J-MICHAEL

Nick ~

Thanks for the links on the TT and the build videos also ! I also copied your info that you offered for the TT....


Glenn ~

I just got done reading the Trex-Tuning build info and flight report...... Very important... As you read at the bottom they recommend using a seperate BEC, because of them having a lock-out with there Spektrum gear, and having a flight failure in there testing... All the guys at my LHS also run seperate BEC's. They prefer the Castle Creations BEC and so do I. I also can use my Castle USB link for it also... And its cheap... There is no seperate battery pack or anything, its just simply a seperate BEC to help take the load off the ESC... I'am actually going to get another one for my 450 also. In general, it just helps any ESC run cooler, and more effecient for that matter. There is a pic of the one I got. Your LHS should have many to choose from... I hope you read this before you go, as I feel like you should also pick one up...

Here is the quote :



Cheers, and safe driving tomorrow....

~ Jeff

rotarydoc

Jeff,

Thanks for the heads-up on the BEC...sounds like it might be worth looking into, for sure. I sure would hate to see my new 500 drop out of the sky unexpectedly!!!

I'll look into it for sure, and see what the guys at Hobby Hangar say...they seem to be pretty knowledgable...

Thanks for the well wishes on the trip...hope it doesn't rain...but it's supposed to.

Glenn

rotarydoc

Jeff,

Also, I am thinking that it would be very easy to install, since I will be doing the battery/ESC connectors anyways, eh?

Sounds like a good idea...thanks!

Nick,

Thanks for all your help tonight, hope you have a nice day tomorrow despite work and school.

Glenn

J-MICHAEL

Glenn ~

Well I just tested this morning on if my Align pitch gauge would fit and work for the 500 and it does. But barely made it ! It was for my 450 size blades, but the 500's blades do fit, but allow only about 3mm left over for extra space. That's kinda cool, as I can now scratch that from the LHS list. I'll be shooting over to the LHS later today. I'll have to fire up my power supply and warm up the ol' TP charger and burn some dust off of it. The last time I fired up the TP charger was about 7 months ago...LMAO...

I can't believe all the screws in the kit ! along with the washers, and nuts also... I'll be taking my manual with me also, and have all the screws checked for replacement. I'am gonna get them stainless steel also just for that little bit of shine from the screws instead of the dull black look... I'am anal about the little things even... I still can't make up my mind if I should then start building it now, or wait another week for the upgraded parts so that I wouldn't have to disassemble it then again... But I might build it now, as I would love to have pics of it stock as a Trex 500 CF and weighing it also in that form along with other various notes... I then could upgrade and outfit it more and then have those pics, with the weight also weighed in that form. I can't wait to see the weight diffs from the belt parts versus the torque tube parts... I have a feeling the torque tube gear may be heavier than the belt gear... But it doesn't matter, as I'am still going with the TT gear however.

Hmmmm.... No wind right now... Well, a tiddy bit.... I might have to dash the MCX outside for another suicide flight...

I bet you can just smell the ESP right now eh ?! Your probably getting ready to go, or are on your way.... So neat.... What servos were you going to run for cyclic ? It seems most are going the 9650 route by Futaba... I had to go with the Hi-Techs as I needed the MG's for learning and not fond of replacing gears and such...


Have a good one,

~ Jeff

evdreamer

Glenn,

My class was supposed to be 7 hours long, but I got done with my work in 2.5, so I got to leave early. Yeah I can't wait to see some pics of the 500. I know you will probably be working on it all day until it is done.

I just want to add one more thing to Jeff's post about the seperate BEC. Just take the red wire out of the connector on the throttle wire on the ESC or you could fry your electronics.

Jeff,

Your welcome about the links. My E-Flite pitch gauge fits my 600 blades. I am assuming you might have the same pitch gauge.

Nick

evdreamer

I just ordered 10 more cells to make another battery for the 600, a Hyperion charger that can actually charge one of my 5S packs at 10A so it will take 30 minutes total instead of an hour like the TP charger, and a Logictech 2100T gyro for the Gaui since it should deal with temp changes better than the G90.

rotarydoc

Jeff, Nick,

All I can say is WOW!!!! Hobby Hangar is one cool place for a heli pilot to explore! Jeff, it's probably like the shops you and JPEE are used to in CA....but for around here, this place is unbelievable!

Must have a dozen or so helis built and hanging from the ceiling, all way up to T-Rex 700's and Synergy N9's...about 20 or 25 different nitro engines on display, (out of the boxes for examination)...parts walls FILLED with inventory...just EVERYTHING you can imagine for RC helis...must have been at least a dozen Align boxes with various T-Rex helis on the upper shelf!! Man, what a place!!

Well, I went up and picked up the 500...and all went very smoothly and well. Even got a $31 gift certificate with it, which basially knocked the tax off...so I ended up paying an even $620 for it...

I went ahead with the GY401...they said it would be great for this heli. I ended up meeting all 3 heli guys there, and all three own and fly 500's...so I figured they have some pretty good advice between them all...so here's the scoop;

I came in asking for the 3500G...and they said that it would work fine, but that it's overkill with the GY401...they said something about frequency or something that would not be of any benefit with the GY401...he said to get it if I planned a gyro upgrade, but if not, just save about $25 and go with the 9257...so I followed their advice...

I'll pick up next post...

Glenn

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Let me pick up...so I went with the Futaba servo, and saved a few bucks...plus, there will be no doubt that it will work with the GY401. I think that the 3500G works to it's fullest advantage with the JR 770...which they didn't have in stock anyways.

On to the screws...I talked to them, and they said that it is way exaggerated on the stripping of the screws...they basically said that if you don't torque them down like a gorilla or something, they are fine. It still couldn't hurt to have the stainless, and I may very well upgrade later on.

On the BEC...none of the 3 are using one, and feel no need to use one. They said that there were issues with a small number of them at first, with the early versions, but they have never experienced any problems at all. That was good enough for me...although, I will say that I will agree that is is probably really good insurance, so I am not ruling it out in the long run...

So, in addtion to the heli, I came home with one bottle each of the green and blue loctite, (can never have too much, plus they say that the kit supplied blue is trash) the GY401, the 9257, a bag of extra hardware, a voltage regulator to bring down the tail servo voltage, and some really cool Align drivers...including one with interchangable phillips and 1.5mm bits...cool stuff! I also got some jesus bolts for the B400, since my LHS basically sucks.

The trip itself wasn't bad, nice weather, no traffic jams...and about an hour each way...heck I spent most of my time (over an hour) talking to the heli guys.... a REALLY cool bunch of guys...

I was gonna test fly the B400 before it got dark, but the horse track just let out, people everywhere...I'll set aside some time from the build tomorrow to fly.

Glenn

rotarydoc

Nick, Jeff,

Nick...cool on the additional batteries and charger...you will be well set up for sure!!! Also cool on the Logictech gyro on the Gaui too!

Jeff... The ESP comes with cyclics...Align DS510's....almost identical specs to the Futaba 9650's....but no metal gears...we checked and made sure at the shop...they are plastic.

I also asked them for some less expensive blades to start out with...and they normally have fiberglass ones, but were out... I can't believe that the stock CF blades are $70!!! Now THAT is a good reason not to crash!!

You guys know of any sources of less expensive blades...I have not checked yet, as it's not a priority right now...but it probably will be before long..LOL!

Nate (one of the guys) said that the Eflite 2100's would be struggling to keep up with this heli, and expect them to get hot...and look for about 4 minute flights...

One other note...they don't care for Dean's connectors...they like this other brand that used to be called "Sermos"...I used to use them on my RC cars...good connectors, and not as difficult to work with. Just another idea to toss around...

They did, however, like EC3 connectors, Jeff. I like them also, but two of the guys had conficting opinions (don't we all??!!) about the resistance values on EC3's vs. Deans...

Glenn

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Anyways, to sum it all up, it was a great experience! The staff there at Hobby Hangar made all the difference. Not only did they answer my questions, they did so in depth, and with enthusiasm...something missing in most of my past LHS expereiences!! And, it was just fun hanging out with them...I sure wish that place was closer!!

They also all agreed that I would absolutey LOVE the 500....and all but guaranteed that the B400s will collect dust...LOL!!

On the other hand, Nate agreed that I should keep the 400's around to practice with, and not worry about crashing...and then use the 500 to FLY....and not experiment with... sounds like good advice to me!

So, it's been a very interesting and educational day so far...now onto the build...

I'll keep you guys updated... don't worry!! LMAO!!

Glenn

rotarydoc

Hey guys...

Almost forgot the pics...LOL

Glenn

rotarydoc

Guys,

Man, this canopy looks so nice I don't even want to put a scratch on it...much less CRASH with it...LOL!!

Jeff....stop drooling...LMAO...I know you hate the stock canopy and were looking for one of these...

Glenn

rotarydoc

Jeff...

Alright, it's time...got all the parts bags spread out and ready???? LMAO!!

We could have a Saturday night T-Rex 500 build marathon...LOL!

Ready when you are...!!!

All I've done so far is open the box, and glance (drool all over) everything...

These kits are expensive, but you definately get your money's worth, all the stuff looks like excellent quality...

I'm gonna start my build in a bit, got some loose ends around here to tie up first...

Talk to you guys a bit later on ....

Glenn

J-MICHAEL

Glenn ~

So sweet....! This is the day you've been waiting for since you probably started flying !... I just walked in the door, but I'll keep updated on the posts here... I got a few things to do around the house for a bit... I agree with the stock fasteners... I looked at the place that I thought would have them, but they didn't have small enough ones down to M2's like most are in the kit... They did have M3's however so I did get those... And some cool magnetic tape stuff...LOL... I like the doo-dad type stuff...LMAO...

Funny on the Ec3's and the Deans...LOL... I know, I love the EC3's way better, but I'll try the Deans for a bit and see... My dad run's the EC3's on his 600 and has had no prob when he did run it with them... One time last year, I had to quickly disconnect my heli and thank-goodness I had the EC3's on because if I had the Deans on they are a pain to pull apart, and I bet I wouldn't have been able to disconnect the heli in time... I remember last year trying the Deans on my 450, and I could HARDLY pull them apart ! What a joke huh ?! LMAO....

That's interesting about the BEC... I'am still going to run the CC anyway... It will just provide the esc more relief, and run cooler anyway...

Yeah I told ya those canopy's are sweet ! Don't crash it, because I have no idea where to order one at ! YIKES.... That will be the first thing next Friday that I will be ordering for sure...LOL...

Glad ya had a safe trip also... Nice today here.... Absolutely no wind.

I got my Deans banana plug w/Deans connector for my charger to charge the TP batts for the 500... I also heard that running two 3-cells in series wasn't the greatest, but it will get ya by for now huh ? I would do the same at least... At least then when you do upgrade to better batts you'll see a difference and such...

Check out Helidirect for CF blades for the 500...Anywhere from $30.00-$49.00... Look under the 500 parts for them. Also under blades in general...

Oh.... Crap.... Besides the connectors I got at the LHS I also did get the Torque-Tube kit ! Its sweet... And only $69.00 compared to other places on-line like Heli-Direct which they are $80.00... I still have to pull it out of the box still.... Just got home and all... I like new metal, so I'll be grazing my fingers over the CNC tail for the TT kit....LMAO...

You'll love the Futaba 9257... I have it on my tail of the Trex 450... And remember for 8 months I also ran the Futaba 9254... I'll tell ya this... I couldn't tell a difference at all between the two... But I also don't do 3-D though....I thought I read somewhere before like I said of the JR servo with the GY401, but couldn't remeber why the reasoning was... Now it makes more sense... Good info...

Alright I gotta go eat, I'll catch up with ya guys later but I'll keep snooping here to keep up with any posts...


Nick ~

Nice choice on the Hyperion charger... I hear good things about them... Pretty soon your gonna have a whole buttload of chargers laying around like me...LMAO...Oh well... The more the merrier I suppose... Plus good deal on getting another pack built...



Cheers,

~ Jeff

J-MICHAEL

Glenn ~

I have a few tools for the hex heads laying around here but I found this one to fit perfect for the fasteners on the 500... I also heard the Align tools fit perfect, and the Maverick line of tools also... You won't have a problem with the Align tools ya got... Everyone says ya won't strip them with the right tools...

Not sure if I'll be starting my build yet... I think I may wait until after Fridays order for some upgraded parts that I have listed out to get still for the 500... Then I can just do it all in one shot... But I'll be tuned in 100% during your build however.... I plan on dumping another $400.00 into it, and calling it good for this heli... I was looking at maybe something else then to build since this one will be complete. Winter time is good for this since ya can't fly as much...


~ Jeff

J-MICHAEL

Glenn ~

I just verified for you that on the Trex 500 the belt conversion and the torque tube conversion use the same tail boom... So when ya order a CF boom or another boom it will work for either running the belt or the TT.... Alright, your distracting me mister...LMAO... Gotta go do a few things now....LOL... Yeah right huh ?! LOL...

I'am so excited ya got a 500 now ! Now I have someone that I know to share experiences or problems with....Whew...Thanks ! So awesome... I'am gonna make some coffee now, I'll be back later....

Its cool we'll be both trying out these Torque tube thingy's together...And Nick also, but at least he has some experience already... We'll just lean on him for help if need be....


~ Jeff

JPEE

Hey Glenn, who said you have to die first! before your in Heaven. Heaven is a Saturday with a new T-REX 500 to build

rotarydoc

Jeff,

Yeah, I am really looking forward to the build, it will probably be very fun for me, since I've never done it before. Thanks for the input on the blades, I should probably order some tomorrow, so they'll be here for next weekend...I am certain at this point that I will not be doing any hover testing or any flight with it until next weekend...I just hate to trash some nice CF $70 blades right off the bat in case of something stupid like a tip over or something mechanical going wrong on the first few flights.

I will probably join you on the BEC next year, when the weather gets hot...as you said, to take some of the load off of the ESC...most of my flights this year will probably be in the 50 degree range or lower...BRRRR....LOL

Thanks for the input on the 9257...I am sure it will work out great...can hardly go wrong with Futaba stuff...

That is awesome on the TT...I know you really wanted it...I did some research on the tail heaviness issue with 3S x2 pack setup at Hobby Hangar as well....and they don't seem to think it will turn out tail heavy. But Nate said if it does, just move the ESC from the side of the frame, to the bottom of the battery tray....not a bad idea!

I won't go there with the feel of new metal....but I am the same way!!! LMAO!!! I love all precision machining, and metal parts, bearings, anything small and precise is neat...it's amazing, for example, to look at the tiny bearings and motors they make nowdays...

Thanks on the trip...the GPS did OK...and just OK...it was off about a 1/10 of a mile on one street, missed it and had to turn around...and it missed an exit on the interstate too...but redirected me right away...great technology, but not perfect yet...

Gotta go....be back in a bit..

Glenn

rotarydoc

JPEE...

LMAO....yeah, I'll be in heaven tonight for sure!!! Can't wait to get started....if I'd ever leave the keyboard alone, I might get something done!! But, half the fun is sharing it with you guys!!!

Looks like I'll be the guinea pig on the 500 build...but that makes it all the more fun!! Until, at least JPEE gets his...HINT, HINT, HINT....LOL!!

I should be all set to start in a little bit...

I really hestiated to buy this heli....but I think I'm gonna be glad I did!! You only go around once!!!

Glenn

J-MICHAEL

JPEE ~

PLEASE GO GET ONE.......!... At least for yourself for Christmas... That would be really neat as then we can all swap lies and all....


Glenn ~

Well..... While the coffee is brewing, I just realized your gonna make it VERY HARD not to build this 500...LMAO... I may have to maybe tinker just a little perhaps...LOL...

I could start, but I can never get off RCU....LMAO ! No just kidding, but one of the pieces I was going to order that was on the list was the MicroHeli CNC bottom bracket, that rests under the two frames and supports the two frames... It is only heavier by a couple of grams, but my intentions was to maybe help lower the CG for even more stability while I'am learning with it, so I can't even put the frames together yet... Otherwise, all the other CNC and CF pieces I was going to order, would just be a simple swap...

I'll tell ya really quick by looking at all the belt components for the 500 CF, and then looking at all the torque-tube gear from that kit, and without weighing them all still, I can tell the TT conversion is heavier than running the belt gear... I'll weigh all this stuff in time though for my records on the 500... I weigh every piece of any heli I have just for accurate records along with an endless amount of other stuff I keep track of....LOL... I love tinkering and working on these things more than flying, I'll tell ya ! But that could change once the 500 hits the air... Doesn't are 450's seem small now ?!


Have a good one, BTW.... Good thing I copy and paste my messages ! It just did the error message for me... 3 seconds later, just go back and paste...Heh...

~ Jeff

rotarydoc

JPEE,

I know you and I have changed our share of feathering shafts...so we know what they look like...take a look at the 500's shaft...LOL!

Glenn

rotarydoc

Jeff,

Do you have any upgrade planned for the head? Maybe you could build that at least, and it would be done, and you could set it aside for now....?

Man, the feathering shaft on this thing is MASSIVE compared to a B400...LOL...see the pic I posted for JPEE...

Yeah JPEE...time for a bigger, easier to see, more wind resistant, more STABLE heli....LOL...OK....I'll leave ya alone now...

Glenn

J-MICHAEL

Glenn ~

Yeah there is still a few pieces that are plastic that need replaced with CNC to eliminate slop in the future... I think the ESP version has that covered, but not sure if all...

Yeah huh ! Those spindles are huge ! Notice it is almost the same diameter as our 450's main shaft....YIKES...

Alright......... I'am totally being distracted right now... Talk with ya later..... (Or in a few minutes ?!...LOL...)


~ Jeff

rotarydoc

Jeff,

Here's step one...assembling the upper head...mine came all assembled, but everything was just loosely assembled, with no loctite. Even the linkage balls were loose, so be careful.

Yeah, all metal here...no upgrades needed...

I'll post as I go along, but not unless anything important comes along...

Glenn

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

I can't get over how BIG everything is compared to the B400...

When I was talking to the guys at the hobby shop, a guy walked in with a B400...and after I had been looking at the 500's, the Blade looked so small...LOL..and it used to look BIG to me!

Building this is FUN!! Wonder if there is a way to make a living doing this?....LMAO!!!

Glenn