Hitec Flash 4 / Flash 5 Owners Read This!!
My Hitec Flash 5 System X manual has a major error in it. Please read the information below and check your manual to see if it is wrong also. If so, there is an explanation at the bottom of this page telling you how to make a short note in your manual to correct it.
From a post I made to rec.models.rc.soaring newsgroup on
4/30/2000:
I am trying to set up aileron/rudder mixing on my Hitec Flash5X, but am
having a problem. The rudder is mixed when I move the (ch 1) stick left,
but not when I move it right.
By the way, I have the ailerons plugged into ch 1 and 5, the rudder in ch 4, the
elevator in ch 2, and the battery in ch 3. The AIL-RUD function is
supposed to mix ch 4 as a slave to ch 1, but it only works with a left turn, not
with a right turn. I am in Mode II (standard for USA). I am using
GLID mode. Rx is a Hitec 555. When I use the left stick to operate
the rudder, it does move both left and right, so it is only the mixing that is
not working.
I was setting up Model#3, so I tried switching to Model#4 (not in use) and got
the same results, despite following the instructions in the manual very
carefully. It acts as if you have to program the mix for left and right
turns separately, but I have only set up the left turns. However, the
manual says nothing about this, and I cannot seem to get the right turn mix
programmed.
Am I missing something or is my radio defective? Any help would be greatly
appreciated!!
Thanks,
David Cole
Fort Worth, Texas
And before anyone answered, I finally figured it out and
re-posted this:
Hitec Flash5X owners take note!!!!!!!
After another 30 minutes of playing with it, I found that the solution is indeed
a feature not documented correctly in my manual.
You DO program the mix for left and right turns separately. Following the
instructions in my manual sets the mix for a left turn. To program the mix
for a right turn, you must hold the right stick to the right while in AIL-RUD
setup. You will notice that the mix percentage changes to zero when you move the
stick right, and back to the value for the left turn when you let go of the
stick or hold it to the left. Set the right turn while holding the stick
to the right.
I'm guessing that the radio originally worked as documented in my manual, but
they added the feature of separate mixes for right and left turns without
updating the manual. Don't know if current manuals are correct or not, so
if you have a Flash 5X you might want to check the instructions on pages 21-22.
If it does not tell you how to program the mix for right and left turns
separately, then you might want to make a note for future reference that you MAY
need to hold the stick right to set the right turn mix (unless perhaps you have
an older Flash5X and this feature is something they added later).
David Cole
(I have since been told that the same type of feature applies to setting the EPA and to Elevon Mixing. Great features, just not documented correctly in the manual.)
Check your manual. If it does not describe setting the Aileron/Rudder mixing separately for left and right turns (p. 21-22 in my manual), put the following note in your manual:
NOTE: This only sets the mix for a left turn. Hold the stick to the right to set the mix for a right turn!