It suddenly struck me that "Specter" is an odd name - "Spectre" would suggest something stealthy, but Specter is a bit like the Mazda Millenia, or the Jeep Latitude in the pantheon of mis-spellings!

At least it looks good, sounds good and flies good!

(and the post title is an allusion to Phil Spector....)

Yeah, i'm not sure it Specter is a Chinese miss spelling of Spectre, of if it's deliberate.

Speaking of which.. The 'made in' label on the Lipos i got from Aliexpress doesnt exactly inspire confidence:

Apparently ‘Chine’ if French for China, so not quite so stupid afterall.

Yes, the French are always complaining about Anglisisms in their language, like "Le Weekend" or "Le Big Boss", so maybe this redresses the balance just a touch!

Europe now has a fully stocked XLPower dealer, Acrowood in Germany. So I ordered the carbon tail boom. It’s 45g lighter than the metal boom which maybe doesn’t seem a lot but it allows batteries up to 250g lighter to be used and still get a good CG

same place that carried JS Model parts for our TZ Frenzy.

Originally Posted by JetPlaneFlyer

The new Goblin Black Thunder is my lightest 700, it is 60g over the 5Kg mark with the 4500mAh packs fitted. Heaviest is either the Goblin Speed or the Agile 7.2, they are pushing 5.8Kg with the 5000mAh packs

The Specter will still be a light heli, possibly the lightest of my fleet if you take the batteries out of the equation.


Servos turned up yesterday, they look really good. If you can judge a servo by the quality of the CNC machining and engraving of the case and the supplied arms then these are first class:

Hello! Are you still enjoying the servos?

Originally Posted by ebaltazar

Hello! Are you still enjoying the servos?

Yes, the servos are performing very well. I've had no issues at all, they run fast quiet and smooth.

I was at the 'helifest' meting in the UK weekend before last and the XLPower guys were there from China with a couple of their European team flyers doing demos. The flying thse two guys were doing is the most extreme abuse I've ever seen dished out to any heli. the over speeds one of the guys (marius) was doing i could hardly watch they were so extreme, I'm sure almost any other heli would have exploded.
On the final flight of the last day Marius actually blew up his LiPo (60C Gens Ace) in flight and had to do an emergency landing and pull out the burning battery which continues to burn away on the flight line for the next 20 minutes!

here's one of Marius' flights (not recommended for those of a gentle disposition):

Amazing flight by Marius Gehle, xl power specter at helifest 2018 (2 min 52 sec)

Originally Posted by 2Doggs

My only experience is of JX PDI-HV5915MG's, rebranded as Rotorstar 610MGC by HK, and they've worked well for hundreds of flights on my 600. They seem to match their specs of 0.095s and 15kgcm @ 8.4v. I also use the Rotorstar version of the PDI-HV5807MG on my 600 tail, and it's also worked very well. Border Lord and BA have used other JX servos with good results.

I don't know about the 7132 - the claimed torque and speed at 7.2v seems very high - but it's more or less the same as the claimed spec for the coreless version, the 7332.

Yes i can confirm i really like JX servos.. My last 20-30 servos all JX. From what i understand they are a quite large and good manufacture company of servos who also make for other brands like Rotorstar as 2D mention. JX is great value for the money !!!

Edit: just saw your maiden video.. Great heli and great sound. Congrats with a new great heli !!!

BA

Could I bother you to measure the width of the bearing carrier (excluding the pitch yoke). I need to know the overall width from the outside of the two bearings. XL Power sells the brass slider bushing separately and I need to know if I can use that as a replacement part on a TSA 700E pitch slider. The Trex 700 slide bushing fits but the hex end of the bushing is double the width of the TSA one which would limit the pitch range of the tail. TSA does not sell this part separately and forces you to buy a whole slider assembly if you damage that part.

Originally Posted by Black_Angel

Yes i can confirm i really like JX servos.. My last 20-30 servos all JX. From what i understand they are a quite large and good manufacture company of servos who also make for other brands like Rotorstar as 2D mention. JX is great value for the money !!!

Edit: just saw your maiden video.. Great heli and great sound. Congrats with a new great heli !!!

BA

Some of their less expensive servos don't have any reinforcement on the soldered internal leads. However lately they seem to have gone to direct soldered pots which eliminates that problem, or at least they have in the Rotorstar servos. It's nothing you couldn't fix with some GC electronics grade silicone though (Aloft hobbies now carries this stuff which makes it much easier to obtain than before)

https://alofthobbies.com/electronic-...-adhesive.html

The adhesion of this stuff just right it'll stay put and protect against vibration but you can grab it and peel it off if you need to remove it.

All my JX servos are opened and inspected and most of them had to get a treatment with this white magic i buyed on ebay some time back, who you helped me to find Atomic: 708 45g Curing Solidification Silicone Rubber Adhesive Sealant

I tried to buy it again but can not find it in stock. could something like this be used: https://www.ebay.com/itm/704-Silicon...4AAOSwf-VWblr9 ?


BA

Originally Posted by Atomic Skull

Some of their less expensive servos don't have any reinforcement on the soldered internal leads. However lately they seem to have gone to direct soldered pots which eliminates that problem, or at least they have in the Rotorstar servos. It's nothing you couldn't fix with some GC electronics grade silicone though (Aloft hobbies now carries this stuff which makes it much easier to obtain than before)

https://alofthobbies.com/electronic-...-adhesive.html

The adhesion of this stuff just right it'll stay put and protect against vibration but you can grab it and peel it off if you need to remove it.

Originally Posted by Atomic Skull

Could I bother you to measure the width of the bearing carrier

9.7mm over the outer bearing flanges.


PS.. The JX servos have so far performed flawlessly which makes me question what would be the point of paying twice as much and more for 'brand name' servos?

Originally Posted by Black_Angel

All my JX servos are opened and inspected and most of them had to get a treatment with this white magic i buyed on ebay some time back, who you helped me to find Atomic: 708 45g Curing Solidification Silicone Rubber Adhesive Sealant

I tried to buy it again but can not find it in stock. could something like this be used: https://www.ebay.com/itm/704-Silicon...4AAOSwf-VWblr9 ?


BA

Use the CG Electronics stuff I linked it's easier to apply (doesn't form strings all over the place) and if you ever need to remove it it can be pulled off (it has medium adhesion and the stuff is tough and stays in one big blob). I prefer it to the Dow Corning #745 I used to use which is very strong and tough but a PITA to apply cleanly and extremely difficult to remove. This stuff is semi-clear rather than white (they make a white version but you can only get it in cartridges).

The "peels off in one piece" property makes it especially useful for securing ipex antenna connectors because I might need to replace those again some day.

https://alofthobbies.com/electronic-...-adhesive.html

It's available from ebay vendors as well. Make sure you get the "electronics grade" stuff (part # 19-155) because they also have a general purpose silicone that is acetic cure and will damage electronics.

EDIT: forgot to mention that the first little bit you squeeze out of a newly opened tube should be discarded because it'll be more runny than the rest inside the tube.