Hi every-one

I've just joined, having bought a used Coastguard which I think I'm getting to grips with ! A couple of things I'm a bit unsure about,

The aerial wire seems to have been shortened/bared at the end a half inch, I noticed from a posting that an owner had in fact wedged theirs into the rear stabilizer slot, it would not be possible to do this with mine, is this length variable/critical ?

Having finished a test power up I turned the machine upside down without being near the control unit. Th blades sprung into action and attacked my finger, drawing blood ! Reading through the manual I see that you must not switch off the remote before disconnecting the battery on the heli, I was doing it the other way on...would this be the reason for the attack ??
many thanks.

transmitter turned on then plug battery
Unplug battery then turn transmitter off
And YES it can happen. Happened to a friend of mine on a 500 size heli, turned TX off before unplugging Lipo and he had stitches in two of his fingers.

The length of the aerial is critical, in theory. In practice, so long as you're flying very close by, such as in your living room or garage, incorrect length is not going to have a noticeable effect on your radio's reception. I've had a 35Mhz (I assume yours is also 35Mhz) Twister Bell for several years, and wrap its aerial back and forth on itself in the tailboom latticework. Some people, I've read, coil theirs tightly round a plastic straw to reduce the amount hanging out the back.

The correct way to power up is as WOS has said. The reason is, if it's getting no signal from the transmitter to tell it to stop the motors, a receiver with power on could respond to any interference that comes its way, and start the motors.

Thanks WOS and abenn....great Forum
What I don't understand is its short length, it's obviously been cut, it doesn't reach the end of the tail, just to the "G" in CoastGuard.
From what you say this must surely shorten the range. I haven't flown it anger yet, don't have that much room indoors and will wait for the snow to go and a calm day here.
The remote is an XTAL 35MHZ with a Twister insignia on it.

Solder and Shrink tube wire to the length it is suppose to be. Problem solved

OK, no problem, but please what length is it supposed to be ?
My interest in helis was fired by purchase of a Sigma 107C which takes reasonable pix whilst aloft. One of the things I like about it is the miniature switch on the body to fire it up, I find the battery connector way on the Twister very tedious and a bit crude (?)
has any-one devised another way of a more simple isolation of the power after flying.

Maybe a little longer than the tail boom? Find a picture of one and see if you can find out. I do not have any idea

I found this in another thread from 2008.

"Most receivers antenna length is not based on wavelength as they are nearly all base loaded and tuned to work with a 39 to 41 inch long antenna, makes no difference if they are for 27 MHz, 35 MHz, 72 MHz, 75 MHz or for the 6 meter (50 to 54 MHz) band."

here's your answere

I do 2.4 so is another world

Originally Posted by WOS

transmitter turned on then plug battery
Unplug battery then turn transmitter off
And YES it can happen. Happened to a friend of mine on a 500 size heli, turned TX off before unplugging Lipo and he had stitches in two of his fingers.

you forgot to add the two fractured fingers,nicked tendon and 22 stiches

Damn! Wasn't going to go there mike! OUCH!

As mentioned in post #8, the original length of your 35MHz aerial would have been about 39". Cut down to less than the length of the boom doesn't sound too good, even for close flying. So, solder an extension on, using similar thin flexible wire, and cover the joint with shrink-wrap or insulating tape.

Your local model shop can probably get a replacement aerial wire from Ripmax http://www2.ripmax.net/search.aspx?Search=antenna if you don't have suitable wire to hand. Note they're all 110cm long, which is just over 39". Cut off a bit equal to the amount you already have, and solder the rest on. Or, if you're really competent at soldering, open up the 4-in-1 receiver/controller and solder the whole new aerial direct to the printed circuit board.

Great stuff again, my iron is held at the ready. No ideas re a switch, maybe a PCB one ?

Is the switch original? Usually a switch in the main battery lead is not recommended because, to get one big enough to carry the current drawn by the motor, it would be too big and heavy for the model.

The normal method of isolating the motor is simply to unplug the battery. And if the battery is not easily/safely accessible, people usually put an isolating plug in one of the power leads, and mount it in an accessible place. It can be any suitably-rated socket, such as a micro Deans in the case of a small coaxial, which has a corresponding plug plugged into it, with its two terminals shorted out, to energise the system.

But with my Twister Bell -- basically the same electronics as the Coastguard, I believe -- I have no issues with turning it upside down to connect/disconnect the battery. Provided the trannie is already switched on, with the throttle stick at zero, I've never had the motors turn when I'm not expecting them to.