Inside the FrSky TANDEM X20 Pro: Adjusting gimbals and changing mode

[@M-H433]

Thanks Darren.....I seecyour bench is slowly getting fuller and fuller😂😂

[@MrD]

Yeah, I really need to have a tidy. I’ll probably find half the components I’m missing 🤣

[@M-H433]

@@MrD 🤣🤣🤣 benches always seem to get cluttered up.

[@johnliebe8189]

Thanks!

[@MrD]

Thank you very much 👍🏻

[@davidhall4398]

Gorgeous Tx very neat inside I like the gimbal Rotation. ..... I've just bought a Red X18SE mainly for the ergonomics after asking folk but with no gimbal rotation I presume? I will definitely be watching your videos for help setting a 67in 3d Extreme flight plane up with T Motor telemetry/program ESC box to show on screen ESC temp mAh used etc. Thanks for making these videos Liked & Subbed

[@MrD]

Thanks David. I hope you enjoy the X18SE. It’s a great transmitter. No, only the X20S and above have the rotating gimbals. The X18 never had this feature. I’m not sure if the TMotor’s telemetry will get sent to the transmitter. If it uses SmartPort as the telemetry protocol, it should be fine.

[@billrenfro7113]

I noticed in your video that the wiring to switches is different than the X20S. Looks to be hand wired which is a significant improvement.

[@David1-o5y]

Darren. Question. I have a TD R12 receiver, registered it and binded it. Updated the receiver firmware. I'm trying to use channel 11 and 12 for ignition cutoff and engine auto start. It seems I can't get 11 & 12 to work at all. 1 thru 10 channels work fine. I'm thinking its a defect in the receiver. Any thoughts? David

[@vanderheijden1]

Thank you for this very helpful video! I have the X20S myself and the gimbals are the same, but in the case of switching to mode 1 (throttle to the right gimbal) isn’t it necessary you have to remove the machine screw holding the existing throttle centering arm up and move to other gimbal? Or is it sufficient to simply adjust the relevant spring tensions?

[@MrD]

No, there's no need to physically swap the gimbals. You only need to adjust the ratchet, brake, and spring tension.

Any chance you have a video on how to setup a TWIN receiver with a 900mhz as a satellite for triple redundancy?

[@MrD]

I don’t believe you can. I’m sure they all need to use the same protocol. Unless the 900MHz or TWIN are using an external module.

I know you definitely can, just not sure how to setup the transmitter to do it.

[@johnclarke254]

Hi Darren. Just purchased a Frsky x20s and I am trying to make my throttle stick go to the centre to use with boats, cars etc. could you please tell me how to do this please.

[@MrD]

You would need to follow the part in the video for switching the throttle. However, all you would need to do is remove the ratchet and add the spring tension to the throttle. Rather than transfer it to the settings to the other side.

I believe something here is inaccurate. The 2 blue wires are 2.4 FSK but the 2 black wires are for the TWIN module, one is 2.4 FSK, other is 2.4 Lora.

[@adam_mawz_maas]

That's not correct. TWIN uses both the 2.4G FSK section (2 blue antennas) and the 2.4G LoRA section (2 black wires). There's 3 RF section on the board (900M LoRA, 2.4G FSK and 2.4G LoRA), TWIN and TANDEM both use 2 of the 3 RF sections present (FSK/2.4G LoRA and FSK/900M LoRA respectively), ACCESS/ACCST and R9 each use 1 (FSK and 900M respectively). | Each 2.4G RF section has 2 internal antennas and 1 external connector.

Here is what I was just told by someone that reviewed the X20Pro for FrSky. The TWIN RF module has its own 2.4 FSK connection and in TWIN mode it does not use any connection from the FSK module. So in TWIN mode only the TWIN module is used.

[@MrD]

I guess it’s possible. But it wouldn’t make sense. The external twin module, and internal module for TWIN only radios will do this. But in the case of the X20 tri-protocol radios. It doesn’t really make sense. The TD Pro RF module is specifically made for these radios. So the best use of antennas and space would be to use the FSK third of the module for the FSK part of TWIN. That way it has antenna diversity. Then the TWIN third of the RF module would deal purely with 2.4GHz LoRa. Also with antenna diversity. Then it would blend in the same way that TANDEM does with the 900MHz third of the RF module and the FSK. I would understand the TWIN third having both FSK and LoRa. If there were 3 separate RF modules in the radio. Then the TWIN module could be the same module as used in radios like the TWIN X Lite. Saving on different BoMs, parts, and potentially production costs. But as it’s a custom module. It would make sense, from a performance perspective. The only way to know for sure would be to either hear from FrSky directly. Or to take that TD Pro RF module apart and see what ICs and tracks are on the TWIN third of the board.

The individual that performed the review for FrSky has contacted FrSky for some clarification on this.

[@MrD]

Which individual?