Working out some kinks with my TCB/DasMikro/TX16S

[Jib]

So I found I was able to have one ER8 on SBUS protocol for the TCB, and the other ER8 on CRSF and still use the PWMs on that one and control everything from my TX16S.

I read that to use the PWM pins when outputting to the SBUS port on the ER8, you have to provide power to the pins. The power that the TCB provides to the ER8 allows the RX to turn on and connect, but there was no power to the PWM pins. I read that you have to provide power to the pins directly.

I was able to power the PWM side and the TCB by plugging a 5V RX battery into the pins directly side, with the main power to the TCB unplugged. I didn’t want to plug both the TCB and the battery in at the same time for fear I would blow something by using two power sources on the same object.

Maybe pull the red wires out of the SBUS connection to the TCB to prevent this? I have no need to use SBUS and PWM at the same time on the same RX right now, and I really can’t afford to be blowing my TCB, so I think I’m going to leave it be for now.

[LukeZ]

Hi Jib, your proposed solution is correct. If your receiver is getting power from somewhere else (your 5v battery in this case), then the only connection it needs to the TCB is Signal and Ground. Pulling the red wire keeps the two voltage sources separate, but they will still be able to communicate just fine with the other two wires.

[Jib]

Well the good news at least is that your sounds are working, so it does not seem like there is any problem with the TCB or with your setup. As for the relative volumes being what they are, that I suppose you will have to tinker with to see if you can improve things. My memory of using Thomas's Mini is that the engine/other sounds seemed well matched, but of course it might depend on the sound set, and I hadn't tested the Abrams one. It's also possible that the DasMikro clone is using a different chip for the amplifier and maybe it doesn't quite have the same performance as the original, when playing two sounds simultaneously. But I don't know that, it's just a conjecture.

So I figured out the sound ducking problem. There are two slider bars under the parameter tab, Volume Engine, and Volume Sound. The former controls how loud the engine sounds (M1-M6) are and the latter controls how loud all of the other sounds (1-16) are.

On my setup for some reason both of these were set to 2/11 (there are 11 tick marks on the slider scale). I’ve found that when both Engine and Sound are set to the same volume via TBS-Flash V4.0, the engine sounds overpower the other sounds, unless the engine is off, at which point it plays the other sounds as loud as the engine sound is when it’s on.

For my tastes I’ve found that 5/11 for Volume Engine and 11/11 for Volume Sound give me the best sound balance between the two.

I’ve also found that the Volume Up and presumably Volume Down of the TCB function/trigger setting appear to increase (and decrease) sound via these slider bars? As in if I have engine and sound set to 5/11 and 11/11 respectively, when I trigger the Volume Up via a 3 way toggle switch, it will eventually crank the Volume Engine up to 11/11 while leaving the Volume Sound at 11/11. So all it ends up doing is drowning out my Volume Sound related sounds.

Still, I’m glad to have finally figured out what is causing the sound imbalance.

[LukeZ]

Thanks for reporting this, I'd completely forgotten about the volume sliders in TBS Flash. I'm not entirely sure how Thomas programmed the "Volume Up" and "Volume Down" functions in his sound card, but from what you say it doesn't appear to be a global volume adjustment, which is unfortunate.

There was a user on the OP forum who had a clever idea for a volume control by servo, that he used with Heng Long and Taigen units. It probably would not apply to your case, unless you were using a standalone amplifier with a dedicated volume knob. But I am posting a link to it here in case it is of interest: Cheap Remote Volume Control