Futaba 4PL Setup, Tips, Tricks & Help

[Harley]

Originally Posted by brazwewn

I hope this hasn't been posted elsewhere. My question is about the high vs norm setting for the servo. When I got my BLS157HV, I switched to high for the extra speed. Due to the price increase in the Futaba servo, I decided to get a 7955TG instead, for my scaler. I want to see if the 7955TG will work on high mode, or just normal. I don't have my radio with me, so I hope I remember the setting names correctly.

Wes

High will work fine with that servo. Any digital servo should work on high. You will only run into problems with analog servos like a 645 or the like.

[brazwewn]

Originally Posted by Harley

High will work fine with that servo. Any digital servo should work on high. You will only run into problems with analog servos like a 645 or the like.

Thanks, this is what I suspected. Just scary to try something in an expensive new servo I you are not sure. Are there any down sides to running high vs normal?

Wes

[Harley]

Originally Posted by brazwewn

Thanks, this is what I suspected. Just scary to try something in an expensive new servo I you are not sure. Are there any down sides to running high vs normal?

Wes

There is nothing you could do in the radio to hurt the servo, no matter the servo. An analog servo just may not work if you have it on digital.

The high speed mode just refreshes faster so you get more exact control. This is not all the important in crawling but it's nice to know you are always running at the highest you can I guess.

[brazwewn]

Originally Posted by Harley

There is nothing you could do in the radio to hurt the servo, no matter the servo. An analog servo just may not work if you have it on digital.

The high speed mode just refreshes faster so you get more exact control. This is not all the important in crawling but it's nice to know you are always running at the highest you can I guess.

Thanks!

[irok22s]

Does anyone know what input voltage the smaller rx's can handle. The specs I found does not list that. Thanks..

[Harley]

Originally Posted by irok22s

Does anyone know what input voltage the smaller rx's can handle. The specs I found does not list that. Thanks..

7.2 will be no issue. I'll check on Monday about 8.4.

[Wattsy]

G'Day Harley
Just bought the 4pl today. It has the serial no as B011

Looking at your videos I see that the dual esc when activated goes to DT/DL
Mine stays as Switch...
Is that part of the update you mention???
I can get it to work as a dual esc with channel 2 and channel 4. But the only way I can switch between them is by the switch 1 (push type 1)

All knew to this. Been mainly flying Heli's

Thanks in advance.
Wattsy

[brazwewn]

Originally Posted by Harley

7.2 will be no issue. I'll check on Monday about 8.4.

I am running 7.4 no with no issues so far.

Wes

[Harley]

Originally Posted by Wattsy

G'Day Harley
Just bought the 4pl today. It has the serial no as B011

Looking at your videos I see that the dual esc when activated goes to DT/DL
Mine stays as Switch...
Is that part of the update you mention???
I can get it to work as a dual esc with channel 2 and channel 4. But the only way I can switch between them is by the switch 1 (push type 1)

All knew to this. Been mainly flying Heli's

Thanks in advance.
Wattsy

Yes that is exactly what the update does. I didn't like the way that worked and got them to update to the dt/dl. You must have found an old stock piece. Let me know if you need assistance with the update process.

[Wattsy]

Ah huh...Though as such.
Instead of sending back to the USA. I looked at the warranty card which has the contact number for the Futaba Rep here in Perth.

Going to give them a call on Monday morning.
Still at the end of the build stage anyway. Finishing off the placement of electrics and paint the body. Going well so far.

Went with the Novak Goat 3s set up. Getting so excited.

Any other tips or pointers?

Great work by the way...
Regards Wattsy

[YJ_Driver]

Originally Posted by irok22s

Does anyone know what input voltage the smaller rx's can handle. The specs I found does not list that. Thanks..

Here's the manual. Box at the end states 4.8V to 7.4V.

This is a great find, I like the lower profile the right angle connectors provide and the price is awesome

[igbandy]

Got my ALHS(almost local hobby shop) to order me two of the R2106GF RX`s last week, got them today he did them for 28 UK pounds each which is alot cheaper than the the R2006GS I got a couple of weeks ago. They both bound up straight away. Not done a range test yet, but one of the 2106`s is going in my Fastrax Cage tonight for a run out tomorrow(if its not raining)

Instructions state an operating voltage of 4.8v-7.4v, and that it is suitable for short range applications such as park flyers and slow fly models. So I am thinking that it will be ideal in a crawler/scaler

Quick pic of all 3 types of Futaba RX that I have got.








I will report back after I have ran with the 2106.

[irok22s]

Originally Posted by Harley

7.2 will be no issue. I'll check on Monday about 8.4.

Ok thanks Harley. Im running 8.4 now with the rx that came with the 4pl. Just wanted to know if these can handle it to. I imagine that they will but want to be sure first before I order one.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by igbandy

Got my ALHS(almost local hobby shop) to order me two of the R2106GF RX`s last week, got them today he did them for 28 UK pounds each which is alot cheaper than the the R2006GS I got a couple of weeks ago. They both bound up straight away. Not done a range test yet, but one of the 2106`s is going in my Fastrax Cage tonight for a run out tomorrow(if its not raining)

Instructions state an operating voltage of 4.8v-7.4v, and that it is suitable for short range applications such as park flyers and slow fly models. So I am thinking that it will be ideal in a crawler/scaler

Quick pic of all 3 types of Futaba RX that I have got.



I will report back after I have ran with the 2106.

Would it be possible to get a similar shot from the end so we could compare heights as well??

[igbandy]

Hope these photo`s helps Charlie







Well I ran my Fastrax Cage(SCX10 Running gear) today with one of the R2106GF RX`s, it didnt miss a beat ran it for over 2 hours and went practically out of site with the rig. Big from me.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by igbandy

Hope these photo`s helps Charlie

Excellent, really small RX. Thanks for the pictures.

[snail78]

Originally Posted by igbandy

Hope these photo`s helps Charlie







Well I ran my Fastrax Cage(SCX10 Running gear) today with one of the R2106GF RX`s, it didnt miss a beat ran it for over 2 hours and went practically out of site with the rig. Big from me.

Very cool. Thank you for the pictures and info

[igbandy]

Glad to help fella`s

[Harley]

Originally Posted by igbandy

Glad to help fella`s

I modified your first post to include all of your pictures so I could link it to the first post. Thanks for the pictures

[Tommy R]

Originally Posted by Tommy R

Hey Harley,

I've got an odd issue I'm wrestling with. It's actually for my Short Course truck, but I'm hoping you may be able to offer some insight anyway. I posted this on RCShortCourse, but didn't get any replies.

Equipment used:
Radio: 4PL
ESC: Stock Losi
Motor: 12T Traxxas (Slash)
Battery: 5000 mah 2s

The Losi ESC can be run with or without reverse. I have it set up without reverse for racing. It still have a braking function.

I want to dial in some braking to the neutral throttle position. The reason is because when I let off the throttle, I want the truck to slow quickly to help with corner entry. Currently, it just coasts/freewheels for too long and I have to let off way too early entering the corners.

Normally, I would simply dial in some brake trim so I would have a bit of braking effect when the trigger is in the neutral position. However, I keep dialing the brake trim higher and higher with no change. Finally, once I get the brake trim up to ~35-40, it will start braking when I let off the throttle. But it's very, very abrupt. It's also inconsistent. Sometimes I let off it'll freewheel, sometimes it'll stop nearly immediately. Obviously, this isn't good.

Could I have a setting somewhere in the 4PL that is affecting/overriding my brake trim settings? Is there a better way to have some braking applied at the neutral trigger position? Expos are at zero. Throttle endpoints are set. Honestly, I have to question if the ESC is the culprit. Unfortunately, I know little about it since very few people run this ESC. It's the stock Losi unit that comes in the Losi short course truck (XXX-SCT).

Any help you could offer would be MUCH appreciated!
Tommy

I have an update to this issue, but still have questions. I now am running a Traxxas XL-5 ESC (brushed, no drag brake), however my issue remains. But I noticed something odd recently. On the radio's display, there is a bar graph that shows your current position for each channel. Well, when I increase the brake trim and even max it out to 100, the bar graph only shows what I would estimate to be about 10-15% on the bar graph. I'd have to check again to verify this, but I think if I manually apply the brakes with the trigger the bar graph will extend all the way to 100% brake as you'd expect. I'll get pics of this later today to illustrate what I'm doing a poor job of explaining.

So I guess my question is: How can I get my brake trim to allow a broader range of braking power?