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What Now?

 
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scc_ron(at)yahoo.com
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 3:04 pm    Post subject: What Now? Reply with quote

Hey guys,

I'm at a complete loss to understand, and fix, my Altrak. I've got 70 hours on my RV-4 now and so far have been unable to successfully troubleshoot the Altrak. once in stable flight I push the button and HOLD ON....it tries to do a loop everytime!

I've changed the servo and the programmer/brain and even TruTrak is a t aloss now to try and help me figure it out. there is literally nothing else to change...except maybe the button/switch....or rewire it from scratch.

I'd appreciate any ideas or suggestions. On the positive side I'm getting pretty good at holding altitude manually.

Ron
N8ZD(at)yahoo.com (N8ZD(at)yahoo.com)
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retasker(at)optonline.net
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 3:45 pm    Post subject: What Now? Reply with quote

Surely you have already changed the connections to the servo, but this
sounds like it is connected so the servo goes opposite of what the
Altrak wants it to go. If it was connected "backwards" then when the
Altrak commanded it to move so as to lower the nose, it would actually
raise the nose, which would cause the Altrak to tell it to lower the
nose even more, which would cause it to raise the nose even more - you
get the idea.

But this is so obvious, that you must have already swapped the
connections...

Dick Tasker

Ron Patterson wrote:

Quote:
Hey guys,

I'm at a complete loss to understand, and fix, my Altrak. I've got 70
hours on my RV-4 now and so far have been unable to successfully
troubleshoot the Altrak. once in stable flight I push the button and
HOLD ON....it tries to do a loop everytime!

I've changed the servo and the programmer/brain and even TruTrak is a
t aloss now to try and help me figure it out. there is literally
nothing else to change...except maybe the button/switch....or rewire
it from scratch.

I'd appreciate any ideas or suggestions. On the positive side I'm
getting pretty good at holding altitude manually.

Ron
N8ZD(at)yahoo.com <mailto:N8ZD(at)yahoo.com>

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nuckollsr(at)cox.net
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 5:56 am    Post subject: What Now? Reply with quote

At 04:02 PM 10/21/2006 -0700, you wrote:

Quote:
Hey guys,

I'm at a complete loss to understand, and fix, my Altrak. I've got 70
hours on my RV-4 now and so far have been unable to successfully
troubleshoot the Altrak. once in stable flight I push the button and HOLD
ON....it tries to do a loop everytime!

I've changed the servo and the programmer/brain and even TruTrak is a t
aloss now to try and help me figure it out. there is literally nothing
else to change...except maybe the button/switch....or rewire it from scratch.

I'd appreciate any ideas or suggestions. On the positive side I'm getting
pretty good at holding altitude manually.

Ron

Can you send me a copy of the installation manual
(or tell me where it can be download)?

Bob . . .
---------------------------------------------------------
< What is so wonderful about scientific truth...is that >
< the authority which determines whether there can be >
< debate or not does not reside in some fraternity of >
< scientists; nor is it divine. The authority rests >
< with experiment. >
< --Lawrence M. Krauss >
---------------------------------------------------------


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Earl_Schroeder(at)juno.co
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:38 am    Post subject: What Now? Reply with quote

Bob,
Here is the URL:
http://www.trutrakflightsystems.com/documents/AltrakVSInstallandUserGuide.pdf

Robert L. Nuckolls, III wrote:
Quote:

<nuckollsr(at)cox.net>

At 04:02 PM 10/21/2006 -0700, you wrote:

> Hey guys,
>
> I'm at a complete loss to understand, and fix, my Altrak. I've got 70
> hours on my RV-4 now and so far have been unable to successfully
> troubleshoot the Altrak. once in stable flight I push the button and
> HOLD ON....it tries to do a loop everytime!
>
> I've changed the servo and the programmer/brain and even TruTrak is a
> t aloss now to try and help me figure it out. there is literally
> nothing else to change...except maybe the button/switch....or rewire
> it from scratch.
>
> I'd appreciate any ideas or suggestions. On the positive side I'm
> getting pretty good at holding altitude manually.
>
> Ron

Can you send me a copy of the installation manual
(or tell me where it can be download)?

Bob . . .
---------------------------------------------------------
< What is so wonderful about scientific truth...is that >
< the authority which determines whether there can be >
< debate or not does not reside in some fraternity of >
< scientists; nor is it divine. The authority rests >
< with experiment. >
< --Lawrence M. Krauss >
---------------------------------------------------------



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nuckollsr(at)cox.net
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:16 am    Post subject: What Now? Reply with quote

At 10:38 AM 10/22/2006 -0500, you wrote:

Quote:

<Earl_Schroeder(at)juno.com>

Bob,
Here is the URL:
http://www.trutrakflightsystems.com/documents/AltrakVSInstallandUserGuide.pdf

Thanks. I'll study this but later today. We're having a gather'n o' the
clan at Aunt
Judy's this afternoon and I'm doing some of the cooking. Need to go fire
up the
oven.

Bob . . .
---------------------------------------------------------
< What is so wonderful about scientific truth...is that >
< the authority which determines whether there can be >
< debate or not does not reside in some fraternity of >
< scientists; nor is it divine. The authority rests >
< with experiment. >
< --Lawrence M. Krauss >
---------------------------------------------------------


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nuckollsr(at)cox.net
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:52 am    Post subject: What Now? Reply with quote

At 11:15 AM 10/22/2006 -0500, you wrote:

Quote:

<nuckollsr(at)cox.net>

At 10:38 AM 10/22/2006 -0500, you wrote:

>
><Earl_Schroeder(at)juno.com>
>
>Bob,
>Here is the URL:
>http://www.trutrakflightsystems.com/documents/AltrakVSInstallandUserGuide.pdf

Thanks. I'll study this but later today. We're having a gather'n o' the
clan at Aunt
Judy's this afternoon and I'm doing some of the cooking. Need to go
fire up the
oven.

Okay, I've prayed over the drawings and like most installation
manuals, the information provided is a recipe for success,
"wire it like this, trust me, it will work."

Of course, 99+ percent of the time, this is sufficient. Now
comes the customer who believes he has faithfully followed
the recipe . . . but the cake falls. All the ingredients
have been checked by the supplier and pronounced golden . . .
yet repeated attempts to secure the desired behavior
fail.

In this case, there are no customer adjustments to be
made. The system fails not in terms of loss-of-precision
or intermittent behavior . . . but in a gross and spectacular
way.

Assuming you've checked, rechecked and DOUBLE CHECKED
the installation, it's time to get the designer's attention.
When presented with a set of symptoms for malfunction, one
of my most powerful diagnostic tools is to deduce how I
would "modify" an otherwise working system to produce the
same behavior. A sort of reversed application of Failure Mode
Effects Analysis. Instead of analyzing how the system behaves
when a single component experiences any of the failures unique
to it's physics, were saying that it's our desire to produce
the behavior noted. Which components would be changed and in
what way to deliberately produce that result?

It seems that your communications with the manufacturer
to date have NOT been with an individual capable of doing that
kind of analysis. So, with all parties having conducted due
diligence to the best of their abilities, it's time to ask
the supplier to bring in folks who can take this investigation
to a more detailed level. It may require the attention of
the individual(s) who designed the system . . . what ever it
takes is the responsibility of the supplier.

One hopes that describing the noted behavior to the correct
individual produces an answer like, "Oh, if you've flipped
the wires between pins 3 and 16, that's what happens." Then
you can make your apologies for taking up their valuable time
with something so silly . . . and go fix the problem. But
that's the way the game is played between willing and able
suppliers of products to hopeful and perhaps even loyal
consumers.

My recommendation is that you check the wiring one more
time . . . enlist the assistance of a second pair of eyes.
When you're sure the installation is golden, get back with
the supplier. Include this note along with your inquiry.
Let's make it clear this time that the assistance of the
'right' individual is needed, the one who KNOWS about that
thing with pins 3 and 16 . . . or perhaps something inside
the device over which you're not expected to have control.

The physics behind this problem are inviolate. The answer
is going to be stone simple. But it will not be revealed
by individuals with less than an intimate understanding
of how the system works irrespective of who has ultimate
responsibility for the little-bit-that-doesn't-fit.

Bob . . .


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