EzUHF and FUTABA 8FG .... took me hours to figure out ... what I learned HERE. :)

[helloman1976]

Hey all, I thought I'd share what I learned this weekend and with my new EzUHF system and my new Futaba 8FG radio. First, I did not properly bind my radio and receiver but I was not aware of this and thought I had, that was the first problem. I had tested that I had control before I left but did not do any advanced, or at least more thorough, testing like I describe below. Second, I was using the IBCRAZY UHF filter 433Mhz/1.3Ghz notch filter, that's the second problem. Here's the background...


EzUHF transmitter (v1.44 beta firmware fixes 8FG issues)
EzUHF diversity receiver w/ UHF Monopole antenna from ReadymadeRC (v1.43 current release firmware)
Futaba 8FG radio
1.3Ghz video TX 1500mW w/ Mad mushroom antenna on tx and rx with IBCrazy Crosshair antenna in diversity (Eagle Tree etc)


I flew out about 100 feet and immediately lost control, failsafe kicked in and it flew back and landed. This was my first "long range" test of this transmitter, I was not impressed. I did this 2 more times and put the Y6 away for the day. Come to find out once I was able to get back home to my frequency analyzer that I was not transmitting much out of the EzUHF at all. The receiver was reporting -100dbm and the transmitter was about 1 foot away, -100dbm is like 5-8 miles away LOS with UHF lol. I removed the notch filter and my analyzer spiked right up, odd though because it was at 460-470Mhz and I was expecting to see 433Mhz or around there. After that, I noticed that the "bind" process was not done correct or showing up correctly. I re-binded the transmitter, re-calibrated everything including the NAZA and viola! I was getting -7dbm from 30 feet away. One thing I did have to battle with is that I could not use the new UHF Wide Frequency feature with the Beta software on both my EzUHF Tx and Rx. Once I downgraded to v1.43 on my Rx side I was able to bind so this could be a "bug" issue also, good to be aware of either way. Hope this helps someone...

 

[epic4me]

Hello!
Is there some place where I could find the detailed instructions in how to do that? I have the same configuration and the EzUHF was not responding (no motors start) I am using the Futaba with a single cable s-bus

 

[kloner]

you shouldn't use extreme hoping, it's stomping on itself at points.

a naza needs to see center sticks or close upon booting, if your not having any luck with naza and ezuhf with an 8fg, rebind the rx to center throttle and center switch positions, then reboot naza and try again. theres some weird thing that Immersion has on there 8fg ezuhf thread on fpv labs.... use just one frequency selection like 433-435, don't use any notch filters on the ezuhf system, if it's interferring something notch that like video.....

I just changed over to extreme on 5 rigs, none of there osd overlays on my video in that mode even with them all bound pre upgrade so it's not just the getting it to bind that's a problem, the list keeps growing. out of 4 different systems on 5 rigs i either get a video or i get an osd screen but never both at the same time. We had it flipping out a skyline gyro on a av200 after it worked for an hour, all a sudden it would roll, red light, reboot it, roll over, red light.... that extreme hopping is some bad juju

extreme hopping isn't legal in the us. if you want somebody to come talk to you about not having respect for rf and not have a ham license fly extreme without one. That'll get em looking for ya

 

[helloman1976]

you shouldn't use extreme hoping, it's stomping on itself at points.

a naza needs to see center sticks or close upon booting, if your not having any luck with naza and ezuhf with an 8fg, rebind the rx to center throttle and center switch positions, then reboot naza and try again. theres some weird thing that Immersion has on there 8fg ezuhf thread on fpv labs.... use just one frequency selection like 433-435, don't use any notch filters on the ezuhf system, if it's interferring something notch that like video.....

I just changed over to extreme on 5 rigs, none of there osd overlays on my video in that mode even with them all bound pre upgrade so it's not just the getting it to bind that's a problem, the list keeps growing. out of 4 different systems on 5 rigs i either get a video or i get an osd screen but never both at the same time. We had it flipping out a skyline gyro on a av200 after it worked for an hour, all a sudden it would roll, red light, reboot it, roll over, red light.... that extreme hopping is some bad juju

extreme hopping isn't legal in the us. if you want somebody to come talk to you about not having respect for rf and not have a ham license fly extreme without one. That'll get em looking for ya

Wow, good info! I actually didn't know any of that. I try to respect where I fly and the people around me as much as possible. I did notice that I got better RSSI values when I used 433-435Mhz then when I used Extreme hoping. I wasn't aware that extreme hoping wasn't legal in the US? I think even the firmware states it's either for US or UK so I was assuming that for the US it would be legal channels only. I got it all to work. Ended up putting an attenuator on the transmitter to knock out anything above 700Mhz and it works like a champ. The frequency scanner shows a 10 fold improvement in harmonics hands down and my video (1258Mhz) instantly goes clear and I get zero interference now with UHF and 1.3Ghz video. I use an attenuator on the video side as well but it knocks out anything that above 1500Mhz so there's no GPS RF issues or issues when flying with my friends who use 2.4Ghz transmitters. I use a 1500mW 1.3Ghz transmitter so I'm BLASTING away but my signals are highly regulated so I, regulate the signal, over-power which compensates for the filtration db loss and then attenuate the rest. The EzUHF system has a built in SAW filter which hands your vTx as well. I'm going to go back to 433-435Mhz and use that from now on. Seems that Extreme hoping is out for now, thanks...ONCE AGAIN Kloner.

 

[helloman1976]

Hello!
Is there some place where I could find the detailed instructions in how to do that? I have the same configuration and the EzUHF was not responding (no motors start) I am using the Futaba with a single cable s-bus

Sure, I can try to help you out. I used firmware 1.44 on my radio's EzUHF transmitter and 1.43 on my EzUHF diversity receiver. If you try to use 1.44 on your receiver, it won't work. Took me HOURS to figure that out. Once I downgraded my receiver to v1.43 everything worked immediately. I used the USB cable and pluged that into the receiver to bind the receiver to the transmitter. Here's the instructions I used, they may not be 100% but they are pretty close. Hope that helps, let me know if you run into any issues.

-------------------------
-- HOW TO UPDATE EzUHF --
-------------------------


EzUHF Tx


1) Disconnect cable to radio
2) Press and hold push button on EzUHF Tx
3) Switch to high power mode (switch lever points away from antenna)
4) Plug in USB cable, wait a few seconds
5) Release push button, LED should be flashing
6) Go to ImmersionRC Tools, select the EzUHF Tx in the left column
7) Click program tab, click 'Update Firmware'
8) Point to .fw file for the EzUHF Tx
9) Wait for the firmware upgrade to complete
10) Remove USB cable
11) Reconnect EzUHF Tx to the radio
12) Proceed with upgrading the firmware on the Rx


EzUHF Rx


***NOTE*** Make sure you select the proper .fw file for the Lite and Diversity Rxs.


1) No need to disconnect cables and antenna(s)
2) Press and hold push button on EzUHF Rx
3) Plug in USB cable, wait a few seconds
4) Release push button, LED should be flashing
5) Go to ImmersionRC Tools, select the matching EzUHF Rx in the left column
6) Click program tab, click 'Update Firmware'
7) Point to .fw file for the matching EzUHF Rx
8) Wait for the firmware upgrade to complete
9) Remove USB cable
10) Rebind EzUHF Rx to the EzUHF Tx


-----------------------
-- HOW TO BIND EzUHF --
-----------------------


EzUHF Tx


1) Connect antenna to RF output
2) Connect EzUHF Tx to radio using the supplied cable
3) Set power mode switch to low power (switch lever points towards antenna)
4) Press push button and keep pressed
5) Turn radio on
6) Keep push button pressed until EzUHF Tx starts to beep in regular intervals
7) Release push button
8) Leave radio with EzUHF Tx running and place on a desk a few meters away from the EzUHF Rx


EzUHF Rx


9) Connect antenna(s) to RF input
10) Power up EzUHF Rx
11) Push bind button within 10 seconds, hold for at least 1 second
12) Rx LED will turn off and flash 3 times after lock is made
13) When LED on Rx starts pulsating or blinking in regular intervals bind was successful (depends on radio)
14) Turn off Rx
15) Turn off Tx (in ***THIS*** order)
16) Turn on Tx
17) Turn on Rx
18) Verify proper bind, servos should respond to stick input

 

[Tomstoy2]

Helloman, if I might ask, what attenuator did you use for both? A link or part number would be a great help. I know nothing about these things.

 

[kloner]

ezuhf has a built in attentuated mode by pressing the bind button at a certain place, forget the sequence at the moment but it knocks it back from miles to paces for range checking. it was in the release notes and current manual

 

[Tomstoy2]

Ok, that much I understand. Just never heard about what he's doing. I too would like to be user friendly, though I fly pretty much remote. Only thing I've hit so far, a tree, power wire, and kamikaze'd a pumpkin. While I have you Kloner, I'm getting ready to order my exosd pro soon. What else do I need for it?

 

[helloman1976]

Helloman, if I might ask, what attenuator did you use for both? A link or part number would be a great help. I know nothing about these things.

I attenuate the TV transmitter and the part number depends on the frequencies you are trying to block and the frequency you are transmitting on. The EzUHF receiver has a built in 1.3Ghz blocking unit already so I didn't choose a low pass filter. I went with a high pass filter on the TV transmitter and here's why and the concept for more clarity.


If you transmit radio on 433Mhz (EzUHF) you have frequency harmonics at 866Mhz and 1299Mhz, which is very close to your 1.3Ghz TV transmitter. The same is true with your TV transmitter which has frequency harmonics on 866Mhz and 433Mhz so using these two frequencies together can present problems. This is why you use an attenuator on both your UHF radio and your TV transmitter. Ideally you'll want to block anything above 433Mhz on your UHF radio and anything below 1.3Ghz on your TV transmitter so neither interfere with the other. Because the EzUHF receiver already has a 1.3Ghz attenuator built in I instead chose to use a high pass filter on my TV transmitter to block anything above 1.4Ghz thereby increasing the effectiveness of my onboard GPS units which are around 1.5Ghz etc so now my GPS works fluid and my system locks quicker than before. Another added benefit is I don't disturb anyone who's flying near me on 2.4Ghz because that's also blocked, anything above 1.4Ghz . On the UHF transmitter side I use a low pass filter to block anything below 700Mhz so my UHF transmitter, which sits right next to my base station listening for 1.3Ghz, doesn't walk all over my video signal being transmitter from my multicopter which is getting weaker the farther I fly away.


For simplicity sake I kept the frequency numbers as they are advertised but for the record 1.3GHz is really 1258Mhz and 1280Mhz here in the USA . Feel free to ask anything you want for clarification if necessary.

I was able to EASILY do 2 miles with this setup with out a SINGLE break-up or issue with my video signal. I still had an RSSI of around 40-50 at 2 miles in a mulitcopter while using a 1500mW 1.3Ghz TV transmitter...that's the power of filtration and I get to keep my low frequency penetration through objects; 433Mhz and 1.3Ghz rule.

Parts, which is what you're really after lol
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_46_50&products_id=549
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_58&products_id=484