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Post by Jerrymac on Oct 13, 2011 23:54:28 GMT -5
Arrrgg, more work to do now, lol. All 3 of my other Hurri's have JR G770's on them, and JR manual says no need to set up in rate mode first, so I never bothered to on them. I usually just set the tail up so that with the servo centered, I had in the ball park of 6 to 8 degrees pitch on the tail blades. They all flew great like that, but I never used rate mode, only HH mode. So, if the Spartan is supposed to be set up in rate mode, I will have to tinker with it first when I get out to the field. I just set it up on the bench like I did with the JR's, having about 6 to 8 degrees of tail pitch at servo center, then set the pitch slider limits for no binding. Ha, always remember, bitch first.... ask questions second....., then read the manual last. ;D ;D I am going to go read the manual now.   Thanks Scott. EDIT: I might not get to try it out again this weekend as the Accuweather forccast calls for winds of 25 to 40 mph Saturday, and 20 to 35 mph Sunday.  |
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 14, 2011 4:32:32 GMT -5
You can just set a ball park pitch figure, bro. It's not that big of a deal, just make sure the pitch is set in the right direction.  I'm anal, I put a pitch gauge on my tail blades and set it for 8 degrees on the button! On my Furion 6, that was too much. About 3 degrees was right there. That said, it's not 8 degrees on every helicopter. What you set it to is more dependent on speed of the tail rotor/blade size, etc. So, that's why I mention rate mode setup. On my Headhunters, I've found that 8 degrees is spot on. Scott |
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Post by Jerrymac on Oct 17, 2011 4:18:16 GMT -5
I am bummed that I didn't get to try out the new 425 build this weekend after going back over the gyro set up . Saturday we had winds pretty steady at 25mph and gusting to 40+mph. I watched the neighbors storage shed blow away while I was trying to mow my lawn one last time before it snows.  Sunday, it rained all day long, so no flying this past weekend.  It is not very likely that we will get many more 'decent' flying days here for the next 6 months, so, might be next spring before I really get to fly it around some. September and October are usually pretty wet with rain most of the time here, then November thru February are generally snowy and very windy, then rainy and windy in March and April again. So, we really only get about 4 months out of the year when the weather is decent for flying. The bad part is that many others have crappy weather during this time too, and aren't flying, so, the U.S. based RC forums get pretty slow too, so not much to post about. Anybody else build, collect, and race HO scale slot cars as a winter hobby, lol? I did when I was a kid, and now still enjoy it with my grandson. I have never actually counted how many cars I have, but i think it is safe to say that I have well over 100 old Aurora TJets and at least half that many Aurora AFX Magna-tractions, and a few dozen Non-Mags. I also have quite a few of the Johnny Lighting 'Repos'. Yea, I know, a little off topic, but might be my only topic for the next 6 months. |
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 17, 2011 4:26:00 GMT -5
Jerry, Way too windy here, too. I'm helping a friend with his first build.. a T-Rex 550 V2 with a 3GX FBL controller, so all is not lost helicopter wise I used to race HO cars when I was younger. Until MagnaTrack came into being then I dropped out because it became a drag race with corners. Scott |
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Post by wolveslayr on Oct 17, 2011 22:17:17 GMT -5
Yes I do, been playing with the slot cars this week when I need a break from the heli. I have a Ninco track and digital lap timer. Originally set up on saw horses with particle floorboard. Straight away was 14 ft long by 9' deep. My cars range from SCX, Fly, Horby. Audi Can-Am's 3, Formula 1 (4), Corvette (two), stock cars, Suburu true 4wd, go cart and on. The big track was dominated by the F-1's, Audi's. The little (10') 8 turn track and the Suburu and Vetts dominate. Cars are pricey avg $50. The track on the floor is PITA, carpet won't let it lay flat. That and bending over to pick up wreck every other minute. If I had room I'd put it back up the big track add turns. My cars avg length around palm mid index finger. Tip we used ping pong nets were cars flew off. Worked good. Then you need those 3' grabber poles to retrieve far away ones. Todd ======== Anybody else build, collect, and race HO scale slot cars as a winter hobby, lol? I did when I was a kid, and now still enjoy it with my grandson. I have never actually counted how many cars I have, but i think it is safe to say that I have well over 100 old Aurora TJets and at least half that many Aurora AFX Magna-tractions, and a few dozen Non-Mags. I also have quite a few of the Johnny Lighting 'Repos'. Yea, I know, a little off topic, but might be my only topic for the next 6 months. [/quote] |
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 18, 2011 4:48:49 GMT -5
LOL! So much in common here. When I was around 17 or so, I built a track for our club that came apart in four sections for transport. It was four lanes, color coded, lap counter, four driver stations with brake connections, etc. Main straight was around 20 or so feet. It was fun. Just before I left that hobby, I was making plans for a routed track, but then came Magnets and well... I used to race highly modified AFX cars and modified Riggin cars. The AFX cars were rewound, different brushes, gears dremeled out, pickups and guides changed to a phosphorous bronze wiper with a rotating guide. I also added brass chassis pans/body mounts that flopped to absorb shocks. Riggin's were pretty much stock except motors were rewound, brushes and springs changed, and wipers were swapped for phosphorous bronze. Phosphorous bronze would last forever and never got oxidation on them. Riggin's had a floating body mount that was cool. Oh, yeah.. I also changed front and rear tires. Fronts to pretty much an o-ring and rears to soft sponge on all cars. Here's a great site: www.riggenho.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1Scott |
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Post by Jerrymac on Oct 18, 2011 5:21:04 GMT -5
Ahhh, you guys are, or were, into some more advanced slot car racing than me, lol. I just build, collect, and race old Aurora HO scale cars from the 60's and 70's.
We do fiddle with them for more speed though. In fact, the motor magnets alone make a huge difference. I take a magnet and place a BB on it, then another BB on the first one, then another stringed together like pearls. The more BB's you can string together, the stronger the magnet, and the faster the car will go.
Motor windings are fun to tinker with too, but I don't get too involved in them as they are so small that they are kinda hard to work on.
Basically for me, it is just a fun hobby to enjoy with my grandson during the winter months.
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 18, 2011 9:12:19 GMT -5
Looking at that Riggin page really sent me back, there's a picture there that is EXACTLY what I did with my cars. We called them "Century/Dennie" back in the day. My friend Jeff and I really were in customizing.
Scott
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Post by Jerrymac on Oct 23, 2011 21:37:05 GMT -5
A little update on the new 425. I had to replace a parking brake cable, and seeping brake line on the wife's car this weekend, so didn't have much extra time for flying. I did grab both 425's and head to the field around 5:00 today, only to find that I forgot to take my TX with me. Went back home and grabbed the TX and headed back to the field. First flight with the new 425 build was just doing some pitch pumps and piros to see how the gyro worked after setting it up again. It worked great... Ended up with rudder end points at 135 right, and 120 left to get a nice even piro rate in both directions. The new 425 flys very much like the old 425 so I was happy about that. The one thing I noticed was that the Scorpion motor runs Much hotter than the Tonic-X does. Outside temp was about 58F today.... the Tonic-X Z20 came down at 88F after a 4:30 flight, and the Scorpion 3026 came down at 142F after only a 3:30 flight. The Scorpion seems to be very "power hungry", although the Z20 powered 425 actually has a little more power. I used identical 6s 2650 batteries in both, but, I put back 65% in the Z20 powered 425 after a 4:30 flight, and put back 76% in the Scorpion powered 425 after only a 3:30 flight. This is the first Scorpion motor that I have ever owned, but, if it is any indicator of their motors, I certainly won't own any more of them. Power hungry, but doesn't offer any more power than the Tonic-X motor does...... in fact, maybe just slightly less. Also, not sure why the heli stopped turning every 90 degrees during my maiden flight, but it didn't do that this time. Piro rate was very fast at +-150, so I ended up toning it down a little just as I did with my other 425 to keep it within a rate that suits my flying. Overall, I am very happy with the new 'low cost' 425 build as it flew great today. Only other problem is that I also have a Quark gyro that I got from Scott, and another JR G770 that don't have a home. I held them up in front of the Mrs. today and said, "honey, these guys need a helicopter to ride on", but, she didn't seem too amused, lol.......... She told me to tape them to the cat's asses so they don't lose their 'heading' while chasing each other around the house.  |
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 24, 2011 4:40:00 GMT -5
Good to hear that you got the Spartan setup and working properly. I think you'll find that Spartan Gyro's are at the top of the gyro food chain.
I've noticed that Scorp's come down a little hotter, too. Powerwise? My 4025 1100 on my HeadHunter eats a Tonicx 1100's lunch. The motor just has balls!
I wish I could have flown yesterday. I was just not feeling it.
I'm helping a friend with his first build ... a T-Rex 550 V2 3GX, and his dad passed away yesterday.
Scott
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Post by Jerrymac on Oct 25, 2011 3:19:13 GMT -5
Thanks Scott.... I feel kinda dumb now bad-mouthing the Spartan after the maiden, when it was my fault due to improper set-up. It flys every bit as good as my JR's, just uses a different method of setting it up that I didn't take the time to read. Sorry to hear about your friends loss. I hope he is able to get through it alright. I had a very tough time dealing with my own fathers passing. It took me several years to get through it, and holidays without him are still difficult. A Trex 550 FBL for his first build sounds like he is jumping in with both feet, lol. Does he have any prior flying experience? If not, maybe you should have suggested an McpX to start out with. Hope the build goes well. Jerry |
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Post by dunkonu23 on Oct 25, 2011 10:55:22 GMT -5
Yeah, he's got an mCP X and a Blade 450pro. I think he'll be okay. I'm setting up the 550 very tame for him, so that should be good. We're almost done, just cleaning up the wiring and tightening the canopy mounting posts and it's maiden time. Scott |
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I'm anal, I put a pitch gauge on my tail blades and set it for 8 degrees on the button! On my Furion 6, that was too much. About 3 degrees was right there. That said, it's not 8 degrees on every helicopter. What you set it to is more dependent on speed of the tail rotor/blade size, etc. So, that's why I mention rate mode setup. On my Headhunters, I've found that 8 degrees is spot on. 
