Originally Posted by dirtybird

I remember seeing the Tucker (Car)on display but we couldn't take a check ride. It had no transmission.
Did this transmitter have a circuit board in it?

Of course it did. Besides seeing the backlit display, listening to the speech and twiddling the sticks (to see how a ball bearing gimbal feels), one transmitter has been open so people could see the circuit board - and there were pictures of the opened case in AMA's R/C magazine.

Originally Posted by chewytm

Jim,

Wouldn't it be easier to just trim out the plane, then when you press the auto-trim switch, it just writes whatever is in the trim to the subtrim and then zeroes out the trims? This way, you don't need to do hand calistenics and worry about whether you need to release the switch or the sticks first. As someone (was it you?) said, doing the the thing in the wrong sequence will make the matter worse, the way you have it.

chewy

Yes, this is possible but I have a function to copy trims to sub-trims (which then zeros the trims) whenever you like. Having the auto-trim feature saved one of the jets I was maidening because the wing was tweaked and it took nearly the entire left aileron throw to make it fly level. Once you get use to pulling the switch, it's pretty easy to use it... really not too much different than have someone on a buddy box - same switch.

So,After you auto trim your plane,then you bring it back in,leave it turned on and adjust all the rods to center the servos at the trims where plane trimmed out?
(sorry this is getting into plane setups but it is a function Ive not heard of) I actually thought it would be cool to have a button you could mash when you got the plane level and actually set the trims that way so this is neat you did it.

Originally Posted by Manta1

So,After you auto trim your plane,then you bring it back in,leave it turned on and adjust all the rods to center the servos at the trims where plane trimmed out?
(sorry this is getting into plane setups but it is a function Ive not heard of) I actually thought it would be cool to have a button you could mash when you got the plane level and actually set the trims that way so this is neat you did it.

The button you want exists with the new transmitter. You press it (pull it, or whatever its assigned to) after moving your sticks to where the plane is flying level, and let go of the sticks, and then release the button. The plane is then trimmed.

The mechanical setup I was referring to was how things had to be setup prior to computer radios.

Originally Posted by JimDrew

The button you want exists with the new transmitter. You press it (pull it, or whatever its assigned to) after moving your sticks to where the plane is flying level, and let go of the sticks, and then release the button. The plane is then trimmed.

The mechanical setup I was referring to was how things had to be setup prior to computer radios.

Very very cool. Thanks.

Ya'll are trying to make auto trim something that is hard to do and complicated as the devil, nothing could be further from the truth. The combat coroplast plane that I bought at the flyin proves this. All I had to do was glue the vertical fins on, install the battery and receiver and fly it. It has elevons and throttle, the guy I bought it from hand launched for me and I gained a little altitude I hit the auto trim button, and it trimmed out the plane. I then just flew the plane till the battery went down and I haven't touched any of the trim tabs since then. I had the trims at the center position on the launch and they are still in the same position. I am glad to know for sure that the new tx will have this feature, after you use it one time you will see why I like it so much. BTW the Ace MicroPro 8000 has cross trims so it is also easy to trim out a plane manually as you don't have to let go of the right stick to move the trim tabs, you do it with the trim tabs of the left side of the tx! Jim, will the new radio have or be capable of cross trims? These two features are just one of the reasons I love my Ace. I can't wait to hear the comments about auto trim after the radio hit the market. I might even say, 'I told you so'. Just wait, you will see what I am talking about. Ha!

Well, I never thought about cross trims before. However, in the advanced setup menu (which is like a service menu), you can choose which trim switch controls which channel's trim. So, I suppose that you could deliberately change that from the normal configuration if you wanted cross trims.

Originally Posted by JimDrew

Well, I never thought about cross trims before. However, in the advanced setup menu (which is like a service menu), you can choose which trim switch controls which channel's trim. So, I suppose that you could deliberately change that from the normal configuration if you wanted cross trims.

Wow,now I am really getting excited about the new transmitter, with auto trim and cross trims I will feel like a long lost friend has come home. The Ace in its day was way ahead for the time, I bought mine in 1994 and have never regretted buying it, now with Jim's new radio having the same features that I like and am used too; to say I am ready would be an under statement! I am on the waiting list, just let me know when. Waiting, XFEDEX

I owned two Micropro single stick transmitters with auto trim and never used it because I prefer to trim the model in flight, land, mark the location of the control surfaces, center the transmitter trims, and adjust the control surface linkage. Been doing it this way for over 40 years. I have always felt that it was a bad idea to depend on transmitter adjustments to compensate for bad control linkage installations.

Cross trims have ben around for over 40 years and all the good radios like Proline had them on their two stick transmitters. The single stick Prolines I flew had all trims and the throttle on the side of the case under the left fingers.

I loved my Ace MicroPro, I should never have sold it. I used the Auto trim and to me it was worth its weight in Gold. I agree with xfedex, It's not Brain Surgery. I'm one of those guys that dreads 1st flights and the Auttrim really brought down my stress levels. I never seem to be-able to find the trims as the plane is heading into the dirt or other directions. I am looking forward to all the new features of this radio. Have you guys thought of what it must be like to write the manual for this radio???

Well, you have to depend on transmitter adjustments if you fly more than one plane with the same transmitter, so I don't worry about things like that and haven't had any problems yet. With over 30 planes flying I don't even try to manually adjust every movable surface on every plane I fly. I paid $400 for the Ace tx by itself and with the XPS conversion, 8 receivers and 5 or 6 batteries over the past 18 years I am approaching the $1000 mark. I still love and fly the Ace, and use all the features that I bought it for. I don't know of a radio out there that I would swap it for, that may change when the XPS3216 comes out. I don't use dual rates, so expo, auto trim and cross trims are 3 of the features I will be using a lot. I will be able, if I want to, to put almost all my planes on the 3216, that is awesome! We are not going to have anything to talk about after we all get our own 3216......

Which Ace transmitter had autotrim. Or did all of them?

Originally Posted by dirtybird

Which Ace transmitter had autotrim. Or did all of them?

I think that the Ace MicroPro 8000 single and dual stick are the only transmitters that had the auto trim function. I don't know anything about the MicroStar, but I have heard that it also has auto trim. The MP8K does have 12 mixers in addition to v-tail, elevons,etc and you can mix any channel to any other Chanel. It is a unique radio and now it has been converted to XPS 2.4, I will be flying it for a long time. When I get my 3216, it and the Ace will be backups for each other. The XPS module in the Ace will also fit my Futaba 8UAF and my Hitec eclipse 7, I now have a back up for the back up! I really like the size for the 6 channel nano receivers. Looking forward to the new 3216....

Yup, MicroStar also had the AutoTrim, and cross trims as well. It will be nice to see other radios support these features as well.

I appreciate the interest and discussion of the Ace conversions, but please do not post about off-topic things in this thread. Instead, please start a new thread about Ace/MP*K radio conversions with XtremeLink. Thanks!