Performance information, interesting to me!!!
07-01-2006, 12:20 PM
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Performance information, interesting to me!!!
I connected my buddies Watt's Up meter to my 3D park flyers last night and the info was a bit surprising. I was amazed that my Eflite Ultimate with a HiMax 2812/0650 hovers at about a 5.5-6 amp draw on 3S li-po with an 11x4.7 SF APC prop, this is a 13oz plane with 730mah pack. I knew the performance of my TP 3S 1320mah packs was dropping, but little did I know they are not even close to new output anymore. They have 60-70 flights each and with my Hacker A20-20L motor with an APC 10x4.7 SF prop they peaked at about 15amps and dropped quickly to settle at 8.5amps at full throttle. I then tried my brand new, never flown, TP 3S 910mah pack and it peaked at about 20amps and settled at 19.1amps with the same setup.
I have wanted 1 of these watt meters for a long time and now realize it's a must have to know what you have, and how the equipment is being treated in the air. What a wake up call this device is. I will get 1 soon, but since I have 4 brand new HS55 servos that are all bad out of the box(they jitter constantly) I have to get some new JR servos first, S241's. No more servos for me other than JR and Futaba.
I have wanted 1 of these watt meters for a long time and now realize it's a must have to know what you have, and how the equipment is being treated in the air. What a wake up call this device is. I will get 1 soon, but since I have 4 brand new HS55 servos that are all bad out of the box(they jitter constantly) I have to get some new JR servos first, S241's. No more servos for me other than JR and Futaba.
07-01-2006, 09:29 PM
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RE: Performance information, interesting to me!!!
Chris,
It is eye opening what you can learn with a Watts Up or similiar meter. One of those and an infra-red temp gauge should be standard equipment for any serious electric flyer IMO. I do both static and flying tests on any new bird to determine the current consumption.
Sorry about your bad luck with the Hitec servos. I use the 55's all the time in my park birds. I like the futaba's but the leads are often too short and replacement gear are virtually non-existent. Never tried any JR's yet. Maybe next time...
Gary
It is eye opening what you can learn with a Watts Up or similiar meter. One of those and an infra-red temp gauge should be standard equipment for any serious electric flyer IMO. I do both static and flying tests on any new bird to determine the current consumption.
Sorry about your bad luck with the Hitec servos. I use the 55's all the time in my park birds. I like the futaba's but the leads are often too short and replacement gear are virtually non-existent. Never tried any JR's yet. Maybe next time...
Gary
07-01-2006, 11:28 PM
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RE: Performance information, interesting to me!!!
Another RR guy here as well, hehe.
Yeah that meter is cool. I think it'll be my birthday present to myself, next month. I am trying to come up with a way to safely test my Rex with it. I don't like the idea of strapping helis down though. Any thoughts on checking the Rex?
The same guy, Steve, has an infrared temp gun I use occassionally. Go figure that a year ago he had little interest in R/C models and now has a Rex, 2 Blade CX's, a micro F4U Corsair and a Wing Dragon trainer. 2 of my co-workers in IT are now flying planes and helis since I started there 2 years ago. Steve's wife says we have a disease. I agree and there's no cure, but more time and money helps to keep it in remission sorta.
Yeah I must admit the long leads on the HS55's are very nice. I didn't need any extensions with them and with the JR 241's I'll need 2 3" extensions. I was surprised at my opinion on the HS55's as well. Heck they are a very popular servo. I am really surprised all 4 are bad in the same way since 2 of them came from the LHS and 2 came from stevensaeromodel.com. I'm even debating gettings the JR DS285 digital servos for my Rex and putting the current DS281 servos in it in my new 3D park flyer the Skeeter 30 to replace the 55's.
Yeah that meter is cool. I think it'll be my birthday present to myself, next month. I am trying to come up with a way to safely test my Rex with it. I don't like the idea of strapping helis down though. Any thoughts on checking the Rex?
The same guy, Steve, has an infrared temp gun I use occassionally. Go figure that a year ago he had little interest in R/C models and now has a Rex, 2 Blade CX's, a micro F4U Corsair and a Wing Dragon trainer. 2 of my co-workers in IT are now flying planes and helis since I started there 2 years ago. Steve's wife says we have a disease. I agree and there's no cure, but more time and money helps to keep it in remission sorta.
Yeah I must admit the long leads on the HS55's are very nice. I didn't need any extensions with them and with the JR 241's I'll need 2 3" extensions. I was surprised at my opinion on the HS55's as well. Heck they are a very popular servo. I am really surprised all 4 are bad in the same way since 2 of them came from the LHS and 2 came from stevensaeromodel.com. I'm even debating gettings the JR DS285 digital servos for my Rex and putting the current DS281 servos in it in my new 3D park flyer the Skeeter 30 to replace the 55's.
