Align 2in1 or Fromeco Arizona

[Forced_Induction]

I know these two regulators perform very differently, but im looking for some info from someone with experience. I am looking at moving up to a 90 size heli (either Synergy or T-Rex 700), and I am trying to figure out which reg to get. I love the glow driver on my 2in1 on my t600n, but im not sure if the 2in1 will hold up to high draw equipment like 4 8717 servos, gyro, gov, ect. i dont need the stepdown as the Logictech gyro and servo can handle 6V, so im wondering if the 2in1 could handle a 90 size heli.

[Eyefly]

I dont know how much the align system is however the arizona is fantastic. I have been using it in a few helies now and have never had one bit of problems with it. I also added a switch-glo remote starter and this may be a better solution for you. Hit a switch on your transmitter and the glow plug fires up. It also times out in ten seconds.

[stevehonn]

I've been using the Align 2 in 1 regulator on my Fury Extreme for a few months now with 9451's on cyclic and a 720 gyro with BLS251 on tail. I bought the 2 in 1 on it's own without the 1900mah Align lipo and am running a TP 3300 2S pack instead. I've not had a single problem with it and it copes with the loads put on it plus I'm using Spektrum gear and I haven't had any brownouts either, when I get a 700 I'll use the Align regulator.

[Gscott]

Do not use the Align 2-in-1 with 8717's. Some have had success but go to RR and do a search. This combos has caused numerous crashes. The Align reg cannot supply the power needed for the 8717's. Someone hooked up an Eagle Tree and measured the (4) 8717's at over 10 amps with peaks at 15. I've also heard from reliable sources that the 8717's draw 2 amps each without load. Do yourself a favor and pay the extra for the Arizona or SG models. If you absolutely have to have on board glow then get a Switchglo. Otherwise you'll be back at some point detailing your crash.

[Forced_Induction]

i thought i remembered some people having trouble with the 2in1 and 8717 servos. i just thought that if the 2in1 could handle the load, then i would use that seeing as how i wont even need to use the built in step-down on the arizona for the gyro. and the price being as close as it is, i might give the arizona a try.

[maaatvee]

What the switchglow really needs is a start button so you don't need a spare channel or a y-lead. just press start and off you go!

Although I never had any problems with the old and new align 2-in-1's on two helis with a spektrum RX and digital servos.

[Finless]

Well why would you run the 8717's off of the 2in1 anyway?

When I build this bird I am going 8V system. The 2in1 will only power the gyro.
I will use the Spektrum dual regulator as well.

So what you get is the RX and 8717's run off 8V (direct from 2S lipo) which they are made to work with, and the gyro and tail servo run off the regulator.

This is the hot setup now as the 8717 are rocket fast on 8V.

Bob

[BiggerDanno]

Well why would you run the 8717's off of the 2in1 anyway?

When I build this bird I am going 8V system. The 2in1 will only power the gyro.
I will use the Spektrum dual regulator as well.

So what you get is the RX and 8717's run off 8V (direct from 2S lipo) which they are made to work with, and the gyro and tail servo run off the regulator.

This is the hot setup now as the 8717 are rocket fast on 8V.

Bob

I plan to run the whole system at 8v, including gyro and tail servo. (Spartan DS-760 gyro is okay to 9v) I'll probably put a regulator on it to hold a steady-state voltage though.

[Finless]

What tail servo? Make sure it is 8V supported then....
Also I don't think you can use a 8717 off of the Spartan. I seem to recall some issue there but check with Angelos.

Bob

[ozace]

Well why would you run the 8717's off of the 2in1 anyway?

When I build this bird I am going 8V system. The 2in1 will only power the gyro.
I will use the Spektrum dual regulator as well.

So what you get is the RX and 8717's run off 8V (direct from 2S lipo) which they are made to work with, and the gyro and tail servo run off the regulator.

This is the hot setup now as the 8717 are rocket fast on 8V.

Bob


Does JR recommend the 8717's on 8.4v in the US.
Down here i was told JR will not warrant them and expect short life and potential failures.

[Caleb Phillips]

When I build this bird I am going 8V system. The 2in1 will only power the gyro.
I will use the Spektrum dual regulator as well.

Bob

What's the point? You're going to be gaining .02 seconds at best from the 6 volt setup...

Just seems like they're fast enough without voiding the warranty. :dontknow

[Finless]

.02 is point 02! I'll take it.

Bob

[ozace]

What's the point? You're going to be gaining .02 seconds at best from the 6 volt setup...

Just seems like they're fast enough without voiding the warranty. :dontknow

.02 is point 02! I'll take it.

Bob


I would take the .02 as well if JR down here (and Japan) said it was ok.

What is the US distributors view ?

[Gscott]

ozace,

Horizon has said the same here. They claim to have a way to determine if the servo was run at 8v and will not warranty it. It remains to be seen if this is in fact true. I don't believe anyone has had a servo fail and tested them yet.

[Finless]

Guys so you know... we are just seeing this now but people like the Szabo's and others have been running and testing 8717's on 8V for a while now.... Like Oh... almost a YEAR! I know guys running JR 9000Z on 8V since the 600N came out! That was like June last year?

If I could go back in history when people started running 6V systems (5S nicads that were higher than 6V in reality) they then were pushing the envleope.... Next thing ya know it started becoming a standard. In the long run this is our future TRUST ME... So while they may not warrenty them now, mark my words they will later AND soon you will see more and more manufacturers making 8V gear.

Myself KNOWING MANY people that have been running 8V for a while now... I am not going to hesitate doing it on this machine. I could do it NOW on my 600N but haven't done it... I WILL on this heli.

Again I will take the .2 speed..... You guys seeing people doing all this CRACK stuff lately in videos? Well many of those pros are running 8V which helps them make that dramatic....

Some may want to go bleeding edge and thats cool.... But for sure I am and honestly..... I am not worrying about warranty in doing so!

BTW JR says NOT to run a lipo in the X9303 (and Spektrum says that too) but do you have any idea HOW MANY people are running a lipo in their TX now? It isn't warrantied but yet MANY still do it and you don;t hear of problems in doing so.

Bob

[Smity777]

To me the real question shouldn't be warranty but rather if your willing to make the risk of having a servo fail and cost you a crash. Warranty on a 100 dollar item in this hobby isn't much really. The 8 volt mod has been proven reliable for a year now. Choice is yours really.

[ozace]

I have seen mention of the 8v thing for some time and it does look very interesting and simple. My concen was not the warranty itself, just that the feed back from Japan and Aus distrbutors was that it was not reliable in the med/long term.

I dont doubt many are doing it with success and i really believe it is the future of radio power BUT it doesnt seem all that different to when i read about futaba tail servos running on 6v with great success for some and very poor life for others. As pioneers in the 8v arena i applaud those that try but to me it still seems too early for the masses to risk a $2000-$3000 machine to an unsupported voltage systems without any backup form the manufacturers

[invertsick]

i have 3 8717s on the cyclic and a 8715 on the throthle, 770/8900 and multigove

Now I am running on 8v setup but i used the align 2.1 for 3 months without any type of trouble

[fiveoboy01]

BTW JR says NOT to run a lipo in the X9303 (and Spektrum says that too) but do you have any idea HOW MANY people are running a lipo in their TX now? It isn't warrantied but yet MANY still do it and you don;t hear of problems in doing so.

Agreed...

Manufacturers ALWAYS say "don't do this"... But people do it(whatever it is), with no problems... Happens all the time and not just with R/C helis.

As for the regulator, I like my AZ. No problems with it yet. Plus you don't need a seperate step-down for the tail servo... Not sure if the Align unit has one built in or not.

[toaster12]

Have been reading this and some thoughts come to mind.

Running an unregulated system will mean a non-constant supply voltage!

The lipo's will discharge and voltage will drop, during flight! To most you won't notice it. But then who is going to notice the extra .02 secs or the loss of!

A regulated system will supply a constant voltage as long as the input voltage is higher than output voltage. Which means with a 6V reg you get 6v constantly. Not starting at 8.4 and drop to 8, next flight 7.6 etc (Assuming a ,4 volt drop each flight) before recharging. I assume, like most, that we won't be recharging our lipo's after every flight.

As i said, probably imperceivable to most. But i'd rather have a constant supply for the whole flight and consequent flights. So I shall be using the SG ReactorX at 6V with BLS451's.

[Lota Fun R]

I've been using a 2in1 on my Raptor 90 for some time now, 8717s. never had any issue except when I screwed up and fried one on the bench (2in1).

I've had two highly respected sponsored pilots put it through it's paces and another well know pilot as well. the only problem anyone/all of them had was it was too fast/twitchy. On 6v it needed expo and %30 was put in on cyclic. Max pitch on this heli is 13+&-.

It's already faster than these established pilots preffer, I can't see why 8v would be needed, it's already too fast, it would just mean I needed to put in even more expo. Doesn't make sense to run the servos any harder, only one or two pilots on the planet could make use of the 8717s on 8v.

I highly respect these pilots opinion and I'm no where near their skill level, if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

If you don't have the skillz, it makes no sense to run these things on 8v.

I'll run the 2in1 on my Trex 600N with 8717s and doubt I'll have any issues. If my Raptor (one servo set up) can handle it, then the 600 can too. that goes for the 700 as well as far as I'm concerned.

The only issue the 2in1 has had is the on/off switch has failed on some. I check the switch constantly and never have had an issue, it may have been the failures have been operator error.

[Forced_Induction]

Im not sure what it is, but on my 2in1, every once in a while ill turn it on, and only a couple lights will be lit and at about half brightness. if i cycle the switch a few times, then it starts up normally, and i have never had it do that after it was turned on (on the bench or flying). That makes me nervous though.

Since i started this thread, i have decided that i want to go the route of a gasser. I am planning on getting a Predator, and I am going to stick with what works, and has been tried, tested, and proven. I am going to use the Arizona regulator on it. Now i just have to save up...

[jpappano]

[quote=Forced_Induction;645896]Im not sure what it is, but on my 2in1, every once in a while ill turn it on, and only a couple lights will be lit and at about half brightness. if i cycle the switch a few times, then it starts up normally, and i have never had it do that after it was turned on (on the bench or flying). That makes me nervous though.


It sounds like you mave have a switch with the contacts going bad and not making a good connection.

[Forced_Induction]

it has done it intermittently on occasion since new. but once it turns on, it works fine.

[chimaera]

Can someone give me the wiring step through for 8V setup? I'm assuming the 2S lipo directly connects to servos and signal goes to receiver for the 8717s. This requires a harness to split the power off from the servo plugs to the battery.The receiver pulls power from the 2in1 and the gyro and tail servo go through the receiver per stock setup with the stepdown. Is this accurate? Finless I'm assuming also that you do not like running the radio gear off the main battery? Also what about the spektrum regulator. Why would you use this? I think I'm getting a bit confused. More than normal anyway:)