tonybse

I just got a Dragonfly 22D from rc-expert.. Never use RC toy before. The battery is charged, i can use the transmitter with the emulator. Howver, when I put the battery on the helicopter and tryied to use the transmitter for a real flight, the rotor doesn't start. What happen - I switch the transmitter power switch on; have the LED on; then put the battery on the helicopter. I am hearing a very short light noise, and after about one or two second - get the same very short noise again. After that when i move joysticks on the transmitter, i see that the Dragonfly move the corresponding mechanic parts, so i do have communication , just the rotor doesn't start. Is there any special switch for the rotor or I am missing something here? (I am sorry for the stupid question).

cptsnoopy

actually not a stupid question at all. worst case your motor is bad or just needs a little spin to get it moving. other wise it's possible that your transmitter throttle is in reverse and the speed controller may have a safety function that will not allow the motor to start until the transmitter is sending an idle signal to the receiver. what i would do to test it is to unplug the motor wires and put a voltmeter on the output of the receiver for the main motor. then turn on the transmitter and plug in the heli. after you hear the second noises (just 2 or 3 seconds after you plug in the battery) watch the volt meter and run your throttle from idle (down) position to the full up position. you may want to start with the trim full down too. if you see your voltmeter start reading volts up to around battery voltage then your motor might be bad. if you don't see any voltage, put the transmitter throttle stick full up and also the trim control. then look for voltage while you put the throttle back down towards idle. if the voltmeter starts indicating more volts as you go down you need to change the switch setting on the dip switches on the back of the transmitter that corrispond to the throttle channel. if you don't ever see any voltage then your speed controller/receiver may be faulty. If you don't have a voltmeter you can unplug your motor and unscrew the two screws holding it onto the heli frame. once you have the motor out of the heli you can just plug the battery into the motor and see if the motor works. if it does then you may have a faulty speed controller/receiver...

tonybse

Thank you! Safety feature was the case. Now I am OK (well, just have to learn how to fly :-) ).

southhouseagent

can i run 8.4v battries when it comes with a 9.6 and will that require a different charger?

swashplate

To southhouseagent: 1) yes wont hurt anything but you may not have enough power if you are running a 22D, and 2) yes if you have no settings on it, just transformer and plug, you will need a new charger. Hope that helps if not try the BATTERY & CHARGER forum, and let this thread die!

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xrboss

Can this heli be used with a 3s lipoly battery pack?

cptsnoopy

yes, I have tried both an 860mah 3S 11.1volt lipo and also an 860mah 2S 7.4volt lipo and they both work very well. if you use a heavy 3S like a 1800mah or greater you may not get the good performance that i am getting. I like to use the 2S 7.4volt because I know I most likely will not burn out the motor as soon. with the 7.4 volt battery i am getting around 10 to 12 minutes of good power.

xrboss

The 2s 7.4 volt pack gives enough power to hover and fly?

Does the 3s pack give much more flight time over the 2s pack?

swashplate

i use a 2s pack on my stock hornet II, its not balistic but it has more than enough power even with its symetrical blades. 3s lipo is not ideal for stock brushed motors, a little over powered, 2s is fine. 3s could work, just watch the throtle. 11.1 volts is alot, a 8 cell nimh that has been cycled can hold that much but on the 22d it is so heavy that it will drain to about 8.4 volts in 5 min, at which point you cant fly. The 2s 7.4 lipos do not even quite hold 8.6 volts but depending on mah weigh almost less than half what the nimh weigh, so its power to weight is beyond even of the 11.1 nimh . So 2s lipo=cheap$$$ & long life for motor.

cptsnoopy

the 2s 7.4volt pack has plenty of power for the 22d. I can hover and fly steep turns with it.

I did not run the 3S pack very long, just about 5 or 6 minutes to see how much more power it would have. it did have more power but I was afraid of burning up the brushed motor so I stopped. what I did figure out for me was that the 2s had enough performance to be a better fit for my 22d than the heavier and more expensive 3S. In either case I would not recommend anything more than the 860mah packs to keep the weight within reason.

ps: i forgot to mention that i am using a GWS heat sink on the motor. it adds a little weight also but the temps are much cooler to the touch.

xrboss

So a 2s lipoly 850mAh would be ideal. Thanks for your experience and testing.

xrboss

I can get a 2s 1500mAh lipoly pack that weigh 65grams. Are they too heavy / to large?

cptsnoopy

I don't have a scale but my 2s 860mah are the Thunder Power brand. I just checked a website that sells Thunder Power packs and they show the 2s 860mah as 37grams and the 3s 860mah as 54 grams. I think that you would prefer the 37gram battery if your going to use 7.4volts. My heli does pretty well with that 37-gram battery but I don't think that I would want to try it at almost double the battery weight. If you decided to use the 11.1 volt 3s then you would probably have no problem lifting the extra weight but the motor would be working harder and most likely would not last as long. Since I have not tried the battery your thinking about this is all speculation.