• Crystal Included!

Quick start instructions for using your new DSP4-SC with Electronic Speed Control • Full 1.5 Amp BEC On Board
• Plug your servos into the connector block, shown in the photo below. The black or brown servo wire is has 10 Amp Capacity
the "-" or "GND" lead. The photo shows polarity and channel functions. • Built-in GFS! Speed Control
• Your motor can be soldered or plugged into the motor wires of the DS4-SC. The motor wires are labelled Cell, or 2.5v to 18v battery
with a sticker that says “To Motor”. For larger motors, keep them as short as possible for best • Use With Single Lithium
performance. Warning: Shorting the motor leads together during operation can cause permanent damage For Long Range performance
to your DSP4 and is not covered by warranty. • Digital Signal Processing
• Plug the DSP4 "Battery" (mini-MPX Female) connector into a 2.5 to 18 volt battery. The mini-MPX lock- • Ultra Narrow Band FM
ing microconnector mates to all Plantraco LP lithium polymer cells and packs. If you want to use different
connectors, or will be soldering new connectors to your cells, Observe proper polarity! Incorrect polarity • 4 Channels
will cause permanent damage to your Electronic Speed Control. Electronic Speed Control
Micro Receiver with
Micro Receiver with
Electronic Speed Control
DSP4-SC Specifications
• Turn on your transmitter and test your servo movements. Then, move the throttle lever to the lowest Operating Voltage:...................2.5 to 18 Volts
position. After waiting for at least 1 second, advance the throttle lever. If your motor does not run, try Bandwidth: ...<10 KHz - exceeds AMA standards
reversing the throttle servo direction on your transmitter (and see other side, also) . Adjacent Channel Isolation: ..................60dB
Sensitivity: ...........................Better than 5 uV
Tips Current Drain: ........................16mA @ 9.6V
Receiving Range: ....Long Range-1500++ feet
• You may remove the DSP4 plastic case to save weight. If you do, be careful to insulate the DSP4 from Crystal: ..................Use Plantraco crystal only
carbon fiber or any other conductive components. It is always a good idea to secure your socketed Modulation: .........Narrow band FM, -ve shift
crystal with a small piece of cellophane tape. Tx Compatibility: ......................Futaba/Hitec
Dimensions: ....................0.625" x 1.5" x 0.5"
• Your DSP4 BEC automatically supplies power to the receiver, your servos, and the built-in ESC from Weight:.......................................4.5 - 8 grams
the Battery connector. Built-In GFS! Electronic Speed Control
• The built-in Electronic Speed Control is the same one found in the popular GFS! from Mikro Designs, Rated Current: .......................up to 10 Amps
and functions independently from the DSP4 servo outputs. You must turn on your transmitter and BEC output: .................. 5V, up to 1.5 Amps
Switching Frequency: ...........................2 Khz
move the throttle lever to it's lowest setting for at least 1 second to "arm" the ESC.
Technical Support/Manufactured By:
• If your transmitter signal is lost for more than 1 second, the built-in ESC will shut off your motor to PLANTRACO
Planrite Trading Company
prevent a fly-away. When a valid throttle signal is again detected, your motor will return to the proper 1105 8th Street East
speed. Saskatoon, SK,
Canada S7H 0S3
www.plantraco.com
 Digital Signal Processing - The Wave of the Future is Here Now!
Conventional Receivers: Dumb and Dumber Range and Selectivity: More is Better, But . . .
Conventional receivers use analog pulse shaping networks and shift regis- With conventional receivers, amplifying the signal more also amplifies noise
ters to decode the incoming transmitter pulses. This old technique has two and adjacent channel interference. DSP4 solves these problems by using
major problems: it is complex to build, and it cannot tell the difference higher quality crystal filters in the "front end" to reject more of the
between noise or interference, and the desired R/C signal. The result: servo unwanted signals. The remaining noise can then be effectively removed
jitter, excessive servo wear, and in severe cases, crashes. with the highly sophisticated Digital Signal Processing computer.
Digital Signal Processing: Smarter is Better Try This!
A microcomputer is the ideal way to implement intelligent processing. The Place a brand "____" receiver on a table and power it up with a servo
DSP4 microcomputers have a whole array of built-in algorithms to attached. (Oh, did you remember to turn on your transmitter first?!) Turn
selectively weed out noise and interference, and allow only clear, clean on another transmitter on an adjacent channel. You will probably get "hit".
signals to reach your servos and motor. Now, do the same thing with a DSP4. No glitching. Move the correct
transmitter across the room. Still no glitching. Turn the correct transmitter
Valid Signal Detector OFF. Still no glitching! (Yes, we've done this many times.)
VSD will throw away invalid R/C pulses. In addition, it will ignore short
gaps in the signal that are common when flying in very noisy electrical More Features: the 1.5 Amp BEC
environments, or when you are near the limits of radio range. The result is Your DSP4 BEC is capable of 1.5 Amps continuous current. This should be
very smooth operation, even under adverse conditions. plenty to run the receiver and any combination of small servos you have.
The BEC chip is soldered to an area of solid copper to aid in heat disper-
Ramp-Up, Ramp-Down Filtering sion. HOWEVER, as servo load and battery voltage increase, so does heat
The built-in speed control has our exclusive Time Domain Filtering generated by the BEC. When using a battery of 12V. or more, test the setup
algorithm. This ensures motor speed will always increase or decrease by exercising your servos continuously with your transmitter. If the BEC
smoothly, greatly reducing motor and gearbox stresses. becomes too hot to touch, you are nearing the limits of heat dissipation,
and you should either reduce the battery voltage, or use smaller servos. By
Safety Arming: No signal = No Glitch the way, the BEC chip itself is protected against excessive temperature, and
Go ahead, turn on your receiver first! The Safety Arming algorithm will not will gradually shut down if overheated.
allow your servos or motor to move until it determines that a proper, sta-
ble, R/C signal is present. No more out-of-control thrashing, and no more Up to 10 Amp Capacity
broken servos! Although the built-in ESC is designed for use with small electric motors, it
is actually capable of delivering over 12 Amps of current. Since motors can
Loss of Signal Shutdown draw surge currents many times larger than the average current, we recom-
The Loss Of Signal feature will shut down your motor when NO valid R/C mend using a 10 Amp fuse between the DSP4-SC and motor when using
signal is received for 1 second. When a valid throttle signal is again detect- any motor and battery combination capable of drawing more than 12
ed, your motor will return to the proper speed automatically. Amps when the motor is stalled.
If your motor will not run If you have a programmable "computer" transmitter, also check:
The build-in speed control must see at least 1 second of LOW throttle (defined as a pulse 2. Is your LOW throttle subtrim programmed to zero? You may also try setting it to the LOWest setting
width of <1.2ms) before it will arm itself. If your transmitter does not put out a "LOW" i possible (plug in a servo, and watch it to ensure you are adjusting in the correct direction).
enough throttle signal, your motor will not run. Here are some things to check to ensure your 3. Is your LOW throttle endpoint adjustment programmed to the default (normal)
transmitter is sending a "LOW" enough throttle signal: isetting? Try setting it to the LOWest possible setting also, as above.
1. Is your throttle trim lever set all the way to "LOW"?