Atom electrics into next Heli?

[shua]

Anyone know what 500ish size Heli that will take the electronic setup out of my Atom?
Tired of chasing vibes and don't want to end up completely rebuilding my Atom for what a new airframe would cost.

Thanks!

[Dylan Hudock]

If you are looking for another 425mm heli, the Align 500l Dominator ahs been a great heli so far. Holds up great in crashes, parts are cheap and everywhere, and overall a solid flying heli.

[FlyBri3]

I did the exact thing a few months ago, I went with a Gaui X4ii! It is just a little bit larger than the Atom and comes with 450mm blades and will swing up to 470mm out of the box! With about 20 or so flights on it I am in love! LOL

Very tough, very smooth and when needed parts are very inexpensive. Only 2 down sides to the x4ii, #1 it is a little louder than the Atom due to gear noise, and #2 it is set up for a mini tail servo. I ran a full sized tail in my Atom so just had to cut the opening a touch bigger to fit the Savox 1290mg. Only took about 10 minutes so not a big deal! I am running the stock Atom motor as well with great results.

Any way the Gaui is worth a look if your just wanting to swap electronics!

[shua]

Thanks Guys!

I am not planning to step back in to Align Town. Just left last year!
I have been looking at a Logos 400SE and now the X4ii
I am currently building a G570 and want to replace my "park flyer" 425 size with something newer.
I am very interested in the new G420 coming out but it will require a Completely new electronic setup!
I

[Ah Clem]

The eXo release should be pretty soon.

You should be able to do a direct transplant of the electronics from your Atom (unless you are using a full-size tail servo). Might also need a larger ESC (100 amp) for the eXo.


The Atom should run vibe free-what issues are you experiencing?

The only time I have seen one with vibes, was when the bolts from the aluminum yokes down into the drive tubes are bent, or the bolt holding the yokes to the blade grip arms were bent, or the blade grip arms were bent. The can cause differential throw and, subsequently, vibration.

I also had a vibration on my stretch with was obviously rotor head related-it was an imbalanced set of RT blades. Once I balanced them, it ran smooth as glass. I have never seen another set of these that were not balanced properly from the factory.

[shua]

Thanks for the tips Ah Chem.
I broke down and bought a Boca bearings kit for it last week. That helped. And you hit it right on the "head".... I believe there is an issue with the blade grips. I had wanted to replace them but.... $100+ on a discontinued model.... idk. Could be put towards a new kit... it's a shame too because other than the head grips I have 1.5 airframes worth of spares.

[shua]

I repaired one grip by drilling and tapping stripped hole for a 4/40 replacement bolt. And I bought a soko Heli tool which points at some bent head piece. I show a variation of 3* in my head somewhere. I've yet to find the bent component.
It's flying pretty well. Just can't get the self level to work and tail is not as locked as it should be (vibes)

[Ah Clem]

The grips, where the arms bolt in, are very thin-I assume this is what you drilled and tapped for the larger bolt.

One clue for something bent in the head, is if you snap the ball link from the drive tube onto one of the swashplate balls, and the other ball does not line up with its ball.

The long bolts down into the drive tubes can get subtly bent, as can the bolts holding the grips to the arms (sorry, I think I am repeating myself here).

If this has occurred, inspect the drive tubes carefully for hairline cracks. They were intended to shatter on impact so as not to transfer the crash forces from the head to the servo arms. I have hear of a couple letting go when not inspected/replaced after a crack up.

If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know sir.

[shua]

Originally Posted by Ah Clem

The grips, where the arms bolt in, are very thin-I assume this is what you drilled and tapped for the larger bolt.

One clue for something bent in the head, is if you snap the ball link from the drive tube onto one of the swashplate balls, and the other ball does not line up with its ball.

The long bolts down into the drive tubes can get subtly bent, as can the bolts holding the grips to the arms (sorry, I think I am repeating myself here).

If this has occurred, inspect the drive tubes carefully for hairline cracks. They were intended to shatter on impact so as not to transfer the crash forces from the head to the servo arms. I have hear of a couple letting go when not inspected/replaced after a crack up.

If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know sir.

Thanks again for your suggestions!! Most helpful!!

I do recall that the drive tubes are looking a little rough. Never thought to check for cracks/damage. I will look closer at them as well.

[Ah Clem]

Keep us posted, sir!

I have been flying Atoms since right before they were released to the public.

I am sure that you will love it, once you get the vibe sorted out.

[shua]

Spent some time with my Atom this weekend.
Pulled head apart, completely.
Inspected every thing, replaced all hardware and new KBDD lime dampeners.
Re leveled swash and set up head with my newly acquired SoKo tool.
Found out I was very close beforehand, but with the SoKo I was able to perfectly level everything and confirm that head is ok.
Test flew and still have the drift (forward right) in self level mode on my Ikon.
Flies good otherwise.
We shall keep at it. My time is split between a new larger Heli build so progress is slow.

[Ah Clem]

Do you have a photograph of your FBL unit installation, sir?

[lcc014]

Originally Posted by shua

Spent some time with my Atom this weekend.
Pulled head apart, completely.
Inspected every thing, replaced all hardware and new KBDD lime dampeners.
Re leveled swash and set up head with my newly acquired SoKo tool.
Found out I was very close beforehand, but with the SoKo I was able to perfectly level everything and confirm that head is ok.
Test flew and still have the drift (forward right) in self level mode on my Ikon.
Flies good otherwise.
We shall keep at it. My time is split between a new larger Heli build so progress is slow.

A question about leveling the swashplate. Did you use swashplate tool which came with Atom 500 kit or using Soko kit to level swashplate ? I use Soko kit to level my 450 Pro and 450L. For Atom 500, and all posts in this forum, it looks like that swashplate needs to be at about 11.5mm above the top bearing block to achieve "equal" collective pitch distance.

Also, what is the final length of the 3 servo-to-swashplate linkages after your setup was completed ?

Thanks,

[shua]

I first mounted the ikon with gray 3m tape. Then changed to thicker white 3m foam.
I have lynx gel pad to try next.

[shua]

My swash plate is 8.8mm above the top bearing plate at zero pitch.
I set swash level first mechanically with a generic swash tool then used the soko tool to dial it in and set zero pitch.

Servo swash links are (starting at elevator center rear and clockwise)
46mm 50mm and 33mm
Head links are 67.5mm

[lcc014]

Originally Posted by shua

My swash plate is 8.8mm above the top bearing plate at zero pitch.
I set swash level first mechanically with a generic swash tool then used the soko tool to dial it in and set zero pitch.

Servo swash links are (starting at elevator center rear and clockwise)
46mm 50mm and 33mm
Head links are 67.5mm

Great, I can use these measurements as my reference. Thank you so much !

[Ah Clem]

shua,

Drift is usually caused by high frequency vibration.

Make sure that no part of the FBL unit is touching the frames.

Make sure that none of the wiring entering the FBL unit, is touching the frames.

Remove any heavy wire loom adjacent to the FBL unit, too.

Proper FBL unit mounting is shown here:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread...portant+Things

[stark]

Originally Posted by shua

Anyone know what 500ish size Heli that will take the electronic setup out of my Atom?
Tired of chasing vibes and don't want to end up completely rebuilding my Atom for what a new airframe would cost.

Thanks!

It is hard to find a heli to match the atom. Low part count, low crash cost, powerful, precise and not a goblin . I think Logo 480xx is a good candidate. Electronics is a drop in replacement.