8717 and align 2in1

[diozxlive]

after reading some not so good feedback about the align 2in1 feeding the 8717s would it be better if i just simply plug the receiver directly to the lipo and use the 2in1 to regulate the tail servo.thanks...

[tchavei]

Depends on the tail servo however the 2 in 1 has a fixed output at 5.8V and if you have a 9254 or similar, you will fry your servo in a short time by running that voltage. Trust me. I fried a 9254 on throttle with that exact voltage.

Personally (and opinions may vary) I would get a better reg. Its the heart of the entire system. No power, no heli.

I've had good experiences with:
Arizona Regulator (at 5.99V)
SmartFly Regulator (at 6.54V)
Spektrum VR6010 (at 6.1V) (still soon to tell how it will hold up but specs are impressive)

I also just ordered a "perfect regulator" which is 37gr, 10 amp continous, double rx connection and gyro output. I don't know if it is any good but I will soon find out

Tony

[barney]

Hi Tony the 'Perfect regulator' is a new one to me..

heres a linky for anyone wanting a look see http://www.perfectregulator.info/index.php

One thing it lacks is a failsafe switch though? as you use/supply your own. Spec wise it looks very capable.

[SRH990]

If you're using Spektrum gear the 7100 receiver looks good, cyclic servos running on lipo input voltage and tail/throttle on regulated 5.2v in one nice little box. You could also use the 7100R with built in rev-limiter.

[tchavei]

Hi Tony the 'Perfect regulator' is a new one to me..

heres a linky for anyone wanting a look see http://www.perfectregulator.info/index.php

One thing it lacks is a failsafe switch though? as you use/supply your own. Spec wise it looks very capable.

Sorry, I should have posted the link (RR habits I guess). I talked to the owner and basically he ended up convincing me into ordering one specially because of the weight and the wierd cooling fins. The regulator looks massive but its only 37gr. Thats half of the ARizona reg with leads. The size is 60mmx30mm and since my Vibe 50 frames are spaced at 32mm I can fit it on top of the bird (over the elev servo).
Anyway, only real test experience will proove if I wasted the money or not. Since I have a data logger I'm planing in hooking up a temp sensor to the fins and measure the current that is drained from the battery during flight. The second test will be hooking up the logger between the reg and reciever and see how well it holds the voltage under load.
Obviously those 10 amp continous are only possible at an input of 7.2V. I can't imagine that thing holding up to more than 1A or 1.5A with an input voltage of 35V since its a linear regulator but who knows... I'm going to run it from my TP2100 7.4V

About the switch. I'm glad it hasn't one. Mines always end up failing (both mechanical and pin type). For the last year I turn on the bird by connecting the battery directly to the reg and turn it off by disconnecting the lead.

Tony

[barney]

Cheers Tony..yes its a hangover from RR..I'm over here most nights now as MR is a pain by stopping people posting usefull links info etc + Heliaddicts being a European forum deserves our support as an alternative to the Freak/RR etc.
Stuart the forum owner is great in helping when problems arise and from what I have seen the forum is self governing to date and very friendly.

As for the pin Flag switches there pretty Naff, I soldered a Futaba switch to work my Arizona in the end as it sets to on if it goes. I look forward to hearing how the regulator turns out..

BTW I got an aerial for that 608RX by getting a TX aerial (CX2 I think) from Andy at Real Raptors and trimming to suit. Nice People and great service. Brian

[raptorheli2]

brian/tony, i disagree about pin flags. been using them for 4 years now with zero problems. great things.

as for the align 2-1 i would 100% bin that and spend the money on something else. i'm toying with a reactorx myself from scott gray and run the servos at 6.8v.

cheers

[tchavei]

raptorheli: Well at least we agree with binning the 2-in-1. About the pinflags... I had two that worked well without any problems until I sold the helis. However, on my 600N and my evo 50, I spent the total amount of 5 pin flags until I was tired and removed the whole thing. I'm not saying they will fail and cut power. I'm saying that they developed the nasty habit of having a jittery contact which would make the helis turn on randomly when moving them from one place to the other.

Tony

[raptorheli2]

tony, that is true and can happen. i would actually suggest not running a switch and plug into your reg with a deans connector. thats they way i have my new helis setup and if i get the reactorx (not decided yet and open to suggestions) then i'll do the same.

cheers

[tchavei]

I agree Barney. Its just that I made alot of friends over there in the past years. ABout the aerial, the offer still stands if you need one, I have plenty of spares.


Raptorheli: thats how I run all my helis now... deans plug on and plug off the battery. Can't be any safer than that

Tony

[t-rex pedro]

as for the align 2-1 i would 100% bin that and spend the money on something else.
cheers

Whats wrong with using the Align 2-in-1? Fast Lad use them on their Super Pros with the 8717/8915 and said Steven Gerrard also does.

I have read mixed reports on this.

Thanks for any info.

[tchavei]

I'm not saying it won't work.

My personal opinion is that the reg might not handle the load in extreme situations. I'm basing my opinion in the following facts:

1. Align 2-in-1 is rated at 6amp
2. my own servos (S9351) have a max draw of 2A each (the 8717s are higher rated than that)
3. In actual flight, I record an average 2.5A draw with 5.5A spikes doing normal 3D on a 50 sized bird. I bet the amp draw of the 8717 will be even higher than that not to mention if someone installs them in a 90 sized.

Now as you can see, you will be running the stuff near its nominal limit. All it takes is a higher than normal gyro gain, a slight binding here or there and you cross it. Now many guys fly just like that and don't care and have been lucky so far. Are you willing to do the same?

If you feel ok with this, be my guest. You might not even have any problems in the long run.

For me, its bad enough to crash because a tail servo died, a link snapped off or I dumb thumbed it. I don't need power failure to be on the list too.

Tony

[raptorheli2]

my personal opinion is much simplier than that. align electronics suck ass. my own 600 crashed because a 2-1 failed

once bitten................

cheers

[tchavei]

I tend to try justify my decision based on several criterias and usually I'm not as direct as "align electronics suck ass" but damm you got that one right

Tony