Trex 450 SE and general build videos are here

[helidirect]

Bob,

I would like to thank for your great videos and I personally watch them and love every single part of it. Very clear and informative.

Thanks for doing such a great job for our community.

Steve

[kgfly]

Originally Posted by Finless

Not sure what you mean here? Wrong? I use the curves I suggest as do many others so I know they are right...

No, no, not that your curves are wrong , they make perfect sense with your explanations. I meant that the advice I was given that 3pt curves are no good was wrong.

Originally Posted by Finless

The issue with the 3 point curves is in NORMAL mode... As you come in from forward flight into hover you will need some negative pitch to bring it down (especially in wind) and doing so you will be WAY down in your throttle curve and thus RPM will drop dramatically. So the work around is to stay in idle up until you get into the hover then switch to normal and land. That is the issue I saw with the DX6 and normal mode with 3 point curves.

OK, I'll have to digest this but thanks for the explanation. Any other comments or suggestions about using the DX6 ? Any idea whether the S75 Servos that come with it (specs below) are suitable for the TRex, including the tail ?

S75
Size: (L x W x H): 23mm x 12mm x 24mm (.90" x .45" x .94")
Weight: 7.5 grams (0.28 oz)
Torque: 17.2 oz/in (1.17 kg cm) @ 4.8V
Operating Speed: .12 sec/60° @ 4.8V

[Finless]

OK, I'll have to digest this but thanks for the explanation. Any other comments or suggestions about using the DX6 ? Any idea whether the S75 Servos that come with it (specs below) are suitable for the TRex, including the tail ?

I have seen them work in a SE but not very well... They get REAL sloppy fast, are reallty to weak, and make it harder to learn to fly.... Dump them for your own good or use them in a foamy park flyer.

Bob

[kgfly]

OK, so I guess I'm up for 4 x HS56, right ?

[Finless]

Best bet for the Trex if you have the bucks is 3 HS-65MG (metal gears) and a 9650 for the tail.... If your going to get serious about the Trex and fly t a lot this is a good choice for servos.

I have set up a few folks with HS-56 for the tail but they soon grew out of the capabilities of the HS-56 for the tail (holding capability due to speed).....

Bob

[kgfly]

I saw a lot of posts suggesting that for a beginner (= crashes) plastic gears are better since they act as a benign/cheap failure point. Metal gears tend to tranfer the force into the motor, bend rods etc. Hence the Karbonite seemed a good compromise.

My ambitions are modest, hover -> circuits -> moderate FF. If I get that far in six months to a year I'll be happy. It's a price/performance/replacement-cost trade off.

[Finless]

I saw a lot of posts suggesting that for a beginner (= crashes) plastic gears are better since they act as a benign/cheap failure point. Metal gears tend to tranfer the force into the motor, bend rods etc. Hence the Karbonite seemed a good compromise.

No way...... Trust me you are going to HATE replacing HS-56 gear sets after a while... Almost every crash you strip at least one!!!!! I have replaced more than I even care to count!!!! Back when the US had a shortage of them we were all scrounging for gears!

Now that I have gone to MG AND had a crash AND seen many others crash with them, I would much rather replace busted links and bet link rods than servo gears... I have gone MG and wont look back!

Bob

[kgfly]

OK, I'm convinced. Now I have to scrounge up another few hundred $!

Which leads me to some more dumb newbie questions:

- Do the HS-65MG and Futaba-9650 mount directly on the TRex(HDE) or are adjustments/adapters required (pictures of the 9650 show pretty funky mounting tabs) ?

- I've seen suggestions that not all servos and Rx have compatible plugs. Do iI have to specify either JR-style or Futaba-style plugs when ordering (I think the DX6 Rx is JR-style) or will any servo plug fit any Rx ?

[Finless]

The HS65's are easier to mount than the HS56's.... The front 2 servos now mount on the OUTSIDE of the frame... Thats way better. The rear servo must now mount on the inside of the frame and you still need to grind the ball as I explain in my video to get the link as straight as possible.... Then if you want the rear link completely 100% straight (I dont think it is nessary) then you will need to space the servo out from the frame a tiny bit.

Some people say the single servo hole in the 65's does not quite line up with the holes in the frame but I had no ptroblem there. If it doesnt it's a small difference easily fixed with a xacto blade.

Bob

[wreckedraptor]

Bob, setting up e/points on my radio as i follow you in gyro menu. I dont have a center selection only up and down. i have up at 32% down is at 50% center is not there. what gives?
Thanks Skip

[BK21]

Bob, I've just watched a few of your videos, well done they are good.

I just thought you may want some feedback, on one of them you show people how to tidy up the wiring.

If you do any videos specifically about this in future (I hope you do as you have a knack for these vids) it may be a good idea to mention that while tidy wiring is a good idea, its a bad idea to make the wires exactly the right length.

Because having some slack is a good thing when a crash happens, obviously no slack means damage can be caused to items by wires being pulled out of things.

[rdlohr]

Because having some slack is a good thing when a crash happens, obviously no slack means damage can be caused to items by wires being pulled out of things.

Leaving a bit of slack on the servo lines also makes it easy to service them. I know Bob and I practice this, maybe the words just were'nt said.

[Finless]

Yea... I call them "service loops". Having them there also helps with vibration causing them to fatigue and break wires internally within the insulation. So yes you DONT want them tight especially right at the servo.

Bob

[topdave]

Originally Posted by Finless

This is a sticky post where all my videos that were on Run Ryder will be listed!

It was suggested by a excellent contributor GimbalFan that I order my videos in a order that should be follow by a new person (n00b) with a new Trex. I liked the suggestion and now the videos are in order as they should be viewed.

Here are the Videos:

Thread Lock 101 (15 Megs)

Installing Servos in a Trex SE (38 Megs)

Ball Links 101 (20 Megs)

Soldering Bullet (Motor) Connectors 101 (50 Megs)

Soldering Deans Connectors 101 (30 Megs)

Trex Electronics placement and overview (28 Megs)

CCPM Setup Part 1 (58 Megs)

CCPM Setup Part 2 (58 Megs)

Pitch and Throttle Curves 101 (58 Megs)

401 gyro setup (48 Megs)

Align ESC setup (30 Megs)

Blade Balancing (30 Megs)

Canopy Trimming 101 (28 Megs)

Servo Repair 101 (30 Megs)

Replacing the Align Auto-rotation Clutch (20 Megs)

NEW VIDEO - Added 5/22
Blade Tracking 101 (35 Megs)

Programming the Futaba 9Z for a heli (78 Megs)


Enjoy!
Bob

Hello Bob and Friends,
I'm a complete noob at this heli stuff so forgive me if I'm asking too much..! My experience so far is with the Venom nr3d RTF, and I"ve learned enough about these things that now I won't quit til figure out what you guys have mastered--If I don't go bust first! But I just picked up my 450xl ccpm- got it built with the elecs installed and am trying to work thru the radio setups. I bought a Futaba T7CHP radio and was wondering how much info on your Futaba 9 channel video will cross over to my seven channel set ups. The screens are different and I was wondering what else like the abreviations and terminologys are different. I guess what I am really asking is Are ya going to do a radio setup vid on the 7 channel system (for Dummies)?

Thank you again for all your vids, Dave

[Finless]

The 9Z vid wont be anything like your radio. However the CCPM videos uses the 7CHP so those should help you a lot!

Bob

[shesha]

MrFixit have you looked at tower hobbies robinson racing pinions they have a nice range, or check JFG justgofly.com maybe vinnie carries them

[got-lipo]

any video for Fail Safe setup Bob, i am a little bit confused with this features on my 9chp and ip 146 rx

thank forward

[shesha]

fin I just looked at the video on the one way clutch very neat, just noted something dont know if it is align's new batch they have reshaped one end of the clutch bearing so no you have no choice but to go with one direction cant go wrong with that I guess Thanks for sharing your experience

[Finless]

Sorry no videos but it is pretty easy.
Set the following:
Ail, elv, rudder and pitch to 0 (center stick).
Set Throttle to LOW stick (this will be off for electrics).
Set the gyro gain channel to HOLD.

Now it's easy to test but unhook your motor or remove the pinion is best.
Move the sticks to the corners with motor running and just turn of the TX. If you set it right swash should go level and zero pitchand tail will go nutral. Motor should shut off.

Hope this helps,
Bob

[got-lipo]

Originally Posted by Finless

Sorry no videos but it is pretty easy.
Set the following:
Ail, elv, rudder and pitch to 0 (center stick).
Set Throttle to LOW stick (this will be off for electrics).
Set the gyro gain channel to HOLD.

Now it's easy to test but unhook your motor or remove the pinion is best.
Move the sticks to the corners with motor running and just turn of the TX. If you set it right swash should go level and zero pitchand tail will go nutral. Motor should shut off.

Hope this helps,
Bob

that mean fail safe,, we get zero pitch.. very low or zero throttle. tail also zero pitch.

in my 9chp , to get zero pitch the pitch curver is about 53%, to set zero pitch for fail safe mode trex with with 120 degree swash.. i will use this value (53%) on Ail, elv, and pitch .

i may be wrong but i am working on it.. thank