Futaba 12FG - Page Two
Simon Lockington

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Swash Ring is a virtual cyclic ring built into the software, but unlike a cyclic ring, it works with any Mode not just Mode Two.  A great feature.

The Swash menu is where all the standard CCPM settings are kept as well as the very advanced CCPM compensation settings.

Here you can define the timer settings for your model.  I set mine to count down based on the throttle stick position.

Define your trims here.

You can do a data reset on the trims, condition or the whole model.

The Model Menu contains all the 'condition' settings (ie Normal mode, Idle Up etc).

Servo test can be very useful when trying to debug strange behaviour from mixes.

Define which hardware controls are going to activate your conditions.

AFR menu.  I use AFR instead of dual rates.

Dual rates are available, but I recommend leaving them alone and using AFR instead.

Program mixes are avaiable if you need to do something that isn't covered in the provided Swash and Throttle mixes.

The Raptor doesn't have a whole lot of room to store all the electronics, especially if, like me, you've got a lot of stuff to store!

Throttle curve.  The functionality is exactly the same as the 14MZ.

This is a great function.  You can set it to momentarily overdrive the collective to give the heli a good 'pop' in 3D.

Throttle Hold screen.

The provided Swash Mixes which cater for just about every mix you'll need on the heli.

The provided Throttle Mixing so you don't need to use any of the program mixes.

If you use Inflight needle mixing, this is where you configure it.

If for some reason you're flying in rate mode rather than heading hold, you might want to make yourself familiar with this function.

Gyro configuration screen.  If you have a GY series gyro it integrates extremely well.

The Governor function on the 12FG works just the same as the 14MZ which is excellent.  It allows you to set exactly the headspeed to use (rather than a percentage).

Side on view of the 12FG.  The side panels don't open up to reveal the memory card.  Instead, that's housed in the battery bay.

The rear view of the 12FG with the battery lid closed.  The trainer and DSC jack is on the right.  On the left is a headphone jack.  The two small flaps are adjustments for the stick tensions.

Futaba have gone from the Camcorder style battery used in the 14MZ back to the old style battery.  Above the battery on the right is where the small SD card slot is.

SWASH RING
This is one of the features that turned up in the 14MZ in one of the latest updates and is a great feature.  Basically what it does is reproduce the mechanical action of a 'swash ring' (can be installed on Mode Two transmitters).  This allows the transmitter to prevent binding when the stick is in extreme corners.  It's a really good feature.

SWASH
This is where you define your CCPM settings for the model (ie aileron, elevator and pitch rate) as well as the full CPPM compenstation features available in the 14MZ!  I was surprised to see this functionality included actually, I thought they might have disabled this in order to have a good feature differential between this and the 12 and 14.  For details on how the CCPM compensation works, click here.

TIMER
Here you can setup how you want the timers to work for this model.  On my models, I have the timers set for 10 mins and are controlled via stick position.  For example when the throttle stick moves above idle (ie flying) the timer begins counting down.  When the stick is at idle, the timer is paused.  In this way I have a pretty accurate account of how the fuel is going in any of my machines.  You can set timers to be any time you want and also have them count up or count down.

TRIM SETTINGS
You can manage the settings of your trims in this screen.  You can split the trims between each condition (different trim settings for each condition) or you can have one trim setting across the model.  You also define which trim control is associated with which trim as well as the step increments that the trim will move for each movement of the trim control.

DATA RESET
From this menu you can reset the values of the trims, the condition and the model.

MODEL MENU
The Model menu contains the configuration for each condition/flight mode (ie normal mode, Idle Ups and Hold).

SERVO MONITOR
This area accesses the Servo Monitor functions described above.

CONDITION SELECT
This is where you create, edit and delete the conditions to be used with this model.  Commonly for a helicopter, that would include Normal, Idle Up 1, Idle Up 2 and Hold.  You also define which switches activate these conditions and the priority of those conditions.

AFR
I use AFR for exponential and dual rate controls.  While there is a seperate Dual Rate menu, I tend not to use it and only use AFR in order to keep things simple.  This function works just like the 14MZ.  You select the type of curve you want (although you can only select from Exp1, Exp2 and Point - still more than adequate I only ever use Exp1).  You then define if you want these values to be grouped across conditions, or for each singular condition.

DUAL RATE
I'm unsure why Dual Rate is still included as I use AFR to achieve the same result.  However if you do want to use Dual Rate, you can have up to six rates assigned for each condition, which is a large amount. 

PROG. MIXES
This is where you can define mixes that you might need for your model.  However before you go configuring mixes here, check to see if the mix you want has already been defined in the 'Swash Mix' function.  If it's not there already, create your own mix here.  As with all mix settings in this model, you can have a mix grouped with all conditions, or to each individual condition.

PITCH CURVE
The 12FG once again has the same pitch and throttle curve programming as the 14MZ, the same amount of moveable points on the curve (17 points), the same options available in terms of type of curve, offsets and trims.  You can set the curve to represent the actual degrees of pitch on the blade also which is pretty cool.

THROTTLE CURVE
As with the Pitch Curve programming, the throttle curve functionality is the same as the 14MZ, the same amount of moveable points on the curve (17 points), the same options available in terms of type of curve, offsets and trims.

ACCELERATION
This is a feature I've just started playing with on my 14MZ, it's great for 3D.  Basically it allows you to set the radio up so that during sudden pitch (and throttle if necessary) movements, it will overdrive the pitch function by an amount defined by you, then gradually return to the actual pitch setting represented on your curve over a duration also defined by you.  This means for instance, if you set your curve up with 10 degrees each way, you can use Accelleration to give your pitch curve a burst of 11 or 12 degrees pitch to 'pop' the heli, then it will automatically ramp it back down to 10 degrees to avoid loading the heli too much.  It's a great function!

THROTTLE HOLD
Here you define the throttle hold behaviour of your engine.  There are two modes available, one to reduce the engine to idle, the other to actually cut the engine.  You can set different switches to each mode.  For F3C, I use a slider to define the idle position of the engine so that I don't have to remember before a competition to set the throttle hold to cut.  I use the slider so that when it's all the way up and throttle hold is activated, the engine goes to idle.  When the slider is down and throttle hold is activated the engine will cut.

The great thing about these radios is that you can set them up to run how you like!

SWASH MIX
Just like the 14MZ, the 12FG has all of the popular mixes you'll need (ie AIL to ELE, ELE to AIL, PIT to AIL etc) already pre-defined, so all you have to do is adjust the values.  Each mix has comprehensive settings to really fine tune the mix.  I use AIL to ELE a lot to make sure the helicopters roll straight.  In most cases, the Swash Mix menu will contain all the mixes you'll need for your machine.

THROTTLE MIX
Like Swash Mix, this menu has pre-defined mixes so that you can add cyclic to throttle and rudder to throttle mixing without using any Program Mixers.  Even though I run governors in my machines, I generally run throttle mixing so that if the governor fails, it's not going to be a big deal.

Infact for a long time, I didn't run a governor on the old Raptor and just set it up with throttle mixing and it worked great.  The only downside is when you're going full pitch at the ground the engine will overspeed.

PITCH TO NEEDLE
If you feel like running inflight needle mixing, this is where you define the curve the needle servo will follow against the pitch curve.  This is useful if you find you want to say lean the engine out when at full pitch or richen it up in hover.

PITCH TO RUDDER
With this function you can change pitch input depending on rudder input.  This was used in the old days when Non-Heading hold gyros were popular.  It's used to try and suppress the increase in torque force on the tail when applying pitch, and the decrease in torque when pitch is removed.  If you're running Heading Hold gyros, this function doesn't get used.

GYRO
Here's where you define the gyro settings.  If you have a Futaba GY series gyro, this is really easily.  You just select 'GY' from the menu and enter the gain value that you wish to see on the GY's head unit, it's very well integrated.

GOVERNOR
This feature is great on the new Futaba radios.  You can set up your GV-1 governor so that you just type in the actual headspeed you want (ie no percentage figures) and the GV-1 will pick it up.  You can ofcourse use non-Futaba governors by using the percentage features as well.

One thing that I do use this for is on my F3C Sylphides.  I have one of the sliders set up to manipulate the governor headspeed in normal mode only.  For example, if it's a very calm day, I move the slider down to reduce the headspeed, or conversely if it's very windy, I move the slider up to get more headspeed.  Because this setting is only active in normal mode, the slider setting does not impact on any of the Idle Up settings.

Like all of the programs available in this transmitter, you can seperate each governor setting for each condition, or you can group your settings across multiple conditions.

CONDITION HOLD
Condition Hold allows you to lock the throttle servo at Idle position to allow you to switch between conditions (for adjusting pitch and throttle curves or any other condition specific setting) without the heli following that condition's throttle settings (ie going from Idle to 100% throttle when switching from Normal mode to Idle Up One).

CONCLUSION
I like the 12FG.  Infact, I can't understand why Futaba have made it so good, as there's really no point in buying a 14MZ, and there's DEFINATELY no point in buying a 12Z after looking at one of these.

I was immediately familiar with all the controls and settings of the 12FG since I am very familiar with the 14MZ which is lucky, because in true Futaba tradition, the user manual is less than average at explaining things.

I was expecting to find quite a number of the 'key' 14MZ features left out of this as a product differentiator, for example I didn't expect to see the CCPM Compensation features, the Swash Ring, maybe even Acceleration, infact I wouldn't have been surprised if the G3 modulation wasn't there. Instead I sit here thinking, what did they leave out that's in the 14MZ? Off the top of my head I can't think of anything significant. Sure the pretty LCD touch screen, the nicer casing, the extra two channels are all nice, but they don't justify the extra price.

So what were Futaba thinking? I for one can't see why you'd buy a 12Z or a 14MZ over the 12FG. The 12FG has all the good features of the 12 and 14 at a much cheaper price. In the US, Futaba are advertising a 12FG 2.4ghz system although it doesn't say when it will actually get to market. Given that no one at the recent F3C World Championships had Futaba 2.4 sets yet indicates that the systems are probably still a little way off yet.

So, if I were looking to buy a new transmitter right at the moment would I buy a 12FG? Yeah I would, most definately. Would I buy one over a 14MZ now that I've had the 14 for a couple of years? Yes, at less than half the price of the 14MZ (as judged from prices on the Tower Hobbies website), then it's very difficult to justify the extra money for the 14. The 12FG represents awesome value for money.