Align 1 in 3 Fault?

[mark_w]

On my Trex 700n a new fully charged 2 cell lipo only shows 1 green light on the 3in1, but when I plug it into my Trex 600 it shows all green lights - (RCE-B6X)

Because it was ok on the 600 I flew the 700 on one green light and something went wrong (electric power related) and the heli went in.. which resulted in the normal damage and a cyclic servo now sounds a bit iffy


If I plug the new lipo into the 3in1 and unplug the 3in1 from the Vortex it still shows 1 green light, so I think I have isolated the issue to the 3in1?


Now, what do I do now?......

I have a young family and so don't get to fly very often at all, maybe once a month at most. I currently have a 700n and 600n, which let face it the 700 is so much nicer to fly, but the 600 is super reliable and starts first time every time


option 1 : Replace the 3 in 1 and carry on as before
option 2 : Sell the 600 to fund a HV setup + optiguard on the 700, but this would leave me with 1 big heli

Thoughts welcome

Mark

[Gazzer1uk]

I am not sure that you have confirmed what the fault is to be fair....... and one green light to fly, is understandable especially given the 600 status, but I'd suggest current draw is much greater on the 700 in any case, so personally would never start a flight without a full set of greens.....

There are those with much more expertise than I on fault finding, but I'd do a few more tests and be absolutely sure the fault is diagnosed, you may need to use a voltmeter etc and don't just rely on the 3 in 1.

Then I would say, keep both airframes, you are not changing for favour or dislike, but to get rid of a problem which can probably be sorted for a lot less than a new kit, then you have two to fly rather than just one.

I've been in this situation in terms of only one heli and it sucks when you have a minor bump/issue on spool up and go home with the batteries still fully charged, whereas you could then get the other one out.....

I hope that helps, and it is not meant as a criticism, just an observation which I hope might help avoid such a rotten outcome in the future....

Cheers,

Gaz

[waveydavey]

Please remove the 3 in 1, pick a well positioned bucket, aim and throw. In fairness they appear to work for some but following switch failures and the general build quality mine was disposed of. Get rid replace with a LiFe or similar and carry on as before

[mark_w]

Dave,

How do you check the status of the LiFe battery on your heli? I thought they had a certain voltage, then just died?

Could you send me your setup details? eg what life battery, onboard glow, optiguard?, assume you no longer need a regulator?

Thanks,

Mark

[waveydavey]

Mark I have 2 LiFe's for my 700 which does me for a days flying, I could stretch to 4 flights but I change after 3. If I was doing more then I would add another pack or take the charger. The easiest way is to take the fully charged pack and see what you put back in after a full flight. In my case it's about the 400mah mark, so out of a 2300 pack I get 3 flights comfortably. I keep it very simple, XT60 connected straight to the receiver and pack with an off board glow via an RCA socket and nicad. No Optiguard thingy's, I employ the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). Can post some pics later if you want

[Nick B]

Life pack for me too....ec3's work as a bloody good switch.....charge pack,fly twice,recharge and check what goes back in to determine how many flights per charge.I generally set my flight count to 50% of the pack then 3c charge.

My 600 uses roughly 280mah per 8 minute flight so on a 3000mah pack i have 5-6 flights before recharge.

Safe to leave on the model while not flying.
minimal discharge over time not used.

[mark_w]

Thanks both.

Dave if you could post some pictures later it would be helpful

[Nick B]

simple,2 x power supply leads to vbar.

[mark_w]

Perfect, thanks Nick.

I quite like the idea of having an off board glow with RCA socket, so need to have a think.

My only concern is not knowing where I am in terms of power left in the battery, as I am rubbish at keeping track, so I just need to consider that if I get it wrong then I could have paid to go HV and be able to have a monitor.

All food for thought!

Mark

[Nick B]

I just pop it on charge if in any doubt to how many flights I have had....you can 5c charge so it's done within 10 minutes lol

[Gazzer1uk]

Get yourself a battery checker, few quid, will save you millions and you do it as part of every pre flight prep it takes seconds but will save you worry and failure......... and that will help show you what capacity you are using each flight.... but if you want a HV, go for it, but still get yourself the checker in that package!!!!

[Nick B]

Lipo checkers are as good as chocolate fire guards when it comes to life packs.

[hedge]

Going against the flow but you can fix it...

Align 2 in 1 Regulator Fix

Because they only have one lead into the rx they do suffer from supply voltage but if your not running an opti guard you would never know. Once the above fix is done - I use the spray. Then just keep an eye on the lights and if they flicker or don't come I on just blast it again and switch on and off really quickly to clean the contacts. The align is such a handy but of kit I still miss the lights letting me know how many flights left I have left.

[electricsceadu]

Please remove the 3 in 1, pick a well positioned bucket, aim and throw. In fairness they appear to work for some but following switch failures and the general build quality mine was disposed of. Get rid replace with a LiFe or similar and carry on as before

you have missed
hit the 3 in 1 with big hammer
then hit some more
if in doubt hit it again


now cured to perfection

[waveydavey]

I did leave it out in fear of the Align fanboys Dave, you never know where the next one's going to pop up from