Need help with wiring up Futaba receiver to Gaui 500X S

[Scooter]

So I've got my Gaui 500X S pretty much built. I'm trying to figure out how to get the Futaba R3110DPS receiver to power up. The Tx and Rx came with a power cord that has an inline "on/off" switch (see attached pic) and I'm trying to figure out how to connect the Rx to the Gaui's GU-344 because I'm assuming that the Rx gets it's power from the GU-344. Or does the Rx needs it's own connection to the battery? I'm stuck!

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view of Rx and GU-344 connections

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Overhead view of connections and unused power switch cable

[thnilsen]

The RX should get its power from the connectors to the GU-344 controller. The power switch is not needed in this case as the RX will be powered up as soon as you connect the LiPo battery.

- Thomas

[Scooter]

Thomas,
Thank you sir! You are a scholar and a gentleman. I was reading on some of the other searches that I did that I'd need to hook that power cable up to one of the available ports on the Rx, but they didn't say which one specifically. Nor did anyone mention which port the power cable would get connected to on the GU-344 controller. I figured something was wrong because when I power up the Gaui, the motors just beep at me every few seconds. I'm going to try switching the channel on the Rx and Tx both, then try doing a "range check" to see if that helps.

[thnilsen]

Make sure you reverse the throttle servo on your radio. Futaba always has to run reversed throttle when using ESCs. The throttle channel on the GU-344 is the orange plug according to the manual I found.

The beeping could be caused by either uncalibrated throttle (if servo channel is not reversed) or because the GU-344 controller isn't being feed the right signal. The throttle channel on Futaba is usually channel 3, but if you have one of the newer radios like 12FG or similar you might have it allocated on a different channel. Check the radio to see which channel it is on.

I haven't got a Gaui quad myself, but on my own arduinio based quad we have to callibrate the ESCs manually first by plugging them into the RX directly and running full to low throttle once. Repeat the process for each of the ESCs. Make sure you disconnect the propeller before doing this.

Found the following threads on RCG which has info on how to get the GU-344 going:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18218296&postcount=8388

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18218296&postcount=8388

- Thomas

[Scooter]

Thomas,
Thanks for the info. I am running the Futaba 10CHG and yes, the throttle (orange) is on channel 3 on my receiver as well. The problem I'm running into is that I only got the GU-344 to display the "hover" LED once while I was experimenting with the connections on the Rx. There are no polarity markings on the Rx and no "keys" on the Gaui's connectors, so I have no idea which way the connectors should be plugged in. Currently, the 3-wire connector (black, red, white) in channel 1 has the black lead on top. All the other channels have the single wire leads at the bottom (see attached pic)
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So, I have a 50/50 chance of getting this right.... maybe.

Thanks again,
Scott

[Scooter]

Thomas,
Here's a quick update. I flipped the connectors over to the other direction (opposite of the pic above) so that white was now on top and all the remaining leads were at the top as well. And when I turned on the Gaui again, guess what? I got some happy little beeps and the "hover" mode LED was lit up. So now that I was at a good starting point, I went through the ESC setup procedures. I changed the throttle profile in the Tx to "reverse", then powered up the Gaui again. This time, I got the beeps again and once they were done, I slowly brought up the throttle and..... it worked! F'ing A!! So I'll put the props on tonight and mount the Contour GPS camera to it, then take her out for her first spin tomorrow morning perhaps. At last....

[thnilsen]

Good to hear that you figured it out .Good luck with your first flight! I would recommend that you leave the camera off for the first couple of flights, just in case the quad starts doing funny things.

- Thomas

[Scooter]

So, I got the issues worked out, plus or minus. The first time I took it for a spin, one prop nut spun off. Luckily, the quad was still on the ground. I took all the props off and resealed them with locking compound and balanced the blades. Then I took it back out and tired to fly it again. Check out the video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/P4cbpKRt_TE

On a side note, anyone know of some better landing gear than the Gaui 120mm landing poles? You can't put metal and plastic together on landing gear and expect the plastic joints to hold up to hard landings.