Building mCPX BL night blades

[myxiplx]

Whoops, think my dimensions are backwards in that post. Double check on Wikipedia :-)

[gstoneberg]

Originally Posted by myxiplx

The CR batteries are standard non-rechargeable 3V lithium batteries. The numbers gives you the size and thickness: CR<diam><height>.

Ive seen plenty of folks attach the small 3V ones like you have on the blades, but they tend to use two batteries. I wanted a rechargeable solution, with higher voltage so I just needed one cell, and with the weight off the blades.

You were correct, the first 2 numbers on a CR battery are the diameter in mm and the second are the thickness in mm. However,I don't see how the .6v difference in voltage enables a second LED. I assume you're wiring the LEDs in parallel so each gets the same voltage? There is a thread for mcpx blades that has 3 LEDs running off a cr1616. But it doesn't matter, I love the way you implemented the battery on your night blades. Very nice!

EDIT: Oops, that other thread used a CR1216 and ran 1 LED on one blade and 2 on the other - each with their own battery. I'm thinking strongly of using your approach with a centrally mounted CR2032 holder as the 200mah battery should power the lights for about 3 hours and I have lots of CR2032s.

George

[maarset]

The trick is getting a Coin cell to mount on the rotor head and stay on the rotor head.
I've seen videos of guys doing this but I just don't know how they did it.

[seth1846]

I've noticed it can be a real B!+{# to find the mah for most of these coin batts!
Haha

Also,

I still don't get y yours is 3.6v and mine are all 3... I know urs is rechargeable but y the xtra .6..???.. Lol

[myxiplx]

The extra 0.6 is because mine is a full LiPo battery, just in a small round size. It's a 40mAh LiPo, and I charge it with my regular charger (I just made a small adaptor of a CR2032 socket wired to an EC3 plug).

I made a second set of blades today as my first were showing a bit of wear after being ground upside down on concrete. I think I did a better job this time, no vibration at all and it's flying smooth as silk. I'm definitely seeing a bit of tail blow out of flips now, looks like an extended boom and 42mm tail rotor will be needed soon.

But in the meantime I couldn't be happier, I got another 4 practice flights in tonight out in the back garden with it pitch dark outside, no way I could have flown out there before.







And a quick video:

First night flights (3 min 7 sec)

[gstoneberg]

Love those long exposure shots! Very nice.

George

[maarset]

Very cool!
So how are you keeping the coin cell on the center hub?

[myxiplx]

I just used a CR2032 socket and glued it on to the head with some plastic weld, it seems to hold fine, the battery stays in solidly even upside down and through crashes. Time will tell how good a solution it is.

I posted some pictures of the head earlier in the thread:
https://www.helifreak.com/showpost.p...2&postcount=12
https://www.helifreak.com/showpost.p...5&postcount=13

[GravityJunkie]

How is the battery held in the holder? It looks like if you put in the battery, flipped it over, the battery would come out.

Great work on the night setup!

[myxiplx]

They press down and lock in with these sockets, there's a tiny latch to release the battery. I've not done anything too aggressive yet, but it's survived dozens of flips.

I'm finding they work in the day too, really help with visibility of the disc, I'm already noticing my piro travel is easier to control.

[maarset]

So are you using 30 min epoxy? Not sure what "Plastic Weld" is.
Really dig those pics!

So is it a stock brushed mcpx?

Never mind, I see it is a BL mcpx. My Bad!

[myxiplx]

Yeah it's just a strong epoxy to glue the battery holder onto the head. Plastic Weld was a brand that's recommended, according to the packaging it's good for 3600lbs per sq inch!! Don't think I'm getting these off now without breaking the head!!

[maarset]

Ah cool thanks for the info.