Throttle Jockey Pro Review by: Raymond Rester
|
The new TJ Pro comes in a molded plastic case which is the same case as the new CSM 560SL Micro Gyro. The package includes the TJ Pro which has LEDs which feedback info such as Governor Status, Sensor detect, Super Servo mode, etc. There is also a manual pot for manually setting RPM rather than using an Aux channel to do it remotely and female plugs for incoming connectors. Paul even includes some short jumper wires that go from the TJ Pro to the receiver making wiring a breeze.
|
Here's the Throttle Jockey Pro mounted on my Raptor 50. |
| The original Throttle Jockey and the GV-1 have wires permantly mounted to the governor, the TJ Pro is slightly different but includes the necessary cable required to connect it properly. I was anxious to try the new SuperServo Support feature on the Throttle Jockey Pro. I have a spare 9253 servo that was needing to see some use so in the heli it went along with the TJ Pro. | |
Beyond the original Throttle Jockey, Model Avionics released a second Throttle Jockey that was strickly manual and included the same type pot as used on the TJ Pro (great for 6 channel radio systems). I have a 9ZHPWC2 radio and 9 channel receivers so it was a no brainer to set it up for remote control. The TJ Pro includes everything you need to get started. A hall sensor (very small I might add), magnets, two sensor brackets for 30 to 90 size engines, misc. mounting hardware and two short male/male cables to go from the governor to the receiver. It even includes a really nice double sided foam square for mounting the governor to your favorite heli.(would like some of this tale to mount my gyros with) A printed user manual is included however my manual wasn't collated correctly so the pages were out of order inside, easy to fix, just flip pages 3 & 6 with 4 & 5, then everything read right. This error may have been on my manual only and not a widespread issue so don't be surprised if yours isn't/wasn't like mine.
Like the previous TJ, the TJ Pro holds excellent headspeeds. I have my test unit installed on a Raptor 50V2 with an OS-50. As most of you know, I sell and market an aftermarket Optical Sensor Kit for the Throttle Jockey and the Futaba GV1. Naturally, I opted for the Optical Sensor over the magnetic hall sensor. My cooling fan is the stock TT50 fan, black plastic. All I had to do was cut out a small 3/8" strip of aluminum foil from the kitchen and slow CA it to the fan. There's nothing wrong with using the stock magnetic sensor/magnet set that comes with the Throttle Jockey. I simply prefer optical as I don't have to fool with mounting magnets in my fan.
Here's a photo of the Throttle Jockey Pro as it ships from ModelAvionics:
The first time out with the Throttle Jockey Pro was a few weekends ago back before Christmas 2003. I hate to admit but I had problems.... The governor simply wouldn't engage. I fiddled around with it a while but never could get it to engage. I had plenty of headspeed, so I know the motor was reaching the required RPM to engage the governor. I didn't have much time at the field so I didn't tear into it there, the R50 is a fairly new ship and I spent the rest of the day getting it dialed in flight.
I had a very busy December, I was on the road about 20 days that month so there was little heli time. I finally got to fly it today (Sat. Jan 10th) after making some modifications to the sensor and re-calibrating and verifying the unit to make sure everything was nominal prior to flying.
I removed the sensor and inspected the fan, reflector strip and the sensor itself. All the while I was getting a red light on the governor when the sensor would read the foil strip (this is normal). I assumed it was reading the signal well enough to control. apparently I had the sensor mounted too far from the fan to work properly. The sensor light would light up when the foil strip passed but it wasn't enough to lock the headspeed so in the real world it wouldn't engage at all....
After I relocated the sensor position (moved the sensor closer ot the fan by about 3/32") the unit worked great. I was out at a private field today getting the Raptor 50 dialed in with the new governor. I had a Futaba GV-1 on this particular heli prior to installing the TJ Pro. I figured that would be a very good comparison. The governor seems to hold RPM very well when coming out of FFF and descending with the nose level or even a little high. This attitude normally results in a slight overspeed but it simply didn't happen today. I had my Idleup set to 60% and when I flipped into IdleUp from Normal the throttle quickly rasied and stablized at the desired RPM. I flew about a five tanks through the heli today with the Throttle Jockey Pro and I'm amazed at how well it works. I can see the refinements over the original Throttle Jockey and I also feel the technology inside is a little better than what Futaba has today.
If you're having trouble getting the Throttle Jockey Pro to engage, you may need to review your sensor position relative to the fan. I don't care if it's magnetic or optical I think there is a small varience in what it takes to trigger the LED but takes a little stronger signal to get things working... I've seen this before on a friends Vigor. Same thing, everything checked out on the bench yet the TJ Original wouldn't engage for anything. Later we found out it was a distance issue between the sensor and fan. That particular heli was also equipped with my optical sensor. After adjusting the focal length of the optical sensor it worked fine.
Here's my Optical Sensor installed on the R50 w/ OS50 &60L carb!
TIP, if you use an optical sensor or even a magentic one be sure to check it with the signal light. Find the start point of where it will light the LED and move it a little closer to the fan by splitting the distance. Actually the closer the better as far as optical is considered but you must be careful not to get it too close to the fan as it may begin to pickup false background light.
I think the easiest way to setup up the sensor properly is to lower the sensor and start monitoring the TJ Pro for the red sensor light to illuminate, then go a little past that point to be sure you are getting a good strong signal. The stock hall sensor type may not exhibit this behaviour as I've not tested it as I have the optical sensors.
Here's a quick overview of the 9ZHP/ Raptor 50V2 setup:
Mechanically, you mount the sensor to sensor bracket (supplied), this is mounted to the heli on the engine mount. Install the magnet or Optical Stripe (whichever is applicable) onto the fan then plug the sensor into the governor, plug the throttle servo in as well.
Next insert the patch cables included to go from the TJ Pro to the receiver. You will have a cable that goes to Channel 3 (Throttle) and another one that goes to Channel 7 (AUX-1). Attach the governor to a flat spot with the supplied foam double sided tape. I chose the flat spot on the top front of the Raptor 50 servo tray, just ahead of the collective arm. Just make sure it won't flex back to get under the collective arm, that may not turn out well...
Electronically, I chose to setup my Throttle Jockey Pro the way I've always setup my old GV-1 governors. I prefer throttle priority, a master On and Off switch and want my headspeed to automatically change when I flip my flight mode switch (Switch E).
First thing I had to do was associate a Master On/Off switch with my AUX-1 channel. To do this I had to go into the MODEL Menu and select "FNC"(Function). This is where you set a switch to a channel. In the photo below you can see a yellow box around AUX-1. You'll also note seeing "-SA" as the Function. That means I have assigned Switch A to the AUX-1 channel. Press the "SELECT" button on the right, then press the "K" button to make AUX-1 active. Now Press the "CTR" ("P" button), this allows you to select which switch, stick, trim or dial to the channel AUX-1. At the top right of the screen below you can see a menu with "+/-" (the "R" button). This button toggles the witch to negative or positive. This will determine which way the channel moves depending on which way you flip the switch away from center. Rate A can be up or down, as can Rate B, it depends on how you setup this particular setting.
Once you've got the AUX-1 channel controlled by Switch A you can move on to AUX-1 ATV for calibration setup. Setup AUX-1 channel ATV settings to be at 100% on each side and zero subtrim in the center (see pictures below).
Here's the 9ZHP screen showing the Aux-1 ATV set to 100% on each side.
Here's the 9ZHP screen showing the Subtrim screen, make sure it's at Zero in all modes.
Make CERTAIN you've done this prior to calibration.
The next step is to have the AUX-1 switch set to the ON POSITION (it doesn't matter at this point which way you fip the switch from center as they are both set for 100%, now power up the transmitter then the receiver. On my 9ZHP I setup the FNC screen to have AUX-1 mapped to Switch A. This is a 3 position switch, center is Off, you can flip the switch up or down. It is necessary to set both A and B sides of the AUX switch to 100% before calibrating.
This is the Servo Screen on the 9Z, you can see my AUX-1 is enabled in the lower position or the "B" rate" and is at about 50% according to the servo display shown above.
As soon as the receiver is powered on you have the opportunity to enter the calibration state in the first few seconds after power up. If you quickly toggle the AUX switch from On to Off twice and leave the switch in the original On Position (do this while your throttle is at stop). The green light should flicker rapidly (make sure the sensor pight isn't on as it distracts from the green light), this confirms the governor has entered the calibration state. Now all you have to do is raise the throttle to full and back to stop. If you're not using a super servo then all you need to do is toggle the AUX switch again from ON to OFF and back ON while the stick is still at stop. This stores the parameters the Throttle Jockey Pro has just read. If you are using a super servo (a 240hz. or faster digital servo) instead of toggling the Aux-1 Master Switch after the stick has been moved from Stop to Full and back to Stop, raise the throttle stick once more back to full, now the flashing green light turns yellow in color. This indicates the governor has been set to super servo mode. Toggle the Aux-1 switch as described earlier to store the super servo setting and other parameters.
I'm running a spare Futaba 9253 Digital Hi Speed Rudder Servo on my throttle, this is a super servo and is one of the fastest around (0.07 sec). The governor with a very fast servo is supposed to be even better at maintaining headspeed than a stock servo. After you toggle the AUX-1 switch to verify the calibration you're basically done. I shut down the heli and rebooted the electronics. Starting out in Normal mode with the AUX-1 switch to off I raised my throttle to see if the green Governor Active light would come on, it didn't. Next I flipped the AUX-1 switch to the A or On Position and the green light came on around 1/4 stick in Normal mode. Next test was to check Throttle Hold, while at full throttle and the green light still on I flipped T-HOLD. The green light went off as I hoped. It is honoring the throttle position through Throttle Hold. You don't have to program in ZERO ATV for the Throttle Hold condition, it isn't necessary as the governor is setup for stick priority to disengage below 1/4 throttle and usually THrottle Hold is well below 1/4 throttle (usually at Idle). Next I flipped out of Throttle Hold and into IdleUp-1. The green light stayed on no matter where I moved the throttle (Good). Flipped into T-HOLD again while in IdleUp and sure enough, the TJ Pro turns off as expected. It all looks good.
This shot shows the Futaba 9253 Digital Servo on Throttle.
All I need to do now is set my AUX-1 ATV parameters in Normal, IdleUp 1 & 2. I started out with 35% ATV in Normal Mode to get an idea of where the RPM was. As expected it was way slow so while the heli is idling I'd go into my ATV and raise the number by 5% at a a time. I ended up around 45% (See pic below) for normal mode and 60% for IdleUp 1 & 2. The TJ Pro maintained my headspeed extremely well. I was very pleased to see the TJ Pro doesn't seem to grab the RPM as hard and fast as the original TJ. It seems to gradually slide into a set RPM as smoothly as the GV-1.
Here is my Normal Mode AUX-1 ATV settings 45% on each side.
I'll share another little trick you may want to try. You can in theory have the AUX-1 "A" ATV set to one setting and then flip the AUX 1 switch down to the "B" position, you can actually have a second headspeed with a different ATV setting. This will give you twice as many headspeed options if desired. AUX-1 is always set to be controlled by Switch A and prior to setup ATV for AUX 1 is at 100% on both sides and you always calibrate in NORMAL Mode.
On the 9Z you can use your flight mode switch to control ATV setting of AUX 1. If you want you could have your IdleUp-1 switch engaged (typically Switch E). If you go into the ATV menu and go to AUX 1 while IdleUp is engaged you'll probably see a different ATV number. You could set the A side to 60% and the B side at 70%. This way you can pick which RPM in IdleUp you wish to use by flipping the Master Switc- A from "A" across the center (Off) to the "B" position.
Here is my IdleUp Mode AUX-1 ATV settings 60% on each side.
Doing the setup this way gives you a master control to manually turn on or off the governor at any time and by selecting which way you flip the Master A switch you can select between two different headspeeds in each flight mode including normal mode. I thought that was a very cool feature that not everyone would use but those that need it really appreciate the versatility of the 9Z and the Throttle Jockey Pro.
I chose to mount my Throttle Jockey Pro on the top of the servo tray on my Raptor 50. There is a small ledge just big enough to tape the governor down in front of the stock collective arm. Be certain you don't bind any linkage on the throttle, the governor will eat your servo up if it pushes it regularly to the binding point.
You want to keep good throttle curves behind the Throttle Jockey, if you only have a Normal curve setup from idle to full power the governor will always disengage below 1/4 stick. To maintain the governor in Idleups, you must have a throttle curve that never dips below 1/4 throttle. However I strongly urge you to put a full V Curve as shown in the photo below. This will keep your engine running even if you're inverted and using negative pitch and require power. should the governor ever let go for any reason. Here's a photo of my V-Curve in Idleup:
The ONLY thing lacking on this governor is a LCD display screen as on the GV1 but the truth is, it takes about the same time to setup either unit. I suspect it will be as durable as the previous Throttle Jockey and works even better. It cost a little more than the std. Throttle Jockey but it's still way cheaper than the GV-1, takes up much less room and does a few things a GV-1 can't. You'll likely want to check out ModelAvionics.Com. Paul has an ATV converter program on his website. All you have to do is enter your radio type, gear ratio and ATV setting, the app will compute your headspeed. I prefer to verify my reading with my Optical tach but I was alone today and it wasn't practical to do so. I think my Normal headspeed is around 1600 RPM and around 1800 in IdleUp.
The Throttle Jockey Pro behaved perfectly disengaging when Throttle Hold was thrown both in IdleUp and in Normal Modes. Looks like Paul Beard has another winner with the new Throttle Jockey Pro, frankly, there's not much reason to puchase a GV-1 since the TJ and TJ Pro have been on the market.
Paul sells a very nice Optical Tachometer which allows you to read accurate headspeed through a viewfinder in the tach. Adjust the tach so the blades stop spinning through the viewer and read the display, simple as that. You'll need a buddy to tach your heli while you fly, I don't recommend trying it by yourself. You can order a governor or the tachometer from ModelAvionic's website or at Heliproz.
Tell Paul or Eric that Raymond sent you!
March 7th, 2004:
ModelAvionics new Auto-Glow On Board System for the Throttle Jockey Pro governor.
