evdreamer

John,

Sorry about your bearing hub and canopy. Your 700 is looking good.

I got kind of tired studying for school, so yesterday and today I worked on designing an on board glow starter for the Velocity. There is a button that starts the glow starter. Then there is a speaker to know when the glow starter is on. It stays on for 10 seconds then shuts off until the button is pressed again. I finished the programming and made a simple prototype with spare parts that I have. I ordered the exact parts I needed today. I might be able to finish prototyping it this weekend. So far it has been a fun project.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

JPEE,

That just plain stinks...I would think with the larger birds Align would use a better metal alloy for their screws. I do hope you can do some kind of a retap with it...$88 is ridiculous to spend just b/c of a stupid bolt. You may have to do the side opposite to keep things in balance. And I'm sorry to see the canopy cracked like that...didn't you mention Horizon with the deal you got? Maybe you can see if they can do something for you.

On the positive side the 700 is looking very good...I like all the silver on it. I know Align was going for the all black look for a while there but the shiney silver is sharp. Looks like you going over everything with a fine toothcomb and I would be doing the exact same thing with something that size.

Nick,

Good luck on the glow starter board project.

I ran into an issue with my new JR servo's...seems the mounting tab has an indentation and so doesn't allow it to mount to the bearing block flush. Looks like I may have to do a bit of sanding of the tab to even it out. The other issue is the mounting holes are huge on it. I think with even a washer on the mounting bolt that there will be enough room for the servo to move around a bit. I am asking a few guys on HF who run these servo's what they did. And lastly...JR was extremely stingy on wire length so I will have to get a few extensions so the front servo's can reach the receiver. So in a holding pattern for now.

Mark

evdreamer

Mark,

Does your JR servos come with rubber grommets and the bronze piece? If so, that would probably fix your problem with the small screw.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Not much new going on here...just catchin' up with you guys...

JPEE,

So sorry to hear about the misfortunes on the new 700 and build...

I can't give you too much advice, except that when I had the motor problems with the 450 Pro, and wanted to get warranty service on Align products...the ONLY way was to go through Assurance RC....the main Align distributor in the US....

That was a couple of years ago, so maybe that's changed now...it was kind of a PITA, I had to prove that I purchased the kit through one of Assurance RC's approved resellers....which I did, at Hobby Hangar in VA...

Hopefullly, however you get it taken care of, they will help you out....even with the stripped one way..

Keep us updated...

Mark,

I should know about what you are going through on the servos, since I have the same DS 285's...(mine are MG though) and the Trex 450 Pros....but I never had to mount the JR Servos in the 450's....only the B400...

I used the grommets and brass eyelets when I did the B400....it makes it very vibration resistant, but at the same time, not as solidly mounted to the frame...so sort of a trade-off....

Hopefully, someone at HF that has done the install will be of more help...


Nick,

Cool project on the on-board glow starter...sounds like a fun project, and very handy at the same time...

I remember seeing/hearing a glow starter board something like that on some helis a while back...can't remember the name of those systems...but it sounds very similar...cool idea either way...

The iPhone comes with a tiny leaflet on getting started with the phone...not very informative at all...

Apple prides themselves in both minimalistic packaging, and their products on being very simple to operate, so they keep the startup guide very minimal.

They do however, provide a nice online manual, which is pretty comprehensive...(162 pages worth!)

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/...user_guide.pdf

Although that manual is pretty decent, there are sooo many tricks, shortcuts, and new things that people pick up on, the best way to learn is go to forums (like RCU, but for iPhones...)...you can pick up very cool info there as well...

I'm really going to try to get out and fly a bit this weekend, before it really gets too cold and crappy outside...hopefully no snow this weekend!

We didn't get much snow here, in fact...none...but just west and north, got hammered...some of those poor people still don't have power back...crazy weather!

Hope you guys have a nice upcoming weekend....

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hey guys,

Nick,

I tried several different orientations of the rubber grommets and eyelets but since the servo sits backwards in the 450 Pro it wasn't really a solid fit...so since I am doing FBL with this it won't work nicely. I'm going to send the JR's back to Grandrc and just get the Align 410's. Finless did a vid of how the washer that is installed before the mounting screw was possibly compressing the case which may have been causing the servo failures so I'm going to be hopeful and just use the mounting screw with no washer.

Mark

JPEE

Nick,
You do need to deviate from your regular studies from time to time so you don't burn out. I think it's really neat that designed and built a glow starter. A good sign of your education leading you into a field that your are happy with.

Mark,
You are so right, I had intended and will if necessary do two screw holes if needed to maintain that balance we know is needed for that kind of rpm.
tonight I took servo pictures of my 450 to show you what I used and worked for me on both Hitec and Align servos. In some places I used threaded bolts with nuts, in some cases I had to buy very skinny silver screws that would go through a the brass tubular shims. The 700 has the rubber shock mounts that "must be" set with a special side up and...... that side must be turned again the servo a certain way as well. The 700 came with CF plates that screws that go through the servo and go into the plastic nut shields on the other side, but again there are those brass tubes and rubber too. I am going to try and arrange the pic's so the 450 is first. BUt here are some pipcs of the 500 and 600s too

Glenn,
iPhone 4S........................ we still can't ours. Every night at 9:00 we log on to Apple in an effort to find inventory in the 16g black model but they are out and only have the 32 gig which we are not gonna pay for. I was with my buddy who is a tech-ieee in the Campus I.T. department and that thing is so cool. He talks to the phone and it talks back. I/we about wet our pants laughing when he said to the phone: knock knock to the phone, the replied "who's there"? LMFAO. It really is a landmark phone that Job's left us with. I hope you are enjoying yours and it sounds like you are.

evdreamer

I am glad exam week is over.

Glenn,

It seems like the on board glow starters are becoming more popular. There are a lot more choices to choose from now. I was checking the prices on circuit boards and the company I order through lowered the minimum order for prototyping. If I don't need to change the circuit after more testing I can make one for about the same price as the ones on the market. I like being able to add the features I want and get rid of the ones I don't.

That is good it didn't snow there. It has been in the 30's the past couple of mornings here. It snowed lightly here a few days ago.

Mark,

Sorry the JR servos didn't work out.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Nick,

Congrats on your exam week being done and finished with...I bet your a lot less stressed now.

I can't believe (well, yes I can) that you guys are already having 30 degree temps and snow dusting...guess old man winter is coming in like a bear this year, not to mention early.

Not too concerned about the JR servo's not working...next time I'll do a bit more research before jumping on the buy button. Gonna give the Align one's a try and cross my fingers. Besides...its been waaay too windy to even consider flying right now.

JPEE,

Thanks for the pictures...you are on the ball with loading pictures in an instant. Since I'll be going with the Align servo's there won't be a problem as they were designed for the heli, not to mention plenty of servo wire and included servo arm makes a nice plus. I hope they don't have the track record that the 410's are somewhat notorious for in the 450 Pro's beginning...haven't heard too much recently so that is a good sign.

I hope you had success with the one-way holder...talk about a major PITA. [:-] Any news on the canopy? Hope that gets fixed to your satisfaction.

Glenn,

I bet your logging lots of hours on the iPhone forums...have you figured out how to remote start your car with your phone yet...wouldn't that be nice on those cold January mornings? I just sit back in amazement at the pace these things are progressing...I still have a simple flip phone so am probably right behind my parents in their understanding.

Hope you get some flights in this weekend if the weather is nice.

Well guys, I've been starting to do some research into 500's for my next heli. I know I had a 500 last year (but just had to try the 550 otherwise I would still be wondering if I was missing something ), but feel that it is a perfect size for my current needs.

I plan to keep the 450 for a bit after I get the BeastX on it but want to look at options outside of Align for my 500 purchase. So far I've looked at the Protos by MHS and the Atom by Compass. Both are belt driven but I do like that they don't come fully ready...motor, ESC, and blades allowing you to choose your own servo's and gyro/FBL system. There are a few more I want to look at but I won't be making any decisions until after Christmas.

Mark

JPEE

Assurance RC Rules!

Yesterday and thats like a total of like 4 days they sent me a replacement main bearing and a canopy for my 700, how cool is that! Granted they are about 50 miles from the house that is still a great turn around.

Me Happy!

evdreamer

Mark,

I still have a flip phone too.

I know the Compass helis can perform. When Michael Pheifer(I can't remember how he spelled his last name) flew his Compass 6HV at my field that heli could perform. It had gobs of power and was able to fly very aggressive. I have never seen a MSH heli fly in person, but heard they are good performers also.

John,

That is good you got a replacement bearing and canopy for the 700.

I got my electronics parts today, so I am off to prototype.

Nick

JPEE

Hey Guys,

It has been raining and it is very cold here in LA!

On Saturday I treated myself and bought a new Honda EU2000i generator! Me likie, but I really struggled with this one because I already have a generator, in fact three if you count the one in the RV. However, while my old one is in perfect condition and is a Honda EX1600 watt and I take it to the field and it works fine but it is a bit louder than the new ones. I put a Hobbs hour meter on it years and years ago and it shows 88 hours lol. I would bet that it has a near double that but still. Here is another kicker. I found my receipt and the hand book. I bought it 27 years ago! Yes 27 years ago. We only used for the old rv so the girls could dry their hair otherwise it just sat. Then it was used in the big quake in 1994 and now charging at the field. The riff is, it weighs 97 pounds dry, where is my truss???? Now I am big boy at 6' 220 lbs but still carrying it out of the shed to the truck and lifting it up onto the 4X4 tailgate and bed, it is a task. Then repeating that when I come tired, me no likie. The new generator while called a 2000 watt it only provides 1600 running watts with 13.7 amps because it is an inverter type, but it can take a 2,000 watt surge. But the biggie for me is............. it weighs 47 pounds! and that was the trade for the $$$$$ spent. List is $1150.00 plus tax. I got it out the door for $975.00 and that took days of shopping let me tell you. I have my old one on Craig's for $450.00 and will take four. But I told Judy tonight it does gall me that they are darned near a like in performance and some buddy will be able to run for the most part what I can for only $400.00 to my $975.00 OUCH. I hope it sells and I can defray some of the new cost with sale of the old one.

Tonight getting board I took two of my power supplies both near the same wattage and I use "Feather Merchants" how to from HF to bind them together to give me 24 volts. That will kick up my Hyperion to its full potential. However, that is only 180 watts per side. That should allow me to get close to a 2 C charge on my 5000 packs. Right now with a 12 volt input my max is only 6.5 amps in. I also have been looking at the iCharger 1000 watt.. At 12 volt they put out 500 watts! and they have these "para boards" and here is the LINK http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_pa...roducts_id=106
So I have a lot on the table right now. The 700 is still for now until my Airtronic rxs come in. The guy NEVER mail them last week I found after writing a note asking where are they because the tracking umber was dead too. He then sent them off and the tracking number is now good, but man that ticked me off.

I put out a request for information on HF as what batteries the they are using on their 700s. After reading all of the input and doing some PMs I settled on getting the GEN ACES as they rated the highest among the guys there. They come to $107.00 delivered each so I will try two sets so I can fly two 700 flights and then throw them on my chargers and go fly a 500 or something till they come back.

That's it from California boys, JPEE

evdreamer

John,

That sounds like a good generator.

The MA guys on helifreak really like the Gen Ace batteries also. They say they are comparable to Thunder Power.

I got an offer on my 600 today. He is going to try and come up on Tuesday to buy it.

My glow starter circuit kind of works. It is doing the same thing with the 5V circuit that all my other projects that switched high currents did. I am thinking about getting another chip that has better documentation, but cost 5x more. It also helps to pick the external parts, which I have a hard time with. It can also interface with a microcontroller more easily.

Nick

evdreamer

Guys,

I sold my 600 along with one of my JR770 gyros today. I am halfway to a Fury 55. Now my heli area isn't so crowded anymore.

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hey guys,

Nick,

That's great news that you sold off your 600...I see you already have your sites on a new heli. Man you are going to break the record for most heli purchases in a single year!

Glad that your glow starter circuit is working...so is the prototyping over now?

JPEE,

I've also heard very good things about the Gen Aces...I think you won't be disappointed by them at all. Looks like your getting all your ducks in order for flying that 700...more hefty powersupplies, a new charger (maybe?), and a less back breaking generator. That is crazy the size difference betweent the older one and the new one...not to mention the weight difference.

Sorry to hear about the Airtronics rx issues...did you get them from a hobbiest selling them? Hope they get to you soon.

Has the bad weather cleared for you to get some flights in on your 500 and 600? We had rain and cold weather most of all last weekend so I know the feeling. Sunny weather will return to you soon!

Mark

evdreamer

Mark,

My glow starter circuit is going to stay in prototyping for a long time. My microcontroller doesn't work for long after the glow starter starts. I think it is due to my hardware design which I have limited knowledge in. I am just going to wait until I learn more at school about hardware design. For now I will stick with the simple low power circuits.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Nick,

Sometimes electronics just don't want to work the way you want them to, but as your knowledge base grows I'm sure things will begin to fit in place.

Isn't it nice to have some more room in the heli room? I think the most I've ever had was 3 and that was nice as long as all were flying condition but trying to keep up with maintenance and such did get a bit much, not to mention if one was down due to a crash. Think for the time being I'll just keep with 1 or 1.

Did I mention I love Italian?

Mark

evdreamer

Mark,

I see you ordered a MSH 500.

Nick

JPEE

Hello Mark,

I was a bad boy today. I got us new iPhones like Glenn's, the new 4S. To add insult to injury I bought a new 1000 watt iCharger with a Para Board so I can charge 6 ea 6S packs at once, which aint gonna happen let me tell you. I built myself a good 24 power supply out of computer server power supplies.
But to go back a step, my Hyperion will only give each battery a max of 180 watts at 24 volt input power which gives me about 7.5 amps. As that charges it times itself in and out to cool itself down too. The iCharger will give me 500 watts at 12 vt and 1000 watts at 24 vt on the input supply. Then I bought 4 new 5300 mAh GEN ACE packs as last night they had a 10% discount.
So this week with the new generator, phones, batteries, and charger, and a bunch of EC5s because I am leaving Deans connectors on the 500-600-700s. So with that said I am done spending for a bit. More good news, finally my rx's came in today YAHOOOO now I can get back the 700 and center those servos and kick butt and we have a three day storm coming so "good night Matilda" here I come! I haven't flown in nearly two weeks but that's ok, I have been very busy with all kinds of other stuff


Nick,

I am sorry to read that your glow starter did not turn out as you had planned it :-(
Great news thought that you sold the 600 and gyro, good ridden's I say lol.



Take care you two, John

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Looks like JPEE wasn't the only one being bad today!! Of course I didn't spend nearly as much.

Yep Nick, I did wind up getting the MSH Protos 500...actually decided to try getting one second hand off the classifieds on HF. Got a good deal for a barebones kit...about $100 less then a new one...plus I got a motor thrown in the deal as well which made it all that much better.

I already decided to go with MKS servo's for cyclic, Futaba on the tail, and a CC Ice 75 (for the governor and data logging feature to try out, plus the LV don't seem to be having any issues - just the HV ones so willing to take a bit of a leap there). I'll just need to save a bit before I can get them.

Everyone says the Protos design makes it very quiet (no gear meshing, just the continuous belt) so you really get the blade sound with no gear noise to drown it out. I'm really anxious to experience it for myself.

JPEE,

That's some major shopping your doing there mister...iPhones, iChargers, and 4 GEN ACE's, WOW! Glad your rx came in finally, now the build can move forward full steam.

Bad weather = perfect build conditions. Enjoy!

Mark

JPEE

Mark,

Well let me say congratulations there yourself on your new Protos! Hey, a bare bones build shows courage my friend. Anyone can build a kit heli, but a scratch build and picking your ESC, servos gyro and such shows you have some skill there mister to meld those altogether and come out with a rich performing ship when your done. Gaddszooks, I'll bet you finish your 500 before I finish my
700 lol, no really :-)

John

evdreamer

John,

It sounds like you will have a lot of toys to play with. That is good you got your receivers.

Mark,

That is good you saved a lot of money on the Protos.

My F6 and F450 have the same design for the belt and they are quieter than my TT helis.

Nick

Scotts CP

My how things have changed from the CPP2 days, eh? This, of course, is why I keep checking in here though.
Keep up the good work guy'sthe economy numbers are gradually looking better!

evdreamer

It is good you hear from you again Scott.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Things at work have been very hectic...not too much free time to check the forums out...finally caught up here at home, ready to start a new work week...

We are down to 3 techs....which can be good, but sometimes we get overwhelmed, like on Friday, Veteran's day, when a lot of government employees around this area have the day off, they come in droves...so Friday was a mess...

JPEE,

Wow, it must seem like Santa has come early this year!

All that new stuff, the iPhones, the new 700, and the new generator....congrats on all of the new toys!

Hope you and Judy are enjoying the new iPhones, they sure are cool, eh? I'm still learning new things about mine...lots to know!

I figured your concerns would have to be taken up with Assurance RC, glad they got you all straight..they took good care of me, but it was a bit of a PITA on my end, getting the RMA, and then shipping the motor back...

Hope the 700 project is coming along nicely...

Mark,

Congrats on the new MSH....hope you like it, and it turns out well for you...and yeah, 500 is a nice size...doesn't need a huge field, and yet is big enough to have nice stability as well...and the MSH will certainly be unique...I know very little about them....the powertrain sounds interesting...

Be sure to keep us updated...

Sorry it was too windy to fly...

Nick,

Cool on selling the 600 towards the new Fury 55...halfway there sounds cool.. Hopefully you can get it and do the build before next season starts....

Sorry your glow starter needs more work....but you'll have plenty of time over the winter to work with it some more....no rush...

Hope school is going well, and you are doing well...at least you get a little break for the holidays before long..

Hope everyone has a great week coming up!

Scott,

Glad to see you are still lurking around out there...how have things with the bikes been?


Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

Sorry you have been really busy at work. Friday was the exact opposite for me at work. It was slow all day.

I would like to get the Fury 55 for a Christmas present to myself. I could probably get it now, but I would probably put school second and the build first.

My physics and electronic classes are getting harder. So far I have straight A's. I would probably be failing my physics class if I didn't have help from an online tutor. This semester has been intense. I can't wait till my winter break. Next semester will probably be just as bad. I will be taking electronics, calculus 3, english, and a computer class. The electronic and computer class should be fun. I am not looking forward to the english class.

I didn't have the internet for most of the evening. My router seems to be on its last leg. It just "magically" started working again.

Nick