Disable failsafe on MTroniks Viper Sub 10???

[eckloss]

Anyone know how on earth to do it?

When radio signal is lost, the prop turns on instead of the ADF failsafe kicking in.

[JWLaRue]

Re: Disable failsafe on MTroniks Viper Sub 10???

Hi Erich,

....it's not clear from reading the Mtroniks instructions if the failsafe itself is directly programmable. The instructions located here: http://www.mtroniks.net/resources/VI...onsheet_13.pdf don't even mention it......

The failsafe might be automatically programmed when the initial set-up is done to determine the full/neutral/reverse settings for the ESC.

If the Mtroniks failsafe works, maybe you need to remove the ADF......

-Jeff

[KevinMC]

Re: Disable failsafe on MTroniks Viper Sub 10???

Hi Eric,

How is your ADF connected with the throttle channel? So far as I'm aware the Viper will default to off in the absence of a radio signal, is it possible that your Rx is feeding "bad signals" to both the ADF and the Viper?

[eckloss]

Re: Disable failsafe on MTroniks Viper Sub 10???

speed control is not connected to the adf in any way. its direct to the rx.

[wlambing]

Re: Disable failsafe on MTroniks Viper Sub 10???

Guys,

I've had similar weirdness with the Mtronics ESCs. My SWM Trenchant came with a Marine Viper 15 in it. With a SubTech Subsafe, blow actuation is immediate upon loss of signal, along with chattering of the control surfaces, blow/vent servo, and sporadic spinning of the screw. It also happens with a brand new Sub 10 ESC. I've been told the Mtronics UNITS fail to all stop on propulson when they loose signal. I think it would be good for Mtronics to publish how the failsafe in their equipment works. I did find I had a worn out APC-4 and replaced it with a spare I had. The Novak Rooster I have in Trepang's cylinder poses no problems, but there's an ADF in there, too. I used to have it in a Subsafe equipped cylinder where it worked as advertised. The Novak is relatively ancient and apparently bulletproof! I had a Hitec EZX-R in my Marlin that wouldn't play right with the PBU gear all the time. I've since abandoned the original Marlin cylinder and it's equipment for something much more reliable. I can only say that some experimenting may be in order so that you find a good combination that works reliably.

Good luck, young Jedi!

Bill

[eckloss]

Re: Disable failsafe on MTroniks Viper Sub 10???

I know there is a way to do it, I've done it before, but I've lost my notes on how i did it. I do remember that it was something incredibly simple, I just cannot remember how.

[Guest]

Re: Disable failsafe on MTroniks Viper Sub 10???

All the mtroniks speed controllers (and just about anyone else's these days) are based around microcontrollers (PIC, Atmel etc)

As such they most likely have a routine inside them that counts the pulses coming in, but if your receiver is spitting out random pulses upon loss of signal (some do this) then the ESC will respond to that. The only way to find out for sure is to hook the output of the receiver up to an oscilloscope. Then you can see what is being spat out when you turn of the TX.

Some receivers have built in pulse conditioning and failsafes, the downside to these is that they tend to be aimed at the aeroplane crowd where you want a failsafe to kick in very quickly upon loss of signal (e.g. within two seconds), whereas with a sub it's beneficial to have a longer delay, as two second glitches can be quite common, with the consequence of the ballast system activating etc.

[eckloss]

Re: Disable failsafe on MTroniks Viper Sub 10???

I called Mtroniks this morning (mid afternoon, their time, luckily) and spoke with a very helpful techie named Steve. The simple answer is: no, there is no way to disable the failsafe. However, after speaking with him for a while, it hit me, and then i hit my head against the door frame with a feeling of complete stupidity. The issue was in my radio. The Futaba 7cap PCM radio i was using has a built in failsafe, settable for each position on each channel. I had completely forgotten about that feature, and when i checked it, it just so happened that the throttle channel was set to go full blast with loss of signal. I promptly changed it to blow ballast and stop the prop dead. All is working fine now.

FYI, this fellow Steve at Mtroniks is one heck of a helpful guy. If ever you need to call them, ask for him by name.