matty_p80

Jets dood

Vauxhall make Vauxhall, as correctly pointed out by Takeshi san, it is sister company to Opel and a lot of the cars are the same but under different labels to allow for different countries (don't know how it works but there ya goes!?!)!

my Vectra is a '96 1.8 in red [link=http://www.911radar.co.uk/.../vauxhall_vectra_400.jpg]here is an example![/link] in it's day it was a very popular rep. car along with the Ford Mondeo (Taurus)!! mine has apparently been rep.'d to death but it was all i could afford and was available at the time i needed it! looking back it was a very foolish buy but i didn't have the choice at the time! there is lots wrong with it but igotta find a job before i start thinking about even doing it up for selling, not going to get anywhere near the amount i've already spent on it back!!

ho hum! will be spending probably the whole day tomorrow getting the car back in one piece and if the engine light is still on after all that, i'll scream!!!!!!

be good peeps

Matty )

matty_p80

greetings peeps!

sort of happy but sort of grumpy!

was an absolutely fantastically gorgeous day today, lots of sunshine (little cool still), blue sky and very slight little breeze!

first thing i got the car sorted and back up and running, phew! only took nigh on two weeks but got there in the end!!! so that nasty annoying orange light has disappeared from the dash!

next on the agenda was to make the most of such a beautiful day - go flying!!!!

when i went on monday the batteries were behaving a bit oddly, i.e. they all only lasted a couple of minutes before the heli visibly lost power then the low power cut off looked like it was kicking in! it would then spool up as normal then cut out as power/collective was applied! i put this possibly down to the fact i hadn't topped off any of the packs before i flew having had them sat around for quite a while! to also put my mind at ease about it not being the new charger aswell, i charged them all on the E-Flite charger!

today they all did pretty much the same thing! all but one (the E-Sky 2100mAh) lasted only 4 minutes and the other 5 minutes! (that was still 21 minutes total flying time ) upon examination at home, i put the little LiPo checker i got from HK on all the packs! not one was below 11.1 V, some were even near the max 12.6 V and none of the cells were below 3.1 V!! i was only hovering, not even doing any FFF!

i charged the new 'Outlander' first on the LiPro PLUS 8 and it only accepted 00090 mA before it was full! and each subsequent pack i've charged will only accept a minimal amount of milliamps!

any one got any ideas?

my initial thoughts were the packs are doing something by being too high a voltage (12.6V instead of 11.1V) but that is within limits for the charging of LiPo's!!!??

also my train of thought goes to the gyro, the only thing i've changed on the heli! would it need a step down/up to compensate? my thoughts are it's demanding too much power somehow but the packs aren't draining?????

again, any thoughts would be appreciated as always

but it was ooooooooohh so good to be airborne! i just luuuurve it

hope all is well and right with everyone!

Matty )

TakeshiSkunk

Horizon sure is taking their time with this shipping label. It's been over a week since I sent in the request form, sent another email about it yesterday and received a response that said my form had been received and nothing else wait wait wait

Matty: Sorry to hear about the battery issue, I hope someone can help you get that sorted. It'd suck if you had to buy all new batteries x.x

jets0456

dooley,if you get time in the next day or two id like to know if the fuel line in my tank could be my problem,,,the electronics are going in my heli very nicely and im gonna want to fire it up soon,,,,

chris6414

My Feedback: (10)

Greetings all. How is my favorite bunch of RCers? Well, I have a rookie question for ya. I have been chasing an intermittant hit for over a year. So intermittant that it wouldn't warrant stopping flying. Yesterday my Hawk had a multi channel minor hit up close just hovering and sitting right in front of me on the deck. Thought the engine bearings. Stopped the motor, sat for 5 minutes, twitches still there. Radio within 5ft laying on the deck with the antenna up. Turned off the transmitter to see if it was the BEC(Switching) or an enviromental cause. Not one twitch for more than 5 minutes. Turned the tranmitter back on, 4 misc twitches in a 5 minute time frame. One was pretty large that would have been the "ghost jump" I have been seeing in the sky and always in the 1200-3:00 sector at about 60-150 yards with relation to me. When I did a range check I could get about 50-70 ft before the servos start spazzing. The book says 100ft. It did it with a NICAD for receiver power as well.

Setup:
Futaba 7C Transmitter, NICAD power( Voltage was at about 9.8 when hits occured). Don't know much about history as I am the second owner.

R127DF Receiver, never crashed. HK Switching BEC with 3600 MAH LiPo, with full length ant routed away from any carbon and at least 5 inches from BEC. Receiver was originally on CH36 and I have changed with CH46(same band) Whip ant made it worse. This receiver was also in a Cub with it's original transmitter on ch 36 and I don't recall any issues with it.

Futaba 3004s all around except for the rudder which is running a JR810G

Futaba G154 Mech Gyro, Smooth bearings and quiet running.

This problem only exists with the transmitter on. Bird does nothing with it off and receiver just listening.
Noisy transmitter with weak Modulator? I am the second owner of this radio and it was run "Illegally" prior to me on Ch 48. I installed the correct set of matching Futaba crystals when I received.

I would think that if it was the BEC or the gyro it would do it with the transmitter off. I may just send them both to Futaba and have them checked out and matched. Thanks for any insight guys and gals. I am going to do more range testing today to see how close to 100ft I can get.

rcmiket

How old is the Transmitter? Have you had the issue since you switched frequencies? Although I have never done it some of the radio experts recommend sending system in very few years for "tuning". While sitting the receiver is acting normal but when running vibration might be causing a issue (something loose) inside. Some guys tap on the receiver or devise some sort of device to create vibration (dremel on low speed against the receiver case). One things for sure its not getting better and just when do you decide when the system is unsafe? If you can afford it maybe its time for a upgrade. Hope this helps.
Mike

Mack66

Jets,

Recently my heli started "running lean" sporadically. We disassembled the fuel tank and found that the internal line had decomposed and began leaking air. We replaced it and checked both the filter and clunk for obstructions (but found none). That fixed the problem. The fuel line easily cracked when we bent it, so it was way overdue for replacement.

Considering the cost or tubing, do it now if there's any doubt.

Mack

chris6414

My Feedback: (10)

It does it even when the engine is not running. I would say the radio is at least 5 years old. I discovered a bad antenna and going to see if I can duplicate it today. Keep you posted. No, an upgrade is not in funding right now.

dooleyje

Jets, make suremthat the line in the tank is secure and that the cluck will be covered with fuel. If the line is old replace it. I do mine every season. Make sure that there are no airleacks in your fuel system. I use header tanks on my nitros. I always check to see if the muffler pressure nipple is not clogged up so the system has plenty of pressure. What problems are you having ...if any?

Chris 6414 Hey there stranger,, Glad to hear from you. Sometimes the heli switch get corroded, pull it and look at the contacts. same with transmitter. You are using an FM receiver so any bearingnoise can glitch you. Your one way is a place I would look also.. Pull the receiver and a servo out with your on board power system to eliminate the heli. Tap on the crystals to see if it jumps. Most Futabas I have owned will have about 75-100 ft range with the ant down on the transmitter so 75ft is fine. I suspect corrosion or loose electrical connection. Also what was the transmitter org channel.? You have to be sure you are replacing crysal sets in lower or upper band correctly or the radio will be out on tune. I think 30 and below is lower and 31 above is upper. You can not run lower set in an original upper tuned radio.

Jim

chris6414

My Feedback: (10)

Hey Jim, I think I got her figured out today. I found a bad transmitter antenna. The clips let go about half way up that hold each section in and were rattling around in the antenna. I also think the lower voltage in the transmitter might have something to do with the decreased range on range check. I charged her up, put on the new antenna and measured out 100 ft and sure enough not a peep out of her way out past I would say, 120-140 and I still had control. I would have kept going but I ran out of room just to see where I could push it too. This winter I went ahead and changed the tank plug, clunk and tubing as well as the glow plug. I also changed out the receiver switch for good measure and installed the LiPo and regulator. What was stumping me was it would only do it with the transmitter on, even with the motor off, and nothing spinning other than the gyro. Turn off the transmitter and not a peep so that pretty much eliminated anything that spins. I was reading about 10.8 volts on the transmitter today and it definately improved the range check. At 9.7-9.8 all I could muster was 50-70 Ft before the servos would start jumping. I think it's time for the LiPo/diode install in the transmitter. The transmitter is running on ch 46 , which is what it came from Futaba on. and the receiver crystal swappwas in the upper band so I was good there. I just think to get reall good range with the antenna down you need to have good voltage. Get near the capacity of the NiCad pack , and she gets a little weak. Come to think of it most of the intermittant littel hits would come on about the second or third tank of the day. Ya learn something new every day. Thanks guys. Here are some pics of my new scale 450. She flies nice.

Chris

jets0456

thanks mack and dooley, i was planning on replacing all the fuel lines anyway,i was just wondering if thats what was causing my problem,since mack had a similar problem thats probably what it is,ill definetly check the muffler tube hole for a clog also,dooley or anyone else,i know what header tanks are but im not familiar with where to put one or how to run the fuel lines,and also just what exactly is a header tank for ? im gonna be learning to hover soon,isnt a header tank for upside down stuff and 3d stuff ? does a beginner need a header tank ? looks like flyachopper and that cajongirl have dissapeared on us doesnt it ??

Mack66

Last I heard, Jay and Donica were riding off into the sunset on his Harley. Hope they're okay out there in Phoenix...

Mack

flyachopper1

Not invisible, just busy having fun and working in Phoenix,
Been away for a bit but we are fine and having a lot of interesting times here in Aridzona. They are working Donica like a slave here. Long hours and trying their best to take away her days off too. She finally put her foot down Sunday and told them to not expect her to give up that day too. Part of the reason is the extreme workload of the ER. We are finding in our roamings that there is a lot of gang activity here and some of the city areas are like war zones. The ER fills up every evening with casualties. It is kind of a sad situation here. One can hardly wander about without running into lots of "toughs" trying to harass people. I have been put into the position of having to stand nose to nose with several "characters" because of having a good looking, Hispanic appearing lady with me. It is difficult to go to the malls, restraunts, bars, etc. with out running into those types. They seem to think that an olive skinned lady should not be "hanging with" a "white boy". We even had a bit of a "discussion" at a park where we went to fly. We had met up there with several of the bike people we have met to have a lunch and show off our helis some. A group of about nine with their pants hanging below their butt cracks and their attitudes on high interrupted our fun in a very unpolite manner. We were a group of twelve bikers and they didn't seem to care that they were out numbered, outclassed, and, quite honestly, physically way out of their range. There was a lot more beef in the bikers than the punks. They still thought they owned the neighborhood and could be as obnoxious as possible. The local bikers tell us this happens constantly here and often leads to some fist to face discussions. We managed to at least scare them back to a distance but still had to hear all the profanities and threats. Donica tried to fly her heli some only to have cans and other bits of junk thrown at it. After listening to the lewd comments made about her and the attempts to hit her heli with something I was up and on my way to do some attitude adjustment when one of the big bikers came up next to me and walked with me. Our plan was to pick out the two biggest of the punks and have a little "discussion" on manners and common sense. The gangsters then moved off apparently not so gutsy when not dealing with someone afraid of them. Between the hospital here thinking Donica is going to spend every moment there and the inability to go out in public peacefully I think she has decided to tell her company she doesn't want this territory and wants to go back to the peaceful southern states she had before. She is committed to finishing out the two weeks here and two weeks in Las Cruces, New Mexico next and has told her company she wants assignments back in her old stomping ground after that. They wanted her to go to Reno, Nevada after Las Cruces but they are in the process of finding someone else to cover that job. She is a senior employee of the company and has been with them a long time, so they are being very cooperative and promise to get her back to her old territory.

It is sad. Phoenix is a beautiful city and could offer a lot of great fun. But, the gangs and drug dealers have taken the city away from everyone else, the police have more or less given up and it is not a good place to be. Just my view from our experiences here. I have not meant to offend anyone knowing Phoenix in a different way. It has been an adventure for sure and not wasted time.

We have managed to find some secluded spots to fly and have been doing a lot of that. Donicas T Rex is performing perfectly and she is getting better and better by leaps and bounds. She even managed a couple of rolls. Although kind of jerky she got the heli to roll over and into a hover very well. The first one was a bit too fast due to some nerves and the heli nearly touched the ground because she over shot some and stopped the roll while the heli was a bit on its side. She got it back upright though and plunked it down safely. She took a break then and calmed down. I am proud of her courage and knack in this hobby. She plans to learn inverted soon on the sim and be doing that with her 450 asap.

My 450 has developed a one way bearing problem and I will be replacing that tonight. I am seeing some wear on the maingear too and will troubleshoot the cause of that. That gear has a lot of flying time on it though and may be it is just wearing out. I have spares.

The 500 is still being my favorite bird. I cannot seem to get enough of that one. It is so much more stable and cooperative than the 450. It lacks nothing in the power department and flies like a dream. Much easier to see at distance too.

Header tanks are installed between the main tank and carb. They stay full of fuel until the main tank empties and keep a steady flow to the carb even when foaming occurs in the main tank. The foaming is a common thing with helis and can cause air to get into the fuel lines during hard maneuvers. The foaming in the main tank exposes the clunk to air. The air will be trapped in the header tank not reaching the carb. Plus, a header tank allows a few more ounces of fuel capacity allowing longer flight times and acting as a reserve when, as we all do, fly a little too long. This reserve will get you back to earth safely. It is true the header tank idea came about for better 3D flying, but is a good idea on any nitro heli. Even some airplane pilots are installing them now because of the added security they provide for smooth fuel flow and reserve capacity.

Seems I have written a book again. Hope I am caught up now. Best go do some phoning for reservations so I can give my tired beauty a nice dinner experience this evening. We will be having a nice steak and lobster dinner at a very classy, quiet place.

She sends her love and a smile to all of you.

See you later me friends.

rcmiket

Hey if the Cruces thing happens let me know just down the road from El Paso. There's a few nice places to fly around the area. I can promise that you won't find that type of issues around here.
Mike

TakeshiSkunk

50 degrees outside today!! Just hovered out a pack in the back yard and I'm gonna keep flying until it gets dark

Why is it so much harder to fly this thing in real life than in the sim (maybe it's the training gear?) I brought it around to my side and was afraid it was getting away from me! Scared the hell outta me but I straightened it all out. Did a bit of side in hovering, I wanted to do the tail in circle but I was worried about running into my house haha


Edit: Ugh full charge on one pack wouldn't lift off at 3/4 stick. I hope that it isn't completely shot :/

dooleyje

Look back several pages where I posted some pictures of my EVO. You will see my header tank.

Jim

Mack66

Skunk,
High fives! Glad to hear you got out of winter jail finally. Yep, the real deal has far more pucker factor than the sim. That's cuz misteaks cost you much more all you gotta do on the sim is hit the red button and you're back in the air. The real deal takes a "bit longer."

When you get enough space, you'll find the tail-in thing a useful drill. I'm still doing it, and waiting for a less windy day to start circling in side-in orientation, which means forward flight around me. It was really windy yesterday (10mph, gusting to 20), so did it with the heli quartering toward the flight path and that wasn't too bad. To me biggest challenge is reading orientation right in side presentation.

Keep flying!

Mike,
I agree with you. Las Cruces strikes me as a sleepy town with lots of respectful hard working folks living there. Should be a lift for Donica and Jay.

Donica and Jay,
Hang in there. There are a lot of bad people in this world, and when they get concentrated in one place like that they wreck all the fun for everyone. Just grit your teeth and refrain from doing what I would likely do in that situation. I always leave in those situations because I know what I'd do if I didn't. My friends come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and languages. And I'm not afraid to be seen with them anywhere anytime. If others don't like what they see, well too bad eh?

Sorry to hear Phoenix has turned into an urban jungle. But that's not your problem to solve, so get outta there as soon as y'all can and come back to the South. We miss you! LOL


Mack

TakeshiSkunk

Did some more side in, decided to man up and do the tail in circles. It went fine even though I had to go right through the sun being in my eyes :P I just started doing them about 270 degrees and then changing direction and going the other way when I got close to the sun. No problems, fun little drill Got in some more side in hovering without too much drama. Getting into the habit of autorotating from a pretty low altitude to make nice smooth landings like I do on the sim. Feels about the same, is there any reason I shouldn't be doing this?

Broke into a tiny amount of forward flight and made a coordinated turn, stopped it real quick after that because I know I'm not supposed to do any forward flight with the training gear on >>;;

I feel like I'd be ok cuttin em off but I really don't want to get overconfident.

Edit: Pack that was acting up finished balancing and I got in one last flight! Did several circles around myself, going right is a lot harder for me.

Aside from that did a lot of side in hovering and actually spent about a third of the pack hovering nose in

matty_p80

Takeshi,

thanks, as it is happening with every battery and they all have loads of charge i'm leaning more to a problem on the heli itself! i can't imagine it being the motor as it really hasn't had that hard a life but it's just strange the way it was running fine then the power just dropped off with loads of capacity left in the packs!!?

J & D,

sorry to hear about your run in! it's unfortunate but sadly they are out there wherever one may travel! i'm like Mack and will walk away, knowing that i am ultimately superior intellectually to any lowlife that wants to create trouble! i know that sometimes it is not always possible and you have to face up to these morons, who more often than not, don't know what to do with someone who's not afraid, like the ones you encountered!! glad you're both okay and making the most of it!!

if anyone has a clue about what might be going on with my heli, whether it's the packs (really hope not as there is about £300 worth!) or something to do with the motor, gyro or anything! whether a step down might cure the problem???

be good peeps

gatorz

Matty )

Mack66

JD was right it IS "several" pages back page 104 to be exact: on 1/16/2010 at 11:39 AM. Took me a while to find it. Yep, there's the tank all right!

Mack

Mack66

Hey if you're landing okay without any excitement you can probably lose the training gear. I think I used it too long myself. Still, nobody is gonna laugh at you if you keep the gear on while flying upside down. In fact, we'd all be impressed!

Mack

TakeshiSkunk

Was that a challenge? :P You're puttin dangerous ideas in my head lol

When I take off the gear am I instantly going to notice the heli being more responsive in pretty much every way?

Mack66

Nooooooo it's not a challenge! Take off the training gear ONLY when you're ready. I'm just pointing out that the gear starts getting in your way, and that the only purpose of the gear is to prevent crashes due to blade and tail rotor strikes while learning to hover. Once you're confident that you can land and take off and hover around without needing the gear to protect you, you are probably ready to fly without it.

Without it you will find your heli so much more responsive! It's really all about confidence.

Mack

TakeshiSkunk

Oh when I asked if it was a challenge I just meant the flying upside down bit

jets0456

i saw your header tank dooley,thanks to mack i didnt haf to search for it ! thanks for the info flyachopper,i dont think ill get one just yet ,maybe by the end of summer,all im gonna be doing is learning to hover but if i get the foam problem ill add one right away,i have friends of all races and colors,if their good people i like em,if their not i have no use for them,i have a friend at work from puerto rico,hes been teaching me spanish a couple words at a time,alot of slang words donica mite not like lol ! you guys be careful ! people like that use guns and not fists !! i wanna read some more of donicas ramblings,,or maybe down south they call it yakkity yakkins,,,at least in kentucky they do,,,,