700 links

[barney]

Had a look at the 500/600/700 cages...sizes are approx..measured between the two sides when assembled..The 500 is 58mm, 600 72mm, 700 69mm.

Out of the packet 600 parts are approx 2mm longer at 74mm so we can assume it's recessed about 1mm per side. That means we are looking at approx 3mm worth of shimming required if done on the fly-bar.

If you were to try cutting the 600 arms they are heavily stepped at the end of the threaded portion restricting the possibility of fully removing the excess from each end. There will not be a lot of thread depth left if shortened as we are looking at losing around 1.5mm each end..

MMMMM..

[Arky]

you know if you take a dremel with fine cutting disc and cut 3 slits in one of the old 700 balls it makes for a very good reamer and only takes a few turns to make the quick links feal very nice on the flybar carrier.

quick and easy, no pun intended

[Ade_Law]

beware reaming links,

there were a bunch of knight pilots complaining their links were wearing out fast. it turned out they were reaming them as when new they are pretty tight. i let them bed in by flying over a few tanks by the time the engine is run in they will be bedded in. then they seem to last for ages. The one link that i replaced was on the tail servo, it turned out to be the ball that was worn out.

so if your reaming links make sure you keep an eye on their wear rate as it will probably be quite high.

Ade

[electricsceadu]

ade
the reason for reaming the link is that the 700 ball is bigger than the std ball of any other heli, so a std link won't fit them, but i don't like the idea of reaming them as well
i let the links wear in the same way as you do, as when worn it's a good fit


i'm replacing my 700 balls and links with the quick uk ones and doing a mod to use a std size ball on the blade holders and the flybar cage
the quick link is a little loose on the ball i'm going to use on the blade grip so i'm going to try a hirobo link
and then i'm going to use the quick uk flybar cage and blade grip ball when they come out

[Sesame]

ade
and then i'm going to use the quick uk flybar cage and blade grip ball when they come out

Has there been any new or info released on these bits as yet?

[electricsceadu]

i'm told the quick uk parts will be made and should be available in a few weeks, but i don't know how long a few weeks will be


as for the 600 rods in the 700 cage, mines done shimmed and it looks ok, no binding or end float
i'm waiting on some links to arrive as i got my quick links and balls before the kit came out and didn't order enough of the one size of ball and the short link ends

[raptorheli2]

ok folks, as promised i swapped my links to quk kit, well about 3/4 of them are done with a view to getting the rest done tomorrow after flying. jason was kind enough to make me a set of blade grap spacers so i can replace those aswell....cheers mate for that.

anyways, the juicy stuff. i put 4 of my 700 links in the fridge for about 25-30 mins and 3 of them snapped easily. one of them just bent over and stayed there.......my advice is change these asap folks.

cheers

[ChrisB]

I agree,what i have seen with mine has horrified me,all of my ones are off the model now and its all kitted out with the Quick ones.

The Align links are terrible,some of the ones off the model are as brittle as hell,others are not so bad.

I really hope Align have not got a new supplier for all of their models links and the switchover just happens to coincide with the 700 links.

I am wondering if all their kits are using this crappy plastic now.I find myself asking,Why are all the 600 links OK and all the other models,the 700 plastic looks different,why change the type used?

Mine are brittle at room temp so the winter should get interesting .

Also i think the lack of a public voice for Align on the forums is poor,being a big high and mighty company with no concern for its customers is gonna backfire on them big style one day.

[electricsceadu]

all my align links are gone
i had to use a thuder tiger one on the throttle when i first built the 700 as the kit didn't come with a link or ball for it, now all the rest are quick uk links
including the rudder rods

if i find a dry spell tomorrow i'm going to get it flying again

[barney]

I dont doubt that there problems with the links in some cases but how much of a potential problem is it really?

All the Link tests I've seen are flexing the link sideways which is a load it would or at least should not see in actual use unless something is binding.

I've not noticed anyone doing a proper straight pull tests on the links whilst an Align ball is located in the link. (someone used fishing line in the eyelet which negates the test as its point loaded by the line)

If we have time tomorrow I have a spare link..it would only take a few minutes to try it out...just need something to mount the ball into. I'll see what I can find. unfortunately I dont have any fishing scales to measure the pull

brian

[raptorheli2]

the very first post on this thread shows the pull apart method. the links broke. there is a lot of crash reports due to this and some close to home (trev has done this twice)

edit,

here is the piccy i mean. a proper test as your looking for mate. guy said it didn't take much force and the 700 link broke first.



cheers

[barney]

AH the proof of the pudding Paul..

just what I was looking for...typicial never spotted it.. was looking mostly on the other forums and missed that bit at the start.

That is a major worry...but pass the humble pie first I deserve a big slice

[electricsceadu]

you can have a nice big slice of my std links, if youre brave enough after those pictures

i changed mine as i've got too much money invested in the heli for it to crash due to a possible faulty link, align have made mistakes on 2 links (high wear then the bendy links) who knows for sure if the snapping links happen in the air or on impact (i'm not going to find out the hard way)

and as i'm just getting used to inverted flight i would prefer to crash through dumb thumbs than a mechanical fault

[raptorheli2]

it's fact some have snapped in air. people have said they seen a blade fold down and then boom strike.

barney, one guy said his own links took 20lb's of force i think i read (could be wrong) before they snapped. i can't mind where i seen that though....doh.

cheers

[Sesame]

Well I spent part of this loverly sunny day swapping all my links over to the Quick Uk ones. They have all now been changed with the exception of the cage and blade grips and im a little unsure of what to do with them.

Reaming sounds like it weakens them, the links on without anything are just too darn tight. come on Q uk hurry up with that upgrade LOL.