HH gyro on CP (with 4-1) [Archive]

ropes00

02-04-2007, 02:55 AM

It can be done...but...it's going to take some really good soldering skills to do it. I've done this to mine, so read all the steps first and if you have any questions, ask. If you have any doubts about your skill with a soldering iron, buy the upgrade.

Be sure this is what you want to do...if you screw it up you're out a mixer and a receiver and will have to get a new one. With that said...

Here's how to to mod your 4-in-1 into a 3-in-1 w/receiver built-in (that's what you'll be doing)...You'll need a soldering iron, hobby knife, jeweler's screw drivers(you'll need a small Phillips head driver), needle nose pliers, and a couple of servo leads/extensions.

Disassemble - This would be a good time to let your soldering iron heat up
- Remove all the screws from the 4-in-1 case (don't forget where they go, just in case they're different...I left mine in the covers so I didn't loose them)
- Pry the receiver out of the casing. It's connected to the mixer with friction pins, don't damage these.
- Remove the mixer out of the case as well.

Case modification - Be sure you've got some sharp blades for you hobby knife
- Cut the bridges that cover channels 3 & 4 on the receiver cover
- Also cut the bridges that separate the battery lead hole and the motor connector holes on the mixer cover

Receiver modification - Here's where the soldering skills come into play...Be very careful to not solder any exposed connections together.
- De-solder the pins for channels 3 & 4 and reattach them on the other side of the board (These are the ones that were pressed into the mixer board)
- - It would be best to pry the black spacers off first. You don't want to melt these, we'll need to reuse them.
- - With the needle nose pliers carefully remove each pin while heating the back with your iron.
- - Clean your soldering area to make sure all of the traces are isolated from each other.
- - Now put the pins back in. This time on the other side of the receiver with the other pins. Take time to make sure the pins are even with the others. Don't forget the black spacers you pried off earlier.

Mixer Board modification -
- Remove the female connector block that was connected to channels 3 & 4 of the receiver
- - The easiest way to remove this block is to add a bunch of solder to the back of the block and pull the block out. (I know it sounds a little backwards, but it's the easiest way to effectively spread the heat of the iron over 6 pins at the same time and remove the block without damaging the board beyond repair...Again be careful to keep the solder ONLY on the 6 pins of the block.)
- - Now clean those solder pads really good and make sure you don't have any excess solder jumping those pads together.
- - Replace the block you just removed with the servo leads (make sure your leads are long enough to go around the case and back into the receiver on the other side...If you're connecting a separate gyro, which is why you're doing this, make very sure the lead is long enough to go where ever you're putting the gyro.) - Signal leads go toward the inside of the board and your leads should be on the same side as the battery lead.

TESTING -
- Double check all your soldering joints. Make sure they're clean and not jumping to any other solder joints.
- Plug in your newly soldered leads into 3 & 4 on the receiver and power up as normal. You should be able to recognize if something's not working.
- Go ahead and connect your motor lead and spin them up slowly to make sure they're still working too.

Reassembly -
- Press the receiver and mixer boards back into their respective sides of the case. (Don't worry about the hole in the center wall, your solder joints won't be long enough to make contact.
- Screw the receiver cover back on
- feed the servo & battery leads through the mixer cover and screw that back on.

Reattach your 3-in-1 + receiver back into your Blade, setup your separate gyro and fly on.