RE: Selecting servos for Trex 450...Help?
I bought 6 hitec HS-65MG servos from Tower Hobbies for collective on two of my 450s. Tower has a quantity discount and it ended up being like $31.50 each for an excellent quality metal geared servo. I had signed up a while back into Tower's premium membership, so I have free shipping on all my orders.....icing on the cake! I haven't found any deals on the 65 MGs better than what I got from Tower Hobbies even if you exclude the free shipping. Occasionally they'll have hot deals going on their Futaba servos .....but the hitec quantity discount (I believe it was either 2 or 3 minimum) is offered 24/7/365 and I think it's the best bang for the buck anyway...as far as collective servos are concerned. For the tail, I use a Hitec HSG-5083MG on one heli (HG-5000) a Hitec HSG-5084MG on the other (Spartan DS-760). So far I love 'em all!
Posted on: 7/4/2009 12:41 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "T-Rex heli"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8905951

RE: Buying a belt v2
For me personally, I could not forgive myself if my hobby brought that chinese trash into my house that caused ANY concerns whatsoever with the well being of my wife, kids, house or car. So to me yeah it's worth it to spend the extra $$ on a quality charging & balancing system. That was my personal choice. Can I guarantee any given stock e-sky charger will blow up your lipo? No, they are probably safer than the implied. But I believe the odds are that the money spent on a decent charger system WILL result in a safer & better option for you and your lipo batteries.
Posted on: 6/7/2009 8:45 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8833733

RE: Belt CP V2 with Stock Tx
Joeyhatch11 - In normal mode (not idle up) disconnet the motor leads, apply 100% throttle & check the blade pitch. With the pitch knob at 100% what is your blade pitch? Just curious to see where you're at relative to full Hov Pitch setting. The stock setting for the swash (at 50% Hov Pitch setting) is to be centered on the main shaft equidistant from the washout hub & the main shaft collar when you're: 1) in idle up mode at 50% throttle, or 2) in normal mode with 0% throttle. What are you seeing at either of those settings? Again, make sure the motor leads are disconnected when you do this.
Posted on: 6/7/2009 9:04 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8832192

RE: Buying a belt v2
brainox - Yes I've been charging the stock E-sky battery with an much better/safer charger & balancer system with no issues to report.
Posted on: 6/7/2009 8:49 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8832171

RE: Buying a belt v2
Blitzer Fan - the stock E-sky charger is just terrible for regular use. They have been known to over-charge & most of the time are unable to keep a tight range of cell voltages which results in a shorter lifespan and in some cases damage. However, I have kept mine since they do work nicely in bringing back to life an over-dishcarged Li-Po battery that my expensive, fancy pants charger wouldn't charge. In that case I used the stock charger for 2 or 3 minutes to bring the voltage up then used my main charger/balancer system. But the real reason behind my advice is simply that Li-Po battery charging & use is serious stuff. I have seen videos of these battery packs literally exploding from over-charging....they ended up flaming out & spewed noxious fumes. I have read of cars & houses being damaged by fires started from these little buggers. A good charging & balancing system is inherently safer, prolongs battery life and maintains the battery capacity.
Posted on: 6/6/2009 8:17 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8831144

RE: ........... BELT CP V2 Thread..........
The clicking is a spot on the main gear that stripped so that's no big deal. I just ordered a complete gear set EK1-0534 for $15 delivered to me from HeliHobby (another US supplier in Cali) I also need to adjust the blade tracking (wobbling) so that's no big deal. All in all I dodged a bullet for sure....phew!
Posted on: 6/2/2009 8:13 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8818967

RE: ........... BELT CP V2 Thread..........
NUTS!! Had a rough landing today and now there's a clicking in the main gear area and the heli wobbles real bad. Either something happened with the belt slipping or the stock TX/gyro went "dirty" on me cuz the tail just whipped out on me out of the blue. I fought it for a bit got it centered back to tail in & fairly level orientation and then it did another wierd ass lunge towards my Toyota Sequoia (which I just paid off last month) so I instead of a $3000 truck repair bill I just let off the throttle. Everything in the head seems fine, but I gotta figure out what that clicking is now. Fooey!
Posted on: 6/1/2009 7:47 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8817571

RE: ........... BELT CP V2 Thread..........
POA - yes it's 5.5 mm for the hex nut drives. The outside diameter of the feathering shaft is 3 mm.
Posted on: 6/1/2009 8:34 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8815826

RE: Damaged li-po help!
Sounds like you taco'd your pack. To me lipos aren't worth the risk if they are damaged at all. According to thunderpower (lipo manufacturer) you need to dump it in a pail of salt water for 2 weeks (to discharge it) and throw away in your household trash. They are not recyclable and it's OK to landfill a discharged pack. [link=http://www.thunderpowerrc.com/PDF/DISPOSAL-OF-LIPO-BATTERIES.pdf]Thunder Power's Damaged Lipo checklist[/link]
Posted on: 5/31/2009 7:50 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8814468

RE: My new Belt CP
lowbudget I am using the stock 72 mHz TX and if I do that you said and switch to HH mode the tail wags so bad like its gonna blow up. I find in HH mode I have the dial set at 2 and in rate mode like 5 - which makes more sense to me anyway as the gain settings should change between the two modes. Anyway, either way it only holds the tail for a bit then loses it. I have heard the stock TX/gyro get "dirty" after a bit and you end up constantly trying to adjust, which is exactly what I'm seeing. But it's not so bad that I can't fly it, it's just that it's kinda irritating.
Posted on: 5/31/2009 7:45 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8814459

RE: ........... BELT CP V2 Thread..........
Rut Row.....welcome to the club! We've all been there and no shame at all in confessing a crash. Usually we ask for the crash pics....so let's see 'em! As far as your guess on the feathering shaft? That is an affirmative....quite a common repair item. I bought either 2 or 4 of em from US hobby supply....those are worth keeping in your own personal inventory. You'll need two (2) 5.5mm hex nut drivers to take off the old bent one and to put the new one in. Good Luck!
Posted on: 5/31/2009 7:36 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8814436

RE: My new Belt CP
I have the belt CP V2 and it's stock HH gyro (EK2-0704b) is an OK gyro ...but it is not good enough to hold the tail steady. No matter how I try to set it up just right the tail ends up drifting on me....not a real bad drift but it's very noticable....and quite irritating. So I would order a different HH gyro. I have a Telebee GR302-A/D on a different heli (T-rex 450 clone) that I paid $29.99 from HobbyCity and I find it holds the tail so much better than the EK2-0704B does for less $$. Also, I have bench tested the amperage draw on that stock Esky motor/battery/ESC combo with a Watts UP meter and I can tell you that I have seen well over 25 amps drawn for extended periods where you are flying the heli really hard and that WILL burn the controller up.....many real world folks have already shared their flame out stories with us all. I would also upgrade the speed controller. Minimum 30 amps, with a 2A - 5V BEC.
Posted on: 5/30/2009 11:40 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8811280

RE: THE NEW BELT CPV2
You found the obvious differences in the landing skids, canopy, flybar paddles, vert & horiz fin colors as well as the upgraded gyro. However there are more changes. The belt cp v2 has slight differences in the head & tail components than the original belt cp. I believe only a few parts were modified on the head...such as the flybar case, the flybar control arm, center hub and control arm. THe tail is where most the differences are such as the tail blade clamps, tail rotor blade control arm set (EK1-0408), tail rotor blades & the tail L control arm (EK1-0425). I may have missed a few parts but those are the changes that I can tell. Not owning a belt cp I can't compare it to the newer v2....but I bet it's probably hard to tell the difference in flying them. I totally agree with the comment on ESC it is junk and heats up too much....I should just upgrade it instead of wondering when it'll flame out on me. But the belt cp v2 does share a ton of parts off the older version.
Posted on: 5/29/2009 7:15 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8809793

RE: Buying a belt v2
I would get: *Up to two additional lipo batteries (20 to 30C rating and up to 2200 mAh) *A lipo charger system *Lipo balancer (this could be integrated with the charger or a separate piece of equipment....doesn't matter so long as it's used) The stock charger supplied is of low quality so it is worth it to upgrade for this heli and for any other RC units you'll get down the road using lipo batteries. The C rating explains how many amps the battery can discharge/charge at.....the higher the better, but a thorough knowledge of battery size and C rating/motor/ESC combinations are a must at some point. These systems are electrical and you need to figure out how it all works in unison sooner rather than later. The mAh (milliamps/hour) is a reference to battery capacity. The higher the mAh the more "juice" it can store giving you longer flight times between charges. There are a few more things that this heli could stand to have upgraded such as the speed controller, the servos & gyro.....but for now, being new to this hobby and all, it is OK to use middle of the road gear on this heli and once you become a better pilot it would support spending more $$ on the electronics.
Posted on: 5/29/2009 10:11 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8808579

RE: Buying a belt v2
Michael is very committed to his operation and you can't go wrong dealing with him. Also, feel free to post to the Belt CP V2 thread and share your experiences with us!
Posted on: 5/29/2009 8:09 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8808299

RE: Buying a belt v2
We Belt CP v2 owners have started a thread that by now has a good bit of info for all new owners. I highly suggest going through it all: [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8351511/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm]E-SKY subforum - Belt CP V2 thread[/link]
Posted on: 5/28/2009 5:34 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8806795

RE: Buying a belt v2
For Esky Belt CP V2 parts? Well, my personal experiences are with the following stores that I've listed in order as my favorites: US Hobby Supply - superb customer service and EVERY order I've made was shipped within 24 hrs and received in less than 4 days. Jag Hobbies (US supplier) - Best list of esky parts for the belt v2, but they take their time getting it shipped it seems. Toy RC (Honk Kong) - cheapest of them all by far (like 30-50% cheaper on just about any part) but takes 10 days. I have by chance also found out that the head on the Belt CP V2 & the King III are identicle....so if a store has no inventory listed for a specific part for the V2, they may have some listed under King 3. I would order 1 of every part in the head & tail. I would also get two (2) 5.5 mm hex socket wrench for tightening the main blade clamps to the feathering shaft (which is a very common repair). Lastly for tools, you need ball link pliers, pitch gage, red threadlock and a medium CA glue. Use CA for all screws into plastic and red threadlock for all screws into aluminum.....that should be one of the 1st things you do with the heli.
Posted on: 5/28/2009 5:25 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8806765

RE: ........... BELT CP V2 Thread..........
ghskid read this entire thread it has a ton o' info on tools required, parts upgrades, etc. and also has quite a few parts supply links. Good luck!
Posted on: 5/23/2009 9:37 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8793274

RE: Lama v4 problem (flies forward diagonally)
I didn't see a flybar on your heli...do you have one? I didn't see anything wrong with the swash or servo movement.
Posted on: 5/15/2009 9:08 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8772458

RE: Outdoor Co-Axial
For 95% of us noob pilots....there is no stock outdoor co-axial that exists on the planet. Period! Only folks with super modded heli's (spending $100 over and above original cost of heli) and tons of experience can fly outside with their co-ax and actually have fun with it without crashing. For me in FLorida on the coast, it's 5 to 10 mph most days. My lama v4 is modded out as described above and I have a hard time with it outdoors at 5 mph. I can keep it in the air for a few minutes at a time and a gust usually does me in. I fly low and over grass so nothing ever breaks on me and it's usually frustrating. So I fly it in my garage and screw around doing figure 8s and trying to land on really small landing surfaces to keep it challenging. I have two different 450 sized helis that I fly in 10 mph no sweat and those are a freakin blast.
Posted on: 5/14/2009 8:12 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8767885

RE: Lama v4 problem (flies forward diagonally)
I had a related problem in that I couldn't get the heli to move forward. I found out that when I applied forward cyclic one of the servos wouldn't stay in place (they're held in place with double sided tape) and thus it didn't tilt the swashplate correctly instead the servo case tilted outward proportionally and the heli had very poor forward motion. Take off the canopy and check if your servos have broken free from E-Sky's kick @ss double sided tape design. Also, you need to check your servo arm angles at rest. The servo arms should be 90 degrees angles compared to the swashplate linkages, so make any adjustments necessary. Also check to see if the servos are giving you full range of motion. If you still can't figure it out....take off the canopy and shoot us a quick video showing us how the servos & swash moves as you apply cyclic maybe we can see a problem that you're not describing to us.
Posted on: 5/14/2009 8:04 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8767871

RE: ........... BELT CP V2 Thread..........
slotdr I have switched back to my stock TX so I have no control over my throttle curves for my belt cp v2. But for my other heli (T-Rex 450 clone) I increased my head speed which improves the heli's overal stability. My normal 5-point throttle/pitch curves are: 0 - 50% 45 - 63% 65 - 75% 85 - 88% 100 - 100% My idle up/pitchs curves are: 100 - 0% 85 - 25% 65 - 50% 85 - 75% 100 - 100% I have read a lot of other experienced flyers have done the same and they all say the heli flys better.....but it should also help you with your landings too.
Posted on: 5/12/2009 4:33 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8763218

RE: beginner looking for RC helo
I would highly suggest getting a 450 sized heli or larger. Most websites list their heli's in separate sizes...which is what we call classes such as class 250, 350, 400, 450, 500, 600, 700, etc. so it's easy to shop for a specific sized heli. 450 sized heli's have a main rotor diameter of 680 mm or slightly larger to 700 give or take and a motor that spins 3500 KV (KV = revolutions per minute per volt) to 4200 KV. Right now the only 450 heli I know of less than 200 is a E-Sky Belt CP. Lot's of folks have that and I have heard it's a good 1st time heli that is cheap to fix. I have a Belt CP V2 which is slightly different design than the original CP and it is a close comparison and I love it. Also, when you feel you are ready to fly, put training gear on it no matter how dumb it looks, training gear will help save you from crashes where your trying to land your heli and it's tilted off of center which happens all the time.
Posted on: 5/7/2009 12:12 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8748503

RE: Sticky: DYNAM gy48v gyro
bad400 thanks for sharing that info & video....which I thought the music was kick @zz so who cares what anyone says bout that. I thought the gyro held ok and that you got your money's worth. If you want a $40 gyro you gotta deal with some imperfections and actually that looked good enough to fly with where you're busy adding yaw doing turns and stuff you probably won't notice the drift flying outside.
Posted on: 5/7/2009 11:55 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "RC Helicopter Beginners Forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8748462

RE: HK450
I was bench testing my HK-450 and the tail gave out on me after less than 3 battery packs. The stock tail gear assembly that came with the HK was the problem so I just ordered 2 Align tail gear assemblies [link=http://www.readyheli.com/HS1216_84_Metal_Tail_Drive_Gear_Assembly_Blue_p/hs1216-84.htm]from Redi Heli.[/link] I also ordered tail fin assemblies because the stock set are too flimsy.
Posted on: 5/5/2009 8:31 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8742077

RE: ........... BELT CP V2 Thread..........
I ran another bench test on a make shift lazy susan using the stock setup with the stock lipo (20C, 1800 mAh, 3S) I pulled a peak of 22.7 Amps at 100% throttle. I then used a ZIppy 20-30C, 3S, 2200 mAh ran the same test and pulled a peak of 26.7 Amps at 100% throttle....the speed control was real hot. Don't know what the Esky specification are for peak amps, but I'm sure it's rated for 30+ peak amps.....but I still feel that Esky undersized the speed control by putting in the 25 Amp version. I am going to stick with this speed control for a month or two and will upgrade to a 30 or 35 A unit.
Posted on: 5/3/2009 8:08 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8737638

RE: Trex 450 CLONE WARS
I dodged a bullet today...my tail gear drive's upper pulley no longer turns the belt and has broken it's seal with the shaft. Fortunately I was bench testing my heli on a modified lazy susan setup to test the gyro when I noticed an increasing lack of tail movement until the tail just plain stopped. This is a well documented problem with the HK-450 kit and some folks have found a way to fix it. This video is a similar type of repair for the lower gear, but I suppose the same procedure would work for the pulley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJtdtneDCSU I decided to order Align's HS1216-84 Metal Tail Drive Gear Assembly (2 sets for each of my kits) and Align's HS1018-06 Stabilizer Set since the fins that came with the kit are junk. I highly recommend all HK-450 owners to just either get Align's (or the Micro Heli version) tail drive gear assembly or just loctite it before you crash.....it will slip on you sooner or later!
Posted on: 5/3/2009 7:53 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "T-Rex heli"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8737587

RE: Buying online and waiting.....
I make a point to place part orders that I need to get my helis back in the air with American Hobby stores, such as USHobbySupply & Jag Hobbies. I usually fly all weekend long and break or strip something by Sunday afternoon or night so I place my order that night. I've never recieved my parts more than 4 days from ordering. I pay only a few bucks more for the parts but am happy on the quality of customer srvc & speed of order. Now if I can wait 3 weeks and/or my parts list is extensive enough to want to save big $$$....then I go with ToyRC or HobbyCity or some other Hong Kong/China supplier. I usually get my order in 10 days if I go this route but once it did take 3 weeks.
Posted on: 4/17/2009 8:19 PM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Electric RC Helis"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8691209

RE: ........... BELT CP V2 Thread..........
gagt2nv - i got a 10 pair from ebay but none of the 10 sets were a good match. It's been a real pain trying to match the blades from different packages. All in all I wasn't very happy with that purchase. I would try flying somewhere the bushes & trees aren't a problem and use good blades.
Posted on: 4/14/2009 8:33 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "Esky Helicopters"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8679878

RE: Fast piro, tail belt jumped, belt looks ok , but . . .
There is a pretty lengthy discussion on idler pulleys on [link=http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=56627]heli-freak.[/link]
Posted on: 4/11/2009 8:54 AM by Author "FLYGUY09" in the forum "T-Rex heli"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8670186