ok, I bought an electric helicopter at a yard sale for 20 bucks. I've always used nitro and electric cars/trucks but thought what the heck. Turns out its basically a colco thunderbird. I know now they suck but i didnt know. Everything was together but the owner said he unplugged everything once and could never igure out how it goes back together. I've tried just about everything, receiver, esc, gyro but the only power i can get is a small red light when the battery is connected which i think is on the esc. Any quick fixes or should I just buy a 4 in 1 mixer. Please noone say buy a new heli or anything like that.

Hm...if you have the manual (I found one [link=http://www.modeltronic.es/download/helicopteros/ColcoHelp.pdf]here online[/link] for a similar model I believe), page 22 makes some mention of electronics and cable connections. Even on low battery you should be able to get servos moving if everything is connected right. Also, you may want to employ the use of a voltmeter to make sure nothing is burnt out. There are a lot of unknowns here, so it's hard to diagnose, sorry.

Thanks a bunch, I looked everywhere for a diagram like that. Everything is hooked up correctly but still no power to the servos or gyro. Shouldn't there be a green light lit up on the gyro? Its like no power is getting through past the esc.

You mentioned a red light on the "ESC" (the manual makes no mention of LEDs or lights that I could find - very helpful. ) Maybe a red light means that the battery is dead? Just brainstorming. See if you can get your hands on a voltmeter - you can probably check the battery as well as see if there are any breaks in circuitry. Glad I could help with the diagram...I'm not much help otherwise... []

ok, its definately not a low battery and there is power going everywhere (i think) makes no sense

My guess is that the light is for the gyro. Make sure that the throttle (and throttle trim) are all the way down (off) and that the other trims are centered. Plug in the battery and do not move the Tx or heli while you wait to see if the gyro intializes. The light should go from a blinking red to blinking green and finally a steady green.
Also make sure that you're using a good set of name brand batteries in the Tx and that the antenna is (hand) tight and fully extended.
Just my 0.02 worth.

P.S. Don't forget to wear eye protection while operating or working on your RC model.

gyro didnt initialize..heres a picture . I think im just gonna buy one of these. "EFLH1025 E-Flight 4 in 1 Control Unit FM 72MHz with Gyro"