When I built my T-rex 600 Nitro Super Pro, my intention was to outfit it from the start with an Aerospire MultiGov Pro. Unfortunately, I waited too long to order my parts and by the time I did, nobody had any left in stock (not even Aerospire). Being a newly released model, I wasn’t surprised a whole lot by this, so rather than wait for them, I built the heli with the included Align RCE-600 governor.

Since I was going to be breaking in the engine, I wasn’t going to be using the governor though, so I didn’t bother with the radio setup for it. I plugged it into the Aux2 channel on my DX7 and just left it switched off. About a week ago, I was able to snag a MultiGov Pro from Ron’s HeliProz South, and it’s been patiently sitting here in the shipping box waiting for me to install it.

Engine break-in has gone fine, and after 8 tanks through the new helicopter, I think it’s pretty much done. I’m also progressing with my flying to the point where I’m starting to feel the need for a governor. So, rather than go through setting up the Align and then re-doing everything in the radio for the MultiGov, I decided to take advantage of the forecast crummy weather this week and swap out the RCE-600 for the MultiGov.

About the MultiGov Pro

I chose this product for a few reasons. One was its reputation. Although the Pro is a new unit, the older MultiGov units got overall rave reviews from those owners I spoke with. The Pro incorporates the additional feature of a mixture control, which was one of my planned additions. I won’t be reviewing that feature right now, since I am not setting mixture control up just yet, but I’ll be adding it later on so stay tuned.

Another reason I chose to use this device was the programming interface. Some governors are small, and you set them up by adjusting endpoints in your radio. These generally require the use of a tach to fine tune them, and I don’t yet have one. Others (like the Futaba GV-1) are larger and have a built-in LCD interface to program but they’re expensive and bulky.

The MultiGov Pro is the best of both worlds. It’s programmed easily with an LCD panel, but the panel plugs into the unit only when programming it, so the governor itself remains lightweight and compact. Also, while the LCD programming module is required to setup the governor, one panel can be used for multiple governors, so you can buy several MultiGovs but you only have to buy one programmer. This brings the cost of the unit way down. Actually, the MultiGov Pro with the LCD is about $65 less than the Futaba GV-1. The MultiGov Pro alone (no LCD) is about $25 less than that.

Earlier MultiGov governors consisted of a circuit board covered in clear heat-shrink tubing for protection. This is generally sufficient and many manufacturers go this route to save money and weight. The new MultiGov Pro however, is enclosed in a nice, compact, translucent blue plastic casing that adds a bit more of a polished look.

The kit includes pretty much everything you’ll need to set up the governor on your heli. Included are the governor (obviously), two 6″ servo extensions, three G10 mounting brackets of different sizes, a hall-effect sensor and pigtail, two sensor magnets, zip ties, and shrink tubing. Also included is an instruction sheet, which is also available for download at Aerospire’s website. My package came with a programming module, since I didn’t already have one.

The programming module itself consists of a circuit board with four pushbutton switches, an LCD panel, and a 14-pin socket for the included interface ribbon cable, by which it connects to the governor (which has a matching 14-pin socket on it) for programming. The back of the programmer is covered with a thin piece of foam rubber, probably to prevent the user from getting poked by any protruding leads from the soldered on components. At first, I was a little concerned about the design of this device since being an electronics hobbyist, I’m always concerned about damaging components on bare circuit boards with static electricity. Upon further inspection, I found that there really are no discrete ICs on the board itself, so there really isn’t anything to be damaged. In fact, the whole module appears to be little more than an LCD display and four switches, which tells me that the module is programmed by shorting sets of pins together. The LCD is necessary for feedback to the user, but there’s really no logic contained in the programmer. Everything is in the governor itself. Still, it would be nice to have the programmer in an enclosure of some sort, if for no other reason than aesthetics.

Next up: MultiGov Pro Installation