TM AR7200BX User Guide 1
EN NOTICE All instructions, warranties and other collateral documents are subject to change at the sole discretion of Horizon Hobby, Inc. For up-to-date product literature, visit horizonhobby.com and click on the support tab for this product.
EN The AR7200BX combines the proven BeastX™ flybarless technology with a Spektrum™ 7-channel, high-speed, 2048 receiver. This combination provides the ultimate in performance and simple installation. The AR7200BX is perfect for mini (up to 450 class) helicopters. Using an optional DSMX remote receiver adds necessary path diversity for even the largest electric, glow, gas and turbine-powered helicopters.
EN Swashplate— Direct Cyclic Feed Forward Swashplate— Cyclic Gain Tail Dynamic Setup Button Menu Point LED Status LED Features • • • • • • Integrated BeastX flybarless technology and Spektrum 7-channel receiver Optional DSMX remote receiver capable SmartSafe™ failsafe system Flight Log and Telemetry compatible (optional) 2048 Resolution High-speed 11ms operation when used with capable transmitters Applications • 250–800 sized nitro, gas and electric flybarless 3D helicopters • Scale flybarless helic
EN Antenna Polarization For optimum RF link performance, mount the antennas in an orientation that allows for the best possible signal reception when the helicopter is in all possible attitudes and positions. Orient the internal receiver antennas perpendicular to each other (see Receiver Installation). When using a DSMX remote receiver—Use double-sided foam tape to mount the remote receiver so that the antenna is perpendicular to the longer main receiver antenna.
EN Servo Connections and Auxiliary Channels Servo Selection Flight Direction Select servos that are adequate for flybarless operation. The servos must have high torque in addition to being fast and precise. Using high-quality servos that are suited for flybarless helicopters increases the rotor blade options. A poor servo-rotor blade combination will cause several issues including oscillations in hover and unwanted reaction in fast forward flight. Connect all servos to the AR7200BX.
EN The AR7200BX can be attached flat, upright or inverted under the helicopter. The servo connector pins must always point toward the front or rear of the helicopter. Make sure the edges of the AR7200BX are all parallel with the corresponding axes of the helicopter. Y-Harnesses and Servo Extensions Do not use amplified Y-harnesses and servo extensions with Spektrum equipment. Only use standard non-amplified Y-harnesses and servo extensions.
EN Setup Procedure Power on the transmitter first. The AR7200BX initializes when the receiver is powered on. Do not move the AR7200BX or the helicopter while the receiver is initializing. You can lay the helicopter on its side to prevent it from moving in windy conditions. Receiver Initialization Cycle 1. 2. 3. 4. LEDs cycle and then the firmware version will display for 3 seconds. LEDs H through N cycle to initialize the receiver inputs. LEDs A through G cycle to calibrate the sensors.
EN Selection Within Menu Points The Status LED color indicates menu point options. The options are: Move the rudder stick left to move counterclockwise through the options. Move the rudder stick right to move clockwise through the options. The available options depend on the menu point. Status-LED LED solid: LED flashing: OFF Purple Solid Red Flashing Red Solid Blue Flashing Blue Solid Rudder Stick Switching to the Next Menu Point Quickly press the setup button to move to the next menu point.
EN Setup Menu The following section describes each menu point and the available settings. A. Mounting Orientation The AR7200BX can be mounted horizontally or vertically. The only restriction is that the servo plug connectors MUST point toward the front or rear of the helicopter. Status-LED Red Solid Vertical (on the side) Blue Solid Horizontal (flat)* *=Factory Setting Push the setup button to save the selection and move to menu point (B). B.
EN C. Tail Servo Center Position/Pulse Length Almost all tail servos work with 1520µs (micro seconds). There are a few tail servos available that use a different center position pulse length. Status-LED Tail servo center position pulse length OFF User Defined (requires PC software) Purple Solid 960µs Red Solid 760µs Blue Solid 1520µs* *=Factory Setting IMPORTANT: If a pulse length is selected (C) that does not allow a certain tail servo frequency (D), the frequency is automatically reduced.
EN E. Setting the Tail Servo Endpoints Adjust the limit of the tail rotor blades to achieve the best throw. The best throw is determined by either the maximum possible control travel of the tail slider or the maximum allowed tail rotor blade angle of attack. Make sure the tail rotor blades move in the correct direction (see your helicopter manual for more information). If the tail rotor blades move in the wrong direction, reverse the rudder direction in your transmitter. To adjust the limits: 1.
EN G. Adjusting the Swashplate Servo Centering Menu point G electronically adjusts the center point of the cyclic servos. 1. With all swashplate servos connected, the servos are now operating in their center position or “reference position”. The Status LED is Off. 2. Install the servo horns on the servos so the horns form an angle close to 90° with the linkage rod. The angle will not be a perfect 90°. 3. Move the rudder stick once to select a servo.
EN H. Swashplate Mixer Select the electronic swashplate mixer required for your helicopter or choose “mechanical” if the helicopter uses a mechanical mixer. The AR7200BX supports 90°, 120° and 140° swashplates. You can also use any swashplate geometry by selecting User Defined (PC software required). Refer to your helicopter manual for more information on CCPM. CAUTION: NEVER use your transmitter’s electronic swashplate mixing. All CCPM mixing is done by the AR7200BX.
EN I. Setting the Swashplate Servo Directions Menu point (I) ensures the swashplate servos are moving correctly. Note that the proper aileron, elevator and collective pitch direction (right/left, up/down) will be corrected later using the servo reversing setting in the transmitter. Try each of the four possible combinations until the swashplate moves correctly. There is no need to adjust servos individually. IMPORTANT: The direction of swashplate movement (e.g.
EN J. Teaching the Cyclic Pitch Geometry CAUTION: Do not touch any stick on your transmitter when entering menu point (J). This will cause unwanted flight behavior. 1. Move the rotor blades so that they are parallel to the tail boom. 2. Attach a pitch gauge to a rotor blade. The swashplate should be in the neutral position and the blade should have 0° of pitch. If the swashplate is not neutral with 0° of blade pitch, repeat menu point (G) before proceeding. 3.
EN L. Adjusting the Cyclic Swashplate Limit Menu point (L) adjusts the maximum possible tilting of the swashplate for aileron and elevator. The deflection is limited in a circular path, similar to a cyclic ring function, preventing swashplate binding at full aileron and elevator travel. 1. Carefully move the sticks for aileron, elevator and pitch to all maximum endpoints. Watch for binding or lack of movement in the swashplate, linkage rods and servos. 2.
EN N. Setting the Pirouette Optimization Direction. 1. Note the direction the swashplate tilts when entering menu point (N). The swashplate will tilt forward or back; the direction does not matter. 2. Hold the helicopter at the rotor head and spin the helicopter by hand around the main shaft. 3. The swashplate should remain in the same tilt direction regardless of the rotational direction of the helicopter. 4.
EN AR7200BX Power System Requirements All flybarless gyro systems require uninterrupted power. During even a short duration power interruption/brownout, the flybarless unit must reboot and reinitialize. CAUTION: If a power interruption/brownout occurs during flight, a crash will occur. It is your responsibility to ensure the AR7200BX has sufficient power without interruption.
EN SmartSafe™ Failsafe SmartSafe is a safety feature on the throttle channel only that offers the following benefits: • Prevents electric motors from operating when the receiver only is turned on (no transmitter signal present) • Prevents the speed controller from arming until the throttle is moved to low throttle position after connection is made • Powers off electric motors and reduces gas/glow engines to idle if signal is lost (Must bind the receiver at throttle off or idle position).
EN Dials and Tail Gyro Gain To adjust the dials: Only use the original Spektrum AR7200BX adjustment tool to prevent damage to the dials. Dial 1: Swashplate—Cyclic Gain Turn Dial 1 clockwise to increase the swashplate gain. Factory setting for Dial 1 is horizontal (50% swashplate gain). Use the factory setting for your first flights. Typically this setting is ideal for 450 class helicopters. If you are flying larger helicopters it may be necessary to slightly increase the cyclic gain positions.
EN Dial 3: Tail Dynamic Turn Dial 3 clockwise to increase the tail dynamic or counterclockwise to decrease the tail dynamic. Factory setting for Dial 3 is horizontal Make sure the maximum possible tail gyro gain has already been determined before adjusting the tail dynamic. Increasing the Tail Dynamic This will lead to harder stopping behavior and more aggressive response to tail stick inputs.
EN To find the optimal gain: 1. Start with a low gain value where the tail will feel very weak. 2. Increase the gain step by step until the tail feels more precise and holds better on sudden pitch inputs. 3. If the gain is too high, “wagging” will appear in fast forward or backward flight. N M M N L K Menu LED: K L J I I J H G H F E F G D C D E B A B C Rate-Mode HeadingLock-Mode Status-LED: Purple 0% Status LED: Blue Tail gyro gain (CH 5) -100% 100% Parameter Menu To enter the Parameter Menu: 1.
EN IMPORTANT: Unlike digital trims in the transmitter, menu point (A) is not a separate trim function. If the new center position is saved once in Parameter menu point (A), it will also change the servo center position in Setup menu point (G). Once the center position is saved in menu point (A), it is no longer possible to delete the trimming. Press the setup button once to move to Parameter menu point (B). B.
EN 5. If the helicopter continues to pitch up after increasing the swashplate gain, you may need to use faster and stronger servos or blades designed for flybarless helicopters. Status-LED Pitching Up Behavior OFF User Defined Purple Solid Very Low Red Flashing Low Red Solid Medium* Blue Flashing High Blue Solid Very High *=Factory Setting The option “User Defined” allows you to define your own settings using the optional PC Software.
EN IMPORTANT: If the tail pirouettes and stops unevenly in both directions, set the tail gyro to Normal-Rate mode. Test whether the tail will drift in a particular direction during hover. If it does, adjust the tail link rod length so the tail rotor blades have the required compensation for pitch. If you adjust the tail link rod length, you must reset the tail rotor limits (Setup menu point (E)).
EN F. Tail—RevoMIX The AR7200BX can pre-compensate for torque variations on the tail before any noticeable change. RevoMIX relieves the tail control loop and improves tail performance on helicopters with insufficient tail authority and/or high powered electric helicopters. To see the compensation direction: 1. Move the collective pitch, roll and elevator stick at any time. The tail rotor has to deflect to counter the rotor torque.
EN G. Cyclic Response Menu point ( G ) adjusts how aggressively the AR7200BX responds to cyclic commands (roll and pitch). Adjusting the cyclic response can reduce the linear control feeling of flybarless systems and make the helicopter response feel more like a flybar helicopter. The factory setting is “Normal”. To use the cyclic response feature, select “Slightly Increased” from the options. Gradually increase the cyclic response until you reach the desired level.
EN Pitch Boost Setting Too High: Can cause the rotor blades to stall when you input fast pitch commands. The collective pitch will feel slow, the opposite of the desired effect. Status-LED Pitch Boost OFF User Defined Purple Solid Off* Red Flashing Low Red Solid Medium Blue Flashing High Blue Solid Very High *=Factory Setting The option “User Defined” allows you to define your own settings using the optional PC Software. Press the setup button once to exit the Parameter menu.
EN The First Flight After powering on the receiver, wait for the AR7200BX to initialize completely (Short movement of swashplate servos and Status LED is Solid Blue or Solid Purple). It is not necessary for the helicopter to be horizontal. Do not move the helicopter at any time during the initialization. You can lay the helicopter on its side to prevent shaking in wind.
EN Version Display After the AR7200BX initializes, the Status LED turns Solid Red for 3 seconds. The first two digits of the internal firmware version are displayed. Representation of Values The representation of all values using the menu LEDs is in binary. A lighting menu LED stands for a 1, an off LED for 0. The least significant bits are A and H.
EN AR7200BX Overview SETUP MENU Menu LED solid Status-LED: A B C D E F G H I J K L M OFF Red Flashing Purple Blue Flashing upright (vertical) Mounting orientation 50 Hz* User defined 960 μs Tail servo - frequency User defined 50 Hz* Tail servo - rotor Tail stick - move to right endpoint and wait/left endpoint and wait 65 Hz 120 Hz Blue Solid flat (horizontal)* User defined Swashplate servo 165 Hz 200 Hz - frequency Tail servo - center 760 μs 1520 μs* position pulse length 165 Hz 27
EN 1-Year Limited Warranty What this Warranty Covers Horizon Hobby, Inc., (Horizon) warrants to the original purchaser that the product purchased (the “Product”) will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 1 years from the date of purchase.
EN have other rights which vary from state to state. Horizon reserves the right to change or modify this warranty at any time without notice. WARRANTY SERVICES Questions, Assistance, and Services Your local hobby store and/or place of purchase cannot provide warranty support or service. Once assembly, setup or use of the Product has been started, you must contact your local distributor or Horizon directly.
EN Non-Warranty Service Should your service not be covered by warranty service will be completed and payment will be required without notification or estimate of the expense unless the expense exceeds 50% of the retail purchase cost. By submitting the item for service you are agreeing to payment of the service without notification. Service estimates are available upon request. You must include this request with your item submitted for service.
EN FCC Information This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Caution: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
EN Compliance Information for the European Union Declaration of Conformity (in accordance with ISO/IEC 17050-1) No. HH2011111302 Product(s): Item Number(s): Equipment class: AR7200BX 7CH Flybarless Control System SPMAR7200BX 1 The object of declaration described above is in conformity with the requirements of the specifications listed below, following the provisions of the European R&TTE directive 1999/5/ EC: EN 301 489-1 V1.7.1: 2006 EN 301 489-17 V1.3.
© 2011 Horizon Hobby, Inc. DSMX is a trademark of Horizon Hobby, Inc., registered in the U.S. DSM, DSM2, SmartSafe and JR are trademarks or registered trademarks of Horizon Hobby, Inc. The Spektrum trademark is used with permission of Bachmann Industries, Inc. BeastX is a trademark of Markus Schaack and is used with permission. The Spektrum AR7200BX employs technology exclusively licensed to Horizon Hobby, Inc. from freakware GmbH. US 7,391,320. Other patents pending.
