Logo 700 battery tray rant

[Jotto]

I purchased and built a Logo 700 recently. It's a great machine, and I love flying it, but... I think the battery mount was designed after having too much schnapps. This is a well engineered premium helicopter with an equally premium price... and then they created the worst battery mount on earth.

Honestly I think fiddling with the 3 velcros is a pain, especially when the helicopter is not on a table. I could always remove the entire battery tray, but come on... then I need to use a tool for the four hex screws. A tool for changing batteries??

Perhaps it will improve with some practice, but right now I'm quite envious after seeing the Goblin battery tray.

[Mentalic]

I can swap the tray in a seconds. Went with two trays with packs basically permanently strapped in.

[dahld]

We have always removed the tray to change batteries, as you are right, trying to strap them on the tray with the tray installed is WAY too much trouble.

Yes, it requires a tool, but one quick turn on each bolt and the tray's out. In the end, it's much faster to change the packs when you can manipulate the tray out of the heli.

And also, we went to two straps vs. the stated three from the beginning, and have never in thousands of flights had an issue with that. One less step in the battery changing procedure.

The system may not be perfect, but it is lightweight, no-brainer, cheap to produce (keeping kit costs down as much as possible), and in all the various crashes Kyle's had with the 700, going all the way back to the prototyping phase, he's never broken a battery plate, or ripped any of the four mounting posts out of the carbon frame side. So it's tough as well. But in reality, if you hit hard enough to rip the battery mounts, something else on the frame's likely broken...but never JUST the mounts, causing a frame change just for that.

(-: Dave

[rcmarty]

Yup , just a few screws and your good to go.

I use a bit of double sided tape to stick to the packs to the plate then a few straps then i'm good.

I also made all the wires custom lengths to make less strain on the esc and packs.


I can't recall ever going to the field without a few tools. Getting all the way out to the field only to find one loose screw grounding my heli for the day.


Martin

[Stolla]

One question remains, why a company like mikado......and many others are way behind t/tiger with battery tray and ease of use, my raptor canopy never came off and lipos clipped in without any tools in a second. I find it strange that we see new helis being launched but no new innovation for user friendliness. I dont want to change this into a mik vs ttiger thread as i had both and many issues with the big logo that dissapoints but if people accept the issues because they dont know better i guess it wont change. At least the mik tray is not the worst

[Jotto]

I might order a few more battery trays and swap the entire tray. It's not a big problem, but I am not impressed by the fact that you need a tool to swap batteries when the other brands are going towards more user friendly solutions with quick connect battery trays and button canopy mounts.

I wish KDE would make an upgrade.


Anyway.. if Kyle can fly with two velcros without accidents, then I will go for two instead of three as well ;-)

[1orange1]

I keep checking the KDE website for a quick release battery mount also. In the mean time I switch out 1 of 3 battery plates with their own set of batteries on them. I use velcro strips to keep the batteries in place, and electrical tape to cinch them down to the velcro. Cheap, easy, lightweight, and semi permanent. The hardest crash (on a Align 600 pro with similar mounts) I've ever had spit the batteries out of the shrink wrap while the tape and velcro held.

[futurase]

The idea of a quick release tray has been pitched to KDE a good while back... It is being pondered... It HAS to be 100% bulletproof or it should not exist. PERIOD. No one wants one more than me IF this can be done. Also If it adds weight to the machine as in several ounces I'm out then too. Working in the guidelines is NOT a 5 minute job. Magnets won't cut the mustard for two 6-7S 5000 packs either. NO WAY...

[corona007]

Originally Posted by Mentalic

I can swap the tray in a seconds. Went with two trays with packs basically permanently strapped in.

+1

3 trays 6 lipos and 9 straps here...

If I had to undo 3 velcro straps every time I would have road rage. lol

[360Wings]

Im sure a saw a recent video of someone who had removed the battery mount tray/plate althogether and just used the straps around the base part of the frames. There might have been more to the setup but the middle battery tray appeared to have been removed..

[Jotto]

Ok, I have tried removing and mounting the battery plate with batteries a few times. It's done in seconds, so I will use that approach for switching batteries. I ordered tree more battery plates with velcros plus a telescopic hex driver that can be kept in a pocket.

Still it feels a bit clumsy to use a tool to swap batteries..


Sent from my cellphone

[corona007]

Thats has to look terrible (strapping the lipos to frame). It can't be good for the lipos either.
If your laying the lipos on the 2 side frames, One could guess a hard landing could puncture the lipos and you would get nice blue flames engulfing you nice heli. Good luck with that!

I don't see it as such a problem. But It is a little cumbersome using a tool to remove the lipos.
Though having just one lipo tray and having to replace the lips every time can be a PITA.

I'm working on a spring loaded pin lock that will replace one of the stand offs made out aluminium. All you need is your finger to release the tray.

I already have it designed just need some free time to fabricate it.

[christoffer]

I really don't see the problem. It takes me like 10seconds to mount the three straps.
It's a lot faster than refueling or charging, I'm not that stressed when I fly.
I want to wait longer between the flights than the time it takes to swap packs just to think about my last flight and the next one..