Gyro and Servo Combinations

               

Introduction

There is a problem encountered with differing Manufacturer's Gyros and Servos - the Pulse and Frame Rates differ. This gives compatibility problems.

Unfortunately, these are not quoted on Manufacturer's Literature, which makes it difficult to make recommendations.

The best advice is to look on www.runryder.com or other Forums to see if your combination has been tried successfully.

In an effort to speed up the Helicopter's Tail response both pulse rate and frame rate have been modified, notably by Futaba.

It's impossible to give all combinations, so the following has to be a guide only !

 

Terminology

Frame Rate   

Frame Rate is the number of pulses (frames) per second that are sent by the Gyro and received by the servo.

Frame

A Frame is a complete block of all channel position information sent from the Tx to the Rx and then to the Gyro. The Gyro controls the frame rate and pulse width sent to the Tail servo.

Pulse Width

Pulse Width is the length of the pulse in us (milliseconds).

 

Standard Gyros & Servos

These run frame rates between 50-70hz (cyles per second). Normal average is 60hz.

Normal pulse width is 1520us.

Example Gyros are Futaba GY240 and CSM HLG 200.

Normal Servos (analogue or Digital) have to be rated at 50-70hz also.

The problem here is that this combination is not fast enough to properly hold the tail in either Heading Hold or backward flying modes and windy conditions.

 

Faster Gyros & Servos

These run frame rates  between 270 and 333 hz.

Their pulse widths are half the width at 760us. This is also referred to as "narrow" pulse width.

So, they are a) increasing the frame rate x 4 and also b) reducing the pulse width x 2, both of which speeds up the Tail response time.

Examples are Futaba GY401 / GY601 / GY611

 

Digital Servos

Note that just because a servo is digital or coreless does not mean it is compatible with a particular Gyro. But Digital servos tend to be faster and support faster Gyros.

 

Matching

It is important to realise that Gyros and servos are combinations for the reasons explained above. Any mismatch will affect and possibly reduce the tail response.

 

Gyros

GY401

DS = on - frame rate = 270hz

DS = off - frame rate = 70hz

pulse width = 1520us

Usually used with a fast servo - 9254 with DS = on.

GY601

Can switch to slower servos, but performance suffers.

frame rate = unknown

pulse width = 760us

Servos BLS251 or 9256

Servos not compatible with GY401

GY611

Can switch to slower servos, but performance suffers.

frame rate = unknown

pulse width = 760us

Servos 9256, BLS251

 

CSM720

Unknown.

 

Known Examples

1520uSec /333Hz servos
Futaba S9253 / S9254 / S9257 / S9650 / S3153 / S3154, JR 8900G /
3400G, Sanwa ERG-WRX, Airtronics 94758 / 94761, Hitec 5925MG /
6965HB, Robbe FS61BB, LogicTech 2100G

760uSec / 333Hz servos
Futaba S9251 / S9256 / BLS251, LogicTech 6100G

1520uSec / 250Hz Servos
JR 2700G / 8700G / 810G, Sky HDS-577 / HDS-877

 

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