FMA Direct FORTRESS 2000 User manual

feature of FMA Direct receivers. Reducing antenna length will reduce range, however.
Proceed carefully, removing only a short amount at a time and be certain to ground range
check the receiver with each incremental reduction in antenna length. NEVER CUT THE
ANTENNA SHORTER THAN 18 INCHES! A special note to helicopter pilots concerning
standard FM receivers and antenna placement: FMA Direct receivers are tested thoroughly
in all types of aircraft including helicopters. Helicopters often create a challenge because
they generate RF noise and heavy vibration from fast-moving parts. In order to improve
reception in a helicopter, it is recommended that you route the antenna of the receiver as far
away from the tail boom as possible. This is particularly true of carbon-fiber booms. Nylon
push rod material mounted to the underside of the skids provides a good channel through
which to route the antenna. When hooking up a servo to your receiver, use TABLE 1 and
FIGURE 1 to check its plug wire color orientation.
• RANGE TEST
To assure proper performance, the Fortress 2000 series receiver must be range tested with
the "host" transmitter. The major reason for this important test is that over time, all R/C
transmitters are susceptible to de-tuning and frequency “drift”. To ensure the utmost in
secure RF reception, current technologies for narrow-banding used in FMA designs can
actually place a higher demand on transmitters. Power level and frequency accuracy of your
transmitter are more important than ever before. Therefore, for the initial range check and in
rare cases when you suspect degradation of performance from your R/C system, FMA would
like to suggest the following guidelines: Begin by placing the receiver on a cardboard box or
another non-metallic surface to elevate it about 2 feet off the ground. Connect only one
servo and the battery direct. Do not install a switch harness for the initial range test because
switch harnesses are often the cause of poor range. Perform the range test with the receiver
antenna fully extended VERTICALLY into the air on a dowel rod or the like, and the
transmitter antenna collapsed. Apply power and walk away from the receiver moving one
stick on the transmitter. You should obtain at least 200 feet of line-of-sight ground range if
everything is operating properly. If any loss of servo control occurs, the system must be
calibrated by an FMA service station. CALL [phone] for FMA Direct technical
assistance. In certain cases, the FMA service station may ask you to send in your
transmitter along with your receiver.
• ACCESSORIES:
Aileron extension cables, Y-harness, switch harness, and numerous other accessories as
well as a full line of servos, batteries, and chargers are available for use with your FMA
receiver either direct or from your local FMA dealer.
FMA LIMITED WARRANTY ON RADIO RECEIVER PRODUCTS
FMA, Inc. warrants this receiver to be free of manufacturing defects for the term of one year from
the date of purchase. Should any defects covered by this warranty occur, the receiver shall be
repaired or replaced with a unit of equal performance by FMA, Inc., or an authorized FMA service
station.
LIMITS AND EXCLUSIONS
This warranty may be enforced only by the original purchaser, who uses this receiver in its original
condition as purchased, in strict accordance with the Fortress 2000 owner's manual. Receivers
returned for warranty service to an FMA service center will be accepted for service when shipped
post-paid, with a copy of the original sales slip or warranty registration form, to the service station
advised by FMA, Inc.
THIS WARRANTY DOES NOT APPLY TO
1. Consequential or incidental losses resulting from the use of this receiver.
2. Damage resulting from accident, crashes, misuse, abuse, neglect, electrical surges,
reversed polarity on connectors, lightning or other acts of God.
3. Damage from failure to follow instructions supplied with the product.
4. Damage occurring during shipment of the product either to the customer or from the
customer for service (claims must be presented to the carrier).
5. Damage resulting from repair, adjustment, or any alteration to product by any one
other than an authorized FMA technician.
6. Installation or removal charges, or damage caused by improper installation or
removal.
CALL [phone] FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SERVICE AND WARRANTY REPAIRS.
OWNER’S MANUAL
8 CHANNEL FM UNIVERSAL
RADIO CONTROL RECEIVER
INTRODUCTION:
Thank you for purchasing the FMA Direct Fortress 2000 FM receiver. Fortress 2000
receivers are designed to provide years of trouble-free operation. You may fly your
Fortress 2000 in anything from sport models to helicopters to IMAA legal quarter scale
aircraft with complete confidence. Available in two models, the Fortress 2000 supports
either Futaba/JR or “Old Style” Airtronics servo connector polarity. These high-
performance designs incorporate the latest advancements in RF technologies available
to the R/C industry. Superior RF mixer technology and advanced circuitry for detecting
and amplifying PPM information enable the Fortress 2000 to out-perform other single
and dual conversion designs presently offered. Heavy-duty, SMT construction on a
single, glass-epoxy P.C. board provides outstanding reliability. New, universal
operation makes user-programmable shift switching a snap. This means that the same
FM receiver can now be programmed to operate with any FM transmitter regardless of
the direction of the FM shift.
SPECIFICATIONS:
NOTE: PLEASE READ MANUAL COMPLETELY BEFORE OPERATION
SIZE: 2.18"L X 1.68"W X 0.82"H
WEIGHT: 1.0 OZ.
DESIGN: DUAL CONVERSION, SUPER HETERODYNE
CHANNELS: 1-8
MODULATION: FM / PPM (PULSE POSITION MODULATION)
FREQUENCY: R/C CHANNELS 00 THROUGH 60 - U.S. LEGAL 50, 53, 72 MHz
ULTIMATE BANDPASS: ± 8.5 KHz @ >55 dB DOWN
USABLE SENSITIVITY: > -95 dBm
3OIP: +12 dBm
OPERATING VOLTAGE: +3.5V TO +26V DC LIMITED ONLY BY SERVO REQUIREMENTS
LEGAL USE: MEETS AMA GUIDELINES/FCC 1999 RADIATION REQUIREMENTS
FMA, Inc.
5716A Industry Lane
Frederick, MD 21704
Sales: [phone] -Technical: [phone]

∗ FCC Information: FCC ID: KH8-T2000 - This device complies with Part 15 of the Rules.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful
interference, and (2) this device must accept interference received, including interference
that may cause undesired operation.
PACKAGE CONTENTS:
1. FMA Direct Fortress 2000 FM, 8 channel, Universal PPM receiver
2. Dealer or factory-installed channel crystal (if purchased with unit)
3. Owner's Manual
4. Programming Quick Reference
PREPARATION:
•COMPATIBILITY - POWER AND SERVO CONNECTION
Fortress 2000 receivers are
available in two models. Part
number 201FM (pictured in Figure
1) is designed for use with all
standard servo connectors and
supports Futaba, JR, Hitec servos,
and Airtronics servos equipped with
the new “Z TYPE” connectors, as
well as other brands that use
standard polarity (GROUND,
PLUS, SIGNAL). Part number
201FM is identifiable by the Futaba
polarity “key” that appears at all
servo inputs on the top of the
receiver case. Model 201FM
receivers are not compatible with
“OLD STYLE” Airtronics connectors
that use reverse power polarity
(PLUS, GROUND, SIGNAL). Part
number 201AFM is designed
specifically to support “OLD
STYLE” Airtronics connectors only.
201AFM is identifiable by the
Airtronics polarity “key” that
appears in the top of the receiver
case. If you are unsure which
model receiver you have, contact
FMA Direct immediately. See
warning below. It is possible at any
time to have your 201AFM
converted to a 201FM by the
factory at a minimal charge.
WARNING: IF YOU INTEND TO INTERFACE AIRTRONICS SERVOS THAT USE “OLD
STYLE” (PRE-“Z TYPE”) AIRTRONICS CONNECTORS TO THE FORTRESS 2000, YOU
MUST EITHER 1) MAKE CERTAIN YOU ARE USING A MODEL 201AFM RECEIVER OR
2) UPDATE THE CONNECTOR TO THE CURRENT INDUSTRY STANDARD POLARITY
(SEE FIGURE 1) AND PROPER INDUSTRY STANDARD SHELL THICKNESS. YOU MAY
READILY CONVERT YOUR EXISTING “OLD STYLE” AIRTRONICS CONNECTORS TO
CURRENT STANDARDS 1) BY INSTALLING APPROPRIATE ADAPTERS OR 2) BY
REMOVING THE OLD CONNECTORS AND PINS AND REPLACING THEM WITH FMA
PART NUMBER SEASSYJ. EACH SEASSYJ CONTAINS ONE JR COMPATIBLE MALE
SHELL AND 3 FEMALE PINS. YOU WILL NEED TO CRIMP THE PINS AND SOLDER
THEM TO THE WIRES OF YOUR EXISTING SERVO AND PLUG THEM INTO THE
SHELL PROVIDED. MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE RED WIRE (+V) GOES TO THE
CENTER PIN AS ILLUSTRATED IN FIGURE 1. FMA WILL NOT ACCEPT
RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ATTEMPT TO USE “OLD STYLE” AIRTRONICS
CONNECTORS WITH PART NUMBER 201FM RECEIVERS THAT DO NOT HAVE THE
SERVOBRAND 1 2 3
FUTABA BLK RED WHT
JR BRN RED ORG
HITEC BLK RED YLW
AIRTRONICS (201AFM ONLY!) RED BLK BLK
TABLE 1 SERVO PLUG ORIENTATION
1
23
Figure 1 - Model 201FM Shown
POLARITY CHANGED TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS. LIKEWISE, FMA WILL NOT
ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ATTEMPT TO USE “STANDARD” SERVO
CONNECTORS WITH PART NUMBER 201AFM.
•COMPATIBILITY - PROGRAMMING THE FORTRESS 2000 FOR OPERATION WITH
YOUR FM TRANSMITTER
1. All Fortress 2000 receivers support full crystal interchangability using FMA Direct
Fortress series crystals. Contact your local FMA Direct dealer or call FMA Direct to
obtain the correct Fortress series crystal for operation with your transmitter frequency.
2. Designed for the utmost in reliability and compatibility, the new series of receivers
from FMA Direct are the first to incorporate user-programmable FM shift compatibility
with any standard FM/PPM transmitter currently being sold. User programmable
through a series of 5 dip switches, the same receiver can now operate with positive or
negative FM shift transmitters. So if you have a Futaba and a JR transmitter with you
at the field on different R/C channels, and one channel is already in use, you can
simply plug in the correct receiver crystal, change the settings of the dip switches
using a small screw driver and you’re ready to fly!
3. In general, 72 MHz Fortress 2000 receivers are shipped compatible with “negative”,
Futaba type frequency modulation (FM) - also termed “high-going-low” modulation.
JR and Airtronics transmitters incorporate “positive” or “low-going-high” frequency
modulation. At Ham band (50 and 53 MHz), all current R/C transmitters incorporate
“positive” modulation so, in general, Ham frequency Fortress 2000 receivers are
shipped compatible with “positive” modulation. If you are using JR or Airtronics
equipment on 72 MHz, you may need to adjust the DIP switch settings on the
Fortress 2000 before the receiver will “listen” to your
transmitter.
4. In order to program the Fortress 2000 receiver to a
different FM shift, refer to the Programming Quick
Reference included with your receiver. The DIP
switches are located on the top of the P.C. board.
Carefully remove the black tape that seals the top
and bottom of the case together and set it aside until
you have completed programming the receiver. As
shown in Figure 2, there are two banks of DIP
switches mounted on the top of the P.C. board. The
first bank contains four switches that are factory set
and are not to be adjusted by anyone other than an
FMA Direct technician. These four switches determine the servo polarity for the
receiver.
NOTE: ADJUSTING THESE FOUR SWITCH POSITIONS COULD RESULT IN
DAMAGE TO THE RECEIVER AND SERVOS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY!
The second bank of DIP switches contains five switches. Each switch is labeled 1, 2,
3, 4, 5 and the word ON is identified on the other side of the switch array. These are
the switches that control the FM shift of the receiver. Use a small jeweler type flat
screw driver to change the switches from one state to another. On the Programming
Quick Reference provided, identify your transmitter brand and the frequency band of
the transmitter/receiver combination (i.e. 72, 53, 50 MHz) on which you fly. Correlate
this information to the proper diagram and set the DIP switches at the positions
shown. There are only two settings which work. If one setting doesn’t work, the other
one will. Please note, the black square on the diagram indicates the switch position!
Replace the black tape that seals the top and bottom of the case together.
• INSTALLATION
Care must be taken when installing your receiver to isolate the electronics from vibration. Do
this by wrapping the receiver in 3/8” thick foam rubber. Restrain the foam-packed receiver
using Velcro or a rubber band if necessary.
NOTE: FAILURE TO USE FOAM RUBBER AS DESCRIBED ABOVE DURING
INSTALLATION VOIDS PRODUCT WARRANTY.
Extend the antenna to its full length. Do not coil the antenna up or range will be shortened.
If you are installing the Fortress 2000 in a small aircraft and you require a shorter antenna,
you may cut off a portion of the 39.75” antenna without de-tuning the receiver; a unique
BANK 1 BANK 2
PROGRAM
Figure 2