I recently purchased a new transmitter, the Flysky FS-i6S, because I wanted a transmitter with both sticks self centered, and that would work with all my Flysky receivers. However, it seems absolutely useless for failsafing, as it won’t allow you to turn off the transmitter without first turning off the receiver! An absolutely bizarre feature that you can’t turn off.
I have tested it by removing the battery and the receiver still fail-safes as it does with the FS-i6. Would it be within the rules to modify the transmitter to have an emergency off switch installed, that cuts all power like the FS-i6? I know roboteers used to build their own control gear back in the day so I figured it would be okay, but wanted to check with current EO’s and tech checkers.
Cheers!
I’ve modded one of these with a cutoff switch before, no-one batted an eyelid at Subterranean 1.
It’s a nice enough radio but the power off sequence is a pain in the arse.
I remember Matt Smith having this same problem at one of the golden era FW champs. Ended up having to pull the battery to make it turn off to pass failsafe. Coopers were decidedly unimpressed and I can’t blame them.
Thank you both for the feedback! I will go ahead and modify it as it seems like a very good transmitter otherwise. It does seem like a very strange design decision, but one that should be easy to fix.
Yep I’ve seen those and I’ve actually got a kit on the way, but I wasn’t as happy with the idea of having to hold the stick down to start the radio. (The throttle high warning) Definitely something to try though
It is really a shame that this transmitter has some issues, which the cheaper one does not have.
I also like the is6, because it is easier to navigate through the menu with the touch screen (even though the screen’s sensitivity and accuracy is not the best) and I like the buttons on the back and the potis on the top.
Having to remove the batteries to test failsafe is not too much of an issue for me, but the transmitter is lacking another feature of the cheaper one: It does not offer the preset mixers “Elevon” and “V tail”. So if you do not have mixing in your ESC, you have to set it up manually and less of the mixing slots are availave for other shenanigans (like an “arm” safety switch for the weapon).
A real shame.
By the way: The small 4 channel receiver (I think the malenki, too) do not communicate back to the transmitter. So for these you can actually turn off the transmitter with the bot turned on.
Yeah it’s really annoying that so many features are missing, and of course the power off issue. If you’re willing to alter it a little bit though it’s definitely a solid TX.
For future reference, here’s how I’ve modified it for the power switch: I’ve kept it as original as possible by fitting a switch where you’d normally clip on your lanyard, as we’re not flying drones or planes outside for ages I don’t think it’s a big loss. A couple of 3D printed washers later and I think it looks pretty neat
I modified one of the shoulder potis of mine. Removed the spring, which brings the poti to its center position and added an o-ring to add some friction.
Now I can use it to power the saw of my overhead saw ant.
One stick for driving, one for the arm and the poti for the saw.
Yep I’ve seen those and I’ve actually got a kit on the way, but I wasn’t as happy with the idea of having to hold the stick down to start the radio. (The throttle high warning) Definitely something to try though
Yeah I ended up getting an i6X for this reason. On the X you can enable self centering stick mode in a “secret menu” (turn the transmitter on while pulling both sticks to the bottom left) which eliminates the need to pull the throttle down when powering up. Works a treat with the spring conversion kits but sadly doesn’t seem available on the non-X version.
