Eagle Guardian Stabilization Expander User Manual

Instruction Manual for GuardianTM Stabilization Expander

Corresponds to Eagle Tree Software Version 10.01 or higher

Document Version 1.9

Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1

Connection and Mounting ...................................................................................................................................................... 2

Important Differences in OSD Pro Configuration when using Stabilization ........................................................................... 2

Guardian Stabilization On-screen Menus ............................................................................................................................... 3

Guardian Configuration .......................................................................................................................................................... 4

The Servo Analysis Wizard ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Reset Cruise Sticks/Throtl .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Tuning Stabilization Gains ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Stabilization Theory ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Stabilization “Master Gain” Knob ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Displaying the Master Gain Onscreen ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Oscillations ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Additional Features ................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Center-Stick Only Stabilization .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Heading Hold (Recommended) .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Preflight ................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

First Flight ................................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Troubleshooting ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Introduction

Thank you for your purchase! This instruction manual will guide you through the installation and operation of your Guardian Stabilization Expander. 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 includes any updates that were made after your Guardian was purchased. Please read the entire manual carefully before proceeding. If, after you read the manual, you have further questions or problems, see the “Have Questions or Feedback?” section below.

What the Guardian Does

When used with the Eagle Tree OSD ProTM, the Guardian provides full featured inertial stabilization, and an on-screen Artificial Horizon display. No additional sensors are required. The Guardian requires no warm-up period after your model is powered. The Guardian’s advanced features make it easy for you to perform aerobatic maneuvers (if you are capable!) and immediately return to stabilized flight when desired. The Guardian is a stabilizer, not a stall-preventer! In some airframes, stalling can create unrecoverable conditions, such as spins, that may result in a crash.

Intended Uses

The Guardian is intended to be used exclusively for recreational purposes in model planes, boats and cars. Any other use is not supported.

Packing List

Your package should include the following: The Guardian, and a printed version of this manual.

Other Things You Need

To utilize the Guardian, you will need the OSD Pro system with an eLogger V3 or V4. NOTE: The Guardian is NOT compatible with our Flight Data Recorder products! Though stabilization will work without them, a video camera and video transmitter on your model, and a video receiver and video display on the ground are normally required. Many Eagle Tree FPV dealers sell the required video equipment. A list of our FPV dealers can be found on our website at

http://www.eagletreesystems.com/OSD/OSD-Pro.htm.

Steps to Follow

Installation and use of your Guardian should be quite easy and enjoyable if you follow these few steps:

1. First, if you have not done so already, read through the manuals for your OSD Pro, eLogger, GPS Expander, and any other Eagle Tree sensors, to familiarize

yourself with the connection and function of these devices, and set this equipment up.

2. Read through this manual to understand the warnings, determine the installation and setup sequence, pre-flight tests, etc., of the Guardian.

3. If anything is unclear, see the “Have Questions or Feedback?” section below.

4. Range test and enjoy!

Have questions or Feedback?

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=1399687 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 (normally 1-3 business days). Note that you may receive an answer to

your question more quickly from our forum above, since many other Eagle Tree customers also monitor the forum. 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 send feedback at http://www.eagletreesystems.com/Feature/feature.html

Chances are someone has posted a solution

Connection and Mounting

Connecting the Guardian to the eLogger V4 or V3

The Guardian plugs into the “LCD/OSD” or “LCD/TX” port of your eLogger V4 or V3, as shown in Figure 3, or it can connect to the 4 pin expansion port of the OSD Pro. If you have a PowerPanel or other MicroSensors, those can “daisy chain” connect to the pins on the side of your Guardian, with the polarity as indicated on the Guardian label. Note that the Guardian can connect anywhere in the chain of sensors. Once the Guardian has been powered, its status light should begin blinking rapidly to indicate correct operation.

Connecting the Servos

Connect your receiver’s Aileron output (or Rudder receiver output, if the plane does not have Ailerons) and the Elevator receiver output to the OSD Pro’s Aileron and Elevator servo inputs. Then, connect your servos to their corresponding OSD Pro servo outputs.

Note that when using the Guardian, the ailerons should be routed through the OSD Pro if the model has both ailerons and rudder, for proper stabilization and RTH.

Note that this is a change from the recommendation that the rudder be routed through the OSD Pro, when the Guardian is not present.

Windows Software and Firmware Update

To use the Guardian, you must update your software to Eagle Tree Windows Software version 9.76 or later. To update, download the latest software from the support page of our website, located at http://eagletreesystems.com/Support/apps.htm. After downloading and installing the software, the firmware of your Guardian may need to be updated. To upgrade your firmware, connect your eLogger to USB, and just click “Hardware, Firmware Control” and click the Update button for the Guardian if the present firmware version is a higher number than the firmware stored in your Guardian.

Mounting the Guardian in your Model

Mount the Guardian in your model, placing it so the label is facing up and the “airplane” drawing on the label corresponds to the orientation of your aircraft. A properly mounted sensor will be perfectly flat with its front facing the direction of flight, when the aircraft is in level flight.

We recommended mounting the Guardian with a piece of two-sided foam tape or Velrco to hold it firmly to your airframe while reducing vibrations. To reduce the risk of the Guardian coming loose, tape, adhesive, or a mechanical restraint may be used.

Mounting the Guardian flat relative to level flight is important. However, minor mounting offsets can be compensated for by invoking your OSD Pro menu and using the “Configure Guardian Stabilizer” -> “Reset Level Flight” option described below.

IMPORTANT! When viewing the AHI through the OSD Pro as provided by the Guardian Expander after resetting level flight, the line should closely follow the horizon as the plane is pitched and rolled. If the AHI appears to be moving in the opposite direction of the horizon in the pitch and roll axes, then you likely have the Guardian Expander mounted backwards. If just the pitch axis is moving in the incorrect direction as the plane is moved, then the Guardian Expander may have been mounted upside down. Ensure that the label is facing towards the sky and the 4-conductor wire is pointing towards the tail of your model.

Vibrations

The Guardian is able to reject most levels of vibration. However, very strong vibrations can impact stability. To check for this issue after mounting the sensor, perform a vibration test by securing your model to a test bench or stand and ramping up the throttle slowly while watching the AHI on your OSD Pro. If the AHI begins to pitch or roll significantly during this test, remount your Guardian sensor further away from the motor, wires and any other sources of vibration or electromagnetic interference.

Important Differences in OSD Pro Configuration when using Stabilization

There are a few differences in how you configure the OSD Pro, when stabilization is enabled vs disabled. These are described elsewhere in the document in more detail:

• When running the Servo Analysis Wizard, full elevator and aileron stick deflection should be given, rather than partial stick deflection. Partial stick

deflection is recommended when stabilization is disabled, to limit RTH servo deflections.

• If your model has both ailerons and a rudder, the ailerons should be routed through the OSD Pro when stabilization is turned on, rather than rudder.

• In Elevon mode, with stabilization enabled, the Guardian performs the servo mixing, so you must turn off mixing in your radio. But, if you disable

stabilization, the OSD Pro will again expect mixed inputs from your radio. Never turn stabilization off or on during flight if you have an elevon model! Use the stabilization gain setting instead.

• If you have previously configured RTH with your OSD Pro, it is recommended that you return all RTH gains/limits to their default values when stabilization

is enabled. Note that you may still need to tune the RTH gains/limits with the Guardian installed, but the defaults should work well with most models.

Guardian Stabilization On-screen Menus

Guardian configuration is done via the On-screen OSD Pro menus. Please see the OSD Pro manuals for more information on accessing the menus. Here is a description of each menu item that may need to be adjusted for the Guardian. Note that additional information for each menu item is provided in the following

manual sections. Note also that the default values are shown in parentheses and where relevant, the range is displayed as (min-max: default).

Configure Radio Control Menu

• Reset Cruise Sticks/Throtl: recaptures the model’s aileron/rudder, elevator, and throttle settings for level flight. These settings are captured during the Servo

Analysis Wizard, but need to be recaptured if you have re-trimmed your plane. NOTE: the throttle needs to be set at “cruising speed” position when this

option is selected, if the RTH feature is enabled!

• Run Servo Analysis Wizard: lets the Guardian learn about your servo directions and extents. See the Guardian Configuration section below for more

information.

• Choose Model Wing Type (Fixed): This option lets you choose whether your model uses standard or elevon control. Note that when the wing type is set to

Elevon, and Guardian stabilization is enabled, the Guardian will do the servo mixing. So, your radio’s servo mixing must be disabled. But, if you later turn off stabilization, the Guardian will no longer do the mixing! WARNING: Never change this option during flight!

• Stabilization / Elevn Mixing On? (No): Enables Guardian Stabilization and (if you have an elevon model) turns on Elevon Mixing. WARNING: Never turn

this option off or on during flight if you have an elevon model! Disabling stabilization will also disable the OSD Pro’s elevon mixing. Use the stabilization gain setting instead to turn off stabilization.

•

Elevon Recvr Microsecs(0-3000: 1500): This sets the number of microseconds for a neutral pulse from your RC controller. Do not change this unless you know the pulse length of your controller. Most people do not need to adjust this, and it is only relevant for elevon models.

Configure Guardian Stabilizer Menu

• Reset Level Pitch and Roll: Click this option while holding the model level after installing the Guardian, if the AHI line is not centered and level. It will

mitigate most mounting errors and provide a level AHI.

• Stabilizer Pitch Gain (0-10: 5): This controls the amount of stabilization in the pitch Axis. If your airframe is oscillating along its pitch axis, but never its roll

axis, it might help to reduce the Pitch gain.

• Stabilizer Roll Gain (0-10: 5): This controls the amount of stabilization in the roll Axis. If your airframe is oscillating along its roll axis, but never its pitch axis,

it might help to reduce the Pitch gain.

• Stabilizer Turn Gain (0-10: 5): This parameter helps counteract trim issues that can cause gradual turns. The higher the value, the more compensation is added

to normal flight.

• Stabilizer Overall Gain (0-10: 8): This scales the Pitch and Roll gains. When set to 10, both Pitch and Roll will be very strongly stabilized. When set to 0, all

stabilization will be disabled. This setting is overridden by the Aux2 input on the OSD Pro if the Menu Navigation Switch is configured for “3-Position” or “None” and a valid servo signal is present on Aux2. If RTH is engaged, the menu’s “Stabilization Overall Gain” will be used. See Stabilization “Master Gain” Knob section for more information.

• Max Stab Pitch/Roll Normal (0-90: 50): The maximum attitudes (pitch angle or bank angle) that the airplane is allowed to maneuver to in Stabilization mode.

• Max Stab Pitch/Roll RTH (0-90: 35): The maximum attitudes (pitch angle or bank angle) that the airplane is allowed to maneuver to when RTH is Engaged.

• Stabilizer Responsiveness (1-10: 7): How responsive you want your Fly-By-Wire to be with your model. A high value will provide very fast response, but could

accidentally stall your model on takeoff if the control stick is moved too quickly. A low value will yield a very smooth flight.

• Enable Heading Hold (Off): Locks onto your current heading and trims your plane to fly that heading until the stick is moved from its centered position. See:

“Heading Hold” section for more information.

• Center Stick Stabilize Only (Off): This advanced feature enables Guardian Stabilization only when the control stick is centered within the area defined by

“Center Stick Tolerance” Box, making it easier to do aerobatic maneuvers. Note that stabilization will be reduced or disabled when your sticks are not centered! See: “Center-Stick Only Stabilization”

• Center Stick Box Size (1-10: 10): Defines the size of the Center Stick Box used by “Center-Stick Only Stabilization.” Small values make the area smaller and

vice versa. See: “Center-Stick Only Stabilization”.

Select Items to be Displayed Menu

• Servo Deflections Display: This turns on Servo Deflections display, which is useful for initial Guardian testing.

• Artificial Horizon Line: This turns on the AHI display, which is also useful for Guardian setup and testing, as well as in normal flight.

Trimming

It is recommended that the airplane be trimmed for level flight before running the Servo Analysis Wizard. This ensures that the Guardian Stabilizer will also be trimmed.

If a change in trim occurs once Stabilization has been configured, make sure to execute the “Reset Cruise Sticks/Throtl” to inform the OSD Pro of your change. Remember that your throttle needs to be in the “Cruise” position (the throttle position for level flight) if the RTH feature is enabled.

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