Getting pretty sick of "Blade"

[litehawkdown]

Originally Posted by chuck-o

You guys can laugh about that if you like, but I remember when we used to build things in this country, a time when "made in America" meant you were getting the best.
Then came a whole new business policy of exporting manufacturing jobs to third world and Communist countries where industrialists could hire slaves and children for pennies on the dollar under the auspices that consumer prices would go down.
A generation later prices on EVERYTHING are skyrocketing while wages stagnate or decline, the country has a thirty million job deficit, and more and more Americans can't afford even necessities.
Standard of living is in decline.
And you really do not have to listen very hard to hear the giant sucking sound of American wealth being siphoned off to other countries, as a crazy little guy named Ross Perot warned us.

Hey I am all for jobs in North America. I am a avid LHS supporter as well because I believe in community. But if you actually believe that quality would go up I think your fooling yourself. Might improve if they go non union. Nothing like some over protected unfireable lazy over paid hung over fools with benefits putting stuff together wrong on a Monday. Just saying.

Oh and on America the poor. I do love you guys like a brother really so hope this does not come off as harsh. And I do hope your fortunes change for the positive. But I remember in 2001 when I was jobless and living in the streets. That a large majority of you would come up to Canada on a vacation and get your money exchanged and laugh at just. A. how funny our money looked. and B. Just how much of it you got in return for yours. I found it quite offensive of how some American tourists would walk around laughing at how cheap everything was in my country as I was destitute living in the streets and looking for a job unable to feed myself. It does suck but I think your nation needed it's tree rattled in more ways then one. I just hope you guys come around from all this with a new perspective and start thinking food not bombs.

[chuck-o]

Easy with the union bashing friend. I am a member of ubc107 (Worcester carpenters) you might have a point about public unions and MAYBE the uaw, but we are lean and mean.
Forced to compete with scab Contractors that use illegal immigrants it's tough out here.
You also have a point aboutamerican arrogance, probably was time we got nicked down a peg.
But until we get REAL reform in energy, banking, insurance, those three industries alone will continue to suck away sixty or seventy percent of our gdp to invest out of country.
And we will continue to see foreclosures and homelessness rise, along with all the other maladies that accompany what is being dubbed by some an "extractionary" economic system.
Welcome to the new world order.

[Psuedo_Heli_Commander]

More or less back to topic, though several very self evident truths were revealed on other topics. As to the guy on the street, all nations get tourists who put down others...just people being ignorant, no one wins.
However, look at the cross section of Helifreaks, all interested in many of the same things, the interesting discussions, the willingness to help one another. Without asking what state, country or religion\social class or caste.
I am not as a rule a joiner of any social forum, Helifreak is my only exception.

So, there is hope!

Blades: I have 11, soon to be 12. MCX2(2-1),MCPX(3)MsR,MsrX,MQX,SR, B450 3D(2). The cheapies and DX4,DX5,DX6i,DX8.
Align: 550e 3GS
Old stuff of the plank variety including Robot and Galloping Ghost type xmtrs.

The helis I've only been into slightly over a year, rc a bit longer than some of you have been alive...My first serious motorcycle was in a museum I visited 4 yrs. ago... had to retire early due to health, so I get to fly 2-5 hours a day most days. My original Mcpx has over 1000 flights with now a few parts replaced..the board is now due a fet or two. The other two are still ok.

I crashed the SR the most at first, the Mcpx definitely reduced costs.
I've dealt with HH several times and was satisfied with all but one thing, not a Blade thing, but the 550. That was an age of stock, not a fail..

As to quality of products...I bought and managed IT equipment, electronic and environmental, data collection and manufacturing for a speciality electronics rf company. We had early fails of equipment costing from 2,500 to $240,000.00. Some was German made, some Japan, some US. Anything can fail. Even a 750,000.00 machine...

We made multilayer boards made to specs and inspections you wouldn't encounter...we had one an IC vibrated apart internally. 1 out of 75. So even the most carefully built, hand picked and qualified parts can fail.. Murphy still is King.

Considering the shear volume of product Blade turns out, they and we are quite fortunate at the price point delivered. Bang for the buck, Blade will get more of my business...but then so will some others.
As long as we're having fun Most of the time. Good luck. All of us have had that streak of crummy luck...I think it's called Murphy, foremost of the Heligods or demons......sorry about the tome!




P_H_C
MCX2,MCPX,mSR,mSRx,MQX,SR,B450,550e 3gx

[GeneralAntilles]

Originally Posted by chuck-o

You guys can laugh about that if you like, but I remember when we used to build things in this country, a time when "made in America" meant you were getting the best.

Yeah . . . then we realized how much manufacturing jobs suck and how much more we prefer our dollars buying a lot more for a lot less. Note that China only makes a percentage point or two off of total product cost.

Originally Posted by chuck-o

A generation later prices on EVERYTHING are skyrocketing while wages stagnate or decline, the country has a thirty million job deficit, and more and more Americans can't afford even necessities.
Standard of living is in decline.

Welcome to inflationary hell that the social democrats have bought us. It's not a result of foreign trade and doing business with China (this is good, it keeps the peace and makes us all richer), but the exploding State of Dependency, a parasitic political class, and a Federal Reserve that's been monkeying around with market signals for decades.

On topic: My experience with Horizon so far has been nothing but positive.

[chuck-o]

Well, my transmitter parts are in.
Now I need to pick up a cheap battery voltage tester to find out if my diminishing flight times are bad batteries, or a bad lvc.
With my luck I am betting the latter.
I won't skew off topic again except to say you are correct about social spending.
That's what a real unemployment rate of twenty percent does.
Less tax base and more welfare expenditure for people who cannot get work.
This country needs thirty million more jobs to get back on track.
But lets keep outsourcing everything.

[chuck-o]

Four different batteries ranging in age from two weeks old to about two months.About a week ago all four started exhibiting reduced flight times from nine or ten minutes down to five to seven.
Today lvc comesa on almost immediately.
Put batteries back on charger, done in about ten minutes.
Something in the low voltage circuit?
Nothing gets warm even let alone hot.

[Thalios]

9 to 10 minutes seems like a lot. You might have over discharged your batteries..

[chuck-o]

The age range on the batteries would (in that case) mean they would probably not all fail at the same time?
I went to great lengths to insure a vibration free friction free drivetrain. When this thing actually flies it is very smooth and quiet. Nothing overheats, after ten minutes the tail motor gets a bit warm but nothing else.

[chuck-o]

Actually I take that back, after a ten minute run the batteries would get warm to the touch. 80/90 degrees perhaps?
Didn't seem excessive, but I wait until they cool completely to recharge.

[Thalios]

I'd be curious to see the actual voltage on the batteries after 10 minutes of run. It's not heat related as much as voltage. If you drop them below 3v per cell, they will definitely become damaged and charge less and less every time to a point where you'll actually hit LVC right off the bat.

Seems like that's what's happening here. Maybe someone else can chime in on flight time on the 120SR? Maybe 10 mins is normal, but 10 mins on an electric heli is very rare unless you modify it.

Not saying this to bash you, just trying to help.

[upankatz]

Your definatey killing your batteries, i used to set my timer on my 120 for 5 mins, which brings em down around storage...Actually 5 mins seems to be the magic number for me for most of my helis, cept for my mcpx which i have set at 4 mins.

[chuck-o]

I will pick up a volt meter tomorrow.
I just think it's a bit odd that the two month old battery, the two one month old batteries, and the two week old battery, all decided to wear out at the same time.
My flying is strictly indoors right now. Very slow patterns around my living room.
Not exactly pushing anything to the limit, throttle is rarely over half way during flight.

[chuck-o]

Well couldn't find a tester locally so I took the heli, the transmitter, and the two newest batteries down to the dealer. He put the battery on the shop charger and agreed it was fully charged. Put it in the heli, and when we tried to take off it went straight to lvc, as it has been doing. Battery still read fully charged.
I bought a new five in one, took it home and installed it, and ran the same battery for eight more minutes until lvc kicked in.
Looks like one more problem solved, for now.
Maybe I can concentrate on flying for a while.
Pretty cool, I was expecting to have to make a bunch of servo adjustments.
The elevator servo looked to be a bit off but once everything was hooked up it only took two clicks of back trim and two right to put it right back to stable hover. Don't think I need to adjust the rods for that .

[Maxthepersonz]

Working in a hobby shop we definitely see this stuff sometimes. There quality control is very good. Just that Horizon Hobby sells so so so many blade helicopters as well as Spektrum TX's that stuff just gets missed. Its not really acceptable but theres reasons why it happens. At least Horizon has the best warranty BY FAR than any other companies. It breaks they will replace it almost every time.

[chuck-o]

Yeah well I ain't impressed with the warranty. So far about forty percent of the parts and helis I have bought have been screwed up from the get go. One whole helicopter that flew away, one five in one, two tail motors, two sets of mismatched blades, a rotorhead with about five thousandths extra slop, blade grips that are too tight. A tx trim switch that broke after a week. Am I supposed to call horizon every five minutes?
The last two calls resulted in a lot of hemming and hawing and little else. I will keep buying the beginner helis, even paying twice for everything is still cheaper.
But lets be honest here, the quality suckS.
When it is time to pick up a real heli I will be looking elsewhere.

[GD5015]

chuck-o, you must be the unluckiest guy I ever saw. I've owned HH products for over 8 years and never had a warranty claim. I would probably feel the same if it were me in your shoes, but daaaayyyyuuuummmmm.

John

[jaydekay]

I haven't read this whole thread, but I've seen two posts where the OP says his helicopter "flew away" and it keeps cracking me up.

Sorry for your bad luck though Chuck, I'm with the majority on this. Any time I've had an issue, HH has hooked me up and fixed the problem.


It would be nice if the problems never existed, but at least they took action and put effort into making it right.

[newhelicrasher]

Originally Posted by jaydekay

I haven't read this whole thread, but I've seen two posts where the OP says his helicopter "flew away" and it keeps cracking me up.

Sorry for your bad luck though Chuck, I'm with the majority on this. Any time I've had an issue, HH has hooked me up and fixed the problem.


It would be nice if the problems never existed, but at least they took action and put effort into making it right.

I dont get the humor at all. I would be pretty pissed if my brand new heli just decided to not communicate with me tx while flying and just fly away. Apparently its fairly common for the 120sr.

I hope it never happens to mine....i tend to get angry when money literally flies away and would definitely not be able to find the humor in it.

[jaydekay]

Originally Posted by newhelicrasher

I dont get the humor at all. I would be pretty pissed if my brand new heli just decided to not communicate with me tx while flying and just fly away. Apparently its fairly common for the 120sr.

I hope it never happens to mine....i tend to get angry when money literally flies away and would definitely not be able to find the humor in it.

It definitely sucks, I get that.

But, to me, 'my heli flew away' has a funny sound to it. Like a little kids pet bird flew away or something - but its a man talking about it, and its not a bird. Plus, as long as no one got hurt, if it happened to on of my friends I would probably crack up afterwards because of the look on his face while it's happening.

It's kind of like a situation where you have that friend where bad things always happen to him and you can't help but think 'what, really, that happened?! and have a chuckle about it.

Notice GD5015 had a smile about all the bad luck, too? It's not that we like to see bad things happen to people, its just like 'what, are you kidding me?!'

It's a bummer that all this stuff has happened, Chuck - hopefully your luck turns.

Lighten up, NHC.

[mingledorffw]

I have 2 micros, PZ T-28 and P-51 Bl. Blade Mcpx and Mcx. No problems. My DX5e trim tab broke and Horizon told me to send it in and they fixed it. DX6i is holding up good so far. 20 odd flights and two weeks with my Blade 450X it starts vibrating very badly and making a loud noise. Lower main shaft bearing is shot and oil is all over my OWB. Horizon told me to send it back for a warranty inspection. I'm waiting to see what they do. I'm sure they will fix it or replace it. It cost me 50 bucks to ship it back(UPS) Overall I'm happy with there products. I thought I had bad luck with stuff. I'm sorry for the cards you've been dealt with this hobby.