RE: Dx6i wont bind (this is different)
There are two things I can think of. Check that the battery holder "fingers" are making good contact. Check that the 6i is in the appropriate mode for the receivers. You bought the 6i off of EBay. Perhaps the seller had a reason to get rid of the 6i.
Posted on: 5/22/2013 2:17 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11518933

RE: amp draw
Not easily. There are a bunch of variables. Battery voltage Number of servos, type, and current draw of each servo Flying style (To name a few!) An analog servo usually draws less peak current than a digital one. A digital receiver generally does not like voltage dropouts due to servo current draw. (They go into some sort of re initialization, signal re acquisition, etc.) The "old" analog standard was to use a 4.8v 600ma NiCad battery. This is inadequate for the usual system today. My preference is to use a LiPo battery with a switching BEC, and supply 6vdc to the receiver and servos. With 6 digital servos, a BEC that provides 2A current is, based on experience, marginal. 5A capability is much better. A digital servo can draw quite a bit of current, such as an amp and a half for a short period. Electric retracts are another high peak current user.
Posted on: 5/22/2013 2:03 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11518930

RE: Combat Robot: DX6i ELEVON issues
Several companies sell a small digital readout that is normally connected between the receiver and servo. It shows the servo control signal from approximately 1000 to 2000, which matches the standard 0-100% range. I bought the unit I have at one of the large RC swap meets.
Posted on: 5/19/2013 5:03 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11516451

RE: Explain: Which is correct?
If you are really serious about high current to servos and compatibility with receivers - - Consider that Radio Shack (and others) sell small PC boards that have holes on a grid that happens to match the pin spacing of servo connectors. Headers are also available, as well as various parts from hansenhobbies.com. You make short servo cables that connect the receiver to the PC board, and install either short cables with male pin servo connectors, or headers on the PC board The battery is then connected to the PC board. The power buss is on the PC board, and if needed, a capacitor or two across the power buss. This allows servo current to bypass the receiver. It also makes it easier to use a receiver with multiple models. Common servo wire color codes White or yellow Servo control signal Red Positive power (4.8 to 6v or so) Black or Brown negative power/common When using multiple batteries, remember that the batteries must be of equal voltage, the closer the better. They do not have to be of equal storage capacity, but should be of similar cells. (has to do with internal resistance of the cells) More elaborate devices are sold for a price, and usually used on such things as giant scale models. It's possible to use decoupling diodes to make the batteries more independent, but usually not needed.
Posted on: 5/19/2013 4:50 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Futaba Radios Direct support forum"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11516442

RE: Futaba 8UAF
Try looking at a third party module. http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/txacc/256k/
Posted on: 5/19/2013 4:21 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11516417

RE: Trying to learn but im terrible at math!
The battery mah is not that critical, although the increased weight might be. You want to change to a longer propeller. This increases the current draw of the motor. Knowing a few things, you can use one of the online calculators. A/C weight Motor specs Prop size & pitch ESC rating Battery number of cells, etc. Esc's - - cheap ones are usually aggressively rated, good ones conservatively.
Posted on: 5/18/2013 9:34 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11515715

RE: X-Mount/Hardware:Power 32/46/60 bolt size
The normal to firewall mounting screws are 4-40, per the E-Flite DHC-2 Beaver manual. Depending on the ARF model, you may end up making the holes larger. See the ARF Alpha 40 trainer manual, which also shows standoffs, and drill out details. Manuals are downloadable or for viewing at Horizon's web site.
Posted on: 5/18/2013 9:22 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11515701

RE: PZ Corsair - Hot Battery after Motor Upgrade
[quote]ORIGINAL: kwbrown I have the original ParkZone F4U Corsair. The original ParkZone motor (480 Outrunner Brushless 960Kv) recently locked up. Rather than replace it with the same motor, I installed an E-flite Park 480 Brushless Outrunner 1020Kv. I retained the original ParkZone 30 amp ESC and the stock 9.5x7.5 prop. I am using 15c - 25c 11.1v 2200mAh li-po batteries. The plane is noticeably peppier, but my battery is super hot after flying! My flight time is also shorter. Anyone else running this setup? What am I doing wrong? What changes do I need to make? Thanks for any help. [/quote] You are obviously drawing more current than the battery likes. Given the KV difference, I'd suggest a less aggressive pitch and/or slightly smaller prop. There also may be a way to increase airflow around the battery. A month or so ago, we maiden ed an Advance 25e with a power 32 motor. Both the battery and the speed control were quite warm. A week later, after adding an intake air scoop and a bottom exhaust cutout, the second flight battery and ESC temps were almost ambient. Consider using the web based E-Calc program to help show the probable current draw with different propellers, etc.
Posted on: 9/14/2012 12:24 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11228542

RE: Spektrum Telemetry module and iPhone App.
The reason I don't buy Apple products goes back many years. With the mac's, the ops system became "closed". Apple wants a piece of any App software you develop after you buy the development system from them..
Posted on: 9/5/2012 4:54 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "JR Radio & Spektrum Radios"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11218069

RE: DX 7 troubles
Does your DX7 have the 11 Ms fast rate available? Perhaps there is a compatibility with the servos. A typical analog servo expects to see a 20-22Ms rate
Posted on: 9/2/2012 12:53 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "JR Radio & Spektrum Radios"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11214175

RE: DX6 shut off in flight
I also experienced the battery contact issue. Fortunately, I was using the 6i (DSM2 only version) with a simulator. Cleaned and slightly re sprung the contacts fixed the problem.
Posted on: 9/2/2012 12:51 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "JR Radio & Spektrum Radios"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11214173

RE: Is it OK to not connect motor to ESC?
Removing the prop is the best thing to do. After all you are trying to get the electrical system working and tested as much as possible.
Posted on: 8/30/2012 4:02 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11211974

RE: Soldering made easy with The Jigs Up by MaxAmps.com
The Jigs Up helps. But there is also a lot of hype in the adds. A vacuum bench vise with a swivel and a couple of alligator clips and two "V" notches is almost as useful, and may actually work better for some of the soldering tasks. I use the Jigs Up mostly for partially filling connector solder cups and with a pair of long nose pliers, inserting LiPo wires into the cups. It's often necessary to prop the LiPo above the benchtop to make things work well. The biggest factor that I'm aware of is soldering iron temperature and wattage. I use a Weller adjustable 40 watt iron (red/orange stand/soldering station. (I'm too cheap to buy the digital version) A lower temperature setting (3) is about right for small gauge wires, and 4 1/2 for the large LiPo wires. Sometime in the dark ages (1970's) I actually went through the training to get certified as a mil spec solderer. (Not by my choice, as I was an engineer, not a production worker.) The summary of the training? Not too much solder, not to little Shiny surfaces on the joint. Complete coverage, no "blowholes". Too much heat can cause the wire to become brittle, and break under vibration. (This can be a real problem when using some thermal wire strippers.) A small secret - mix rosin flux with "Golder Grain", or alcohol without any oils or embitterents added. and drip on the clean connection to be soldered.
Posted on: 8/27/2012 7:20 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11208429

RE: What size of RC planes do you like?
I have a Spitfire 15e foam. A major problem is that it must be hand launched, since the grass makes takeoffs difficult. Besides that, I'm an older retired person that wishes he had better eyesight. The Spitfire is just too small to see at any distance. My favorite planes are those with 48" and longer wings, although I do limit the size to those that fit in my P/U cab behind the front seats. These days, I prefer to fly electrics. no fuel, no cleanup, and so forth. Sadly, flight time per charge is about a third that of a similar model with glow power. Glow fuel is expensive, and the price of a good LiPo is about equal to three or four gallons of fuel.
Posted on: 8/24/2012 11:22 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11205204

RE: A123 Question
[quote]ORIGINAL: All Day Dan Thank you Mr. Moderator. What I was looking for was some kind of data that discusses the life expectancy of the A123 batteries or some way that the average RCer can determine that his batteries are approaching their end of life. I know the guys at my field usually wait until that happens and, as expected, it does was they are flying. That long missive you sent me to does not discuss it nor do I know who the author is or what his qualifications are to even discuss it. Do you know of any test data that can tell us when those batteries are going to fail or how to determine when a pack is coming to its end of life? Dan. PS, No, I'm sticking with the eight track. [/quote] The test data for a particuliar battery pack is obtained by discharging a pack to the safe discharge voltage, recharging it, discharging it again, and keeping track of the charge and discharge. You also have to look at the battery specs. A good charger will charge to a specified capacity, along with time, temperature,voltage, current, and so forth, and with A123's it may allow a trickle or "float" charge after a normal charge is complete. If you have the capability to do so, you can also look at voltage vs discharge rate. As batteries age, internal resistance goes up, and the voltage tends to drop more at high discharge rates.
Posted on: 8/22/2012 9:24 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11202148

RE: A123 Question
Then the LiFe batteries are NOT A123 batteries. A123 is both a brand and a patented battery design. Sadly, A123 is in financial trouble, much as the solar panel Mfrs are. I believe the genuine A123 batteries(a good one, that is) have a longer life than the Chinese LiFe batteries. The DeWalt batteries are likely "low bidder" batteries. Decades ago, Sears came out with lantern batteries that had extremely low resistance, and if shorted, did things like catching on fire or exploding. Recall time! Then, vents and fuses were added, and eventually auto resetting fuses. They may have been an early form of NiCads. [quote]ORIGINAL: dirtybird The advantage I have found with A123's is you don't have to baby them. I get my batteries from China. They are better than the ones I got out of a DeWalt pack. [/quote]
Posted on: 8/22/2012 9:09 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11202132

RE: Plane recommendation
http://www.headsuprc.com/servlet/the-2086/Emax-BL2820-fdsh-07-Outrunner-Brushless/Detail Gives full motor specs. and a plane weight of ~1600g
Posted on: 8/20/2012 6:58 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11200327

RE: How to send On/OFF to aircraft
Seems you are a bit confused! A "conventional" R/C system's receiver outputs a train of pulses with a pulse width between 1 and 2 MS. There are commonly about 1024 steps of the pulse widths. An "ON/OFF" signal to operate a device uses am electronic circuit that sees the pulse width from the receiver, and switches on or off when the pulse width is above or below designed or selected widths. A switch on the transmitter can be set to generate a more or less specific pulse width for each position. How this gets done varies between transmitters and the particular switch. The flap switch or gear switch on many transmitters are examples of switches that are set to cause specific pulse widths to be sent. The key is knowing that the transmitters usually show a percentage of travel or position. a quick example is that 50% is ideally 1.5MS pulse width. The transmitters may show 0-100% or -100 +100 as a way to represent the limits of 1-2MS, and 0 or 50% for center. http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/onboardacc/ers/ Shows some typical on/off switching devices.
Posted on: 8/18/2012 11:33 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11198391

RE: Brushless motor direct to battery without reciever???
Once you have the Motor, speed control, and battery, the next thing to look at is http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/rcelkits/sckit/ $10.95
Posted on: 8/18/2012 5:02 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11198174

RE: New DX8 Firmware with changes made....when?
2.05 is on the spectrum website, and should address many of the things mentioned in the thread.
Posted on: 8/16/2012 8:57 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "JR Radio & Spektrum Radios"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11196437

RE: DX8 Mix Page Bug
Airware 2.05 supposedly fixes this problem! It's released.
Posted on: 8/16/2012 8:55 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "JR Radio & Spektrum Radios"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11196436

RE: Antenna Position as Far as the Planes of Said Antennas
On my A/C with telemetry, the fades are usually quite low, less than 10 per antenna on the usual flight. In rehashing the two A/C that had problems last fall. 1. The 60A speed contol"s 2A 5v BEC's were used. 2. It was possible to "stall" some of the servos at the end of travel. One plane has flaps, and we suspect that the servos might have been stalled in the flap up position. 3. External 6A BEC's were installed, and any servos that were capable of driving control surfaces to mechanical stops or when full stick deflection might drive a servo to an internal stop were re-adjusted. (linkage, centering, and even transmitter travel/span.) Unrelated testing of typical four cell AA NiCad and NMIH packs showed that an AR600's LED might blink when the momentary battery current draw was high, perhaps close to 2A, due to a drop in battery output voltage. My meters are not fast enough to accurately show the momentary drop in voltage, or the current causing it. That said, the current was in excess of 1.5A, and the voltage drop must have been to well below 4V. The fooler was that the same battery packs voltage at full charge did not usually drop far enough to cause the AR600's LED to blink.
Posted on: 8/14/2012 1:03 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "JR Radio & Spektrum Radios"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11192663

RE: Receiver batteries
It's possible. The concern is to make sure that both are at the same state of charge when connecting them in parallel. Otherwise, the weaker will draw from the stronger, until they are equal in charge. It's usually better, at least in principal. to use larger capacity single battery packs. If the battery pack output voltage has enough "margin", diodes can be used to "decouple" the battery packs. The diodes must be identical, have a low forward resistance, and appropriate current and voltage ratings. However, as the parts count goes up, the chances of failure also increase.
Posted on: 8/12/2012 10:35 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "E-Flight Power Sources"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11191193

RE: E-Flite Electric Retracts 60-120 EFLG 410
I'd have to say that I agree in part, and differ in places. The Lead Screw thread is too fine for longevity. A geared motor might allow a larger diameter Lead Screw with a more coarse pitch. I don't like the number and type of bearing-less sliding surfaces. Design "defects" are not really defects when compromise is necessary to meet price. There are always better ways to do something when price is not the major factor. I could easily design and with difficulty, build a retract gear assembly that works well, is complex and expensive, and never get back my investment due to low volume sales. It's hard to justify a gear set that costs more than the basic plane it goes in.
Posted on: 8/10/2012 12:01 PM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11138793

RE: E-Flite Electric Retracts 60-120 EFLG 410
A four digit one that is in a small yellow plastic box. The vendor usually comes to the southeast model show in Perry GA. (The mfr's label fell off some time ago). The same source sells a servo simulator in the same size plastic box. [quote]ORIGINAL: vasek Thanks for sharing! what digital pulse width readout are you using? V. [/quote]
Posted on: 8/10/2012 11:58 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11188401

RE: Best choice for windy conditions?
A model of a DHC2 Beaver, E-Flite EFL4525 with a Power 32 motor might work! The long thin wing has good penetration, and the flying qualities are quite good. When balanced very slightly nose heavy, it's quite stable, and a pleasure for a newbe to fly.
Posted on: 8/10/2012 1:06 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187871

RE: E-flite 80amp esc (v2) limits
The Propeller was undersized for the original voltage. If you can, use a larger propeller., or at least increase the pitch. The motor is rated up to 8 cells, and 18" props, don't know about the ESC. You might consider using "ECalc" to get an idea of the correct propeller size.
Posted on: 8/10/2012 12:58 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187866

RE: down and locked gear failure
It looks like a manufacturing defect to me! We used to see a similar problem years ago with pressed on gears and slot car motors.
Posted on: 8/10/2012 12:49 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187863

RE: RC Flying Site Issues Due To Li-Po Fires
To me, model related gasoline or kerosene fires are more dangerous than LiPo fires, in terms of immediate fire size. Some of the Russian turbine powered model jet crashes and resulting fires (Utube) were quite impressive. I'm old enough to remember mono control line models with ram and pulse jet engines. Those were a fire hazard when things went wrong! As a kid, I watched one go up that had a magnesium belly pan.
Posted on: 8/10/2012 12:43 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187859

RE: Antenna Position as Far as the Planes of Said Antennas
Receiver two short antennas Remote two short antennas Standard advice is to mount them so that the antennas on each are parallel, and at 90 degrees between units. It's possible to route the antennas differently, so that at least one is at at least 45 angle to the others. I usually do this when the natural position of one units antenna is parallel to such things as metal control rods, or wiring. I can't say if the results are an improvement or not, since I haven't had any recent (Knock on Wood) loss of control problems. The problems I had some time ago were on models with the antennas oriented per the standard recommendations, although that was not believed to be the cause. Brownout was the most likely culprit.
Posted on: 8/10/2012 12:34 AM by Author "chuckk2" in the forum "JR Radio & Spektrum Radios"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187856