As The Blades Turn.......

Discussion in 'Blade Heli's' started by Beaver, Jan 30, 2015.

By Beaver on Jan 30, 2015 at 8:44 PM
  1. Beaver

    Beaver Well-Known Member

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    So I found myself in need of a replacement feathering spindle for my Nano CPx because it was bent and causing blade tracking and balance issues... then upon gently trying to straighten it, it breaks. I figured a trip to the LHS would remedy the problem, but no F spindle in stock. Next week I happen by the other
    LHS and again, no F spindle in stock, and was informed the part was on back-order at Horizon. So I go home and begin reviving my 120SR that was neglected after I bought the Nano. Naturally it flies like shiz and then I begin the process of scrutinizing parts. Several trips to the LHS later over the next two weeks resulted in two new Li-po batteries (one that has gone bad right out of the package and was replaced for free by Horizon), a rotor hub, cf main shaft, mixing fly bar, main motor, tail boom assembly with tail motor, landing skids, and a tail fin just for the hell of it. I also did some touch-up soldering on the 5 in 1 control board. So, over several weeks time I have managed to practically rebuild my 120SR, which flies like new now as I would expect........ and I have spent $60 to stay in the air while waiting for a $6 part. Feathering spindles for the Nano still on back-order at Horizon of course, as I suspect now they must literally be on a "slow boat from China" or something of that nature. I'm Beaver, and I'm a helicopter addict. :p
     

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Discussion in 'Blade Heli's' started by Beaver, Jan 30, 2015.

    1. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      The little mSRx is working out well. It's remarkably easy to get 45° nose-in funnels going. I had to put my trademark LED mod on it. IMG_20160610_223924233.jpg .... then of course there is the spring loaded swash mod that I first used on the old Nano CPx. IMG_20160610_224816285_HDR.jpg Cyclic response is nice and tight now.
      I seem to have contradicted my previous statement of getting away from these Blade helis, and if this mSRx wasn't proof enough, I just pulled the trigger on a used Blade 450-3D BNF with a small parts lot and carbon main blades (not wood) for $110 (US) IMG_20160518_075212.jpg ..... flight ready other than needing s Dean's connector. It has one miniscule hole in the eggshell.. uh, canopy that is. I might have to make some minor setup changes to get the old fly-barred bird to work with my DX4e, or try the HP6DSM "SR" radio. Nothing wrong with my CX450, I just felt the need to have a spare 450 in case one is grounded.
      As I said before, If the B450 flies like it does in the SIM, it should be fun. :D
       
    2. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      It would seem Blade is caught up in a direct-drive tail motor rut. A new 250 has been announced, but is seemingly a slightly larger version of a 230s. FB_20160611_13_59_30_Saved_Picture.jpg
       
      Last edited: Jun 12, 2016
    3. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      An interesting thing happened today. I went to the LHS today, scouting and memorizing their inventory of B450 and mSRx parts, and ended up buying a Venom 12 port 1S charge board so I can parallel charge my mSRx cells. I made it home and installed a JST connector on the leads, observing correct polarity as usual, but oddly enough, at first test the charger wasnt recognizing the new board to initiate charge cycle. I stopped for a few minutes to contemplate the problem. Then I started smelling burning semiconductors and disconnected things. Batteries were warm, charger was hot, but not burnt.
      Further inspection revealed that the main leads inside the new board were installed in REVERSE polarity!
      I fired up the soldering iron again and the problem was corrected easy enough. I'll be calling the LHS tomorrow to advise them of the problem. If it had been someone else, a LiPo fire could have resulted. IMG_20160614_234559315.jpg
       
    4. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      FuddEx tracking E-mail just notified me that delivery (B450-3D) is scheduled for tomorrow. That's awesome.
       
    5. smakmeharder

      smakmeharder Administrator

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      Yes I see that @Beaver . Bailout on a fixed pitch! wow...

       
    6. smakmeharder

      smakmeharder Administrator

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      Holy MOLEY! That could case a serious fire if left unattended! Good find @Beaver that really deserves a product recall IMO. The distributor should take serious action on this issue.
       
    7. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      The LHS said they haven't had any problems, maybe I should contact Venom directly.
       
    8. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      I bet this 120S would handle much like the mSRx.... stabil, yet very agile. I'm not sure if its the mSRx, or if my flying has improved since last flying a NanoCPx. The mSRx can really maneuver for a FP heli!
       
      Last edited: Jun 16, 2016
    9. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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    10. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      A bird in the hand .........
      It needs a servo, but LHS has one in stock. Will be setting this one up tonight. :D WP_20160616_002.jpg
       
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    11. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      Initial inspection revealed a few small problems with the B450:
      One cyclic servo felt like gears were iffy as well as possibly tail servo.... purchased one cyclic servo with two sets of gears and one set of tail servo gears. The servos themselves are digital and coreless with speed rated at 0.04, which is faster than I expected them to be. Plastic gears didnt make much sense to me. Does the flybar mixing to the head dampen torque feedback to the servos?? No big deal..... the gear sets are cheap enough.
      I didn't like how the ESC was mounted, so I pulled it and reversed it so the main leads are under the battery mount instead of out the side of the frame.
      I'm not entirely sure how the radio situation will work out yet. I might try the old SR radio since it is designed to work with that type of Rx configuration. If all else fails, I'll get another K-Bar and sat-Rx for it. I can always put a CopterX 450 Pro head on it for cheap.
      Other than the cracked canopy, everything else seems in order. Included spare parts included several main and tail drive gears, main shafts, and feathering spindles. I already have a set of paddles and weights. It's too g to be a late night for sure going through and setting up this bird. :D
       
    12. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      Suffice to say... setting up a fly bar heli is a trip. I had to flip the grips and swap some servo leads to get proper swash response to Tx.
      Test flight today..... this should be fun. :D
       
    13. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      Omg..... that was weird!
      Bad tail wag on first lift off....
      Too much tail gain..... and threw a tail blade first attempt from barely touching ground tail first. Put smaller blades on and reset servo position.... no wag there, but noticed a crack in the plastic tail housing..... I see a metal tail casing in the immediate future.
      I tried a piro and almost lost it... rate too slow. I very nearly put the thing in, but managed to recover thanks to plentiful cyclic rate.
      Cyclic response is good, but not much collective throw there.... It gets off the ground, but there's no pop to it at all.... probably the radio (Blade SR/HP6DSM).
      I'm seriously considering pulling FBL head and K-Bar from CX450SE and slapping them on the B450! (Looks like an easy mod)
       
    14. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      The Blade 450-3D is now flybarless!
      Will install blades and test tomorrow. :cool: IMG_20160618_021816888.jpg
       
    15. smakmeharder

      smakmeharder Administrator

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      WHOA... NICE @Beaver! You are going to enjoy this lil bird. Now as for the gyro, whats on the heli at themoment? A kbar would be a good choice because the vbar is a good gyro - make sure you get the cyclic throw and pitch right... around 12deg collective and probably 7-11 cyclic - depending on your flying. Great to see.
       
    16. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      That little yellow glow underneath the heli is the Kbar. I borrowed Kbar and head from the CX450 since its waiting on parts (China Post).
       
    17. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      Ehirobo has the entire CopterX head assembly complete with swash, all links, and main shaft ready to drop in for $20, and I can get another K-Bar for around $30, so getting replacements to put back on the CX450SE isn't a problem.
      The Blade tail case is another story. An Align tail wont fit the Blade 450 because the tail boom is larger diameter as if for a 500 size heli. I will go with an aftermarket case and keep the Blade tail shaft and hub assembly because they are built bigger, again as if for a 500 size heli.
      I probably wont get to finish it today as I was called in to work today, and also have a band gig immediately after that.
       
    18. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      What a difference a good radio makes!
      I've been running the mSRx and the 120SR on the new TH9X, which in itself seems to give them a more precise feel...
      Then I cranked the throttle rates all the way up to 125%...... wow!
      Tail rates turned up makes the little suckers piro like crazy! :D
      Next experiment will be to revive the Nano CPx, which will be more challenging to figure out as it requires more complicated programming of the channels in the TH9X. Once I get that one mastered, I'll take on the bigger birds.
       
    19. smakmeharder

      smakmeharder Administrator

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      Oh yes indeed @Beaver it is critical. I use a futaba and have done for years. I still have my dx8 but much prefer the futaba. It has fast and smooth gimbal sticks and not once have i had a transmission issue. I have with the dx8 though..
       
    20. Beaver

      Beaver Well-Known Member

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      Signal hasnt been an issue, its been the lack of higher quality modulation from not having a good computer radio. I have a genuine Spektrum DSM2 module planted inside the TH9X. I couldn't bring myself to get one of those OrangeRx snap-in modules. The reviews on them aren't so impressive. Once I get the TH9X fully programmed, I'll probably transplant the DSMX module from the DX4e and retire it to SIM use only. I didn't want to part out the DX4e until I was certain the TH9X to DSM2 conversion would work.
       
      Last edited: Jun 29, 2016

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