as a gyro with no recovery or hover modes. I have this in the V1 version but the principles should be the same. Looking at the link, those gain pots (1, 2, 3) should be for AIL, ELE and RUD. You don't have a "3D" setting on this one. Set all the pots to somewhere below mid-point (ie, 12 o'clock). I'd set them around 10:30 for nominal gain. The mode slot should be plugged in to something that will be controlled by a 3-position switch, which you may not have one to spare. In that case, you'd likely have a 2-postion switch that will give you "normal gyro" and "hover". In that case, don't plug that into anything and just run it manually in "normal". Now, if the rudder doesn't move, you may have started it in hover mode. In that mode, with the plane on the bench, the rudder may not respond because it's trying to put the plane into a vertical hover. Best to not even use that mode or the recovery for now. Addtionally, you need to calibrate this gyro for level AND for vertical orientation or it won't know what to do. Hopefully, you got a manual with it and it will tell you everything you need to do to calibrate this device.
It's hard to tell by that link whether or not you bought a "clone". If so, clones are notorious for being faulty.

[KennyM]

It shouldn't matter the kind of TX and RX you have. Gyros like this works by splicing in between the RX and the servos. Even without anything hooked up to the master gain or the mode slots, this gyro should work in manual mode strictly as a gyro with no recovery or hover modes. I have this in the V1 version but the principles should be the same. Looking at the link, those gain pots (1, 2, 3) should be for AIL, ELE and RUD. You don't have a "3D" setting on this one. Set all the pots to somewhere below mid-point (ie, 12 o'clock). I'd set them around 10:30 for nominal gain. The mode slot should be plugged in to something that will be controlled by a 3-position switch, which you may not have one to spare. In that case, you'd likely have a 2-postion switch that will give you "normal gyro" and "hover". In that case, don't plug that into anything and just run it manually in "normal". Now, if the rudder doesn't move, you may have started it in hover mode. In that mode, with the plane on the bench, the rudder may not respond because it's trying to put the plane into a vertical hover. Best to not even use that mode or the recovery for now. Addtionally, you need to calibrate this gyro for level AND for vertical orientation or it won't know what to do. Hopefully, you got a manual with it and it will tell you everything you need to do to calibrate this device.
It's hard to tell by that link whether or not you bought a "clone". If so, clones are notorious for being faulty.

Oh shoot, I didnt get a manual with it. I did down load some type of instructions.- I will go back over and retry it without the mode and the gain plugged in.
Will it kinda work just like a basic version then?-- I think it maybe the operator not doing something right to tell the truth.lollolo

[xviper]

Oh shoot, I didnt get a manual with it. I did down load some type of instructions.- I will go back over and retry it without the mode and the gain plugged in.
Will it kinda work just like a basic version then?-- I think it maybe the operator not doing something right to tell the truth.lollolo

If you don't plug anything into the master gain and mode, it will act like a "normal" gyro and the gain is set via those 3 pots. Master gain should NOT be hooked up if you don't have a rotary knob to adjust it. Putting it on a switch will only give you how ever many positions your switch has and you can't really do any adjustments using a switch. Even still, it needs to be calibrated for "level". You can go to HobbyEagle and download a proper manual, but this is assuming yours is not a clone.

This is the one you need: http://www.hobbyeagle.com/manuals/Ne...al_v1.0_en.pdf

Reading the manual, I'm now reminded that each gain pot is to adjust for each flight mode. Since you really don't need "3D" or "hover", I suggest you only adjust gain1. Turn gain 2 and gain 3 full off (ie, all the way counter-clock). "Level" calibration is not necessary if you don't use "auto-balance", which is like a recovery mode.

[KennyM]

Oh I see now- I apologize I didnt get a chance to try it today -a friend of mine had a stroke but doing better. I will be working on it tomorrow for sure.--I down loaded the manula that you gave me and yep thats the one.-So dont hook the mster up since I dont have a knob but,hook the mode up like it shows in the picture into #4 slot on the standard rx.-Here is what I gather and I hope this I have right-
(The MOD is used for flight mode control if you don’t connect it the flight mode will be set to normal as the default.)

[xviper]

Oh I see now- I apologize I didnt get a chance to try it today -a friend of mine had a stroke but doing better. I will be working on it tomorrow for sure.--I down loaded the manula that you gave me and yep thats the one.-So dont hook the mster up since I dont have a knob but,hook the mode up like it shows in the picture into #4 slot on the standard rx.-Here is what I gather and I hope this I have right-
(The MOD is used for flight mode control if you don’t connect it the flight mode will be set to normal as the default.)

Yes, that's correct. You can have 4 different "modes" that are selected internally using the button on the unit (step #7). Each "mode" will give you a possibility of 2 or 3 "positions". A 2-pos switch gives you the first and last choices. A 3-position gives you all of them. You don't need hover and the auto-balance doesn't always work on this unit even if it's been set-up correctly. I know this as the plane I have it on will go absolutely nuts when I try "auto-balance". It heads straight for the dirt. And I've done the level and vertical calibration as per manual. To be quite frank, forget the hover and auto-balance features and don't bother with hooking up the mode lead. At this stage of the game for you, it's not worth the extra hassle. Fly it on low gains and if you must put it on a switch, do it such that you can turn the gyro OFF just in case something goes wrong during the flight. That way, you can take off with it OFF and turn it on when it's way up there and see what it does. Turn it OFF if it doesn't look right.
As for putting the master gain on a switch, at this point in time for you, it's not clear what this will do. A 2-pos switch will give you either zero gain or 100% of the gain you set on the pots. A 3-pos will give you zero gain, 50% gain and 100% gain based on what the pots are set at. It's just too much to deal with.

[KennyM]

I like trying to stay as basic and easy as i can for sure. I will just hook it up like you said tomorrow and try that without the gain and mode not hooked up. I sure do thank you for taking time out of your way to help me on this. I just dont have to good of smarts to tell the truth.

[KennyM]

Well good news and bad. I got my sliders on the rear end of my leaf springs today with no problems but, the plane issue I thought I had it whipped. It actually acted like it was suppose to when I tilted the wings and then raised and lowered the nose with elevator and ailerons wanted to do their job.(It twitched like they do when the rx is o close to the radio). The light was blue and all was going good. I guess I forgot to put the little capacitor in it and I smelled the smell we all hate. I smoked the esc bigtime. I wonder if the esc could had had a issue the whole time and that is why it was not working properly. I think I will check it all over before I try it again.

[xviper]

If memory serves me correctly, the blue light means it's in "normal" gyro mode. I'm not sure that little capacitor is there to protect the ESC. I think it's there to ensure the Rx voltage is stable. I've got those gyros in some planes without the capacitor and some with it. Never a problem with any of them.

[KennyM]

I didnt know about the capacitor just controlling the voltage. I think I kept turning it on and off and resetting the gyro alot and I may have done something -stupid me. I am ordering another esc in the morning.

[xviper]

I should have added that I've got some planes where at least one servo "twitched" once the HobbyEagle was attached. I haven't figured out why and in some cases, changing the servo fixed it, while in other planes, all I needed to do was to apply a little resistance to that control surface and the twitching went away. If you put your finger on the control surface that is twitching and it goes away, that's the probable fix. You can install a "bumper" between the end edge of the control surface and the fuselage to do this.
Depending on what type of connector you are using on the battery and ESC, it's possible to plug it in backwards and even if you do it for just a fraction of a second, that can be enough to burn something out in the ESC. I've seen a couple of them go up in smoke when the owner plugged it in (forceably) and left it. Smoke emanated immediately and the ESC was done. Sometimes, it just doesn't seem to take much for an ESC to go up in smoke. Hopefully, it doesn't take the motor with it.