4PK Setups, Tips, Tricks and Help

[jdawg53]

Well, I have been messing with this thing for over 2 hours today. So far the best solution is like Harley said and to put your display on TRM/DIAL instead of SRV-VIEW in the system menu.
I am taking pics now, to send to Futaba to see if there is any way to not have that pop up when you activate the mix. I really see no reason to have that at all. I have mine set to vibrate when it is activated or de-activated so I never look at the screen to see that. Not to mention, it is pretty obvious if it is on or not for what we are doing :ror:
I have been driving my berg off an on all day with the 4PKS with no issues.

J

 

[jdawg53]

This should help explain what is going on.

The top pic shows what to switch too, the second shows what it will look like.

The 3rd pic shows why we can't use servo view and 4th pic shows what it needs to look like all the time.

J

 

[twistedone]

awesome Jdawg that is what mine looks like also so at least we are all doing the same thing"thumbsup"

 

[jdawg53]

Ya, my biggest fear was that something in the programming got changed that would affect the way the 4pks worked with crawlers. Thankfully, that isn't the case. The servo view is really only needed for setting things up and then you can change it to the TRM/DIAL view. I am setting up my mini tonight so I will play with it some more and post up if I find anything worth noting.
J

 

[Locked Up]

Yes,
Pic 4 is what I want but pic 3 is what I have.

(thanks for taking the pics BTW)


Unless Futaba puts out a software patch or something I don't think it's doable.

I'm OK with it saying the mix is on or off but would prefer it either just flash for a second or be a small message. Perhaps if it showed the PMIX when it is on, under the PM1B & PM2B.

IE the little window like this if they are both on

PM2B: +100
PM1B: +100
PMIX1: ON
PMIX2: ON

 

[whoodie]

So pic 3 is what it always says when you're in 4wd? That really sucks. I really hope you all can make it the way it was on the 4pk, I'm not too excited now about the new radio.

 

[minnesotamudder]

why hasnt futaba put the 4pks on there website(or am i just missing something)

if some one has a link to it on there web site or knows when it will be on there for more infor plese post it up"thumbsup"
thanks

 

[bigstu]

OK, got one for ya Harley. I can't figure out this one..
I followed your guide for setting up for 4pk. Running dual FXR's as soon as my XR10 gets here.
When I dial back the mix on the rear speed control (to slow down the rear axle), everything works fine, in forward.
When I push the trigger to reverse, no matter what I dial in for mix, it is full strength.
Any ideas, or did I forget something simple?

 

[Harley]

OK, got one for ya Harley. I can't figure out this one..
I followed your guide for setting up for 4pk. Running dual FXR's as soon as my XR10 gets here.
When I dial back the mix on the rear speed control (to slow down the rear axle), everything works fine, in forward.
When I push the trigger to reverse, no matter what I dial in for mix, it is full strength.
Any ideas, or did I forget something simple?

That is the correct reaction to the way the radio is programmed. In the dial menu there is PM2A and PM2B. A and B refer to two different directions (forward and reverse) we only program it for one of those two directions. It is nice to have full forward with both motors though. If one was stronger and you went to slam reverse it could cause more roll overs.

 

[Harley]

why hasnt futaba put the 4pks on there website(or am i just missing something)

if some one has a link to it on there web site or knows when it will be on there for more infor plese post it up"thumbsup"
thanks

The website has not been updated yet.

 

[jdawg53]

OK so I am curious (and not trying to be a smart ass) why you have to use the servo screen? I know I use the servo screen on my 4pk but honestly it was really only useful when setting things up. I never look down to see where the bars are at during running. I do however look at the PM trim settings. The reason I have the servo screen is because that is how Harley wrote it and who doesnt want to be just like Harley :lmao:
So my question is, is the screen in pic 2 acceptable? Getting an update/change to the software just because people like to watch the bars go up and down is going to be a tough sell for me to make to Futaba Japan.
If you have a legitimate reason then please post up or pm me and I would like to hear it.

J

 

[Harley]

The reason I have the servo screen is because that is how Harley wrote it and who doesnt want to be just like Harley :lmao:
J

Do as I say!!

 

[twistedone]

Do as I say!!

Alawys and Thank you Sir:shock:

 

[whoodie]

My biggest concern was that it needed to work just like the 4PK. You've told me that it does so that concern is no longer valid. What I'm still disappointed with is that the new "feature" wasn't implemented with the quality typical of Futaba. It looks a little cheap really that the entire right quadrant is taken up with huge text when they've provided more info, in a smaller area before. I really think that there was a better way to implement an indicator that told the user if a mix was active or not. I would have preferred to have the pixels around the "PM2B: +100" and "PM1B: +100" indicators inverted to indicate that the mix was active or not, not some large font I can see from outer space.

Is this a deal breaker? Not really. Is is what I expect from Futaba? Absolutely not.

OK so I am curious (and not trying to be a smart ass) why you have to use the servo screen? I know I use the servo screen on my 4pk but honestly it was really only useful when setting things up. I never look down to see where the bars are at during running. I do however look at the PM trim settings. The reason I have the servo screen is because that is how Harley wrote it and who doesnt want to be just like Harley :lmao:
So my question is, is the screen in pic 2 acceptable? Getting an update/change to the software just because people like to watch the bars go up and down is going to be a tough sell for me to make to Futaba Japan.
If you have a legitimate reason then please post up or pm me and I would like to hear it.

J

 

[jdawg53]

My biggest concern was that it needed to work just like the 4PK. You've told me that it does so that concern is no longer valid. What I'm still disappointed with is that the new "feature" wasn't implemented with the quality typical of Futaba. It looks a little cheap really that the entire right quadrant is taken up with huge text when they've provided more info, in a smaller area before. I really think that there was a better way to implement an indicator that told the user if a mix was active or not. I would have preferred to have the pixels around the "PM2B: +100" and "PM1B: +100" indicators inverted to indicate that the mix was active or not, not some large font I can see from outer space.

Is this a deal breaker? Not really. Is is what I expect from Futaba? Absolutely not.

The thing is that all the information is all still there, just like the 4pk. The only thing is, now when you activate the PMIX2 "on" it stays on the screen. When you shut PMIX 2 "off" it shows that it is off and then returns to the view that you are used too. The hangup is that it doesnt shut off when you have the PMIX 2 on.
As far as quality typical of Futaba, in their minds, they are thinking that they have given you even more information than before so it is an upgrade.
Am I disappointed....yes. I work for Futaba for crying out loud and was never told about the change. Harley and I talked several times and I sent multiple e-mails to Futaba explaining how Crawlers are using the radios and what they need for crawlers. Alot of that info is being used for the 4PL programming and was taken into consideration with the 4PKS as well. Until I took pics today and we sent an e-mail to them explaining this, I am sure they had no idea this would cause an issue.
Is this going to stop me from using the 4PKS? No. Just like anything else I will use it for a week or two and get used to it and not give it another thought. Its not like features are missing. I will make sure Harley does his next write up using the new trim screen and everyone will think it is "AWESOME" Just kidding LOL
I can say with 100% certainty that no other radio manufacturer is working as hard as we are to give the crawler segment what they want/need.
We are however constantly trying to improve, and alot of that information comes from forums like this one. I appreciate the input and it has already been passed along to Futaba.

Thanks
J

 

[Locked Up]

OK so I am curious (and not trying to be a smart ass) why you have to use the servo screen? I know I use the servo screen on my 4pk but honestly it was really only useful when setting things up. I never look down to see where the bars are at during running. I do however look at the PM trim settings. The reason I have the servo screen is because that is how Harley wrote it and who doesnt want to be just like Harley :lmao:
So my question is, is the screen in pic 2 acceptable? Getting an update/change to the software just because people like to watch the bars go up and down is going to be a tough sell for me to make to Futaba Japan.
If you have a legitimate reason then please post up or pm me and I would like to hear it.

J

.
I don't have the 4PK* experience that Whoodie does, so I can't say one way or the other if I will miss anything.

My initial concern was that I did something incorrectly.

Would I prefer to have all the info on the screen ...... After reading your post, I am inclined to say no and agree with you. I still think that screen should show the info for people doing setup and learning, but I actually think the screen in pic 2 might be better on course anyway.


In fact, if I could design my own screen, I'd prefer to have a screen that only shows the mix % and whether or not they are on or off.
So a quick look down would tell me what I really want to know.

100% - ON
90% - OFF

In the middle of a course, that would be all I'd care about.

I don't need the screen to tell me what kind of RX I am bound to, if it is transmitting or not once I am out of setup or the name, etc. Showing the bars is good for setup but once I am out there I don't see myself looking down for that info.

Being able to look down and know if I am 2wd, 4x4 or FWD and at what %'s would be nice. That or just showing the %'s and having solid togle switches for turning the mixes on and off so I could feel if I am in 2wd,4x4 or FWD.



The other item I brought up was the cross channel feedback...
I move the throttle back and forth, there is a little bit of feedback on the channel 2 bar. IE if I an full throttle with just the rear ESC, when I let go the front ESC blips.

Any thoughts there?

 

[Rig Rocker]

Picked up 4pks today hope you can get it programmed your threads are the only reason I bought this thing "thumbsup""thumbsup"

Me too :ror:

Hope you can get one soon! Just got my 4pks too and was planning on setting it up this weekend.

Come on Harley! We know you can do it ;-)

 

[ManiacMagoo]

Looking for a new antenna for my R604FS. My amazing son decided to help dad and cut it off about an inch above the case and in his glorious ways to hide it in the trash didn't tell me till the trash man came. So Im trying to find some place to buy a replacement.

 

[whoodie]

You actually don't need the external antenna with the 604 rx unless it's in a go fast RC. The 604 rx has 2 antennas, external and internal. I removed the external antenna a long time ago on purpose and it still has plenty of range for my rock crawler.

Looking for a new antenna for my R604FS. My amazing son decided to help dad and cut it off about an inch above the case and in his glorious ways to hide it in the trash didn't tell me till the trash man came. So Im trying to find some place to buy a replacement.

 

[jdawg53]

Looking for a new antenna for my R604FS. My amazing son decided to help dad and cut it off about an inch above the case and in his glorious ways to hide it in the trash didn't tell me till the trash man came. So Im trying to find some place to buy a replacement.

I too have ran my receivers in my crawlers without the external antenna. No further than your get away from the transmitter it should be no problem.
Or, you can call the Futaba service center, they can take care of you "thumbsup"
J