Low power Tx output

Hi,

I'd like to ask in the new builds for a warning screen at start (like the THR non-zero warning) on low tx power settings, for anything less than 100mW output.

Let me start with this - this was my fault and my stupidity... I know.

I am normally doing the lengthy programming of my Tx with the lowest power setting, 30 microwatts. One day, I did skip the range check and started to fly one of my new .46 nitro plane with that power output. Guess what happened... R.I.P.
This was the maiden, so I was quite excited, I did not notice the value on the screen either.... I was focussing on the motor idle setup and the control surfaces.

So the question is, can we have a popup on startup for low power setting?

Thanks
bm

I'm opposed to one that's that low. I regularly use power settings below 100mW with micro copters of various kinds. Flying indoors at ranges of 10 to 20 feet, there's no need to waste power with a high power setting, and the warning would not only be annoying, but will cause beginners to either ask about them here or use the wasteful setting.

Even beyond that, until the space issues on the 7e and similar are sorted out, it probably won't fit there, and would be yet another difference we'd have to deal with.

mwm wrote: I'm opposed to one that's that low. I regularly use power settings below 100mW with micro copters of various kinds. Flying indoors at ranges of 10 to 20 feet, there's no need to waste power with a high power setting, and the warning would not only be annoying, but will cause beginners to either ask about them here or use the wasteful setting.

Even beyond that, until the space issues on the 7e and similar are sorted out, it probably won't fit there, and would be yet another difference we'd have to deal with.

I agree with mwm! I fly solely micro helis with 30mW, even outdoors all the time without any problems at 200m. (100mW results in intermittent connection after 5 mins of flying, which i suspect to be due to over heating.. probably not a good idea back then to get that low power chip...)

Anyway, after this expensive lesson i'm sure you won't forget to change the power setting again. =)

Now that sounds great!

Well, I'm not happy with the idea of adding yet more things we can't change on the Tx. But...

blue sky mode

I recently realized I screwed up the mixer beep test code (now bundled with voice alerts). It would be easy - almost natural - to bundle the current safety features into the way I should have done this. Adding the Tx power to that would also be easy.

The idea is that the "Telemetry" config page is going to become an "Alerts" config page. The structural change is that you now get to pick an alert, rather than having the the alert number pick the alert for you. You would select the alert from the list of tunes in sound.ini. If you have audio playback hardware, you could also pick an audio file to play. The "mixer beeps" functionality (which let you play a beep in the mixer when the output hit a value) is done by letting you pick from all the mixer channels as well as the telemetry values. To take on the safety functionality, you would add yet another alert type - a text string to display when the alert is activated. So the last step would be adding the model's Tx power setting to the set of values you can check for an alert.

Anyone else think this would be a good way to tackle this issues? Any problems with the other things it would be doing?

I think it might be more of a good flyer behaviour to have a procedure for pre flight check before each flight, for the bigger models is very important!

Pre check;
Correct model selceted
Antenna is fixed
Power level
Disarm switch
Trottle Low
Trims ?
Other swicthes flight modes, dual rates, may have moved?
Before take off also good behaviour check each, rudder, etc.



RSSI alarm function when using Frsky works pretty well too to warn for out of range

Or...
Could I use the power value as an input in a mixer?
Like a throttle lock switch, using a min-max curve.
Yes, I know, pre flight check. I am talking about poka-yoke here

FDR, you're right - safety values also prevent binding, which an alert wouldn't do. Sort of pointless to warn the user that the throttle isn't at zero while they're watching their aircraft take off unexpectedly!

One of the things on my ToDo list is adding more values as possible mixer sources: in particular telemetry values. Since the updated alerts system will need that list for alerts, making it available in the mixers should be easy. It's been requested a number of times and I remember thinking of some obvious uses, but can't recall them now. Adding Tx data - power and voltage - to that list doesn't seem like a problem.