Align 3G question

[mjsas]

This may sound silly to some people but it is the way I approach this hobby.

I am building a very low cost 450 helicopter and I have an Align 3G flybarless controller.
I was planning on using it with a flybar helicopter to save a few dollars on the head.

I scored an old Align 450 pro off Ebay for real cheap, the seller did not know what it was and had a very bad listing. I also scored a new 3G system for a few dollars more then a cheap gyro. I have a brushed motor!!! and a home made ESC for nothing. A Flysky radio and 4 low cost digital servos. The whole mess cost about $100.

I assume the 3G system is mostly a flight stabilization system and will work with a flybar, or am I not understanding something?

[JoeW]

The 3G is a flybarless controller, not a flight stabalization system. It is not intended for use with a flybarred head.

[toys2cars2toys]

I'm all for a cheap kick about, but there is really cheap and toooo cheap

My advice would be to pick up a budget, non brand brushless motor and esc. and a clone FBL head
With a bit of searching you can probably get all of these for $45 - $50 total

If your FB head is in good condition, you could sell it on, particularly if it is genuine Align

[Daddy]

I think you can use the 3G just as a servo but you can get a FBL head on ebay for $25. Or china HK for $15 I think. You'll be glad you went FBL, I was.

Ken

[mjsas]

I can always convert to flybarless and brushless in the future. Right now I figure $35 bucks for a head and another $50 for a motor and ESC would nearly double the price.

I never thought of using the 3G as only a gyro, that means it will do what I want. The brushed motor is only a little bit bigger than a brushless so it is not a big deal.

[toys2cars2toys]

Originally Posted by mjsas

I can always convert to flybarless and brushless in the future. Right now I figure $35 bucks for a head and another $50 for a motor and ESC would nearly double the price.

I never thought of using the 3G as only a gyro, that means it will do what I want. The brushed motor is only a little bit bigger than a brushless so it is not a big deal.

I think that you'll be lucky to have a suitably powerful brushed motor that will fit in the frame of a 450
I'd guess that you'd need at least a 600 class brushed motor (nothing to do with 600 size helis), that's just slightly bigger than a tamiya 1/10 buggy motor - and this will be heavy and underpowered compared to a brushless, not to mention that the speed range may be wrong

You should be able to get a head, esc and motor for under 50

Of course if you have it already, there is no harm in trying

[mjsas]

Originally Posted by toys2cars2toys

I think that you'll be lucky to have a suitably powerful brushed motor that will fit in the frame of a 450
I'd guess that you'd need at least a 600 class brushed motor (nothing to do with 600 size helis), that's just slightly bigger than a tamiya 1/10 buggy motor - and this will be heavy and underpowered compared to a brushless, not to mention that the speed range may be wrong

You should be able to get a head, esc and motor for under 50

Of course if you have it already, there is no harm in trying

A few years ago I bought a pile of junk off Ebay which had two FP helis and a stripped frame from a 450 or larger helicopter, I don't know what it was from. The stripped frame included a brushed motor and another new brushed motor. I plan to use these motors on the 450. In any case I want to try the brushed motor to see for myself how it compares to a brushless motor. I also want to try the 3G system with the flybar head to see what happens.

I actually have another 450 helicopter with a gyro and brushless motor to compare it to.

It is sort of like having a good car and another POS car to experiment on. Most of the time the POS costs way more than the good one.