G YRO MODULE

I NSTRUCTION M ANUAL

Contents
1 Your X-3D Gyro 2 Properties of the X-3D Gyro 3 Overview of connectors and jumpers 4 Installation 4.1 How to uninstall the mechanical gyro 4.2 Installing your X-3D . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Functional test . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Possible prolems during installation . 3 5 6 7 7 7 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 15

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5 Operating the X-UFO using your X-3D 5.1 Selecting an operation mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.1 Beginners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.2 Good-natured . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.3 Fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.4 Experts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Meaning of the LED light patterns onboard the X-3D . . . . . 5.3 Dos and Donts whilst turning your X-3D equipped X-UFO on 5.4 Technical hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.1 PC-Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.2 USB-Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Uninstalling the software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6 Connecting the X-3D to your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6.1 Establishing the connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 Operating the program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.1 Transmitting new settings to the X-3D . . . . . . . . . 6 Contact Information

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Your X-3D Gyro

Congratulations to your purchase of a X-3D Gyro, which will turn your X-UFO into a professional model aircraft within seconds! Please read this instruction manual carefully before installing your X-3D. Warranty will be void if you didnt follow these instructions.

WARNING!
Your X-UFOs housing has to be opened to install your X-3D. If you do that, manufacturers warranty of your X-UFO will be void! Only install your X-3D if you agree with that. If not, please send it back unused within 14 days. A motorized model aircraft is not a toy! It should only be own by adults. Improper assembly or operating can lead to severe injuries and / or damages. Trouble with your remote control due to interferences can occur any time without prior notice. Sometimes, a model aircraft can suddenly become uncontrollable due to a failure of any component. In this case, the model can rapidly move towards any direction. Make sure you always keep a safe distance to people, animals, obstacles or things of any kind, trafc roads etc.. There are country-specic laws regulating the operation of model aircrafts that denitely have to be obeyed. Furthermore, we strongly recommend to effect a liability insurance for model aircrafts. Manufacturer and dealer of the X-3D do not have any inuence on nor can they monitor the correct installation and proper operation of your X-3D. Thus, dangers of operating a model aircraft in general are pointed out here. Always be aware of these dangers and act accordingly. There is no liability of the producer nor the dealer at all, as far as legally approved. The X-3D Gyro enables you to even y your X-UFO at windy locations. Make sure your X-UFO always stays within the range of your transmitter. Please note that the maximum distance of the original X-UFO transmitter can be far less than 100 m in worst case environments. Always be careful and do not rush. Try to learn new manoeuvres step by step. There is no warranty if your X-3D Gyro gets damaged by improper handling. Warranty is limited to only the X-3D module itself, as far as legally approved. Warranty is void if the module has been modied or damaged for example by a crash, which has not provable been caused by a malfuntion of the X-3D, by humidity, by wrong supply voltages and / or currents, by electrostatic discharges or by not following the instruction manual. Please be aware, that every controller can only be as good as the physical condition of your X-UFO allows. A controller always needs enough scope to act. Especially at fast

maneuvers with a heavy UFO the motors can be taken to their limits. This can lead to instable movements and even to a total control loss. Be aware of this phenomenon and learn how your X-UFO behaves step by step.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Properties of the X-3D Gyro

The X-3D Gyro is a professional substitute of the mechanical gyro that came with your X-UFO. It is a three-axial Heading-Lock gyro. That means, your X-UFO will always try to keep its actual orientation at neutral control commands. It will change its orientation in the axis corresponding to a stick moved, respectively. You will have to get used to this new control system if you are used to ying with the mechanical gyro. However, after a while you will be able to concentrate on ying - not only hovering your X-UFO. With some more experience even loops are possible! Temperature compensation enables your X-3D to work in summer as well as in winter. It is pretty shock-resistant due to the use of very modern piezo-sensors. With the threeaxial Heading-Lock function the pilot is able to return to a stable ight position after fast turns with ease. In addition, ying forward with high speed is very easy, as well. The X-3D gyro offers four different modes, which can be selected by jumpers. The pilot can always adopt the behaviour of his X-UFO to his skill level. Furthermore, the best ight parameters for other tuning measures can be selected. Using the USB-interface, all parameters determining ight and control behaviour can be changed. Thus, the pilot can adopt his X-UFO to his very own preferences and needs. The USB-interface can be purchased separately,

Overview of connectors and jumpers

The following fotograph illustrates all connectors and jumpers of your X-3D Gyro:

Jumpers 1 and 2 determine the ight-mode:

Beginners

Good-natured

Fast

Experts

Jumper 4 activates the so called Bootloader, which can be used to upload new rmware versions.

Bootloader deactivated

Bootloader activated

Installation
4.1 How to uninstall the mechanical gyro
The mechanical gyroscope is mounted to the X-UFOs mainboard using three screws. Remove the upper and lower plastic cover before unscrewing the gyro. You can simply pull off the lower plastic plate, whereas you should use the back of a knive or a thin screwdriver to remove the hood. After that, please use a small Screwdriver to loosen the three screws. You can reach them through the plastic part of the X-UFOs frame, so you do not have to unscrew the mainboard itself. Once the screws have been removed you can simply take off the gyroscope by pulling it straight upwards.

4.2 Installing your X-3D

Please note that possible solutions for any problems occuring during the installation process can be found in chapter 4.4. First of all, you have to mount the three black spacers, which came with your X-3D, to the lower side of your X-3D board. Simply put three of the screws through the respective holes and screw the spacers from below. After that, carefully plug the X-3D gyro to the X-UFOs mainboard. All spacers should touch the board. Now you can attach the other screws by carefully poking them through the mainboards holes from below. Your X-3D should now be mounted parallel to the X-UFOs mainboard being tightly fastened. Figure 4.1 shows the X-3D in its desired position. After mounting the X-3D, you need to attach the blue cable coming with a black and a white connector on its ends. Connect the black plug to the corresponding black receptacle at the X-3D board. After that, the white connector has to be plugged to the black pin header behind the white receptacle on the X-UFOs mainboard. Do not use any force! The plug only ts in one direction, whereby the blue cable is pointing outwards. Figure 4.2 shows the cable connected correctly. Once you are perfectly sure that your X-3D is mounted correctly you can reattach the plastic covers. You could use doublesided tape or glues like UHU-Por for that.

Figure 4.1: X-3D module mounted correctly

Figure 4.2: Serial connection

4.3 Functional test

Please make sure that throttle is in zero-position before you turn on your remote. All the trimmers should be centered. Connect your battery and place your X-UFO on a plane surface. Hold it down with one hand, so that it can not take off accidently, but make sure the rotors are free to spin. Turn on your X-UFO and watch the light pattern underneath the motors. The lights should spin much faster than with the mechanical gyro. After two to three seconds the LEDs should signalize Ready to y. During the initialization process the X-3D gyro displays the following LED-patterns: All LEDs should ash when the X-UFO is switched on.

 After that, the red LED should light up for about 0.8 seconds. Thereafter, there might be both, the green and the yellow LEDs on. Finally, only the green LED should be lighting up. If only the green LED is on after initializing, your X-UFO is ready to y. In all other cases please consult chapter 4.4. Now you can step back and carefully give some throttle, but please do not let your X-UFO lift off at this point. If all rotors are spinning in the rst moments, everthing should be ne. Now, you are done with the installation and ready to y! Please continue reading chapter 5.

4.4 Possible prolems during installation

Parts of the X-UFO mechanicly prevent you from installing your X-3D gyro correctly: It sometimes happens that parts like capacitors soldered to the X-UFOs mainboard get bent during a crash. If this was the case, very carefully bend the respective part back to its original position. The white connector of the blue cable does not t to the pin header on the X-UFOs mainboard: Carefully bend parts, which inhibit the plug to t onto the pin-headers, back to their intended position. The X-UFO boots up as before (showing the same slow light patterns underneath the motors): Please make sure your X-3D is connected correctly and that it is lying parallel to the X-UFOs mainboard. Furthermore, make sure that the bootloader-jumper (chapter 3) is not set! The X-UFO boots up, but the X-3D keeps ashing the red and the green LED: Please make sure the blue cable is connected the right way and that it is not off-centered. At your transmitter, the modes Auto and AUX Y have to be deactivated! Only 2 or 3 propellers start spinning at the rst moment giving throttle: Please make sure that all trimmers are in center position. Turn your X-UFO off and on while you should try not to move it at all until the booting-sequence has ended and the X-3D signalizes ready to y by lighting up the green LED, only.

Operating the X-UFO using your X-3D

5.1 Selecting an operation mode
The X-3D offers four differnt modes, to enable adaptation to your individualized XUFO (heavy or lightweight) as well as to the pilots skills. Controlling the X-UFO with the X-3D installed is different from operating it with the mechanical gyroscope, as it does no longer measure an absolute angle. It now tries to hold its current orientation, if there is no stick-command. Thus, you have to actively steer your X-UFO back to a leveled position after each maneuver. You will have to get used to this new kind of control, but you will notice that it offers much more possibilities to perform complex maneuvers. 5.1.1 Beginners This setting is optimized for the standard X-UFO with standard battery. The X-UFO will react very gentle in this mode, making it the perfect choice for beginners to practive ying indoors. After the trimmers are adjusted correctly, hovering can be done by very short control commands in pitch and roll axis. 5.1.2 Good-natured This mode is a bit more nippy than the beginners mode, but it is as well intended for a standard X-UFO with standard battery. This is also a mode for ying indoors or outdoors at calm weather. 5.1.3 Fast After you know how to y your X-UFO using modes Beginners and Good-natured you can switch to Fast. Using this mode, you are able to y precise and yet very fast indoors and outdoors. There is also the so called fast-yaw mode activated, enabling fast rotation in yaw. Please be aware that this mode is for lightweight X-UFOs only (e.g. using a LiPo battery). 5.1.4 Experts In order to y real stunts - even loops are possible! - outdoors, you can switch to the Experts setting. But please make sure you master to y in all the other modes

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before that. Use a very lightweight battery for ying in this mode (e.g. LiPo 3s 470mAh 20C), as you will take your X-UFO to its physical limits. This mode is not suited for ying indoors, as the X-UFO can accelerate very fast.

5.2 Meaning of the LED light patterns onboard the X-3D

RED On On On On Off Off YELLOW On On Off Off On Off GREEN On Off Off On On On Blinking No Yes Yes Yes No No Meaning LED test at start-up X-UFO is booting up Sensor calibration (Do not move your X-UFO within this period!) X-3D is running, but it does not receive data from the mainboard. X-3D is running, connections OK, R/C off Ready to y!

5.3 Dos and Donts whilst turning your X-3D equipped X-UFO on
Do not at all move your X-UFO whilst it is powering up. In this initial boot phase the gyroscopes are being calibrated. If you do move your X-UFO before the LEDs signalize Ready to y it will randomly y into one certain direction. If this is the case, please restart your X-UFO and make sure you do not move it during bootup.

5.4 Technical hints

If you are using your X-UFO with a different transmitter than the one, which came with it, unpredictable behaviour can occur if your transmitter is not programmed correctly. If this is the case, please switch back to the original (mechanical) gyroscope in order to set up your transceiver so that it can control the X-UFO in its original conguration. Once this is the case, your transmitter will work with your X-3D gyro, too. All computed angles of the X-3D are being reset to zero, if throttle is zero (i.e. left stick of the X-UFO transmitter is completely down). Thus, the X-UFO will always keep its actual orientation directly after launch. If this is not the case

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and your X-UFO always ys in any direction, most probably the angles havent been reset correctly. In this case it might help to move the trimmer for the throttle-control further down. 5.4.1 PC-Software The PC-Software is freeware and can be downloaded at www.x-3d.eu. To install the software simply unzip the archive (*.zip) using e.g. WinZIP, WinRAR or simply the tool that comes with Windows XP. You can start the contained .EXE-le from any directory by double-clicking on it. 5.4.2 USB-Driver Before using the USB adaptor you have to install a driver for the USB-Chip used (FT232R). The driver can be downloaded from its producers (FTDI) website: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm. Please make sure you install the VCP (Virtual COM Port) Driver for the FT232R.

5.5 Uninstalling the software

To uninstall the software simply delete the .EXE-le and the .INI-le which has been created in the same directory.

5.6 Connecting the X-3D to your PC

Please connect the USB cable to your computers USB-port. After that, connect the USB adaptor to your X-3D as shown in gure 5.1. 5.6.1 Establishing the connection After starting the application the COM-Port associated to the USB adaptor has to be selected. Press the Connect-button to connect to your X-3D and to automaticly download the current settings. A fotograph of the X-3D together with your rmware revision and the unique part number of your module signalizes that the connection has been successfully established. Press one of the buttons next to the picture to continue.

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Figure 5.1: USB module connected correctly

5.7 Operating the program

You can change the settings of your X-3D using two different modes: Easy or Expert. Using the Easy mode ensures that your X-UFO denitely stays controllable, whereas in the Expert mode all parameters can be changed arbitrary. You should only do changes using the Expert mode if you are exactly aware of what you do. However, there is an online-help window when using the Expert mode. Furthermore, there are tooltips displayed if you do not move your mousecursor for a few seconds whilst it is pointing to one of the values. We strongly recommend to do a backup of the original parameters using the Export button, before you change any parameters. Besides all controller parameters, you can also determine which side of your X-UFOs is front, in other words, you can determine the direction your X-UFO will travel to if you push your forward stick. Simply click on the corresponding checkbox. 5.7.1 Transmitting new settings to the X-3D After changing the parameters as desired please click on Ready. You will be prompted if you want to transmit all changes to your X-3D, or if you want to close the connection without transmitting any parameters.

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WARNING: Changing parameters happens at your own risk! After any alteration carefully test if all functions are working as desired. If this is not the case, you should reset your X-3D to the previous parameters, e.g. by using the Import function.

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Contact Information

www.xufo-shop.de PC-Quadrat GmbH Aussere Bayreuther Str. 57 DE - 90409 Nuremberg GERMANY Phone: +49 911 995140 Fax: +49 911 99514-66 E-Mail : bestellung@x-ufo.de Software and instruction manual downloads: www.x-3d.eu Support forum: www.xufo.de Venue: Nuremberg Register no.: HRB 15803

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