FF8S Service Menu
You can adjust a few internal parameters of the Futaba FF8 super transmitter
with the factory service menu. Here we describe what you can adjust with this menu.
To reach the service menu you need an ultraPAC available
from model-gadgets.com.
When you enter the service menu you get the version menu (Figure 1). It shows
the version of the software and the default transmitter program.
You can't change them though.
Pressing the cursor-right button brings you to the 'life' menu (Figure 2).
It's not clear what this shows, the model-gadgets website shows another
lifetime '0000 141E', and they think the 141 is the number of hours.
Again you can't change anything here.
(Bob (see update below) reports it's the on-time in minutes, in hexadecimal).
| Figure 1. Version menu. | Figure 2. Life menu. |
If you press the mode down button you get the switch menu (Figure 3).
Here you can change the switch type for every of the eight switches.
Switches are numbered according to their letters: 1 is switch A, 2 switch B,
etc. Select a switch by pressing the cursor left and cursor right buttons.
Then you can choose the switch type by pressing data input plus and minus buttons.
There are four choices: 2POS, 2P-M (spring loaded/momentary switch), 3POS and VR.
It's not clear to me what the VR type represents (Bob reports it's variable resistor, see
the update below).
By pressing the mode down button again you get to the trim menu (Figure 4).
By pressing the cursor left and cursor right buttons you go through settings for
the four trim buttons as indicated by the channel number.
1=aileron 2=elevator 3=throttle 4=rudder.
For every trim you can change the repetition speed (left number) and
step size (right number).
The number you select will flash. Then you can adjust the value using the data input plus
and minus buttons. The default values are trimstep 4 and repetition speed 56.
The trim step size can be set between 0 and 56, but a larger step does not
extend the trim range, you merely reach the trim limit quicker.
The repetition speed can be set between 8 and 62. 8 corresponds to about 1 trimstep
per second, 56 to about 7 trimsteps per second if you keep the trim button pressed down.
| Figure 3. Switch menu. | Figure 4. Trim menu. Left the step size, right the repetition speed. |
Update: in 2004 someone on runryder (Bob/finless) was figured out a few open questions. Also he found that there is also a test menu available, that can be reached by pulling specific pins on the campac connector to ground. Also it enables recalibration of the center points. Check here for more details.