Tony
Staff member
I'm sure you all have heard by now, Murphy (AKA the RCH 600N) has been hanging on a wall for quite some time. This helicopter has been one nightmare after another from engine issues, to servo issues, to gyro issues, to "everything else" issues. Hence his name, Murphy! (Murphys Law: If it can go wrong, it WILL go wrong). Well, Matt brought over his brand new Align 550L Dominator and we set it up and gave it it's maiden flight. This put a bug in me for a large helicopter.
I know I have cussed this helicopter, I have hated this helicopter, I have loved this helicopter, but the fact of the matter is, this helicopter would not be here if it wasn't for you members. And that is exactly what I think about every time I see it hanging on the wall. It's a disappointment that I have had so many issues with this helicopter and have not been able to actually enjoy and use it to help teach others, which is what this helicopter is all about.
So yesterday, I pulled it off the wall out in the garage where it had hung for quite some time. I have moved it here and there, but that is only because it was in my way. I actually pulled it down to compare it to the 550L (which never happened lol) and once I pulled it down, something clicked. I had to get this thing running. I know it runs, I"m still learning the engine, but it runs. So why not, lets charge up the battery, fuel her up, and see if she will fire.
Once charged and fueled, I stuck the starter on it and cranked it over. It still has fantastic compression even though this is the engine with all of the internal damage which still worries me. Fantastic, it's time to hit the igniter button and put some life into her! Man, he cranked alive with hardly no effort! And he was idling perfectly. Of course I killed it a few times thanks to the fantastic loading up that happens with these lol. But Murphy was alive!
I set it out in my front yard and spooled her up with a 65% flat curve. Tried to go into the air and the tail kicked to the right (nose left). I looked it over, adn there was hardly NO tail movement. Then, I noticed I was on 0% in teh tail gain. I put it in position 0 which had HH gain in it, and boom, tail was working great. Again, took it into the air. Very low head speed, but it was in teh air. Great, lets try 85%. Still very low head speed and lots of smoke (felt that later...).
I decided to lean it out a bit and see if I could get some more head speed out of it. And I did, maybe too much at 85% lol. But man did he sound great in teh air. Did some pitch pumps to test thing out, perfect.
Once I landed when I saw the tank was almost dry, then sucked dry and killed the engine, I looked up at Matt and said "neither of us thought to grab the camera?" lmao. But I have a witness that it was in fact, in the air and flying.
For those that don't know, I am flying the Ikon gyro on the 600N that was an Xmas gift from members on here. This is why it's on the 600N! And I love this gyro. So I decided since it had such a hard time holding proper head speed, I would see, once again, if I could get the governor working.
I have fought this governor since day 1! I did have it working for a short time then it just quit working. I had no idea why it quit, but it quit. I had tried the Multi-Gov Pro and never did have any luck with that. I also tried the backplate sensor and again, no luck. The only one that I had luck with was the align sensor and the 3GX... And we all know the 3GX was NOT going back on this helicopter! Never in a million years. I will make a sealed acrylic box to put the helicopter in before I put a 3GX back on this bird!
So I started thinking about getting the governor working after Matt left and as I was laying in bed getting ready to go to sleep. To hell with it, I went out to the garage and brought Murphy back in the house! Promptly downloaded the ikon software (I had done some work on the bluetooth app on my phone, but needed more) and fired it up. It told me I needed to update the software since it wasn't the latest version! What the hell, I JUST downloaded this software! Ugh, fine. Updated the software and connected up the ikon to the computer. Then it tells me the firmware is not the latest version. FINE!!! I clicked on teh update button and then it came up... The program stopped working...
Whatever, I unplugged the gyro, powercycled it, and waited for it to initialize. Nothing... Tried the update again. Nothing... I did this for about 30 minutes and nothing worked. Well, something somewhere decided to work and after multiple attempts, it took the new firmware! It initialized and that is when I noticed the rudder servo wasn't working (it was working just fine before...). For those that don't know, this is the Align DS655 tail servo that was donated to us by Sam (breeze400).
I power cycled it a couple more times, and the servo came to life. Yup, this worries me a little bit, but I do have throttle hold programmed into it just in case it dies. Man I hope not...
Okay, back to what I originally started, getting the governor working. But no matter what I did, it never picked up the magnets. I decided to pull the head and main gear off the bird then pull one of the two governor sensors off that was on there. I have a second one on the left side for the AR7200BX. That is when I noticed it, one of the magnets was missing. But even still, it should have picked it up and allowed the governor to work! After all, one is north and one is south and it ONLY picks up the south magnet, the other is there purely as balance! Then it clicked, the magnet that was lost was the south magnet...
I decided to get on ebay and see about getting some magnets. I found that if you order the governor sensor, it comes with the magnets. Fantastic. I ordered it. Then, I found a 10 blade CNC aluminum fan for $9 with free shipping in texas. Oh hell yeah! I ordered that too lol. Been wanting a fan to push more air than this plastic one anyway.
I put everything up for the night and went to sleep. Disappointed.
This morning I woke up, made coffee and sat down at teh computer to do some catching up. And right beside my desk was Murphy. So I pulled the boom off of him, then pulled the engine out (again... lmao. I'm getting pretty good at it now hahaha). Sure enough, one of the magnets was gone out of the fan. the magnet that was still there had obvious signs of rubbing the sensor which I thought maybe could have killed it. Thankfully I ordered new magnets and a new sensor.
So I pulled the magnet out of the fan, fired up the software and held the magnet to the sensor (hall effect sensor is what it's actually called). No check mark. So I turned the magnet over to the side that was away from the sensor, nothing... Then, I noticed the wires on the plug going to the ikon were not straight, they were twisted. I remember hearing that the Align governor sensor was plug and play with the ikon and should have no twisted wires. So, I pulled the two wires out and made them straight and put them back in.
I then plugged the sensor back into the ikon and held the magnet (rough side up) to the sensor. Nothing... Then I flipped it over... BOOM, there is the check mark!!! It's actually picking up the magnet now. So, losing one of the magnets and the wires being twisted around was the cause of all of the governor issues. I have a feeling I lost the magnet and started playing with wires hence why it was twisted.
Either way, I have new magnets on the way, a new sensor and a new fan. Murphy is torn apart and I think I'm going to put my other engine in this helicopter, maybe. Not sure yet. Might want to save it. I know this one still runs. And runs very well! Massive compression!
So that is where Murphy sits right now. He is torn apart awaiting some much needed repairs so he can hold a steady head speed and finally get flown the way he was built to be flown. Okay, maybe not. I'm not a 3D pilot lmao. But he is going to get flown!!!
I have also decided once I start driving OTR, Murphy is going with me on the truck if I have room. I really would like for this helicopter to be with me so he can fly in all parts of the country. Along with the 150, the 250 quad and the 450. But something is going to have to be left behind since this truck is not that big. But I'm going to do everything in my power to keep Murphy with me.
So guys, I have not given up on Murphy. He went into the air, got a gyro update and is awaiting new parts to get the governor working which should be the last step in getting this bird in the air for good (in a matter of speaking). After this, all I should need to do is charge the battery and fuel the tank! Can't wait to get this bird out somewhere with some space and actually fly it!
I copied this from the supporter section. I wrote this a few days ago for the supporters of the 600 but it has gotten no views so I decided I will put all post about Murphy here in the open forum from now on.
I know I have cussed this helicopter, I have hated this helicopter, I have loved this helicopter, but the fact of the matter is, this helicopter would not be here if it wasn't for you members. And that is exactly what I think about every time I see it hanging on the wall. It's a disappointment that I have had so many issues with this helicopter and have not been able to actually enjoy and use it to help teach others, which is what this helicopter is all about.
So yesterday, I pulled it off the wall out in the garage where it had hung for quite some time. I have moved it here and there, but that is only because it was in my way. I actually pulled it down to compare it to the 550L (which never happened lol) and once I pulled it down, something clicked. I had to get this thing running. I know it runs, I"m still learning the engine, but it runs. So why not, lets charge up the battery, fuel her up, and see if she will fire.
Once charged and fueled, I stuck the starter on it and cranked it over. It still has fantastic compression even though this is the engine with all of the internal damage which still worries me. Fantastic, it's time to hit the igniter button and put some life into her! Man, he cranked alive with hardly no effort! And he was idling perfectly. Of course I killed it a few times thanks to the fantastic loading up that happens with these lol. But Murphy was alive!
I set it out in my front yard and spooled her up with a 65% flat curve. Tried to go into the air and the tail kicked to the right (nose left). I looked it over, adn there was hardly NO tail movement. Then, I noticed I was on 0% in teh tail gain. I put it in position 0 which had HH gain in it, and boom, tail was working great. Again, took it into the air. Very low head speed, but it was in teh air. Great, lets try 85%. Still very low head speed and lots of smoke (felt that later...).
I decided to lean it out a bit and see if I could get some more head speed out of it. And I did, maybe too much at 85% lol. But man did he sound great in teh air. Did some pitch pumps to test thing out, perfect.
Once I landed when I saw the tank was almost dry, then sucked dry and killed the engine, I looked up at Matt and said "neither of us thought to grab the camera?" lmao. But I have a witness that it was in fact, in the air and flying.
For those that don't know, I am flying the Ikon gyro on the 600N that was an Xmas gift from members on here. This is why it's on the 600N! And I love this gyro. So I decided since it had such a hard time holding proper head speed, I would see, once again, if I could get the governor working.
I have fought this governor since day 1! I did have it working for a short time then it just quit working. I had no idea why it quit, but it quit. I had tried the Multi-Gov Pro and never did have any luck with that. I also tried the backplate sensor and again, no luck. The only one that I had luck with was the align sensor and the 3GX... And we all know the 3GX was NOT going back on this helicopter! Never in a million years. I will make a sealed acrylic box to put the helicopter in before I put a 3GX back on this bird!
So I started thinking about getting the governor working after Matt left and as I was laying in bed getting ready to go to sleep. To hell with it, I went out to the garage and brought Murphy back in the house! Promptly downloaded the ikon software (I had done some work on the bluetooth app on my phone, but needed more) and fired it up. It told me I needed to update the software since it wasn't the latest version! What the hell, I JUST downloaded this software! Ugh, fine. Updated the software and connected up the ikon to the computer. Then it tells me the firmware is not the latest version. FINE!!! I clicked on teh update button and then it came up... The program stopped working...
Whatever, I unplugged the gyro, powercycled it, and waited for it to initialize. Nothing... Tried the update again. Nothing... I did this for about 30 minutes and nothing worked. Well, something somewhere decided to work and after multiple attempts, it took the new firmware! It initialized and that is when I noticed the rudder servo wasn't working (it was working just fine before...). For those that don't know, this is the Align DS655 tail servo that was donated to us by Sam (breeze400).
I power cycled it a couple more times, and the servo came to life. Yup, this worries me a little bit, but I do have throttle hold programmed into it just in case it dies. Man I hope not...
Okay, back to what I originally started, getting the governor working. But no matter what I did, it never picked up the magnets. I decided to pull the head and main gear off the bird then pull one of the two governor sensors off that was on there. I have a second one on the left side for the AR7200BX. That is when I noticed it, one of the magnets was missing. But even still, it should have picked it up and allowed the governor to work! After all, one is north and one is south and it ONLY picks up the south magnet, the other is there purely as balance! Then it clicked, the magnet that was lost was the south magnet...
I decided to get on ebay and see about getting some magnets. I found that if you order the governor sensor, it comes with the magnets. Fantastic. I ordered it. Then, I found a 10 blade CNC aluminum fan for $9 with free shipping in texas. Oh hell yeah! I ordered that too lol. Been wanting a fan to push more air than this plastic one anyway.
I put everything up for the night and went to sleep. Disappointed.
This morning I woke up, made coffee and sat down at teh computer to do some catching up. And right beside my desk was Murphy. So I pulled the boom off of him, then pulled the engine out (again... lmao. I'm getting pretty good at it now hahaha). Sure enough, one of the magnets was gone out of the fan. the magnet that was still there had obvious signs of rubbing the sensor which I thought maybe could have killed it. Thankfully I ordered new magnets and a new sensor.
So I pulled the magnet out of the fan, fired up the software and held the magnet to the sensor (hall effect sensor is what it's actually called). No check mark. So I turned the magnet over to the side that was away from the sensor, nothing... Then, I noticed the wires on the plug going to the ikon were not straight, they were twisted. I remember hearing that the Align governor sensor was plug and play with the ikon and should have no twisted wires. So, I pulled the two wires out and made them straight and put them back in.
I then plugged the sensor back into the ikon and held the magnet (rough side up) to the sensor. Nothing... Then I flipped it over... BOOM, there is the check mark!!! It's actually picking up the magnet now. So, losing one of the magnets and the wires being twisted around was the cause of all of the governor issues. I have a feeling I lost the magnet and started playing with wires hence why it was twisted.
Either way, I have new magnets on the way, a new sensor and a new fan. Murphy is torn apart and I think I'm going to put my other engine in this helicopter, maybe. Not sure yet. Might want to save it. I know this one still runs. And runs very well! Massive compression!
So that is where Murphy sits right now. He is torn apart awaiting some much needed repairs so he can hold a steady head speed and finally get flown the way he was built to be flown. Okay, maybe not. I'm not a 3D pilot lmao. But he is going to get flown!!!
I have also decided once I start driving OTR, Murphy is going with me on the truck if I have room. I really would like for this helicopter to be with me so he can fly in all parts of the country. Along with the 150, the 250 quad and the 450. But something is going to have to be left behind since this truck is not that big. But I'm going to do everything in my power to keep Murphy with me.
So guys, I have not given up on Murphy. He went into the air, got a gyro update and is awaiting new parts to get the governor working which should be the last step in getting this bird in the air for good (in a matter of speaking). After this, all I should need to do is charge the battery and fuel the tank! Can't wait to get this bird out somewhere with some space and actually fly it!
I copied this from the supporter section. I wrote this a few days ago for the supporters of the 600 but it has gotten no views so I decided I will put all post about Murphy here in the open forum from now on.
