Blade 300X pictures thread - post your pics

[LocoMartin]

I picked up the lights from my local Auto Zone parts house. The strip of lights can be cut up into sections which are clearly marked on the actual strip itself. Then the clear silicone covering is peeled back to expose the small copper contacts and new wires can be soldered onto the smaller sections. The smaller sections are grouped into threes with a very tiny surface mounted resistor grouped in series with the three LEDs. So these three LEDs are wired in series and each group of three is then wired in parallel with the others. Intitially I tried to unsolder each LED which was almost impossible. Then I decided to just cut the LED away from the others and solder 4 different colors in series with each other. With the fourth LED, I could eliminate the resistor and not burn the little guys up. I forgot to mention that the entire strip of lights has a very strong adhesive backing to it. So when I cut each LED off the strip I left the adhesive intact and used it to stick to the heli frame. That is all that is holding them on and they hold very well.
You can also see that I used another posters mod with a twist. If you look really close you will see a spacer under the rear skid mounts to get the rear rotor off the farther off the ground. I also replaced the mounting screw with 20# test monofilament fishing line tied through the holes. Each mounting screw hole has two strings of mono going through them. This was suggested as a mod to save the landing gear mounts on the frame and possible the landing gear during a crash. The original mod used zip ties, but I figured those to be probably stronger than the body mount tabs for the skids. Zip ties probably wouldn't break and the tabs would be broke off anyway. I figured the monofilament line would shear pretty easy on impact. So far I got about 60 flights on this bird and I think the swashplate is worn out dispite regular lubrication with a high quality electric razor oil.

[Iskareot]

Very cool loco -- NOW we need a video sir.

[mixfisto]

Very nice indeed....

Thanks for the pics!

You said you are powering them by using the balance plug from the battery? Are you just using the neg and one of the positive 'slots/jacks/holes"?

[LocoMartin]

I doubt that I will be able to get a video. I don't have three hands...lol.
As for the plug, I used the two outside pins which gives me 11+ volts.
I made a plug from a couple of old computer pin plugs which are identical to servo plugs. I had one that was a three pin and one which was a single pin. I used some heat shrink tubing to hold them together. (CA would work well too) Since they were female plugs, I clipped off the long leads of a LED and used locktite to hold them in place in the home made plug.
I'll try to get a picture.
Martin

[JustPlaneChris]

Very nice! What are you using to light the blades? Or is that just a reflection off the main body lights?

[FiFro]

Convinced the girlfriend to go out for a photo shoot the other day. I'm having a blast with this heli.

[LocoMartin]

The illuminated blades are from the flash on the camera and the reflective tape on the blades. Sorry no lights there.

[SHYguy]

Days are getting a lot shorter, so by time the kids are in bed there's not much light outside for flying... what to do, what to do?...

I use the bike to/from work every day. As it turns out the tiny 300X fit perfectly in my backpack... so why not stop for some fun on the way to work...

Exersice, fresh air, and 3D!!!

[mixfisto]

Shyguy, I think I have that same backpack...and yeah, it holds the 300x, dx6i, and batteries perfectly! Maybe not the safest way to travel, and you cant really bring many spares, etc..

But its a great way to just 'grab-n-go'!!

That's one of the reasons I got this instead of the 450x (which I'll probably end up getting anyway). Flys big, packs small

[SHYguy]

LOL! Yeah, I've already thought that I need a new, larger backpack for the 450

[mixfisto]

... it never ends!!!

[sparky12130]

my contribution

[jchandler]

[mixfisto]

All of the paint is spray paint, with a clear coat of enamel.

The front lights are run off a 3v watch battery. I put a push-button switch on the left inside of the canopy which I turn on/off by squeezing the lower part of the canopy. They are brighter than they look in the pics because I angled them downward a little for better high-altitude visability...

The rear red light is plugged into the BX. It came with a fiber-optic cable, but I decided I could make better use of just the light itself!

I'm also thinking of putting a flashing red light on the bottom (to help see it when its directly high up above me. Might also put a white light facing up near the boom mount and put reflective tape on the underside of the main blades...which would make it super-visable

Sure all of this adds a little weight, but what the hell, its all about having fun, right?! Plus I just got a second 300x to keep stock or near stock.

I've only flown with the red light attached so far, but it's bright enough that even at 150' away that you can tell orientation.

I'll put a video up sooner than later... but first I gotta repair Chomper (crashed yesterday), and get my 300x #2 tuned up and running

[SHYguy]

Looking good there!

Did something similar on my 450X, but not happy with the result yet...

Those LEDs with the fibre optic cable was a joke, very dimmed light... a strip with LEDs would be a better idea. I also found the wires on a all the stuff to be quite thick = unecessary weight added...

The fluorescent KBDD tail blades are cool!

[Hexperience]

Is it ok to run an LED off the RX? If so, what type of LED should it be? I wouldnt want to suck up too much power...

[mixfisto]

Originally Posted by Hexperience

Is it ok to run an LED off the RX? If so, what type of LED should it be? I wouldnt want to suck up too much power...

I am using one of these (with the optic cable off) as the rear red light. I flew 4 packs with it and didn't notice any difference in flight time or feel.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=19572

[SHYguy]

Originally Posted by Hexperience

Is it ok to run an LED off the RX? If so, what type of LED should it be? I wouldnt want to suck up too much power...

LEDs are very energy efficient, so I wouldn't worry too much about that

[Seachief]

[mikeshelicopter]

Ok, I know it is total overkill, but I just wanted to try it, plus I figured it could better help me understand what kind of range I get with the DX8