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CrazyLittle posted:Bummer. How many cycles did you put through them, and how low did you typically go? Lots. I didn't keep good track. At minimum a few dozen. And usually till a flashing light. Which isn't good, but it's hard to track time while you're enjoying yourself.. At least they're cheap, i'm not disappointed in their lifetimes. And happily the worst ones, are the ones that I know are oldest. Nerobro fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Dec 9, 2012 |
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Dec 9, 2012 07:35
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Okay, I can see that being a reasonable life cycle for these cheap Lipos - it's not like they're laptop quality or anything, and we're pulling current out of them till they puff. I was pulling 300 watts out of a 800mah 40C 3-cell... not surprised at all if those packs I used are beat up.
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Dec 9, 2012 07:59
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it's not like they die in ten cycles. And most of these cells are rated at 15c. First off, I'm doing this wrong. To test each cell properly means I need to charge completely, then discharge the cells. But because I don't have my whole life to spend checking $3 batteries... Here's what I did instead. I discharged all my cells on my 6x charging tail. This brought every cell down to the 3v minimum. I've been charging each cell individually at 200ma. There are some real losses when charging cells, so the number I get here is going to be .. uh.. generous. To give an example, I did fully cycle one cell. It took 154ma to charge, and gave back 135ma with a 2c discharge. My worst cell so far, is a 150ma cell, that only took 83ma to charge. That cell probally only really has 70ma capacity left. And it's label discharge rate is a mere 12c. So... I suppose the real conclusion here, is it's time to buy some new batteries. I know it means nothing to anyone else, but here's the sorry state of my batteries: code:I had forgotten why I had stopped flying my SU-26. I pulled it out of the box tonight and found I had cracked the lower fuse. It's almost done gluing. After sunrise I might go flying this morning. I've finally retired my T-28, and I'm about to pick up a DLG airframe to put my ar6400 block on. Edit: Hmm. Took 4 cells with me to the field this morning. I found batteries 1 and 4 couldn't sustain full throttle for more than 5 seconds before things started flashing. Those are getting retired. 13 and 16 were just fine, and could go minutes. I wonder if I'll have more than 5 good batteries at the end of my testing. :-) At least I'll have cells where I can be confident in flight time. Nerobro fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Dec 9, 2012 |
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Dec 9, 2012 13:13
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I do monthly flying with an Air cadet group using Blade/parkzone planes. I find the battery's crap out pretty quick with heavy usage. The kids fly them down till the planes wont fly no matter how many times I tell them to change the batteries on the first sign that power is dropping. Best way to test them is to get a charger that can read internal resistance. As they age the Ir increases and they just cant deliver the current they used to. Use the new batteries in the helicopters/big planes and once they run down use them in less demanding planes like the parkzone vapour.
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Dec 9, 2012 17:10
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I also see a strong correlation with heli use 
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Dec 9, 2012 22:56
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I use a helicopter to test the cadets batteries at the beginning of the year. If it cant hover an MCX for 30 seconds after a full charge it gets binned. I suspect these little batteries fail so fast is because they tend to get deep cycled more often than bigger packs and they are usually stored fully charged.
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Dec 9, 2012 23:06
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So this must have showed up in the last few days : http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__28494__OrangeRx_T_SIX_2_4GHz_DSM2_6CH_Programmable_Transmitter_w_10_Model_Memory_Mode_2_.html
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Dec 10, 2012 02:06
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Eh, I'd pass. I wouldn't want to be stuck with DSM2 as my only option.
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Dec 10, 2012 18:07
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So I just finished building my quad body, I took a turnigy/xaircraft v525 body and dremeled out 2-3mm of the booms so I could fit the Skywalker Quattro 20Ax4 esc inside and now I just need to do some cable routing and tidying. (Probably going to use some cable sleeving to tidy it up and make it look nice.) I've seen a fair bit of talk about using FrSky radios in the Turnigy/Flysky 9x bodies and watched a video on how to install the DIY module but I'm still a little confused as to which one I should be using. If I wanted to use a FRSky DIY kit and have the option of telemetry, which one should I be using? Edit: Holy table breaking batman. I've put up two images at http://imgur.com/a/Gx1dA/all of wh at I've done, for some reason imgur has removed the resizing options 
nogthree fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Dec 11, 2012 |
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Dec 10, 2012 23:49
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Woah woah woah, if you're buying a T9x and want to use FrSky get the DJT plug in module. Don't use the DIY one. If you get the DJT plug-in module then you can swap between using the FrSky Rx and the factory T9x/R6B Rx modules at will. The only mod required is if your T9x has the factory antenna threaded through the radio-body instead of mounted on the module itself. Even in that case all you have to do is desolder the antenna from the Tx board, and then you can pull it out and re-mount it to the module itself. Get this one:  Not this one: 
CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Dec 11, 2012 |
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Dec 10, 2012 23:55
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The only concern I've got with using that plugin module is the fact that it sticks so far out behind the body, but I'm guessing that's less of an issue than was stated in the videos I saw. The other reason I was looking at the DIY kit was that I was assuming that I'd need the DIY module to work with the smartieparts telemetry board (I already have the solderless flashing board on the way.) I just actually read about this and he DJT module just plugs straight into the telemetrEZ so I guess that's a problem solved. 
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Dec 11, 2012 00:15
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Yeah, the ER9x guys hacked the firmware so that you can use the telemetry info on the main radio's display, but if you get the FrSky telemetry add-on screen then you don't need to even bother with any of the interior hacking to do telemetry. Even if you wanted to do it I think smartieparts made a solderless telemetry add-on board too.
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Dec 11, 2012 04:05
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So I've been eyeing up the Teksumo flying wing on Hobbyking and was tempted to get one but I haven't flown any RC setup aside from a quad. A couple of the guys that I know who do RC are telling me that I should learn on a trainer plane but those seem to be much more expensive than these cheap wings. Is there any really compelling reason I shouldn't learn to fly on a flying wing like this?
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Dec 14, 2012 02:38
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A conventional plane setup works on the assumption that the elevator will be a single servo tilting the nose up/down, single rudder servo up/down and maybe 1-2 servos for ailerons for roll left/right. Wings use two servos with mixed signals to do both aileron and elevator functions at the same time. You'll need a radio that supports that mixing, or you'll have to get a dedicated v-tail mix adapter. The setup before flying becomes more difficult because you won't have the experience of (crashing) a conventional plane first. Also with a wing like the Teksumo the propeller's in the back, which requires a bit of care when launching the craft since a careless toss can put your hand in the way of the propeller. Personally I say go for it, but be cautious and take your time setting things up. Also if you're from the US and buying in the US, you might find that the Tech One pop-wing is cheaper to ship from Nitroplanes.com in southern California. It's the exact same craft with a different paint job. You also have the option of starting off by making a simple craft yourself using housing insulation foam (pink-sheet-foam) from Lowes / Home Depot. It doesn't have to be pretty... especially because you're going to crash the hell out of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGWF7QTZZi0 CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 04:59
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I hate to ask an utter noob question, but since the OP doesn't have an FAQ: What's the standard goon recommendation for a semi-decent starter outdoor RC helo (or quadcopter) in the $50-150 range? My situation is: - gift for a relative who's flown the tiny $20 indoor cheapies around his apartment and liked it - wants something somewhat larger to fly outside at the park in Southern California - looking for something pretty dead-easy, durable, no kits/soldering, etc. Something a near-total novice can smack around and beat on with minimal occasional low-skill repairs. - he has an iPhone, if that matters for whatever RCs use that as a controller now. - asethetically, less kid-ish would be good, but that's a secondary concern I tried googling up a few ideas, but mostly I'm finding threads about the $20 indoor ones, or recommendations that start with buying frame, engine parts, and rotors separately. Looking for a basic turnkey solution here. Thanks!
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Dec 14, 2012 05:44
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:I tried googling up a few ideas, but mostly I'm finding threads about the $20 indoor ones, or recommendations that start with buying frame, engine parts, and rotors separately. Looking for a basic turnkey solution here. Thanks! Next step up would be a 4-channel fixed pitch, but they have a proper throttle, roll/pitch/yaw control so it won't fly the same way. If they want to stick to a coaxial and just get something bigger, there's a jumbo-size version of the $20 indoor one. Each of the ones below are $60. I have the 9116 and have crashed mine a few too many times, but it was good while it flew 4-channel fixed pitch: http://www.xheli.com/67h-9116-3d-blue.html Jumbo: http://www.xheli.com/67h-9053-volitationheli.html
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Dec 14, 2012 06:20
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CrazyLittle posted:Next step up would be a 4-channel fixed pitch, but they have a proper throttle, roll/pitch/yaw control so it won't fly the same way. If they want to stick to a coaxial and just get something bigger, there's a jumbo-size version of the $20 indoor one. Each of the ones below are $60. I have the 9116 and have crashed mine a few too many times, but it was good while it flew The latter outdoor one looks reasonable, and the "Unique material withstand crashes" seems key. So you'd recommend a standard helo vice a quad at this level? Can I get any increase in durability by going up somewhat in price, or would more cash just get features that a noob won't be in a position to appreciate yet? Not that I'm trying to dump cash, but since it's a gift I'm willing to go a decent bit higher if it results in something that will be easier to learn on, more durable, or give him more to grow into with experience. And/or, to make it more gift-like should I consider adding a camera to it, or some other such goodie?
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Dec 14, 2012 13:41
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I climb cell towers for a living, and I've started taking a GoPro up towers. Is there a good flying camera platform I can supplement that footage with? Something that can fly up to an altitude of 300 feet or so, but I guess I could get away with only 150 for some of the shorter towers. 720p video is a must, and I'm also not really into assembly or learning how to fly well or anything like that. I just want to take some cool video. What are my options?
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Dec 14, 2012 17:07
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Can I get any increase in durability by going up somewhat in price *etc* Once you're away from the two-rotor coaxial helicopters the learning curve jumps up really steep. Multi-rotor helicopters (quad/tri/hexa) that are any size bigger than the palm of your hand are totally DIY stuff and either cost a lot of money for the flight controller, or require a ton of setup and tuning. The mini quad copters tend to be around $100 but they're not all that great for flying outdoors. ante posted:I'm also not really into assembly or learning how to fly well or anything like that. I just want to take some cool video. Not much, IMHO. A really long stick? Any helicopter that you want to put a camera on will also have major problems with drifting in wind, and you have to compensate for that motion through your piloting skills. Most copters large enough to carry a camera require full assembly, tuning, and some light programming. Most ready-to-go copters where somebody has done all that work for you cost $500+ and you still need to learn to fly it. CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 17:34
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ante posted:I climb cell towers for a living, and I've started taking a GoPro up towers. Got an iPhone/iPod touch? This is about the only option that meets your needs. http://ardrone2.parrot.com/ You can get bodies that will let you carry your gopro as well but 300 feet up might be a bit tough.
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Dec 14, 2012 23:22
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What frequency/version of wifi does the parrot transmit on. I'd be weary using one of those near a tower.
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Dec 15, 2012 00:40
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The parrot looks pretty cool. I'll look at it some more when I get near a laptop. Any other similar suggestions are appreciated, too. The towers I climb are exclusively 850/1900/2100 bands, so interference shouldn't be an issue.
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Dec 15, 2012 01:18
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I recently got my hands on one of those Parrots, this is my first foray into RC aircraft and am having a lot of fun with it so far. I have experienced a problem with it though, flying it the other day in the heat of the Australian summer caused my iPad to suddenly shut down due to overheating, leaving me with a completely out of control and unstoppable quadcopter. After a bit of searching it would seem there are ways to mod the copter to use a standard RC transmitter, instead of the wifi/idevice. Since I'm new to this I'm really not sure what sort of RC transmitter I should be looking for, the info about the mod says to use "5+ channel RC TX/RX, 4 channels for sticks, 1+ switche(s) for land/flightmode1/flightmode2". Would that Orange one from the Hobbyking website posted a few posts up be suitable? I'm after a cheapish option at the moment.
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Dec 15, 2012 03:36
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ease posted:What frequency/version of wifi does the parrot transmit on. I'd be weary using one of those near a tower. As I recall, it's 2.4ghz 802.11b wifi so that the i-devices don't need any extra hardware to pilot them.
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Dec 15, 2012 04:41
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Just got the DX7s I asked for for Christmas!  ...now to buy a plane I can pair it with, all I've had thus far is a Mini-Cub, though I have flown my friends 4-ch stuff without problems. I'm thinking a Bixler 2 is the way to go, gets me something with a bit more performance than the mini-cub as well as ailerons, but looks to be very forgiving with the large wingspan. Plus, plenty of wing loading for FPV stuff in the future. 
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Dec 28, 2012 16:04
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devmd01 posted:...now to buy a plane I can pair it with, all I've had thus far is a Mini-Cub, though I have flown my friends 4-ch stuff without problems. ...or a receiver you can pair it with, and a plane of your desire. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__11965__OrangeRx_R610_Spektrum_DSM2_6Ch_2_4Ghz_Receiver_w_Sat_Port_.html I've had absolutely no problem with any of the OrangeRX units I've used paired with my DX7s. I'm sure I've said earlier in this thread that I've had more problems range testing Spektrum receivers than the OrangeRX ones. And at $6 a piece for a 6 channel unit that's approved in many places, you'd be hard pressed to beat it. snail fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Dec 29, 2012 |
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Dec 29, 2012 01:14
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I know the gist. It comes with one DSMx receiver in the box, but i'll throw a couple of these in with my order when I order the esc/batteries I'll need.
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Dec 29, 2012 04:26
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devmd01 posted:It comes with one DSMx receiver in the box, but i'll throw a couple of these in with my order when I order the esc/batteries I'll need. I'm curious about the HK 9XR radio they've just released. Does anyone have useful flying tips for a wing? I got a Sonic 64 EDF from HK for Christmas, and I've never flown a wing before.
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Dec 29, 2012 06:31
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Have my shopping cart ready to mash buy on as soon as a check arrives wednesday - Bixler 2 ARF and associated batteries, etc, as well as a Freewing Stinger EDF sport jet. Can't wait to have some real planes beyond the Mini Super Cub I started with back in the summer. It's okay to fly in cold weather as long as your fingers don't go numb on the controls, right? 
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Jan 1, 2013 01:29
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I'd like to ask a newbie question too. I'm looking into using a RC copter to gather low-level atmospheric data, basically temperature and relative humidity (and maybe wind speed/direction if I can calculate it). My general idea is to get a T/RH and GPS data logger on the copter, fly it up (hopefully) to about 500', then have it come down. If I could have it auto fly via GPS that would be magical. Any suggestions where to look?
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Jan 8, 2013 08:32
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SirPablo posted:I'd like to ask a newbie question too. I'm looking into using a RC copter to gather low-level atmospheric data, basically temperature and relative humidity (and maybe wind speed/direction if I can calculate it). My general idea is to get a T/RH and GPS data logger on the copter, fly it up (hopefully) to about 500', then have it come down. If I could have it auto fly via GPS that would be magical. Just curious, why won't a ballon work? That's what has traditionally been used for that.
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Jan 8, 2013 17:15
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Trabisnikof posted:Just curious, why won't a ballon work? That's what has traditionally been used for that. A weather balloon will travel to a height of 100,000 feet over the course of 90 minutes at a cost of about $200 (including parts and labor) per launch. Big time overkill. I'm looking at detecting/forecasting radiation fog, which at worst is maybe 1500' thick.
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Jan 8, 2013 19:47
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SirPablo posted:A weather balloon will travel to a height of 100,000 feet over the course of 90 minutes at a cost of about $200 (including parts and labor) per launch. Big time overkill. I'm looking at detecting/forecasting radiation fog, which at worst is maybe 1500' thick. There are balloons smaller than a weather ballon though, just use a correctly sized balloon to loft what you need the limited distance. I think powered flight is overkill if you just need the height. Just get some party balloons and some kite string and go to town.
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Jan 8, 2013 23:27
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Has anyone else had huge difficulty getting the screws out of your Turnigy 9x case only to find the drat things are glued in? I've also got a new frame which is a blatant clone of the TBS Discovery. (Reptile550) and I'm going to saddle it up with four Turnigy D3530/14 a Hobbywing Quattro Skywalker 20Ax4 ESC and an Arduflight (APM Clone that is like 1/2 the price) with a ublox GPS and a 3S 2200mAH turnigy nano battery. Does anyone see any obvious pitfalls with that plan to avoid? Or are there perhaps more cost efficient motors to use with a TBS clone frame? nogthree fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Jan 8, 2013 |
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Jan 8, 2013 23:41
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nogthree posted:Has anyone else had huge difficulty getting the screws out of your Turnigy 9x case only to find the drat things are glued in? They're not really glued, but they are self-tapping screws in plastic that can break or strip if you look at it funny. And don't be surprised if the little chinese ladies that put it together cranked down until the screw start spinning again. I ended up having to fill in the screw holes with 5-min epoxy in order to try to rebuild the threads a bit.
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Jan 9, 2013 01:19
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CrazyLittle posted:They're not really glued, but they are self-tapping screws in plastic that can break or strip if you look at it funny. And don't be surprised if the little chinese ladies that put it together cranked down until the screw start spinning again. I ended up having to fill in the screw holes with 5-min epoxy in order to try to rebuild the threads a bit. Yeah, I've got that problem too on 3 of the holes. I ended up having to snap one of the posts to get the darn thing open. Thankfully I bought the smartieparts screw upgrade set and I plan to put those on the remaining posts, maybe sans the two side ones because the two top and two bottom posts should be able to hold it together.
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Jan 9, 2013 01:22
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nogthree posted:Has anyone else had huge difficulty getting the screws out of your Turnigy 9x case only to find the drat things are glued in? I must have got lucky. My 9X was trivial to pull apart. My DX7s otoh  You'd have hoped that spending nearly 7 times the cost of my 9X on it, it'd be better servicible by the user with a good parts supply. Nup... turns out I could have bought and shipped a module-less 9X from HK for less than the cost of a replacement toggle switch and the repair, in less time too.
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Jan 9, 2013 02:25
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Started cutting out a new quad frame. It's pretty big. 
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Jan 9, 2013 04:03
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Trabisnikof posted:There are balloons smaller than a weather ballon though, just use a correctly sized balloon to loft what you need the limited distance. I think powered flight is overkill if you just need the height. Just get some party balloons and some kite string and go to town. Need to get into tethering then if you want to retrieve the sensors, which I would obviously. I don't understand why it would not be more cost effective to spend a few hundred bucks to get a system setup that could do flights on an hourly basis.
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Jan 9, 2013 07:07
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people are suggesting balloons because you'll be out more than just a few hundred bucks for a helicopter rig that can carry that much payload and make it to 500' and back under control. then add on the costs of the transmitter, batteries, gps will all add even more on top of that. you're also multiplying the potential failures over the simplicity of a balloon. do you know how to fly a collective pitch helicopter? you're not getting a coax that high and back down in any kind of wind, a fixed pitch might work but still would be tricky. barring a home-built quad, the only thing with enough thrust and control is a collective pitch, and that's the most difficult to fly. auto-pilot via gps on an RC heli? you're looking at several hundred in gyros and micro controllers, and you will be writing some custom software because I've never heard of it outside of a fail-safe mode for fixed wing planes that leave RF range, and even then it won't land it for you, it'll just put it on a heading back towards where it last had signal. it's unnecessary complexity and you really should just strap that poo poo to a balloon. your helicopter will crash and the first time it does you'll wish you just bought a helium tank and a bag of balloons.
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Jan 9, 2013 09:11
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