Z-Tron unit

[Mike Palko]

I ordered my z-tron setup from Windy Urtnowski yesterday. My friend just happened to be making a trip to his shop tomarrow and is going to pick it up for me. Windy said it is the last one he had in stock untill fall!! I hope to have it setup this weekend and test it, since it's supposed to be 60 deg. I'll have to see what all is involved in the setup. I will let you all know how it works. I am determained to have a good flying C/L plane by the end of summer and i hope this helps. Mike

[Mike Palko]

I recieved the Z-tron unit saturday. I immediately tried it to find that it didn't work. I played with it for a while and found that if i jog the throttle a few times it would turn on. Once the motor is running it has a proportional throttle. All i really need is a way to turn the motor on slowly and turn the motor off.

I'm not sure why it doesn't opperate smoothly. The only thing i could think is that it is because i am using a brushless motor and controller. I didn't get a chance to test it outside and actually fly it but i will let you know.

[steve lewin]

Hi Mike,

Once you've got the motor to go does it give proportional control all the way down to stopped and then back up again ? If so it seems like it's related to the ESC's safety arming conditions. If it's not that and whenever the motor stops it doesn't start up again reliably I'm not sure what it might be.

It's worth contacting Sergio Zigras (Mr Z-tron) if you haven't already done so. I'm sure he'll be interested in this use of his gear.

Steve

[Mike Palko]

I have talked to Sergio about the problem already. He wasn't sure what it could be. He said he uses them for indoor R/C but he didn't say what type of motor he was using. The ESC i am using is a CC Phoenix 35. When you connect the battery the motor won't start untill it gets an idle signal for 2-3seconds. It will then beep to let you know you it is armed.

Once the motor is running it has a proportional throttle, but not as proportional as an IC engine. It also idles high, but isn't that normal for brushless motors? I have the Z-tron unit mounted on the plane and i am waiting to get in some test flights, hopefully during the week. I haven't even used the setup outside so that may clear up some problems. I will keep you posted.

[Mike Palko]

I finally got to fly my EC/L Twister yesterday. I flew after work so i could only get in one flight. It was the first time i flew it with the AXI motor, CC speed controller, and the Z-TRON unit. All Of them worked great together.

The last time i flew the plane was with the Astro 15. It seemed to be down on power and after flying it (4 times) i found that the gearbox was almost completely stripped. The AXI setup works much better! No gearbox to loose power through or strip (although stripping a gearbox is not an issue with the Z-TRON). It also had more power than the Astro setup on a good day.

The only prop i got to try was a Cam 10x6. I didn't time the flight, or check the amp draw. But it felt like it flew longer than with the Asro 15.

I hope i get to fly this weekend. Finally after buying a new motor, ESC, charger, Z-TRON ect... i got a good feeling. For a while i was thinking i spent all that money for nothing. I will keep you posted.