450 Best 450 Pro V2 Tail Servo

Tony

Tony

Staff member
So I stopped by the ONLY LHS in OKC that carry's Align parts so that I could pick up my gear that I need for the pro, and maybe some parts for the SE V2. But definitely the Pro. I was on my way from the yard in OKC to the house after dropping my trailer off (need the space, or thought I did). So I go in there and start looking around. I see a LOT of 700 parts, very few 600 parts, even fewer 600 nitro parts, and only about 15 450 parts, mostly for the head.

The ONLY place in OKC with parts, and they don't have crap for them. Their excuse, "No one flies 450's anymore and you can't get parts in the USA for them unless you want to wait two weeks or more". This was the second time I had been in this store. The first time they were complete asshats. This time, they tried to fill ME full of BS. I think I know a thing or two about this hobby and what is out there.

So needless to say I still do not have any parts so the 450's are still grounded for at least another week or more. Pretty rare for me to get home with a little cash in my pocket. I figured getting the helicopter up in the air was more important than dinner. But I guess not.
 
KLA

KLA

Member
Wow! Wish I needed something but all my helicopters are in pretty good shape right now. I guess that's a good thing.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
Sadly, they don't have what I 'need' to get my pro in the air. Sold out, and even if they had it, they are not showing black gears on the search.
 
D.O.G.

D.O.G.

Goblin 380 Supporter
KLA said:
Wow! Wish I needed something but all my helicopters are in pretty good shape right now. I guess that's a good thing.
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Yes that's a good thing your helis are in good shape but their Nothing wrong with ordering back up parts. That's what I'm doing.

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D.O.G. said:
Yes that's a good thing your helis are in good shape but their Nothing wrong with ordering back up parts. That's what I'm doing.
Click to expand...

Check this out Search - 450 canopy mount and now check this out from Ron's RC H45052 - CANOPY MOUNT BOLT . Do some window shopping first. Even at 1/2 price sell it not cheaper then Tarot. Just an example how a deal isn't really a deal.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
It's the same price, maybe a penny more, and made from stronger aluminum. Clone aluminum is very soft.
 
KLA

KLA

Member
Not always......Tarot makes some pretty darn good parts. Most of the time, you are right, but there are some exceptions. I can't remember for the life of me what brand, but a while ago I bought aftermarket main and feathering shafts for my 450, and I swear that they were stronger and lasted longer than the Align products.

Most of the time you get what you pay for, but, like always, there are exceptions.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
Yup, there is always exceptions to the rule. Vaping is one of them. $300 for an authentic mechanical mod, or $50 for a clone made of exactly the same material (usually pure copper). There are some that actually hit harder than the original like the Pegasus. Now I don't have the machine to tell me what the alloy makeup of the metal is, but you get my point, and I surely get yours.

I did have a bunch of stuff in the cart but the cart just vanished on me and now the parts I had are no longer there.
 
KLA

KLA

Member
Point taken! My wife is into Vaping, but not me. It just doesn't take the place of holding a cigarette. To me it's just not the same. But to each his own . A lot of people love it. It's just not my thing.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
this weekend I decided the Align DS520 was a dead servo anyway, so I tore it apart...

For those that don't know, in order to get the servo apart, you have to unsolder the pot from the board. The pot is held in by two clips (no screws in this one like the larger servos) that you have to pry apart to remove the pot. This is all well and good, but the metal case holds these clips in place so you can not remove it without breaking them, or the pot.

So I took the servo apart, removed all gears, bearings and shafts, removed the two screws holding the motor and started unsoldering the pot. Once I had the board removed, I could remove the metal case from the inner plastic case and remove the pot. From there, all you have to do is cut off the 4 melted plastic 'rivet's' and pull the pot apart.

To my surprise while I was cleaning the pot with alcohol, it was not that dirty, but was in fact dirty which I suspected. So I cleaned the resistance part of the pot as well as the metal conductors. I also pulled the conductors up so they would make a little more firm contact with the resistance material. From there, I put it back together, used my soldering iron to melt a little of the plastic to hold the pot together (with the clip in the case, I highly doubt it would come apart, but I'm not taking that chance) and stuck it back in the case.

From there, I cleaned the 3 pins on the pot so they would slide back through the board, cleaned the 3 holes in the board and resoldered the pot back to the board. I installed the servo into the tail servo holder, put my BX on the heli (not the same frame, more on this later) and I tested it for about 10 minutes. I never could get the servo to stop like it did.

At this point I'm going to assume the little amount of dirt that was on the pot is what was causing the servo to stop working. It's odd though, there are two contacts for each section (center pin, then the two outer pins which tells the servo where the arm is). For both of those to lose contact is very odd, but I suspect that is what happened.

With this, all that is left is to go out and fly it and see what happens. I'm kind of scared to because I like this helicopter and I don't want to crash it lol. But, that is the name of the game.

If this worked, or if I get enough requests, I will do a video on how to repair this servo. I did a search online and found a thread here on this forum where someone else had the exact same issue with the exact same servo. It turned out, he though it was the case screws being too tight, but I know now that was not the cause or solution. I guess we will find out soon.

Now, I just need to get the money for the front tail gear so that I can finish this little project and get it up in the air. Just need money...
 
trainrider06

trainrider06

Active Member
That was an informative post and info about that particular servo. You must have been in a tinker mood! :wink:
I sure understand the broke feeling! Things just will not level out here either! My bucket I am using to bail has a hole in it I think because the water just keeps getting deeper and deeper! :(
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
That post means Keith is swimming in money... :biggrin1:

We will see how the helicopter does when I get my new gear. It sure looks good, but I need to do a LOT of wire management.
 
KLA

KLA

Member
Yeah I hit the Powerball Lottery last week for 333 million. If I was swimming in money I wouldn't be sitting inside this excavator right now. Plus, I'm married. That right there should tell you how much money I have. Lol!

Good luck on the flight, Tony. Hope it goes well. Those darn wires can be a real PIA.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
I have not even started the Wire Management. I have wires sticking out of every hole in the frame right now. But I think it will be pretty easy to clean them up and tuck the gyro away so it looks nice and clean. I think I may even have to pull out another trick to help hide wires in a small heli.

I guess I should make a new thread on this helicopter once I get the gear and I'm ready to do all of the final work...
 
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