500 Question

[Bill Lowen]

Question, I got a spark from the connector when I plugged my battery into the ECS to bind my transmitter. I have read this is normal. Is it? The battery does not get hot and I do not see any smoke or smell anything burning.

Trex 550 V2 3GX
ECS and motor is stock
Glacier 6S 4500 MAH
EC5 connecter

Thank you!

 

[Tony]

Yup that is completely normal. The spark is caused by the battery instantly charging the capacitors in the ESC. There is what's called the "spark eliminator kit", but it's not required. I never used one.

 

[Bill Lowen]

Thanks for the quick response Tony. I have been flying airplanes for awhile now.. and I have been messing around with fixed pitch helis but this is my first venture into a big CP bird. I have been doing a ton of reading on what not to do but the spark caught me by surprise.

I had read the 550 was a good heli for a beginner from a operating and first build standpoint. I got a pretty good deal on this kit from my local hobby shop, being an older heli that had been sitting on a shelf since 2012. I have had a lot of fun building it. I sure am glad I stumbled upon your 3GX set up vids. You have helped make some sense out of the whole set up process.

 

[Tony]

The 550 is a great helicopter. And if you can get the 3GX setup correctly, it will be a very stable helicopter. One thing to note though. The 3GX has it's issues, and I really need to make a video on the issues and how to tame them. First is version 3.1. This version HATES to sit on the ground. If you spool up and leave it on the ground, it will usually tip the heli over causing a blade strike. The way I work 3.1 is I raise the throttle up to about 75% and when the helicopter is spooled up to about 40% (very slow start enabled on the ESC), I move the stick down to about mid stick, wait for about 50% throttle to hit, then quickly bump the throttle up and punch the helicopter into the air. It sounds complicated, but I assure you, it's not once you do it a few times.

Version 4 is much better on the ground, but has some tail issues in the air. Every now and then you will get a horrible bounce back with teh tail that will test your orientation skills. But is better than 3.1 IMO.

Version 5 is usually stable on the ground but again, like 4, has tail issues. Not all of them have issues though.

Being your kit is this old, you are more than likely on version 2.1. IMO, stick with that version to start out and to get familiar with your helicopter.

And as always, if you need help, all you have to do is ask.

 

[Bill Lowen]

Actually, the disc that came with the kit appears to be 1.2. Would you suggest I stick with 1.2 or download one of the later versions that you have listed such as 2.1?

 

[Tony]

Wow, 1.2 lol. You can try that version, or you could upgrade to 2.1. I can't remember what 1.2 is like.

 

[Bill Lowen]

Thanks Tony. I downloaded 2.1. Like you said, I think I will get comfortable with the heli before I upgrade to anything else. Anything to keep an eye out for on 2.1?

 

[Tony]

Not that I'm aware of. It's pretty stable. But once you get the cash, I would suggest upgrading to the ar7200bx or the ikon. Those just work on stock settings. And the bx is more beginner friendly. But you can get by on the 3gx for a while.

 

[Bill Lowen]

I have to ask. Is there anything wrong with the 3GX? I say wrong as in will something happen that causes me to crash? Or is it just outdated technology and there are better products on the market now? I like to fly scale and the appeal to purchase the 500 size Heli series was to go scale with it. There seems to be a lot of scale options for that size. I guess my question is if I plan on scale flying and not fly hardcore 3D, will the 3GX serve my purposes? I dont mind using the older technology but only if it is not going to send me plummeting to the ground at a high rate of speed because it failed. I probably should add I am flying with a DX9.

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate 3Gx can be strange my first had a really bad wag on the tail and some time kicks a good inch or 2 to the left or right depends on how it felt then jump back to where the tail was that was v5 so had to flash 3.1 was better but prone to tip over , my second 500 had v5 on the 3Gx was good to start off then one day out of the blue it tipped the heli over at take off speed and snapped the heli into 2 parts , that was its 4th flight , I now have binned the 3GX units ,Like Tony said ikon is great but not cheap, lots of us use Kbar its a clone of the Vbar the blue or yellow has governor mode , set up is really easy and OMG are they stable take a look both helis in wind and you would not know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLFvC3Iu6Bw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X91d71qLbAo

 

[Bill Lowen]

Very Nice Lee! The Cobra is sweet. But now you have me nervous. The Kbar seems reasonably priced, but the Ikon at $224 is still a good buy if you consider the cost of replacing a helicopter because the FBL unit failed inflight. I don't mind spending money on this hobby, but I hate spending money because I was stupid or did something dumb. Tony mentioned the takeoff issues with 3 and the tail wag with 5, I guess I just need to do some research on 2.1.

With the KBar and Ikon upgrades I did not read any mention of having to replace anything mechanical with the head so I am guessing these units are pretty much, plug, setup and play. Again some more research on my part is needed, but you guys are in the know so I asked.

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate Ikon is one of the best it has recovery too , I dont have loads to spend on this hobby and I trust a £1200 scale Cobra to a clone gyro The Kbar is amazing they really are if you watch the Cobra the head speed comes up to 1900 rpm and I dont have to rush to take off it will sit there all day at that head speed , they even now do the Kbar pro which has the newest firmware and extra sensor , all you cant do with the kbar is upgrade as its a clone , but I have not yet found out a need to upgrade, they fly like a $300 gyro but ARE ONLY $50
I found one of the best ways to see what I want is look at the PC software see how easy it is to set up kbar uses vStabi software , this is the link for the none dial home software the new one will dial home and lock the kbar
software
http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo...dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...setup5.3.4.exe
take a look how easy it is as for Videos look for Mr Mel Vbar set up its the same gyro
This is my mate Steve this heli is on a kbar watch in HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpHtJ_G3VNA

 

[Bill Lowen]

UGH.. my brain is overloading.. mixed reviews on 3GX, some really like it, others hate it. Sounds like some failures were do to set up. Funny thing is the 3GX is priced the same as the IKON. Kbar seems like a great deal, but can I use it with my Spektrum remote receivers? And what about firmware upgrades?

I took this from another site.

If you like I can give you the parameter file for the 450 which makes it very stable, the roll rates you adjust after you set cyclic degrees this is why Align put the roll rates first as these are the ones you would change as your flying progresses.
On setup you dial in you 8 degrees in DIR then in flight mode you have to set you cyclic again in the parameters if you didn't do this your cyclic would have caused heli to be way to unstable because the default parameter would give you 14 degrees when you should only be about 8', Align manual tells you to max cyclic without any binding or 14 degrees & imo its wrong as any heli you setup like that is just way to unstable.

So after doing some reading it seems that IKON might give you the most bang for the buck. The Spektrum AR7300BX seems pretty sweet too. decisions, decision.. I just hate spending money on another FBL if the one I already have is OK. Maybe I will just install this one, set it up with 2.1, keep it tame and see what happens. Whats the worst that could happen. rebuilding is fun too right?

 

[Tony]

KBar is a clone of the VBar made by Mikaddo and if they get wind of your clone gyro trying to do an upgrade, they will brick the thing.

IMO, since you are running spektrum, and want to run satellites, look into the AR7200BX. This is a gyro that doesn't need a computer to set up and everything is done on the gyro. Also, on stock settings, this thing is DEAD STABLE!

The Ikon is pretty much the same way, but you MUST have a computer to set it up, or use a blue tooth module and your computer, or your android only phone. But once setup is complete, it's just as stable as the BX. However, the ikon does have self level mode and you must set up SL properly to make it work correctly. We had a member set it up wrong, and it took his Goblin 600 size helicopter right into his house. Lots of money in damage.

And the 550 is not a 500 class helicopter. 500 class has 425mm blades, and yours has 550mm blades. If you look closely, the head actually says "600" on it. It is a 600 frame, head and tail, but the tail boom is shorter as are the blades. Just an FYI so you don't order a 500 size fuse instead of a 600 size fuse.

 

[Bill Lowen]

Thanks Tony,

I think at this point what I am going to do is just set it up with with the 3GX v2.1. I belong to a flying club and I am AMA so I have a few experienced heli guys I can turn to check my work and do the maiden flight for me. My goal is to completely build a heli, set it up and fly it on my own. But I am not reckless either so I am going to make sure somebody with a lot more experience than me goes over it from nose to tail before it flies.

Also, I went down to the hobby shop last night and got a few opinions. Vbar seems to be what the majority of guys fly around here with. The opinion seems to be if they were starting out with nothing, Vbar would be the choice. But if they already had the 3GX in hand, they would use it.

as far as the fuselage goes, yeah I knew the 500 would not fit it. and I know my 550 is really a 600 with slightly shorter blades and boom. I guess I just used the wrong terminology in referring to it as a 500 series heli. There are some nice scale options for the 550 though. I was in the Navy a few years back, P 3 Orions, I love aviation and scale aircraft is the direction I have gone in this hobby and helis are just another part of that for me. My next project is going to be a big warbird. I have the plans for a 1/5 scale Bates Wildcat but was thinking about having a kit made from the plans. I wish I could find a nice scale 60 size Hellcat or Wildcat ARF to start off with but all you ever see are Corsairs and Mustangs. Oh well that is a discussion for another thread. Thanks to all for all of your help and advice and I will keep you posted on my progress.

Have a great day!

Bill

 

[holtneil]

Hi mate Just so you know Kbar works on the spekturm sat receivers I have 2 on the cobra and 2 lemon sats on the 500 pro , the Kbar comes with the most upto date firmware so no update needed , but if you can get an ikon for that good a price Go for the ikon, in the UK the Ikon is £150 the Kbar is £30

 

[trainrider06]

Although I am with holtneil on the Kbar (have it on a Spektrum electrics Walkera V450D03) I'd do as you are thinking and just stick with what you got for now....get your feet wet, as you progress getting better at flying, then just progress with a different controller of your choice....if you ever decide to smash your 3G system as Tony suggested the AR7200BX is an excellent FBL controller also and Tony is a pro at advise on setting that up also.
You'll be in good hands here which ever you decide.....

 

[Admiral]

Hi Bill, I've tried CopterX, 3GX, AR7200BX,Turnigy 3DH & recently K-Bar I would rate them in this order K-Bar - BX7200BX - CopterX - Turnigy - 3GX I am planning on a V-Bar for my next project what ever that is but have no plans of changing out the K-Bar which is in an old clunker that flies great though under powered. The 3GX V5 in my opinion is flaky it will fly great for 4 or 5 flights then be all over the place on the next flight, I have lost confidence in them.

 

[Bill Lowen]

Hi all. I am making progress on my 550E but I have a question. This heli is the 550e v2 flybarless. The ball links that were included in the kit, they should be stainless steel correct, not aluminum? When did Align start using stainless steel ball links in their kits is my question i suppose? I did the magnet test and since aluminum and stainless are both non magnetic, so its kind of hard to tell which ones I have.

 

[Tony]

Aluminum will scratch quite easily, and are much lighter than SS. But I can assure you, they are stainless steel. And they have always used SS on their kits.