New 500 Clone

[PastaRocket848]

Just received my new 500 clone from eHirobo (shipped quite fast actually). It's a CX500SE V2. Everything came ok, and to start I will be using the value electronics package with a mems gyro. Total cost incl electronics, battery and charger was $380 or so, 280 shipped without the charger/batt. Using 6s 3000mah blue lipo. I'm gonna start building now and report if I have any issues, but I must say that upon first inspection the quality appears much, much better than my old cx450 head. They must have made some changes since then cause this thing is gorgeous! Even the fiberglass canopy.

I'll take pics along the way.... Sooooo excited :).

[tomd27858]

Let us know how it is coming.

[PastaRocket848]

everything is coming along fine. i got everything torn down and put back together with locktite. i had a little screw up in which i misplaced a ball link so i picked one up this afternoon and will get it installed and finish the remaining head tuning this evening. i have pics that i will post with a quick flight report once it is all said and done.

a few items of note:

-the esc included in the value package does NOT have a slow start, regardless of whether you set the option in the settings. other than that it has worked fine.

-the servos seem quite good, atleast good enough for $3.99. centering is average and the quality certainly doesnt look or feel in any way inferior to the stuff that comes stock on my eflite models.

-the carbon blades included in the kit tracked easily and were balanced very well.

-i didnt experience any of the tail case issues that i have read of other clones having. everything went together as expected and works great.

-the quality of the plastics (what little plastic there is of course) is quite good. i was worried about this as i have had issues with chinese plastics before. these, again, appear equal to if not better than the plastics of the eflite models i am most familiar with.

-loctite everything! of course you all knew that, but many of the screws in the pre-assembled assemblies were barely even tight, let alone loctited.

-carbon/cnc quality is superb. i know this is a contentious statement to make, but i honestly feel it atleast *looks*, aesthetically, better that the original align parts i bought as spares. no binding, very tight tolerances and absolutely no slop whatsoever in the head (once assembled properly) just saying.... my .02 from my own experience. ymmv.

-this thing is a joy to work on after working on so many smaller models!

-copterx gy240 gyro (included in the value kit) holds the tail fine but will be replaced with a mems unit just for the sake of comparison.

-stock copterx motor is crazy powerful!

i have to say that i was quite hesitant to purchase a clone from china as i have had bad experiences in the past with king motor baja clones. this, i must say though, is a top quality piece of kit. i honestly cant pick out one thing in terms of the build process or quality that is inferior to that of my align 450. it's just plain good. as good as an align all around? who knows? but i would be VERY hesitant to believe that the align kit is $3-400 worth of "better". i mean $280 out the door... ridiculous for something like this. i love it! very impressed thus far...

[PastaRocket848]

got it in the air for a little more hovering/tuning of the head and gyro last night. man this thing sounds crazy compared to the 450 and smaller helis!

im noticing an odd "squeaky" sound as it first spools up, not sure if it's normal or if there is an issue with the build. im going to check everything over and make sure everything is ok before i do a proper maiden (hopefully) this evening.

im also going to have to get an esc with soft start. the copterx one works, i havent stripped anything yet, but it still jerks the heli around on the pad when it fires up no matter how gentle you are with the throttle. i think i will go with turnigy this time around.

in retrospect i would probably have preferred to pick my electronics selectively, as replacing the esc and gyro will have negated the savings of going with the package.

i will try to get some video this evening if the sun holds out. thanks!

[PastaRocket848]

here are a couple pics of the frame/head as delivered.

[rotorfan]

I have a Turnigy Plush 80amp ESC that just sits in my box because the soft start isnt so soft. I just use it for new builds to get servos moving in the right direction and such. So i would choose a diff. if I were you You can find good deals on this forum. Just my 2 cents worth.

[PastaRocket848]

I have a Turnigy Plush 80amp ESC that just sits in my box because the soft start isnt so soft. I just use it for new builds to get servos moving in the right direction and such. So i would choose a diff. if I were you You can find good deals on this forum. Just my 2 cents worth.

yeah i've read that the plush isn't their best effort. i was thinking about maybe this one.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10331

seems to have good reviews, and it seems thinner than the stock copterx one.

[rotorfan]

Dont know anything abot that one excepy its outta stock and if ya catch it when it is dont forget the 2-3 wk. wait and shipping still think ya can do better on here. Have fun!

[PastaRocket848]

Dont know anything abot that one excepy its outta stock and if ya catch it when it is dont forget the 2-3 wk. wait and shipping still think ya can do better on here. Have fun!


yeah im kinda bummed about that one... it was in stock when i was ordering the kit :arggg:.

and yeah the wait sucks... but im not in any hurry to get it going. i have other toys to tide me over until then lol. i cant buy anything from here as i do not have a paypal account any longer (i refuse to do business with them after they stole $4000+ from me a few years ago). so... if anyone here has a turnigy esc in the u.s. and can take debit... let me know :thumbup:

[DKS_ONE]

Looks pretty good from what's there, looking forward to a flight vid :D Pics will do I guess... lol

[helibadger]

yeah i've read that the plush isn't their best effort. i was thinking about maybe this one.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10331

seems to have good reviews, and it seems thinner than the stock copterx one.

I had the Turnigy 85A ESC on my HK500GT and it worked really well apart from the almost non-existant soft start. You need a feather touch to avoid a jump/twist on start-up with this controller and since you're not happy with this behaviour with your current ESC I wouldn't recommend it.
The programme card was also a bit flakey with certain parameter settings. I never tried the governor function of the ESC so can't comment on that.

[PastaRocket848]

Do you know of any good, comparatively priced (as in <$60) ESC's that have a good soft start function? That is definitely my main concern.

[helihaven]

Just spend the few extra bucks....and get a castle ice controller and get everything you want and then some..data logging..governor...AND a soft start, and its one you can DEPEND on

[Wildcards]

A hobbywing platinum 60amp can be had for about $50, of course this is the minimum you want to run. dish out another $20 and get the 70amp, that is what I would recommend. sometimes it pays off to spend alittle more money and have peace of mind.

[PastaRocket848]

How much is a castle ice? I'm not real concerned about the datalogging but the governed would be a cool feature to have, if the price is reasonable.

[Jose5x5]

This is where I got mine plus it comes with a coupon for a free castle Link, Great deal.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190448780091&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

[Wildcards]

A ice 75 will run about $100. I have a ice 50 on my 450 and I love it, the governor works very nicely. I'll be running a ice 100 on my 500

[PastaRocket848]

what exactly does the governer do? ive read that theyre great to have but im not really familiar with how they function. they hold a constant head speed i know, but doesnt setting the throttle even across the board do the same thing? i know for sure whatever i replace the stock one with will definitely have one. at $100 the castle seems like a decent deal, only about $20-30 more than a comparatively featured turnigy (the super brain).

[nparker13]

I took a look at the copterx offerings after seeing your experience with it. This seems like one of those too good to be true (yes its a 450), but I have a 500, and I want to build a scale on a different heli...is this copterx really legit? http://www.ehirobo.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=9751
Its only $110 with electronics (not batteries/receiver) you mentioned its worth a new ESC for soft-start, but for $110, I'd happily buy one.

Nate

[PastaRocket848]

that is where i ordered mine from. i did the express shipping and it came in less than a week (cost $60 though). i've had a copterx 450 head on a belt cp before and wasnt as impressed as i am with the 500. this was quite a while ago, though, and it wasn't the v3 head, so id be surprised if they hadnt made improvements since then.

i know a guy who has their "black angel" flybarless model. it's not a clone of anything, and is a real nice piece of kit if you don't mind waiting on parts a lot.

id say pull the trigger though. for $110 who cares if you have to replace.... well.. anything. that's not to say you'll even have to. my 500 is coming along perfect with all stock copterx parts. no vibes, binding, stripping, or anything i had expected coming into this build. i would have to recommend it based on my own experience.

[PastaRocket848]

well i got a nice hover out of it today after getting the head set up just right. it felt really good... very stable in the air. then it happened. the heli was about 4-5 feet off the pavement when the esc shot out a flame and the motor cut off. luckily i was able to do my first ever low altitude auto and brought it down without any issue.

now i guess i really gotta decide on a new one lol.

i attached a pic of the dissected esc.

[rotorfan]

Glad ya landed ok. Saw a Ice75 for sale for $80 brand new in the for sale section!

[exblade]

Pasta,
I have one of the Turnigy 85A ESC's on my 500. The "soft start" comments are no lie. 0 to full throttle in 1.5 seconds in soft start setting!

HOWEVER if you use the Governor High mode, it is 0 - full in 15 seconds. So it works pretty well. Just run a flat throttle curve. Like 0-60-90-90-90, 90-90-90-90-90. The BEC is 4 - 5 amps, so better than most and it is pretty cheap. No problems for me yet. You do need the program card. Lots of posts about guys burning up the esc in program mode. I had my motor unplugged and used the card.

Also, if they are in stock, order the metal parts like the battery tray, bottom plate and boom holder. They really improved the stiffness on mine for about $40.

BTW, HK just started to carry a Turnigy dlux series that sure look like ICE controllers. Can't say if they work worth a flip though. If they do, $35 for a 100A is a steal. It is in stock tonight probably out by tomorrow.

Terry

[PastaRocket848]

Thanks for the advice. I was looking hard at those nice looking new "dlux" turnigy models, but held off due to a lack of forum-user reviews. I think I'm gonna bite the bullet and pick one up.

How goes the gov work? If I set it up does that mean that the heli starts up in idle up mode? Or does the governer kick I'n once the throttle is raised a certain amount?

[Wildcards]

Buy cheap buy twice! glade to head it did not take out the heli.