RC Helicopter Gyros

Which RC Helicopter Gyro?

 

The RC heli gyro or Radio controlled Helicopters gyroscope is an electro-mechanical device which is used to stop the body of the helicopter from revolving or rotate around its own axis.

It is usually fitted between the tail rotor and the receiver and senses any change in the rotational movement and compensates the force moving the angle of the rotor hence creating a force in the opposite direction nullifying the effect.

There are a variety of rc heli gyro's available in the commercial market and price of each differs from each another. The price of the gyro depends upon the features it has. The more the advance an RC heli gyro is, the more will be the cost.

But mostly all gyro's provide the basic functionality of controlling the axial rotation of the helicopter.

If you are a beginner then a constant heading hold would be a nice option to start with. The constant heading hold feature lets you control the side to side and backward to forward of the RC helicopter while keeping the tail still. This feature is very useful as it lets the beginner have full control of the RC helicopter without worrying about the tail rotor.

The common brands of RC heli gyro's available in the market are Futaba and JR, Futaba being the most popular and is available in many models.

Futaba produces a wide range of RC heli gyros with advanced features like Active Angular Velocity Control System or commonly known as AVCS and Silicon Micro Machine components. These advance features makes the gyro more stable and with a high accuracy of functioning.

Just follow the instruction and you should not have any problems with it.

What is the difference between heading hold (hh) and standard rate (non-hh).

In non-hh mode the gyro just dampens unwanted movements of the tail. To keep things simple lets say you are hovering and a constant wind hits the helicopter from the side, the gyro will keep the helicopter from suddenly swinging nose into the wind, but the helicopter will eventually drift nose into the wind. All the gyro does is to prevent any jerk type reaction.

In hh mode the gyro will keep the nose pointed in the same place until you tell it to move. You can fly sideways with the rudder stick in the center and the nose will remain pointed in the same direction.

If you have not used heading hold before then you will notice in fast forward flight that when you make a turn, the tail will not follow the helicopter, you have to give some rudder in your turns. Another thing is that you'll notice the rudder stick feels different. In heading hold, the amount you move the rudder stick from center tells the gyro how many degrees per second that you want the helicopter to rotate. The gyro moves the rudder servo however much it needs to obtain the requested rotation rate. With a standard rate gyro if you did a slow pirouette (one rotation) with the wind then to keep the helicopter spinning at the same rate you would have to move the rudder stick more as the tail is going upwind and less as the tail goes downwind. But with a heading hold gyro, it will tell the rudder servo to move more or less to maintain the constant rate, you just keep the rudder stick in one place.

Due to typical marketing ploys you will see many names for heading hold. They all are just different names for the same thing. The different names are just because each company wants to make it seem like their version is more special then another companies.

AVCS = Tail Lock = Smart Lock = Heading Hold

 

Futaba GY401 Gyro

pdf RC Helicopter GyrosPDF Manual
FUTABA GY401 RC Helicopter GyrosThis is spot on the money, as close to plug and play as you will get. This is now seen as an "older" type of Gyro although still readily available. It is a simple and robust winner and will be around for some time.Without a doubt, the GY401 gyro is one of the best tail rotor stabilization systems produced to date. It’s simple set-up and solid performance characteristics have made it a hands down favorite among many sport helicopter pilots.The instructions that come with the gyro are good, but they offer several options for set-up. Some of these options are more confusing than others, sometimes confusing the newcomer and making him or her feel the gyro is a great deal more complicated to set-up than it ever has to be. What follows is ONE example for setting up the GY401 gyro that works for virtually any model and almost any brand of radio. It avoids the use of any preprogrammed gyro software, because many months of following posts and questions on the various web forums has proven that those software menus sometimes produce more confusion than the set up about to be detailed. One final note:This is the GY240 Gyro with SMM Technology from Futaba. This is a High Performance, Compact and Lightweight (AVCS) Angular Vector Control System gyro developed for model helicopters. Because the sensor and control circuit are integrated, it is simple to install.

FEATURES:
AVCS System: (Heading Hold) Since the rudder trim changes (caused by wind and other meteorological changes); the front, rear, and other heli attitudes change and are automatically cancelled; tail (rudder) operation is easy, making it perfect for 3D Flight. SMM Gyro Sensor: Use of this newly developed technology virtually eliminates rudder trim changes during flight. Integrated, compact and lightweight design made possible by high density mounting technology. Conductive Resin Case: This case improves EMC (Electrostatic and electromagnetic interference) resistance.

Step by step set up:

  1. Mount the gyro using either the supplied tape or a single layer of high quality 1/8 inch servo tape. Multiple layers of tape are unnecessary and potentially detrimental to gyro performance if the mounting becomes excessively "spongy".
  2. On most helicopters, a servo wheel with ball joint mounting radius of 12.5-14mm is a good starting point. A wheel with a hole drilled for the ball joint is preferred over a "star" arm because of greater rigidity.
  3. The helicopter model and engine must be running smoothly. No gyro will perform correctly if the model is vibrating or the engine is incorrectly tuned.
  4. Confirm that no sub trim or ATV is present in the transmitter in any flight condition on the rudder channel. This point is critical. For the time being, keep the rudder AFR or D/R's at 100%, as well.
  5. Using the limit trimmer pot on the gyro, adjust the tail rotor travel as needed for no binding at extremes of throw. Make certain left and right inputs are checked, because many helicopters have asymmetrical tail rotor pitch change mechanisms.
  6. The delay trimmer should remain at 0. If a servo other than the 9253 or 9254 is used, some amount of delay may be required to soften the bounce/rebound of the tail at the end of quick rudder inputs.
  7. Set the DIP switch on the gyro for digital servo, assuming the 9253 or 9254 is installed.
  8. The "direction" DIP switch is set such that movement of the nose of the model to the left (counter clockwise) causes the gyro to supply a right tail rotor command to the servo. Check and double check this point, because getting it backwards can cause needless excitement on a model's first flight.
  9. The rudder input lead for the gyro is plugged into the rudder channel slot in the receiver. On a Futaba receiver, this is channel number 4.
  10. The tail rotor servo is plugged into the output lead from the gyro.
  11. The gain select lead is plugged into any unoccupied slot in the receiver that has a corresponding switched channel on the transmitter. Channel 5 works well in most Futaba receivers and transmitters.
  12. Inhibit all preprogrammed gyro software in the transmitter.
  13. With transmitter and receiver turned on, watch the red LED on the gyro after the gyro initializes. If it is solid red, the gyro is in AVCS/heading hold mode. Flipping the gain select switch will cause the LED to go off, indicating normal, non AVCS mode. The gyro should always be turned on in AVCS mode and the model left motionless until the solid red LED appears.
  14. The ATV for the gain select channel has two sides. One side controls heading hold gain; the other side controls rate gain. Observing the ATV screen in the radio for the gain select channel will allow the user to determine which is which. Both sides of the ATV should be set for 50% for starters. This value rarely causes the tail to "hunt" on first hovering flights.
  15. Reduce the rudder AFR/D/R to 50% both left and right. This value will yield a mild pirouette rate that can then be increased to suit the taste of the pilot.
  16. The model should now be hovered in normal/rate mode. Adjust the tail rotor linkage until the model hovers with the tail in trim. Do not disturb the trim in the radio. Proper trim can and should be obtained mechanically by adjusting the tail rotor pushrod.
  17. Once ideal trim is obtained, land the model. Do not disturb the rudder. Quickly cycle the gain select switch three times, ending up in the AVCS mode/position. The model should now hover with no drift.
  18. In the old days, we ran as much gain as possible without having the tail "hunt" or "wag". Proper technique for greatest tail rotor servo life should be to run as much gain as needed for the most demanding maneuver and no more. This value may be well below the point of "hunting", but that is just fine. Gain for AVCS is adjusted by increasing or decreasing the side of the gain select channel's ATV which corresponds to AVCS mode. Again, watch the LED to confirm which mode the gyro is in before making adjustments. It should be solid in AVCS mode. Gain for rate or normal may be kept at or near 50%. Further adjustments are rarely needed as most pilot fly in ACVS mode all the time. Those pilots wishing to use rate or normal can adjust that gain in the same manner as for AVCS, though the gain select switch will be thrown in the opposite direction than for AVCS.
  19. Pirouette rate for the model should be set using the AFR or D/R menu for the rudder channel. Do not use the rudder ATV for this purpose. The AFR function differs from the ATV function in that the AFR adjustments do not cause a shift in the neutral position of the rudder. The distinction is important to recognize as the proper use of the AFR function will ensure no drifting problems occur with the gyro. The one exception to this rule is that IF the pirouette rate of the model is too slow with the rudder AFR/D/R set at 100% AND tail rotor throw at mechanical maximum, THEN the pirouette rate can be increased by expanding the rudder ATV's to GREATER than 100%. Use care here; small increases can make large changes pirouette rate.
  20. Pilots wishing to soften the feel of the tail rotor around center stick while preserving a crisp pirouette rate should be encouraged to program in at least -20% exponential (+20% if the gyro is being used with a JR transmitter) on the rudder channel.

 Futaba GY611 Head lock gyro 

 Futaba Gyro GY611 RC Helicopter GyrosSuper narrow pulse drive system substantially improves servo response, Microcomputer high speed arithmetic processing substantially improves gyro response. High-resolution 12-bit A/D (Analog to Digital) accurately converts sensor output to a Digital Signal SMM (Silicone Micro Machining).Micro-machining mechanical parts and systems right on a silicone chip and also low-back aero form case improves vibration resistance and neutral characteristic. AVCS (Angular Vector Control System) (same as Heading Hold) system requires a high-precision angular velocity detection function and extremely small output drift by using a new type of gyro sensor. This minimizes rudder neutral position drift during flight and eliminates the need to trim the rudder during flight. 

SPECS: GY611 Ratings: Yaw-axis stabilizer for helicopter (rate gyro)
Display Device: 8-character dot matrix Liquid Crystal Display
Operating Voltage Range: DC 3.8V to 5V
Current Drain: 70mA @ 5.0V, including sensor
Dimensions: Amp 2.2"x 1.2"x 0.59" (57 x 32 x 15mm)
Sensor 1.2"x 1.2"x 0.71" (30mm x 30mm x 18mm)
Weight: Amp 1.19oz (34g); Sensor 1.05oz (30g)

 

 

 

 

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Additional links to more information

helicopters - Latest news videos and information- msnbc.com
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