Align Trex 600 Build log

[19000rpm]

Great build dooz. Careful with that Tx. My understanding on the throttle problem is that it sticks at full throttle so you might be ok at a hover, but in my case I'd be too chicken to try it.

Happy landings

[Doozer]

Here it is... I didn't want to even risk a hover. I started to .... I really wanted to .... but my head won out over my heart. All smiles here ;D

[Solitaire]

Ah, the power! Blew the canopy right off that puppy ;D

Methinks the JR Tx may be delivered real soon

Looks good Dooz

[Doozer]

Sol... you could see how close I was to putting... I mean I just about did it. I really had to put my emotion in check. I'm really bummed about my radio though. I've been in contact with horizon. This hobby really breeds some rude retailers. I know that there are some great ones, but from the Local Hobby Shop to the E- Hobby Shop ... there are a bunch people that care about your money, but don't care about you.

Yep, I forgot to fasten the canopy. That thing creates its own vortex. I'm going to put up some more pics of the electronics set up. The Solid G is awesome. G-View makes setting up the tail and piro rates easy.... I'm also going take pics of the servo programming ....

Anyway... going to work on all that.

[McKrackin]

How oh how did you keep it on the ground.
Heck I was hovering my 3DX while ago without a tail servo.lol.

[r/c basher]

Listen to it purr! ;D

[Doozer]

Here are a few more pics of some cleaning it up a bit. I like to keep my wires under control. This can be a pain when changing out electronics or moving them, but hopefully it wont have to happen. I've had my Stock HBFP fall out of the air because the gear cut the motor wire I forgot to tie up. Ever since then I make sure the wires are secure.


When I went to the Hobby Shop the other day, I picked up some tubing that's generally used for fueling or fuel lines. The edges of the carbon frame are sharp, and after a while cut into the wires that rest on them. I cut lengths of this tubing, split it length wise, then covered the areas where the wires rest. I got the idea from Finless.


There were various colors, including clear... I chose black because my frame is black, and it would blend in.


This is the elevator servo. It's actually located mostly inside the frame.


All 12 Gauge wire, including the homemade harness. It works well. I'm thinking I should shorten the battery wires.


Tail view. From bottom to top in the picture:
If you notice, attached to the right side of the bottom of the frame, you'll see the satellite receiver. I originally was going to put the receiver battery back here, but CG dictated other wise. Next mount up you see the Solid G gyro. It comes with its own Velcro strap. Above that is the gyro amp. This is actually where you program this gyro. You don't need G-View, but it makes it so much more easy.


Closer look at the amp. I fixed mounted it. Because of the way I have it mounted I don't need to worry about moving it to program it. I probably didn't need the zip tie, but I put it on for extra security. The L.E.D. will flash for 5 seconds arming the gyro then it goes out. You can then plug in G-View and program it using the "P," "H," and "L" buttons. They are in the holes... I used a hex driver. The gyro comes with presets. The TREX 600 was the first one on the list. I set my end points, piro rates, and gain right here. No need to set it up in the radio. I'm going to do a newbie guide on the G-View soon.


This is the BEC side of the heli. I love this BEC, I wont have another heli without one. This one has an on/off switch. It eliminates the need to unplug the motor to do servo/pitch checks. It does require its own power source or you can tap into the power line running from the batter to the speed controller. If you do tape into the ESC power harness you will still need to unplug the motor to check servos and pitch.


Opposite side view of the gyro amp. I'm not real proud of the way this is set up. I could do it cleaner, I just got a little lazy. I have extensions that should be here on Monday. I'll install them and re-run the wiring.


Thanks to Ernie's tip, I went with two 3S lipos instead of one 6S. Eventually I will jump to 8S but i want to wait until this motor goes before I do that. Beneath the two main lipos you see the Receiver battery. All the batteries are affixed by Velcro and a Velcro strap. The forward most battery is Velcroed to the battery closest to the frame. The receiver batter is velcroed and strapped to the horizontal tray at the bottom. The Rx battery plugs into the connector you see at the bottom right. This configuration gives this heli almost perfect CG. I say almost perfect because nothing is ever perfect.


I had extra tubing so I started playing with hiding/protecting wires. The arrow points to the tubing.


The tubing adds weight, but at this big, and this much power its really nominal when you consider the type of flying that I'll be doing. I didn't buy a 600 because I wanted to moth it.


I need to buy more tubing now

[Solitaire]

Ah, grasshopper, you've come a long way since your last "cut the battery wires" episode.

Interesting battery mount configuration. Almost standing up.

[Doozer]

I really have... you know even though that had the potential to be very ugly, I kind of look back on that as one of the most important mistakes I've made. It made me respect the electricity side of this hobby.

I'm not sure that the Rx battery is intended to be there. I do have space between all the batteries though. It makes the canopy fit very tight. It would be easier with one 6S Lipo instead of two, but the deal I got on the two 5000 Mah Rhino 3S Lipos was too good to pass up. I could have got another 6 cells and still come under the price of an "Outrageous" Lipo.

I did a hover test of two 800 mah 20C zippies vs. one 800 mah 25C Outrage lipo... almost zero noticeable differences. As a matter of fact the Zippy's did not lose as much head speed on cyclic input. They were about 10 flights newer so read into that what you want. There have been tests with watt meters and other measuring devices and the bottom line is you can manipulate data to get a desired outcome. That's why we have so many lawyers in this world. So I'm not buying that the Outrage Lipos are worth as much as they charge for them. I'm not doing smack down 3D so I don't need whatever the more expensive lipos claim to offer.

::off my lipo soapbox::

I will need an 8S lipo as soon as this motor kicks the bucket. I'll need a charger too. I might go 10S.... not sure. I kind of want a 700 now. But I'm collecting way too many helis too quick....

[19000rpm]

That tubing was a nice touch. Probably worth the effort to shorten the battery leads. Worth your effort. I'd probably be to lazy to do it. The build is very, very nice. Congratulations.

I don't think we'll be waiting very long for the 700 build. ;D

Happy landings

[Doozer]

Got it in the air! I didn't use the usual camera so ... my son used the Sony Handycam so I've got to pull video from that camera onto another computer because my computer running vista doesn't like the software.

Some things to note: There is some rather noticeable tail wag right now and in the video. This is because I am using 6 channel receivers with the JR tx. JR only recognizes dual rates from the Aux 2 channel ... well none of my receivers have an Aux 2. So I have to Inhibit the Gyro sensitivity function and change my gain using the "Gear" channel travel adjust. I had the same issue in my 250 and fixed it using the gear channel travel adjust. I'm waiting for my battery to charge and I'll show some before and after video and explain what happens and how to change it and why. Just in case someone runs across this issue again.

[19000rpm]

Looking forward to the vids.

Happy landings

[Doozer]

Ok... the tailwag issue persists. I've called Curtis Youngblood Inc. to try and figure it out the Solid G gyro gain setting for this model. The tech there, I think he said his name was Brian, stated that the Solid G does "not like that model." He went on to say that the Align motor and ESC send out a ton of noise and that interferes with the Solid G Gyro.


Here's the video... input welcome. I'm sure there is someone out there running a solid G with the radio and receiver I'm using.

[McKrackin]

Not available yet.
BBL ;D

[akent]

Mar 30, 2009 18:00:21 GMT -6 Doozer said:

Ok... the tailwag issue persists. I've called Curtis Youngblood Inc. to try and figure it out the Solid G gyro gain setting for this model. The tech there, I think he said his name was Brian, stated that the Solid G does "not like that model." He went on to say that the Align motor and ESC send out a ton of noise and that interferes with the Solid G Gyro.

Doozer, that reminds me of something that is NOT changing with the settings from the transmitter.

Other things to check:
1. Slop with the tail servo mount.
2. Slop with the tail servo control rod to the tail.
3. Bent tail servo rod, or bent guide rails for it.
4. Bent parts in the tail.

That's all I can think about from my limited experience.

Best,
Kent