User Manual

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Specifications (approximate) 1

How to Get Help 1

Terms and Symbols 1

General Safety Precautions 2

Main Features 2

Overview/Quick Start 2

Guardian Physical Connections/ Controls 3

The Receiver Connection Harness 4

Configuring the Mode and Gain Channels 4

Receiver Requirements 5

Mounting the Guardian in your Model 6

Preflight Checks 6

First Flight 6

Tuning Stabilization Gains 7

Status LED 8

Mode/Config Switch Behavior 9

The Guardian PC Software 11

Guardian Configuration Page Software

Reference 12

Troubleshooting / F.A.Q. 13

Limited

Warranty 14

Guardian 2D/3D Stabilizer

Document Version 2.3

PC Software 10.69 or later Assembled in Taiwan

Introduction

Thank you for your purchase! Based on Eagle Tree's proven inertial stabilization technology, the Guardian 2D/3D Stabilizer (the Guardian) stabilizes most types of fixed

wing models, and works with most any radio. Unlike most “gyro stabilizer” products on the market, when configured correctly the Guardian provides true wing leveling

stabilization as well as precise fly-by-wire control. This lets you configure the Guardian to return to level flight in an emergency, by just flipping a radio switch!

Read the Manual!

This manual contains important instructions related to safety. Read the entire manual before proceeding, to become familiar with the features and operation of the

Guardian. Failure to correctly configure or operate the Guardian could cause damage to personal property or serious injury! The latest version of this manual is available

in the Product Manuals section of the Support tab on http://www.eagletreesystems.com. The online manual is in full color, and includes any updates that were made after

this manual was printed. If, after you read the manual, you have further questions or problems, see the “How to Get

Help” section below.

Packing List

Your package should include the following: The Guardian, the receiver connection harness with labeled connectors, the

quick reference card, and a printed version of this manual.

Specifications (approximate)

 Input Voltage Range: 4.5v to 16v

 Current Draw: Approximately 31mA

 Dimensions: 41mm x 22mm x 11mm (1.62 inches x 0.86 inches x 0.42 inches)

 Mass: 11 grams (0.4 ounces) including harness

 Maximum Servo Current through Guardian: 5 Amps

 Recommended Airframes: the Guardian is not recommended for large or heavy airframes, due to no or limited

testing on these types of models at this time.

How to Get Help

Eagle Tree is committed to providing great customer service. If you’ve read the manual and something is not clear, just

ask. We’d much prefer to take the time to answer your questions, rather than having you waste your valuable time

struggling with an issue.

To get help, visit the Eagle Tree Guardian support thread at

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1596644. Chances are someone has posted a solution to your

problem already. If not, posting your problem there will get a very quick response from the Eagle Tree community.

If you prefer to not post on the forum, or you feel there is a problem with your Eagle Tree hardware, please open a

support ticket with us at http://ticket.eagletreesystems.com and we will respond to your support ticket as soon as we can.

Note that when you create a support ticket, you will be emailed a link that will let you check the status of the ticket. If

you do not receive the email, this most likely means that a spam filter is intercepting emails from Eagle Tree.

Also Eagle Tree greatly values your feedback on how we can improve our products. To leave us feedback for a new

feature request or improvement, either post the feedback on our support thread above, create a support ticket with your

feedback, or just email us at support@eagletreesystems.com.

Terms and Symbols used in the Manual

Warning that could affect safety or result in injury, a crash, property damage or Guardian hardware

damage if not heeded.

Helpful Note

Pitch – Lift or descent of the nose and tail of the model. Normally controlled by the elevator, or

movement of elevons in same direction.

Roll – Rocking movement of the wings, side to side. Normally controlled by ailerons, or

movement of elevons in opposite directions.

Yaw – Turning of the airplane without banking. Normally controlled by the rudder.

Axis – an imaginary line drawn horizontally through your model’s wing (for Pitch), horizontally

through your fuselage (for roll), or vertically through the center of your fuselage (for yaw).

Control Stick – The stick on your radio that controls elevator and aileron functions (pitch and roll).

Attitude – The orientation of the model with respect to the horizon.

2D Mode – A mode where the model is brought to a level attitude (level flight and level wings) by

the Guardian when the control stick is centered.

3D Mode – A mode where the Guardian attempts to hold the model’s present attitude when the

Control Stick is centered, by moving the model’s control surfaces automatically.

Heading – The present direction of travel of the model with respect to North.

Control Surfaces – Your model’s elevator, ailerons (or elevons) and rudder (if equipped).

Summary of content (14 pages)

PAGE 1
Guardian 2D/3D Stabilizer Document Version 2.3 PC Software 10.69 or later Assembled in Taiwan Introduction Thank you for your purchase! Based on Eagle Tree's proven inertial stabilization technology, the Guardian 2D/3D Stabilizer (the Guardian) stabilizes most types of fixed wing models, and works with most any radio. Unlike most “gyro stabilizer” products on the market, when configured correctly the Guardian provides true wing leveling stabilization as well as precise fly-by-wire control.
PAGE 2
Receiver Connection Harness – The cable included with your Guardian that lets you connect your Guardian to your receiver’s outputs. Mode/Config Switch – A two or three position switch on your radio transmitter which you have configured to control the “Mod” input on the Guardian’s Receiver Connection Harness. Toggle – One fairly rapid movement the Mode/Config Switch between its extents. (UP/DOWN or DOWN/UP) Configuration Gestures – A series of toggles of the Mode Config/Switch.
PAGE 3
 To reduce the possibility of extreme servo deflection, it is recommended that you disable stabilization during initial setup. There are 3 ways to disable stabilization: o If you are using a 3 position Mode/Config switch, move it to the center (disabled) position. The Guardian’s LED should be OFF when in the Mode/Config switch is in the disabled position. o  If you are controlling overall Guardian gain with a knob on your transmitter, set your Gain dial to -100% servo deflection (~1.
PAGE 4
The Receiver Connection Harness Receiver Connection Harness Pinout The lightweight receiver connection harness with labeled connectors should make it easy for you to hook up the Guardian to your receiver. A diagram of the harness is shown in Figure 2, for your reference. It has the following labeled receiver connections:  Ail – (required) Connects to your receiver’s Aileron output channel. Note that this channel also supplies power and ground to the Guardian and the servos connected to the Guardian.
PAGE 5
The current pitch and roll are recorded every time the Mode switch is transitioned out of a 2D-Mode position at the beginning of a toggle gesture. Once the 5-toggle gesture is completed, those recorded pitch and roll values are stored to permanent memory as the new level flight orientation. If the 5-toggle gesture does not complete within the standard time-out (1 second per toggle), then the recorded orientation information is discarded and no changes are made.
PAGE 6
The Guardian requires unmixed control inputs from your receiver, even if you have a V-Tail or Elevon model. If you have a V-Tail or Elevon model, the Guardian does the mixing internally, so you will need to change your transmitter configuration to standard wing type, rather than having your transmitter do the mixing. For airframe types other than standard and dual Aileron/Flaperon, you will need to be change the “Model Control Type” setting, using either the radio stick configuration or the PC software.
PAGE 7
ground with little or no input, then your configuration is correct. If the model oscillates or overcompensates during the hand-toss, your Gain is too high. Once it has been shown that the Guardian has been correctly configured, perform a run-up on the ground with stabilization enabled, while watching your control surfaces for drift. If it appears as if stabilization is working properly with the engine active, then throttle down, perform one last preflight check and take off with power.
PAGE 8
Too high of a gain setting can result in oscillation: see the Oscillations section for more information on this. Setting Master Gain control to the minimum will lower the overall gain to zero, while positions in between will yield proportional gain. Lowering the individual gain dials on the Guardian will lower the gain for that axis only and allow fine tuning. This might be desirable if, for instance, oscillation is encountered on one axis but not the others.
PAGE 9
LED Indication during Steady State  Solid On: 3D Mode  One repeated blink: 2D Mode  Solid Off: Stabilization Disabled Additional LED Messages  2 repeated blinks: Radio Stick Menu is active  3 repeated blinks: USB is connected  4 repeated blinks: Error condition. Error type is indicated by a pause and a number of additional, faster blinks: o One blink: Brownout – BEC or receiver battery is providing insufficient power for your servos and the Guardian.
PAGE 10
Entering the Radio Stick Menu is done by powering the model with the Guardian connected and quickly toggling the Mode/Config Switch back and forth four times within the first 15 seconds following power-on. One second after the last switch movement, the menu will be invoked. You will know that the menu has been invoked when the servos of your model stop their normal stabilization deflections and instead perform a short twitch followed by no further movement.
PAGE 11
7. Enable 3D Heading Hold Enables the 3D Heading Hold feature in 3D Mode. Those looking for the stability and precision of the Guardian without anything else getting between them and their airplane can disable this feature for a rate-gyro experience. Be sure to move the your radio’s control stick to reset the locked heading immediately before takeoff. (3D Mode Only) Enabling Direct Rate 3D Stabilization is strongly recommended if this mode is set to “Off”. Radio Stick Menu Options: 1: Off; 2: On 8.
PAGE 12
If you have other Eagle Tree products (such as the eLogger, OSD Pro, or Seagull) the main software screen will continue to appear, just as it does now. To launch the Guardian Stabilization configuration page, just click “Hardware, Configure Guardian 2D/3D Stabilizer”. Guardian Configuration Page Software Reference The General Tab 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.
PAGE 13
The Mode Config Tab 1. Allows the configuration of the 3 positions on the Mode switch input to be customized. Use the drop down menus in each position field to customize which mode becomes active when that position is selected by the mode switch. Troubleshooting / F.A.Q. Question: Is it OK to use dual/expanded rates/ranges on my transmitter? Answer: While using expanded servo ranges on your controller will not cause problems, they are not needed and may cause confusion.
PAGE 14
Issue: When I increase the Gain on the Guardian, I see one or more control surfaces move, even though my model is level. Solution: This can happen if the Guardian does not know your latest trim settings. Make sure you perform the “Reset Level Flight and Trims” or “Reset Level Trims” operation (described above) each time you change your model’s trim settings. Issue: My USB cable does not fit well in the Guardian’s USB connector. Solution: We have received a few reports of tight-fitting USB cables.