T-REX 450SE GF build log

[thayghetucsb]

Kiwi, how are you setting up that telebee gyro. I'm building pretty the same bird and having a hard time setting up the telebee gyro. I have the yellow wire connected to gear on Rx (also AR6100) and the other to rudder. Can't tell when it's in head hold or rate mode. The tail servo arm behave the same in all switches. I followed finless bob vid on this but can't just tell which mode it's in. If you can do a short vid, that'd be great.

[kiwi1080]

Haven't actually set it up yet, still waiting in the DX6i and Ar6200 to come in the post, probably Wednesday or Thursday and the latest. I also realised I haven't gor battery connectors for my battery and ESC so think I will do a trip to my LHS and get them there to save time. Once I start messing round with it I will post up some info if I get it figured out. I was going to use finless Bobs also so hopefully it works for me!! His vid on soldering the motor and ESC connectors was great, just did that this afternoon and went reasonalby well for my first soldering job other than HB tail motors ;D. Will keep you posted. What battery connector did you get? What servos you running on cyclic and tail? I assume you have the DX6i also, how you finding it??

[Doozer]

[thayghetucsb]

Feb 23, 2009 16:54:59 GMT -6 kiwi1080 said:

Haven't actually set it up yet, still waiting in the DX6i and Ar6200 to come in the post, probably Wednesday or Thursday and the latest. I also realised I haven't gor battery connectors for my battery and ESC so think I will do a trip to my LHS and get them there to save time. Once I start messing round with it I will post up some info if I get it figured out. I was going to use finless Bobs also so hopefully it works for me!! His vid on soldering the motor and ESC connectors was great, just did that this afternoon and went reasonalby well for my first soldering job other than HB tail motors ;D. Will keep you posted. What battery connector did you get? What servos you running on cyclic and tail? I assume you have the DX6i also, how you finding it??

I see that you used the towerpro sg90 for your cyclic. I bought 5 of these thinking that they're perfect for a cheap built bird. I was not able to get them into the slot. I guess i could if i really force them. If it was this difficult to intall, imagine how it would be when it comes time to replace These are like 5 bucks each and i wouldn't think they last for long. I did some more research and decided to go with the hitec HS-65mg for cyclic and HS-82mg for tail which i was told is a bit slow for tail but my order form helidrect was on its way. So too late to cancel and i wasn't worth the time returning it. I've had them all set up, except the telebee gyro of-course. I have the DX7 Tx. I have dean connectors for batt by the way.

[Doozer]

Feb 23, 2009 14:31:47 GMT -6 thayghetucsb said:

Kiwi, how are you setting up that telebee gyro. I'm building pretty the same bird and having a hard time setting up the telebee gyro. I have the yellow wire connected to gear on Rx (also AR6100) and the other to rudder. Can't tell when it's in head hold or rate mode. The tail servo arm behave the same in all switches. I followed finless bob vid on this but can't just tell which mode it's in. If you can do a short vid, that'd be great.

Your DX7 should tell you what mode its in. Do you know what your rate/HH switch is on your radio? Go to the Gyro menu and it will tell you what mode you're in. Also, Try putting the Telebee in different positions. I thought I had a bad Telebee but I ended up standing it up and now it works just fine. I use the AR6100e receiver. Sounds like you have the gyro connected correctly.

[kiwi1080]

The towerpros actually fit in a lot better if you remove the stickers, then they aren't too bad to get in there. They are cheap ones, but just wanted something to get me up and flying for the moment, and I don't need super fast response to start with on the cyclic as I will just be hovering and doing a little FF to get used to it. Using the HB to thrash and learn new stuff to keep costs down. I just ordered some Dean connectors from KA Planes, watched the Finless video to get the tips on how to solder those best. Now just need to wait for my DX6i and connectors to arrive and I will be ready for action. Will let you know how my gyro goes when I start setting things up, telebee is supposed to be a decent gyro so hopefully it goes well.

[skiboyscuba]

Feb 22, 2009 10:53:54 GMT -6 kiwi1080 said:

Will do Doozer, otherwise I will be the one pooping a little when the servo horn comes off and the heli goes sideways into the ground!!

Skiboy - I will likely make a video showing the whole heli (an overview of it) when I get it together and also of the first couple flights and any adjustments that need to be made if I find anything important to share. As for the build, its already done sorry so maybe the next one I will video!! If you or anybody has any questions though I would be happy to answer them as best I can.

Hey thanks.....Mike jr said he is just about done....Yeah!! Will be shipping soon...........they are out of stock and the price break is gone!

I'm so glad I got the Trex 450 while it was on sale!

[kiwi1080]

SOOOOOO excited right now!! The UPS man brought my DX6i this afternoon!! Hobby-Lobby did a great job packaging it up and it all looks great. Charging the batteries and reading through the thick manual tonight then will get it all hooked up and do preflight tweaking and testing before firing her up tomorrow. Will get a video of its first flight, will likely be in the garage though and more of a hover with the wind and snow coming this way . Anywho, I made sure it wasn't one of the recalled ones too so should be all good. Will have some video up by Sunday at the latest if all goes well, otherwise there will just be a bunch of cursing....Back to the manual and beer I guess ;D

[19000rpm]

Kiwi, good luck with the flight testing...don't forget the training wheels.

Happy landings

[akent]

Cool stuff, Kiwi!!!

Please be sure to take your time setting up the heli with your new radio. You'll obviously need to re-setup the head and everything.
I assume you have Finless Bob's videos and of course have read Doozers guide.
Nuttcaze also has some good tips on the DX6i with the Squadron build over in the disgusting land.

Best!
Kent

[kiwi1080]

Well I got the Ar6200 hooked up and everything seemed to be fine when I tested servo movement and direction. Took it outside and got a quick vid of its first time fired up just gently and it was spinning up quite well. I took it to about 45-50% and then it cut out, then cut back in again, then cut out. I started to power down and then it hopped up about 3 feet without warning, so I powered down slowly and brought it safely down. Kind of strange really?? I haven't programmed the ESC yet as I am just testing it, but could it be due to the thing being in governor mode as it said in the manual??? Also when I moved the aileron before I started it up it seemed fine, when I went outside it had reversed. Also I cant get the three cyclics to all move the right way together. Need to do some serious playing round and tweaking before i get this thing flying. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated as I am still learning the DX6 and initial setup being my first build. Anybody had these same issues?? Hopefully I get this sorted soon and get a vid up of it hovering.

[kiwi1080]

Well I have been playing with the heli to try and get it all tweaked and going, but seem to be having trouble with getting both blades pitch to change when I move the pitch/throttle stick. Got the head worked over like Finless Bob says, but something isn't quite right and only 1 blade moves when changing pitch, very strange. Anyway, I have a vid of its first spin up which I will post later on, it is back at home at the moment and I'm not! I am meeting with a guy at my LHS that is going to sit down with me and go over the heli to show me whats up with it and how to do it in the future, sounds great! They prefer to sit down and take the time to show you rather than just doing it for you, I like that approach. Anyway, sorry for the delay but this will be on hold until I see him next week, then I will have some photos and more notes of exactly what went wrong and how I got it fixed. The measurements and specs in the manual don't actually equate to what will make it fly and I have already changed a lot of the links and other parts, kinda frustrating. I will also put up a video of it hovering and maybe some FFF if I am feeling brave. Well, back to the HB for now, thats if Miracle Mart would get the d a m n pieces to me. 2 weeks and nothing yet....

[kiwi1080]

Today is the day I should get the T-rex up and flying. Meeting with the guy at a LHS at 6pm to go through the issues I have with it and get it all set up perfectly for flight. I am going to take some photos, video and notes if he doesn't mind of all the stuff he adjusts and then a vid of its first flight. They have a big 35 foot indoor flying arena so hopefully I can have a quick go in it when it is set up. However, now the problem is that my laptop with the card reader is throwing a hissy fit and won't connect to the interent. Tried all the usual tricks but doesn't want to go online. Hope to have that sorted so I can get pics up. I joined photobucket and you-tube to host the stuff. Also have some photos of my HBFP mods if metal rotor head and extreme motor to post on my HB mod thread. Sorry for the drawn out build thread but stay tuned for an exciting final chapter!! ;D

[McKrackin]

My laptop did the same.It took me a while to reallize my virus protection had expired and it was blocking the internet as a protective measure.I just had to disable to virus protection.

[kiwi1080]

Well after spending a couple hours with the owner of "build right fly right hobbies" in Connecticut here, I have the issues sorted out with my T-Rex. The head came assembled for me and a bearing in the mixing arm wasn't in line, and therefore threw out the ability for one blade to change pitch. Also my pitch was set at completely the wrong setting so that at just over half stick the heli would suddenly jump up as I mentioned if did earlier when headspeed got higher. Another issue was one of the ball links being too tight causing issues in the whole head, doesn't take much. Other than that he said everything else was set up fine and I built it properly, good to know it wasn't my doing!
I have a better pitch curve to programme in and just need to put threadlock on the head screws and I will be in business. Will try a hover tomorrow morning and then try to get a vid of it if I can to post. Can't wait to finally get this thing going and finish this thread!

As a final issue, he recommended I send back my DX6i. It doesn't have a date sticker and doesn't do the jumping thing on the monitor screen. He said his wasn't doing that either but still jumped on him during flight. Perhaps I should send it back anyway?...