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DeutschVBar Control FAQ
Table of Contents
- Help, I can not use VBar Control Manager on a Mac, since Java JRE is missing ... what can I do?
- Help, my VBar Control tells me ''No System Config' ... what can I do?
- The protective rubber cover on my VBar Control keeps falling out, what can I do?
- Do Apps cost money?
- Do I have to leave Apps enabled all the time?
- Does VBar Control also work with airplanes, cars, boats, non-VBar-helis?
- Will there be an App for retractable landing gears or other special functions?
- Adjusting parameters 'on the fly' ... come again?
- How to bail out with an external governor like a Kontronik?
- My VBar Control does not provide receiver voltage display!
- The receiver voltage is displayed wrongly!
- How to set up a helicopter with a lever between swash plate and main head? (e.g. TT Raptor 700 Series)
- How does the voltage/current sensor work?
- How to connect telemetry sensors to a VBar w/o Spektrum ports?
- I am moving the tail stick in opposite way as usual – what to do?
- The clock is not being updated, what can I do?
- I am doing multiple flights with timer and turning on the heli once. How to reset the timer?
- VBar Software and VBar Control Manager don't start on a Mac, seem to be corrupt files, what can I do?
Help, I can not use VBar Control Manager on a Mac, since Java JRE is missing ... what can I do?
Mac OS, by default, offers a download link at the first start of a Java application on the computer.
This link leads into digital nirvana at times, when Apple has moved the actual file like it happened in Winter 2014/15.
Here you find the current link. Please install, then both VBar Control Manager and the VBar Software will work (again).
Please do not confuse JRE (Java Runtime Environment) with the actual Java installation from Oracle. They have different version numbers, and the JRE seems to be managed by Apple at the moment. ^
Help, my VBar Control tells me ''No System Config' ... what can I do?
No problem, keep calm. Usually you only need to connect VBar Control to a PC or Mac, start VBar Control Manager and wait for the files to be transferred again.
Option 1 (recommended!): If simply turning off and on and connecting to a PC doesn't work, please use the standard tools of VBar Control:
- Click the EDS Dial
- Select 'File Refresh' from the 'Rescue' menu
- Turn off VBar Control
- Connect VBar Control to a Mac or PC, start VBar Control Manager
- Turn on VBar Control
- Now, VBar Control Manager will reload all files required for operation, please be patient
- This way, all other files like log files, battery data or screen shots will not be deleted
Option 2: If option 1 does not work, you can also format the USB drive of VBar Control:
Attention: all data on the USB drive will be deleted, only format the USB drive if all other means to recover it have failed!
- Connect VBar Control to a Mac or PC
- Close VBar Control Manager if it is still running
- Open Applications/Hard Disk Utility on a Mac
- Delete the partition on the USB drive, name it VCONTROL again
- On a PC, right-click on the USB drive and select 'Format'
- A PC will keep the name of the drive, otherwiese name it 'VControl' again
- Please be patient, this will take some time
- Turn off VBar Control once the formatting is (really!) done
- Turn on VBar Control
- Start VBar Control Manager
Now, VBar Control will be installed completely from scratch, this will take some time, depending on which and how many Apps you had selected earlier on. Check the Transmitter Settings again (Stick Mode, Calibration, Mandatory and Optional Switches). These settings will not be deleted, but better safe'n sorry!
This issue does not pose a safety risk. The issue is caused by USB disconnect during file system operations. During flight, such an issue can not occur. ^
The protective rubber cover on my VBar Control keeps falling out, what can I do?
As a quick remedy, you can carefully squeeze the rubber cover. After that, it will hold firmly. Use flat pliers or a metal plate as a flat surface, as not to imprint the surface of the tool on the rubber cover. Do not squeeze too firmly, better try a few times until the protective cover holds firmly. Please contact us if you want a replacement free of charge. We will ship them out once they come available.
Do Apps cost money?
All Apps that are available at the moment are free of charge. ^
Do I have to leave Apps enabled all the time?
There are two types of Apps: some are 'Runtime'-Apps, and some are 'Setup'-Apps. For example, the Screenshot App will be needed every time you want make Screenshots. The Free Swash Plate Configuration App on the other hand is only needed during setup. You can deactivate such an App once a model is set up. You will finde hints on that in the descriptions of the Apps. ^
Does VBar Control also work with airplanes, cars, boats, non-VBar-helis?
With our receiver product VBar NEO VBasic, you can radio-control everything which can be radio-controlled.
Using Macrocells (freely programmable and cascadable mixers), you can program anything you can think of. Have a look! ^
Will there be an App for retractable landing gears or other special functions?
Since all retracts require specific programming of the throws, directions, time frames, delays, we recommend to use Macrocells. Check this out! ^
Adjusting parameters 'on the fly' ... come again?
Please first check switch assignments in 'Mandatory Switches' and make sure that this option is turned on permanently or has a switch assigned (Par Lock). Then, select the parameter you want to adjust (e.g. tail rotor gain) and simply turn one of the rotating knobs. It will self-assing to the parameter, this link will be kept for the next flight, until the VBar and/or VBar Control are turned off again. The Par Lock switch will inhibit accidental altering of parameters. ^
How to bail out with an external governor like a Kontronik?
Simple. Set the rpm preset that is necessary to switch the external governor into bail outo mode in the menu. Switch to bail out (center position of the motor switch, toggle to a flight RPM previously) and simply choose the required rpm setting. In Motor Off or Motor On position, you can alter the rpm setting for banks 1-3 as usual. ^
My VBar Control does not provide receiver voltage display!
This is normal with VBars without Spektrum Satellite ports (serial no. 140xxxxxxx). The older devices do not yet have a external voltage measurement included and also did not show a voltage display in the v5 PC software. ^
The receiver voltage is displayed wrongly!
The voltage monitoring inside the VBar was basiclly designed and calibrated in factory to detect the critical voltages for the processor safely which are around 3-5 Volts. Reasoned by the tolerances of the used hardware there may be differences in other voltages, e.g. using HV setup in the heli. ^
How to set up a helicopter with a lever between swash plate and main head? (e.g. TT Raptor 700 Series)
On some helicopters we will find a lever between swashplate and main head. This lever reducres the throw - and also reverese the collective direction.
VBar Control has to know the direction for collective, it is usually set with the "leading/trailing " control of the blade grips. In this case - it must be set vice versa as usual. A simple help: Everytime when the swash has to go up for positive collective - it is "leading" control in set up.
How does the voltage/current sensor work?
There are different methods to measure current. Magnetic methods are rather simple to implement. They offer the advantage of galvanic separation between the load circuit and the measuring circuit. But they also have serious drawbacks:
Other leads interfere with the measurement. Those measuring elements may not be built in anywhere. Magnetic measuring also shows notable parasitic errors (hysteresis), and they are not fully linear. The advantage of galvanic separation is lost however, if you want to measure voltage as well, with the same sensor. The interernal resistance is comparable to the one in the sensor element we use, and individual calibration is necessary for both as well, if you want reliable results.
Our sensor uses a more complex method. A very small resistance (shunt) is placed in the measuring circuit. This resistance is as little as a few cm of wire with a considerable gauge. It does not interfere with the electric circuit. The sensor is fed by the flight pack, and it only draws 2.5 mA of current, which is very little. The galvanic separation is realised by an optocoupler in the digital interface, and thus allows for a 100 % galvanically separated voltage measurement.
The shunt itself is a very short measuring section made of a special material that does not suffer from temperature interferences (very much like constantan). This way, the results are very precise even if the circuit gets hot. The resistance has tiny taps that you can see from the side, to avoid interference from electrical leads.
Each sensor has it's own cpu which also stores the individual calibration. At the factory, each sensor is calibrated to a precision of 0.05 % with regard to the measuring range. 16 bit resolution allows for measurements as precise as 0.01 V / 0.01 A throughout the whole measuring range.
The sensor has reverse polarity protection, and the voltage range is very wide. This makes it very robust, it is very hard to destroy electrically. Full galvanic separation ensures that no internal feedback reaches the telemetry bus of the VBar, even in 'hot' conditions. ^
How to connect telemetry sensors to a VBar w/o Spektrum ports?
Quiet easy. We'll power the sensors from the (regulated) Sensor2 connector. The mid black wire of the sensor cable is the minus wire (connect to Sensor2 outer pin), the outer black wire is the plus wire (connect to Sensor2 mid pin). The grey signal wire must be connected to AUX - bottom (signal) pin.
I am moving the tail stick in opposite way as usual - what to do?
The VBC software has currently no flag for "reverse tail stick usage". So we have to change the pot wires inside the TX. Therefore open the TX, identify the tail pot and its short cable from the pot to the small board at the side. Unplug it there, remove the 2 outer plugs from the housing (carefully, use a needle to unlock the plugs). Swap them and mount everything together again. Calibrate the rudder stick in TX menue - and do some bench checks with your models.
The clock is not being updated, what can I do?
Connect your VBar Control to your computer using the USB cable.
Open a Command Window on Windows (Programs/Accessories) or a Terminal Window on the Mac (Utilities/Terminal).
Go to the drive of your VBar Control, e.g. type the drive letter G:, if in doubt, check the Windows Explorer, then type 'del sys\command'; on a Mac, change directories by typing 'cd /Volumes/VControl/sys', then type 'rm command'.
This deletes the command queue, which is sometimes locked by the operating system. It will be newly created automatically.
Please also check that there is enough memory available on the VBar Control's disk, also check the Screenshots folder. ^
I am doing multiple flights with timer and turning on the heli once. How to reset the timer?
First - the timer can be reset manually in its panel. Some guys asked to add a switch to reset it - but it is definitely better to turn the heli off in between the flights.
The reason is imple - and technical: Each sensors have a little amount of drift for several reasons (e.g. temperature, vibrations). So - although this effect is compensated (within some limits of course, otherwise precision will be lost) - it will be best to restart the VBar for each single flight seperately.
Just switch the model off, wait 10 seconds and turn it on again before going out flying. Maybe you can turn it off while fueling it up - so it costs no extra time ;-) ^
VBar Software and VBar Control Manager don't start on a Mac, seem to be corrupt files, what can I do?
Open Utilities/Terminal und copy/past the following command:
sudo spctl --master-disable
and confirm with Enter (password required).
The enables the third option in System Settings/Security again, with which you can allow applications from non-registered developers (like us) again. Might be necessary to close and re-open System Settings for the change to take effect.
Typing
sudo spctl --master-enable
will set back the security settings. You can still use the software, once it has been allowed it can be used without limitation. ^