I have a Futaba 14SG for my Phantom 2. Called Futaba and they sent free of charge the kit to make the left stick self centering! However there are no instructions and I can not seem to find any tutorials on how to install this kit. Any help would be appreciated.
Any tutorials on self centering Futaba 14SG left stick?
- Thread starter Bugatti
- Start date
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
Bugatti said:
I am interested in this as well. I am awaiting the needed part from Futaba. I don't know how different the 14SG sticks are from the 8FGS (mine is the latter). I opened the 8FGS last night and by comparing the left to the right, there is a spring assembly missing on the left one that exists on the right one. There are slots there for it to mount in place but it looks like you need to remove part of the stick assembly to put it in place. Hopefully not too hard but if anyone has done this already, some insight would be helpful.
I wanted mine to self centre as well, once the parts had arrived and I had the back off the tx I discovered that you don't actually need the parts kit.
Mine had shipped with both a return spring and a ratchet fitted, they use a plastic plate with a leg that runs down the side of the control to effectively disengage the spring. All I had to do was undo three screws, lift the plate off, pull out the small metal strip that forms the ratchet and job done. The whole thing only took 5 minutes including removing and replacing the back cover of the tx.
Mine had shipped with both a return spring and a ratchet fitted, they use a plastic plate with a leg that runs down the side of the control to effectively disengage the spring. All I had to do was undo three screws, lift the plate off, pull out the small metal strip that forms the ratchet and job done. The whole thing only took 5 minutes including removing and replacing the back cover of the tx.
I did not order nothing. When you remove the back cover you'll see the throttle side has a backplate fixed with 3 screws and the elevator side has nothing. Simply remove the plate and the little ratchet metal piece and you're done.
ianwood
Taco Wrangler
My 8FGS didn't come with the centering spring on the throttle. For those that need to add it like me, I found this video for a T8J which might help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUmpVEemJnk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUmpVEemJnk
I recently (mid-March) took delivery of a Phantom 2 upgraded with the Futaba 14SG. I was excited by the information provided in this thread, regarding how easy it is to achieve the self-centering throttle position I'm used to from the Phantom 2 Vision, my first experience with flying. I cannot get used to not having this feature on the Futaba. So tonight, just minutes ago, I took apart the radio only to find that it does require a self-centering kit. There is no simple way to just open up the radio and remove a few screws to gain the self-centering feature I very much need. So for those of you who have just recently purchased a new Futaba 14SG radio save yourself the trouble by getting the kit first. I've sent an email to Futaba asking how I can get the kit so hopefully they will respond even though what I need is trivial.
I second Rick's suggestion. I emailed Futaba a few days ago and within 24H they said the spring kit is en route. But in the meantime I find flying with a quad that doesn't necessarily auto-level to be somewhat unnerving. Love the 14SG + Ian's v4 model, but save yourself some time and request the spring kit when you order the radio.
Kelly
Kelly
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I am in the process of my own P2 conversion with a 14SGH
Even though I purchased the heli version from my local hobby shop there was no self centering throttle, nor did the necessary parts come in the box. I have determined a few things from my experience
There seem to be 3 versions out there: self centering already installed when ordered, a version with a big black plastic box on the back of the gimbal, which, when removed, will allow self centering (like ianwood), and another with neither a lever nor spring (compared to this on the other control gimbal)
When emailing futaba/hobbico, I got a response telling me the part number and price, and phone to order. So I called and spoke to a tech to order but they are sending the part free of charge. I didn't ask to get it for free I was quite prepared to spend the $3.00 plus $6.00 shipping but he just offered. Moral of the story is to call and speak to a tech if email doesn't work out. You'd figure for a $600+ radio they would just send the part out without jumping through hoops. Glad they came through.
Original email:
Thank you for your recent e-mail.
You will need part number:
HSP00503 Air Spring Set
You can order that through us at 217-398-8970 option 2. However, there is a
$3.00 shipping and handling charge. Or, you can order it through a local hobby
store and not pay shipping. They will have to call their sales rep at Great
Planes Distributing and order it over the phone.
If a consumer chooses to order parts from Hobby Services, then Suggested Retail
pricing and a $9.99 Shipping charge will apply. Illinois (7.50%) and Nevada
(7.25%) Residents must include respective Sales Taxes. Hobby Services can be
reached at 217-398-0007 or via facsimile at 217-398-7721. Please include a
credit card # (Visa or MasterCard) for payment.
Snail-mail orders and payments by check should be sent to the following
address:
Hobby Services
3002 N Apollo Drive, Suite 1
Champaign IL 61822
Please be sure to specify our exact stock # desired to avoid any confusion.
Purchases can be shipped C.O.D. for an additional $9.99 fee.
(US pricing only. International shipping is $6.00).
If there is anything else we can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact
Hobby Services either by E-mail at [email protected] or phone at
217-398-8970. (Please be sure to copy all previous emails into any future
questions.)
Even though I purchased the heli version from my local hobby shop there was no self centering throttle, nor did the necessary parts come in the box. I have determined a few things from my experience
There seem to be 3 versions out there: self centering already installed when ordered, a version with a big black plastic box on the back of the gimbal, which, when removed, will allow self centering (like ianwood), and another with neither a lever nor spring (compared to this on the other control gimbal)
When emailing futaba/hobbico, I got a response telling me the part number and price, and phone to order. So I called and spoke to a tech to order but they are sending the part free of charge. I didn't ask to get it for free I was quite prepared to spend the $3.00 plus $6.00 shipping but he just offered. Moral of the story is to call and speak to a tech if email doesn't work out. You'd figure for a $600+ radio they would just send the part out without jumping through hoops. Glad they came through.
Original email:
Thank you for your recent e-mail.
You will need part number:
HSP00503 Air Spring Set
You can order that through us at 217-398-8970 option 2. However, there is a
$3.00 shipping and handling charge. Or, you can order it through a local hobby
store and not pay shipping. They will have to call their sales rep at Great
Planes Distributing and order it over the phone.
If a consumer chooses to order parts from Hobby Services, then Suggested Retail
pricing and a $9.99 Shipping charge will apply. Illinois (7.50%) and Nevada
(7.25%) Residents must include respective Sales Taxes. Hobby Services can be
reached at 217-398-0007 or via facsimile at 217-398-7721. Please include a
credit card # (Visa or MasterCard) for payment.
Snail-mail orders and payments by check should be sent to the following
address:
Hobby Services
3002 N Apollo Drive, Suite 1
Champaign IL 61822
Please be sure to specify our exact stock # desired to avoid any confusion.
Purchases can be shipped C.O.D. for an additional $9.99 fee.
(US pricing only. International shipping is $6.00).
If there is anything else we can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact
Hobby Services either by E-mail at [email protected] or phone at
217-398-8970. (Please be sure to copy all previous emails into any future
questions.)
fanredwings said:
Excellent!! Thank you for the exact information. Having been introduced to flying with the Phantom 2 Vision and the self-centering throttle I am absolutely petrified of now flying a much more expensive Phantom 2 using the Futaba 14SG without self-centering. I will make the necessary call on Monday to get the parts I need. Thanks again!!
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RickF said:
You're welcome. This is only for the 14SGH. Part number is different for T8J. If you have a different radio please verify the correct p/n
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Thank you to BrandonBallard for posting this great tutorial on setting up the 14SG.
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6205
In order to program the 14SG the Futaba File Utility needs to be run under Windows.
For us Mac users, I have been able to do this using WineBottler:
http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/
1. Download and install WineBottler.
2. Click on the Advanced tab
3. Under "Program to Install" browse to the location of the "Futaba File System Utility.exe" file
4. Select "This is the actual program, copy it to the App Bundle
5. Leave all Winetricks unchecked, but check Bundle: [ ] Include Wine Binaries so the app can run without prior installation of wine
6. Click Install
7. The file will write to a location that you choose and is almost 600Mb :shock:
8. Format your SD card in the T14SG and then mount it on the mac
9. When you run the app that WineBottler has just created for you, the card is represented by a drive letter that you select
10. Follow the rest of the instructions as BrandonBallard has noted above.
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6205
In order to program the 14SG the Futaba File Utility needs to be run under Windows.
For us Mac users, I have been able to do this using WineBottler:
http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/
1. Download and install WineBottler.
2. Click on the Advanced tab
3. Under "Program to Install" browse to the location of the "Futaba File System Utility.exe" file
4. Select "This is the actual program, copy it to the App Bundle
5. Leave all Winetricks unchecked, but check Bundle: [ ] Include Wine Binaries so the app can run without prior installation of wine
6. Click Install
7. The file will write to a location that you choose and is almost 600Mb :shock:
8. Format your SD card in the T14SG and then mount it on the mac
9. When you run the app that WineBottler has just created for you, the card is represented by a drive letter that you select
10. Follow the rest of the instructions as BrandonBallard has noted above.
I also wanted to have the stick to self centre on the left. I have a t8fg 14ch and couldn't find much information on the conversion. So I took it apart and identified that all you have to do is swap the self centring mechanisms over from right to left. There are 3 main things to swap, the lever, the spring and the spring tensioner. All the fittings are already there (left stick) to receive the swapped parts. I used tweezers to detach/reattach the spring which is quite fiddly but everything else was pretty easy. Took me about 10 minutes to complete. Now I have auto hover on the left and static speed/strafe control on the right. This will be great for picking a particular altitude and speed for smoother filming. Great mod. I am in the process of making an instructional video for the mod. I'm having a look inside a friends 14 sg to see if it is the same set up as the t8fg.
Happy flying.
Happy flying.
boat chaser said:
I think we've established they are not all the same. I had to order the spring kit for mine (and for 8fg). There are a couple of videos on YouTube already (none fit my tx but were still handy). Check them out and then do a video of your own!
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