Feature request: Signal generators to channels

Hi,

I am sorry, I do not know how to open a ticket, but here is an idea.

I am a noob (<1yr) on choppers, and I seem to be spending more time building them than actually flying them

Therefore, I need to do servo testing regularily. For this I am using a $2 separate unit on a bench, detaching wires... you know.

So why not have a programmable function generaton in the mixers? I was especially thinking of 2 waveforms (of logical levels of the emitted signals, to drive servos):
1. triangle wave, with adjustable amplitude, level offset, frequency and phase shift. For cycling servos from piont A to B continuously.
2. square vawe, with adjustable HI level and time and LOW level and time. Mostly to repeatingly operate switches (can be bought/built separately - mainly from dead servos
3. maybe only emitting a settable amount of cycles (0 is continuous?)

More than one generators could be created (just like any other mixers), for testing CCPM or whatever. They should use a common time-base, so they can run phase synchronized.

Of course, these could be activated by a switch and/or any condition - just like any other items in the Advanced Mixers, and could be directed to channel outputs.

Apart from testing there are other practical uses:
-camera panning automatically (triangle wave)
-camera repeated shooting (Square wave)
-salvo rocket firing (who would do that???)
-LED light blinking/fading without other hardware...
-having scale models on a DEMO stand, with moving parts
-meh, whatever you can think of

What do you think guys?

thanks,
bm

...might as well set some time bases/offsets/frequencies by inputs from pots/trims?

OK, I'll stop now...

hehe

I meant like configuring on one channel, for auto panning a camera, once activated... should be safe

And the tesing setup is on a separate model... of course...

How do you make a loop from the current functions?

It's been discussed before, but the short story is at this point, we don't have the speed setting on the mix level. Basicly this means, that while it's possible to do a loop, it's not possible to slow it down to a usable speed.

You can already do a lot of things you ask for by using the virtual channel and complex mix capability.

The first thing is to generate a "saw tooth" wave ( like this ) with the virtual channel, and after using this to generate what you want on your channel.

the "saw tooth" wave :

• The virtual channel 1 (Complexe mix : 2 Mixers):
  1. add Mux
     • Src : the switch you want use for activate the generation or !VIRT2 for a continuous generation
     • Curve : 3 points (1:0, 2:0, 3:1)
     • Scale : 50 (it's for the speed)
  2. Replace Mux
     • Switch : VIRT2
     • Curve : Fixed
     • Scale : -100%
• The virtual channel 2 (Complexe mix : 2 Mixers):
  1. Replace Mux
     • Src : VIRT1
     • Curve : 1-to-1
     • Scale : 100%
     • Offset : -100%
  2. Replace Mux
     • Src : VIRT2
     • Curve : Min/max
     • Scale : 100%
     • Offset : 0%

Now that we have the "saw tooth" wave we can generate a lot of different wave by using VIRT1 as source on the desired channel. on the model config join you can find 4 examples : a triangle wave (CH1), a square wave (ch2), an other square wave but with up time different that the down time (Ch3), and a sinus wave (Ch4)

WOW
sounds very nice
I will try this tomorrow - still don't understand how the waves are timed, but I'll get it once I'll see it working...
thanks!

fabien wrote: You can already do a lot of things you ask for by using the virtual channel and complex mix capability.

Is there any chance this would have a negative effect on the processor?

I'm looking at it... but I can't see how it works... I need more coffee...

I'm just sitting here watching channel 4 wave up and down so smoothly...

Can someone explain how Virtual Channel 2 in the below example behaves? What I'm not able to wrap my head around is, if there are 2 mixers, both of them of mux type "replace" and neither of them has a switch, then how does the output get determined? When is mixer 1 the active mixer and how does it transition into mixer 2 being the active mixer?

fabien wrote: You can already do a lot of things you ask for by using the virtual channel and complex mix capability.

The first thing is to generate a "saw tooth" wave ( like this ) with the virtual channel, and after using this to generate what you want on your channel.

the "saw tooth" wave :

• The virtual channel 1 (Complexe mix : 2 Mixers):
  1. add Mux
     • Src : the switch you want use for activate the generation or !VIRT2 for a continuous generation
     • Curve : 3 points (1:0, 2:0, 3:1)
     • Scale : 50 (it's for the speed)
  2. Replace Mux
     • Switch : VIRT2
     • Curve : Fixed
     • Scale : -100%
• The virtual channel 2 (Complexe mix : 2 Mixers):
  1. Replace Mux
     • Src : VIRT1
     • Curve : 1-to-1
     • Scale : 100%
     • Offset : -100%
  2. Replace Mux
     • Src : VIRT2
     • Curve : Min/max
     • Scale : 100%
     • Offset : 0%

Now that we have the "saw tooth" wave we can generate a lot of different wave by using VIRT1 as source on the desired channel. on the model config join you can find 4 examples : a triangle wave (CH1), a square wave (ch2), an other square wave but with up time different that the down time (Ch3), and a sinus wave (Ch4)