Building a TREX 600 ESP!!

[akent]

That is an awesome heli, Elk!!!
It's looking GREAT!!

I think we may need to get a 600 bulk buy together, Ranben!!
Kent

[mimir]

Really looking fantastic Elk...

I still find myself "wowing" at the size!

[McKrackin]

May 13, 2009 7:21:33 GMT -6 fergie said:

nice build elkmaster, looking forward to seeing it completed.
video would be cool to, even if your just hopping it around w/training gear ;D
cool keep it up

The training gear for them is cool as heck.It has like tennis balls on it instead of ping pong balls ;D

[elkmaster01]

May 13, 2009 15:00:10 GMT -6 McKrackin said:

May 13, 2009 7:21:33 GMT -6 fergie said:

nice build elkmaster, looking forward to seeing it completed.
video would be cool to, even if your just hopping it around w/training gear ;D
cool keep it up

The training gear for them is cool as heck.It has like tennis balls on it instead of ping pong balls ;D

I got a set coming, not sure about the tennis balls,,,but it is for 600/700 helis. Can't remember where I ordered it,,,I've been all over the web searching for stuff for this,,,,,swash leveler,,,pitch guage,,servo arms,,,deans connectors ( I HATE soldering those things to a battery,,,I think the wires on the 6s batteries are about 4 guage ). I'm getting there!!

[McKrackin]

lmao...I soldered a Deans on a battery today.Sort of.Sweated it back off and my brother re-did it.lol....
I hate soldering and I suck at it ;D

Looking forward to more pix

[elkmaster01]

OK,,,,I got the 'training gear',,,,,,,,HOLY CARP!!!



Just after I took this picture, I thought better I should DISARM my wife before she got mad at me!!! ;D

[elkmaster01]

Got the tail all set up. Servo centered, trims and sub-trims 0, arm 90 degrees and tail slider perfectly centered!



I'm using a braided sleeve wrap on all my wiring,,,,it's a pain in the butt, but it will look a lot cleaner and pretect the wire harnesses. Should look great! ;D

[kiwi1080]

You could almost put a real helicopter on that training gear, its huge!! That must cost a fair bit just for that part I imagine.
I'm not a huge fan of soldering either but I got some practice with building my T-rex and also changing out the tail motors on my HB, so my skill is getting there slowly. I try to avoid it if I can though!! Anyway, build is coming along nicely, can't wait to see it finished and up in the air.

[elkmaster01]

May 14, 2009 15:12:45 GMT -6 kiwi1080 said:

You could almost put a real helicopter on that training gear, its huge!! That must cost a fair bit just for that part I imagine.
I'm not a huge fan of soldering either but I got some practice with building my T-rex and also changing out the tail motors on my HB, so my skill is getting there slowly. I try to avoid it if I can though!! Anyway, build is coming along nicely, can't wait to see it finished and up in the air.

The training gear was only $12.99 from readyheli,,,,not bad!!

[elkmaster01]

Wire harness, left side!



Front cyclic servo wires!



Right side,,,all wires inside the frame!



ESC/Motor wires,,,note the plastic tubing I split and glue to the frame to prevent chaffing!



Still waiting on the servo arm I need. Next, Ill start mounting the ESC, BEC regulator and 2s BEC battery. I'm having a blast building this. I know that after I get this done the first time, I could build this entire kit in one day,,,it is quite easy!

[elkmaster01]

I decided to post this build here for two reasons,,,,,first, so I could get input and help from you guys as I go along.
Secondly, so if I should run into a problem, I can post it so others may not make the same mistakes I make.

On the second note,,,I did a 'no-no' and had to fix it,,,this is the first time I've had to back-track and redo something. I mentioned that I mounted the forward servo 'up' because I liked the look and saw in Finless Bobs build he did it that way. Can't do it on this kit. I looked back at Finless Bobs thread and he actually had an older version of the TREX600. The servo bellcranks are different. Anyway, I was test fitting the canopy to check clearence for the main battery and I noticed the upper servo arms of the forward cyclic servos were rubbing hard on the canopy. So,,I had to flip the servos over and re-rigg the linkages to the bellcrank. Lesson learned!


As a result, I could not run the servo wires inside the frame. The wires were right infront of the motor pinion gear. I had to run them forward, then below the motor mount. There is no room to squeeze the wires along side the motor,,,,the motor is very tight to the frame. So this was my next best option without using servo extentions.


Ever see someone sleeve wrap around the ferrite ring? ;D


Here's the BEC regulator and the battery install. The BEC battery is under the main battery, both are velcro'd and strapped. The BEC Reg is mounted with double-sided tape and a zip-tie. The BEC connector is mouted the same.


That is one bad-a$$ed battery. The CG on this heli is perfect!


Getting close. Next I'll figure out what way I want to mount the receiver and gyro. The kit comes with a one-way step-down voltage regulator for the tail servo. I guess there are servos that can't handle the 6v output of the BEC. The stats on my tail servo say it is rated for 6v so I won't install the step down regulator!!

[elkmaster01]

Here's the first 'up-grade' I made;

I got these aluminum servo wheels, I think they look good. The wheel would not work for the elevator servo, it would rub on the tail mount inside the frame. I also have ordered some metal canopy stand-offs with thumb-screw nuts. I just don't trust these plastic ones, I'm assuming that this heli can be very rigorous in the air!


And the gyro;

I used a double sticky pad for the gyro. I hooked it up, set the travel limit, switched it for digital servo. I set the gyro gain for 60% and 70%(dual-rate rudder switch) as per manufacturer. When I tested it, it was running backwards and I reversed it, all is well. Hmmmm, I didn't realize that the gyro could drive the tail servo in the right direction but still give backwards input for HH. You can reverse the HH output and the tail servo will still operate as it was. Another lesson learned. I did not set any delay on the gyro, the book said that the delay is for analog servo and not 'needed' for digitals,,,,anyone have an opinion on that?

I'm calling the build DONE! ;D Alls I have to do is velcro the receiver down and rigg the blade angles. I have ordered a swash set-up tool and a swash leveling tool. When they come in, I should have the head and blades tweeked in about an hour. I also ordered a CNC boom support bridge, it is suppose to make the boom more rigid and stronger.

I'll strap on the soft-ball toteing, golf-club-size training gear and give it a whirl. I have ordered the Helicommand 3D but it won't be here for about 10 days.

Here's the end results; with what I paid for the kit, the training gear and set-up tools, the few little upgrades I did, the Helicommand 3D and PC software, and the receiver, I have a grand total of $1315.00 for a top of the line, VERY well built, TREX 600 ESP w/Helicommand! And I had a bunch of fun building it.

I'll post videos when I get it all set up and the weather clears!

Thank you to all you guys that have helped me along the way. I have been in this hobby for only two and a half months now and I'm not even a pilot yet,,,but look at what I just built!!! ;D

THX MUCH!!!

[McKrackin]

That's a beautiful helicopter at a very reasonable cost.
Good job.
We'll need a spooling up video soon ;D

[elkmaster01]

Wait,,,,,that total of $1315.00 is correct,,,,the kit came with a APLUS 4500mAh 6S1P 22C LiPo, but I did spend $190 for a Hyperion 5000 6S1P 25C battery. So,,,I've actually spent $1505.00 on this heli. But I have a spare batt!! ;D

[McKrackin]

Still good.