Tips, Mods and Upgrades

[SHYguy]

Originally Posted by BirdBarber

Weighed three HK graphenes: 14.7gr 14.9gr 15.0gr

Thx! More info on different battery options can be found here:
https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=751382

[BirdBarber]

Originally Posted by SHYguy

Big thank you to Rick Lohr who stickied and merged some treads for us in a jiffy. Awesome guy with awesome products!

Great, thanks Rick!

[rdlohr]

No problem guys. Glad to help.
Rick

[BirdBarber]

Well I finally tried some V931 blades on my V977 like all the cool kids are doing. My first impressions are that they have a little more lift on a full battery, tend to be more 'floaty', rotate in flips a little slower but maintain head speed in a flip better. They definitely have a different feel to them, some people like floaty, some don't. But the best part is they seem to have a lot more lift at low head speed, like when the battery is almost dead, giving me considerably more '3D' flight time. Also, the improved low head speed lift makes bogs less problematic, causing less crashes. I do most stunts 2 - 6 feet off the ground leaving little recovery altitude if I bog. These blades cut my number of crashes in half.

I took a heli with KBDD Pilot's Choice MCPX blades and flew it until flips would bog no matter how carefully done. Checked the battery - 3.84V. Then I installed the V931 blades and kept flying on the discharged battery. I was able to do flips for another 1:20 before it was bogging like the KBDD blades. Stopped and checked the battery again - 3.69V. A massive improvement.

Some of the overall improvement seems to be from genuinely better lift and some because the longer blades store more 'flywheel' energy. Sort of like revving a motorcycle then popping the clutch. So... I thought why not try the biggest flywheel I could mount. The largest blades I could fit before interfering with the tail rotor were KBDD 130X blades.

The 130X blades are a blast to try. Stunt's really 'pop' because of the built up energy. You can get about 3 flips in a row before the you have a noticeable head speed drop, but then it needs a long time to build the head speed back up. If you do multiple flips, the first one is the only one with noticeably more pop than the stock blades. The biggest 'problem' with the pop these blades give is it kept pulling the main shaft up on the main gear in mid air. If I didn't catch it when it started I would do a flip and the heli would go one way and the main gear would go another. I kept flying it until I finally lost a main bearing mid-flight. I don't think the 130X blades are ideal, but they are fun to play with. I'm definitely going to try them some more, but with a new main gear this time. Maybe they can fly better with less collective pitch range, we'll see.

Also, I tried the generic all red V931 blades on eBay. They fly as good as the genuine blades and are easier to see.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/201570470249...AIT&rmvSB=true

[BirdBarber]

-duplicate post deleted-

[salrica]

XK K110 and 120, this is what I use when replacing head spindle (7 min 14 sec)

[SHYguy]

Is the K120 canopy a direct fit, or is it too wide?

I guess the K100 is not, since it has only 2 holes vs 4 on th K110.

Any other direct fit options?

[BirdBarber]

@SHYguy

The K120 canopy is the exact same size and shape as the K110 but with the mounting holes in different locations and a cutout for the battery connector on the bottom (and different graphics).

I use V977 canopies because they are a direct fit on the K110 and $2 cheaper.

[SHYguy]

Great, thx BB!

[SHYguy]

I can now confirm that the solid v977 tail boom fits fine

[salrica]

Just in case you need a new screwdriver for this helis

http://www.ebay.com/itm/401157691146...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[zaphod69]

With the O rings - where do you get them from and what size?

Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

[LukasKri]

Originally Posted by zaphod69

With the O rings - where do you get them from and what size?

Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

That would be very helpful for me too, I am in Europe and can't find a place to buy them. Thank you.

[BirdBarber]

Here is a diagram of how to hook up the connectors to the V977 main board.

[SHYguy]

Originally Posted by LukasKri

That would be very helpful for me too, I am in Europe and can't find a place to buy them. Thank you.

I used O-rings I had lying around from my Nano and mCPX

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blade-Nano-c...IAAOxyVLNStLRQ

[salrica]

Forgot what size I got for the k120 and 110

But this is the place

http://www.ebay.com/sch/kzalaska/m.h...1&_ipg=&_from=

I got 4 sets, different size, one for the 100s and one for k110 and 120.
Either for mcpx bl or HCP100, sorry, forgot what size goes where

[BirdBarber]

Here is an often used source for bulk Silicone O-Rings. 100 for $3.45 + shipping.
http://www.oringsandmore.com/silicone-o-rings/

They also have Buna X-Rings, I like to use them for servo saver mods.
Use a #6 or #7 on the K120, depending on how easily you want the servo arms to slip.
http://www.oringsandmore.com/quad-rings-buna/
-

[BirdBarber]

A servo saver mod allows the collar of a servo arm to expand when it takes an impact so it can slip on the servo shaft and reduce stress on the servo gears. The O-Ring on the outside keeps it from expanding too easily and slipping in flight or on very minor impacts.

After you cut a slit thru the servo arm collar so it's a 'c' instead of an 'o', install a 007 O-Ring or X-Ring around the collar. It's a slightly tight fit, and keeps the collar from expanding too easily and slipping during hard maneuvers, but stretches to allow the collar to expand and the arm to slip during a crash. A 006 X-Ring or O-Ring is a tighter fit and will slip less often, but transfers more impact to the servo gears. I am currently using 006 X-Rings because I have spare servo gears on hand so occasional gear damage isn't a big issue for me.

I don't do the servo saver mod on the K110 or V977 and have never damaged a servo after hundreds of crashes, but everybody crashes differently. I usually crash these because I bog the motor. I rarely crash hard as the heli is de-accelerating right before the crash, just not de-accelerating hard enough due to the bogging.

007 O-Rings: http://www.oringsandmore.com/silicon...e-for-100-pcs/
007 X-Rings: http://www.oringsandmore.com/x-rings...ce-for-20-pcs/

006 O-Rings http://www.oringsandmore.com/silicon...e-for-100-pcs/
006 X-Rings http://www.oringsandmore.com/x-rings...ce-for-20-pcs/

[SHYguy]

OK, let's go over this in detail...

1) Throttle hold on. I mostly use low rates, but that's not relevant here.


2) Set it in IU mode (pitch can be set induvidually for both pos). Also use 3G mode.


3) Hold down MODE button for a few secs until you enter the menu. Then use the wheel and scroll down to "pitch curve". Press the wheel.

There's 6 "bars" in the photo, but only 5 are actually in use. It may seem a bit weird, but the left bar is for down/negative pitch. Here the value "0"(zero) is max available pitch (for instance 20 is less pitch). The rightmost bar is up/positive pitch. Here the value 100 is max available pitch (for instance 80 is less pitch). The values in between are set at suitable/gradual values between the two outermost.

4) Now, but first we need to set zero pitch at mid stick. Put the stick at dead center position. Then fold both blades back. Also make sure the swash is level, if not adjust that at the same time. This is how we want it to look:

It it's not, then pop off all 3 servo links. Adjust like 1 full at a time on all 3. Check again.

5) After that is done it's time to set maximum pitch in both directions. We can eyeball this by doing like this, and making sure it's approx. equal up/down:

It should be well above the boom both pos and neg.

6) Now, how much will "work" will vary from heli to heli (batt, motor etc). So this final part you cannot "copy". You need to fly, go to IU, do a full pitch up. Go inverted, full pitch inverted. Any signs of tail blow out then land, re-adjust (lower), test again...

I ended up with these settings:
20-35-50-70-90

You scroll with the wheel between the 5 bars, select by pressing - it'll then blink, adjust by scrolling, press... and so on.

Oh, and always make sure your main gear is fully pressed on, otherwise it'll all be a waste of time

[SHYguy]

After more charges it seems very clear that the Goo batteries are indeed GOOD!

It took a few charges to break'em in. But they now stand out vs the stock batts and the Hyperions as to keeping power the whole flight, whilst the stockers and Hyperions are powerful for 30 secs then wane off...

With 100% IU even the Goos don't seem to last 5 mins. You'll get tail blow outs at the end of the flight. So maybe it's better to stay at max 4 to 4,5 mins flight time.