#1 Battery run time. I'm getting 3 minuents flight time from my batteries. Are they shot? Best source for replacement batteries? They are charged at .1A.

#2 Fly bar. I broke off one of the end pieces of the stock fly bar. Cut the other end to match. Now I have shorter, lighter fly bar. Good, bad, or doesn't matter? Replace with the shorterbar from an MCX2?

3 minutes is a bit short. It could be that the battery is getting weak, but it could also mean the there is a bit more energy required to make everything work. If the motors strain a bit more than when it was new, perhaps it causes the batteries to last a little less time. You could disassemble, clean and look for any bent parts.

I have bought a few batteries for my MCX and MSR from HobbyKing. The 160mah from Turnigy works fine, but the 138mah from Flightmax didn't work for me. Watch our for shipping cost. Might not be worth it for you unless you need something else.

As far as the flybar goes, as long as the whole thing is balanced, you might have a bit more challenge to control the heli, but it shouldn't cause anything bad to happen.

Recharged and recharged and still only getting 3 minuets. Sooo, I got a couple of 130mAhTenergy's from Boomtown.
Don't want to blow them up or hurt them. My Thunder AC 6 charger will go as low as .1amp at 3.7 volts.
What is the best charge rate for the 130s? [sm=confused.gif]

The way I understand it, is that it is best to charge slower than faster rate to get longer life with the battery. 130mAh is .13amps. Most batteries like 1C charge rate, which is a 1:1 ratio, but many are rated higher, e.g. 2C. This means that your battery could be charged at .13amps if it rated at 1C (normally written on the battery), or .26amps if it is rated at 2C. For you, .1 would be best.

Having said that, I charge my 3S 2,200 at 2.2amps even if it rated at 2C charge rate, and I even use my old CP Pro2 charger which charges at .85amps if I remember correctly. I takes much longer to charge, but I have been using the same batteries for 2 summers. Also, don't store your batteries fully charged for a long time.

That sounds right but the guy at the LHS says .3amp. I think I'll stick with the lower rate unless I hear differt. Why risk blowing them up.
Any other ideas??

I just looked and I have 2 Flightmax 1S 138mah batteries, and both died very shortly after use. They are not recommended for the blades if you look at comments on the HK site. Too many people have had problems with them. A lower charge rate is really important in this case. I do have 3 Turnigy 160mah batteries, and those are same size and much better in my MSR and MCX.

The 130 took an hour to charge at .1 amp. I got 4 minuets flight time.
WHAT'S UP??!!

MORE.
I spoke with Horizion Tech Support. They said if the board and batteries are good and it has no binds, it has to be the motors. They are a year old with lord knows how may hours.
Does this sound like a possibility?

What do you mean, no bind? I thought you had short flight times? Do you have a LHS where you could test your batteries on another heli?

Sorry, I should have been clearer.
I meant mechanical binding. All shafts and moving parts appear to be moving smoothly. A bound shaft etc would account for extra current draw, reducing run time.

The LHS would be the next step but all the batteries show 4 V + on my DVM and the readout on the charger.

On a different heli, I had a hair that got tangled on the shaft causing extra friction. I believe you checked that everything was clean, free of oil, dust and other foreign objects.

Yes, everything looks ok. When the hobby buget allows it, I'll replace the motors. It couldn't. Hurt.