Discovering the Essentials: Inputs, Mixes, and Outputs in EdgeTX Radios For those encountering EdgeTX for the first time, the setup screens’ complexity can be intimidating at first glance? As your piloting skills evolve to accommodate increasingly sophisticated aircraft configurations, without flight controllers, you’ll begin to appreciate the flexibility and power that stems from having distinct levels for handling inputs and outputs. Let’s analyze this process step by step, examining how each element aligns and where it fits into different configurations.
EdgeTX is a highly regarded open-source radio system. Here are all the radios that I’m using at the moment which are really helpful to use EdgeTX – check them out here:
If you primarily operate quadcopters, you’re unlikely to frequently interact with the Inputs and Outputs screens. The Mixes display screen allows for precise mapping of controls to specific channels.
In the past, the concept of separating receiver functions into distinct tiers arose from the practice of directly linking radio receivers to ESCs (Electronic Speed Controllers) and servos without the mediation of flight controllers, a convention that persisted as technology evolved. This phenomenon was prevalent in radio-controlled (RC) aerobatic models such as gliders, wings, and airplanes. Without an onboard flight controller (FC), all programming needs to occur directly within the radio itself; this is where OpenTX/EdgeTX’s multiple layers come into play, providing granular control over input and output manipulation.
In the event that you employ a flight controller, the majority of intricate functionalities, including charge settings, exponential responses, and complex mixing configurations, can be effectively managed within this device. Occasionally, in EdgeTX, all that’s required is configuring the control mappings to correspond with the available channels displayed on the Mixes screen. While the Inputs and Outputs pages may seem redundant for most users, they do offer valuable insights when configuring advanced settings or opting out of a flight controller integration in your aircraft.
Here’s a summary of each display screen’s functionality:
- When entering data across multiple channels in Mixes, apply settings such as exposure and charges immediately?
- That’s where the intricate programming takes place. You’ll have the ability to map one input to multiple channels, combining distinct inputs into a single channel while configuring control settings specific to each channel.
- Tightly calibrate dispatch of alerts to servos and your flight controller for optimal performance. To customize your image processing experience, you have the flexibility to alter the overall orientation of a channel if desired, as well as tweak pivotal points and boundaries.
Let’s drill down further into each of those displays.
The inputs display screen serves as the initial point of raw data from your physical controls, including sticks, switches, knobs, and sliders. Fine-tunes your management inputs before they’re sent to the Mixes display screen. You’ll have the flexibility to customise input processing by assigning names, adjusting weights, applying exponential curves, setting charges, and fine-tuning offsets to precisely control the way your data is interpreted.
One significant benefit of the Inputs display screen is its ability to consolidate modifications in a centralized location, allowing for effortless propagation of updates across multiple channels. By eliminating the need to make equivalent adjustments separately for each individual channel in the Mixes, the setup process is streamlined and simplified.
When piloting an aircraft without flight controller software, navigating multiple electronic speed controllers (ESCs) requires coordinating identical throttle signals across all units. To achieve this, simply modify the throttle input in one location and route it to all relevant channels on the “Mixes” display screen.
A common application of Expo is to mitigate mid-stick drift and ensure a more precise gaming experience. Once updated, all subsequent operations referencing the aileron parameter will utilize the revised value. Without this display screen, setting up individual channels would be a laborious task, potentially requiring tedious setup adjustments for each channel within the mixer.
While multi-rotor pilots may not frequently utilize this display panel, fixed-wing and glider pilots rely heavily on it for regulating charge settings and exposure adjustments. Quadcopter pilots often find that the default enter settings provide satisfactory results initially.
On the Mixes display screen, physical inputs such as throttle and arm switch changes are assigned to specific channels.
A fixed-wing aircraft equipped with elevons, where elevator and aileron commands are combined, allows the Mixes display screen to route both pitch and roll inputs to a single control channel. You can also configure channel-specific settings to limit servo motion or include delays for clean transitions, which is particularly helpful when programming flaps or touchdown gear.
I demonstrated setting up the Mixes screen for a flying wing without FC, and also adjusted expo in the Inputs screen.
Setup for FPV drones, such as quadcopters, is remarkably straightforward: simply assign the Enter key to a desired channel, and avoid any mixing issues. Here are all your organizational tips and tricks for managing mixes for FPV drone flights in one convenient location.
As the radio broadcasts channels to the drone, the flight controller remains oblivious to their purpose, receiving only a stream of seemingly meaningless numerical data. To ensure seamless communication, you should notify the flight controller of the channel assignments. Which specific channels are designated for throttle control and arm swapping – among numerous others – depends on the type of vehicle or device being controlled? In Betaflight’s receiver tab, you can configure the receiver settings by selecting a channel map for the primary four channels. This includes options like AETR1234, which assigns specific functions to each of the four available channels – such as aileron to Channel 1, elevator to Channel 2, and others. Following this setup, you can outline the remaining channels in the Modes tab, as they are typically used for switch settings. To learn more about optimizing channel maps, check out our latest blog post.
The data sent from the transmitter is transmitted as a unique signal dispatched to the flight controller, ESC, or servos. On the Outputs display screen, you can make fine-tuned adjustments, such as setting sub-trim, configuring min/max values for channels to control end points, reversing direction of control, and ensuring servos or ESCs do not exceed their physical limits, among other functions. This versatile tool is equally valuable to both multi-rotor pilots and fixed-wing pilots.
Pilots of both multi-rotors and fixed-wing aircraft will find this display screen invaluable, especially when refining their techniques. To access additional details about fine-tuning midpoints and endpoints in the Outputs display panel, refer to this comprehensive resource:
As you perceive the core purpose of EdgeTX, the system’s inherent potential becomes crystal-clear. While multiple displays may seem redundant in simpler applications such as multirotors, their value becomes more apparent in complex systems like aircraft without a dedicated flight controller or autonomous ground vehicles requiring sophisticated steering mechanisms.
While the three-stage setup may initially seem daunting, those who persevere will find it yields unparalleled adaptability and accuracy. Whether fine-tuning a quadcopter setup or managing complex control surfaces on an aircraft, EdgeTX’s intuitive enter, mixer, and output screens provide the tools needed for success.
