Who wants good Retracts?
10-31-2004, 02:46 AM
#26
RE: Who wants good Retracts?
I had a set of hobbico retracts in my cloud dancer. They were rubbish so I changed to the thundertiger ones. These were much better. The only complaint I had was the legs bent easy. I was forever rebending the legs back to position. Make your set bend resistant and I'll buy a set.
However you would be my fav person if you made a good set of rotating retracts for 60 size planes. As far as I see it this is an area that is really lacking in good products.
However you would be my fav person if you made a good set of rotating retracts for 60 size planes. As far as I see it this is an area that is really lacking in good products.
10-31-2004, 05:39 AM
#27
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RE: Who wants good Retracts?
It seems that half the complaints about what's already available have to do with the strut and not the mechanism. Mike what do you use for the strut and how does it attach? It seems that in order to mass produce the gear you have to offer a universal strut that the user can modify. In order to modify it needs to be soft enough to bend and then it turns springy or bendable. If it is hardened so you avoid these problems the consumer won't easily be able to customize it for a particular application. Maybe we can teach everyone to heat treat the strut, HAW!
10-31-2004, 09:48 AM
#28
RE: Who wants good Retracts?
Three good points about retracts have been brought up...
1 - They need a lot of torque to operate
2 - The struts bend.
3 - The struts rotate
1 - If you saw the video, you'll know that mine need minimal torque. As I said before, a STANDARD servo will easily operate both gear (I have done this and it works very well, however I prefer to use a retract servo only for the scale speed)
2 - I'm not going to lie and say my struts never bend. Wire struts bend - Period. However, to help combat the problem, I use 3/16 wire (Instead of the standard 5/32) You can add a coil to the strut - and I have done that on some sets - and it helps a little. So the bottom line is: Yes, they still bend, but not nearly as easily and as often as the others currently out there.
3 - The gear attach by going through a hole in the cam and being held in place with a set screw. By grinding a flat on the wire, they won't rotate.
Now that I have whetted all of your appitites, I'm going to close this thread. I want to thank you all for confirming what I have been thinking all along - that we ALL want better retracts. As of this morning, I am dealing with a manufacturer who is interested in providing you with a better set.
Let's hope this works out for all of us!
1 - They need a lot of torque to operate
2 - The struts bend.
3 - The struts rotate
1 - If you saw the video, you'll know that mine need minimal torque. As I said before, a STANDARD servo will easily operate both gear (I have done this and it works very well, however I prefer to use a retract servo only for the scale speed)
2 - I'm not going to lie and say my struts never bend. Wire struts bend - Period. However, to help combat the problem, I use 3/16 wire (Instead of the standard 5/32) You can add a coil to the strut - and I have done that on some sets - and it helps a little. So the bottom line is: Yes, they still bend, but not nearly as easily and as often as the others currently out there.
3 - The gear attach by going through a hole in the cam and being held in place with a set screw. By grinding a flat on the wire, they won't rotate.
Now that I have whetted all of your appitites, I'm going to close this thread. I want to thank you all for confirming what I have been thinking all along - that we ALL want better retracts. As of this morning, I am dealing with a manufacturer who is interested in providing you with a better set.
Let's hope this works out for all of us!
