Bought a 550

[Soartimer]

Hi fellow helifreaks. I got into rc helis 5 months ago by picking up a Syma S107G at the local Batteries Plus, when the only reason I went in there, was to buy a battery for my Explorer. Shortly thereafter I was hooked. Surfing Craigslist's offerings of RC helis, led to buying a Blade CP Pro. Then another CP Pro, then a Blade 230S. HAD(heli acquisition disorder) had taken hold. Luckily, common sense to a degree kicked in. Thought it best to actually learn to FLY the helis I had before bringing anymore of them home.

So,,,,,,,,,,,, the other day I'm surfing CL again and find a Gaui 550 Hurricane for sale for $125.00 with a nice assortment of spare parts. Needless to say I have some questions and need advice. The 550 came with all the servos, a TonicX Z20A 980KV Motor, a Align External BEC with the 5.1v 2-way Step-Down regulator part # AGNK10382A & a JR G770 3D gyro. It has 550 mm blades. It doesn't have an RX, an ESC or a BEC or any batteries. . I have a DX6i for a TX.

With what I have onboard so far and not really wanting to change motors as long as it works, what RX, ESC, BEC & batteries would I want to use?

The man I bought it from, claimed to do some fairly competent 3D flying. I have no interest(at this point) of doing any 3D flying. Want to fly some patterns, figure 8's, maybe a loop or two, some rolls, that kind of thing.

Thanks for any input.

[PTcaflyer]

Originally Posted by Soartimer

Hi fellow helifreaks. I got into rc helis 5 months ago by picking up a Syma S107G at the local Batteries Plus, when the only reason I went in there, was to buy a battery for my Explorer. Shortly thereafter I was hooked. Surfing Craigslist's offerings of RC helis, led to buying a Blade CP Pro. Then another CP Pro, then a Blade 230S. HAD(heli acquisition disorder) had taken hold. Luckily, common sense to a degree kicked in. Thought it best to actually learn to FLY the helis I had before bringing anymore of them home.

So,,,,,,,,,,,, the other day I'm surfing CL again and find a Gaui 550 Hurricane for sale for $125.00 with a nice assortment of spare parts. Needless to say I have some questions and need advice. The 550 came with all the servos, a TonicX Z20A 980KV Motor, a Align External BEC with the 5.1v 2-way Step-Down regulator part # AGNK10382A & a JR G770 3D gyro. It has 550 mm blades. It doesn't have an RX, an ESC or a BEC or any batteries. . I have a DX6i for a TX.

With what I have onboard so far and not really wanting to change motors as long as it works, what RX, ESC, BEC & batteries would I want to use?

The man I bought it from, claimed to do some fairly competent 3D flying. I have no interest(at this point) of doing any 3D flying. Want to fly some patterns, figure 8's, maybe a loop or two, some rolls, that kind of thing.

Thanks for any input.

Welcome !
You now have one of if not the best inexpensive Heli's there ever was! it will soon be bringing a smile to your face!!!
That motor is THE best for the Gaui and I always pair it with a ESC of at least 80a and even up to 100a just to be sure to have enough capacity to go up in my flying ability. I like Hobbywing platinum pro or YEP. If you get one with a BEC (not OPTO) then you would not need the 5v step down to power your RX. I use LEMON RX 6ch. and 5200mAh 40c LiPo for around 7 minutes of flight time. That gyro is a good one so no need to change it.
What servos are on it? I also use ORANGE RX and have never had any issues with them. We all have stored up parts to KEEP 'EM FLYING !!

[flyingquisinart]

I think there are people in this forum that would pay that for that motor.

[Jerrymac]

Hello and welcome. Sounds like you got a good deal.
For the RX, since you have a DX6i you will need a Spektrum DSM2 compatible receiver with 6 or more channels. For an ESC I would recommend something at least 70 amps or more. Hobbywings are decent for the price. You can get one with a built in BEC, or an OPTO without one and add a separate BEC. There are lots of BEC's available to choose from, but I just run Hobbywing BEC's on mine too.

As for batteries, sometimes it can be difficult to get a 6s battery to fit and still get the canopy on. On my plastic framed 550, I run 2- 3s 3300mah batteries hooked in series, ( for 6s ) one on the top and one on the bottom of the nose on the frame so the canopy fits easier. On my HeadHunter framed one I use a single 6s 3300mah as the frame is different than the stock plastic one.

Hope this helps.

[Soartimer]

Hi PT,Glad to hear from someone in the know that I made a good choice with this bird. I'm thinking about using a Spektrum AR6210 for my RX. As far as the ESC goes is the Hobbywing Platinum-100A-PRO Brushless ESC, http://www.hobby-wing.com/platinum-100a-pro.html ,, the one you were referring to? The specs read like it has a BEC built into it. Is this so? From looking at the voltage regulator that I have, it appears that it is all set up for two batteries. I'd like to use a couple of 3s- 3300mah lipo's. I'd also need the LCD programming pad for the ESC too I suppose. The main servos are DS821's. The tail servo is a Hyperion DS20-GMD, http://www.servodatabase.com/servo/hyperion/ds20-gmd . Jerrymac, your input is appreciated too. Here's a couple pics.

[Jerrymac]

What exactly is mounted on the right rear side of the frame? Looks like a voltage regulator maybe?? Could you take a closer photo of it. If so than someone might have been using a separate battery to power the electronics in addition to the flight battery, which means having an extra 2s battery on board for the electronics, which is what I use on my 550. Most people just run the electronics off of the flight battery with a BEC.

That RX should work fine. Make sure to mount the satellite receiver so the antenna wires are not obstructed by the frame, and not too close to the ESC.

That ESC has a built-in 3A switching BEC which is a little small but should be fine with the DS821 servos as they are not power hungry. The DS20-GMD can be run on 6 volts so you will not need the 5 volt tail step-down that you mentioned in your first post. ( If I am understanding you correct on the electronics that are on it now)..

So, basically you could run that Hobbywing ESC, and that RX, with the built-in bec powering the RX, which will power the servos and gyro too, so no need for a separate regulator or step-down. The ESC/BEC can be powered directly from the flight battery/batteries.

[Soartimer]

Jerry, I'll take some pics Sunday morning and post them. And, some more questions, Thanks, Dave

[Soartimer]

Morning, ok on the right rear side of the frame is a Align RCE-B6X voltage regulator ( http://www.align.com.tw/ManuaLib/Hel...l%20BEC_en.pdf ). On the front left side of the frame, next to the battery location and also, wired into the motor is a Align RCE-BL75G Brushless ESC (governor mode) device. Reading through an online users manual, ( http://www.readytowin.org/Download/M..._RCE-BL75G.pdf
) for this item leads me to believe that it is programmable. How one would program it, is another question I have.

If I go with the Hobbywing ESC even tho it looks like I "may" have an esc already, I'll need an HobbyWing Multifunction LCD Program Box, http://www.helidirect.com/helicopter...ogram-box.html. Is this correct? If so, it's just something else that I'll have the pleasure of learning.

The Align RCE-BL75G Brushless ESC (governor mode) , appears to need programimg also. What device would I use for this?

You said,"So, basically you could run that Hobbywing ESC, and that RX, with the built-in BEC powering the RX, which will power the servos and gyro too, so no need for a separate regulator or step-down. The ESC/BEC can be powered directly from the flight battery/batteries". I'm reading that as, I won't need the Align RCE-B6X voltage regulator.

In the photos I'm attaching here, you'll see that I removed the zip ties that secure the wiring to the frame. Plan on labeling the wires with #'s on a piece of tape for quick and efficient identification. Also from what I can see, they look to be in good condition. Also, on the upper right hand rear side you might see a piece of Velcro attached to the back of the elevator servo. Why this is there isn't apparent since whatever was attached there, was removed prior to my acquisition of the Hurri. I thought mounting items to servo bodies was a no no.

It's been raining here for two weeks with an occasional ice storm. Today is the first day or few hours that it's not raining. And no wind. Going to take the 230S out and practice.

Will check back later.

Thanks

[Soartimer]

Here's some pics

[Jerrymac]

Ok, now I think you are getting somewhere with this new heli. That Align ESC, RCE-BL75G is the same one that I use on 2 of my Hurricanes. It does not have a built-in BEC and that is why the former owner was using the voltage regulator. ( RCE-B6X)...That voltage regulator is limited to 7.4 volts input so you would have to power it with a separate 2s battery.

The pdf link you supplied for the ESC explains how to program it, but it is a little confusing at first. I had to read it several times before programming mine. Basically, you power up the ESC with throttle stick at high to enter programming mode, then move the stick to low,mid, or high position to select the desired mode for each option, then move on to the next option to program it.
To be safe I always remove the main blades, or the motor pinion in case of an accidental motor start-up while programming the ESC. It is very possible that the former owner may have it programmed for the same settings you want, so no need to program it. The pdf manual explains how to check the settings by powering it up and listen to the beeps the motor makes.

If you don't want to run a separate 2s battery to power the electronics you will need to get a BEC with a rated input voltage of 22.2 volts to run from your flight batteries, and you won't need the Align regulator.

Judging from the photo I would guess that someone may have mounted the satellite RX to the servo with the velcro on it, not sure though.

Hope I am helping you more than confusing you. I have built 4 Hurricanes and know them well, just not good at trying to explain things in text.

[Soartimer]

Happy Holidays to you, Jerry. I agree that I'm making some progress with this heli. 90% of which is due due to your help. Been busy with work and things.Based on your advice and experience, all I really need at this point is a 2S battery, a couple of 3S batteries and a receiver. Probably some connectors too.

Your interpretation of the ESC programming was crystal clear. I followed up on that and found a video Finless Bob made about programming the RCE-BL75G. He used a RCE-BL35G for the vid, but, emphasized that the programming method is exactly the same for the 75G.

As far as batteries go, the 2- 3S 3300mah sounds good to me. It's already wired for 2 batteries anyway and an over/under setup, the same as your plastic frames. What C rating am I looking for there? What size and C rating on the 2S battery would I need? Another thing I'll need will be a charger that can handle the variety of lipo's I'll be using. Right now I'm just using the Blade charger that will handle 1000mah batts. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Any receiver recommendations?

Between yourself and PTcaflyer, I'm pointed in the right direction.

On another note, I've had some luck with hovering my 230S and CP Pro. Christmas Day, I had a couple of minutes of actual controlled hovering indoors. What a rush. Was doing great until I answered a phone call with the head set. The break in concentration was all it took to introduce my recliner to my heli. lol. Been raining for a month here, so, the outdoor flying opportunities have been few. Have noticed tho, that the rain and wind always seem to stop at lunch time,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,when I'm at work! So this coming week, I'm going to take one of the helis with me to work and try to work through a pack at lunch. I'm also seeing a drying trend here for the next 10 days so hopefully, some opportunities to practice will be available.

[Jerrymac]

Happy Hloidays to you too. Glad to see you are making some progress with the Hurri 550.
As for the flight batteries, I wouldn't recommend anything less than 30c. I ran some 20c 3300's in my 550 when I first got it and they started to puff a little after about 25 flights. If you are going to use a 2s battery for the electronics, I think 1500mah should work fine for numerous flights without having to recharge it too often. I use a 2s 2500 in mine just because it was free when I got it, but it is kinda heavy just for powering the electronics. I can get about 15 flights on mine without recharging the RX battery. I wouldn't worry about the 'C' rating on the 2s since electronics don't pull much amperage.

As for the RX, I think you mentioned earlier you were going to use a Spektrum. I would recommend a 6 or 7 channel RX that also has a satellite receiver, as a larger helicopter can sometimes block the signal. Place the RX and sat in different places on the heli and not too close to the ESC.

There are many good chargers on the market now, so I don't really try to recommend any one in particular, but you could pose that question in the main forum if you like, and see what others recommend.
Finless also has a video on the JR G770 gyro if you need help with setting it up. If you can learn to hover a Blade CP Pro, the Hurri 550 will be a breeze. Bigger helicopters are much more stable, and respond a little slower to stick inputs giving you a chance to correct for any "oops".