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X9E upgrade

LarryG

New User
I need to update the gimbals on my X9E--don't trust the ailerons. I've already lost one airplane and almost lost a second one. Had to go back to my X9D+. When will you get the upgrade kit back in stock for the X9E?
 
Got the new updated gimbals. Gimbals would only fit a certain way, and now the throttle and elevator controls are reversed; i.e. full up throttle is down, same for elevator. How do I fix that?
 
Got the new updated gimbals. Gimbals would only fit a certain way, and now the throttle and elevator controls are reversed; i.e. full up throttle is down, same for elevator. How do I fix that?
Not sure I understand. But to change servo direction go to Outputs (7/13) and change the direction arrow for the channels involved.
 
It's not the servo direction problem. When you are at the opening screen of your model that shows all your switch positions and the stick positions, the throttle and elevator movements are reversed. It's like the gimbals are in upside down, but they won't fit in the other way--holes don't match and the wires won't reach.
20180901_235126.jpg
20180901_235126.jpg
 
Once again, you have come through with the solution, and I failed to read the instructions carefully. Guess I'm getting senile in my old age. Everything's working right now.
 
My pleasure! I learn as much doing this as I hope the folks I try to help.

All the best,
 
We really are fortunate to have a firm like Aloft Hobbies working for us. They are the ones that are offering us these Gimbals for the X9E. Unfortunately they are at the mercy of FrSky as to configuration control.

The X9E uses the gimbal mounting plate to hold the bezel ring in place axially on the nose of the gimbal. I ran into a problem with my Gimbals as the replacement Hall effect gimbals have a threaded boss added to this mounting face. This in effect places the gimbal assembly 2mm away from the face of the X9E. Not too much of an issue but this allows my gimbal bezels to rattle as they float axially on the nose of the gimbal. The proper solution is to add a 2mm thick shoulder to the 3D printed adaptor rings.

Now I'm old school and think in terms of removal manufacturing rather than additive manufacturing (3D printing). So I took my gimbal assemblies to my mill and removed these threaded bosses down to the face of the mounting plate.

As was stated in the instruction the threaded bosses also need to be drilled out as through holes for the mounting screws. I measured the holes in the original X9E mounting plat as being 3mm. I drilled out the threads with a #31 drill bit (0.120").

Now you don't need a milling machine to do this. A file and 10 minutes of work can remove the bosses just fine.

These gimbals now fit better than the originals!

This is very good customer support offering us the Hall effect upgrade and fantastic engineering support. I'm in talks with Chris about this.

It is product support like this that keeps Aloft Hobbies on the top of any discriminating modeler's list of vendor to work with. Unfortunately most firms would give you so much run around as to leave you with motion sickness.

All the best,
Konrad
X9E bosses.jpg
Gimbal plates.jpg
 
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Well FrSky is not making it easy for us! The harness that comes with the Hall effect gimbals (M-9) are too short.

The solution is to harvest the harness from the original gimbals. This is easy if you know how to de-pin the connector block. The trick is to push down on the metal retaining tab while at the same time lifting up on the plastic retaining finger. I find that a #11 blade does this just fine. Once you have the blade in place just gently pull on the wire. To re-install the correct harness just push in the wire and connector until you hear or see the the tab and finger are engaged.

All the best,
Konrad

Strained Harness.jpg
Donor Harness.jpg
11 blade.jpg
Wire finish.jpg
 
Another solution for the short harness is to un-twist it. Maybe leave two or three twists just to keep things neat.
 
Actually, the new gimbals fit fine, and the cables were tight, but they did fit. FrSky must have engineered a redesign on these gimbals. The only problem I had was the direction of the elevator and throttle, which was fixed by checking the Horus sticks. I have flown a few times since installing the new gimbals with no problems.
Again, thank you so much for all your help. You are an important part of the community that provides invaluable help to us newbies to the FrSky/Taranis/OpenTX world. Keep up the good work.
Larry
 
Thanks for the kind words. Truth be told I'm a novice to FrSky and OpenTX. I've only programed about a dozen ship with this technology.

You are correct in that the M-9 Gimbals fit the X9E. I actually liked the action better with the gimbal placed 2mm away from the X9E face. This is why I said the "proper" way to take care of the rattling bezel ring is to add a 3D printed spacer ring. My method of milling off the threaded bosses effectively lengthens the sticks . Again not an issue, just a personal preference. And as the sticks are adjustable in length this too can be adjusted to one's own preference.

On my particular X9E the bezels rattled on the nose of the M-9 gimbal. Heck the bezels even rattled on the stock gimbals. This just bugged me. You might notice that the bezel rings look to be seated differently between your radio and mine.

While I like the idea of adding 2mm to the 3D adaptor. Talking with Chris at Aloft Hobbies he prefers making a second separate 2mm ring. This way he (you the customer) can take into account the different configurations for the M-9.

I do think the strained harness is an issue. The untwisting of the M-9 harness should alleviate this issue.

All the best,
Konrad
X9E face.jpg
Ring copy.jpg
 
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Yeah, FrSky has done a few different things with the M9 gimbals over the years. We have had to adapt this kit a couple of times to keep up with the changes in manufacturing. I think the extra ring is a good option as it should cover any version of the gimbals we have seen to date.

Gimbal wire length has not been an issue that we have spotted before. We have done many of these installs for folks.. Wonder if this is yet another change we need to watch for.

-Wayne
 
Konrad--
I see now that there is a difference in how the bezel rings fit between yours and mine. Doesn't seem to impact operation, and the previous owner of my unit had installed longer sticks, so they feel very comfortable. I'm a pinch-type flyer, so I really like the feel. Again, thanks to you and Wayne for your help.

Larry
 
When using a tray, I too fly with pinched fingers. And I also like the gimbal action with the gimbal placed 2mm deeper down (away from the face). Did you have any problem switching out the sticks? My set had a lot of loctite on the shaft. I had to heat up the stick, otherwise the shaft spun in the gimbal carriage as I tried to remove the stick body from the shaft.
 
No, mine were easy. Another question for you--have you considered the new Horus 10s? And if so, what would you keep as a backup--the X9D or X9E?
 
X9E vs the X10 other than the form factor with the tray radio the X10 is the better radio.
Love the X9E but the X10 is the better radio mainly for the dual diversity antennae.

I go into the strength of the X9E here.
https://forum.alofthobbies.com/index.php?threads/x9e-getting-to-know-you.238/

As a back up, if I could only keep one of the X9D (I have 3 across the country) or an X9E, I'd keep the X9E.

FYI; I'm waiting for a customer return of a Horus 10.
 
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