Spektrum DX18
Some of the options in the System Setting menu (above left). There are four pages in all. Wing and tail configurations can be set up in Aircraft Type (above right). The graphic displays presented will change according to the Model Type—
Aircraft, Heli, or Sailplane—chosen. The Serial number page (below left) is the third of the four in System Settings. Frame Rate (below right) can be set to 11mS for faster digital servos. Here is where X-Plus is activated as well as Mode.
of the retract cycle can coordinate with the Servo Speed function so that characteristic lag of gear retraction on some planes can be incorporated.
This one function alone offers a versatility that is probably only limited by the imagina- tion and the amount of experimentation any- one wants to try. There is one application that I think will be useful for one of my planes, an old Byron BD-5J. That model offered a scale thrust reversing function. The Sequencer would be a perfect application for this. Once down on the ground, flip a switch and the clamshell reversers deploy, then the throttle comes up to full for a select time, the throttle comes down, and the clamshells retract.
Something like this could be done with a mix or using two switches. The mix however wouldn’t have the slight time delay to allow the clamshells to deploy before full throttle is applied. The use of switches would de- mand more user input and also diminish the switches available for other channel functions.
One other new feature added to the DX18 is Absolute Travel. It’s found in the Servo Setup menu of the Function Mode. At first it was hard to understand the function, but with some gracious and very timely help from a stalwart FMcontributor, Andy Kunz, it came much more clear. Spektrum added this to prevent potential problems with com-
plex mixes. It is a last line of defense from servo overtravel. Of all the functions on the DX18 this will demand some experimenta- tion, not so much for what it does in limiting end point travel, but more in how to adjust it. In that same Servo Setup menu, where by the way are the more common inputs for Servo Reversal, Sub-Trim, Travel Adjust, and Servo Speed, is the Servo Balance func- tion. For those familiar with the previous JR Matchbox devices, this function in the DX18 works the same way, to synchronize paired servos like those in a multiple servo aileron setup or a pull-pull rudder setup That brings us to one aspect of the system that may be somewhat minimal, the manual.
First of the two pages for D/R & Expo (above left) has been set just to show the curve for expo and the rates. Note that Switch defaults to “On”. Switches can
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be set to any stick, knob, lever or toggles. Here (above right) the Aileron switch has been set to B and its current position is indicated by the highlighted box.
DECEMBER 2012
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