"2012 ALIGN T-REX 500E PRO" [picture build]

[Flying.finn]

Well,... I managed to finish pinning the tail rotor to the boom,.. but didn't get around to drilling the front for pinning... tomorrow.
I did get a few other parts put on the rearend tonight though.


Tomorrow i'll hook up the linkage rod to the tail servo arm.

[Laos_pilot]

PLEASE PUT THE BLACK/WHITE SKID AND BLACK TAIL BOOM ON YOUR 500 !!!!

[Flying.finn]

Originally Posted by Laos_pilot

PLEASE PUT THE BLACK/WHITE SKID AND BLACK TAIL BOOM ON YOUR 500 !!!!

I broke the rear white landing skid, and had this spare set. Plus,.. it keeps me in the same color scheme as my new fuselage that it's going into.

[Flying.finn]

Today, I'm posting pics of the work I managed to finish during the past couple of nights,... we'll call it build results from assembly day #5 & #6 combined.
- Rear rotor pinned to boom
- I dremel drilled a hole and pinned the front section of the boom to the tail boom case, (use a screw that isn't tooo long, so it won't hit/damage the rr. rotor shaft).
- Installed the rear rotor blades.
- Installed the main rotor blades.
- Installed the main gear set.
- Installed the jesus bolt with loctite, as well as the top head lock bolt with loctite.
- I then backed out all remaining bolts that were lightly installed, mock build up, and applied loctite and tightened them down permanently.
Rear rotor pin:


Rear pin as seen from under the tail rotor:


Front pin screw installed in tail boom case[left side middle] & main gear set was also installed:


Main blades and rear rotor blades attached:


Main gear was taken apart, greased, and put back together:

[Flying.finn]

First I moved the tail rotor slider arm to the 90* position, putting the slider in the middle of the shaft. Then I installed the tail servo arm, [with the ball pointing straight up at 90*], after centering the servo arm receiver gear, [giving it equal room to turn in both directions]. Then I attached the rod and CA'd the centre slider sleeve to the rod.

[Flying.finn]

Well,... finally had some time again tonight to get a few things started...

I pulled out all the goodies to start setting up the ESC for the T-rex, and needed the AR-9020 Rx back from the Rogue 500 to do so.
So, when I got the 9020 off,.. I decided to hook up the AR-6210 in its place, [on the Rogue 500]. I posted a few pics of the Rx swap, and then I came up with a new, "FLOATING" Rx mount for it.
I found a piece of vinyl to use as a hold up brace for the Spektrum AR-6210 Rx, [I cut to size, a "Sons of Anarchy" vinyl badge that came with the hoody I bought from, "Biker or Not"].
I have been reading everywhere about "FRAME VIBRATIONS" to the Rx,.. and boom vibration for the ones who mount it out there.
So,.. I decided to use my "engineering" know how,.. and started making a 2mm thick saddle Rx mount out of vinyl, to place inbetween the boom posts.
Let me know what you think. I'll post the finished Rx mounting tomorrow. AND,... I'll finish the ESC setup for the T-rex and post some pics.

AR-6210 Rx getting placed for mounting, and satellite already mounted.


Getting vinyl saddle ready for mounting


Using punch tool to make holes in the vinyl saddle for tiestrap use.

[Flying.finn]

Getting ready to put plastic tiestraps on.


Now I have all the goodies sitting together waiting to get ESC setup going



Managed to sneak in another mod tonight,.. this time for my Tx..... a blue anodized Tx stand.


The completed Rx mounting pics coming up in 20.

[Flying.finn]

Ok,.... my ESC's not responding to setup.
I went to my LHS and picked up some EC5 connectors for my ESC's battery leads, I'll get those done while i wait for my new ESC to come in next Friday, [I ordered a new, "Castle Phoenix Ice Lite 75A ESC today]. The build will continue then.

[Flying.finn]

Hello all,... I thought i'd post an update of why the build is still on hold. Well,... as I mentioned last week or so,.. I couldn't setup my ESC due to it being pooched. BUT,.... after "teaching" myself RC heli electronics,...lol... with the aid of "Youtube" and the internet in general,.. I found out that my one and only 6-Series lipo battery had a fried cell!!!
But, before realizing the fried cell scenario, I had ended up ordering a replacement ESC,.. the "Castle Phoenix Ice Lite 75 amp", [because i thought it was fried,... using just a cheap tester, it showed the battery as having power. Not until pulling out the "PROPER" equipment, [my iCharger 3010B and a cheapy 1S-6S cell tester], did i find out that one of my battery cells was fried!!!
Yesterday I ordered a new 6S Lipo, the "Thunder Power Pro-Lite" G6 - 2700 mah - 25C,.. *[I only had ONE 6S battery for my T-rex 500e!! ...this whole time, ... I had thought I had ordered 2 with T-rex?,... but when I opened up my other box to charge it, I noticed they had sent me two 3S lipos instead!!]
I'm ordering 3-more, if this "6S Thunder Power" lipo works good. It comes with the compatible balance board as well.
I also decided to change my connectors,... the EC5's I tried using are too long,.. by the time I soldered them up, the blue casings were warped from the heat, and got harder to put on & pull apart.
I need "easy/workable" connectors, especially now,.. while I'm just starting my setup,..learning all this RC heli stuff etc.,... you need to plug & unplug it a million times!...lol. The Deans connectors are just a pain to put together! .... sparks,..and hard to get together.
I'm swapping everything over to XT-60 connectors. So,.. last night I ordered 10-sets of XT-60 connectors, 3' of 12-guage black and 3' of 12-guage red silicone wire.
While ordering up all the stuff I needed to get going again,.. I figured I should also set myself up for any future problems I may encounter caused by the electronics,... so I ordered the, "TURNIGY 7-IN-1 MEGATESTER". [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47OcIdd-1Zw&feature=player_detailpage#t=2s[/ame]
When the parts/accessories come in,.. i'll be back building "T-rex",.... hopefully this weekend. See ya'll soon.

[Laos_pilot]

PLEASE DONT USE THE BLUE TAIL BOOM and YELLOW SKIDS
I cant stand with those color on this heli

[el guapo]

EC5s are really nice. I don't understand the issues you are having... the XT60s have too much insertion force. but they are a very nice connector and can be soldered and de-soldered. but they are easy to melt.

castle 100 will be very nice. but you need to use the coupon in the package to order the free USB link. do it now. lol. you will not be able to program the ESC until you get the USB link. its called "castle link".

[Flying.finn]

Originally Posted by el guapo

EC5s are really nice. I don't understand the issues you are having... the XT60s have too much insertion force. but they are a very nice connector and can be soldered and de-soldered. but they are easy to melt.

castle 100 will be very nice. but you need to use the coupon in the package to order the free USB link. do it now. lol. you will not be able to program the ESC until you get the USB link. its called "castle link".

I "edited" my last few posts, I had the wrong ESC info posted, In fact I got the, "Castle Phoenix Ice Lite 75 ESC".
The EC5 connectors are actually nice,... but i had trouble soldering them with my, "big bulky soldering gun",... EC5' casings just melted,.... BUT, once my new "Weller pen style, adjustable amperage, soldering iron station" gets here, [along with the soldering, "Third-Arm Stand", w/magnifying glass & two aligator clips to hold parts], I can do a better job at soldering, and might use the EC5's after-all. I'm still using the EC5's right now though.
But now,... there's no connectors on either side of the new "Castle" ESC I got today. Also today I got my new, "6S Thunder Power G6 - 2700mah - 25C lipo battery today,... with no power connectors on that either. Now I find out I need to order my "FREE" Castle USB link? .... or I can't program it...... this "ESC setup" is turning into a 2-week++ nightmare!! ..........

[el guapo]

Originally Posted by Flying.finn

. EC5' casings just melted.......

melted? you solder the wire to the pins before they are in the casing.. then you press the pins and wire into the housing.

http://thejigsup.net/Video-Demo-%2A%2A%2A%2A%2A.php

Soldering EC5 connectors with a torch lighter. (3 min 16 sec)

[Blayd]

You can program the ESC using the sticks on your Tx.. I did it before I got my link. The link is just alot easier, and gives you more options. Why Castle has to make you go through this is beyond me when your paying enough for the ESC already.. but basic set up can be done with the Tx.. its in the instructions....They come "RTF" but to access things like the Soft start settings...( changing how soft, soft start is..) and other cool features like governor, BEC settings..etc.. and such.. you need the link.
You probably should have gone with the 75A ICE instead of the 75A Lite.. the LITE has a max voltage of 24v.. the ICE has a max Voltage of 34v...same price. Probably wont be a problem, but mostly the LITE version is used more by plane flyers for tight space issues.

[Blayd]

Also, concerning your tail slider set up....
With that gorgeous fuse.. I'm assuming your going to be flying scale.. so your tail set up might have to be tweaked in rate mode for some pitch at center. Usually start around 8° and make mechanical adjustments so you get a nice tail hold in rate with no input. Setting the slider at center, with the servo centered in rate mode is the usual set up if your going to fly in HH, since HH will take cae of itself keeping the tail in place...but rate needs some pitch to hold the tail when the rudder is at center...

[Flying.finn]

Originally Posted by Blayd

You can program the ESC using the sticks on your Tx.. I did it before I got my link. The link is just alot easier, and gives you more options. Why Castle has to make you go through this is beyond me when your paying enough for the ESC already.. but basic set up can be done with the Tx.. its in the instructions....They come "RTF" but to access things like the Soft start settings...( changing how soft, soft start is..) and other cool features like governor, BEC settings..etc.. and such.. you need the link.
You probably should have gone with the 75A ICE instead of the 75A Lite.. the LITE has a max voltage of 24v.. the ICE has a max Voltage of 34v...same price. Probably wont be a problem, but mostly the LITE version is used more by plane flyers for tight space issues.

That's what I get for letting my "LHS" owner, pick out and order my ESC for me! ...lol... he's a "plane" flyer... "ANYWAYS....."
Well,... I've been in this hobby for almost 3-months now,.. and i'm finding myself STILL making quite a few "newbie" mistakes. Pretty sad considering I own two 500-class helis, and the only thing i've flown, is my Blade 120-SR!!!

My rogue 500 just spins! ..."Baaaahhh!!!... BUT THAT'S ANOTHER NIGHTMARE FOR A DIFFERENT THREAD",..... as for the T-rex,.. I just can't seem to get past the, "Doo...do...doooo" first & only sound I hear from the motor when i plug in power, [when I attempt to start ESC setup].
I've watched a "sh*t-load" of youtube videos,... read everything on the internet!,..lol.. did some testing & then found out my, "Gens Ace 6S - 3300mah 25C lipo", only had 5 operational cells!!,... there goes $85 bucks!

Then being a newbie,.. i thought my ESC was pooched,.. [ I used an old, "poke the pin into the wire", pen-size tester and got no light to indicate power on the motor side of the ESC,.. so that's why i got the Castle lite ESC].
* I'm not an electrician...i just fake it...lol... or I would have realized before I was told by someone, that i wouldn't have gotten any "voltage" results from that side anyway! .. because it's a "pulse" thing...

Then I thought maybe my AR-9020 Rx was damaged,.. so I decided to bind my new, "Orange 610 Rx" to my DX8.
THEN,... because of the bright red light on the orange Rx,.. I noticed it was going off intermittently. Ok,... i guess my soldering sucks!! ... the EC3 connector i soldered to my new, "6S Thunder power 2700mah G6 Pro-lite 25C lipo", has a crappy connection. I'm re-soldering it right after i post this.
If,.. after I re-solder the connector, I still have no "setup" response,... I can only surmise that my Tx programming/setup, is wrong. Being a newbie... inexperienced,.. i can see myself missing something, or inputting the wrong info into the transmitter,.. maybe I should reset EVERYTHING,.. start from scratch. I just need to know what & where to input into the Tx.
...... back to "youtube"....lol. This is driving me batty! .... so yeah,.. ANY helpful suggestions,... to help me figure out this problem, would be greatly appreciated.

[Blayd]

OK... thats alot to try to sort through...LOL
First, with a Castle ESC, you should calibrate your throttle endpoints.. make sure its seeing "0". The ESC WILL NOT ARM.. unless it sees "0". Theres a vid on theyre website showing you how.. its really easy. When the ESC sees "0", it will make a chime...so, it will chime once its connevted, count the cells, then if it sees "0" throtttle, it will make a dual chime....that means its armed. If it counts the cells, but doesnt give you the final arming chimes.. its not seeing "0" throttle.
Starting with a new model in the Tx isnt a bad idea... I dont know what you've done already.
Do yourself a favor and make sure the motor is pulled from the pinion so an accidental start up doesnt take your eyebrows off...

As for your Rogue 500 spinning....I'm betting your gyro is correcting in reverse.. very common. People will often set up the gyro, get its slider to the right endpoints, but forget the final step... making sure it CORRECTS in the right direction. A gyro will turn the nose left if you give left rudder.. but sometimes, its correction is in reverse, so as the heli starts to spin on lift off, it tries to correct it, but its correcting in the wrong diretcion. Easy to tell....bind the heli, put it in TH, stand behind it.. swing the tail to the left, ( nose to the right ) .. the tail slider should move to the right.. trying to push the tail back to the right...its confusing, but you basically need to make sure the tail is trying to correct its direction with opposite direction.

Oh, and by the way....not to make you any more confused...if the "bad" battery wasnt fully charged, the esc wont see 6 cells. Happens on my 12S set up.. the esc is looking for total voltage available...it sees that voltage as how many cells.. if my 2-6S batteries arent fully charged.. it sees only 11 cells. Your battery my not have been bad.. just way too low??? Just a thought.

[islrcr1]

Hi, from Victoria, BC just started the Monsoon season over here and just started to fly my new Gaui 550 in hovers and bought the Trex 500E so it will be my first build. You guys are answering alot of questions I would have asked, so I will keep following.......