Tweet
After a 200 mile round trip to York and then Cheshire today to look at a couple of fly ins (YMAS and Hellecats), I'm taking the plunge.
I've toying with getting a RC Heli for a while, and now's the time
First choice was Nitro or Electric, went for electric in the end, many pro's and con's to each, higher setup cost on the electric, but cleaner & quieter, plus more powerful, but more stuff to worry about like chargers, PSU's, Balancers etc. As opposed to Slightly lower setup cost for nitro, but noisier, messing about getting it started, oil getting all over etc.
I'm not ruling out nitro in the future for something different but I think electric for now, besides which, I like tinkering with the soldering iron
So, I've chosen the transmitter, Spektrum DX8 with the AR8000 (along with an AR6210 and AR6115E which might get used for other projects down the line) since the 2 flying clubs I looked at yesterday, Spektrum seemed to be the transmitter of choice.
I'm waiting for delivery of Phoenix Pro 3 to hopefully get some idea before I let the bird out of the cage, and might even look at one of the small BNF models as a bit of a practise model.
As for the Helicopter, I'm looking at a TRex 500E since I've got the opportunity to buy one that I've been told has been well looked after, the owner got to the hover stage and decided to return to fixed wing, it's got all the standard fittings, servo's etc, and it's up for £170 which seems a good price.
So now the questions start.
What gadgets are essential, and which are more of a luxury.
I've figured I need:
I've got to decide on which power connector to go with, either XT60 or EC5
Lipo bags are a given, knowing my luck I'll have a pack explode in the garage
re charging, what's the best option, buying multiple balanced chargers and doing them individually, buying a multi balanced charger, or charging in parallel, I guess the downside to parallel charging is the balancing thing, plus you need a big charger to end up with a fast(ish) charge
Tools wise, things like Ball link pliers, push rod measuring tools, screwdrivers, hex drivers, spanners, pliers etc,
If anyone can shed any light on these questions, along with anything I've missed that I need to look for, I'd be very grateful.
Thanks
evaD
I've toying with getting a RC Heli for a while, and now's the time
First choice was Nitro or Electric, went for electric in the end, many pro's and con's to each, higher setup cost on the electric, but cleaner & quieter, plus more powerful, but more stuff to worry about like chargers, PSU's, Balancers etc. As opposed to Slightly lower setup cost for nitro, but noisier, messing about getting it started, oil getting all over etc.
I'm not ruling out nitro in the future for something different but I think electric for now, besides which, I like tinkering with the soldering iron
So, I've chosen the transmitter, Spektrum DX8 with the AR8000 (along with an AR6210 and AR6115E which might get used for other projects down the line) since the 2 flying clubs I looked at yesterday, Spektrum seemed to be the transmitter of choice.
I'm waiting for delivery of Phoenix Pro 3 to hopefully get some idea before I let the bird out of the cage, and might even look at one of the small BNF models as a bit of a practise model.
As for the Helicopter, I'm looking at a TRex 500E since I've got the opportunity to buy one that I've been told has been well looked after, the owner got to the hover stage and decided to return to fixed wing, it's got all the standard fittings, servo's etc, and it's up for £170 which seems a good price.
So now the questions start.
What gadgets are essential, and which are more of a luxury.
I've figured I need:
- Obvious one - training undercarriage
- Battery Tester / Balancer - something like Battery Balancer & Watt Meter - Measure Device - RCTimer Online R/C Hobby Store:
- Charger - no idea yet, any recommendations? I'll be in the field with it/them, the batteries will be 6s probably around 3000mah, I'm looking at hobbyking for batteries atm
- PSU - I fancy getting busy with the soldering iron and converting a computer PSU, I've seen one that will give me 4x 12v @ 34Amp (4x 408w) so I'm not sure what I'd end up with if I connected them in parallel - has anyone got an experience of using a computer psu to power a charger. One drawback that I can see for this is a lot of the chargers I've looked at want more than 12v to get the faster charge so I might end up with a proper psu instead.
- Blade balancer?
- Pitch Gauge?
I've got to decide on which power connector to go with, either XT60 or EC5
Lipo bags are a given, knowing my luck I'll have a pack explode in the garage
re charging, what's the best option, buying multiple balanced chargers and doing them individually, buying a multi balanced charger, or charging in parallel, I guess the downside to parallel charging is the balancing thing, plus you need a big charger to end up with a fast(ish) charge
Tools wise, things like Ball link pliers, push rod measuring tools, screwdrivers, hex drivers, spanners, pliers etc,
If anyone can shed any light on these questions, along with anything I've missed that I need to look for, I'd be very grateful.
Thanks
evaD
Comment