Blade 400 upgrade

[Smarty]

Hi All

I have recently purchased a used blade 400, im fairly new to this size of helis only flown micros up to now (except a breif 450 build a few years back).
I was a crashed heli that had been bebuilt by a model shop before i bought it, well i soon found out on first spool up that the model shop obviously had no clue!!!
So i took my time resetting up the head following the great info in the blade 400 bible and despite a very nervous trip to the flying barn it hovered for several lipos an absolute treat (very pleased with myself).
So a few days later off i went again, this time despite having changed nothing the tail was all over the place, still got through a couple of batterys and gained a little more confidence..
The third time i flew it my back garden the tail seem fairly good again!!! very inconsistant...
So i have purchased a GY401 gyro and a Jr ds3500 tail servo, i havent fitted them yet but hopefully will on friday in time for trial on saturday.

Thats the history out of the way!!! lol..

My question is, do i need to upgrade the ESC if i change the gyro and tail servo? and if anyone has this set up any tips would be great as i really cant get my head round the Gyro set up despite alot of reading... lol..

Also have a nice copter x v2 cnc hean and tail, anything i should know before fitting them?

Thanks in advance

Martin

[Boggy]

std esc will be fine. The 401 is very simple to set up,just make sure you have it set for digital servo's

[Smarty]

Thanks Boggy
I assume this is just done with a dip switch on the gyro?

[tomatwalden]

I somehow doubt a CopterX head will fit a Blade 400 - not without modifications .. why would you want to anyway???

[Boggy]

Thanks Boggy
I assume this is just done with a dip switch on the gyro?

yes mate set it to DS.

as Tom says don't bother with the copter X head (they do fit) but are worse quality than the plastic blade offering.

[Smarty]

Ok, ill leave the head as it is for now and concentrate on getting the Gyro and tail servo fitted, hopeing it will make the tail a little more stable!! one less thing for me to try and keep under control!!!

[tourerjim]

Ok, ill leave the head as it is for now and concentrate on getting the Gyro and tail servo fitted, hopeing it will make the tail a little more stable!! one less thing for me to try and keep under control!!!

401 will make the tail very stable, Blade 400 makes good learning heli but setup is crucial so could also be worth checking out some pitch tools if you haven't any.

[Smarty]

401 will make the tail very stable, Blade 400 makes good learning heli but setup is crucial so could also be worth checking out some pitch tools if you haven't any.

Hi Tourerjim
Yep i have a pitch gauge, i took a fair bit of time setting the head when i got it, got the swash nice and level and got about -8 at btm stick and +10 at top stick, mid stick is around +1 degree. It flys really well without vibration, one blade tracks slightly higher than the other but i will work on that next time i do some setup..

[Smarty]

Ok All following on from the previous post..

I fitted the Gy401 and the Jr3500g tail servo last night, I took it out this afternoon to give it a try, Everything seemed fine tail held well but after my first battery change and about 30 secs of flying i had a sudden drop in power (it did not cut off) forcing the heli to land, after waiting a few seconds of 0 throttle it spooled up again just fine only to the same thing a few seconds later, this happened from then on, i tried a different lipo but that made no difference!!

The motor and the esc are both stock, the esc did feel pretty warm but i would expect that to certain extent..

Im hoping you clever bode on here may have some ideas!! ruined my afternoons flying practice!!
Bear in mind i am only just learning so i was only hovering around when the problems started...

Thanks..

[tomatwalden]

The stock ESC on the 400 was renowned for being undersized (25A), but historically it gave up under duress in hot conditions. Hovering in Britain shouldn't cause it a problem.

Maybe a dodgy connection? A cold solder joint maybe between LIPO/ESC/Motor?

[Boggy]

move the esc to the outside rear of the frame (heatsink outwards)

[Smarty]

Do you think it was getting to hot? i have run 6-7 lipos through this previously with no problem...

[tourerjim]

You've not got the belt to tight which could also over load esc.

[Smarty]

Well i have not had this problem before and i have not adjusted it so i would think it is ok, i will try moving the esc outside the canopy as suggested and maybe check the bearings but everything seems free enough...
When we get a little less wind ill go and give it a try..