Xtreme Power Systems XtremeLink Setup guide

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Xtreme Power Systems
Installation And Usage Manual
XtremeLinkTM is a trademark of Xtreme Power Systems
Firmware v1.0
All material including, but not limited to photographs, text, and concepts contained in
this manual is copyright ©2006-2007 By Xtreme Po er Systems. Distribution of this
data ithout permission is strictly prohibited! All rights reserved, orld ide.

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Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the XtremeLinkTM system. This system is a direct
replacement for your stock RF module and receiver.
Please read through this entire manual before you attempt the installation
and usage of your XtremeLinkTM system
Installation Requirements
The installation of the XtremeLinkTM RF module is not difficult. If after
reading through this manual, you believe you cannot perform the
installation, please seek someone who can assist you.
This manual should provide ample information and clarity to install and use
this product.
Warranty Information
The XtremeLinkTM system carries a limited lifetime warranty. Units subject
to improper installation, misuse, abuse, crash damage, or modifications will
not be covered under this warranty.
Xtreme Power Systems may at its discretion either repair or replace the unit
covered under warranty. The customer will pay all freight charges to and
from Xtreme Power Systems. Xtreme Power Systems must be contacted to
obtain a return authorization. Any product returned without authorization
will be returned without repair or replacement.
Liability
By using this product, you agree to hold Xtreme Power Systems free from
any type of liability either directly or indirectly due to the use of this product.
Legal Information
The ‘look and feel’ and functionality of this product are protected by U.S.
copyright laws. Various terminology and feature names are protected under
U.S. trademark laws.

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SE TION 1 – INSTALLATION
Step 1 – Removing the stock RF module
Futaba, JR, and Hitec RF modules have tabs either on each side or top and
bottom. Carefully squeeze these tabs and pull the RF module from the
transmitter. Sometimes each side or each end will need to be wiggled for
the module to come loose and removed.
See Figures 1 and 2 for reference.
Figure 1 – Futaba RF module removal

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Figure 2 – JR RF module removal

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Step 2 – Installing the XtremeLinkTM RF Module
Position the XtremeLinkTM RF module over the original RF module location,
and slowly press the module into the transmitter case. There should be no
excessive force required to install the module. When the module is properly
installed, it will “snap” into place and sit flush with the back of the
transmitter case.
See figures 3 and 4 for reference.
The stock metal transmitter antenna MUST be removed. Nearly all
transmitter antennas simply unscrew. If your transmitter has a pivot ball on
top that the antenna normally screws into, do not screw in the antenna
when the XtremeLinkTM RF module is installed.
If you switch back to a stock RF module, remember to re-install the
antenna or damage may result to the transmitter!
When using the XtremeLinkTM RF module, the transmitter’s modulation
output must be set to PPM, MPLX, PPM18, or PPM24. PCM, APCM, SPCM,
PCM1024, PCM2048, or any other method of modulation is not currently
supported. This may change in the future. You will know if the modulation
output is correct or not by looking at the STATUS LED when the power is
turned on. If the LED lights up orange and does not change, the transmitter
modulation is not set correctly. If the STATUS LED flashes red, then the
transmitter modulation is set correctly.

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Figure 3 – Futaba XtremeLinkTM module installation

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Figure 4 – Futaba XtremeLinkTM module installation

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Step 3 – Mounting the receiver
No matter which XtremeLinkTM receiver you use, the mounting procedure is
the same. The most important thing to remember is that you must keep the
antenna portion of receiver no less than 2 inches from anything that is
metallic. This includes steel, carbon fiber, servos, fuel pumps, any type of
wiring, etc. The best method of mounting is to show it off Keep the
receiver separated from anything else, and mount it out in the open so you
can easily see it and get access to it (see Figures 5 & 6 for examples).
Under no circumstance can you wrap or pass servo wires around the
antenna See figures 5 and 6 for reference.
Antenna orientation does not matter, so you are free to mount the receiver
at any angle you like as long as you keep the antenna separated from
anything metallic.
Figure 5 – XtremeLinkTM 8 channel receiver installation

Figure 6 – XtremeLinkTM 10 channel receiver installation
The servo connection slots on the XtremeLinkTM receivers are numbered.
There is a slot that is labeled “B/T”. This is for a battery connection, and can
also be used for the telemetry sensor data port.
Power and ground are available on every numbered slot. The function for
each channel is determined by the transmitter in use, and not the receiver
itself. For example, throttle control with most JR radios is on channel 1,
while throttle control on most Futaba radios is on channel 3. Throttle output
would be determined by the radio and will change with brands. Keep this
mind when setting up a different transmitter.

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SE TION 2 – TRANSMITTER MODULE
After turning on your transmitter, the STATUS LED on the XtremeLinkTM RF
module will flash RED. This means that there is no connection to an
XtremeLinkTM receiver.
When a connection is established, the STATUS LED will light solid green. If
there are telemetry sensors attached to the receiver, the STATUS indicator
will flash orange every time telemetry data is received
Programming Features
By holding the PROG (program) button on the RF module while turning on
the power to the transmitter, you can enter “programming mode”. This
mode allows various features to be changed, and also is required for binding
the XtremeLinkTM RF module to an XtremeLinkTM receiver.
Once you are in programming mode, the STATUS LED will be solid red. Each
time you press and release the PROG button, the STATUS LED will change.
Below is a table of STATUS LED colors and their meanings:
STATUS LED FUN TION
Solid Red Set Power Level
Solid Green Set Modulation
Solid Orange Set Binding
If you press and HOLD the PROG button while the LED is any one of these
colors, the LED will turn off and you will enter the programming for that
function. For example, if you wanted to bind the transmitter module to a
receiver, you would briefly press and release the PROG button until the LED
was orange. Then you would press and HOLD the PROG button until the LED
turns off, at which point you would then see the LED flashing orange (in
binding mode).

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SET POWER LEVEL
Range: 1 to 5
With LED solid red, press and HOLD the PROG button until the LED turns off.
The LED will now slowly flash green the number of times equal to the current
power setting. For example, the default power level is 5, so the LED will
flash 5 times.
After the flashing stops you have 5 seconds to change the power level. To
change the power level, press and release the PROG button one time for
each level of power you would like. For example, if you wanted the power
level to be the lowest possible value, you would press and release the PROG
button once. If you wanted the power level to be 3, you would press and
release the button 3 times.
If you do not press the PROG button within 5 seconds, or if the value you
enter exceeds what is allowed, the LED will alternately flash red and green
(error condition occurred) and no change will be made. At this point, you
are back at the programming mode start.
If you do make a change, the LED will blink green/red/orange in rapid
succession to let you know that the change was successful.
Power output can be calculated as 10mw + (10mw x Power Level). The
following power levels must be adhered to in order to legally use this
product:
ountry Allowable setting
USA / U.K. 1-5
Australia 1-5
Japan 1 only
Europe Varies, consult local laws

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Note: the XtremeLink™ receiver’s STATUS LED will be green during normal
operation when the power level is set higher than 1, and red when the
power level is set to 1.
SET MODULATION
Range: N/A
This function is not currently supported. It will be supported in future
versions to allow using HRS, PCM, SPCM, APCM, PCM1024, PCM2048, etc.
modulation types.
SET BINDING
Range: N/A
This function is used to “marry” or “bind” the XtremeLinkTM RF Module with
an XtremeLinkTM receiver. You can have as many receivers as you like
bound to a single transmitter.
Please see section 4 for information on how to bind the XtremeLink™
system.

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SE TION 3 – RE EIVER
After powering on your receiver, the STATUS LED on the receiver will flash
RED. This means that there is no connection to an XtremeLinkTM RF module
(plugged into your transmitter).
When a connection is established, the STATUS LED will light solid green.
Programming Features
To enter programming mode, any transmitter module that has been “bound”
to the receiver must be turned off prior to powering on the receiver.
Once the STATUS LED is flashing red, briefly press and release the
programming button on the XtremeLink™ receiver. This will put receiver in
“programming mode”. NOTE: The receiver’s programming button is located
on the circuit board itself and can be depressed using a 3/32 Allen key or
similar BLUNT object. DO NOT USE ANY TYPE OF SCREWDRIVER to press
the button or damage will result See Figure 7 for hole location.
Once you are in programming mode, the STATUS LED will be solid red. Each
time you press and release the PROG button, the STATUS LED will change,
indicating a different programming function. Below is a table of STATUS LED
colors and their meanings:
STATUS LED
FUN TION
Solid Red 1 - Set hannel Map
Solid Green 2 - Set ountry
Solid Orange 3 - Set Binding
Blinking Red 4 - Set Output Type
Blinking Green 5 - Set Failsafe Time
Blinking Orange 6 - Telemetry mode

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Figure 7 – XtremeLinkTM receiver programming button location
SET HANNEL MAPPING
Range: 1 to number of receiver channels
Channel mapping is a handy feature when you have a transmitter with
limited functionality or you just want assign channels to different output
pins. The default channel map is 1:1. This means that the transmitter’s
output channel 1 is mapped to the XtremeLinkTM receiver’s output channel 1.
One common use for this feature is assigning two throttle outputs. Instead
of using a “Y-cable” to tie the servo outputs together, you can just assign a
second output. You could use the normal throttle channel output (channel 1
for most JR), and assign it also to be a channel 10 output (providing you had
a 10 channel XtremeLinkTM receiver). The outputs occur at the exact same
time, completely eliminating any type of “lag” that is common with PPM
based systems.

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With STATUS LED solid red, press and HOLD the PROG button until the
STATUS LED turns off. The STATUS LED will now flash orange the number
of times equal to the current output channel position, followed by a 1 second
pause. When you first enter the channel map programming (channel 1), the
STATUS LED will flash once, followed by a 1 second pause.
Every time you press and release the PROG button, the channel map
position will advance by 1. The channel map position begins at 1 (1 flash)
and ends with the number of channels that your receiver has. So, the 8
channel XtremeLinkTM has 8 possible channel map positions, while the 10
channel XtremeLinkTM receiver has 10 possible channel map positions.
To change the channel map output, press and HOLD the PROG button until
the STATUS LED turns off. The STATUS LED will begin flashing green the
number of times equal to the current map position output. For example, the
default value of the channel map 1 would flash just once. After the STATUS
LED is done flashing green, you have 5 seconds to enter a new map position
value. You do this by pressing and releasing the PROG button the number of
times equal to the new map position.
If you do not press the PROG button within 5 seconds, or if the value you
enter exceeds what is allowed, the LED will alternately flash red and green
(error condition occurred) and no change will be made. At this point, you
are back at the channel map position.
If you do make a change, the LED will blink green/red/orange in rapid
succession to let you know that the change was successful.
SET OUNTRY
Range: 1 to 4
With LED solid green, press and HOLD the PROG button until the LED turns
off. The LED will now slowly flash green the number of times equal to the
current country setting. For example, the default country level is 1, so the
LED will flash 1 time.
After the flashing stops you have 5 seconds to change the country. To
change the country, press and release the PROG button the number of times
necessary to equal the country from the list below. For example, if you
wanted the country to be Japan, you would press and release the PROG
button three times.

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If you do not press the PROG button within 5 seconds, or if the value you
enter exceeds what is allowed, the LED will alternately flash red and green
(error condition occurred) and no change will be made. At this point, you
are back at the programming mode start.
If you do make a change, the LED will blink green/red/orange in rapid
succession to let you know that the change was successful.
The country selection is necessary to meet various FCC, ETSI, IC, and other
guidelines.
ountry Setting
USA / U.K. 1
France 2
Japan 3
Europe 4
SET BINDING
Range: N/A
This function is used to “marry” or “bind” the XtremeLinkTM receiver with an
XtremeLinkTM RF Module. You can have as many receivers as you like bound
to a single transmitter.
Please see section 4 for information on how to bind the XtremeLink™
system.

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SET OUTPUT TYPE
Range: N/A
This function is not currently supported. It will be supported in future
versions to allow different servo output types such as sequential, grouped,
TruDigital™, etc.
SET FAILSAFE TIME
Range: 1 to 5 seconds
The failsafe time is the number of seconds before the receiver will go into
failsafe mode.
With LED flashing green, press and HOLD the PROG button until the LED
turns off. The LED will now slowly flash green the number of times equal to
the current failsafe time (in seconds). For example, the default failsafe time
is 2, so the LED will flash 2 times.
After the flashing stops you have 5 seconds to change the power level. To
change the power level, press and release the PROG button one time for
each additional second you would like the failsafe time to be. For example,
if you wanted the failsafe time to be 1 second, you would press and release
the PROG button once. If you wanted the failsafe time to be 3 seconds, you
would press and release the button 3 times.
If you do not press the PROG button within 5 seconds, or if the value you
enter exceeds what is allowed, the LED will alternately flash red and green
(error condition occurred) and no change will be made. At this point, you
are back at the programming mode start.
If you do make a change, the LED will blink green/red/orange in rapid
succession to let you know that the change was successful.

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SE TION 4 – USING THE SYSTEM
Binding the XtremeLink™ System
Transmitter – The transmitter modulation must be set to PPM, MPX,
PPM18, or PPM24 prior to using this product. Switch to one of these
modes before any use. Press and hold the PROG button the XtremeLink™
RF module while powering on the transmitter. Hold the button until the
STATUS LED turns red. Release the PROG button. Each time press and
release the PROG button, the STATUS LED will change colors. Now, press
and release the PROG button until the STATUS LED is orange. Now, press
and hold the PROG button until the STATUS LED turns off. The STATUS LED
will begin flashing orange. This indicates that the transmitter is waiting for
an XtremeLink™ receiver to bind to.
Receiver – Power on your XtremeLink™ receiver. After two seconds the
STATUS LED will begin flashing red. Press and release the programming
button (located inside of the receiver, next to the antenna) using a 3/32nd or
equivalent blunt object (note: screwdriver tips will damage the receiver)
until the STATUS LED is orange. Press and hold the programming button
until the STATUS LED turns off. Release the button and the units should
bind. Both STATUS LEDs will turn green when a successful bind has
occurred. If either STATUS LED does not turn green, repeat this procedure.
Power off your transmitter and receiver after binding. Your
XtremeLink™ system is now ready for use!
Range Testing
After the transmitter and receiver are turned on and operating, you can
perform a range check by pressing and HOLDING the PROG button. The
STATUS LED will change from green to red when the PROG button is held,
indicating the power level has been dropped to the lowest possible. With a
line of sight view of the R/C device, you should be able to walk at least 200
feet away and still have complete control. If control is lost at any time
within this distance then there is something wrong with your installation
(such as the receiver antenna is located too close to something metallic).
Check the installation and make changes as necessary and then try again.
WARNING! DO NOT PRESS AND HOLD THE PROG BUTTON DURING
THE NORMAL OPERATION (FLYING, DRIVING, ET .) OF YOUR R/
DEVI E!

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Setting the Failsafe
If no failsafe is programmed, the servos will hold their last known valid state
when a failsafe condition occurs.
You can program the failsafe position for each channel. To do this, turn on
the XtremeLink™ system so that servos can be moved. Now, press and hold
the programming button on the XtremeLink™ receiver until the STATUS LED
goes out. The STATUS LED will begin alternately flashing red and green for
about 8 seconds. During this time, move your sticks and switches to the
where you would like them during a failsafe condition.