Hey guys, great forum btw, been flying FP micros on and off for a few years now. I have a Genius CP on the way and have some questions in regards to TX settings and what they affect.
I see many basic guides on how to setup the TX for beginners but they lack to explain what each function actually changes on the heli. For example here is a post by Bob explaining what changes he made and how it affect the heli.

TRVAD - Pitch L & H = 55% (I lowered the pitch a bit since the settings are FP-like. The heli was bogging when dropping and lifting quickly)

PRGMX - Set all to INH (I tried mixing rudder and elevator to help the left yaw issue and it worked but eventually I did something wrong and I almost lost 90% of my pirouette rate so I'm not trying that again for a while)

DREXP -(I increased D/R and reduced EXPO for better responsiveness and for more speed)

Is there any guides or literature that explains in detail what each function on the TX does and how it affects the heli? Like these below, adjusting TRVAD higher results in larger pitch angle? Subtrim can remedy a drift but what would you change on the settings so you could put subtrim back to neutral? If I know what each setting affects it will be easier to tweak.

TRVAD - Pitch L & H = 60%

SUBTR - ALL 0.0%

PRGMX - Set all to INH

DREXP -

Well each TX brand has slightly different abbreviations and menu structures then there is a difference between CCPM and mechanical swash mixing so without knowing what types are in your example I can only give a rough answer.

TRVAD would be Travel adjust. It sets the limits of travel for individual servos. In a mechanical swash mix the end point, or servo limit, could control how much pos. and neg. pitch the main rotor has.

PGRM is probably Program Mix, something used to make the heli a little easier to fly in some way by combining two controls into one stick movement like mixing aileron and rudder together something plank fliers often do. I don't use mixes on my helis.

DR/Exp, Dual rates & expo Dual rates is another way of adjusting the travel adjust/end points of servo travel without messing up the basic setup settings. A lower dual rate setting for aileron would tame the heli down some in that axis, matching that setting for elevator would then tame it in that axis. Expo will make the controls less sensitive or more sensitive around the center movement of the control stick depending on what value you use, i.e. positive or negative and that depends on what TX brand you are using.

Subtr, Sub trim used to center the servo arm position if the servo arms don't all center equally. Only used during initial setup, not for flying. The trim controls next to the stcks are used for flight trim and do not affect subtrim.

Best I can do this late at night trying to keep it short

Thanks 600Bob

Exactly was I was looking for. More detail on what each function in the TX does in relation to the heli. Sorry I didn't mention I will be using the Devo 6 with my Genius.
While copying numbers to a TX is great to start, its all about the tweaking and this is where most newbies like myself get lost. We don't know which function to adjust in the TX to remedy our problem. Still looking for a guide of sorts.

your not going to find much for that radio
most guides are for JR/Spektrum, Futaba, Hitec and Airtronics

I understand the Tx is specific to the Walkera brand but most heli Tx have the same settings just called by a different name. Do you know of any guides for the Tx's you listed? Maybe I can learn more from them.

if you go over to helifreak and check out finless's tech room lots of stuff
http://www.helifreak.com/forumdisplay.php?f=60

Originally Posted by climo

Is there any guides or literature that explains in detail what each function on the TX does and how it affects the heli?

Taking Off With RC Helicopters - FAQs 102 dives into EXACTLY the questions you asking without assuming you already know the answers. A considerable amount of time was spent writing it to not only assure the information was understandable, but choosing words to leave you with the feeling “Why didn't someone say that before?" It works hard to provide the right balance of what to expect and things to learn without over whelming or under whelming. Read the reviews and if you still not sure - write your email in my msg box and I'll be glad to captJaX you out a sample version with the table-of-contents and a few of the questions and answers. Profit wise - selling pencils on the street corner would be more profitable - but writing a book has its own reward. At least that what I keep telling myself while I'm sending out sample copies - last count was nearing 400 - has its own reward .. its own reward .... its own reward ... its own reward ... its own ......

captJac

Better to take this from the other perspective. Learn what your helicopter requires, and what that is normally called. Then you can pick up any radio and program it. I keep telling people this but I'm not sure it's understood. There's really only about 8 things you need to set up, and this is universal for all helicopters of a given design, and almost all radios have some method of setting up those things. Everything else that your radio can do is gravy - and you don't need to learn it. So, rather than looking at your radio and trying to figure out what everything is, look at your helicopter and figure out what its need are, then give it what it needs. Here's an example...

Spektrum DX8 Intro (4 min 40 sec)

AND YES - JACK'S BOOK COVERS THIS. IMO, if you haven't read Jack's book, you are wasting your time on here. Learn the basics, then come back and ask the tricky questions.

Thanks for all the info everyone and to CaptJac for the sample book Faq's 102. I will read it tonight and hopefully I will learn alot more about transmitters.

I agree with you Jasmine2501 about giving the heli what it needs to correct a problem but how would I know which setting to adjust? Happen to me long ago, basic settings worked out of the box, but trying to fine tune it is where I got lost. I eventually made it worse instead of better.

Originally Posted by climo

Thanks for all the info everyone and to CaptJac for the sample book Faq's 102. I will read it tonight and hopefully I will learn alot more about transmitters.

I agree with you Jasmine2501 about giving the heli what it needs to correct a problem but how would I know which setting to adjust? Happen to me long ago, basic settings worked out of the box, but trying to fine tune it is where I got lost. I eventually made it worse instead of better.

Well again, that's a matter of knowing how the helicopter works, not how the radio works. I exaggerate a bit - you need to know what things change what in the radio, but you learn this with respect to the helicopter itself.

Say for example your motor is bogging - how do we fix that? Well, it's a judgement call - if you think your throttle curve is high enough, you reduce the pitch range, or if you have some room in your throttle curve, raise it up and see if it fixes the issue. All radios support those adjustments in different ways and with different function names - so it's not particularly valuable to learn "if the motor bogs, go into X screen and adjust Y number down" - if you don't know what X screen and Y number does. It's much more valuable to know "oh, we need less pitch or more throttle" because in most cases, it's easy to figure out how to do that with any given radio.

Also, many things on helicopters are adjusted mechanically, and IMO when you have a choice, it's better to make a mechanical adjustment than to tweak in the radio. So, if the helicopter is out of trim, adjust the pushrods, not the radio. Again, it's about knowing how the helicopter works.