MSH recently came out with the MSH Brain. There's not too much info. out on it yet in the way of reviews, but it looks like a very good gyro system.
There's a video out with Bert Kammerer flying a Goblin 700 using the MSH Brain, he gives it high praise.
If I was in the market for a new gyro system now I would seriously consider the MSH Brain over the Beast or VBar for a gyro in that price range.

Originally Posted by clearprop88

MSH recently came out with the MSH Brain. There's not too much info. out on it yet in the way of reviews, but it looks like a very good gyro system.
There's a video out with Bert Kammerer flying a Goblin 700 using the MSH Brain, he gives it high praise.
If I was in the market for a new gyro system now I would seriously consider the MSH Brain over the Beast or VBar for a gyro in that price range.

I'm still kind of confused though. I only ever see flybarred MSH heli for sale? Is it a upgrade kit or something with an FBL head or is it just i'm not looking hard enough for FBL kits?

ROBIRD
I posted this in July about my Robird installation on my V450. It went over like a lead balloon. Not one response.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...82670&page=175
Post #2621

Originally Posted by IntegrityHndywrk

I'm still kind of confused though. I only ever see flybarred MSH heli for sale? Is it a upgrade kit or something with an FBL head or is it just i'm not looking hard enough for FBL kits?

Here's the link;
http://www.msh-direct.com/msh-brain-flybarless-system/

Originally Posted by IntegrityHndywrk

MSH is a pretty good company. Hopefully you got the Carbon fiber frame? The plastic is lighter i think but it's also a train wreck in a crash. Full rebuild each time is likely. Limited support and availability too, like almost all the "good" heli brands.

Yeah, i'm very skeptical of the firmware. Especially since it's 3rd party. Maybe in another 6 months to a year. But, i would bet that Walkera makes another format change, releasing a new line of TX somewhere around this time. If they don't directly change the firmware on their new devo radios/rx to interfere with the 3rd party firmware first, that is. Which i wouldn't doubt. After all, i'm sure the 3rd party firmware is hacked and not authorized. Meaning Walkera probably didn't just hand them the source code and say "Have fun not spending money on our RXs anymore!"

I've heard Alzrc is a good heli (even if i don't know how to pronounce that crazy word).. I'm pretty sure the guy at my LHS used to fly a Gaui X5, but now he flies one of those. It must be a pretty good heli.

No it's the plastic one... the deal was too good to pass up. Between msh-direct and readyheli I think I'm pretty much covered for parts. But it has been a while since I've crashed anything but the v120. The v120d02s is my "try out new things" heli, even though it feels kind of sloppy in the sky now compared to my 450's. But I agree with you that flying something with bad gyros makes you a better pilot. That's why I decided to go for the ar7200bx though, just to try to eliminate bad fbl controllers as a crash cause.

Alzrc seems all right. Based on the kit I bought, overall I rate them under Tarot for quality. I did a short build log on my blog if you want to check it out. I did like Alzrc's dfc head initially, but now after only about 15 or so flights, it seems to be developing some play in the grips. Maybe that's normal, but my Tarot dfc head is still tight after 100+ flights and 2 crashes that bent feathering shafts. I have the new tarot cf tail box with thrusted tail grips on the way so I hope it's the same quality as their dfc head.

Originally Posted by IntegrityHndywrk

I'm still kind of confused though. I only ever see flybarred MSH heli for sale? Is it a upgrade kit or something with an FBL head or is it just i'm not looking hard enough for FBL kits?

This was a used heli already converted to fbl. From a guy over on helifreak. I don't think they offer a complete kit with fbl yet, which is kind of odd if you ask me. I think it will happen soon though.

Originally Posted by clearprop88

ROBIRD
I posted this in July about my Robird installation on my V450. It went over like a lead balloon. Not one response.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...82670&page=175
Post #2621

I am sorry I missed that. Are you still running the robird? And have you used the latest firmwares with the vib analysis? What are your impressions of it compared to the 2702?

Originally Posted by clearprop88

ROBIRD
I posted this in July about my Robird installation on my V450. It went over like a lead balloon. Not one response.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...82670&page=175
Post #2621

The Robird is supposed to be a rebrand of the RC Aerodyne Black widow. Has your experience with it still been good? No issues? Sorry it didn't get any attention. Have you flown the ZYX to compare?

Originally Posted by flint723

No it's the plastic one... the deal was too good to pass up. Between msh-direct and readyheli I think I'm pretty much covered for parts. But it has been a while since I've crashed anything but the v120. The v120d02s is my "try out new things" heli, even though it feels kind of sloppy in the sky now compared to my 450's. But I agree with you that flying something with bad gyros makes you a better pilot. That's why I decided to go for the ar7200bx though, just to try to eliminate bad fbl controllers as a crash cause.

The heli is still good with the plastic frame. I'm sure it's a quick/cheap rebuild at the least.

Right, about the gyros and learning. I actually used to turn my gyros way down on the V120D02S and my V450. Thats how i learned to fly in the damn wind out here, basically. I now have a pretty good handle on stabilizing the Heli myself. So i fly with the gyros up. In a pinch i know what orientation to move my sticks now because of it. If it's not windy, i can actually put the V450 into swash setup mode. Which turns the gyros off. I can probably fly a round quite a bit like this these days. But i'm not going to try it The reason i went with the Beast was a far to frustrating experience with horrible electronics. Anyone can say what they want. But 15 flights later and there has not been any issue with the X5 and BX gyros. Unlike my experience with every Walkera i ever owned. Could be coincidence though.

Originally Posted by flint723

Alzrc seems all right. Based on the kit I bought, overall I rate them under Tarot for quality. I did a short build log on my blog if you want to check it out. I did like Alzrc's dfc head initially, but now after only about 15 or so flights, it seems to be developing some play in the grips. Maybe that's normal, but my Tarot dfc head is still tight after 100+ flights and 2 crashes that bent feathering shafts. I have the new tarot cf tail box with thrusted tail grips on the way so I hope it's the same quality as their dfc head.

Yeah, the more i see people and their Tarots. Pictures, videos. Whatever. The more i like Tarot as a company. They seem to be doing things right. They took the Align design, like many have. But instead of just sitting on a, lets face it, basically stolen design. They are moving forward and modifying the design. Those tail grips have been a issue with Align fliers all around. I've found quite a few people who had the same issue when i shot a tail grip off my v450. I don't think Align has any plans on adding thrust bearings. Their V3 designs are like V1 designs with some changes or something. I was looking at one and it was weird. It either was not a V3 or it was a hybrid V1/V2 heli. Something like that. I don't know enough about them, but tarot has the new hotness in 450 tail grips IMO. I'm probably going to get some for my V450 later. As well as a DFC head. Should be a drop in fit with the DFC swash and some new servo horns/balls. I still have to see how the tail grips fit/don't fit.

Originally Posted by flint723

I am sorry I missed that. Are you still running the robird? And have you used the latest firmwares with the vib analysis? What are your impressions of it compared to the 2702?

I had the Robird installed for several weeks, then had a crash. I wasn't sure what caused it, so to be on the safe side i removed the Robird. I was using the original firmware.
The new firmware seems to have cured the problems, and there have'nt been any complaints lately.
The Beast had stability problems too, but the V3 firmware seems to have cured it too.

[QUOTE=IntegrityHndywrk;23263845]The Robird is supposed to be a rebrand of the RC Aerodyne Black widow. Has your experience with it still been good? No issues? Sorry it didn't get any attention. Have you flown the ZYX to compare?

The Robird, Black Widow, and ALZRC are the same.
I may have had an issue, I'm not sure, but that was with the old firmware.
The new firmware seems to have fixed the problems. I have'nt flown it with the new firmware.
It has a vibration analysys feature, which lets you play back vibes for the head, and tail after a flight. You can also hook up a PC to it, and check vibes on the ground as you run up the heli.
You program the gyro with a PC. I think you can do that with the Beast also.

Originally Posted by clearprop88

The Robird, Black Widow, and ALZRC are the same.
I may have had an issue, I'm not sure, but that was with the old firmware.
The new firmware seems to have fixed the problems. I have'nt flown it with the new firmware.
It has a vibration analysys feature, which lets you play back vibes for the head, and tail after a flight. You can also hook up a PC to it, and check vibes on the ground as you run up the heli.
You program the gyro with a PC. I think you can do that with the Beast also.

Vibration analysis seems like it might be a cool feature. Not sure of the purpose or how/what it can be used for. I suppose just to double check things you can't visually see?

Well with the uBeast, you CAN PC program optionally with a USB plug. But the nice thing about the uBeast is it is fully field programmable. Not needing a PC at all. Is the Robird the same way?

The ZYX has a lot of options for programming. USB, LCD programming box, and a REALLY cool, Bluetooth adapter for your phone! How cool is that! I hope everyone else, including ESC manufacturers follow though with something like that! How cool would it be to have a universal programmer for all your stuff in a app on your phone. All you need is the adapter. The price on the ZYX isn't bad either.

I might get one of these, for the sole purpose of research and to compare them to the uBeast myself. But my heart is just telling me to stick to what works before i cause myself more greif. Though I'm sure some people would like to have a comparison of all 3. I just can't afford to do it. My annual heli budget is by FAR exceeded with the X5. I managed to pull a lot of extras out of no where to pull that purchase off. Otherwise it wouldn't have been possible. So i don't want to end up getting something for this heli that is just not going to work out. If i have to save for it anyway. I kind of feel i should go with what i know will work out for now. A AR7200BX or uBeast.

Oh I heard the link pop off & yeah the blades tend to flap around when that happens, but I couldn't see it your video but I thought I heard the blades clashing together. It is good that your plastic dip mod helped out so your canopy didn't shatter, that plastic is so brittle, too bad it isn't made stronger.




[QUOTE=IntegrityHndywrk;23263055]The sound you heard in the video was the pitch linkage letting loose. With no linkage to hold the one blade it simply began flapping like a bird as it went around the rotations. The centrifugal force kept them from hitting up on each other. Luckally there was no boom strike or anything. The throttle was cut so the heli kind of just plopped down and broke the skids and put a crack in my canopy. BUT, the good news is the durability liner i put inside the canopy works well. The canopy did infact crack and split in this second crash. BUT it did not shatter and the pieces all stuck together. So all i had to do was apply some ca and press the parts togeather. After CA the canopy is actually stronger than before and less likely to crack in that same spot. So there is a silver lining to this crash. It helps me validate a prototype mod that i've been sitting on for a month or two now.
]

[QUOTE=IntegrityHndywrk;23264041]Vibration analysis seems like it might be a cool feature. Not sure of the purpose or how/what it can be used for. I suppose just to double check things you can't visually see?

All gyro's are sensitive to vibration, that's why you put a foam pad under the heli. The quiter you can make the heli. the better the gyro will work. A gyro senses motion, and it sees vibration as motion, sometimes it will send a spurious signal to a servo causing an unexpected motion of the heli. The Robird vibration analyzer will tell you if the vibration is in the head or the tail, it shows you where to look.

[QUOTE=IntegrityHndywrk;23264041]
Well with the uBeast, you CAN PC program optionally with a USB plug. But the nice thing about the uBeast is it is fully field programmable. Not needing a PC at all. Is the Robird the same way?

I think you can program it with the lights, but I just used my laptop to program it. Anyway I don't really see the use for field programming. I would rather wait until I got home to decide if I wanted to make some changes. Have you used it?

[QUOTE=IntegrityHndywrk;23264041]
The ZYX has a lot of options for programming. USB, LCD programming box, and a REALLY cool, Bluetooth adapter for your phone! How cool is that! I hope everyone else, including ESC manufacturers follow though with something like that! How cool would it be to have a universal programmer for all your stuff in a app on your phone. All you need is the adapter. The price on the ZYX isn't bad either.

At the time I was looking at these under $100 gyros a lot of people were having problems with the ZYX gyro so i passed it up. They seem to have fixed some of the problems.The beast was also having tipping problems on takeoff, but they seem to have fixed those problems in their V3 firmware.