rcjunkie3000

iTrader: (94)

Hi,

I have been racing locally for awhile but the one thing that confuses me the most is controller setup so I am still a rookie in that respect.

I have an M8 radio but my basic setup question can apply to other radios. I know other high end radios have extra functions but I am concerned with the basics. I am familiar with the throttle and steering trim, sub trim (learned recently), and using model memory for multiple cars but surprisingly that is it! I have downloaded the M8 manual and it hasn't explained to me why I must set certain parameters, it assumes I know all the technical jargon.

What other basic controller functions will I need to know about so I can configure them?

Some items I still have questions about are:

Expo: I haven't used it much, to my understanding it can increase the rate at which the servo rotates. How important is it? I have tried it and it makes the steering servo noisy when I max it out. I feel like something is going to break.

Dual Rate: What exactly is dual rate?

Any other basic adjustments worth noting?

Thanks again!

Dave H

Expo: You probably would never want to crank this up all the way up or down. Basically it changes the sensitivity around center vs. at the end of travel. I forget which way is which, may depend on the radio brand, but using steering as an example: One way will make the steering react more around center, lots of steering for small wheel movements, and then less at towards full turn. The other way is the opposite, it won’t turn much with small wheel movements, but will then turn a lot as you approach full turn. Same idea with throttle.

Dual rate is a confusing term. Basically it just reduces/adjusts the total steering travel. Intended mostly for oval racing, reduce the travel to make the steering less sensitive/easier to control at speed, but then crank it up if ya get sideways and need more steering to get straightened out. Or to adjust steering response in a long race as the track and or tires change. On radios that have a button that instantly gives you full steering the term makes sense, but many radios have a wheel that adjusts it to any value, more like Adjustable rate than just Dual.

End Point Adjustment (EPA) is probably a more useful function. Many cars don’t steer the same amount left to right, you can adjust each way independently to make them equal and get full steering. And very useful on the braking direction to adjust brakes. Sometimes used on the throttle side when ya get a little too optimistic on how much motor ya can handle.

rcjunkie3000

iTrader: (94)

Thank you for the very useful information. I will need to try all of these functions out since I know what they do now.