Going naked again

[billytkid]

Hi all,

I know lots of you on here have lots of success with stabilisation and other electronics but I seem to come a cropper every time I come near it..

On my blade 400 I used a Gaui 365 - worked great most of the time but when it freaked out it caused crashes

On my trex I first of all had CP2, again great when working.. but because I fly in a fairly treed area (Central London) it never sees enough ground, again so when it freaked out it caused other crashes

I then moved to FM (after ready great things on here about it), first go seemed 'ok' but there were a few freak outs again (Yep likely due to vibration).

I've just been out flying again (just slow sport - still learning) all going well (nb FM off) but all of a sudden I loose all cyclic control only leaving me with the motor- so once again the Heli gets smashed because of f-cking electronics (I think that as the motor was working and responding to input its likely that something was stopped the other 3 servos working)


All in all I've now had far more crashes from bits of electronics designed to make this easier than I have from me dumb thumbing it.

Will be selling FM and CP2 shortly

Love playing with the electronics but until they are as solid as mechanics and arent sensitive to vibration (afterall we're playing with things that spin at thousands of RPM with dozens of moving parts - no matter how good the setup there will be vibrations) I'm going to go back to my heli having just the bare minimum, then the next time I end up having to fix it at least I'll know its all my own fault.

cheers

Will

[nightflyr]

Sorry to hear you are having so many issues..

Simple facts are ...

Whether you use FM, Helicommand, SK720 or any other gyro based FS system...you will need to minimize vibrations and properly mount the unit.
Also be aware of extreme temperature changes that can affect the system.

Even "hybrid" FBL systems (3G, MicroBeast, Vbar) along with CPII function quite well

CPII although not affected by vibration as a gyro based unit does have it's minimum requirements to be able to "see".

Myself, Ivor Hill and others have shown that when these platforms are installed and setup correctly can perform extremely well with in their operational window.

I hope that you find a system that will perform well for you

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I42obUw1rBI[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFtcJB1jZlo[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HRktds2yJ8[/ame]

[pril250]

Sorry to hear on you problems with those systems, mate. I myself had two FM gyro units go bad on me over time, luckily the helis ended in one piece on both occasions.

As NF stated both systems as well as other ones have their limitations and do not function unconditionally, certain conditions need to be adhered to render them relayable.

Electronics in this hobby are part and parcel be it FS or standard radio control and they behave as they say women are 'you can't with them and can't without them'. All components on our helis are under many stress over their lifespan, mostly mechanical and good maintenance and pre-flight checks are essential to maintain you in the air as constant as you fly

If you want me to test your FM system for you, feel free to PM me to arrange it FOC of course.

[Ivor Hill]

You do seem to be very unlucky. As I said in your other thread I must be very lucky,3 years into this hobby 7-8 heli's I can only recall one electronic failure and that was a servo. But I have damaged some servo's in crashes.
You should take Pril up on his offer.But I think it unlikely that FM cause your problem.

[Adventurer]

Each system adds several new points-of-failure to that precarious air-borne system of yours. Each has a complete new set of plugs PCB firmware, external sensors,etc. any of which can fail and crash your heli for you. If that's not enough, both CPII and FM make points of failure out of benign situations as I found-out. FM makes a unknown vibration heli-threatening, and CPII makes a disaster out of a worn wire. I've had both.

The only defense that you have against this increased risk is meticulous attention to detail. No vibration, no matter how small is acceptable, no loose servo plug is acceptable - even if you hot-glue it in.

Today CPII paid for itself when I lost sight of the heli behind some trees, so all I could do was pin the collective and center the cyclic, and the heli poped out above the trees, and all was good. Without CPII the outcome would have been less positive as the attitude of the heli was extreme and in question at the point that I lost it due to having lost orientation.

So these things are worth the hassle on occasion.

Craig

[jperkosk]

You can reduce the number of possible failure points to zero, and you will be guaranteed not to crash due to equipment failure:

[Ivor Hill]

Why is it carrying that big black thing on the bottom, is it some sort of camera. LOL

[nightflyr]

[pril250]

I think it is some sort of stand

[nightflyr]

I much prefer the articulated version myself..

[pril250]

No more crawling under the heli to grease the points........

[billytkid]

Hi all,

thanks for all the replies! Sorry for my age in getting back on the post, I've had a week on holidays and away from heli crashes!

Will see how long I go until I stack it into the ground (again) and have only myeslf to blame, I'll probably then dust off one of the units and give it another go!

Cheers

[Adventurer]

Well - I just stripped CPII off my machine.

I had a fun time last flight when a servo seemed to freeze mid-flight. I was able to land the heli because CPII kept the heli level, even with a dead servo, although it was a major struggle.

Back on the bench, the servo was fine again, until I started poking around in the wires, when it suddenly started twitching like crazy, alternating with frozen at centre. I managed to isolate the problem to the RCV1 pigtail. It seems that at times, the radio signal was not getting through to CPII, but the pulse train from CPII was getting to the servo, so it held at centre. The radio signal on RCV1 is now not getting through at all. Recall that I have bitched about the stiffness of those pigtail wires before.

So, now my problem. As I see it, there's no point in sending the unit back to Revolectrix for a warranty repair because the shipping on the original unit was $36 and a replacement unit will cost $40. So I intend to open the unit up and see if I can replace that broken pigtail myself. Does anybody see any reason why I shouldn't do this?

[nightflyr]

You might Email Howard @ FMA and inquire to the best way to proceed

[Stumblebee]

Originally Posted by nightflyr

I much prefer the articulated version myself..

Geez, night. Couldn't you have found a pic where the bird isn't getting ready to be an expensive "lawn dart"?

[Howard Matos]

Originally Posted by Adventurer

Well - I just stripped CPII off my machine.

I had a fun time last flight when a servo seemed to freeze mid-flight. I was able to land the heli because CPII kept the heli level, even with a dead servo, although it was a major struggle.

Back on the bench, the servo was fine again, until I started poking around in the wires, when it suddenly started twitching like crazy, alternating with frozen at centre. I managed to isolate the problem to the RCV1 pigtail. It seems that at times, the radio signal was not getting through to CPII, but the pulse train from CPII was getting to the servo, so it held at centre. The radio signal on RCV1 is now not getting through at all. Recall that I have bitched about the stiffness of those pigtail wires before.

So, now my problem. As I see it, there's no point in sending the unit back to Revolectrix for a warranty repair because the shipping on the original unit was $36 and a replacement unit will cost $40. So I intend to open the unit up and see if I can replace that broken pigtail myself. Does anybody see any reason why I shouldn't do this?

Hi,

I sent you a PM.

[Adventurer]

Hi,

My latest CP-II issue has been resolved with Howard's kind assistance, and I figure it's only fair to update the thread.

I opened my main CP-II unit up and found a dry joint on the pigtail that was causing the problem. I replaced that pigtail, and so doing fixed the dry joint.

Put 6 packs through the heli today, and nary a sign of any sort of glitch - it flew like an angel or as close to angel as my skills would allow. So I think we got it.

All I can say now is a big THANK YOU to Howard who was very forthcoming with information and offers of assistance, as well as a genuine concern for a positive outcome of this issue.

Craig