I am seeking some help on sourcing a receiver which will failsafe to zero on at least three channels, not just to 'maintain position' but to 'default to zero'. I have a three motor boat (1/12 Vosper MTB, brushless) with three independent ESCs. To make the thing turn, I use a mixer on the two outer motors which is biased by the rudder control, a fairly standard setup. Now, this is fine with a standard transmitter/receiver set up as a standard receiver failsafe usually defaults to zero only on a single channel (throttle of course, CH3), the other channels (steering or whatever) usually defaulting to 'position hold' in the event of signal failure. And here's the crunch.
I am converting to OpenTX (It's the future, it is truly a game-changer) so I will be able to control all three motors independent of one another on a single stick by using three channels. No problem, I can use up to 36 channels if I want to and by judicious mixing within the transmitter I can have spin on the spot, have outer motor throttle control biased by the rudder and just about everything in between including playing the National Anthem when coming alongside! (I strongly recommend you all look at OpenTX Companion, it is a free download, it is self-explanatory and it has its own simulator, so you can try it out in the comfort of your own home for nothing. What's not to like?)
The crunch comes when you have to programme in a failsafe on the receiver. The middle motor on my model will be governed by the throttle channel, so when the signal fails the middle motor throttle will default to zero, but the outer two motors will be plugged into channels 5 and 6, so in the event of signal failure with a normal receiver, they will hold throttle position, which could be wide open!
What I need is a 4 channel (minimum) receiver which can be set up to default to zero on a least three channels. 2.4 gHz, DSM/DSMX and NOT Futaba. Has anyone any suggestions please, I can't be the first to meet this problem surely?
Chris.