Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

I have a bunch of the Futaba GY-401 gyros in my high end Raptors but decided to try a 401 nockoff called a GY-08 at $29. The 401 is around $130. Everyone and there mother said these are junk don't trust them so I built a Raptor 30 out of spare parts and put the GY-08 on it. It looks exactly like a GY-401 even looks high quality. The GY-401 weighs a little more so there's probably more electronics in it also the GY-08's wires were too short so I had to add two extentions. Upon first flight I was surprised to see how well the heli flew. I could sear better than with a 401. It could just be that I had no fear as the heli was just a extra parts heli. After 10 flights I am convinced there could be a cheaper alternative to the super expensive gyros. The servo I used was also a cheaper $25 high speed metal gear servo by Cirrus. It worked better with the GY-08 than with the GY-401 the only drawback with the Cirrus servo is the high current drain. The battery gets drained fast. The speed of response by the GY-08 was excellent. Heading hold worked great holding the tail solid.

hobby_man

My Feedback: (8)

The new Walkera GX02 Magic box is 85.00 and it received a good
review in the OCT> issue of Model aviation

This is a Head Hold Gyro for 85.00 I'm going to give one a try.


Specification:
1). Control system: The gyro GX02 utilizes the AVCS (Angul ...
2). Gyro sensor: ultra mini piezoelectric sensor
3). Operating voltage: 4 ~ 6V DC
4). Operating temperature range: -5 ~ +75 ℃
5). Dimension: 32 * 30 * 21mm
6). weight: 23g
7). Intuitionistic and convenient LED editing screen



Hobby_man

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

$85 That's getting there but I like $29 better. I'll keep flying with this Gyro, I'll see if the luck wears off. So far I like this Gyro. The part is a SD-GY08.

hobby_man

My Feedback: (8)

where did you buy it?

made-in-china.com?

how long did it take to get it once you paid for it?

Lon

hobby_man

My Feedback: (8)

I just got one off of ebay for 29.00 delivered on a slow boat from china.

I will let you know how it works out for me

Lon

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

It takes a few weeks to get it vs the 2-4 days for delivery for local delivery. Order it when you start building your kit. I got it on Ebay.
Here's a current add for one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Digital-head...item5ad4865bce

If it's defective you'll be out $7 sending it back to China without tracking that's a drawback. The venders are usually okey with returns they don't want there E-bay ratings to be bad.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Glad you're having good luck with it, most people I know that have tried them have gotten what they have paid for.

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

Good name brand Gyros are overpriced, what is the circuit board made of gold for them to cost as much as the whole helicopter does. It's probably high Reasearch and development costs and low volume sales that make them expensive.
There also might be a difference in the cheapies coming out now verses the older chiepies. It's good for beginners to have options so they don't spend a fortune on there first heli.

hobby_man

My Feedback: (8)

the labor in China is next to nothing,

The company I work for has plants in China. Fot the cost of 1 person's annual heath care in the US, We pay for 1 person in China's Annual,

lodgeing
3 meals a day
Transpertation to and from work

Think about that the next time you do not feel like woking while at work.

hobby_man

My Feedback: (8)

PLUS

They (Chineese) let someone else figure it out via R and D and then copy it and mass produce it. With no R and D cost

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

How does it go that in the US when a few things are manufactured there better quality than Oriental manufacturers but when a product is mass produced it's better quality made over there. I think all the radio equipment along with most engines are made there anyway. They can just crank em out. Lets see some more good quality R/C stuff cheaper.

wangchi

where was it made ?mine(gy401)is made in japan    ...i took 750(rmb)to buy it

wangchi

where was it made ?mine(gy401)is made in japan    ...i took 750(rmb)to buy it

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

The Futaba GY401 are made in Japan but cheaper copy Gyro SD-GY08 I think is made in Hong Kong. That's where alot of the discount hobby stuff is coming from. I have three GY401's and this GY08 works just as good I am having alot of fun with this extra parts built Raptor 30. It could also be that there's not alot of money rapped up in it and with less fear in loosing big bucs if it crashes the flying is easier. It's also good to try out the gyro.

blabree

My Feedback: (3)

Im using the 30 dollar 401 knock offs on two different knock off trex 450s(HK), a Raptor 30, a Trex 500 knock off (HK 500) and a Caliber 5. The only heli I have that has a high end gyro is my Freya Evo 90 and that has a Futaba 611 and servo. The only problem with
the cheap gyros was figuring out how to set them up. They all work off of the gear channel with the Rate mode ATV set to around 25, and HH mode ATV set to around 22. Anything above these numbers on my 9303 and 12x produces tail wag. The servo selection switch must
be set to either digital or analog. If you set the switch to digital and use an analog servo, it will run extremely hot if not burn up the servo, but, they tell you this in the instructions. There is also a direction switch. if you are not sure which way it goes it is simple, just get the heli light and see if the tail holds or drifts in rate mode. If it drifts, then reverse the switch. Everyone of mine locked in once that was done. There is a delay potentiometer also, but I just leave it set all the way ccw and forget about it.
A few of these cheapies have been a part of the dying chicken routine, but, none of them was ever the cause of the crash that I could determine as such. Mostly it was me, and one time the raptor 30 went wuff and puff. They all still work too by the way. I cant say that about the cheap pitch and cyclic servos though, they are almost always a loss.
Say what you will about "Chinese" stuff, but, I actually learned to fly helis as a direct result of losing the fear of a 300 dollar crash. It is easier to be bold when it will cost less than a third of that and parts are cheap enough to have healthy supply on hand.
It is easy to preach, "Buy American", but, I wonder how many of us have never been to Wal Mart, Kmart, Big Lots, or the Dollar Store because buying American was an unbendable personal ethic? All I know is that I can get a case of six HK 450s for less that 200.00 and that is one heck of a lot of crashes and parts to fix them.

My 2 cents worth

blabree

NM_Mark

My Feedback: (8)

I have a 401 Knockoff, had it on my Trex 500. It worked well, until the little reverse switch started switching itself by itself. I guess it's something that can happen on a name-brand gyro as well. Sure threw me for a second - I was spooling up, and about to lift off, when all the sudden it started spinning by itself. I looked at it after I shut it down, and noticed the tail blades were going in the wrong direction. And it was the 3rd flight of the day - first 2 flights were fine.

Mark

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

I think all the parts for these are made in the same place. Some of the older knockoffs had problems which gave knockoff Gyro's a bad name but since putting these out the manufacturers are also upgrading and fixing there designes. I would think they'll work even better in the furure as semiconductors get cheaper and contiain more memory. It's not unrealistic to think that a Gyro as good as a Futaba 601 could sell for $50

planepounder

There is a 401 knock off called a Skya JY 401. They are all over ebay for about 40 bucks. I have searched the net and forums and cant find any one with experience with one. Anybody try one? Am building a beater for a club trainer out of spare parts basically and hate to put a 401, or a 520 on a 100 buck heli.

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

Why spend $40 bucks here's one from hobby King that's supposed to be better than the GY401 for under $20 after shiping.
Can't vouch for this one but I have purchased from Hobby King and got good stuff from them.
Check out all the Gyros:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/s...&ParentCat=196

The one at the bottom the new Hobby King 401B is supposed to be the best deal. I might try it they have a 500 class electric heli (clone of Align 500) for $50 with all the accessories it's around $200 - $300 but that might be comparable to a 30 sized glow heli.

All the cheaper Gyro's ship from HK so getting it from a well known dealer like Hobby king might be better.

planepounder

The one thing that the JY401 has going for it is that its sensor is silicone(like the GY401). It might have a prayer of working. Agreeably the gryo you linked to has generally good reviews, but I would love to hear from an RCU user, rather than a website rating. I have a friend that buys from varoius HK dealers and generally he has had very few problems with servos, motors ,batteries, ESC, etc, and he has bought quite a few. But no one I know has "bitten" for an "HK" gyro. The first gyro on the page you linked to is another close 401 clone. Notice though it has a quartz sensor, and by review was barely flyable. I am not saying there is not a good gyro in the many over there, but really which one?

rc-jj

speaking for MYSELF....i have a trex 500 knockoff (EXI) and have a gy401B gyro on it .... my tail holds rock solid!...as a matter of fact i have two of those gyros in use, two gy401, and a gy240. maybe it is that for me this hobby puts big grins on my face simply by hovering a very mild circuits, but i cant tell the difference in any of them ...actually if i were to rank (for me) what holds the best, gy240, then gy401B, then gy401 ...sure you can question the parameters of this sampling due to different serovs etc ...but i am happy with the 20 bucks knockoffs ....

...for me this hobby is not to break the bank - it is just to have fun!

my 2P ....

Basil Yousif

My Feedback: (3)

That's why my Futaba 401's are a little havier than my nockoff GY08. The qurtz in the GY08 is lighter. I still think the GY08 has a faster response time but that could be the servo compatiability. The Futaba GY401 may not have worked well with a cheap servo.
I have a Futaba 401 going into a Raptor 60 with the matched set Futaba Digital servo I'll compare with that setup.
Try one of these cheap gyros I think you'll be surprised. That 401B looks like a good deal.
It would be nice to have someone test these cheaper gyro's and see if they still work after hundreds of flights.

4stripes

I've tried the 29 dollar gyro in my copterX and Hirobo Shuttle. Had very poor results (especially the nitro shuttle) compared to the Futaba 401. They do cost more but with some searching they are readily available for 75 dollars or less. I've found 401 gyros with the proper tail gyro servo locally for $100 total. I've experimented with cheap tail gyro servos and found there is no substitute. You need a fast digital servo or the tail will not hold well with rapid throttle/pitch changes. Save money on the heli (with a clone) but spend some money where it counts (the tail gyro/servo combination). The money spent will be saved in less repairs (not to mention more flying enjoment). The shuttle cheap gyro experiment cost me a minor crash (about $200 in parts!).

helifan06

How about the GY520? they cost the same as GY401...

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Awesome little gyro and minscule, and it works with just about any servo.