DIY guide request

[avengedkevinfold]

any cheaper alternative to put the clear coat on the blades? i am doing 325's for my 450. possibly a simple spray paint clear coat? I don't care how it looks.

also, what if it use some Align 325 woodies (1st DIY attempt). can i do these without clear coat as they don't have the metal leading edge.

[flyinfool]

Yes you could eliminate the clear coat for woodies or fiberglass blades.
The clear is only needed because many carbon blades are electrically conductive.

[avengedkevinfold]

if i do use the CF blades, is there a cheaper/easier alternative to clearcoat? i dont have a booth, sprayer, etc. what spray paint clear coat would you recommend?

[flyinfool]

Since you are doing blades for an electric, you can use Krylon clear from the hardware store.

[avengedkevinfold]

Hey guys, I built my own night blades last night on some 325 align woodies. I had a 150 mah battery mounted using double sided 3M tape. Next I covered in shrink wrap. However my shrink wrap only went around the thick part of the blade. In other words, after performing the shrinking, the shrink wrap was still rectangular when looking from the top.

Test flew them today and the shrink wrap flew off and then the batteries flew off. Not much damage with a good auto but I am wondering what you guys are using to keep the shrink wrap on?

A couple options come to mind.

1) put more double sided tape between the battery & shrink tube, or blade & shrink tube.
2) make the shrink wrap come all the way up to where the end of the blade (near the blade grip) starts to get smaller.

What would you guys suggest?

[The Dude II]

However my shrink wrap only went around the thick part of the blade. In other words, after performing the shrinking, the shrink wrap was still rectangular when looking from the top.

Start with a shrink wrap that barely fits over the blade first - again what was sourced for these videos was from the RC car guys that make their own battery packs...tends to shrink quite a bit.

Next - due to the blade size you're working on (325) - might suggest using 2-3 sizes of wrap - big piece for the widest part of the cord, smaller for the taper.

Finally, try wicking some thin CA under the wrap.

Can't stress enough, you are your own QC expert on this stuff; when there's doubt - best step-back and rethink.

Also - might look into a slightly smaller cell... 50 to 80mAh - less weight equals less rotational forces pulling on the heat/tape.

[avengedkevinfold]

Seems like most people place the battery on the top of the blade. Can I place on the bottom? Has anybody ever done this?

[flyinfool]

I've never tried it, but there is no reason that the battery needs to be on the top other than accessibility.
With the cell on the top side you can see it is easier to spot if it is starting to come loose and easier get at if you need to.

Remember this is for use in the dark, daylight cosmetics are meaningless. ALL of my night stuff is really ugly in the light of day.

[Generalx5]

ohh buddy, I should have seen this earlier. I did this! DIY

I had some spare socket 0806 SMD white LEDS that are 2800milicandles bright. And used 2 thin audio wires their like 40 awg or something its really fine single strand and CA glued it onto one of the blades with the soldered LED on one end. On the other end attached is a small 3 pin header strip the ones with the holes to plug pins in. I used that as the terminal for charging and turning on the LED using a simple U pin made from cut offs from resistors to complete the circuit.

On the top of the blade is a 20miliamp single cell lipo which runs the LED.

I balanced the other blade but screwing in metal weights. All in all, things worked out just fine at a cost of under 5 dollars for everything. One LED is enough, dont need both blades to have them since 2800mcd is already blindingly bright. At close range and at night, when the blades come to a stop the LED light brightens the walls around the heli, so thats how bright were talking about....

I am on HK right now, but i have this one my blade 400 back home. Ill post some pics when I get back! someone PM me if they ever see this and not see a picture posted. It may be because I forgot. Yeah remind me!

[cbrkhan]

Can any one recommend a clear coat spay can to use on blades. Links to product would be nice


There are many brands and types. I just picked up the first one I saw at the auto store. I sometimes wipe my blades with denatured alcohol to clean especially after nitro flights ... But this time I see that it dissolved the clear coat that I had applied causing a lot of re work

[cbrkhan]

Originally Posted by The Dude II

Also watch your current loads - 40 AWG at 0.003" is good for about 90mA and has a resistance of 1.1 ohm per foot.

I am trying to build day blades with 4x 5630/5730 led's that each draw 150mah with a total draw of 600mah per blade ...... How do I calculate what gauge magent wire will I need?

[The Dude II]

Here's the page I used originally.

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

Point is there is voltage drop across the wire and as current goes up voltage at the end(LED) goes down.

Remember to count wire footage to AND from the LED.

[cbrkhan]

Originally Posted by The Dude II

Here's the page I used originally.

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

Point is there is voltage drop across the wire and as current goes up voltage at the end(LED) goes down.

Remember to count wire footage to AND from the LED.

Thanks, I am not good at electronics. Help me understand comments below

1. "voltage drop across the wire" .... I take its this ohms law.... Given length of wire has its own resistance and I should factor for this.

2. "as current goes up voltage at the end(LED) goes down" .... I dont quite understand what you mean here. Please elaborate


.

[gstoneberg]

It's still ohm's law. Very fine wire has resistance like a resistor and has a corresponding voltage drop across it which reduces the voltage available to the LED. I use copper tape so I don't have to worry about wire resistance.

[runnerxc]

I've been following The Dude II video instructions on my first set of wood blades for practice and I can only get one color LED to light. I don't know the actual forward voltage of the LED's as I bought them from Amazon and no information was provided with them. I have a 40.2 resistor on each LED (assumed it was a safe bet following the same plans as outlined) Any ideas why I'm only able to get one color to light?

[Magnumeng]

Not knowing which leds you have it is hard to give recommendations... be sure to check the simple stuff first... did you mount the led in the right direction... current only flows in one direction through.

I always have to use a multi meter to figure out which side is P and N... resister should always be on the N side...

[runnerxc]

My color layout is as follows top side from root to tip green, blue, bottom side root to tip red, blue. I have checked at all the LEDs are in the correct orientation. I can get the two blue LEDs to light with nothing else attached, leaving the blue connected I add the green and it lights but the blue go out, finally the red is attached and it is the only one that lights.

[runnerxc]

Never mind got it figured out. Nothing was actually wrong, turns out the multi meter doesn't put out enough power to light everything. Took a hair brained idea to test with a 9V battery (waiting for my charger to show up) and BOOM! everything lights up like a Christmas tree. As Tim the tool man Taylor would say "More Power" (insert manly grunting noise)

[Raptorapture]

Originally Posted by Magnumeng

Not knowing which leds you have it is hard to give recommendations... be sure to check the simple stuff first... did you mount the led in the right direction... current only flows in one direction through.

I always have to use a multi meter to figure out which side is P and N... resister should always be on the N side...

Why resistors on the N side?

[Magnumeng]

Because how electricity flows... N to P... and you need to reduce the power before it gets to the LED...