evdreamer

Glenn,

I hope the fires didn't cause too much damage.

My computer teacher joked that our next programming project was to create another Watson.

John,

I miss the time after I graduated and had lots of free time. I think it will pay off getting an engineering degree. Being an electronic tech has come to pretty much replacing circuit boards instead of finding the part that is bad. I think I would be pretty board being an electronic tech. Least the fun electronic classes start in the fall.

The 500 looks good.

The cold has returned.[&o] It was 16 degrees this morning. I think I am supposed to get some snow some time this week. [&o]

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

That 500 looks real nice!

Glad it came in, and you didn't have to track it down, now you have a new project to do!

If we have an earthquake, I'll really think we are in CA...lol...I have never seen brush fires like that here that I can remember, very strange indeed...

Nick,

Sorry you have so much to do, and your free time is limited, but it will pay off in the long run...

It's cold here again too, supposed to get 3-5 inches of snow tomorrow...those couple of nice days didn't last long [&o]

That would be quite an assignment, building another Watson, I think it took IBM 4 years from what I read...and that's with a whole team on it!

Hope you can stay warm.

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Sorry for the MIA...didn't want to say it but temps have been in the lower 80's and so have been doing spring yard work stuff. Normally a chore but for some reason this year...not all that bad.

The build is coming to a close...waiting on batteries from HC and I forgot to get the swash level tool for the 600 swash so kinda on hold for that too. []

Glenn,

Scary stuff with that forest fire...was the cause a lightning strike? Glad you don't need much of a runway to take off from if you need to fly.

John,

Great news on your 500 arriving...and it looked like it was packed really well. Have to admit the circumstances do sound a bit shady but glad it worked out for you in the end. Did the 600 also arrive for you? I think whatever the frame material is made from the design of it gives it strength once it is assembled.

Nick,

Sounds like school is in full swing for you...buckle down for the next few years b/c engineering is difficult but pays extremely well. You'll do fine.

Sorry for the cold snap returning to you and Glenn. Only a little while more and spring will be here!

Mark

JPEE

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the props on the 500. My snap shots were at 14 MP so they just take forever

so that doesn't help either.

Just got back from the LHS, I had to return my Micro Heli CNC bottom plate for the 500 as

it wouldn't fit into my frame. After returning it, they said that it was for the older PRE ESP

frames so I just got a plastic one. This time I will do a "Mark" and use zip ties and hope that

is the ticket, he kinda proved it to be cats meow!

Weather.........for here it is horribly cold ! ! Snow all all of the mountain ranges around us. I pity

my natural gas bill this month It dang near freezes every night now. Now they are

forecasting rain for (5) days starting either Friday or Saturday coming.


Mark,

Sounds good on the 550! You'll be ready when those packs arrive and the it will be rock and roll time

Back to the shop to continue on the 500.

John

EDIT: Mark, I have tried the zip ties. Would give a look see and tell me if this is how you attached them.

Thanks

Aframomum

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John,

That is a very clean ziptie job there...well done!

One thing to ponder in the future...if you ever have any issues with the 500 tail being too low for comfort try the landing skids from the 600 and use the skid pipe from the 500 - just wrap a few times with electrical tape where the pipe goes through the skid to take up the excess space and viola...instant tail clearance and the mod looks very decent.

I'll be hitting the shop when I get off from work in a few hours...need to get things moving again on the build.

Sorry for the cold weather everyone seems to be having. []

Mark

JPEE

Mark,

Thanks for the tips. I just wanted to be sure that you did put the ties through the screw holes as pictured.

I have 500 landing gear on my 450 Pro and it keeps the tail in a safe position, you have to with these TT and expensive gears. On the 500 it has not been a problem.

Good deal on hitting the LHS tonight on the way home for more last minute parts.


John

Aframomum

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Hey John,

I didn't go through the frame holes like you did, kinda just went around the side as seen in the picture, but I did go through the hole in the skid. Either way works just fine.

Not hitting the LHS on the way home...they have been closed for several hours now. lol. Going to be hitting the working shop in a bit now that I'm home. Got some soldering to do tonight. BTW, I saw at Lowe's a soldering iron with various removable tips...see picture below...any suggestions what the flat tip would be used for? Reason I'm asking is the kit came with several tips that didn't just have the typical conical shape and I was curious to what they would be used for.

Mark

JPEE

Mark,
Got it on the ties, thanks.

I use the flat tip when I solder my Deans connections on. The other pointed tip (mine is much more longer and pointed) I use on motor and ESC connectors. It works very well when you can stick that tip down inside the motor connectors and fill with solder before you stick the wire in. I also use that long pointed tip when I have to re-solder balance wires back on a battery packs that have come loose for use.

Forgive any errors, this is tough work on my iPhone. Congrats on the iron.

John

evdreamer

Glenn,

Sorry your weather isn't looking good either.

Mark,

The big flat tip is used for stuff the requires a lot of heat. I used that to assemble my A123 packs and the deans connectors like John. I also use it on big parts on a circuit board. The small pointed tip is for small wires and small parts on a circuit board.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Okay, that makes sense on the tips...never really saw them offered before. I usually just use the pointed tip and as John does put it directly down the EC5 connector to heat up the solder and shove the wire in there...tinned already of course.

Mark

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Not much new going on here.

Since we're on the subject of soldering tips, I took a minute to look mine up...I remember nearly falling over in the electronic shop at the price of these babies...the company that makes my soldering station only sells tips in sets of FIVE

I got these for small circuit board stuff;

http://www.pacedirect.com/product.php?id=603

And these for bigger stuff, like EC3's and larger wires;

http://www.pacedirect.com/product.php?id=615

By the time I walked out of the electronic store, with my soldering station and some tips, my wallet was about $220 lighter...[X(]

But, I'll tell ya, I have not regretted it one bit...that soldering station will probably outlast me!

Hope eveyone is having a good week.

Glenn

JPEE

Hey Glenn how are you? It is still butt cold and getting worse here. They are talking snow this weekend down to 1,000 feet CRAP!

Been reviving my 500#1. I got two test hovers but am having issues. The head speed is to low I think? My throttle curve is liner too. The reason I say "I think" is I generally fly in stunt so the head speed is much higher and I am wondering

if I am just imagining the head speed is to low? However, even with the normal curve pushed up 10 across the board I get variations in the rpms as the power goes up and it is not as smooth as it should be, there's a step in there. As the I

raise the throttle to about 60% then there is step in rpms and the then tail jumps but comes back to center. If I do small punch-out's the tail won't hold, but it does re-center. Once I pass that spot she stays smooth the rest of the curve. My

recollection is that this generally occurs when the head speed is to low and the tail can't keep up. None the less the R's just don't seem to be there, and this is the brand new motor too with like three flights until the crash. So I thought next

thinking it might be the ESC as I have seen the cheapos do that stepping before (mine is Align ESC) so I went ahead and switched the one from my 500-2 and still......... the same issues exist at lower hover speed. So tomorrow I am going to

change the main gears and one-way and see if that accounts for the tail pulse as I climb up the rpms. I also may change motors between 500-1 and 2 after the gear and bearing change and test hover. Glenn, its possible might have missed

something but I doubt it. I took this heli DOWN BABY and checked every bearing, re greased them all, new mains and tail blades "balanced" so I am scratching my head. And oh yea, I have rebound the 401 three times too just to CMAss.


My 600-2 should arrive tomorrow. I am excited there! The 600-2 will get the servos and NEU motor from 600-1. I have new 600mm blades here in my parts, the brand new ar7000e rx, and the new used Fatuba 611 with/out servo ready for her.

So I intend taking the tail servo from 600-1 for now until I can find a used replacement.

I am putting my old stock motor back into the 600-1 along with its unharmed 75 amp ESC. Imported FG 600mm blades from China, and its Fatuba Gyro 611. I do need to by "all servos". If I can find a deal used on the "for sale" Forums then I

am good but I might just wind up with some pretty decent HK servos too. Then I will re-use my same ar7000 that was in the heli.


And if that is not enough, I want to finish my 500-2. I have everything to make her fly on hand!

Well that's it here in Cali Land.

JPEE

evdreamer

Glenn,

Yeah, a good soldering station is well worth the money. I use mine all the time. My high school and my last college had POS soldering stations. It was mainly from people not taking care of the tips, so everything was harder to solder and desolder. I ended up just bring my own tips and I was able to work faster than most people there.

John,

Since you seem to be doing a lot of building, do you want to finish building my Velocity. It is still in pieces from my short break from school last year. I hope to finish putting it together during my spring break next month.

I ran into one of my helicopter friend's yesterday. It seems a lot of people at my club are talking about a big divet I left last year when my helicopter crashed.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

I can't remember if you ever got the Heli tachometer app for your iPhone or not, but it actually works pretty well. I have used mine a couple of times, and it seems to be very close according to what a HS chart like at Ready Heli says.

You just gotta be real careful not to land or crash while hovering over/near it..[X(]

Nick,

I had a hard time forking over the cash for the Pace soldering station at the time, but have never looked back. Everytime I use it, I appreciate how well it works. Should last a long, long time, it's definitely industrial grade...

I guess you could say you left a nice impression at your heli field....lol..

Glenn

evdreamer

Guys,

A lot of snow has come done in the past 6 hours.[&o] It is a mess on the roads.

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

More snow...Noooooo!!!! [sm=drowning.gif] [sm=punching.gif] [sm=cry_smile.gif]

Sorry you guys are getting hammered out there Nick...hope it stops so they can get the roads cleaned up.

Maybe a good time to revisit your Velocity aye? I think you should drive up to your field (after the snow is gone) and spray paint "Nick was here" in 'your' divit.

You guys really take your tips seriously. I guess I never really thought too much about them, of course I always dreaded having to solder so you can imagine the difficulty I had when switching over to heli's and having to solder my first deans...arrgh the frustrations! Getting better now, but I don't think I'll be getting a solder station like what you and Glenn have been talking about anytime soon...will stick with my little ole' soldering pen which seems to do the job nicely for my current soldering level.

John,

Congrats on getting all your heli's...and it sounds like your doing much more building then I am. It is very nice to have all your parts on hand for your builds...I am at a complete standstill waiting on the 600 swash leveler to come in...yeah, totally forgot about that little bugger until I got to that part and thought, oh heck. I could eyeball it but why bother doing half aXX just to try and speed up a maiden...not worth it.

Hope things also warm up for you and no snow!

Well guys, I finally got to see the shuttle go up yesterday! I was at work and heard it on the radio so ran outside where there was already a little crowd and looked to where they were pointing and saw it...a little orange flame streaking upwards...and very bright...passing in between the clouds. I tried to get a picture with my phone but it didn't come out really well. And this was the flight that was supposed to go up last November but delayed b/c of the repairs on the external tank. Now 2 more left: April and June. The April one is supposed to be around 7PM...possibly a night launch...will definitely have to take off for that and hopefully no delay.

Just wanted to share...

Mark

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Look what just came in the mail...my motor and ESC cooling fin.

Got plans for this weekend so won't be able to get to it until Sunday night but am really happy to have it finally.

And here is a picture from a friend who had a better view of the shuttle launch (less clouds).

Mark

JPEE

Hello Guys,


As I posted yesterday I can't seem to get the head speed out of the 500 that in my recollection was there before the small hard landing/crash, and now I am sure of it. After having no success in the middle of the day yesterday

I started trying things. First, I took the ESC off 500 #2 and installed just on the side of #1 and spooled her up. Next, I took the motor out of the 500#2 with mount and slipped it in 500 #1. The same thing happened, low head speed.

Then I took the radio curve to 80% at middle stick, now I was getting close but that only tells me there is something inherently wrong somewhere. Then I re-programmed both ESC's and found that both of them were in "standard"

throttle speed but yet the manual says it should be in "high" speed. I tried for hours to no avail. I can change any other setting in the both ESC's except that one?? My noobie buddy is coming over and I will let him try. This is a case

where the noobie is teaching the teacher!


Update:

Since I started this post this morning we tried my two 500 motors and his new/used motor and they all run at the same rpm. So moving on I re-checked my pitch and found it to be far off +. When I changed main gears that let the

main shaft sit in a different place which through off the pitch out. I have since adjusted the pitch and expect I will get more rpms up now so the heli won't lift so fast. He also as I expected showed me where I was making a mistake

in the programming the ESC's, so now they are both where they should be. The last time I tweaked an ESC was two plus years ago! It is pouring here now as the storm has hit, nothing like what Glenn and Nick are going get however.

So next week perhaps I can do a hover and see how she feels after these adjustments.


I found that when I crashed the 600 the mounting tabs broke off of the top of the Fatuba S9256 servo case. So today I visited the LHS and asked if they sold just the top? NO they don't, you have to buy to buy the whole case with CNC

case middle that is a heat sink for the entire servo, guess how much???? $63.00 for an empty case. TRIPLE YIKES!! !! !! A new servo over the counter was like $130.00 so I have placed a WTB ad on the forums to see what I can bring

in from there.


Mark,
How cool to have seen the Shuttle go up, something you can carry to the grave for sure! Sorry to hear about your snow ME NO LIKIE THE SNOW.... Congratulations on the parts shipment! YEA!!!!

Nick,
Sorry to hear it is snowing there so heavy there.... no fun at all I expect. Yes! by all means pack up the Velocity and I'll fix that puppy for ya LMAO. So there is a "On earth crater" known as "Nick's Divot" hey lol.

Glenn,
No I never did downloaded that app for heli tachometer, but today is a good day for it so I am making the move shortly on that. Thanks for telling me that is does work. Looks like you too will be getting your butt kicked in this storm,

they are saying you guys are going to lose your power a lot during this storm too! Please take care, the three of you guys. OH I FORGOT to say, snow is coming down to 1,000 feet here tomorrow and it is to be "the coldest day in ten

years" OH CRAP

That's it from here boys.

JPEE

Hey Guys,

My brand new 100 AMP ESC came in today. I just finished soldering on the Deans connectors and the motor female ends.

She's sweet! This ESC is for my 600-2 when she arrives. The UPS said it was delivered today but when I hit the PO store they

didn't have it. So tomorrow I will take back the note from UPS that shows they did deliver it! and see what they have to say

for themselves.

John

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

Sounds like you may have found your issue with the high/early pitch, that will certainly bring the headspeed down, and lift early.

I've used the Heli Tach on both electric and nitro helis, and it seems to work very well. The first time I tried it was on Justin's Logo 600, and it worked great, and I also used it on the SDX when I first set it up, especially when I had that wobble/wiggle due to low headspeed, the tach helped a lot with that. It takes a bit of getting used to, and it doesn't always work perfectly the first time you use it. But once you get the hang of it, it's really pretty impressive.

Hope you can stay warm. What's the coldest day in 10 years, like 45 degrees?? That would feel like a spring day here and to Nick especially...lol...

Yes, we got clobbered by very high winds again, although this time I lucked out...didn't lose power, but a lot of people did...we lost it temporarily at work, but not for long, not long enough...to leave early...[&o]

The wind has settled down, and tomorrow is supposed to be OK, with a high about 45 or so....it's slowly getting warmer...

Mark,

The new motor and heat sink look nice!

Glad you got a peek at the shuttle at least, and hopefully you'll get a chance to catch that night launch. I have heard that watching a launch is very impressive in person, much more so than just watching on TV.

If you ever do go for the soldering station, I'd like to recommend one...the one I have....very nice, and the price won't kill ya too bad...just the tips...lol..

http://www.amazon.com/Soldering-Stat...8692550&sr=1-1

If you think that's pricey, not really....take a peek at this;

http://www.amazon.com/Pace-MBT-250-S...692952&sr=1-14

Hope you enjoy your weekend.

Nick,

Hope they got the messy roads cleaned up for ya.

I hate the snow and ice here because they put down tons of SALT on the roads, which makes vehicles rust out much faster...not good for my car....nor the cars I eventually have to work on...rust makes my job suck...

Hope you can get started on the Velocity.

I have not touched my helis in weeks, some of them, months...

I have set a date to start on the sim though, March 1st. Then I'll go from there...

Glenn

evdreamer

Mark,

That is cool you saw the shuttle and got your motor and ESC.

John,

That is good you got the new ESC.

Glenn,

That is good you didn't loose power.

The roads are better, but the intersections are still slick. It snowed some more today.

I checked my transmitter a couple of days ago and the battery was dead. I got that charged back up. I also charged my starter battery. I still need to check my receiver batteries.

Nick

JPEE

Hello Boys,

Well, because I am not the type to get embarassed I'll share a little story with you. After I reset my swash height to get my pitch -+ both the same I was ready for a hover in the back yard. We'll I got the 500 all trimmed

out sweet. So there I am ah hovering and I get the bright idea, let's see if idle-up is ok. Now before I hit switch I came down and checked my trims in idle-1 they needed some adjustments to match normal mode which you

have to do on a DX7, they dont carry through like a DX6i, so now I was set. I took the heli out and up and all was well. I flipped the switch the heli shot up a bit and started 360s. Now I am ah dodging wires and trees and

then I see there's no going back. I struggle to no avail, I am dead out of control EVEN though I had come down to normal on the radio. I had no choice as she started out of my yard and over the ally for the neighbors house

and POOL! So I hit the throttle hold and did the best I could for a controlled auto. I was in kind of an auto now and she was coming down in the alley behind the fence so I lost site, try landing blind like that. Well low and

behold I open the gates and go out there and there she sat/laid. Since I rebuilt her I had one pack and now this crash, I might as well give up the hobby for godness sakes. Mark! the ties broke as designed and let the landing

gear pop off the heli clean and pretty as you please. But the best part was the heli was sitting there near straight up but on her belly looked nearly untouched! I scoped her up and found only the main gear had lost two teeth.

Today I replaced the upper main gear and she was ready. BUT first I went in my radio and matched "normal" idle-up 1 and 2 all the same on external sub trims. Then I did my

hover and she is back 100%. Did I go for idle-up 1...... HECK NO! that will come in a big open field. I may have monents of "poor judgment" but "STUPID" I am not!

Oh Glenn I know just what your thinking right now LMAO

That's my story, JPEE

evdreamer

Guys,

I had some spare time, so I worked on my Velocity. I was having a hard time installing my piston sleeve in my Velocity last year, so that was one of the reasons I haven't finished it. Well today I found an easy way to install it. I finished building the engine, I got the engine installed, installed the new fuel lines, and put thread lock on all the screws. Now I just basically have to setup the new servos and it will be flight worthy again.

Nick

JPEE

Nick,

Sounds cool. When the season opens and the shcool work allows you'll be ready

JPEE

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

John,

OMG and taco sauce too...you are one lucky sucker...go get a lottery ticket while your still HOT!

Seriously though, that was some very major luck...sounds like what I did when I first maidened my 500...forgot to set my idle 1 settings to flight settings from setup settings. I don't know how big your yard is but mine is not large enough for me to be comfortable...hence my first hover sessions are done in a BestBuy parking lot during closed times when no one is around. Glad nothing bad happened to heli and neighbors. I've been looking at my landing gear on the 550 and seriously considering doing the ziptie mod again since they really do let go with any type of hard hit and saves a lot of heli expense. Now go get that lottery ticket.

Nick,

Glad Mother Nature helped you get back to working on your Velocity. Isn't it funny how when you revisit something that was giving you issues sometimes it works itself out? Good luck on finishing her up.

Glenn,

Good luck on hitting that sim again...I think the warmer weather will give you that motivational push. Thanks for the link for the soldering stations...if I ever get that serious with soldering I'll keep it in mind but for now I don't do enough for something that serious.

Got a question for you guys...something I missed during my build but saw in the instructions later on...do you guys include the rubber grommets and brass eyepieces for your cyclic servo's? Upon close inspection of the instructions it does appear Align has them included in the drawing. Right now I have the servo's right up against the frame, except for the elevator which has the CF spacer, so is basically against the frame. Any opinions on this...because this is my first heli build where I saw this.

Mark