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Post by chipbutty on Oct 5, 2010 15:16:18 GMT -5
I have some ball link pliers which are great for removing the links on this heli but is there a pain free way to fit the links? I'm used to the links on my Mini Titan and T250 which click into place easily enough with my fingers. These links are a different beast altogether. I ended up in quite some pain when the ball shot through the link and hit my thumb ;D Once engaged though I'm surprised and impressed with the fit of all the links. Considering how hard they are to fit together I was expecting them to be very tight but they are perfect. No need for sizing. Nice one Gaui. In fact I'm very, very impressed with this kit for £59. It's ridiculously cheap in price and belies the quality of the kit.
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 6, 2010 4:16:27 GMT -5
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 6, 2010 11:30:19 GMT -5
Cheers Scott. The ball end tool. How does that work? Is it for fitting the links rather than disengaging them? If so it could be what I'm looking for. Ha ha. I've seen that expensive link making contraption before and I thought it was some sort of April fool joke! I think there's a Youtube video of it in action.
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 6, 2010 12:37:06 GMT -5
The ball end tool will save your fingers while building the links. Get two.. one for each end. I use them all the time, even for adjusting.
Scott
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 6, 2010 13:03:04 GMT -5
Ah, now that is a great idea. I'm going to order a couple. The ball end tool will save your fingers while building the links. Get two.. one for each end. I use them all the time, even for adjusting. Scott
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 15, 2010 13:16:45 GMT -5
Had some spare time so almost finished but hit a snag. I'm not sure if Gaui have supplied the wrong screws here but I can't get these screws to bite into the tail clamp to attach the boom supports. Same goes for attaching the boom supports onto the frame. They're machine screws. I thought they'd be self tapping? The manual does state that they should be machine screws. I can't screw then in anyway. Appreciate it if someone could check to see what kind of screws they have on their heli. Cheers.
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 15, 2010 21:30:30 GMT -5
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Post by Jerrymac on Oct 16, 2010 1:56:08 GMT -5
Yep, those look like the same screws that came with mine, and they were a little tough to get started in. What I did was to use a dremel tool and small cutting wheel and cut a small slot length wise through the first couple of threads on one side to give them a "cutting" edge.
They started in much better after that.
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 16, 2010 4:03:35 GMT -5
Everything has slotted together so well so far that I'm surprised they supply these screws which won't work. And believe me I tried! I'm going to try Jerrymac's excellent tip with my rotary tool (I can't call it a Dremel unfortunately!). Thanks for the suggestions and if I make a mess of it I'll get the CNC version.
This isn't a major issue by any means but I have had some really annoying problems with helis recently. My Gaui Mini Zoom came with a smashed horizontal stabiliser, drill holes missing from the servo holders and no spacers on the wood blades. I got a Walkera CB100 the other week and that came with no dampers in the head. Took me a while to figure out what was wrong with that one but it didn't fly too well! Maybe this is all par for the course with heli building? At least that's my conclusion after being into this hobby for two years. It doesn't bother me too much as I like tinkering ;D
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 16, 2010 7:33:14 GMT -5
Great tip Jerrymac I had to perform major surgery on those screws before I could get them to bite! Then getting them to go in straight was frustrating ;D Canopy needs a bit of fettling as the swash hits it on the right hand side. I'll probably put it in some warm water and try and remould it a little around that area. I'm planning on putting the 425 together with a Spartan Quark gyro with MKS DS8910 servo, MKS DS9660A servos on cyclic, Spektrum AR6200 Rx. Not sure on the ESC and it's not worth skimping on a heli of this size so will probably go with a Castle Creations ICE 75A. Maybe some of those cheap 3D blades to start with www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=10696. The only thing I'm unsure of is the motor.
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 16, 2010 9:16:51 GMT -5
Good deal that you got the screws in. I checked mine and they're identical. All I did was muscle them in, back them out, then put some CA in the threaded hole and reattached. I'll be the first to say I think the stock mounts are crap. They should be metal.
The helicopter looks great! On the ESC, get the ICE Lite. It will be more than enough for the helicopter, and you'll have more options to correct CG via placement. I'm using ICE 100 lites these days on my 550 HeadHunter mounted with Velcro straps on the lower side frame midship.
Scott
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 16, 2010 9:50:44 GMT -5
Cheers. I thought I was going to go mad getting those screws in. I'll check out the Lite version. What's the difference between the two? Heatsink? Quick question on lipos. I use 3s 2200mah 20-30c discharge lipos on my Mini Titan and thought I'd try using two on the 425. Is the C rating high enough for a heli of this size? I'm thinking new lipos may be a better bet as I'm probably going to get pretty short flight times. Good deal that you got the screws in. I checked mine and they're identical. All I did was muscle them in, back them out, then put some CA in the threaded hole and reattached. I'll be the first to say I think the stock mounts are crap. They should be metal. The helicopter looks great! On the ESC, get the ICE Lite. It will be more than enough for the helicopter, and you'll have more options to correct CG via placement. I'm using ICE 100 lites these days on my 550 HeadHunter mounted with Velcro straps on the lower side frame midship. Scott
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 16, 2010 12:40:33 GMT -5
Yes... the heatsink and built-in ESC programming options are different. On the Heat-sinked ICE I could get 6.2voltsdc out of the ESC but with ICE lite, I get 6.0 volts in the menu. Other than those two differences, they're identical, except weight.
Your flight time with those batteries will depend on two things:
1. Motor choice. 2. Gearing
I would imagine with a 14-1500kv 6S motor, you'll get around 4.5 - 5 minutes with stock gearing. Discharge rating means two things:
1. Burst power on-hand 2. Less heat from the battery during flight (that depends on a lot of things, but the general rule is you want capacity to spare in this regard--that's what affects heat. Your motor and electronics will only draw as much current as they need to operate, so with batteries with smaller discharge rates, there is less headroom for sudden current draw, hence more heat during discharge,in general).
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Post by Jerrymac on Oct 16, 2010 14:22:24 GMT -5
Looks good chip. Those batteries might be ok for some test flights and tuning, but they will probably be strained a little.
Just to give you an idea, I use 6s 2500 30c lipos in my 425. I am using a Z20 1470kv motor. With 14-50-20-61 gearing I got about 5:00 min flights, and the collective was just a tad mushy. With 15T pinion, ( which I am running now) , I get 4:30 min flights and it flys great. With a 16T pinion the collective response was crazy fast, but I was only getting 3:30 to 4:00 min flights and the battery came down pretty warm. The motor runs nice and cool though.
Jerry
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 16, 2010 15:34:00 GMT -5
Wow... that's different from my T-Rex 500 (425mm blades)... I get 4:30 with the stock motor and gearing and 2200mah batteries. You know best with the 425, bro! Scott
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 16, 2010 15:35:39 GMT -5
Cheers. They look like decent heli ESCs. I don't think I've ever spent more than £20 on an ESC! Once you get to this size of heli you really do start to realise that you're flying a potential lethal weapon! So it's no excuse to skimp on what is essentially the helis heartbeat I guess! It still kind of pains me to spend that much but it's got to be done. I see a few people are using the DS821 servos on cyclic. Fast Lads here in the UK are doing them £12.50 each! Tempting. I may opt to get some better specced lipos like the new Nano Techs. I don't really fly 3D but I have all orientations down including inverted and just do general sports flying. I guess those DS821s would do the job but I have read quite a few scare stories about these servos. But they're mainly centred around the older versions I think. Yes... the heatsink and built-in ESC programming options are different. On the Heat-sinked ICE I could get 6.2voltsdc out of the ESC but with ICE lite, I get 6.0 volts in the menu. Other than those two differences, they're identical, except weight. Your flight time with those batteries will depend on two things: 1. Motor choice. 2. Gearing I would imagine with a 14-1500kv 6S motor, you'll get around 4.5 - 5 minutes with stock gearing. Discharge rating means two things: 1. Burst power on-hand 2. Less heat from the battery during flight (that depends on a lot of things, but the general rule is you want capacity to spare in this regard--that's what affects heat. Your motor and electronics will only draw as much current as they need to operate, so with batteries with smaller discharge rates, there is less headroom for sudden current draw, hence more heat during discharge,in general).
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 16, 2010 15:39:55 GMT -5
That's interesting Jerry. Mmm, more stuff to ponder on as I put this together. So many permutations with these bigger helis ;D I can see some new lipos are in order. Looks good chip. Those batteries might be ok for some test flights and tuning, but they will probably be strained a little. Just to give you an idea, I use 6s 2500 30c lipos in my 425. I am using a Z20 1470kv motor. With 14-50-20-61 gearing I got about 5:00 min flights, and the collective was just a tad mushy. With 15T pinion, ( which I am running now) , I get 4:30 min flights and it flys great. With a 16T pinion the collective response was crazy fast, but I was only getting 3:30 to 4:00 min flights and the battery came down pretty warm. The motor runs nice and cool though. Jerry
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Post by Jerrymac on Oct 16, 2010 19:39:05 GMT -5
Scott, it might have a lot to do with the efficiency rating of the motors. Your stock Align motor might have a higher efficiency rating than the Z20 1470 that I run in my 425. Although it runs nice and cool, and has awesome power, I think the eff. rating on it is only 83% if I remember right. That would likely be the reason for the shorter flight times on my 425, I dunno.
Chip, I am running Spektrum DS 821's on the cyclic in both my 425 and my 550 and never had an issue with them. I know they aren't top of the line servos, but they have served me very well over the past 2 years, and they are priced right. I haven't had a single issue with them yet, although, between my 425 and my 550 I have only had one minor crash so far too, and that was with the 425.
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Post by chipbutty on Oct 17, 2010 5:09:39 GMT -5
That's good to know. Funds will determine which servos I go for. The MKS ones I mentioned are supposed to be superb for harder flying. I have a small MKS servo on the tail of my T250. Away on holiday for a week now. You'll know when I'm back ;D Scott, it might have a lot to do with the efficiency rating of the motors. Your stock Align motor might have a higher efficiency rating than the Z20 1470 that I run in my 425. Although it runs nice and cool, and has awesome power, I think the eff. rating on it is only 83% if I remember right. That would likely be the reason for the shorter flight times on my 425, I dunno. Chip, I am running Spektrum DS 821's on the cyclic in both my 425 and my 550 and never had an issue with them. I know they aren't top of the line servos, but they have served me very well over the past 2 years, and they are priced right. I haven't had a single issue with them yet, although, between my 425 and my 550 I have only had one minor crash so far too, and that was with the 425.
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 18, 2010 4:10:26 GMT -5
Enjoy your Holiday!
Scott
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