Originally Posted by indiggio

Ok, took off the rear ball linkage near the rudder and lengthened the rod 1 full turn.

Put it all back together and put it into a 6' hover. Rock steady. No trim, nothing.

Thanks!!!

One thing I hate about this heli is the battery connectors. It's very difficult to connect/disconnect the battery from the heli connector. Sometimes I even have to get out a set of pliers because it feels like I'm gonna pull the wires out of the connectors. I try not to pull on them, but it's difficult. Any suggestions on that?

Congrats on getting it going. Those battery connectors are called JST connectors. Don't worry about the connectors being tight at first, as they will loosed up with a bit of use. I don't have any particular advice about them except to maybe connect and disconnect them a few or a bunch of times, see if they loosen up a bit.

Rafa

Originally Posted by IntegrityHndywrk

Thats a nice little kit, but it seems expensive in comparison for what you actually get. I think your mostly paying for that nice canvas case. But, it has all the sizes you'll need in screw drivers anyway. #000 is very small but will work on all these heli screws. I use a #0 i think... I forget what it is because it's rubbed off. But the #0 seems to fit small and slightly larger screws i find on all my helicopters. Only for the really tiny ones do i ever need to break out the smaller phillips. I hardly ever use the #1. The only thing i use the slotted or flat head screw drivers for is prying and poking and things like that. Not many slotted screws on these helicopters. You will probably want a hardened steel hex driver set though. If it's not specifically hardened steel, they have a tendency to strip and round off. But again, for the v120 size. Really not an issue since they are all screws going into plastic, for the most part. Except the feathering shafts and things like that.

Maybe I'll just stop by the LHS or home center to see if they have something small and hardened instead of buying an entire kit.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Rafa's CB100

Congrats on getting it going. Those battery connectors are called JST connectors. Don't worry about the connectors being tight at first, as they will loosed up with a bit of use. I don't have any particular advice about them except to maybe connect and disconnect them a few or a bunch of times, see if they loosen up a bit.

Rafa

Thanks!

I read a bunch about people converting to Deans, but I'm not sure what they are and/or how they work. Are they better? Is it a waste of time/money?

Originally Posted by indiggio

Thanks!

I read a bunch about people converting to Deans, but I'm not sure what they are and/or how they work. Are they better? Is it a waste of time/money?

I personally do not like them. They do not fit as tightly together and can actually short out when connecting them if your not paying attention. So they pull apart easier too. But otherwise they are popular. I STRONGLY ADVISE that you do not use pliers to separate them or ever with walkera wires. You could end up damaging the battery or ESC wire shielding or damage the plugs. I did this once and almost fried my whole RX trying to get a servo wire that was stuck out. The JST are still what i use, but only for lack of finding an alternative that suits me. I use some plastic safe grease in VERY small amounts on the battery plug before inserting. It will be easier to remove for a few flights. This is probably not a good idea unless you know your grease is non conductive. Most are.

If you can't solder yet, your stuck with what you have too btw. It's worth it to get a good adjustable temp. soldering station and learn the skill.

I'm considering these. They look smaller than regular deans, but bigger and more secure than micro deans, could just be the black color?:
http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo...wt&goodsid=340

Originally Posted by indiggio

Thanks!

Somewhere I read someone mentioning #000 size, so I was poking about Amazon and found this set I was thinking about...

http://www.amazon.com/Wiha-26199-Slo...I3IFBLW18GKLQQ

i have that set, i use only the #00 and #000 in it frequently. The rest i have in a tool box in the garage along with a million other tools that rarely get used.

so yes, for what i use i definitely paid more than i would like.

Originally Posted by indiggio

Thanks!

I read a bunch about people converting to Deans, but I'm not sure what they are and/or how they work. Are they better? Is it a waste of time/money?

I think that micro deans are great (other than their non polarization, allowing you to plug one battery into another), but I use them only on the 100 and smaller sized models. The JST visibly has more surface area, so I presume it can handle more current. I'm not sure what either connector is rated to, I'd be curious to know.

Rafa

Originally Posted by indiggio

Ok, took off the rear ball linkage near the rudder and lengthened the rod 1 full turn.

Put it all back together and put it into a 6' hover. Rock steady. No trim, nothing.

Thanks!!!

One thing I hate about this heli is the battery connectors. It's very difficult to connect/disconnect the battery from the heli connector. Sometimes I even have to get out a set of pliers because it feels like I'm gonna pull the wires out of the connectors. I try not to pull on them, but it's difficult. Any suggestions on that?

i find that thin rubber gloves (like the doctors or car mechs use) works like a charm in giving that extra needed grip to pull the battery connectors off when they are new. it also helps with pulling the tail box off the boom.

Originally Posted by IntegrityHndywrk

I personally do not like them. They do not fit as tightly together and can actually short out when connecting them if your not paying attention. So they pull apart easier too. But otherwise they are popular. I STRONGLY ADVISE that you do not use pliers to separate them or ever with walkera wires. You could end up damaging the battery or ESC wire shielding or damage the plugs. I did this once and almost fried my whole RX trying to get a servo wire that was stuck out. The JST are still what i use, but only for lack of finding an alternative that suits me. I use some plastic safe grease in VERY small amounts on the battery plug before inserting. It will be easier to remove for a few flights. This is probably not a good idea unless you know your grease is non conductive. Most are.

If you can't solder yet, your stuck with what you have too btw. It's worth it to get a good adjustable temp. soldering station and learn the skill.

I'm considering these. They look smaller than regular deans, but bigger and more secure than micro deans, could just be the black color?:
http://www.rctimer.com/index.php?gOo...wt&goodsid=340

Thanks!

I'm well adept at soldering after making what felt like millions of connectors of various types at a previous job. I just never invested in a quality soldering station due to lack of need.

I guess I'll stick with the current connectors until the 'end-all' connector crosses my path.

Originally Posted by IntegrityHndywrk

Thanks again Don. But how are you clocking the motor? I do remember hearing that they do vary in output or something. 4300 RPM would be great actually. I don't think i'm close to that right now. I assume you had to order your pinions from Europe?

I plan on using the same batteries i use in my D05. They are 950 mAh 25C packs. I ordered 3 from wow hobbies and 2 of them are excellent and are labeled & work as listed. The 3rd one from my last order however... The 3rd one was an actual stock Walkera pack for the D05, just with longer wires. It was labeled that way too "850 mAh 20C". The listing on their web site has this same picture on it. But the first 2 i ordered were totally different packs. I suppose they figured since they were the same size or something.

Yes, I ordered the pinions from Poland. Here is how I measured the kv of the motors:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...2&postcount=47

Bigger batteries allow more current draw 23.75A for the 950mah/25C and 17A for 850mah/20C and 8A for my 400mah/20C and 12.5A for 500mah/25C. So I can get more collective punch with bigger batteries but the weight is also a factor so it is a balancing act.

YMMV, Don

A more general question that pertains to all of these electric helis I've wondered about is:
When do you know it's time to stop flying on a battery?

Do you go by time? Do you rely on the heli to just slowly wind down to a stop?

I've noticed on my GCP and now the V120, that the pitch of the motor will change and start to lose thrust, so I set it down and change batteries.

Is there a better way?

TIA!

Originally Posted by indiggio

A more general question that pertains to all of these electric helis I've wondered about is:
When do you know it's time to stop flying on a battery?

Do you go by time? Do you rely on the heli to just slowly wind down to a stop?

I've noticed on my GCP and now the V120, that the pitch of the motor will change and start to lose thrust, so I set it down and change batteries.

Is there a better way?

TIA!

You never ever want to discharge to more than 80% of actual capacity of the battery. You determine the mah usage by using a good charger and measuring the mah you put back into the battery and by experimenting with flying times and styles until you arrive at a safe flying time for the batteries.

YMMV, Don

Originally Posted by dbennettya

You never ever want to discharge to more than 80% of actual capacity of the battery. You determine the mah usage by using a good charger and measuring the mah you put back into the battery and by experimenting with flying times and styles until you arrive at a safe flying time for the batteries.

YMMV, Don

Ok. I guess with my chargers that came with the helis, I have no idea what is going on with my batteries.

More to learn...

Got any "good charger" suggestions?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by indiggio

Ok. I guess with my chargers that came with the helis, I have no idea what is going on with my batteries.

More to learn...

Got any "good charger" suggestions?

Thanks!

I've had the Turnigy Accucell-6 charger for a few years now and it works great for charging these little LiPo's. I built a little 3 cell Parallel Charging Harness so I san charge up to 3 batteries at a time.

Originally Posted by dbennettya

You never ever want to discharge to more than 80% of actual capacity of the battery. You determine the mah usage by using a good charger and measuring the mah you put back into the battery and by experimenting with flying times and styles until you arrive at a safe flying time for the batteries.

YMMV, Don

+1, I usually set the timer on my TX for a fairly short flight time to begin with and charge the battery to see what % capacity it's been drained to. Keeping in mind you don't want to discharge the LiPo to below 20%, adjust the TX timer until you figure out a proper flight time for the battery you're using.

Regards,
John

Originally Posted by indiggio

Much appreciated!

Yeah I'm a good few years away from any 3D activity. My other heli is a Genius CP, which I can hover comfortably and move about here and there and just wanted something a bit bigger to take outside.

I've got a slipper clutch kit on everyone's good advice, but have yet to install it as my heli just arrived yesterday. I'm in need of some micro screwdrivers for these microscopic phillips head screws! I've nothing that small to fit them.

Livona Bob's slipper clutch kit works great. But note that there are about a dozen ways to do it yourself-- just search 'slipper clutch'...

I use Bob's kit, and his instructions are very clear. Been flying for almost a year with it and have NEVER stripped a tail gear!!!

Chief

Originally Posted by 1Hammer

I've had the Turnigy Accucell-6 charger for a few years now and it works great for charging these little LiPo's. I built a little 3 cell Parallel Charging Harness so I san charge up to 3 batteries at a time.

+1, I usually set the timer on my TX for a fairly short flight time to begin with and charge the battery to see what % capacity it's been drained to. Keeping in mind you don't want to discharge the LiPo to below 20%, adjust the TX timer until you figure out a proper flight time for the battery you're using.

Regards,
John

I guess I'll have to start looking around for a better charger that gives me some feedback on the status of a battery.

Thanks for the info!