Align 600 FBL Conversion - 3G Electronics RJX Head

[Doozer]

Since I crashed my 250, and couldn't get parts for the FBL head, I decided to convert my T-Rex 600 to FBL. However, I didn't have a head. So I purchased this one from Heli Direct : www.helidirect.com/trex-600n-flybarless-head-systems-p-10622.hdx
Its very sturdy, the only thing that is iffy on it are the linkages. The plastic/rubberish type ball links dont look to be all that great, but I'll use them and see how they hold up.

Starting with the Head block
I install the dampers and don't grease them for the spindle. I grease the spindle, just below the threads. I do this so I reduce the chance of getting grease inside the spindle.
...
The dampers need to be flush. Here they are not.

I use alcohol and Q-tips to clean of excess grease.


Now to the grip. Don't forget this spacer. It goes in before the thrust bearing.
... it goes here
Also, don't forget the spacer that goes on between the grip and the damper.
Inside of the thrust bearing
... outside
Bearing with two races
Apply grease to the bearing
I squeez the grease into the bearing to pack it in.
After I pack the grease in, I make sure to clean the inside diameter of the bearing. This will reduce the amount of grease that sneaks into the spindle when you push it through.
The races for the bearings come with two different inside diameters. One is larger than the other. The larger "I.D." goes toward the head. This means it goes in first. The flush side is the outside of the races. Here I'm using a caliper to measure one race. Then measure the other three against this measurement. These races did not come marked. Align marks theirs "in" and "out.' No such luck here.

Once again I clean the spindle threads.
Making sure to allow the alcohol to dry, I then put a decent amount of thread lock on my spindle screws.


Repeat that for the other side and your grips are on.
You'll need two of the same drivers to tighten the spindle.
I use a torque driver on one side

When putting the control arms on the grips, make sure to thread lock the balls. The balls for this unit came installed on the arm, but there was no thread lock. Always check. I wish manufacturers would just not install them at all, because there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to what gets thread locked and what doesn't. This is why you should always check.
I put the ball on the arms off the grip. Putting torque on the end of the arm puts a lot of pressure on the screws in the grip. You round out the holes here, then your grip is ruined. In a lot of cases the arm and the grip are all one piece. In this case its o.k., obviously.
Notice that you can see the bearings through the screw holes. This is why you need to be extremely careful with the thread lock here. Also, these holes can be used to oil your bearings. Just remember to clean the holes out with alcohol and a Q-tip afterward. Re-apply thread lock to the screws.

Bottom of the grip...
... Top


Hidiho Neighbor!

Washout base
The screw goes through the bearing, then a spacer goes onto the screw. I wait until this point to put the thread lock on.
Then into the arm. Notice the orientation here.
repeat for the other side and your done. Make up your links and the head is ready to install.

Here's a couple of images showing screw locations
Used for tightening the head around the shaft. This head will go on a 90 as well.
Upper Mainshaft Jesus Bolt


Swash level... everything 90 @ 50in and 50out.
I made up one link to have 0 pitch at 50/50. I had to do this with the head on since there were no link size recomendations. Once I had one, I measured it, then made the other the same size. As a result... 0 pitch @ 50/50

So that's the mechanical conversion. For the electronics set up, please see this post www.rchelitalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=buildsmods&thread=2736&post=24848

[Doozer]

Finished the post, will add more as the flight testing begins. Not until this weekend probably

[McKrackin]

That's one of the best looking rotor heads I've seen.Love it.lol.....

[Doozer]

This is the very first hover of this heli with the 3G system. Big difference here between the 250 and the 600. I got a couple of seconds of Hands off. It started to drift back and left toward my garage so I yanked it a bit. I had some wag in the tail, which could be a couple of things, i.e. ball too far out... gain too high... I lowered the gain down to 30%, still some wag. Anyway, here's the first hover. I'll fly it some tomorrow eve after work. I'll have my son shoot some video.

[elkmaster01]

Good stuff. I've read some good stuff on the RJX head,,and it does look nice.

One tip that I use; I too clean out the spindle holes with alcohol and Q-tips,,but I found it easier to just put the thread lock into the holes before I slide it thru the head,,,then you have no worries about getting thread lock on the thrust bearings when inserting the screws.

I only have two hovers on my 500 FBL but if it works out,,I can see going strickly FBL for my helis,,,the 600 would be next! I like getting that flybar out of the way and it looks much nicer. My test flights are scheduled for tomorrow,,,I hope!

[Doozer]

Mar 20, 2010 7:40:46 GMT -6 @elkmaster01 said:

Good stuff. I've read some good stuff on the RJX head,,and it does look nice.

One tip that I use; I too clean out the spindle holes with alcohol and Q-tips,,but I found it easier to just put the thread lock into the holes before I slide it thru the head,,,then you have no worries about getting thread lock on the thrust bearings when inserting the screws.

I only have two hovers on my 500 FBL but if it works out,,I can see going strickly FBL for my helis,,,the 600 would be next! I like getting that flybar out of the way and it looks much nicer. My test flights are scheduled for tomorrow,,,I hope!

I used to put the thread lock in the holes, still do in some cases, but for me is a little risky. I actually run the screw across my finger and that leaves just enough thread lock on the threads, no misplaced drips.

I like the RJX head more than the Align heads... You can see that a little more thought went into them. I just wish they would have rounded the corners some. To me it looks like a brick with grips on it. The grips are sweet.

later,
Robby

[Doozer]

I just wanted to add that I think that waiting a bit to see where the price is going to fall on the electronics might be wise. Right now you have 5 or so major players in the Flybarless electronics market, and It's really becoming popular. From the time I started researching flybarless systems, to now the price has dropped on many systems. CYJE dropped the price on the "Total G" to $399 (down from $479), and it hasn't even hit the market yet. That's the one everyones going to want and the rest of the players are going to have to drop prices to compete with it because it is a bad ass system curtisyoungblood.com//TotalGSpectacular/total_g_spectacular.php.

It would be nice to see Align offer their electronics without the head. After building the RJX head, I can see where Align needs to work on theirs a little.

Now you may ask yourself, Is $400 dollars worth going flybarless? I say yes it is. Why? Tracking!!!! .... also, more Speed (less drag), more flight time, less crashes because the system is more stable, less parts to fix when you do crash, less set up time (a lot less)... Getting your heli in a stable hover is very easy. How much money did you shell out while learning to hover? I had parts coming from everywhere all the time in the early days. How many flybars/paddles have you replaced? Almost every crash that involves the blades you lose your flybar and a paddle or two.

There are some con's... you need decent servos. You no longer have a flybar taking some of the load off the servos. There is more of a direct line to the grips. This works the servos a lot harder and cheapies aren't going to live long. So the blue Hobby King servos aren't going to cut it. You also need to make sure you have the room for the extra electronics.

[Doozer]

Tried to squeeze in a little flight time after work. The tail is still very waggy. I did some circuits just to see if it was flyable. Flyable? Yeah I guess, but I didn't want to risk it. When I brought it down my son noticed that the tail blades were trashed. I kind of knew that the were, but I really wanted to fly it. So I'm going to go to my LHS in when it opens and pick up some KBDD blades. That could be some of the problem. We'll see. This is also the same servo that acted bad with the Solid G. I have a DS620, but I wanted to use that on the Gaui with the Solid G.

[McKrackin]

DS650...'Nuff said.lol....

[Doozer]

yep, putting that on order thusday. This payday is an all servo payday. I need 4 for the Gaui, 2 for the ricco, 2 for one of the 250's, 4 for my HDX that I stipped down to frame only, and now one for the tail on this 600. I also need another mini-g or a quark. I'm not putting Hyperions on the tail anymore. They work decent with the Quark and the 401 gyros, but I'm a CYJE fanboi. The G-view just makes programming the gyro soooo friggin simple. If I had the field programmer I'd probably love the Spartan gyros just as much.

[elkmaster01]

Doozer,,,,,do you know what your 600 headspeed is,,,pre and post 3G. On my 500 I had to drop my throttle curve from 86% to 70% after I put the FBL head on. Headspeed running 2900. I'm wondering if the headspeed on the 600 increased as dramatically too.

[akent]

That is INCREDIBLE, Elk!!!!
I had no idea that a stupid little flybar and associated stuff could cost THAT much power!

WOW!
Kent

[Doozer]

Man I had this whole thing typed out and the board logged me out

Anyway, the Eagle Tree is on the G5. So no tach yet. I was right between 1900 and 2000 using an 11T pinion. That's 6S. There is a head speed increase though. It's very noticeable. Also, just doing circuits with a few piros tossed in I flew for 6 minutes and used 2000 mAh. That's nuts. I used to use 4000 mAh in 6min 30 sec. Throw in some flips, loops and rolls, and I'm sure that will go up. With the wag the way it is right now, I'm not going to risk a dirt nap.

I'm going to put in my DS620 on the tail tonight. Ifit doesn't rain, and the wag is gone, I'll let ya know tomorrow about the head speed.

[Doozer]

not my day...

I flew most of the afternoon... My son's Ben and Ian took turns with the video. However, when I go to import the video from the camera to my computer..... nada... nothing... zip/zero. So I'll try again tomorrow. I'm still getting some wag in the tail, and I got another bad tail kick. Align needs to hurry up and sell that programming cable. They promised it next week about a month ago.

I was doing some high speed runs starting at 200 feet and dropping to about head high then pulling up into a stall turn with with piros. On one turn I got no response from the tail. On another run out of no where the tail kicked and the heli changed direction. It made my heart stop. I thought I had that on video, and I was going to nasty gram Align with it... but oh well.

I might play with the geometry a little see if I can't work out the wag. If not, I'll just wait for the DS650 to get here.

[Doozer]

ok guys.... I've been researching my wag issue. It seems that there is known issues with wag in the tail too. This is being addressed in the upcoming firmware update. Here's a link to Bert Kammerer's post at ALL my RC:

www.allmyrc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5623&postcount=9

That kind of explains it for me. I get a nasty little tail kick every now and then and the heli will change directions. It's pretty hairy in FFF. I'm not going to ground it, but I'm not doing any to far out either. Gonna stick to Fig 8's and circuits until I can get the programmer.