What defines a 'region'? And what do you mean by 'divided the rest of the *range* into 5 equal parts? The range and region of what? A channel? A switch?
One channel can have any numeric value from lower end all the way up to the upper end. I was using "-100 to +100" only because the Futaba transmitter defines its outputs that way. But you could say that it is "0% to 100%" for that matter as well. It's just a way of saying "nothing" to "all the way".
So the transmitter can output on ONE channel any value from "nothing" to "all the way", or "0 to 100", however you choose to picture it in your mind. You can associate that out channel, or output, to one switch (which is the typical way of doing it), or have it be a combination if switches (which is called mix, or you can also have logical statements, all depending on the capabilities of your radio).
The device (the Naza in this case), interprets those numbers to determine the mode, and it assigns a range of acceptable numbers for each mode. As Bart stated, you want to use the Naza Assistant Software to "nudge" the numbers so that each switch position ends up transmitting a number to the Naza within the acceptable range of numbers for the mode you want. So using your numbers (totally as an example), 0 to 5 might be undefined, 5 to 20 = GPS, 20 to 35 = FailSafe, 35 to 65 = ATT, 65 to 80 = FailSafe, 80 to 95 = MAN, and 95 to 100 is undefined. That's what I meant by "regions" or "ranges".
So far I'm interpreting all this as channels.. So you have a channel right, and a channel has a range of 0% to 100%, a channel can then be assigned to a switch and whatever value you allocate to the position on the switch (eg: middle of a 3 position switch is 70%) will correspond to the value that the manufacturer of the device has assigned to the device's function?
As Bart said, this is all in one channel because you don't want to use up valuable channels, of which you are limited to based on your transmitter. Also, there's no reason to use multiple channels because each Flight Mode, for example, excludes the other. You can't be in GPS and MANual at the same time. So using one channel means you would only be activating one or the other, and not both at the same time.
After watching you tube videos I understand that in a mechanical world with servos that you need values ranging from 0% to 100% so that you can determine how far a servo throws it's arm? So 100% it throws the arm as far as possible and you may not want that you you would set it to less, say 90%.. Is this all correct?
Yes, that is correct.
What I'm struggling to understand is where the percentage values come in, in an electronic/digital wordl such as the Naza on a Multicopter.. There are no mechanical servos and yet the radio's toggle switches still send values ranging from 0% to 100% to switch things on and off.. Why can't everything be as you said, 0% is on and 100% is off? Aren't all the Naza functions really just on/off functions? ATT mode on, ATT mode OFF, GPS ATT On, OFF, Return to home ON, OFF etc...
Yes, and no. As stated above, each mode is a simple On/Off, but you can't have several of them On at the same time. And if you assigned a channel for each on/off function, you'd use up lots of channels, and we don't have that luxury when transmitters are limited to 7, or 8, or 14 channels.
As Bart stated, this is an evolving technology. The Naza was designed to work with the existing pulse modulated width signals of the thousands of transmitters that people already had in their home. And DJI isn't in the transmitter/receiver business, so it had to make itself work with what was out there, which in turn is designed to work with mechanical systems as well.
Now if we're talking gimbal control, I do understand how a toggle switch may need values. If I were to assign a 2 position toggle switch (not that I would) to point the gimbal front or down, I would need 0% to 100% values to determine where front and down actually is am I right?
Yes, but what if you wanted "part way down"? Again, goes back to why you want ranges of number (i.e. 0 to 100), instead of FWD/DOWN. So 90% might mean mostly forward, but a little down.
Sorry for being confused.. You did explain it well I'm just too much of a newbie.
No worries! That's what we're here for. And I'm hoping I didn't confuse you more.
As Bart said, take it slowly one sentence at a time.