Well, got the kit pretty much put together, just need all my electronics now, shipped yesterday from honk kong... Tail rotor is spinning the wrong way so I think I need to adjust the twist in the belt. Am I right?? Anyway, this is what I ordered (for now)

4400kv, turnigy motor
Red brick 50A heli mode ESC
3ea turnigy 1800 cyclic servos
One HK high speed, digital MG servo for the tail
An 11 and 13 tooth pinion
One HK401b gyro (will upgrade later)
I already have some 2650mah 3S batteries, hopefully not too heavy
And not sure which radio to use yet, I have an airtronics rds8000 and the turnigy 9x v2

Comments? Suggestions? And I know about the gyro, just can't afford a different one right now)

Yep!! The twist in the belt was the cause. Quarter twist the other direction and voila!! Tail rotor spinning in the right direction! Any suggestions as to which radio I should use (see above post)

I have the 9x v2 (mode 2) and love it. My 450 has a terminal case of bad electronics (all servos under $10ea & a bumb ga250), but the TX/RX have yet to give me any issues. Added a back-light kit to my 450, love it.

~psguardian

Originally Posted by psguardian

I have the 9x v2 (mode 2) and love it. My 450 has a terminal case of bad electronics (all servos under $10ea & a bumb ga250), but the TX/RX have yet to give me any issues. Added a back-light kit to my 450, love it.

~psguardian

Cool, thanks for the suggestion, that's the radio I wanted to use anyway! I did the green backlight mod and love it. I use that radio for 3 of my planes. Never had one issue! Just never done helis. Before so programming will be fun for me. Seen plenty of you tube videos with programming suggestions though so I should be ok. Still waiting for all my electronics, Hong Kong must be far or something... Ha ha LOL!!!!

OK so here I am, completely done building my new Heli and having some serious issues! Setting up the gyro of course!! I can get the gyro to switch between HH mode and Rate mode but thats about it!! Ive read every setup article, watched every setup youtube video and it's all crap!! No matter what settings I use it either spins out of control or drifts it doesnt lock for anything!! I am using the Turnigy 9X V2 and HK401b... Any help here would be great!

I had the spinning out of control issue, direction reversed on gyro setup.

The hk401b have been reported as being loose in the case, due to only being held in place via the wires. A few videos on it show taking it apart & removing the film from the dip switches, laying it back in the case, filling case with hot glue or silicone & putting the base back on. This eliminates vibes induced by theboard bouncing around inside the case.

Hope these two points put you on track to a steady tail.

~psguardian

tested direction already, and already did hot glue fix...
???

If tall drifts in one mode & piros in the other, I think it's a gain issue.

Or bum gyro?

~psguardian

Holy crap!! I retested direction and you were right, it was reversed!! Not sure what the heck I was thinking.... going to have to try again!!

YEAH BABY!! She flies!! Hovers like a dream!! I 'm using a 4400kv motor with an 11t pinion. The 50 amp ESC is getting pretty hot, and I'm just hovering... does this sound right?? I forgot to mention that on my throttle curve it only goes from 0 - 80% I figured this would be plenty for hovering

SWEET!

Now onto the heat,
A. Hovering is hard on ESCs cuz the rotor disc is living in 'dirty air' (sitting on it's own down wash)
B. Not much air moving over it compared to normal flight.
C. Motor draws more due to A.

What motor are you using? It's time to pull out the dark horse calc & find you a stable head speed.

~psguardian

Turnigy 2223 H 4400kv... Ok I should have just scrolled, but i'm lazy Sry bout that.

So what are your collective & cyclic pitch limits set to? Do you know your all up weight with that 2650mah Batt?

~psguardian

My what and my huh??? :-) I'll get back with you about all up weight, going to make dinner right now, my throttle is limited to 80% by my throttle curve, and my pitch is set from 0-10 degrees, I'm hovering right now at about 45-50% throttle and about 5deg pitch. Does that answer your question?

Here's a quick vid... I guess all that Simulator time paid off...

HK450 V2 first hovering attempts (4 min 7 sec)

0-10° would be the collective pitch (swash plate moving up/down level). Cyclic pitch is the measure of pitch from forward/back or left/right inputs... Your throttle & collective pitch are controlled by your left stick & your cyclic inputs are on the right stuck (for mode 2 radios).

Your first hover looks better than any of mine so far... But then I haven't had the benefit of SIM time either. My win 7 & XP machines both HATE the SIMS I've tried.

~psguardian