Mikado VBAR User manual

Manual
V4.05
VBar

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Questions / Help
VBarisaninnovativetechnologydevelopedandproducedinGermany.
Its applications are diverse. When installing or operating V-Bar, you
mayhavequestionswhicharenotansweredbythismanual.Purchase
of this VBar System entitles you to technical support by the
manufacturer. If you have any questions or comments, please go to
theV-Bar Forumonthefollowingwebsite: www.vstabi.de(Questions
can be asked in English) or use the following contact:
phone:[phone]
email:[email protected]
This manual must be read in its entirety before
installing and operating the V-Bar System!
CONTENTS
1. General Information..............................................................3
2. Mounting the VBar on your Heli.............................................4
3. How to program your VBar....................................................7
4. Installation of the PC Software................................................8
5. Wiring the VBar to the Receiver............................................10
6. Pre-defined Set-ups (Presets)..............................................12
7. Mounting the Sensor...........................................................20
8. Checking Travel Directions..................................................21
9. Trim Flight.........................................................................22
10. Flight Settings.................................................................23
11. Tail Settings.....................................................................24
12. Bank Switching................................................................24
13. Optimization....................................................................25
14. Control Panel...................................................................25
15. Important Safety Guidelines...............................................26
16. Rotorhead Set-up.............................................................28
17. Additional Components.....................................................29
18. Technical Data.................................................................30
19. Warranty, Sending back a VBar.........................................31

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1. General Information
VBarstandsfor„VirtualFlybar.“ (In Germanit iscalled"VStabi“,from
Virtual Stablizer Bar). The VBar simulates the behavior of the flybar
and all its associated mechanical parts, so that these parts can be
entirelybe dispensed with.
TheVBar isnot an autopilot! Anautopilot cansteeror holdthe heliin
a given position. This is not what the VBar does. Rather, the VBar
simulatesthe expected behavior of aconventional rotorhead (which
includesaflybar).WiththeVBar,controlofthehelicopter’smovements
remains fully with the pilot. Errors in controlling the helicopter will
inevitablyleadto crashes.Thereare severaladvantagesof theVBar,
comparedto a conventional rotorhead. We will mentionjust a few of
theimportantones here. Firstly,asthe digitally controlledrotorhead
hasfewer mechanicalcomponents, weightandair dragare reduced.
Secondly, by changing the settings in the VBar System, it is much
easier to adjust the heli’s performance to the pilot’s individual
requirements.Ina multi-bladehelicopter, amechanicalflybar cannot
be used at all, so that the digital rotor head can supply all the
advantagesof aflybar head.
How does the V-Bar work?
VBar is an electronic unit which is placed between the receiver and
the servos. It reads and analyzes the receiver signals. In addition it
registers the helicopter‘s yaw rates along all three axes (elevator,
aileron,andrudder)byMEMSsensors.Allmeasurementsareentered
into a mathematical algorithm, which outputs the desired values to
betransferred to theservos.

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Which helicopters are suitable for the VBar System?
Generally speaking, the VBar System can be used in any model
helicopter, with the one prerequisite that the use of the V-Bar must
notleadtoany restrictionsconcerningthesafe operationofthemodel.
Ofcoursethe VBarcannot beusedin anyhelicopter carryinghumans
or animals, or in helicopters which could in any manner endanger
persons, animals or things. You must refer to the safety
recommendations included in section 15 of this manual.
2. Installation
TheVBar System includes the following components:
•CentralUnit
•GyroSensor
•BluetoothModule (optional)
•ControlPanel (optional)
Each component must be installed in the helicopter properly. For
instance, the wires of the central unit must be placed correctly.The
gyro sensor needs to be calibrated along the longitudinal axis and
the pitch axis. On the pages to follow, we explain some important
detailsontheplacementofthe individual components of the VBar.

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The essential criterion for positioning the central unit has to do with
wiring.Thereceiver mustbe connectedwithout pullingorbendingthe
wires. At the same time, the central unit must connect to the
swashplateservos. The tail servo must alsobeconnected.
Thecentral unit must be protectedfrom stronger vibrations (e.g. ina
90-size nitro helicopter). Do not tense or bend any wires. Always
securetheunit, sothat itcannotfall off.Ensure thatitisnevertouched
byany moving part ofthehelicopter.
- Gyro Sensor
The gyro sensor houses three individual sensor elements - one for
elevator,one for aileron,and oneforthe rudder.Thefirsttwoof these
sit in perpendicular fashion with respect to each other. This is why
the gyro sensor must be aligned perfectly along all three axes. The
sensorsare equippedwith excellentinterferencerejection properties
regarding any axis which is not the one they are meant to work for.
As a result it is irrelevant where the gyro sensor is placed in relation
to the rudder axis. However, it is very important that the sensor is
installedsothatthewiresleadinlongitudinaldirection,facing forward
orbackward.
- Central Unit
The central unit houses the microprocessor and the power/voltage
supply for the V-Bar. The supply voltage is 3.5 to 9 V.

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Inaddition, you should try tofinda place for the gyro sensorwhere it
isexposed to aslittle vibration aspossible.Althoughthesensor itself
is resistant to vibrations, the measured values can be blurred by
vibrations.Thisisturnleadsto ahigher propensityof thehelicopter to
oscillate.The most commonreactionto high vibrationsofthe sensor
elementsisbyoffset.Youwillnoticethiswhen thetrimmingofdifferent
cyclic rates varies too much.
Aslong the trimming varies onlyslightly, this istolerable.However,if
thetrimming isgreatlyoff balance,the level ofvibration is toohigh. In
thiscase the source of the vibrations mustbeeliminated. Otherwise
you cannot use the VBar in this helicopter.
For mounting the gyro sensor it is recommended that you use the
pieceofadhesivefoamincluded with the VBar kit.
- V-Bar power supply (very important)
Please note: With 4 digital servos and the VBar, the current
consumptionof thereceiverunit willbeat least50%more thanwhen
usingaconventionalflybarrotorhead.Youneedtoadjustpowersupply
foryour receiveraccordingly.
The central unit houses the microprocessor and the power/voltage
supplyfor theV-Bar.Thesupply voltageis3.5 to9V.Sufficientpower
mustbe availableto thecentral unitatall timesduring operation,also
duringpeaks. The three swasplateservosalone may jointly drawup
to 20A during peaks. You must use wires which are suitably
dimensioned.(Twoleadsarerecommendedtoconnecttothereceiver.)
Youmust ensurethatthe power supply used has sufficientcapacity.

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3. How to program your VBar
Before you can use the VBar in your helicopter it needs to be
programmed. There are several means for carrying out the
programming:
EveryVBar unit comes with a USB cable and software whichallows
for programming it via a PC or Laptop. You can also use a mobile
phone,blue-tooth module(Mikado itemno. 4056)or thespecial VBar
control panel (Mikado item no. 4145).You can switch among these
options at any time, so you can program your VBar at home, at the
flyingfieldor anywhere you choose.
Programming VBar
Control Panel
Bluetooth
Module USB/
Bluetooth
Module
PC/Laptop
Mobile

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4. Installation of the PC-Software
To installthe Software,insert theCDinto the CD driveandfollow the
onscreen instructions. After Software installation, please leave the
CDin theCD drive, asa driverfor the USBconnection willneedto be
installed upon the first initial connection of the VBar.
Theinstallation processcreatesa newfilepath forsoftware4.0. This
allows for parallel installation of various VBar Software versions, if
needed.
TheVBarsoftwareisfullycompatiblewiththemostcommonWindows
operationsystems. Thereis oneexception,namely the64 bitversion
of Windows Vista. If you are using Windows Vista 64 bit, or an
Apple, MAC or Linux System, please refer to the our VBar support
pageonwww.vstabi.de,whereyou will findtherelevant instructions.
Aftersuccessfulinstallation,go to the Startmenuwhereyou will find
3different links:
-The Program forstandard USB connection
-The Program for theBluetooth connection
- Asimulation,whichallows to viewVBar parameterseliminating the
needto overwrite yourcurrentlyset parameters.
The following series of images leads you through the installation
software step by step.

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Onopening thesoftware,you willsee a screenas shown below.This
isthe page for usingthe pre-installed model set-ups.For the VBar to
be able to connect to your PC or Laptop, you need to install a driver.
Installingthe USB Driver
Connectthe VBarmain unitwith yourcomputerusingtheUSB cable.
Now turn on your transmitter and receiver. Your Windows program
willrecognize the new hardware and you will see this window:
Afterabout5seconds,theVBarisreadytoaccepttheUSBconnection
to your computer. On initial connection your PC will prompt you to
install the USB driver. If your PC cannot find the required driver
automatically, please find it your VBar CD. The CD should still be in
theCD drive of yourPC.
The VBar icon on your desktop

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Once your system has installed the USB driver and recognized the
VBar you can start up the software in USB mode. The green bar in
theupper left corner of the screen indictates successfulconnection.
TransmitterSettings
It is sufficient to use a simple 4- channel transmitter with no active
mixing. This is because flight control and swash plate mixing will be
controlled entirely by the VBar. The only exception to this would be
cyclic to throttle in a nitro heli.
Select a model on your transmitter and set it to mechanical swash
mixing(noccpm). Thisway,wehaveonereceiverwhereonechannel
is dedicated to each control function of elevator, aileron, pitch and
tail.
Inaddition, the pitch curve needs to be linearfrom0 to 100%. Servo
travelsmust be set to100%, and servo centersatmid position.Also,
make sure all subtrims are set to zero, and all servo directions to
normal.Resetdualrate to 100% and expo to linear,Turnoffany tail
mixers that apply to your radio.
Bear in mind that some of these settings change with flight modes,
so you might need to reset them in all flight modes or copy one
setting to all the others.
5. Wiring the VBar to the Receiver
Hook up the input connectors of the VBar unit with the output
connectorsof yourreceiver. Pleaserefer to yourradio manual forthe
appropriate channel function assignments, in order to assign the
connectionsfor Pitch,Elevator,Aileron andTail correctly.The4th slot
isleft unusedif you areusing threeswashplateservos. Thetail servo
is connected to the outermost slot.
You must make sure the polarity is correct. As is indicated on the
printed label on the VBar main unit, the ground connection, usually
brown or black, has to face upwards.