A friend of mine wanted to get into AP here in Qatar, and proceeded with purchasing a DJI FlameWheel 550 NAZA full kit including GPS.  He flies with a Futaba 10C radio, and naturally got an R617FS receiver to go with it.

I was building it for him, when I realized that NAZA failsafe only works if failsafe is triggered on channel 5 (typically), and will not work if failsafe is triggered on channel 3 (throttle), which is the only supported failsafe for this receiver.  This case may apply to other receivers also. Note that we are talking about "lost contact" (or "transmitter switched off") failsafe, NOT the failsafe triggered manually from the radio using mixes.

So the thought was naturally to use channel 3 for failsafe, and use some other channel for throttle. Did a bit of searching, and someone had done this before. 

http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=468056

Just wanted to highlight it as a clever use of available features/equipment.  Nice use of flight modes and throttle curves !

This applies to the Futaba 7C, and probably other TX/RX combinations too. 

Note that this is not a problem on TX/RX combinations where failsafe can be set on all channels, including many Futaba models.

A pic.

hi,

thanx for the link was struggling to get a similar setup for my futaba 6exa.

i was planning to buy the futaba 8ja, as it really simplifys the setup.

the manual is good for people who use futaba 6/7 ch radios.

regds

Yep, it seems like a strange decision by the DJI folks to decouple failsafe from the throttle channel.

Hello All

The Futaba 2.4 radios (6EX and 7C) are for airplanes or helis. The Futaba 6J and 8J are best for multi rotors Perhaps, the concept of Failsafe is misunderstood here.

The Futaba (6EX & 7C) offers Fail Safe feature on channel 3 (meaning throttle) only. The Fail Safe is available for all channels in Futaba 6J, 8J, 9C (PCM only) and other more then 7 channel radio series. If you convert your 9C radio to 2.4Ghz, you would not get fail safe on all channels as the 2.4ghz transmission is done using PPM setting of the radio.

DJI folks have not manufactured their products for ONLY FUTABA branded radios. The failsafe feature is provided on U port of NAZA. You can attach this port to any suitable channel of your radio reciver. You would need a three position switch to use the full function (Manual/Attitude/GPS) of NAZA. Again, you need a three position switch for IOC function (Course lock and Home lock).

If your radio is having failsafe on channel 3 (throttle) you can play around by swapping one function for the other. But still you would need one three position switch for IOC while using NAZA. Our openion, choose the radio smartly for your project.

Please note that Futaba 7channel receiver (R617FS) has nothing to do with fail safe feature. It is your TX not the RX for fail safe. You may bind your R617FS with better transmitter model and enjoy fail safe on all channels.

Regards,

Sphere Hobbies
+91-99251-20630

Quote from: SphereHobbies on February 03, 2013, 07:49:33 PM
Please note that Futaba 7channel receiver (R617FS) has nothing to do with fail safe feature. It is your TX not the RX for fail safe. You may bind your R617FS with better transmitter model and enjoy fail safe on all channels.

"Nothing" is a strong (and wrong) word, at last in this context   Using a 10C TX and a better Futaba receiver, once could activate failsafe on all channels.  So in this case, it was the RX choice that limited the usability (without going for somewhat of a non-standard/clever config).

hi,

i have flown the dji naza with futaba 6ex and always flew in attitude mode. but could not use features of the dji as my tx did not support the features. lack of 3 pos switch on 6ex and 7c. although there is a workaround but not recommended for beginners.

the you tube videos show dji naza with futaba 8ja setup and was impressed. for commercial applications easy setups are always better as there is not time for experimenting.

i have flown in many events and really feel that the features could have helped me fly better. Any ways completed the task as per equipment available and am really wanting to get these features enabled on my new setup.

i thank anwar and nilesh for pointing out the drawbacks and advantages of the old and new radios of futaba.

i am keen on getting the futab 8ja for my new setup.

regds

Certainly, a suitable radio is always a good idea to make full use of something like the Naza. 

I was only trying to explain/highlight how a sub-optimal receiver choice (even though the radio was capable) could be overcome with a bit of clever radio programming allowing for usage of all features of this flight-controller.

@ Anwar

We are trying to clarify the same here. The fail safe function is the limitation of the TX programming not the RX. In your case page 50 of 10c manual explains the same.

Let us know what you think.

Regards,

Sphere Hobbies
+91-99251-20630

@ sbajare

Here is an interesting modification link for Futaba 6EX.

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/electronics/150455-adding-switch-t6ex.html#post2269914

@ All Members

PLEASE do not modify your radio if you do not know what you are doing.

Regards,

Sphere Hobbies
+91-99251-20630

Quote from: SphereHobbies on February 03, 2013, 11:55:28 PM
The fail safe function is the limitation of the TX programming not the RX. In your case page 50 of 10c manual explains the same.

Quote from: SphereHobbies on February 03, 2013, 07:49:33 PM
You may bind your R617FS with better transmitter model and enjoy fail safe on all channels.

I am not sure about this.  For confirmation, which Futaba TX allows failsafe on all channels on an R617FS receiver or any of the 7 channel or lower Futaba 2.4Ghz aircraft receivers ?

hi,

nilesh thnx for the link, have gone thru that link and have searched the net for adding a 3 pos switch to the 6ex.

adding the 3 pos switch is easy but the radio was not programmed to accept it. hence the mod was of no use.

for the dji naza 3 pos switch is must to calibrate gps.

but the dji phantom does not have one , it comes pre programmed.

can u pls chk how come the phantom radio does not have a 3 pos switch.

regds
sandeep

Quote from: SphereHobbies on February 03, 2013, 07:49:33 PM
You may bind your R617FS with better transmitter model and enjoy fail safe on all channels.

SphereHobbies - Just repeating my question... can you let me know which Futaba TX allows the use of failsafe on all channels for 7 channel or lower RXs like the R617FS ?

Anwar

Have a look at Futaba 6 channel  6J Tx with Futaba R2006GS 6 channel receiver (fail safe available on all channels). And this radio is cheaper then Futaba 6EX and 7C.

Regards,

Sphere Hobbies
+91-99251-20630

I am sure you know very well that the J series is the lower end equipment from Futaba, something that they came up with to counter the BNF threat from Spektrum.

My question was specifically about the R617FS (and other FASST receivers that are 7 channel or less), which you said can have failsafe on all channels if you use it with a better transmitter model.  I am wondering which transmitter model would that be... I could not find one in all my looking

No response... so my understanding / information seems correct... the Futaba FASST receivers that are 7 channel or below truly do not have the innards (hardware/software/logic) needed to enable failsafe on other channels, and it is NOT an issue with a better transmitter not being used.