Mini-T setup - battery and RX power

[sun_E]

Hi guys! This is my first post here (and first RC forum). This appears to be a friendly and knowledgable community. :)
I have just dived in and bought a Mini Titan, after messing with toy and coaxial helis for a little while. Still haven't bought a battery for it. The manual recommends 2S or 3S and I'm looking at a FlightPower FPEVO25-21702S .
Should I stick to this (7.4V) or get an 11.1V battery with it's added 50% weight. As a learner I obviously won't need much "spare" power capacity like a 3D pilot would.
Also I am using a DX7 with the AR7000 receiver which comes with it's own 100g NHi 4.8V battery pack. The EVO25 2S above weighs 120g and the 3S version is 173g.
I guess my questions are:
1. Which battery should I get? Smaller for less weight or bigger for more power?
2. How much can a Mini-T carry?
3. Can the Rx be powered from the main battery?
If anyone has a MiniTitan and DX7 now, how did you set it up and how does it go?
This is an exciting adventure for me, and I want to do it right! :glasses2:

Cheers for years, Roger :D

[EricW]

Hi there!!

I'm taking a shot, maybe others can correct or help me out cause the MT is also my first "real" E-Heli.

1. bigger for more power is better IMO.
Better for the center of gravity, the Heli should be hanging level when you lift it by the flybar close to the rotor head.
The ESC/Motor combo needed for the heli (stock?) needs some power to get reasonable flight times so I would go for at least 25C 3s1 Lipo's.
I have one Flightpower EVO25 2170 3S1 that performs well but I also have a Airthunder 25C 2200 3S1 (can't be damaged with low voltage drain!!) which I definitely will order again.

2.Enough, It can easily carry the Airthunder Lipo that is a bit heavier than the FP lipo, It weighs 190 grams.

3.Yes, The ESC feeds the Rx and servo's straight from your Lipo.

For setting up the heli in general and all other things related to your DX7 please watch these great instruction videos by Bob (Finless) and Jermo for the DX7 Video, Bob has got all issues covered, I'm sure You're going to need them.

http://www.helifreak.com/viewforum.php?f=95
http://video.helifreak.com/?subpath=finless/trex450&filename=gyro_setup.wmv

Success

Eric

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

You need a FLIGHTPOWER EVO25-2500 3S 11.1V pack. A EVO25 2170 3S1 is another good choice as EricW said. But the FLIGHTPOWER EVO25-2500 3S 11.1V pack is only 209 grams and will give you nice long flight times. DON'T GET A 2S!!! You will regret it big time as this heli wasn't designed for something that small and will puff quickly.

Yes the RX can and should be powered from the main pack. Most speed controlers have whats called a (BEC) Battery Eleminater Curcuit built in. I use a Castle Creations Phoenix 35 ESC and love it!

I use a DX7 and AR6100. Your AR7000 will work fine.

Everything in the kit is pretty good, however thier are a few things your going to need to change to really make your bird fly nice.

Most important!!!! Buy the metal upper & lower levers for the head. The plastic ones are big head ache and suck bad. I heard TT is making the plastic ones better now but not sure what you have with your kit. Align T-Rex450 V2 upper and lower is what I use. They are about $30 from Heli Hobby and work great!

1. Buy a 6 pack of beer.
2. Glue the inner most bearings (the ones closest to the head block) in the blade grips with 30 minute epoxy.
3. Buy Align Balls and links. Two packs of HS1155T & one pack of HS1074
4. Buy Align tail blades they are better balanced. Part# HS1208T
5. Stock main blades are AMP hogs!!! Put them in the trash and buy Align Main Blades Part# HS1158
6. Be sure to buy HS-65MG servos for cyclic (they have metal gears and take abuse)
7. You will need a 1/16 drill bit to drill out the holes for the larger Align balls. (Get it at Sears cheap)
8. Run a JR DS3400G tail servo & Futaba 401 gyro. Advantage Hobby has the tail servo for $75 shipped!

[sun_E]

Thanks guys.
The 3s battery and 13T motor pinion will give me about 2800rpm headspeed using stock TT motor. That sounds kinda fast to learn hovering. :? Should I use a 10T pinion to make headspeed about 2200? Or/and tame it with pitch and throttle settings on the radio.
And what's best for charging? Flight power has a VBalancer but I think it needs to plug in to a charger as well. If so, which one?
Also available locally are Swallow chargers starting at the Advance model. Would this do the whole job or do I need a balancer with this too?
So much to learn, I bet a uni rc heli course could run over years. :lol:

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

Just turn down your throttle curve in your radio.

I would recomend a Thunder Power 205 balancer. You NEED to keep a good balancer on hand and use it. Will make your battery packs last longer.

As for a charger...... Their are so many on the market right now it's hard to say. I use a Thunder Power 1010C but thats way overkill for starting out. I would go with something simple starting out like a Thunder Power 425C Charger. You can find them for $50 new. Of course their may be a better alternative that I'm prob unaware of.

Yes their is a lot to learn but worth it in the end. Good to see your starting out with a nice heli (with the above highly suggested upgrades). Most try to learn how to fly with a Blade CP and end up being frustraited and out of money. That's how I learned and regreted it down the road big time. A person getting into flying helis is way ahead of the curve buying nice stuff to learn on as you have.

[noguy]

ROGER, Hey bro follow this link.

http://www.swashplate.co.uk/html/ehbg.html

This is a good guide for a begginer. It covers a very broad range of topics in reguard to tools, setup, flying practice, & ect.

Happy flying, Noah

[sun_E]

It's coming along well. Local shop has an Imax B5 charger/balancer which looks fine, so will probably get that. Haven't found a Thunderpower distributor here in Oz to check them out.
I actually started out with a PicooZ, then 2 Venom Ocean Rescues, both great fun toys, but the heli bug had bitten and it' time to get serious (well, after another Picooz and an Esky Lama V4) :roll: .So the Mini Titan had to be next as soon as I saw it! Oh, and eliminated other contenders - Belt cp, HB King2, Falcon (all too cheap, but not so nasty), TRex (too expensive).
The beginners guide is awesome. Read half of it today. Cheers.

My name is Roger and I'm a helicholic :smokin:
ps. All helis bought since last Christmas.Most still working. :bomb: :glasses2: