600 Trex 600 l dominator/ need help installing gpro

[Roy Sitter]

Please can someone explain to me how I should install the two servo line's comming off of the castle edge80 esc,and the two servo line's comming off the castle pro bec to the gpro unit. I have found lots of info on programming it, but very little on how to correctly connect everything to it. This is my first experience with the gpro, and I am more than a little intimidated,not wishing to do harm to my electronics.

 

[Tony]

Are you running a separate battery for the Rx pack? Or does your ESC have a BEC built in (BEC stands for Battery Eliminator Circuit).

Also let us know what helicopter you are working on, what exact ESC and so on. The more info you can give us, the better and faster we can help.

 

[Smoggie]

I can probably help as I've used all the same gear in the same heli (trex 600 Pro/L). The Castle Edge 80HV ESC doesnt have a built in BEC. The three wire servo type plug from the ESC goes to the ESC/throttle output on the Gpro. The second plug with the single white wire is for RPM output so unless using an external governor you dont need to connect it to anything.

The two leads from the BEC pro go to the Gpro (and receiver if fitted). if using a seperate receiver then one lead goes to any spare port on the Rx and one to the FBL (the Gpro has a 'battery input' port for this purpose). If you are using satellite type receivers connected direct to the Gpro then both leads from the BEC Pro go to the Gpro. The reason you use two is that the maximum combined current of your servos exceeds the rating of a single servo plug, so two are used to share the load.

 

[Roy Sitter]

Hey Tony,thanks for your help. Ok, here's the info: the helicopter is the align 600l dominator. Motor is the bl750mx(red head) - align bl815h cyclic and bl855h tail rotor servos. Castle edge hv80 brushless esc, castle25 amp pro external bec. FOR power, I'm using two zippy 6 cell 5800mah packs that I've setup series parallel,and the gpro. I've also installed two spectrum 9646 satilite recievers(the gpro instructions stated that a primary reciever was not necessary if I was using a spectrum transmitter,and I am - the DX9. To answer your question,yes I have a two cell 2400 mah that I used to bind the receivers- using the bec and spectrum 12 chan. Reciever. I've never flown an rc model with out a reciever before so I am somewhat anxious and confused about the installation. There are two lines comming off of the esc and two lines also coming from the bec- all with servo connectors. There is absolutely no visual diagram to illustrate how to connect the servos,esc,and bec to the gpro. There is a vague statement that just says basically to do it. The heli is completed,shy of this gpro installation. I'M really at a loss here,and cincerely appreciate the help. Oh, yes I figure the power packs are a bit large,but I plan to fly a scale hughes500 with them.

 

[Tony]

I think Steve pretty much covered what is what on this helicopter. He has one and I don't. Mine is an Align 600 Nitro so no ESC. And it's been quite a while since I actually worked on the electrics of a larger bird.

 

[Smoggie]

Roy,

I think I covered most of it in the previous post but just a few further points to think about

You batteries are way WAY too big. Being very familiar with this heli I cant see any way you could even physically fit batteries that massive in, let alone the effect the weight would have. I fly My Trex 600 Pro on 2700 or 3000mAh batteries (two in series), the heli is designed for up to 3300mAh. Any bigger and you will struggle to fit the battery between the frames.

You said the batteries were in "series parallel'.... If you only have two then it's one or the other, it cant be both series and parallel. The heli is designed for 2 x 6s in series to give 12s.

Your Castle BEC Pro is designed to run directly off your main flight packs. If you are using a 2s LiPo then you dont need a BEC at all, just power from the LIPo to the Gpro directly because all your electronics are 'HV' and so designed for 2s LiPo unregulated voltage. Basically it a choice, CC BEC Pro powered off main flight packs or dont use a BEC and use the LiPo instead.. you dont need both. If using the BEC Pro you should program it for 7.4-8V output to suit the rating of your servos and get their best performance.

You might want to check the manual again (manual download: http://www.align.com.tw/ManuaLib/Heli/Helicopter/RH60E11X.pdf ) because it actually has a very detailed step by step setup, including a wiring diagram for the Gpro, here's an extract (page 24)


Do you have a Castle Link programming dongle for the ESC and BEC?... You will really need one because neither ESC or BEC can be set up without one.