[jeffjs]

Hey guys I'm setting up my tail and following the videos by sokal11 on youtube. In the setup video , he uses a dx6i and I have a dx7s, and instructs us to set the gyro rate on position 0 to above 50 and position 1 to something below 50. when the gyro switch is set to position 1 the gyro should enter rate mode and the led turns off. For me with the dx7s that is not the case, I have to set the rate to 0 in order for the gyro to enter rate mode. Is this normal? I don't imagine I would fly in rate mode, only in HH mode. Am I right?

[tporter416]

Jeff,

I have a DX7S and used a 401 Gryo until recently. It is mostly up to personal preference, I would recommend using positions 0 and 1 for HH mode, just different rates. That would be above 0%. Then maybe use setting 2 for rate mode (negative value below 0%). The 401 Gyro's gain for it ability to correct in HH mode increases the further away from 0%. Likewise for rate mode as you go below 0%. I would recommend only using HH mode. Then using three different rates on your Gyro switch to find a setting you like and works well as it can be changed. I would recommend not changing it in flight however, land and flick the switch then take off again. You can verify if you are in the correct mode by the LED colour (Also verifies your transmitter is setup correctly) on the top of the 401 (when on the ground with throttle hold on).

Thanks,

Tom

[ve7nly]

You can put rate mode in any position you like. 1 or 0, it doesn't matter. And same goes for heading hold mode. Personally, I never fly in rate mode so I don't even set it up in my transmitters. I just use different levels of heading hold gain for the different flying modes. No rate mode used at all. It's really all about personal preference.

[jak3All3n]

tporter is right, i, too, have a dx7s and use to have a gy401. above 0 up to 100 is heading hold mode, and below 0 to -100 is rate mode, you can tell which mode you're in by looking at the led on the gy401, when the red light is on, you're in hh mode, when it's off, you're in rate mode.

the dx6i is a bit different in that 50-100 is heading hold and 0-50 is rate mode.

use the toggle switch to experiment with different gain settings on the fly (no pun intended), but i too would recommend flying in hh mode only although rate mode is useful for mechanically trimming the tail.

once you've found the right gain setting for both flight modes (if you use idle up), you can use the idle up switch to toggle between the 2 gain settings. this way, it automatically switches your gain when you switch flight modes and your gain setting won't be affected if you accidentally toggle the gyro switch while you're flying.

[tporter416]

Another note, make sure the servo reverse is setup correctly on the 401 gyro. In HH mode (without touching the transmitter), after it initialized and the tail adjustment is centered, turn the helicopter right. You should see the gyro adjust the tail to turn the helicopter left. If you turn the helicopter left, the gyro should adjust the tail as if it was going to go back to the right. If you point it back the way you started, it should go back to centre. This is very important, not getting the tail servo direction correct will result in an almost instant crash on takeoff...

Thanks,

Tom