User Manual

Copyright 2012 Eagle Tree Systems, LLC Page 3
Figure 1 – Guardian Connections and Controls
Guardian should be connected between your receiver and your servos and then told some basic orientation and trim details of your model.
These steps are detailed as follows. Note: it is assumed here that you have a transmitter switch connected to the Guardian’s Mode/Config
input.
• Connect the Guardian to your receiver using the included servo wire harness. Refer to the Receiver Connection Harness section
for more information.
• Connect your servos to the matching servo output channels on the Guardian. Note that the signal wire should be on top when
the Guardian’s label is facing the sky. See the Wing Type Configuration section for details on specific airframes.
• To reduce the possibility of extreme servo deflection, it is recommended that you disable stabilization at first. There are 3
ways to disable stabilization: If you are using a 3 position Mode/Config switch, move it to the center (disabled) position. If you are
controlling overall Guardian gain with a knob on your transmitter, set your Gain dial to -100% servo deflection (~1.1ms pulse
length) to disable stabilization. If neither of these methods is applicable, turn the Pitch/Roll/Yaw dials on the Guardian to their
centered position, which will also disable stabilization.
• Configure your Guardian and transmitter for your wing type (see the Wing Type Configuration section for more information):
o Turn off Elevon and V-Tail mixing in your transmitter, if it is enabled. Elevon and V-Tail mixing will be done by the
Guardian.
o By default, the Guardian is programmed for traditional wing types (mixing disabled). If your model requires elevon or V-
Tail mixing, you can quickly enable this feature by doing the following:
 Within 15 seconds of powering on, toggle your Mode/Config switch three times, which is the Toggle Elevon
Mixing switch gesture (move the switch up-down-up-down-up-down if the switch is presently down, or down-up-
down-up-down-up if the switch is presently up).
 Your servos should “twitch” three times to indicate that you have toggled elevon mixing ON/OFF.
 Move your control sticks to ensure that the mixing is now enabled. If not, you may need to re-run the Enable
Elevon Mixing step.
• Place your plane on a test bench so its orientation is the same as it would be during straight and level flight.
• Reset your Trims and Level Flight Orientation:
o Within 15 seconds of powering on, and with your plane still in the orientation of level flight, toggle your Mode/Config
switch once, which is the Reset Level Flight and Trims switch gesture. Your servos should “twitch” once to indicate that
you have reset your controller trims and level flight orientation.
o If you re-trim your plane or re-mount the Guardian, you will need to do this again to ensure best stabilization performance.
• Compensate for servo directions and throws:
o Set your Mode/Config switch to -100% (switch position 2 on a Spektrum
TM
controller). This activates “2D Mode”
o Turn up the Overall Gain knob on your transmitter to 0% deflection (100% overall stabilization gain) if you are using the
gain knob.
o Observe how your servos react as you pitch, roll and yaw your plane.
o Adjust the Guardian Pitch, Roll and Yaw axis dials with a screwdriver, so the servo deflects in the correct direction to bring
your model back to level, for each axis. A centered dial asserts zero stabilization on that axis. Turning it clockwise or
counterclockwise increases the gain and selects the servo stabilization direction.
• Ensure your Transmitter Pitch/Roll throws are set for 100% if applicable. The Guardian expects full ranges when it interprets
your command stick deflections to determine the desired orientation in 2D Mode.
• Preflight:
o Check that when you pitch, roll and yaw your
plane while in either 2D or 3D Mode, that your
servos oppose your movements. See the
Preflight Checks section for more information.
o Do an engine run-up and confirm that the servos
are not moving around randomly due to
excessive vibration or a loosely mounted
Guardian.
o Range check your model!
Guardian Physical Connections/ Controls
Please refer to Figure 1. The Guardian has the following
physical connections and controls:
• Port for Receiver Connection Harness – this is where the included harness connects. The servo plugs on the harness then connect to
the appropriate receiver channels. Please see the Receiver Connection Harness section below for more information.
• Servo Connection Ports – connect the appropriate servos to the Guardian here, noting the plug orientation in Figure 1. Please see the
Wing Hookup Configurations section below for more information.
• Yaw, Roll and Pitch gain control dials – these dials set the individual gains for the Yaw (Rudder), Roll (Aileron) and Pitch (Elevator)
axes, as well as setting the direction of stabilizing servo travel, and are adjusted with a small screwdriver. Please see the Tuning
Stabilization Gains section for more information.