DIY Night blades

[ghettotige]

This looks like fun, I need a set of 500 night blades and since no one makes them yet I can have ago at making my own.
I am trying to source parts from the UK but I am having difficulty finding the copper tape

http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Fas...rack/29457/kw/

They also seem to be a good source for the 0805 leds mentioined in an earlier post.


http://www.rapidonline.com/Electroni.../71504/kw/0805

I used the resistior calculater to find that I need a 65 ohm resister, I take it that i put this inline on the positive to the red led only. Im no expert just picking up tips from the post and making assumptions so feel free to correct me if im going about this wrong way.

[jackheli]

You only need resistors on the red LEDs. One resistor per LED. 65 Ohms seems about right. Just put it in series with the LED, no matter which terminal. Check the first two pictures of my post above. On one side of the blade you have the LED and on the other the resistor. You can make your setup anyway you want, as long as one resistor is in series with one LED.

Also, resistors don't have polarities so they can go either way.

Before starting I would recommend that you check your blades for conductivity. I am having tons of issues with my v-blades.

[bohh]

Where is the best source to get the copper tape in the USA?

And the LEDS?

Thanks!

[Ecklund1]

Originally Posted by bohh

Where is the best source to get the copper tape in the USA?

And the LEDS?

Thanks!

1) Any Stained Glass supply store and some Hobby Shops (Hobby Lobby, etc.)
2) Radioshack

[flyinfool]

Most places do not have the 1/16 wide tape.
The 1/4 wide is more the standard. you can cuy the 1/4 wide down to 1/16, but that is a major PITA.

The tape is made by GC electronics P/N 22-507 for the 1/16 wide and P/N 22-509 for the 1/8 wide. I got mine from www.ActionElectronics.com, but I bought all of their stock (sorry ).
They said it should be back in stock in about 2 weeks.
I found it by Googling the GC P/Ns.

Good luck.

[jackheli]

Originally Posted by flyinfool

you can cut the 1/4 wide down to 1/16, but that is a major PITA.

not true. I cut several strips from a 3/4" and it turned out ok. Just make sure you have a sharp edge and metal ruler.

[flyinfool]

But it is so much easier to get the right stuff in the first place.
When you are cutting to size, a few thousandths difference will require that much more balancing tape.

[jackheli]

Originally Posted by flyinfool

a few thousandths difference will require that much more balancing tape.

Not true. The widths of my stripes were all over the place (see pics) but the blades balanced perfectly. The weight of the tape does not make much difference overall, compared to the weight of the components, solder, batteries, etc.

Of course, having the tape already done for you helps a lot.

[flyinfool]

Copper is a very heavy material, A 1/2 inch long by 1/2 inch wide piece of Scotch tap makes a big difference on my blade balancer.

Solder is also very heavy, you may have gotten lucky with the balance coming out perfect.

My parts are showing up today to start making my first DIY set of night blades so I'll see how the balance works out.

[bohh]

Can anyone give me a link to where I can get suffiencently bright 0805 leds? All the numbers are confusing me and LDiodes linked earlier in the thread is now closed.

I called Knight Bright and they didn't help any and were very hard to talk to.

I'm just doing blades for a blade 400 so I need 6 LED's , 12 max.. (incase I mess up)

Thanks!

[bohh]

I ordered some LED's, purchased some tape and small lipos. Now I'm wondering do you need to put lights on the bottom of the blades? Can you see the lights when your flying around out in the field with them just on the top..?

[flyinfool]

Bohh
The number that tells you how bright the LED is the "mcd" rating. The bigger the number the brighter the led. but you have to watch out for the viewing angle, some of the brighter leds have a very small viewing angle, as small as only 10 or 15 degrees. that means that you will only see it if you are looking straight at it.
I would recomend that you use LEDs with at least a 120 degree viewing angle and at least 400 mcd. Of course more is better.

There is a good selection of LEDs at www.digi-key.com.
There are many other places that have them as well

[QUOTE]Now I'm wondering do you need to put lights on the bottom of the blades?/QUOTE]
Think about that one, as soon as the heli is above eye level you are seeing the bottom of the blades. Absolutely put lights on both sides of the blades.

[bohh]

Whats the forward voltage on the leds you guys are using? I just fried an led and the forward voltage is 3.2v.

[SB]

the LED's i use are Forward Voltage of 3.6V for my White and Blue. and 2.0V for my Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green.

i have always had a 180 Ohm Surface mount Resistor on the 2.0V LED's
I have added a 22 Ohm Resistor to my White, and Blue LED's (This is strictly due to i am controlling them with PWM at a higher voltage) i used to fly them without the 22 Ohm resistor just wired strait to the LiPo Cell with no problems for a whole summer, and winter

Hope this helps

P.S. if you are going to use a 3.2V @ 20ma LED with a 3.7 LiPo the correct resistor would be 27 Ohm.

[flyinfool]

OK
Now you got me going.
What kind of PWM frequency and duty cycle are you using on your main blades LEDs to keep them from being a series of dots?

But then a series of dots might just be cool tooo.

I always get in the first flight of the year on January 1, 12:00:01 liftoff, regardless of weather.
I love winter flying in the snow, summer sucks.

[Shef]

OK, so who'd like to make/sell a set for a 450? These blades sound awesome, but with 2 kids under 3, it's hard enough to find the time to fly let alone make these.

Anyone up for it?

[Ecklund1]

You could always buy a set.

http://www.readyheli.com/HS1241_325_...s_p/hs1241.htm
or
http://www.helidirect.com/product_in...oducts_id=2994
or
http://www.helidirect.com/product_in...oducts_id=1167

[Shef]

Done that...but the ones created in this thread look SIGNIFICANTLY better and brighter. Can anyone attest to that?

[Ecklund1]

Oh, sorry. I misunderstood. :o

[jackheli]

Yes, they are better and much brighter, but more expensive. The customization could cost $$$ since the labour to do a 700mm or a 325mm blade is almost the same. Not sure if it would be worth it...

There is also the issue of how to charge the batteries since there is no matching charger.