Give the BK preset a go its smoother than the 3d preset

 

Will do feral, I'll set up flight modes and and program a couple of different styles in and take her out for another flight or two this arvo.

One thing I forgot to mention was that I ended up using the KBUG option in the throttle section. I have a Kosmik 200 and I was not getting the swash and tail zips as the VX1e initialised when ESC was selected. With KBUG enabled the ESC and Vortex both initialise correctly.

 

Thats the go mate.

I change the piro rate down to 500 from the bk but everything else is stock.
Flys great

 

Looking forward to trying mine... but I like to have 2 cables to the fbl ... but there's no spare port on it.. I'm running futaba...

Thought I could use a y connector with the extra power and throttle into sv5...

May need to get that custom firmware for when mine comes in with the goblin

 

All ports across the top can accept power - DataPod, Rx, SV1, SV2, SV3, SV4,and SV5. The RPM and AUX ports cannot.

This guide talks about the VX1 & VX1n. The esprit is the same as the nano as far as the ports are concerned.
http://www.spartan-rc.com/products/vx1/files/vortex_user_guide_3v00.pdf

Angelos should be releasing the firmware possibly in the next day or so, once his pilots have given it a sufficient flogging to make sure there are no bugs.

 

Easy fix just supply power to dpod port and to your rx

 

Didn't get a datapod so that's out.. I knew I could apply power via those connections but wondering if anyone has done a y connector with the throttle...

Guess I'll work it out

 

Ahh cool - yes a Y lead will work with any of the ports that are on the main power bus.

If you have troubles when you get your VX1e and the firmware still hasn't been released then send Angelos a message here https://www.facebook.com/groups/405852836193929/permalink/626172917495252/

 

I did a y lead on a mini vbar to throt channel worked fine

 

I want one. I was going to get one, but opted out due to budget.

Next paycheck, next paycheck

 

New firm ware has been released for the usb bug

 

Thanks @Manyc ill update my 2 before they go onto birds

 

Ok.. not sure if I should continue this thread or start a new one... I may start a new one for tuning issues.. something @feral would know all about.. so here are my impressions of give it a work out on stock settings.. I picked mine up from http://www.zenrc.com.au/

Setup
Setup in itself is easy.. the software is very clear and concise.. Radio templates can be downloaded if needed for the most popular radios... Wiring is pretty standard, tho the lack of a spare port to power the unit direct if running futaba is a bit disappointing. I like to run 2 power wires into the FBL for redundacy. One I plug into the RX and have power transfered by the SBUS cable, and one directly into the FBL. To get around this, just used a Y-Adapter for the esc and extra power into the SRV5 port.

It is important to note... that the Flight Modes which other FBL's refer to as Banks, is controlled in my case by the Gain channel. You cannot change the gains on the tail via the radio.. This will cause you problems. there is a way to change a single setting at a time in the vortex, but you need the datapod for this. I will look into it and work it out eventually.

Tail setup is important. I cannot stress enough the 200% throw it is after on the tail. If you do not get close to or above this, you will have reduced tail performance. On the BK Tail servo, using futaba horns, even tho the manual for the heli I was setting up, states the middle hole, I had to reduce it to the lowest one. If I was on the mid one, I had a constant tail wag... Moving to the lowest hole, reduced the mechanical gain, and got me my 200% throw and produced a nice tail.

NOTE: Do not use the tape/foam they supply, I find it messy, hard to remove, and allows the unit to rock... I replaced it with some 3M vibe tape.

Firmware
As previously known, some people where having issues when disconnecting from the device, the setting would revert to defaults.. A new firmware has been released to fix this issue. There is no video on how to update it as there is for the other variations... but if needed you can get the firmware from
http://www.spartan-rc.com/products/vx1/files/vx1e_flybarless_m5_3v03.exe
Instructions here : http://www.spartan-rc.com/products/vx1/files/vx1e_firmware_update_guide.pdf

Please note that during major version changes it will wipe your settings back to defaults.. so keep that in mind and validate everything is functional before doing any flying..

Support
Support for the unit is nice, and Bert K does a lot of video's and help with it, as well as Bob O from helifreak. There is a very nice online manual that explains an awful lot...
http://spartan-rc.com/
http://www.spartan-rc.com/products/vx1/help/05/user_guide.php?menu=5
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_M3XBIC48bhkj62gF0MScyo774YQZ3OV

Flight
So I set my unit up on 3D mode, and I enabled "Flight Modes" also known as banks. I wanted to fly it stock just to see how I liked it, and if any changes needed to happen....

the first flight it felt nice, flew well... piro's nicely.. did have some pitch up tendencies on FFF. The heli did not do any unusual behaviours during flight.. and was quite acceptable.. for a stock settings it should be pretty comfortable, if not a little tame for most pilots...

Ok... however like most people, everyone wants little different things out of how their FBL flies. For me personally, I found the cyclic slow, and a bit un-responsive, and I felt the tail could be a bit more "locked" for lack of a better term. All these are 100% tunable, and I will start up another thread discussing it...

Overall
Overall this is a very nice unit, very compact, would fit nicely in the smaller 450's and even 300's better than most other units... For the price, you cannot beat it. I am looking forward to seeing and electric governor, and the lack of Self Leveling, may see some new pilots choose the ikon over it for that feature alone. But since I have never used SL, and your after a cheap well performing FBL, take a look...

 

I dont know myself @heligodfather. You rejected me from the chapel. @Crash Heligod beats me, you reject me - my only friend is @Manyc - but nice review @Manyc very informative..

 

To be honest crashing is like death and taxes... cant avoid them... hmm... @Crash Minion why is it now that I can do some really bad 1/2 piro tic tocs?

 

These are unspoken benefits @Manyc.....

 

Guys I've installed one in a Trex 250, just because of the small size of the unit . I also found problems with the USB connection, but found that if I used a cheap USB cable the unit had connectivity issues. What this means, I don't know.
I also found that I could only get 10 deg of negative pitch but that will need further investigation . Overall out of the box pretty impressed with the stability . Piros were not consistent on the first session, but after checking the mechanics on the tail it's much better now.
That's my two cents....
Argy


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