PowerBox Systems Core V 2.50 User manual

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Manual
04/2021
V 2.5o

2PowerBox-Systems − World Leaders in RC Power Supply Systems
Dear PowerBox-Pilot,
Many thanks for placing your trust in us, and purchasing our
PowerBox CORE. You have chosen an extremely unusual
radio control system: the CORE has great presence and
allure, which you cannot fail to appreciate when you pick up
the transmitter for the first time. The CORE fits perfectly in
your hands, and is the perfect tool for controlling your valuable
models with precision.
30 months have passed between the initial idea and the start
of series production: in this time, we have developed everyt-
hing from the ground up: electronics, mechanical systems,
choice of components and suppliers, external appearance,
technical design, mold construction, software architecture,
basic operating philosophy and endless details.
Development started late, and the system had to be comple-
tely re-designed, but over time we realized that this offered
one great advantage: compatibility with old systems develo-
ped in the past did not have to be considered in any way. This
is a very important benefit, since there have been significant
technical advances in the field of 2.4 GHz systems since the
start of the current era.
A single example will suffice to underline this advantage: the
highly developed radio link, offering a range of more than 9
km. This is unique, and provides unrivalled system reserves.
Further advances are evident in our new bi-directional P²BUS
which operates as the telemetry interface, and is capable of
transferring data at unprecedented speed. The most im-
portant advance as far as the pilot is concerned is the user
interface, which is controlled using the transmitter’s integral
touch-screen: the entire menu system is accessed from here,
and the self-explanatory menus are completely logical in their
structure. The internal high-performance Linux computer provi-
des unlimited future expansion potential.
We are confident that we can guarantee our customers dura-
bility and quality at the very highest level, because we exclusi-
vely use components of the highest possible industrial quality,
produced by top manufacturers.
The entire production process – starting with circuit board
assembly and extending right through to final assembly in
our own premises – takes place in Germany. Each CORE is
hand-made, and represents an example of German crafts-
manship at its best! All our staff are united in their shared aim:
perfection!
We wish you many hours of pleasure and countless success-
ful flights with your new PowerBox CORE!

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Content
1. Connections, controls...........................4
2. First Steps ....................................5
2.1 Switching on ................................5
2.2 Entering the menu............................5
2.3 Main Screen.................................6
2.3.1. Battery indicator ...............................6
2.3.2. Processor Status ..............................6
2.3.3. Flight Mode ...................................6
2.3.4. GPS .........................................6
2.3.5. Wifi ..........................................6
2.3.6. Aerial symbols.................................6
3. Menu.........................................7
3.1 Menu Settings ...............................7
3.1.1. System .......................................7
3.1.2. Screen .......................................8
3.1.3. Audio ........................................9
3.2 Model Menü.................................9
3.3 Function Menu...............................11
3.3.1. Function......................................11
3.3.2. Transmitter Control.............................11
3.3.3. Trim .........................................11
3.3.4. Setup ........................................12
3.3.5. Hold / Failsafe .................................13
3.3.6. Servo ........................................14
3.4 Binding a receiver ............................16
3.4.1. Binding.......................................16
3.4.2. Remove ......................................16
3.4.3. Range check ..................................17
3.4.4. Selecting CORE/M-Link .........................17
3.5 Mixer.......................................17
3.5.1. Flight Mode ...................................18
3.5.2. From/To ......................................18
3.5.3. Transmitter control .............................18
3.5.4. Gain .........................................18
3.5.5. Curve editor...................................18
3.6 Virtual switches..............................19
3.7 Servo Cut-OFF...............................20
3.8 Flightmodes.................................22
3.9 Speech output ...............................24
3.9.1. Source .......................................24
3.9.2. Value.........................................25
3.9.3. Control .......................................26
3.9.4. Replay .......................................26
3.9.5. Test..........................................27
3.10 Vario ......................................27
3.10.1. Sensor ......................................27
3.10.2. Vario ON/OFF ................................28
3.10.3. Start tone....................................28
3.10.4. Climb sensitivity ..............................28
3.10.5. Sink sensitivity ...............................28
3.10.6. Climb offset ..................................28
3.10.7. Sink offset ...................................28
3.11 Doorsequencer .............................28
3.11.1. Single mode..................................29
3.11.2. Loop mode ..................................29
3.12 File Manager ...............................32
3.13 Teacher/Student system......................33
4.Telemetry, Timers, Servo display,
Notes and Quick-Select-Buttons .................35
4.1 Telemetry ...................................36
4.1.1. Size..........................................36
4.1.2. Delete Widget .................................36
4.1.3. Rescan Sensors ..............................36
4.1.4. + Button ......................................36
4.1.5. Sensor .......................................37
4.1.6. Menu ........................................38
4.1.7. Address ......................................38
4.1.8. Value.........................................39
4.1.9. Alarm ........................................40
4.1.10. Erase .......................................41
4.2 Timer ......................................41
4.3 Servo display ................................43
4.4 Quick select menu ...........................43
4.5 Notes ......................................44
4.6 Minimum- and Maximum display ...............44
4.7 Anordnen der Widgets ........................44
5. Update .......................................45
5.1 CORE ......................................45
5.1.1. USB Update...................................45
5.1.2. Wifi Update ...................................46
5.2 Receiver ....................................46
6. Wifi ..........................................47
7. Charging the transmitter ........................48
8. Connections...................................49
9. Mechanical transmitter adjustments ..............49
10. Calibrating the transmitter controls ..............52
11.Specification ..................................53
12. Set contents..................................53
13. Core accessories..............................54
14. Service note ..................................56
15. Guarantee conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
16. Liability exclusion .............................56
17. FCC.........................................56
18. IC...........................................57
19. RF exposure statement (Portable Device) .........57

4PowerBox-Systems − World Leaders in RC Power Supply Systems
8 Toggle switches
Quick-select buttons
Optional stick switch
Loudspeaker
4 digital trims
4 proportional
controls
On / Off switch
4 push-buttons
Light sensor
1. Connections, controls
Quick-select buttons
Userdefined
menu
Screen
unock
Servo
monitor
Home
screen
History
back
History
forward

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2. First Steps
2.1 Switching on
The CORE is switched on by holding the -Tbutton pressed in until it lights up red. Release the button briefly, then confirm the
power-on process by briefly pressing the button a second time. The transmitter is switched off in exactly the same way. The
button changes to green when the Linux system has booted; this process takes about 25 seconds. Once the CORE is running,
you will see the Home display on the screen: this shows fields containing telemetry values, timers, servo positions or quick-select
buttons for menus. These fields are known as widgets.
2.2 Entering the menu
The main menu is accessed by swiping a finger downwards from the top edge. You can now touch the left-hand menu symbol :
There is no need to press firmly, as the capacitive touch-screen simply responds to touch, like all modern smartphones. The sym-
bols in the Main menu are arranged in order of importance.
The CORE is fitted with a fully redundant power supply system, which is deliberately kept separate from the Linux computer
and the other processors. This means than any malfunctions in the complex Linux system cannot possibly result in the trans-
mitter switching itself off. The two real-time processors also function completely independently of the Linux computer. The
model remains fully controllable even if the Linux computer is pulled out when the system is running!
NOTE

6PowerBox-Systems − World Leaders in RC Power Supply Systems
2.3 Main Screen
2.3.1. Battery indicator
The two green battery symbols indicate the state of charge
of the two internal batteries. The charge status is divided up
into five blocks, each of which stands for 20% of charge. The
charge symbols change to orange and then red if the state of
charge falls below 20% and 10% respectively. You can also
set up a telemetry widget to display the exact battery voltage.
Setting up a telemetry widget provides the opportunity to add
an audible or spoken alarm.
2.3.2. Processor Status
This symbol is displayed when the workload on the Linux computer reaches a particular level. The symbol flashes briefly when
data is being processed.
2.3.3. Flight Mode
This field shows the current flight phase (flight mode). The name of the flight phase can be set individually in the Flight Mode
menu.
2.3.4. GPS
This symbol appears when the integral GPS has what is known as a “FIX”. This means that sufficient satellites have been picked
up to receive GPS data.
2.3.5. Wifi
This symbol is cancelled with a red line if WiFi is not active. WiFi is only active when it has been switched on manually, or automa-
tically during the Update process.
2.3.6. Aerial symbols
The aerial symbols illustrate in graphic form the LQI value of the Core’s aerials, i.e., it corresponds to the reception quality of the
return channel.
Hinweis: you can transfer any menu point to your own personal menu. This is accomplished simply by holding your finger on
the appropriate menu for a few seconds. When the “Person symbol” appears, the menu point is transferred into your personal
menu, which you can access conveniently using the quick-select button at the bottom of the screen. If you wish to remove
a menu point again, use the same procedure: keep your finger on the menu symbol in question, and that entry is duly erased.
NOTE

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3. Menu
3.1 Menu Settings
This menu is used to enter your name, set the time display
format and select your preferred language. At this point you
will also find the Display settings such as background and icon
color, and the Audio menu for setting the various volume levels.
These settings are global for all models.
3.1.1. System
• Pilot name, Date and Time
Enter your name at Pilot ‘s name. You can change the name at any time. It is very important to set the correct Time of day and
Date, as the telemetry data log files cannot be assigned unambiguously without that information. Please be sure to set the date
and time of day. A later update will activate the internal GPS of the CORE, and at that time the clock will set itself automatically.
Functions
- Function overview
- Create or erase
functions
Mixers Flightmodes Virtual switches
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3. MENÜ
Funktionen
- Funktionenübersicht
- Funktionen anlegen oder löschen
Mischer
Servos
- Servoübersicht
- Servos anlegen oder löschen
Servo Cut-off
Servo Monitor Modell
- Modellübersicht
- Laden, kopieren oder löschen
von Modellen
Flight Modes Empfänger Verwaltung
- Empfängerübersicht
- Empfänger binden oder entfernen
- Reichweitentest
Virtuelle Schalter
Datei Manager
Vario EinstellungenLehrer/Schüler Einstellungen
Sequenzer
Sprachausgabe
Einstellungen
- Systemeinstellungen
- Bildschirm
- Audio
Servos
- Servo overview
- Create or erase
functions
Servo Cut-off
Receiver management
- Receiver overview
- Bind or remove receiver
- Range check
Speech output
Servo Monitor
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3. MENÜ
Funktionen
- Funktionenübersicht
- Funktionen anlegen oder löschen
Mischer
Servos
- Servoübersicht
- Servos anlegen oder löschen
Servo Cut-off
Servo Monitor Modell
- Modellübersicht
- Laden, kopieren oder löschen
von Modellen
Flight Modes Empfänger Verwaltung
- Empfängerübersicht
- Empfänger binden oder entfernen
- Reichweitentest
Virtuelle Schalter
Datei Manager
Vario EinstellungenLehrer/Schüler Einstellungen
Sequenzer
Sprachausgabe
Einstellungen
- Systemeinstellungen
- Bildschirm
- Audio
Model
- Model overview
- Create, load, copy and
erase models
File manager
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3. MENÜ
Funktionen
- Funktionenübersicht
- Funktionen anlegen oder löschen
Mischer
Servos
- Servoübersicht
- Servos anlegen oder löschen
Servo Cut-off
Servo Monitor Modell
- Modellübersicht
- Laden, kopieren oder löschen
von Modellen
Flight Modes Empfänger Verwaltung
- Empfängerübersicht
- Empfänger binden oder entfernen
- Reichweitentest
Virtuelle Schalter
Datei Manager
Vario EinstellungenLehrer/Schüler Einstellungen
Sequenzer
Sprachausgabe
Einstellungen
- Systemeinstellungen
- Bildschirm
- Audio
Settings
- System settings
- Screen
- Audio
Teacher / Student Vario Sequencer

8PowerBox-Systems − World Leaders in RC Power Supply Systems
• Language
The Language setting affects the output of speech and telemetry data. When the sensors are scanned, the selected language
is sent to the sensor, which then sends back the telemetry values using the terminology in that language - if implemented.
• Units
It is also important to set your preferred units of measurement: the system sends your choice of Metric or Imperial to the tele-
metry sensors, and the sensors then deliver all telemetry values using your preferred units, such as kilometers / miles or liters /
gallons.
• Software
The Software menu will be discussed later; the transmitter and receivers can be updated at this point.
• Servo/Data
The Servo / Data setting determines whether the 3-pin output under the cover generates a PWM servo signal to act as a servo
tester, or a real-time telemetry output in the P²BUS format. The latter makes the telemetry data from the model accessible at the
transmitter itself for further processing. Typical uses of this would be for recording devices or variometers with expanded functi-
ons used for Triangle competitions.
Since Version 2.35 this socket has acted as S.BUS or SRXL input for the Teacher / Student system. These two protocols can
be generated by the receivers used by virtually all radio control systems. This allows the Core’s Teacher / Student system to be
very flexible in operation, even in conjunction with low-cost Student transmitters made by a variety of manufacturers.
• FastStart
This feature stores the currently loaded model settings in the real-time computer when the transmitter is switched off. Next time
you switch on, you immediately have control of the model. The Linux computer boots in the usual way. Settings and trims are
only available once the Linux computer is running. This feature is extremely practical for competition work, or if you simply want
to extend or retract the undercarriage when rigging or dismantling the model.
• Calibration
Another important point is the Calibration menu; this is described in full at a later stage.
3.1.2. Screen
• Background, Color, Icons, Brightness
You can select your preferred color scheme here. The
brightness control should be set to a value which enables you
to see the screen content clearly and distinctly. Please note
that the screen brightness does have a perceptible effect on
battery duration!
• Dimmer
The Dimmer time setting determines the point at which the
screen is automatically darkened.
• Automatic lock
The automatic screen lock can be released again using the - button.
• Idle Alarm
Enter a time here after which you wish the transmitter to generate an alarm if the sticks have not been moved. The purpose of
this feature is to help you to avoid leaving the transmitter switched on accidentally.

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• Intro
The Intro Video setting enables you to switch the brief CORE logo sequence on or off when the system is switched on. Disa-
bling it shortens the initial boot time by a few seconds.
3.1.3. Audio
The Audio menu enables you to set different volume levels. In
the right-hand field you can set the volume to a fixed value.
However, you also have the option of assigning a rotary control
or switch for this purpose. The first step is to click on the central
field, which causes a further context window to open where
you can assign a transmitter control. All you have to do here
is move the rotary control or switch which you wish to use for
volume adjustment. When you leave the Context menu in which
you assigned the control, you will see directly in the Audio
menu how the rotary control or switch alters the volume level.
3.2 Model Menü
Select the Model button in the Main menu, and you will see
an overview of all models stored in the transmitter. You can also
set up, rename or erase models and model folders.
A At this point you can also store pictures (215 x 100 pixels,
*.jpg or *.png) for your model, and reset the model operating
time. The Export function makes it swift and simple to export a
model file onto a USB memory stick.
To create a new model, briefly touch the +button at the bottom
of the screen. Assign a name to your model, and confirm your
choice with OK. You will now see the Select screen for the
model type. At this point you can select the appropriate model
type, with the additional options of delta wing and V-tail.

10 PowerBox-Systems − World Leaders in RC Power Supply Systems
On the next screen you select one of the ranges on the right-hand side, e.g. Wing. The screen now shows a diagram of a wing
corresponding to your chosen type. If your configuration is more specialized, that presents no problems: at a later stage you can
very easily program individual functions manually.
Briefly press Control, and move the aileron stick to select the Aileron control in the Context menu. Now you select a transmitter
control which is to control the left aileron; this will be the left or right primary stick, depending on the transmitter mode you prefer.
The software of the CORE has no modes – it is only the mechanical settings of the transmitter sticks
which determines the stick mode.
NOTE
If you now leave the Select screen again, you will see that the same transmitter control has also been assigned automatically to
the right aileron. The next step is to select the servo outputs to which you intend to connect the aileron servos; this is accomplis-
hed by pressing +. Note that you can assign up to eight servos to a single function.
If your model is an aerobatic aircraft, you would naturally select two or three servos at this point, if you have multiple servos me-
chanically connected to a single control surface. At a later stage you will be able to set the travel, direction of rotation and center
position for each servo separately. If these parameters are too coarse for your application, you can set an individual curve with up
to 17 points for each servo.
Back in the Assignment screen it is also possible to rename the functions to suit your own preference.
If you decide to assign the wing flaps at this point, you will learn to appreciate one of the truly unique features of the CORE. As
with the ailerons, you again assign a transmitter control to the flaps. If each flap is operated by a separate servo, you won’t notice
anything unusual: you simply assign the flaps to your preferred servo outputs. However, if you also want the ailerons to double as
flaps, or want the ailerons to be mixed in to the flaps, you also assign the aileron outputs to the flap function. These functions are
now superimposed, i.e. the mixing is accomplished simply by assigning the servos. At a later stage you can adjust the servos
individually, both for the Aileron function and the Flap function. Servo travel, center and direction can be set separately for both
functions!
An even clearer example of this exceptional feature relates to models with a delta wing. If you select a delta using the Assistant,
the correct functions are assigned automatically. To clarify this, the manual method would be as follows:
As an example, servos 1 and 5 are assigned to Aileron. Servos 1 and 5 are also assigned to Elevator. Since the servos are
installed in a mirror-image arrangement, it is logical that the servos always operate as ailerons, regardless of whether the pilot
moves the elevator stick or the aileron stick. Now we switch to the Elevator function and reverse the direction of rotation of one
servo. The elevator function now works correctly, but the “reversed” elevator function has no effect on the servo direction when an
aileron command is applied, i.e. the ailerons still work correctly. That’s all there is to setting up a “delta mixer”.