Friday 30 September 2016

F3F setup v.4.0 with quicker config

Version 4.0 of F3F setup for Taranis is now available. Enhancements are aimed at getting your 6-servo F3F ship into the air as quickly as possible. So if you want the mixing without the fiddling, this is the version for you!

[Update 20 October 2016: version 4.1 is imminent, featuring a new Pump mode.]

Quicker calibration

Previous versions of F3F Setup required around 45 minutes to configure a model from scratch. While this is pretty good for a full-fat setup, I felt there was some scope to speed up the process especially with regard to servo calibration. I think this will strike a chord with owners of the X9D and X9DP, as the button-based interface on these is painfully slow (the X9E is quicker as it uses a rotary encoder).

To this end, I've dumped the Min/Max/Subtrim method of setting end points. In its place are output curves. While they have coarser adjustment increments, in practice I've not found this to be an issue and they're so much quicker to adjust. As a bonus you get a very useful live graph.

The curve editor is accessed by pressing [long ENTER] from a Curve field

Output curve for CH1 (right aileron). Taken from my Needle 115.
Another benefit of curves is that they can be copy/pasted between setups.


Quicker mixer setup

Previous versions had several settings buried in the Mixers menu. Most of these have now been moved to the user friendly 'GVAR' screen. Also, flap travel and neutral are now independent adjustments.

GVAR menu for most mix adjustments
A couple of settings remain in the Mixers menu, however these do not require routine adjustment.

Extended calibration modes

The special 'CAL' mode (for servo calibration) has been expanded, with three sub-modes selectable via a switch:

 (a) calibrate servo centres and end-points (as before)
 (b) calibrate end-points for ailerons with constrained downward movement (new)
 (c) calibrate flap neutral (new)

Quicker flap tracking adjustment

As before, the right flap is calibrated using a 5-point curve. In the new version, stick position is no longer critical when calibrating each point, as the stick response is stepped. Precise tracking can now be achieved in just a couple of minutes.

Stepped curve defining throttle stick response during calibration

Improved snapflap expo

As before, snapflap volume and expo are both adjustable in flight. The new version expands the range of expo adjustment to include both positive and negative values.


Improved documentation

The documentation has been extensively re-written for a faster workflow.

Change log

See the full list of changes here.


To upgrade, or not to upgrade?

F3F Setup version 4 is recommended for your new setups. OpenTx 2.1.8 or later will be required. If you're still on 2.0, then perhaps now is a good the time to flash to 2.1. To see if your existing F3F setups are compatible with 2.1, see version history.

Download

F3F Setup version 4 can be downloaded from OpenTx Clinic. As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome, please feel free to drop me an email or add a comment.

Finally several competition pilots in the UK F3F league and abroad have been using this setup. Thanks to all who've provided feedback and I hope you enjoy the latest version!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Mike, First I want to thank you for the hard work putting a great program together. I currently have the 3.1 v and love the performance I can squeeze out of my F3F ship. I have a question, or more like a request. I can't seem to figure out how to configure a single flap\ two Ail plane with your program. Do you have any suggestions or can you whip up a modified single flap version?
I can email you my Taranis model if you want to take it.

Best Regards,

Orlando

RC Soar said...

Hi Orlando, no modifications are required for single-flap/2-ail. For your single flap, use the Left Flap channel (CH4). When following the Setup Guide, ignore references to CH3 and leave Aileron-to-Flap mix at zero in all flight modes. All the adjustments will work as with the standard setup.

Pierre said...

Hi,
Many thanks for your setup program that help me a lot flying my first F3F, and participating my first F3F competition !
I'm running OpenTX 2.1 and f3f411.eepe. I intend to migrate to OpenTC 2.2 this winter, probably on the new Horus X10…
Do you think the conversion between 2.1 and 2.2 format is reliable, or is it better to restart from scratch with version f3f_411.otx of your program ?

RC Soar said...

Hi Pierre, yes the conversion of f3f411 to OpenTx 2.2 and X10/X12S format is reliable (the X10 and X12S share the same format, and the conversion is already proven with the X12S). However you'll need to make a couple of minor changes. First, shorten the names of the F3F sound files to 6 characters + .wav and alter the references in the Special Functions menu. Secondly, in the Mixers menu for CH10 and CH11, look for lines with '6P' as source and change them to 'S2' - this should be done in the transmitter. If you have any problems please email me via the web site.