mCPx: Known issues, fixes, information rollup

[bobbygz]

Thanks dudes, definitely right about collective management..........definitely holds better when collective isn't punched. I will say this, it's a tough little heli. I've been flying in the street and have had multiple crashes both inverted and upright on the hard road service due to the ts and the only thing I've broken are the skids and canopy, the latter I've taped up so skids are the only part I've had to purchase. And lastly, after flipping the mcpx for a couple of days now, I flew both 300x and 450 3d and I must say it's helped me tremendously in that inverting these 2 helis is a breeze now. They feel so stable and responsive and locked!

[bobbygz]

Originally Posted by linklemming

Astroid designs sells both a 7mmm motor and mount which might help, unfortuantely they are always out of stock and I got mine from overseas (oversky). I have them on both my V2 M5 11000kv with an extended tail boom. Didnt try the motor and mount and extended motor without the BL motor though so others could comment.

Tell me about it. I'm still waiting for the frame stiffener to be back in stock for the 300.

[Iskareot]

Originally Posted by Stubbz

I agree with the toy feeling, the V2 is same way when compared to the BL just because of overall headspeed.

V2's are gutless. It's just your collective pitch management that needs work. at 75% pitch you should be pretty good to use it a bit but you still have to be smooth in transitions. put it up to 85 or 90% and it's even harder to fly in and out of inverted without losing the tail but it does help to teach you the management you need to not gain or lose height while doing manuvers. A brushless main is about the only thing that may really make it better, i've seen some videos of guys throwing the V2 around a lot it seems(not sure if there brushed or been modded to BL) but seems almost like that kind of flight would be impossible after flying mine a lot. I have no probly flipping in and out with mine and even doing inverted circuits and 8's but it's no 3d machine thats for sure, you can even hear when your about to blow the tail out.

Check for loose connection where the tail wires hookup to the board i've heard that can be a factor also.

Yep.. this..

I tell ya, after flying everything... I can safely say if you can flip a mcpx well, without blowout and do it consistently you can pretty much flip any CP heli. The bigger ones are easy compared in some respects. I decided to rebuild mine some, but I have a horrid vibe and I have pretty much done everything other then replace the swash. Servo cleaning.... to shaft, gear etc. I did see the bent centering plastic rod that holds the swash in line is bent down, who knows if a bearing is out in there as well.

I will get one at the lowered price due to them being somewhat discoed soon I hear. (two years of parts avl). But lets face it ... it is due. Its been a great trainer for sure.

[Stubbz]

It's not due to be disctontinued unless they put out something with same speed but better, doughtful of that and very doughtful that they do discontinue it but never know it could be.

Agree with your statement on the flipping of other helis tho i have yet to fly others besides my v2 and BL but even the BL is so easy there is no management involved unless you want it to stay at the same height. mcpx has gotta be one of the worst of all helis for having to manage that pitch or get TBO, others you have to manage to keep them at same height or to not shoot up 10 feet in the process but dont think anything blows out as bad and as easy as mcpx other than other micros maybe.

[gstoneberg]

Originally Posted by Stubbz

...even the BL is so easy there is no management involved unless you want it to stay at the same height...

Not sure I agree. I did a roll once with mine and was a little slow on the collective. The BL moved about 20' sideways in a heartbeat and went behind the house. It almost got into the pool before I got TH hit and crashed.

I certainly agree on how easy the mcpx is to flip. The mcpx is such a pleasant flier as long as I'm gentle with it.

George

[Stubbz]

"I certainly agree on how easy the mcpx is to flip"

That's basically what I meant, in an open area you can dumb thumb it anywhich way and do flips, the mcpx and cpx are only ones I think ya really have to worry about with the TBO that's all I meant by it.

[gstoneberg]

Ah, we really agree...sorry about that. Interestingly, I finally got my BL back in the air and it flew much tamer than I remembered. Flips are a lot easier than rolls. That thing will really jump sideways. My mcpx is down temporarily now as I pulled the swash to use on the BL. I'm going to break down and and buy a Lynx BL swash so I can put the mcpx one back where it belongs. Otherwise I'll go through good old fashioned mcpx withdrawl.

George

[bobbygz]

I took my 130 out last week after work when it was getting dark and lost orientation. Ended up slamming her onto a driveway. The board wouldn't initiate or even turn on, like the esc got toasted. Sent her to Megas Micros but in the meantime, the mCPx has now become my culdesac flyer. She lacks the kick of the 130 but all in all I'm getting to really like this heli. I now can flip her easily but rolls are still a little difficult. Definitely helps my collective management in keeping her altitude steady. I ended up getting the extended tail boom and it does seem to calm the tail or rather keep the tail speed steady during collective soft punches. Not a bad little heli at all and now for the price HH is selling her at, I would recommend this heli to everyone who wants a little street flyer. One thing I need to work on is.........outdoors I can fly with confidence doing circles, loops, nose-in flying, flips, inverted hovering, etc, but inside I still can only hover. As soon as I try nose-in I freak out and bail (not throttle stop but I go back to tail in really quick) I wonder why it's only indoors as I can do it outside no problem. Anyways she is a nice little heli and I take back the "feels like a toy" comment. She's just really small and light and a blast to fly.................outdoors lol.

[sideflyer]

Please help>

When I throttle up I can see the swash plate move dramatically and it just rolls the helicopter to the right. I have tried rebinding 20 times now. I have even created a new model on my DX7s and it still does the same thing.
I have a roomate with the exact same MCPX. Bought around the same time and his does the exact same thing. We are pulling our hair out trying to figure out why.

These are original MCPX. Not BL.

Both are Bind N fly version.

I read through the problems thread, but don't seem to find any answers.

thanks in advance.

[Stubbz]

Have you switched the 2 servos around to see if the tilt reverses sides? Thats what i would try first, if it does the same thing it may be something in the board causing it but never heard of that. Take a video n post it up in here.

[mejmea]

Originally Posted by sideflyer

Please help>

When I throttle up I can see the swash plate move dramatically and it just rolls the helicopter to the right. I have tried rebinding 20 times now. I have even created a new model on my DX7s and it still does the same thing.
I have a roomate with the exact same MCPX. Bought around the same time and his does the exact same thing. We are pulling our hair out trying to figure out why.

These are original MCPX. Not BL.

Both are Bind N fly version.

I read through the problems thread, but don't seem to find any answers.

thanks in advance.

Good idea from Stubbz. Also:

On the 300x (also flybarless but an AR200BX vs the AS3X system) that issue is symptomatic of vibrations causing the flybarless controller to react. Having said that, I've owned mCPxs from the V1, have had a lot of vibes at times, and have never personally seen this issue but sounds exactly the same as what can happen with the 300x. Nonetheless, try taking the main blades off and spooling up while watching the swash to see if it still tilts to the right? How about if you disconnect the tail motor? Remove the head also? Is your main gear somehow horribly out of round or not positioned properly on the shaft? Is your board screwed on tight? Not using any trim or subtrim, correct?

If none of this fixes it, it may be defective. I would call Horizon, they have really good customer service and perhaps you can send it in and get it fixed/replaced.

P.S. One other thought. After connecting the battery you are immediately setting it down for 5-6 seconds so it can initialize properly, correct? If you are moving it while it initializes strange things can happen. You want it sitting still until the blue light comes on solid, the blades twitch slightly, and you hear the servos start to work.

[sideflyer]

I will check the things suggested again. have tried many of them already.
I always make sure I place the bird on a flat surface while it initializes.
Maybe I can get a video to post showing the issue.

[lfalsetto]

My first question is are you getting the heli off the ground? Being a flybarless you will have interaction until it is in the air. I generally pop the heli off the ground to get it out of ground effect and then the flybarless unit will take effect. Try popping it off the ground about 2 feet, do not slowly lift off like a flybar heli.

[Stubbz]

I was wondering the same thing if it's even getting in the air or is crashing beforehand

[sideflyer]

Ground affect has no impact. There is no way to get is off the ground. I have tried spooling it up while hoding in may had and I can see ther servos move dramatically as I spool up. Ther servos move before enough head speed for lifting off the ground and thus the falling to the right happens almost immediately.

[sideflyer]

I think I may have found the problem. For some reason the pitch curve was out of whack. but there were some other things that I did as well. I made yet another fresh model build in the radio and reset throttle and pitch curves as recommended in on e of the threads I found on this site. The biggest one that may have had some impact was the binding process. I made sure all switches were set at zero base.

Very strange that is it working now as I have tried rebinding and even copied mcpx setting from others at the club that have fully functioning mcpx v1 in the past.

Thanks for the help everyone. Looks like I am able to get back in the air now. The plant I just destroyed in the living room with the rotors when I got too close is not as impressed though.

[cpmboy]

emm...check your swash setting in your tx....what type is it?

[mejmea]

Originally Posted by sideflyer

I think I may have found the problem. For some reason the pitch curve was out of whack. but there were some other things that I did as well. I made yet another fresh model build in the radio and reset throttle and pitch curves as recommended in on e of the threads I found on this site. The biggest one that may have had some impact was the binding process. I made sure all switches were set at zero base.

Very strange that is it working now as I have tried rebinding and even copied mcpx setting from others at the club that have fully functioning mcpx v1 in the past.

Thanks for the help everyone. Looks like I am able to get back in the air now. The plant I just destroyed in the living room with the rotors when I got too close is not as impressed though.

Just catching up - glad to hear that you are back up!

[ohawa]

This is not really a reply but just a comment that I'd like to share. Helifreak has helped me a lot in setting up my MCPX and as I had difficulties to find a solution for my problem I think it could be worthwhile to post it here.
So what was it: flying normally MCPX V1 with DX6i DSM2. Somebody flying a drone nearby (no details known). After a crash and turning off both heli and TX, upon next start up the heli rolled immediately to the right, impossible to take off. Tried another 3-1 unit, another servo, battery, nothing helped. Copying the model to another model on DX6i. The two main symptoms I experienced was that the blue LED on the MCP was blinking (flashing) only about two or three times after bind, no solid blue. Also the motors were not turning, only servos reacted to TX commands.
After having talked about this to my friend flying RC planes, he suggested to reset the model and reconfigure it again on DX6i. Not copying the model but reseting and recreating exactly the same one. This was the solution. Not it flies againt as before.
Hopefully it helps to somebody although I don't think it is a common problem.

[Flyinrc]

I was having the same exact problem after a couple hard crashes. Its been sitting on the bench for months. I'll try again tonight when I get home.