Building a Sticky and links to valuable threads

[CalRotor]

Ok guys, I’ve been lurking in the 300x forum for awhile and got some good information from everyone’s posts (I was surprised by that non-soft start trick of the esc). But, we really need another sticky or two for the 300x, especially as a lot of guys seem to be moving up from an mcpx, as opposed to down from a 450 or larger heli. I’ll volunteer for editor if other guys can chime in. The idea is to not sticky this thread, but to collect information that most agree should be a sticky and consolidate it into a nice, clean post. So, please contribute so we can build up the collective 300x knowledge base.
Here’s my quick ideas so far:

1. General Information:

A. Should I Get One and Will I Be Able to Fly It?

Yes, get a 300x, it’s a good heli and a good deal. It flys well. It’s the smallest / cheapest heli with an AR7200BX (receiver / fbl controller) and you can total your 300 and keep the AR7200BX for another heli - or sell it used. It’s a great in- between size that is still small enough to fly at baseball field or reasonable sized park. The servos are the same as the 450 3d and 450x and the AR7200BX is the same as the 450x.

Batteries and parts are cheap. The Glacier Ice batteries from EP buddy are pretty good and only like $13 each. You can get a nice parallel charging board from EP buddy so you can parallel charge 6 batteries at a time. Other good battery choices are _________________. Make sure you put velcro on the batteries for mounting. [I’m not trying to shill any particular battery, so please give other brands so we can have recommendations]

If you can fly an mcpx well, you can fly a 300x. If you cant fly a collective pitch heli, you cant. Although you could use it to learn CP, its better and cheaper to use an MCPx as your crash test heli. More time flying, less time cursing and fixing.

B. Quirks / Useful Tips

Do NOT use more than 70-75% throttle with the wood blades - they might vibrate like crazy or even fly off (?).

Carbon fiber blades work better, but cost about $30.

Warning - Be careful in trying to soft start the heli or take off in stunt mode / idle up. If the throttle has been activated at all within the last 20 seconds, switching throttle hold off when you are in idle up (or have any throttle on) will make the heli spool up immediately - not a lot of fun.

You might want to tuck the esc wires into the frame close to the esc (so they are not crowded in the nose of the canopy), but be careful that they don’t touch the motor pinion or the main gear).

You might want to lubricate the canopy pins (water / saliva) right before installation to help mount the canopy without poking out the canopy grommets.


1. Mods out of the box:

The 300x can be flown out of the box after doing a normal pre-flight. But, there are several mods that have been useful.

Motor bearing mod. ___________

Frame stiffeners. The 300x has had problems with the main shaft breaking. This could be caused by the frame being relatively weak. There are two fixes for this - Lynx and Astroid Designs. The Astroid works well as is cheaper, but ___________
Tail mod (Align). _____________


2. Common Crash Damage:

Main Blades
Feathering Shaft
Main Gear
Main Shaft
Grips
Landing Gear
Canopy
[Please add more items what you have in your crash kit]
　

3. Pre-flight check: What do you really pre-flight and how do you do it

4. Normal conditions:

I found that the main shaft has a bit of play so that the head can move more than the main gear. So, it seems like the main shaft bolt is loose, or loose going through the shaft. But, the bolt is not lose. I’ve checked on a couple helis and they’re the same. I’ve flown 15 flights with no problems. Hopefully this is everyone else’s experience?
Any other abnormal / normal conditions?


5. Upgrade Options:

a. Stock servo gears get stripped in a crash. Metal geared options are ___________

b. Blades. Carbon fiber blades

c. Motor / ESC. Don’s Wicked Motor with either stock esc or a _____________. Scorpion ___________
　
Ok guys, this was a fast idea so don’t rip it too bad if I got some stuff wrong. Just chime in and let’s see if we can build up a sticky-worthy post for this forum.

Edit:
Many other worthy threads submitted by SHY:

SHYs Frame Stiffening Mod:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=440550

SHYs Landing Gear Mod:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=539036

-VERY successful stuff, for ALL helis!

300X - main and tail blade alternatives?:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread....99#post5065899

300X - The Weight Watchers Tread

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread....44#post5068144

300X - The FBL Unit Fine Tuning Tread

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread....56#post5077256

300x - servo alternatives:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=492617

300x Batteries Reviews:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=464822

300x - tail tuning and upgrading

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread....70#post5097370

SHYs Servo Gear Protection Mod

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread...39#post5102639

300X - the HOW TO GET RID OF VIBRATIONS tread

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=554707

[Fooferdoggie]

if you crash in soft grass the cf blades really hold up. the wooden blades covering will crack on almost an strike no matter how small. the main gear pretty much always strips at least some in any crash including a tipover. but the shaft can take light crashes and be ok. If you mess with the heli put on the wooden blades for the test flight.
tools needed 2 1.5mm hex wrenches of decent quality.
2mm hex for motor adjusting
4mm nut driver for all of the safety nuts on the heli and tail blades. good #00 or #0 philips
pitch gauge swash leveler

[chrisl]

Tail mod, maybe the tarot tail hub and grips. They work great and there is little to no slop.
And thanks for doing this it is needed!

[melow08]

Thanks for this thread. I have been flying the MCpx for a while and can do most any sport type flying. Went to a trex 450 and have done nothing but crash, feel like it's a little over my head still. Just ordered a 300x and have been looking for info on what to do to it and how it flies. Was hoping it would be a better transition heli from mcpx and less crashing than the 450. Keep it coming, all your experiences will translate to less frustration for us newer guys. Thanks again.

Sean

[Fooferdoggie]

Not too many motor options.Dons Wicked 4800KV 300X
scorpion 2208-24 v2 Right now this is the only motor that they carry for the 300x and of course out of stock a lot. a 12t pinion is recommended for it.

[melow08]

So if i wanted to upgrade the crappy stock parts, (ones known to have issues.) with aftermarket ones, just to have better quality, not necessarily to increase performance, which ones would that be? I can research what to replace them with, but would like a heads up on what needs to go. thanks.

[Fooferdoggie]

Tail hub and grips and maybe motor if it is really noisy. If you crash much better servos. And the frame brace. The rest is bling I think.

[CalRotor]

Okay guys, I’ve added a bit of stuff using what’s been posted above. Again, I’m trying to build up to a good post so please chime in. Also, I’ve only got like 30 flights on my 300x and its bone stock unmodified now - I can easily fly all orientations / directions and do mild 3d so have a good sense of the heli’s capabilities. I have the Astroid Frame braces and a Dons Wicked motor, but I’m flying it stock at the moment. So, whoever has experience with a mod - that’s proven to work - please confirm the information. Also, this is supposed to look a little rough now, I just want to keep pushing it forward. So, please contribute to the cause.

1. General Information:

A. Should I Get One and Will I Be Able to Fly It?

Yes, get a 300x, it’s a good heli, flys well, and it’s a good deal. It’s a great in- between size that is still small enough to fly at a baseball field or reasonable sized park. It’s the smallest / cheapest heli with an AR7200BX (receiver / fbl controller) and you can total your 300 and keep the AR7200BX for another heli - or sell it used. The servos are the same as the 450 3d and 450x and the AR7200BX is the same as the 450x. Plus, batteries and parts are cheap.

If you can fly an mcpx well, you can fly a 300x. If you cant fly a collective pitch heli, you cant. Although you could use it to learn CP, its better and cheaper to use an MCPx as your crash test heli. More time flying, less time cursing and fixing.

This heli flys relatively "big" which is a result of the AR7200BX and its size. It’s slower and more stable that a mcpx in pitch and roll, but it’s more powerful. Its relatively underpowered stock (relatively to 450 sized helis), but that also makes it a good transitional / sport flying bird. It can be upgraded to have more power, so works well for local flying when you don’t want to go to the field.

The 300x crashes like a medium sized heli. That is, you are not going to have any good crash without some damage and it’s going to be the normal culprits most of the time - blades, feathering shaft, main gears, servo gears, and other small parts.

B. Quirks / Useful Tips

Do NOT use more than 70-75% throttle with the wood blades - they might vibrate like crazy or even fly off (?).

Carbon fiber blades work better, but cost about $30-$40.

Soft Start: Warning - Be careful in trying to soft start the heli or take off in stunt mode / idle up. If the throttle has been activated at all within the last 20 seconds, switching throttle hold off when you are in idle up (or have any throttle on) will make the heli spool up immediately - not a lot of fun. If you like to soft start in idle up, then make sure the throttle is low and TH is on when you plug in the heli.

You might want to tuck the esc wires into the frame close to the esc (so they are not crowded in the nose of the canopy), but be careful that they don’t touch the motor pinion or the main gear).

You might want to lubricate the canopy pins (water / saliva) right before installation to help mount the canopy without poking out the canopy grommets. A little adhesive on the canopy grommets will help them stay on the canopy. Otherwise, they can fall off in the grass and be gone.

Batteries. Make sure you put velcro on the batteries for mounting. You can get a nice parallel charging board from EP buddy so you can parallel charge 6 batteries at a time.
The Glacier batteries (30c 1300 mah 3s) from EP buddy are pretty good and are about $13 each.
The Turnigy nano-techs (45c 1300 mah 3s) from Hobby King are also being used and are also about $13.

2. Mods out of the Box.
The 300x can be flown out of the box after doing a normal pre-flight. Some will say not, but it easily flys out of the box. Still, there are several mods that have been useful and will help to prevent problems.
Blade Balancing / Tracking. You should balance the blades and confirm property tracking before you fly to minimize vibrations.
Frame stiffeners. The 300x has had problems with the main shaft breaking. This could be caused by the frame being relatively weak. There are two fixes for this - Lynx and Astroid Designs. The Astroid works well as is cheaper than the Lynx.
Motor bearing mod. https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=497063

Tail mod. Either Align or Tarot tail hub and grips. [Need more info.]


3. Common Crash Damage:
If you have a bad landing and a blade strike, you will probably ruin your blades, the feathering shaft, and the main gear. You might get away with no damage in a very minor blade strike.
For larger crashes, the servo gears will likely strip and you will probably be replacing main blades, feathering shaft, main gear, maybe blade grips, and miscellaneous items.

Good parts to have for a crash kit are:
Main Blades
Feathering Shaft
Main Gear
Main Shaft
Servo gears (buy several sets)
Blade Grips
Landing Gear
Canopy
[Please add more items what you have in your crash kit]
Useful Tools.

(2) 1.5mm hex driver / wrench (for feathering shafts, etc.)
(1) 2mm hex driver / wrench
(1) 4mm nut driver for all of the safety nuts on the heli and tail blades
(1) Good quality (Wiha is great) #00 or #0 Philips screwdriver - some would say you should get the JIS drivers
(1) Pitch gauge / swash leveler
(1) Ball link plier for removing links
(1) Blade balancer

4. Pre-flight check:
You do need to do a pre-flight check on your 300x.

5. Normal conditions:
I found that the main shaft has a bit of play so that the head can move more than the main gear. So, it seems like the main shaft bolt is loose, or loose going through the shaft. But, the bolt is not lose. I’ve checked on a couple helis and they’re the same. I’ve flown 30 flights with no problems. Hopefully this is everyone else’s experience?
[Any other abnormal / normal conditions?]
　

6. Upgrade Options:

a. Servos. The plastic stock servo gears get stripped in a crash, so you should have extra plastic gears for rebuiding them. Metal geared options are:
Hitec: HS-5065MG for cyclics, and HS5084 for the tail

MKS-DS92 for cyclics and MKS ds95i for the tail

[Other options]

b. Blades. The wood blades are fine to start out, especially if you are relatively new to larger helis. Just make sure to balance them and check tracking. You also should not run them any higher than 70-75% throttle.

Carbon fiber blades are better to run higher head speeds and better performance. They will also give you faster cyclic response and more power and precision. Unfortunately, cf blades are relatively expensive for the 300x, especially compared to some of the cheaper options for 450s. .


You can use the HH carbon fiber 245 mm blades (about $30). Direct fit, many like them.

Edge CF 253 blades (about $40). Requires spacers at the root, but they should come with them.
　
c. Motor / ESC. If you upgrade the motor, you will need CF blades. Here are some options:

Dons Wicked 4800KV 300X Brushless Motor, available from Astroid Designs. According to Astroid, "Bigger, stronger, more efficient, better materials and lower cost than the stock motor. . . . Includes 9 and 10 tooth pinions. 9 tooth for similar power to stock but smoother with less bogging (and using the stock ESC), or 10 tooth for Wicked power when paired with a governed ESC (a mod)." Astroid has more information on its site, but Astroid sometimes runs out of stock of this motor.
[Whoever is successfully using a Scorpion motor, please add to this section]

Scorpion 2208-24 v2. 12t pinion recommended.

Scorpion 2213-14. Can be used with a 14T pinion.

[Fooferdoggie]

Scorpion 2213-14. Can be used with a 14T pinion. only with a different esc. I asked the fellow about it because it can draw 35 amps.
the metal head works fine but the screw that holds the disc on needs shortened or it hits the feathering shaft. the metal grips may need some sanding to fit the cf blades in them. the tail case needs only tightened enough to keep it in place. if you make it too snug it causes vibrations. the metal one causes vibrations too and needs the aluminum tail shaft to work well. tehre is an issue with the metal swash and the anti rotation bracket can cause binding.

[sn00p]

For the servos i would point them at the servo thread as there are just way to many combos.... i would also make the pitch gauge the digital type as this is a FBL system and just makes life so much easier.

Here are some other suggestions for tips/mods

nytie the landing gear to the frame rather than screws.... servo shim mod? canopy strengthening with Shoe Goo, plasti dip or atleast tape. beast x relocation or re affixing with PU gel or 3m grey/red. Loosening tail case screws so just snug (tail vibes). Main and rear rotor blade balancing.

[lepton ex123]

Great idea for a thread.





Danny.

[dragon79]

yes very good stuff. another good idea is to link videos (if avail) where you can get more information.

example 1: suggestion was added to throw in the shim the rear servo. (link under it should be "how to shim the rear servo - click here" that could link to a detailed thread here or a youtube video if available"

Sometimes as you read some of these things, while great ideas, often leads to more questions (me included) when wanting to perform some of these things.

example 2:
relocating the beastx, and the 3m 4011 gel tape used
link to purchase the suggested tape, and a video or detailed thread link to relocating the beastx and the setup required once moving it. To most new to this (again me included), it would appear, you just relocate it to the top, use the gel tape, and get to flying again, but from I read, that's not right, you have to go through some menus to reset/program some things prior to flying again.

so things like that I think would add especially more value to this post. I like the fact that I can read a suggested fix or mod, and have a convenient link next to it for more detailed information and or videos on "how to"

[CalRotor]

Thanks everyone for the improvements and feedback. I’m still researching a bit and trying to provide a nice wrap up for some of your suggestions, so bear with me. I’ve also been liberally borrowing from other folks to consolidate the information here. Thus, I’m mostly the editor because a lot of this information comes from the collective experience of HF members.


The goal is to make it easier on new guys and ourselves by sharing our collective 300x knowledge in one convenient place.

In the meantime, I wanted to provide another draft which has some useful information and NEEDS MORE COMMENTS from anyone with some experience to share in building up a nice sticky. This draft only has part of the information, I will have an introduction and guide to help folks in the final draft.

I’ve always wanted a part-by-part listing of a heli that I could refer to when, for example, I wanted to repair of upgrade the servos, or check battery or motor options, etc. This is not a listing of each tiny part in the blade grips, these are major parts or upgrade options.

The idea is you can read it over at your leisure if you’re moving up from smaller helis, or thinking of buying a 30x and gain some background information. It can also be used by anyone looking for quick background information and further research sources on a given item. Anyway, here’s my rough draft so far [YOU CAN JUST SKIP TO ANY HEADING THAT YOU’RE INTERESTED IN and give your comments / feedback by reference to that heading - thanks!]:

MAIN BLADES
The heli comes with stock 245mm wood blades (BLH4501). The woodies are fine to start out, especially if you are relatively new to larger helis. You should balance them - see next subject for information. Woodies are inexpensive and if you are moving up from a smaller heli, you should just start with them to get the feel of the heli for awhile. This also makes crashes cheaper - both because wood blades are cheaper themselves, and because they absorb energy in a crash - unless of course you don’t crash. . According to Blade, the woodies should not be run any higher than a flat 75% throttle curve in idle because of vibrations. But, 75% flat in idle up is fine for light sport flying (FFF, loops, rolls, flips, funnels, etc.) and its still fun to fly.

Carbon fiber blades are better to run higher head speeds (over 75% throttle) and just better overall performance. They will also give you faster cyclic response and more power and precision. Unfortunately, cf blades are relatively expensive for the 300x ($30-$40) especially compared to some of the cheaper options for 450s.

Some carbon fiber blades people are running are:
Blade / HH 245mm CF Main Rotor Blade (BLH4501C), which cost about $30. Direct fit, many like them. Easy, peasy, done.
Edge Blades: LE-253 EDGE 253mm Premium CF Blades. Requires spacers at the root, but they should come with them. There’s a difference between FB and FBL blades and FBL blades, which you need for the 300x, have the Edge name in yellow lettering (and the product referenced above is for the correct 300x blades with yellow lettering).
Other more common CF blades?
Some have used Blade SR blades, including those from Blade and Microheli.
Microheli Carbon Fiber Main Blades - BLADE SR Model #: MH-SR088CF.
Don’t know much about these blades.
　
MAIN BLADE BALANCING
All blades, woody or carbon fiber, should be balanced. You also should confirm proper blade tracking before flying, but that’s more of a head setup issue. Balancing reduces vibrations and thus stresses on the motor, airframe, and electronics but, for the 300x, it mostly helps in not upsetting the FBL controller and causing a crash. Tracking equalizes the angle of attack, and thus lift, of the blades. When you fly with unbalanced blades, the resulting vibrations can throw off the mechanics of the bird as well as confusing the gyro, potentially causing a crash. A tell-tale sign of out of balance blades, besides visible vibrations, is when flying at high speed you see a funny speed wobble and hear the heli going "wup wup wup" as it kind of lurches around (sorry, sound effects aren’t my strength).

To balance the main blades, you will generally take two steps: first, get the center of gravity of both blades at the same distance from the mounting holes (by rolling the blades on a rod or similar fulcrum and again using tape as weight), and second, get the blades the same weight (using a balancing teeter toter / prop balancer and placing tape on the cg of the lighter blade until they balance).

On the 300x with wood blades, you probably can get away with just skipping the first step of equalizing the cg and instead just equalizing the weight of the blades on a blade balancer and calling it good. Not perfect, buy almost always good enough. Some will disagree and of course, if you have vibration issues, you should do all you can to reduce them. Also, if you want to do both steps, it’s good practice because both steps become more critical as you move up to larger helis swinging bigger blades.

Finless Bob has a great video on blade balancing, it’s easy to do it after watching Bob (just click the link below and go to the "Blade Balancing 101" link): https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=41692


Finless Bob has another video on blade tracking (just click the link below and go to the "Blade Tracking 101" link): https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=41692
If you have more than one set of blades (what, you think you might crash?!), you can try to match the blades yourself; e.g., take the two blades that are closest in weight and/or cg. Might get you close enough in weight to have a quick an easy pair of matched weight blades.

TAIL BLADES
From the standpoint of vibrations that will upset the gyro, it is probably more important to balance tail blades compared to main blades. Tail blades should be dynamically balanced with the heli running but the main blades removed. You just have to be really quick in applying the tape - kidding. What you do, is remove the main blades (so you don’t get hit) and then run up the heli a bit. You guess and put a small piece of tape on one tail blade and see if the tail runs smoother / has less vibration than before. If yes, you can put a little more tape on the same blade and see if it’s better / worse. You then adjust from there. If your initial tape guess on the light blade made the vibrations worse, switch the tape to the other blade and proceed from there.

Most blades with have certain RPM ranges where they vibrate more, that’s normal. But, if you balance the blades better, all vibrations should be reduced. An especially important rpm range is your idle up, so make sure that there is limited vibration there. Besides actually feeling the boom vibrate, you can look at the tail shaft and see it go from clear (low vibes) to fuzzy (more vibes). Clear is good.

There is also a tail grip mod [I’ll explain this later]
　
BATTERIES
Make sure you put velcro on the batteries for mounting. This is a sort of "belt and suspenders" system to make sure that the battery does not come out.

The stock battery is a 3 cell 1350mAh 11.1V 30C Li-Po battery (EFLB13503S30).

The Glacier batteries (30c 1300 mah 3s) from EP buddy are pretty good and are about $13 each.

The Turnigy nano-techs (45c 1300 mah 3s) from Hobby King are also being used and are also about $13.

Pulse batteries . . .

You can get a nice parallel charging board from EP buddy so you can parallel charge 6 batteries at a time. There are also other sources for parallel charging your batteries and that can be a big plus since you can buy 4 batteries for your 300x for about $50.

Average flight times with these batteries are:
　
SERVOS
The plastic stock servos are the same as used in the 450X and 4503d. The plastic gears can get stripped in a crash, so you should have extra plastic gears for rebuiding them (Gear Set: DS76by E-flite (EFLRDS761)). Servos strip from the crash itself, and then post-crash when the FBL controller (not realizing its crashed, it’s not that smart) is trying to move them when the control serfaces are jammed. Thus, if you hit throttle hold before a crash, you take away the FBL controller’s ability to strip your servo gears.

There’s a mod to shim the rear servo. [I’ll add further information later]
There are two main concerns with replacement servos beyond the cost: (1) you have to reprogram your beastX, and (2) if they draw too much current, you could brown out your BeastX.

The main metal geared options are: Hitec: HS-5065MG for cyclics, and HS5084 for the tail and MKS-DS92 for cyclics and MKS ds95i for the tail. Other people just change out the tail servo, believing the stock tail servo to be unreliable. Popular choices for that include:

There’s a good thread on servos and servo options: https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=492617
　
AR7200BX RECEIVER /GYRO (aka fbl controller)
Ah, the wonderful beastX gyro. The good and the bad of the 300x. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great gyro and a super deal to be included with this heli. However, it can be thrown off by vibrations - and the 300x often has gyro-interfering vibrations.. So, its greatness is its very sensitive to movement, which includes unwanted vibrations (yeah, I know, that’s its job, see the problem?). So, if your motor and tail rotors are vibrating (and they all do to a greater or lesser degree), it could cause the gyro to induce a right roll that often results in a crash. So, you should correct those two issues first, then consider moving the location of the gyro.

The gyro can be moved to the top of the heli behind the main shaft. This can make up much easier to see the unit to adjust any parameters or programming, and can reduce vibrations that cause the beastX to malfunction.

There’s a thread that explains this and provides photos and other info: https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=506471

If you’re interested, here’s the highlights:
Unplug the wires, put a little tape with labels on each wire to help in plugging them back in later. Carefully remove the gyro from it’s current position - you can use a medium sized flat bladed screwdriver to slowly and carefully remove the gyro and tape from the frame.

Remove the tape from the gyro (if it’s still good, you can probably re-use it). The best mounting tape is supposed to be 3M 4011 or 4010 "Permanent Outdoor Mounting Tape" (holds up to 5 pounds) in grey or clear. Home Depot and Lowe’s sell it, probably available at office supply stores as well. Re-mount the gyro as shown in the thread - you may want to use some rubbing alcohol to clean off the mounting pad on the frame and the back of the gyro and let it evaporate before installing.

You need to reprogram the gyro because you are flipping it from upside down to right side up. So, you need to adjust the gyros’s Menu items F, M, and N. (See post #13 of thread for great information). This is a great opportunity to get to know your beast x a little better without being a major project.

The most important part is confirming on the ground that everything works. So, power up, TH on, then tilt the heli and confirm the head responds appropriately - attempting to correct the roll and pitch, and that the tail responds appropriately- trying to correct the yaw. Although you should not use the right stick on the ground, you can move the rudder stick with low throttle in normal mode and confirm the nose moves in the right direction - just takes a few seconds.
https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=506471

MOTOR
The motor can vibrate a lot and the bearing can wear on the main shaft. Thus, there is the loctite motor bearing mod. https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=497063.
Because of the problems with the stock motor, and to get more power, some guys upgrade their motors. If you upgrade the motor, you will need CF blades to use the extra power because the wood blades are not designed for more than 75% throttle out of the stock motor. Here are some options:
Stock Motor - E-flite 320H 4500Kv brushless motor. They want $40 for it - a rip off. Don’t waste your money unless all other options are gone.
Dons Wicked 4800KV 300X Brushless Motor, available from Astroid Designs. This is the main inexpensive drop in motor and available from a trusted source. According to Astroid’s webisite, the "[Wicked Motor is] Bigger, stronger, more efficient, better materials and lower cost than the stock motor. . . . Includes 9 and 10 tooth pinions. 9 tooth for similar power to stock but smoother with less bogging (and using the stock ESC), or 10 tooth for Wicked power when paired with a governed ESC (a mod)." Astroid has more information on its site, but Astroid sometimes runs out of stock of this motor.
So, you can run the wicked motor with a 9 tooth pinion and the stock ESC. Getting more out of the motor will require a new esc - more money and more time.
[Whoever is successfully using a Scorpion motor, please add to this section]
Scorpion 2208-24 v2. 12t pinion recommended.
Scorpion 2213-14. Can be used with a 14T pinion.
Double CH’s $7 motor: _____________________
　
FRAME BRACES / STIFFENERS
The 300x’s plastic frame is weak, especially at the servo tower.
Frame Braces / Stiffeners. The 300x has had problems with the main shaft breaking likely due to the combination of a weak shaft along with a flame that allows flex which might torque the main shaft. Blade says they have fixed the early problem with the main shaft breaking - who knows for sure what they did because they only admit a problem after they have "fixed" it and guys continue to report this problem. The shaft breakage could be worsened by the frame, specifically the top mounting area, being relatively weak. There are three main fixes for this problem: (1) Astroid Design frame brace, (2) Lynx frame brace, and (3) DIY frame brace.

Astroid is top notch and sells them for $10: http://astroid-designs.myshopify.com...n-frame-braces
(Astroid also has a nice picture of where the brace goes so you can get an idea of the problem area)
Lynx is well respected and HeliDirect sells them for $22.50: http://helidirect.com/lynx-lx0318-30...er-p-28580.hdx
Although the Lynx is bigger, I don’t think that’s necessarily better.
Home made is really just using some nice carbon fiber sheet and ca’ing it in the mast area, similar to the Astroid design. Not pretty, but cheap and can be effective.

CANOPY
It’s thin, it’s cheap, it could be reinforced with tape, shoe goo, or plastidip (available at Lowes or Depot). Actually, it you tape it or plastidip, the canopy will survive small crashes much better.

LANDING SKIDS
[Please comment here on the nytie and why you like it]

MAIN SHAFT
The main shaft has a tendency to snap - not really a good tendency when you think about it. A lot of times it breaks right at the mounting hole, an obvious weak point that is stressed by the bolt moving around in the somewhat oversized hole.
On all four of the 300x I’ve seen, the main shaft has a bit of play so that the head can move more than the main gear. So, it seems like the main shaft bolt is loose, or loose going through the shaft. But, the bolt is not loose, so it appears the hole through the shaft is oversized. There really is not a fix for the main shaft breaking at this point, but hopefully Blade or an aftermarket supplier will come out with a new and improved main shaft. Although Blade says they fixed this problem, it persists, so perhaps the "fix" was not good enough.
The main fix for this problem is prevention in strengthening the frame, discussed above.

MAIN GEAR
The main gear is the same for Blade 450 3D/450X (EFBLH1651). It strips easily in a crash and is often out of round. Double CH has figured out a mod to help the out of round gear, but it is a little difficult. [Will add link]
Blade has a nice video of the main gear removal and reinstallation. http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/blade-300-x-bnf-BLH4580

DRIVE BELT
Check tension and lube it every so often [I’ll specify later]



Again, please comment to help me build up a nice reference post, it’s a lot of work.
　

[dragon79]

Another good product if shoe goo is not available is using "goop" from Home Depot. Add it in, it dries quick and strengthens the canopy considerably.

Also I think adding in the lynx dampeners to replace the stock ones to get rid of the slop.
http://helidirect.com/lynx-300-x-ult...rs-p-29465.hdx

The section on batteries, the 45c nanotech 1300mah batteries come with a different connector Xt-60. Something to keep in mind. I am told that if your esc has the female xt-60 connector you can use both batteries of xt-60 and ec3 connectors.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html

Pulse batteries are 1350mah 35c. Can be found at LHS and they do not come with connectors. You can have LHS put on connectors of your choice or you can buy them and do it yourself if you have the tools and skillset to do so.
http://helidirect.com/plu35-13503-pu...es-p-26549.hdx

[CalRotor]

Steven, thanks for the comments, I'll work them into the next draft.

[Itzo]

Great initiative. Certainly need a decent sticky or two. Personally, I'd like to see the threads on motor, servo and blade options stickied too. At work atm, so can't hunt them down, and don't have my bookmarks at hand.

As one of those who got a right-banking 300x, I'd like to see mention of that in some kind of pre-maiden section. As in, do not maiden prior to checking if you got motor-induced vibrations.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to do this.

[dony45]

I would assume your talking about the 450 size. On Align, I don't think all the align 450's have the same tail hub and grips does it matter which ones you use, V2, Sport, Pro, DFC, ect. ?

[sn00p]

MAKE THIS A STICKY PLEASE.....

It answers a great deal of daily questions and makes for a great hub to find answers to questions as well as do and donts, mods and tips....

I guess it would help if you tame down your comments towards blade/HH and made sure you wasn't advertising anyone's specific items or websites ;-) (just saying)

[dragon79]

I think Cal will have a sticky made once all the blanks are filled in , then a new thread can be made called "300x tips and tricks" like some of the other stickys out there for other models. As soon as the rest of the information is collected this should be the one stop post to go to for all your common questions as well as your upgrade needs.

[CalRotor]

Dragon's right, this is a work in progress. The downside of a sticky is that it lasts a long time so you don't want misinformation, so I did intend to make a new post after having used this post to vet ideas and information. Sorry on not pushing it forward, I've been too busy at work and I can't work on this for another 10 days or so. If anyone else wants to push it forward and fill in some blanks, that would be great.