Compass Atom

[sooren]

Bought one on ebay as I fancy an electric heli I can throw in the boot with a couple of batteries
and have some fun. The one I purchased has the extended tail on it which makes it similar to an Align 550 I guess, it also has the align 3g kit on it. It came with a single battery - a 6S 2650 mah Zippy. As a sports flyer any idea what time I would get out of this leaving 20% in and what is the largest or the preferred choice mah wise.
Here is a link to the Atom

[url=http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250794279727&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT]Compass Atom 550 flybarless 3g electric heli on eBay (end time 04-Apr-11 20:40:13 BST)[/url]

Thanks a s always
Paul

[Danny_K75]

No idea as the the answer to your question, but looks like you got one hell of a bargain heli!:)

[sooren]

Im getting fed up buying new heli's - decided now to buy decent 2nd hand ones - can always rebuild them if not satisfied with build quality when I get them. Even new ones look second hand after a few flights.
Regards
Paul

[choppaholic]

i had one one in the past i ran it on 3000mah zippy which you could hover for 8 minutes, sport fly for 7 minutes and 5.5 minutes of hard 3D. so i would guess you will get about 6 minutes on your, 5 minutes for sure. you can go up to 4000 mah turnigy, zippy 4000mah wont fit. but i dont think you can go any more as there is no more space. but you will get like 10 minutes on a 4000mah anyways

[Dflyer]

If you're going to fly the stretched atom on a 3000 mah lipo and doing 3D you'll end up safe at 4.30 mins of flighttime. Check when you recieve the heli if the 8 tooth pinion is installed. This needs to be done on the stretched atom. It's one hell of an nice flying heli, but hey i'm biased ;)

Grtz,
Dirk

[choppaholic]

i see your has a RJX head, that should save you some money as you can use most 12mm root baldes up to 520mm, the compass head though a design brilliance but only takes 10-11mm blades and i only know of rotortech 515mm which make this size blades and Weston in the uk think they can charge an arm and a leg for them to sell them in compass package. if you go to century and buy rotortech directly they a tenner cheaper or you get them from HK for £35 delivered

[bolders]

Awesome choice :)

I have seriously thought about stretching my Atom. It is only the lack of blades available that puts me off tbh.

I think a 2650mAh is a bit small for the stretched atom and you may find your CG is a bit far back. I run 3300mAh turnigy nano-techs (about same weight as 3000mAh standard turnigy lipos) on my Atom (non stretched) and the CG is about right. I get about 6 mins of sport flying on mine and I have heard/ read that the stretch kit reduces that time by about 30seconds. However I have also heard that if you go flybarless you regain that 30 seconds.

I would just start at 4mins and see how many mAh you put back into the lipo on recharge then just keep increasing your flight time untill you are left with approx 20% left in the lipo.

[choppaholic]

get the 8mm rjx head and you wont be limted to blades you can then use any baldes in the market

[url=http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=12165]HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : X-50 FBL Head Kit for 8mm Rotor Head[/url]

or in uk here

[url=http://www.rjx-hobby.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_5_26_27_90&products_id=3651&zenid=9b3a2affa166934f9889fa9d67c0e565]50 FBL Head Kits (only for X-50) 8mm Rotor Head [FL50-1002] - £56.48 : RJX-Hobby, UK Supplier of RJX and Gaui Model Helicopters and Spares[/url]

for both buy the normal 50 size blade grips and you are off.

[url=http://www.rjx-hobby.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_5_26_27_90&products_id=3658]Main Blades Holder x2 (for 600and 50 size helis) [UP61105] - £25.64 : RJX-Hobby, UK Supplier of RJX and Gaui Model Helicopters and Spares[/url]

[LordExcalibur]

Arrr so you the one that outbid me on that auction.

It certainly looks the part good luck with the heli.

Regards Anthony.

[sooren]

[QUOTE=LordExcalibur;642968]Arrr so you the one that outbid me on that auction.

It certainly looks the part good luck with the heli.

Regards Anthony.[/QUOTE]

Sorry about that,:) I thought the heli was good value compared to new which would have cost double. He had a nice Rave as well but I got pipped at the post with that one.

I have spent so much on new helis I have now decided to buy second hand ones and rebuild them from scratch. They all look second hand after a few flights.
Should save me about 50% compared to new.
Regards
Paul

[NEAGRON]

Hi,have just sent A RJX" head for a 500,to Fast lads to sell for me,it has only been used twice,it has a lot of spares with it,the total cost with spares is £92 I whant £45 for it.
Yours,
Marty.

[rccopterman]

I think you need a big battery for that purpose.

[Brod]

Are you guys still flying he Atom 500?
tempted as a replacement for my Trex500,this looks a good deal.
[url=http://www.evorc.com/product.php/804/compass-knight-atom-500-fg]Evolution RC,Rockamp,Kokam,Align,Beam,Rave,Wera,Synergy,ElyQ,Scorpion,Rapicon,Spartan,Rapicon,Beastx> Home > Special Offers > Compass Knight ATOM 500/FG[/url]
Are they a better quality kit than the rex?

[bolders]

[QUOTE=Brod;664491]Are you guys still flying he Atom 500?
tempted as a replacement for my Trex500,this looks a good deal.
[url=http://www.evorc.com/product.php/804/compass-knight-atom-500-fg]Evolution RC,Rockamp,Kokam,Align,Beam,Rave,Wera,Synergy,ElyQ,Scorpion,Rapicon,Spartan,Rapicon,Beastx> Home > Special Offers > Compass Knight ATOM 500/FG[/url]
Are they a better quality kit than the rex?[/QUOTE]

I still have my Atom (I dont think I will ever sell it :D) I also got my Atom from the link you posted - Rob is the bloke who owns EvolutionRC and he is a great guy.

TBH I personally have never had any problems with the quality of the machined parts in Align kits and neither have I had any problems with the quality of parts from Compass. However I do believe the quality of design on the Atom is much better than the Rex 500 (I have worked with both). The Atom flies very nice and imo it is the better of the two helis but this does come with a higher cost of spares as there is only one distributor which is Weston who have an utterly crap website too.

I have NEVER had a problem getting spares but I now favour buying my Compass parts from RC711 in Hong Kong. Orders I have made from here work out approx half the price of those from Weston (including shipping). Doing it this way makes ownership costs as low, if not lower than, a rex 500. Strangely buying rex500 parts from RC711 does not produce the same results.

I should note that I would never trade my Atom for a rex 500 - I do love this heli very much.

[Mark_T]

[QUOTE=bolders;664498]Strangely buying rex500 parts from RC711 does not produce the same results.[/QUOTE]

The UK is one of the cheapest places to buy Align stuff so it is a lot harder to beat local prices than with other brands.