Setting up your Spektrum Radio
For the Soling One Meter (or any sailboat)
11/24/15
This is a procedure for setting up 2.4 Ghz Spektrum Radios- DX-5e, and DX-6i, to operate a
model yacht using two servos, and using double-ended sail arm activation.
I. Setting up your sail arm:
A. Run your sheets, so they run easily through your sheet exits, and your sail arm. Use as
small diameter a sheet as possible- a thin, strong, abrasion-resistant sheet material is best.
Example: spectrum fishing line instead of Dacron like in the Kit.
B. Use some sort of bearing surface on or in the sail control arm- the Kit suggests a metal
grommet through the arm. But a glass bead, or an eye screw will substantially reduce the
wear on the sheets and make the sails run easier. Blocks are even better- Harken
Miniatures, Pekabe and KDH make purpose-built blocks for RC sailing, or I have recently
been buying and using blocks for the Dragon Force DF-65 and these are the same as the
blocks used for the Micro Magic. Available in the USA from Atomik RC.
Position the sail arm so it places the lowest load on the
servo while the sails are close-hauled. Remove the screw
holding the sail arm to the servo. Rotate the arm on the
splines and re-install the arm as close as possible to
a fore and aft alignment (the jib end pointing at the mainsheet exit point on the deck.) In the diagram- the mainsheet end would be pointing UP.
This will make the load on the servo less using
mechanical resistance by having the arm positioned
this way. Re-install the servo screw.
II. Transmitter: install charged (or fresh dry-cell) batteries.
III. Receiver: (The black – ground wire always faces the outside of the receiver)
A. Mount the receiver(s) (if you have a dual-antenna receiver, the two antennae must be at least
2” apart.
B. Plug the rudder servo into the “Aileron” port of the receiver.
C. Plug the sail servo into the “Throttle” port of the receiver.
D. Plug the on/off switch into ANY open port (not the “Batt/Bind” port- leave that open)
IV. Bind the Transmitter and Receiver:
E. Plus any accessories- like a voltage indicator into any other open port.
If you have a receiver with just three ports
(MR-200) plug the “Power” lead from the switch
into the “Aileron” port, and the Bind Plug into the
“Batt/Bind” port.
IV. Binding your transmitter and receiver
A. Shut off the boat power switch.
B. Make sure the Transmitter is “Off” also.
C. Plug the Bind Plug into the “Batt/Bind”
Port of the receiver.
D. Turn on the boat power switch. Receiver(s)
should be blinking (indicating it is not bound.
E. Be careful on the next step- the servos can
move quickly as the binding operation is
completed, snagging rigging, or even
hurting your fingers! It may be best to even remove sail arms and rudder arms as this
binding process is attempted.
F. HOLD THE “Trainer” BUTTON UP- (long toggle switch located left lower top)
on the Transmittera. DX-5e: the Transmitter power-indicator LEDS as well as the receiver LED should be
blinking.
b. DX-6i the Powerscreen should read “Binding”.
G. After 5-8 seconds, the receiver indicators should stop blinking, and then after another 2- 5
seconds, the LED should come on and remain lit and the servos should move to a “parked”
position.
H. The DX-5e LEDs may go to constant or may remain blinking, but the LED in the receiver is
your indication that the bind process is complete.
I. On the DX-6i after 5-8 seconds, the receiver indicators should stop blinking, and then after
another 2- 5 seconds, the LED should come on and remain lit. In addition, the screen should
no longer read “binding” and the servos should move to a “parked” position. This indicates
your transmitter and receiver are bound. The servos are now under the control of the
transmitter.
J. Turn off the boat power. Turn off the Transmitter switch. Remove the Bind Plug.
Your transmitter should now be bound.
V. Testing
1. If you removed the servo arms, (with the radio and boat powered up-move the (left)
sail control to fully trimmed in, Click “On” the switch for the transmitter.
2. Re-install the arm(s) taking note of the alignment as above section I B.
3. With both transmitter and boat “ON”. Move both servos- “throttle” stick forward and
back to move the sails and “aileron” stick (Spektrum radios require two movements of the throttle stick
to cause the servo to move- this is a safety for airplane use to prevent a plane from taking off because someone
forget to turn the throttle to “low” to start the engine.)
4. Move the sticks, you should get movement in both servos. Check carefully to make sure there
is NO binding of the sail arm, the sheets, etc.- typical sources of problems:
- The sail arm is too long and hits the hull (shorten the arm)
- The sail arm snags the rudder servo (raise the sail servo/ lower the ruder servo)
- The servos may turn the opposite way you want- we’ll reverse those in a minute.
VI. Position the throttle stick all the way back, to the full “in” close-hauled position. Now ease
the sails all the way out. Move the stick back and forth a few times to make sure everything is
working smoothly. Then push forward- sails should ease out. If they instead trim in- you need to
reverse your servos. For the DX-5e, simply click the appropriate slide switch (farthest left) on the
front of the transmitter. For the DX-6i, ignore the issue for the time being- we’ll reverse the
servo later.
VII. Sail servo travel: ASSUMING that the distances from the two boom pivots (jib pivot to jib
attachment, gooseneck to main boom attachment) are equal, you should get about equal travel in your
mainsail and jib. (A different travel is because the distance from the pivot points of the jib and main to
the attachment points on the booms is different- a small difference.)
A. Servo Travel: Most servos generally only travel through about 90 degrees- 45 degrees each
direction.
HiTec HS- 755 - a popular RC sailing servo. But this servo travels about 90
degrees- adequate if your sail arm is at least 7" long.
HiTec HS- 765 - this one travels through 140 degrees. Will give adequate travel in
most applications.
Your objective when running is to have the TOP edge of the leech of both sails out 90 degrees to
the line of travel of the boat. NOT necessarily to have the BOOMS travel to 90 degrees.
If your sails may not have enough travel, you have a few options: (in order by ease/cost)
1. Live with it- many sailors win many races without being able to extend the sails out 90
degrees to the boat centerline. Some even think it is faster to use the “slot effect”
down wind.
2. Move the sheet attachment position on the boom(s). The more forward the sheet
attaches, the farther out the sail will go.
3. The sail arm should be as long as possible, given the clearance inside the hull. A
longer arm = longer travel on the sails. Generally, on a Soling, a 7” arm is possible,
and will give the longest travel.
4. You can use an offset sail arm length end-to-end to make up for any difference in
travel between the main and jib. So, it is a good idea to drill several sheeting points
(holes, holes for blocks, or grommets, etc.) so you can later use trial and error to finetune the jib and mainsail to ease and trim at equal rates. The longer side will have
greater travel.
5. Modify your sail servo- there are procedures available online where you can solder
electronic components into your servo that will extend the travel. This will void your
warranty on the servo, and requires some soldering skill. -OR6. You can order a servo already modified through Servo City, online. They charge
about $10 to do this, and the servo will give 140 - 180 degrees rotation. (This also
voids the warranty.)
7. You can install a “Servo Stretcher”- this is a servo booster that will approximately
double servo travel. See below.
8. A better radio gives an improved signal, and often more travel from the same
servo. A better radio also will give you travel adjustments. A DX-6i Transmitter
gives greater travel, and adjustable travel. The DX-5e does not have these features.
9. You can install digital servos; which can be programmed to give added travel.
“Servo Stretcher”- this is a servo booster that will increase servo travel, available online
through Servo City, for about $22. The Servo City unit also gives you end-point and
centering adjustment that you normally do not have on standard radios like the DX-5e. OR
here is a simpler, non-adjustable servo stretcher available for about $14 from www.
rcdude.com. (The Dionysus unit gives NO adjustability.)
Servo City Servo Stretcher
http://www.servocity.com
Dionysus Servo Stretcher V2
http://www.rcdude.com
NOTE: ANY Servo Stretcher will NOT work on a servo that has already been modified to
increase travel, or is enhanced when new- like the HS- 765 series from HiTec.
VI. Rudder setup: Note the position of the rudder. It should be close to “straight”, pointing fore
and aft along the centerline of the boat.
A. Use the mechanical rudder arm adjustment to set the rudder straight when the rudder
servo is in the “neutral” (no hands on the “aileron” stick).
B. Ideally, the rudder servo in its parked position, will be at 90 degrees to the centerline of the
boat with the rudder straight. If not- move the arm a spine or two to straighten the
rudder. Then, adjust the rudder arm (tiller) position on the rudder shaft until the rudder is
straight.
C. The “trim” buttons on the transmitter can be used to fine-tune the rudder position, test
on the water later. The DX-6i transmitter also has an programmable adjustment for
"subtrim"- which is a centering adjustment.
__________________________________________________________________________
VII. DX-6i procedures:
The rest of this procedure applies to the Spektrum DX-6i; the DX-5e does NOT have the
adjustments referred to after this point.)
Setting up the DX-6i:
The DX-6i uses the thumb wheel on the face of the transmitter to set the many available features
of the unit. By rotating this wheel, left or right, selecting features and adjustments, then pressing
the wheel, you make choices for your setup. Scroll through the menu features by rotating the
program thumbwheel located to the right of the display.
The main advantages of the DX-6i are that you CAN adjust pretty much everything, it does
give you:
- adjustable and added servo travel
- D/R exponential (allowing two settings- hard and soft- for the rudder)
- a “hyperbolic” adjustment which allows rudder sensitivity to be adjusted as well.
- the DX-6i also has a digital battery power meter, and a timer.
- the DX-6i can be programmed with separate setups for up to TEN different models. So- a
single DX-6i transmitter could be used for a Soling, a plane, a helicopter, an RC powerboat,
etc. This is significant, especially as you develop additional hobby interests, a second boat, etc.
Setup exclusive to the DX-6i and an RC sailboat:
A. Complete steps I – VI aboveThen:
Action:
Setting:
Note:
First, click the thumb wheel,
and rotate it to the right
through the various
menus>>
With the transmitter and boat
“on”: press the thumb wheelthe LCD screen will read
“Adjust List”, with “Main”
highlighted.
Click “List”- Rotate the
thumbwheel, to select “Model
Type”.
Rotate back to left to return
to a previous menu.
Get familiar with its
operation.
“Model Type”: click: Set for
“airplane” (“aero”). It will go
back to “List”.
Click “List”.
Rotate the thumb wheel to
when “Model Name” field is
highlighted.
Click, then use the thumbwheel
to rotate and select (by pressing)
the letters for the name for your
main model.
I use: “Slng2648”Turn the radio “OFF”, wait,
then on.
As you reach either the letter or
number you want. Click, and the
curser moves to the next space.
Once you have the name, scroll
right using the thumb wheel,
click on “OK”.
This saves the settings, so if
anything goes wrong all your
work is saved.
At EACH time you do this, you
will have to go through the
menus to the place where you
left off. This will become
second nature as you do it.
Rotate the thumb wheel, bypass
“Monitor” to “Reverse” and
click, then…
rotate through the various
servos (there are 6 shown):
THRO N
ELEV N
GEAR N
AILE N
RUDD N
FLAP N
Press the thumb wheel to go
back.
Rotate the thumb wheel, bypass
“THRO CUT”, and “WING
TAIL MIX”, to “D/R
COMBI”...
You are only concerned with
THRO (sails) and AILE
(rudder). Note- “Rudder” is
not used on the sailboat.
Test servo direction.
Click ( “R”) for any servos that
need to be reversed.
Click back to “Reverse”, click.
...Click and set at “INH” and
click again, then…
Turn the radio “OFF”, wait,
then on.
Rotate the thumbwheel to
“ADJUST LIST”, and click.
Scroll past “Model Select”, and
click on “D/R EXPO”.
Set “AILE” :
FIRST-Pull the (right) rudder
stick all the way right, then set
at 100%.
THEN- Pull the (right) rudder
stick all the way left, then set at
100%.
You want 100% travel in both
directions, to start. 100% is a
lot of travel. The rudder is a
brake, and too much rudder
really slow you down. Later,
you may want to return to this
setting, and reduce the travel to
something more in the range of
80%.
Check your left-stick
(Throttle) trim adjustment to
be sure it is on the center.
Set at center, then...
Scroll down to:
“TRAVEL ADJUST”.
FIRST- Pull the sail control
(left stick) all the way back to
the close-hauled position, then
rotate the wheel and set the
THRO at 125%.
giving you the settings I use.
THEN-Push the sail control all
the way forward to the “out”
position, and set the THRO
throttle at 125%.
Scroll to
"AILE"
Set “AILE” at 100%.
NOTE- from this point on I am
As you become familiar with the
DX-6i, you can go back and fine tune to your own settings.
Each of the stick positions can
be set separately for EACH
direction of travel. This will
give you maximum travel.
IF you have too much travel
sheeted in (the arm goes past
pointing straight at the sheet
exit) OR if the servo
"chatters", loosen and reposition the arm so it DOES
point at the sheet exit with the
stick "in" and trim set at neutral.
This is 100% travel.
Set ALL others at “0”.
Test.
Run the sails out and in, look at
your travel.
Turn the radio “OFF”, wait,
then on.
Scroll to and click the
“SUBTRIM” menu.
You are looking for travel so the
jib and main each extend so
their upper leeches are at 90
degrees to the travel of the boatthat means about 70-75 degrees
off center for the booms. See
below. Her booms are not out
at 90 degrees, yet the leeches are
at the correct angle to the wind.
These settings center your
rudder and sail arm.
Turn on the boat, and adjust the
THRO setting until the rudder
appears to be perfectly aligned
with the travel of the boat/ keel.
Click.
Now, set the subtrim on the
“AILE”/ sail servo to center.
>>>>
TRICK: most boats have too
much travel on sheet in- and not
enough on sheet OUT.
Trim all the way “in”, and
loosen then rotate the sail arm
to the proper position, aligned
pointing at the mainsail sheet
exit.
Use the subtrim function to
move the centering point and
effectively ADD “out” travel.
To get more travel see Section
VII A above.
Turn the radio “OFF”, wait,
then on.
Scroll past “FLAPS”, “MIX 1”,
and “MIX 2”, and return to
“MAIN”.
Scroll then click “SETUP
LIST” (menu #9).
This setting allows you to have
inhibited rudder activity when
the switch is at “1”;
Set the “0/1” (top right small
switch- “D/R expo in the pic
above) to “1”.
“D/R COMBI”, click.
Set to “INHI”
Turn the radio “OFF”, wait,
then on.
Test everything and re-adjust
anything you are unhappy with.
Go sailing!!
Means that the rudder will move
very gradually when the stick is
near the center, yet;
Give a “full” throw when the
stick is near the extremes of
travel to allow fast turning in
“emergency” situations.