speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Since the mid 1980’s all servo connectors had the same pin orientation except Airtronics. In the ‘90’s they changed to the industry standard. Tooth Dr. is correct that the only thing needed is to trim off the connector tab and the servos will work just fine. The one thing that I highly recommend with Spektrum gear is to use a 6V receiver battery. There were some issues using 4.8V nicad packs that when under load the voltage dropped below the RX operating voltage and the RX had to reboot. The RX itself will handle up to 10V but some servos will not handle more then 5V. Your Futaba S148 servos will be no issue but most of the newer Futaba 3000 series servos are 5V max. My choice is what is referred to as a LiFe 6.6V battery. You could of course go with a 5 cell nicad or nickel metal hydride.The 3000 series servos would need a regulator to step the voltage down to 5V.

Gyros, the description of function that Hydro gave is mostly correct. If the airplane pitches upward it will automatically feed in a down elevator command. Same with roll and yaw. Typically used on the very small UMX models that otherwise would be unflyable. I have owned a couple myself and they were great fun. However the old mechanical gyros are long gone. They are now based on a piezo ceramic crystal that is able to sense the earths magnetic polars and the difference of the magnetic forces at different attitudes. They must go through a short calibration with the model level prior to each flight.

Hydro Junkie

Two things and then I have to get to bed. I have to be up in 4 hours and have stops to make on my way to work, making the drive 99.14KMs to and 75.64KMs back home and costing 15.82 litres at £.78 per or £12.34 for the trip
Getting back to the subject at hand, I knew Airtronics servos were wired differently, didn't know about Spectrum hence the question. I've never been a fan of mixing brands due to issues that existed when I got into the R/C hobby so this is unknown territory for me. As for the gyro, I knew how the mechanical ones worked since mechanical gyros are used in the artificial horizon indicator on full sized aircraft and it was easy to describe. I know Piezos are the norm now but not how they work so, rather than give wrong information, I went with what I knew to be correct and easily understandable. Now, time to find a pillow.
Later guys

PopeyeCharlotte

For what it is worth, I went through the same decision a few months back. I decided on the NX8, and my logic is as follows (my pricing is a few months old):
DX6e, $200, and uses 4 AA batteries. Nice price, but I did not want to mess with the batteries. Adding a 2000 mAH Li Ion battery and charger runs about $55 in parts... so this becomes a $255 radio.
NX6: $310, with a 2000 mAh Li Ion battery, plus a diversity antenna
NX8: $350, same Li Ion battery. Not a whole lot more $ for two more channels. My vote.

Also, the NX6 and -8 have room for the larger 6000 mAH battery, should flight time require the endurance.

Again, my logic might not be correct, and there are many ways to skin the cat. Ultimately I decided I will probably only have one or two transmitters, and decided to go for a more expensive model.

tooth_dr

So I ended up buying the DX6e. Price point was a key factor, but an excellent point was raised by the retailer - that if I get more involved in the hobby I’ll probably buy one with a good few more channels. The 8 channels isn’t really a lot more than the 6, and doesn’t offer me any advantages on my current models, and long term it isn’t the right choice anyway. I had a long chat with the owner and was amazed at his knowledge and willingness to share this all. He had a look through all the kit I had and only sold me as little as I needed to get started. A genuine enthusiast for RC models.

jester_s1

I'd have disagreed with the hobby shop guy, but that's ok. I've never need more than 8 channels in 14 years doing this hobby. The radio is the place to spend your money early on. That way, you don't have to learn a new one and spend your money again.

Hydro Junkie

I would agree with Jester but, as I have already said, do what feels the best to you so, if you're happy with your purchase, it's all good

PopeyeCharlotte

Congrats on the radio! Great to support the local hobby shop. Again, 15 ways to skin the cat - and wishing you smooth (and soon) flights!

tooth_dr

Im in absolutely no position to comment either way! In my limited understanding, all my planes, as they stand, don’t require more than 5 channels to fly so the so the six channel should be more than enough.

If I do continue in the hobby my son or daughters can use this 6 channel and I can upgrade radios. If I decide it’s not for me or I’m happy enough at 6 channels then money saved.

I am very experienced in another hobby and we get newbies all the time asking the equivalent questions I’m asking! Some buy top of the range kit from the outset, some progress from basic to advanced. Personally I started with basic stuff and learnt my way through the hobby, selling off and buying better, and 16 years later I’m still into it and doing the same!

Hydro Junkie

Okay, let me clarify Jester's post. All he is saying is that he feels the guy in the hobby shop, as helpful as he was, should have discussed the advantages of a higher capability radio with you. I know we have already talked about that subject and, while I do agree with Jester's post, not being involved in the talks in the hobby shop, or knowing what you can afford to spend(not that you finances are any of my or anyone else's business or that more capable radios can cost a lot more, this is just a fact of life) makes his post more of a subjective thought than real advice. When I agreed with Jester, I agreed that the hobby shop owner may have sold you a lower capability radio so that you would come in and spend more on a better one later, thus helping him make more money. This is a common practice in retail and, if in the end, you're happy with how it worked out, all is good

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

I agree with Hydro here. You made a selection to fit the airplanes you have now. This will get you flying and then you can play it by ear and buy something with more flexibility if the need arises. Pretty much the same I have done for the past 20 years. In fact I was faced with the same decision lately. I finally broke down and I have a Jeti DS16 carbon on the way. It took a couple deep breaths to hit that purchase button.

tooth_dr

Thanks for all your helps guys. I'm hoping to continuing adding to this thread with updates and hopefully a flight soon.

I was wondering if there is a recommended fuel line size to buy? There are a few options.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Medium size silicon fuel line will work on anything from .10 to 1.40 glow fueled engines. Stay away from the neon colored stuff, it’s junk. For the most part the Dubro light blue tubing works well. The best is the Prather pink tubing but is now only sold in rolls.

tooth_dr

Cheers Speed, does it need clips or wire, or is friction fit ok? Should I used a little inline fuel filter too?
There seems to be some much choice of similar yet different stuff - if is confusing.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

The better quality silicon tubing will hold on just fine without any sort of clamps. I am a huge fan of running a filter as close to the carb as practical. You can then split the line at the tank side of the filter to fill and then just reconnect to the filter after filling. The vent line will go to the fitting on the muffler. I’m getting very basic here just in case.

tooth_dr

Basic is good

Hydro Junkie

Just a thought. You might want to consider getting one or two rolls of medium sized Prather pink tubing. IIRC, it's less expensive that way and you're not limited to the roughly one meter length. I bought a roll of large for my boat(thing is an 11cc nitro guzzler from Hades) after finding out that medium was too small(thing was running extremely lean, so much so it pitted the head and piston), something that taught me the importance of using the correct size tubing. As Speed said, it will stay on the fuel tubes and fittings fine, never have needed any sort of ties or clamps to keep the lines on the tubes.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Not a bad idea, looks like several airplanes that will need tubing so a roll may be the way to go. Kept out of direct light it has no shelf life. Hydro, I’m a bit surprised you had to go to large tubing. My YS 115 engines would suck down 6oz per minute at full throttle with medium tubing. Probably has something to do with the large bore carb and only using pipe pressure?

Hydro Junkie

My boat has 20 ounces(591.5mL) of fuel at full load. I run a 3 minute prerace "milling period" and a 3 to 5 lap race on a roughly .2 mile(.32Km) course. I use 50-55% nitro fuel and, with the milling period and 5 laps, I normally go through 18 ounces(532.3mL) of fuel. What you have to remember is that nitro is an oxidizer, not a fuel. It gives more power and allows me to run a bigger/higher pitched prop. If I were to break down what I'm actually carrying in the tank, I have

• 11 ounces(325.3mL) of nitromethane
• 6.8 ounces(201.1mL) of methyl Alcohol
• 3.2 ounces(94.64mL) of lubricant

Using those numbers, you would think medium would work but only about a third of the volume is fuel. You also have to remember that a smaller fuel line requires more pressure to push the same amount of fuel through as a larger one at lower pressure. Your YS 115 probably had little to no nitro in the fuel and was probably equipped with a fuel pump, something not used with marine engines

init4fun

Hi Hydro, just curiously following along on the sidelines here, but I gotta ask, nitrous oxide or nitromethane?

Hydro Junkie

Per this article, it's nitromethane so I could be wrong:
https://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-glow-fuel.html
Now, I may have gotten the methyl alcohol part wrong as the article says methanol, though I've been under the impression it's two different ways of saying the same thing.
I went back and changed the word in question, have to keep the spectators happy

init4fun

Not looking to be contrary here, but please read the second paragraph in the link you posted.......

Hydro Junkie

Which part are you referring to? I had caught and corrected the nitro part before seeing your last post.

init4fun

Nitromethane, it's all good.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Hydro, with the YS 115 my normal mix was 40% nitro, 20% synthetic oil and 40% methanol. You are however correct that the 115 uses a pressurized fuel system that has the tank at 9 psi. My YS 140 has an actual pump that is driven my the intake pushrod and uses medium fuel line as well. I have however run up to a 1.2 (20cc) 2 stroke glow engine using only muffler pressure with medium tube. I don’t doubt that your 11cc boat requires the larger tubing, only that your situation would be the exception and not the norm.

Hydro Junkie

There is one other difference, Speed. My engine spins at up to 28,000 RPM, roughly 3.5 to 4 times the speed of your engine. It can do so since the prop blade tips will never go supersonic and become ineffective like would happen with an 11-12" prop on a similarly sized aircraft engine.
Enough on the boat. I think we've derailed the thread long enough.

Getting back to aircraft, Doctor, have you had a chance to read through the instructions on your radio yet? I'm a bit curious as to your thoughts on the instructions at this point