4PK Setups, Tips, Tricks and Help

[JohnRobHolmes]

Sometimes it doesn't happen, and sometimes it does. It may depend on firmware or how the channels are mixed too. I fought the problem for 45 minutes one time until I just unplugged one unit.

 

[toy4crawlin]

Pardon for the question, but I was wondering if it has been laid out on what the function/options differences are between the 4PK and the Spektrum Dx6i ?
Like for example the the spektrum has 4 proportional pots
the 4PK has selectable butons to operat different functions.

thanks

 

[Harley]

Pardon for the question, but I was wondering if it has been laid out on what the function/options differences are between the 4PK and the Spektrum Dx6i ?
Like for example the the spektrum has 4 proportional pots
the 4PK has selectable butons to operat different functions.

thanks

Since the two radios really are nothing alike I don't believe it has. The most logical comparison would have been the DX6i and the 6EX. I know people have been doing the 6i pistol conversion but since it is more involved most people aren't all that interested enough for me to really go through and do any comparison.

 

[toy4crawlin]

Since the two radios really are nothing alike I don't believe it has. The most logical comparison would have been the DX6i and the 6EX. I know people have been doing the 6i pistol conversion but since it is more involved most people aren't all that interested enough for me to really go through and do any comparison.

fair enough.
How about an insight on what "extra" cool functions the 4PK has that people are really liking ?

I'm looking into more special functions to add to my DX6i pistol conversion like a brake button, which I am drawing a schematic for.

Thanks

 

[Harley]

fair enough.
How about an insight on what "extra" cool functions the 4PK has that people are really liking ?

I'm looking into more special functions to add to my DX6i pistol conversion like a brake button, which I am drawing a schematic for.

Thanks

If you're just looking for a feature list I would just go download the manual off of Futaba's website and give it a read. It would take forever to list off programming features.

 

[toy4crawlin]

righty O, didn't think about it enough I guess.
Will do thanks

 

[Harley]

Alright guys HUGE update "thumbsup"

This weekend while at ECC I was talking with fallout and explored a setup he was running. I will be updating the suggested "Ultimate MOA Setup" and doing a new video. This will open up a bunch of options for more setups and will make it much easier to drive a super with the 4PK.

 

[Harley]

The new setup has replaced the previous post #11. Please refer to it.

The reason that it is a big deal is that it puts your front ESC in channel 2! This means that you do everything we typically do with an MOA and opens up channel 4! This would allow us to do winch down, cutting brakes, or whatever else we could come up with. An even bigger benefit is that you can run your MOA’s off of the cheaper 603FF RX’s if you don't want to add anything to channel 4. Also the 3PK will now have full functionality that the 4PK does for 2.2 MOA rigs. "thumbsup"

Dual ESC's - UPDATED 6/20/09

VIDEO WILL BE REDONE AND UPLOADED ASAP TO REFLECT THIS NEW SETUP

Setup:
2x - Tekin FXR
2x - Holmes Hobbies 35t Handwounds
Berg Axles
Castle BEC
Futaba BLS152
Futaba 4PK
3s MaxAmps 1100


Setup:
Channel 1: Steering Servo (Wheel obviously)
Channel 2: Front ESC
Channel 3: Rear ESC
Channel 4: Open for optional accessories such as winch down or 4ws on a super class crawler

One of the first things I did was go into the SYSTM menu and change DISP-SEL and set it to "SRV-VIEW". This is very similar to the DX3R's "Monitor" function except the DX3R does not allow you to set it as the main screen which I always wished it would. The Servo View gives a very clear bar graph style view of what every channel is doing. This allowed me to do all of my experimenting without having to wire everything up, what an awesome feature!

Go to the *MENU-T option and change your menu type to "Level3", make sure to go down and select the EXEC function so that it applies the changes.

To control the two ESC's I setup PMix1 and PMix2 (program mix 1 & 2).

PMIX1
FWRD: -100
BRAK: -100
MST: TH
SLV: TH
MODE: ACT
OFST: 0
MXMD: MIX
TRIM: OFF

PMIX2
FWRD: -100
BRAK: -100
MST: Th
SLV: CH3
MODE: ACT
OFST: 0
MXMD: MIX
TRIM: ON


I set PMix1 on PS1 which is on the bottom of the wheel, it feels very natural to hit the button it is a fantastic spot. I set PMix2 to PS2, which is on the grip but and easily activated/deactivated by your middle finger..

To do this go to the SWTCH menu.
Set PS1 to PROG MIX1 / ALT
Set PS2 to PROG MIX2 / ALT

When you first turn the radio on you will need to hit PS1 and PS2 to activate both mixes and give you 4 wheel drive.


If I hit the switch again it turns the mixing off, that means that the 3rd channel is not seeing ANY throttle which should give me standard dig with lock (the lock comes from the drag brake settings on the ESC).


Now for adjustable mix of the rear esc. Go to the Dial menu and set the the these three lines as such:
*DT1: PM2-B: 10 / NOR <-- you can set this to any of the DT buttons that feel comfortable with your style.


PLEASE SEE THE VIDEO TO SEE ALL THE CAPABILITIES


I also set the vibrate feature to work every time you hit the switches, when you turn a mix on it pulses twice, when you turn a mix off it gives one long pulse. VERY COOl!

 

[whoodie]

The new setup has replaced the previous post #11. Please refer to it.

The reason that it is a big deal is that it puts your front ESC in channel 2! This means that you do everything we typically do with an MOA and opens up channel 4! This would allow us to do winch down, cutting brakes, or whatever else we could come up with. An even bigger benefit is that you can run your MOA’s off of the cheaper 603FF RX’s if you don't want to add anything to channel 4. Also the 3PK will now have full functionality that the 4PK does for 2.2 MOA rigs. "thumbsup"

Very clever! Now it's time to make a winch down suspension "thumbsup"

 

[Harley]

Very clever! Now it's time to make a winch down suspension "thumbsup"

Yup! That was my plan for this week! We are comping at one of our most off camber locations this weekend and I am gonna be ready :twisted:

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

Right on! I knew there had to be a way to mix it something similar to free up ch4

 

[whoodie]

I think I have found an issue with this new method. Harley, run you throttle channel with some expo (-80) and tell me what you see happening in servo view to that channel.

 

[Harley]

I think I have found an issue with this new method. Harley, run you throttle channel with some expo (-80) and tell me what you see happening in servo view to that channel.

I don't have my 4PK handy but just thinking about it I can imagine that it will cause the front and rear motors to NOT run in sync. I will note that this setup is not compaitible with throttle expo. I don't run any so that would be why I didn't notice it.

Thanks for the heads up, that will help diagnose problems that others will no doubt call me with :ror:

 

[Creepy Crawler]

Maybe a stupid question but can you use a 3s Li-Po in a 4 PK? I have one from my 3PK and I was wondering since I am selling the 3PK and didn't know if I should include the battery or not. By the way weren't you the guy giving out the prizes at ECC?

 

[Harley]

Maybe a stupid question but can you use a 3s Li-Po in a 4 PK? I have one from my 3PK and I was wondering since I am selling the 3PK and didn't know if I should include the battery or not. By the way weren't you the guy giving out the prizes at ECC?

The 4PK only uses a 5 cell pack so the 3s won't do you any good with the 4PK. And yup that was me doing the prizes at ECC 8)

 

[Creepy Crawler]

The 4PK only uses a 5 cell pack so the 3s won't do you any good with the 4PK. And yup that was me doing the prizes at ECC 8)

So it is too much voltage right? Thanks for the Futaba shirt!!!"thumbsup"

 

[Harley]

So it is too much voltage right? Thanks for the Futaba shirt!!!"thumbsup"

Correct, the 4PK run in the mid 6v range on a full pack. Even a 2s lipo that is fully charged is more than the 4PK is designed for.

Glad you got a Futaba shirt, I traded Nova's Ark my ticket for his Futaba to-go mug :ror:

 

[Creepy Crawler]

Correct, the 4PK run in the mid 6v range on a full pack. Even a 2s lipo that is fully charged is more than the 4PK is designed for.

Glad you got a Futaba shirt, I traded Nova's Ark my ticket for his Futaba to-go mug :ror:

Yeah I saw I was the guy you threw the shirt too. Thanks for the help!! I guess Li-Fo it is.

 

[Harley]

Yeah I saw I was the guy you threw the shirt too. Thanks for the help!! I guess Li-Fo it is.

I am still wanting to try a Li-Fe pack, just never have gotten around to it. I actually have really good luck with the stock pack and the one extended pack I have. I have thought about doing Sarge's mod, that uses 4 AA cells. There is a link to it in the first post.

 

[it8ezbngrn]

Thanks Harley for the info. Very helpful thread.
I would like to share something abt rear wheel steer setup that I learnt while setting up my ax10.
I had used the same method that you wrote below and like what you mentioned, we need to keep track of the mixing, else the servo will behave abnormally.

Here's my solution.

I assign ch4 to one switch, say PS1 and setup Pmix1 similarly to what you have mentioned.
Go to PMIX1 and adjust it as follows:
LEFT: -100
RGHT: -100
MST: ST
SLV: CH4
MODE: ACT
OFST: 0
MXMD: MIX

Next, I activate 2nd Cond (in System Menu) and assign it to another switch, say PS2.
Now, when i toggle PS2, it will goes into 2nd cond.
Now, in this 2nd cond, I set up PMIX1 as follows:
Go to PMIX1 and adjust it as follows:
LEFT: 100
RGHT: 100
MST: ST
SLV: CH4
MODE: ACT
OFST: 0
MXMD: MIX

Doing the above, we eliminate the need to keep track of mixing.
Toggle between 4WS and crab walk only requires 1 switch press.
Hope that helps.

Cheers.


Rear Steer

There are number of different way to run rear steer. On this radio it mostly depends on how you run the other channels. If you are not mixing any channels already then you can mix the front and rear steering two ways to five you fully proportional steering. If you are already mixing channels, such as using dual esc's then Option 2 will be for you.

Option 1
Fully Proportional

Plug your rear servo in to the channel 4 slot for this example.

For easier understanding first go to the SYSTM menu and change DISP-SEL and set it to "SRV-VIEW". The Servo View gives a very clear bar graph style view of what every channel is doing.

Go to the *MENU-T option and change your menu type to "Level3", make sure to go down and select the EXEC function so that it applies the changes.

Now on main menu screen 1 you should see PMIX1 and PMIX2

Go to PMIX1 and adjust it as follows:
LEFT: -100
RGHT: -100
MST: ST
SLV: CH4
MODE: ACT
OFST: 0
MXMD: MIX

What you just did was setup a traditional rear steer, when you steer the front wheels left the rear wheels will steer right.

Now go to the main menu screen again and select the SWTCH menu
Change PS1: to "PROG MIX1/ ALT"

Now when you press the PS1 button (located under the wheel) you will activate or deactivate the rear steer.

Next go to PMIX2 and adjust it as follows:
LEFT: +100
RGHT: +100
MST: ST
SLV: CH4
MODE: ACT
OFST: 0
MXMD: MIX

What you just did was setup a crab walk rear steer, when you steer the front wheels left the rear wheels will steer left.

Now go to the main menu screen again and select the SWTCH menu
Change PS2: to "PROG MIX2/ ALT"

Now when you press the PS2 button (located on the pistol grip) you will activate or deactivate the crab walk rear steer.


Something to note. You need to keep track of when you have the mixing activated. If you have BOTH activated then they cancel each other out, make sense?

I got a twist on this. How about 4WS with option of front only, rear only\, both and both w crabwalk.

Put steering servos in channels 3 and 4. Make a two mixes. both using ST as master and one using CH3 as slave and the other using CH4 as slave.
Assign Mix 1 to SW1 and Mix 2 to SW2. Turn on COnd 2 and set it to SW3. Turn on Mix 1. get your front steering correct. Now turn on Mix 2. Get your rear steering opposite of teh front. Now turn on Cond 2 and go itno mix 2 and set the # values totally opposite of what it was set to. This will give you crab walk. This leaves CH1 open an useless but maybe some one can figure it out better than me? Maybe mater and slave channel 1? Like the MOA Dig

CHANGE Slave Mix to the steering. So Master is ST and slave is ST. Redirect output to CH1. Go into settings and turn EPA on steering down to zero. So this setup can work with a R603FF

Darn I love this remote. Picked it up off teh scratch n dent as a demo and its like new and I paid $165 for it with no charger or RX and I love it.