700 My New T-Rex 700X Build

[Heliman450]

Hi all, latest photos to update you all............

All the Supra X connections ready to prepare for the great soldering event

Positioning of batteries to measure up for changeover

Option #1 Option #2

Option #3

Options 1&2 are the standard Align proposals for positioning the gyro. Option #3 seems to fit the Axon instructions of fitting it close to the main rotor and away from the buzzing stuff. It also has the advantage of not needing to extend servo wires but does need the ESC supplies extending.

All feedback appreciated.

 

[Smoggie]

Weather here has been terrible for flying but good for building. I opened the box at mid day yesterday and the heli is just about finishes except for FBL installation and setup

I think you have figured out the wiring by now Phil but here's mine for reference:


batteries on tray::


And installed in the heli:


I'll get some more photos one the finishing touches are done. I should be ready for the maiden tomorrow but the weather forecast looks terrible so it may have to wait.

 

[Heliman450]

Wow, that's quick Steve, well done! I never wanted to build mine that quick and never expected to beat you to the maiden flight anyway.

So where's your gyro going to be mounted? I think the Axon blends perfectly with the colour scheme of the 700X. What do you think of the idea to mount it behind the main shaft?

Yesterday, I spent some time with the connections and made up the link cable. Next on my list is the two charger cables followed by my pair of batteries and the ESC. Unfortunately, family stuff got in the way of my working on it today and the same applies for tomorrow, too. No problem there on my side, honestly

I like the Supra X connections, chunky and will be easy to make/break, thanks for the recommendation earlier on.

 

[Heliman450]

Latest update..............

I downloaded the software for the Axon and went through the set-up wizard it looks really simple and very well arranged. I need to gather all the info it needs and get some power on the heli before being able to complete the process. It was possible to connect the unit to the PC and power it up via the USB, something I'm not able to do to the Spirit Pro, which needs a separate power supply.

I'm ready for the next phase of soldering and changing connections on the batteries, looking good! I've decided to make Deans-to-Supra X adaptors for the charging cables rather than completely new cables.

 

[Smoggie]

Phil,
I'm sure it will work fine behind the main shaft but my first choice would be on the little platform on the front electronics housing (option 1 in the manual). I found the servo leads (and all battery leads) were all lone enough without any extension but I was using the Vbar with remote sensor which allowed the main FBL module to be mounted on it's side.

It's all set up now and ready to go. Build was straightforward and in general the parts fit and quality is very good but there were a few things worth mentioning:

• Tail assembly needed some 'fettling' to operate smoothly. The culprit was the fit of the plastic 'dog bone' links that control the tail grips. They were a tight fit on the brass sleeve they pivot on which caused some 'stickiness'. I had to ream them ever so slightly to get a smooth travel.
• The tail pushrod seemed a little short. Slight offset on the servo arm did the trick and still didn't effect symmetrical movement too much
• Canopy is super lightweight but also egg shell fragile. Getting the grommets fitted without damaging the canopy is a very tricky business. Unfortunately i managed to put a small crack in the canopy already (it's almost invisible so I'm not too bothered).

Not a problem as such but just a heads-up.. As is Align standard practice the tail comes fully assembled but beware:- The screws are all loose and dont have Loctite, you need to remove all of them, apply Loctite and tighten... Same story with the head as I'm sure you figured out already.

So here she is:






The weather forecast says no chance of flying tomorrow but I'll keep my fingers crossed that there is a break long enough to get at least one quick flight in.

 

[Heliman450]

Hi Steve, looks great. Fingers crossed on the weather. Don't forget the video if you manage the maiden seeing as you forgot to take loads of photos for us during your build but you were obviously focused on beating me into the air, hey?

I mentioned in thread #18 that the screws weren't glued. Everything pre-assembled was loose fitted. I was pleased about that as there seems a tendency for most folks to lay it on good and thick. Maybe they think it helps the heli stay together better when it hits the ground

Anyway, enjoy the fruits of your labours.

 

[trainrider06]

Man both of you guys are lucky! That's a good looking heli for sure!
Phil that system you chose, is that made by Barvarian? I'd be interested in seeing some of the screen shots of the setup when you do it.

 

[Heliman450]

Hi Rodney, I'll be glad to when I get round to it. It's the only thing left of my build worth sharing now that Steve's shown everyone what the finished article looks like.

I'll start a new thread in the gyro section so keep your eyes peeled.

Bye now!

 

[trainrider06]

Finished product or not Phil, its not taking away from your detailed build, also there is the other point of view from your eyes as to the specifics of the build. I myself like hearing different thoughts and ideas.
So I wanted to ask also the Supra connectors, did you say they were bulky??? I am interested in those connectors, as of now most of my connectors are of the EC3/5 type. I am wondering if I should convert mine eventually...

 

[Smoggie]

Phil, I hope you dont mind me jumping in on your build thread. Your detail build photos will be a good reference for others I'm sure. I tend to get immersed in a build one i get going and dont think to take pictures.

PS..... one other minor detail that might be of use. When I installed the main gear i found it was sitting slightly high with the shim installed as per manual so I installed the shim (thinnest one supplied) between the main gear and the middle bearing block rather than on top of the upper bearing block as the manual suggests. This puts the main gear in perfect alignment with the pinion and the auto gear in perfect alignment with the tail drive gear.

 

[Smoggie]

PPS.. I updated the firmware on the Align 130A ESC. I plugged it into my PC via my Hobbywing programming box and the software recognised it as a Hobbywing 130A ESC and listed a new firmware version, so i installed the new firmware. After the update the programming software is given the option of 14S lipo just like the rest of the Hobbywing HV ESC range, this is despite the advertising and physical marking on the Align ESC saying 12s max. I dont have a 14S setup to try but I'd guess that the Align ESC is just a Hobbywing with a different name on, so would have the Hobbywing 14S capable hardware.

The programming box is needed to make any changes to the ESC setup as stick programming doesnt work on this ESC.

 

[trainrider06]

PPS.. I updated the firmware on the Align 130A ESC. I plugged it into my PC via my Hobbywing programming box and the software recognised it as a Hobbywing 130A ESC and listed a new firmware version, so i installed the new firmware. After the update the programming software is given the option of 14S lipo just like the rest of the Hobbywing HV ESC range, this is despite the advertising and physical marking on the Align ESC saying 12s max. I dont have a 14S setup to try but I'd guess that the Align ESC is just a Hobbywing with a different name on, so would have the Hobbywing 14S capable hardware.

The programming box is needed to make any changes to the ESC setup as stick programming doesnt work on this ESC.

Hmm now that's interesting to know. These makers of servo's esc's and electronic components doing this must be a lot more common than I thought, slapping their name on these things like that.....and really it makes sense to instead of having the separate components made in house. At least they have a good maker making them!
I'd be interested to know the cross reference of the different esc's servo's of who actually makes them. Would be handy to know.

 

[Heliman450]

Hi guys,

No problem with input from others. That's the whole idea of sharing it. It's even better to be able to share details from consecutive builds, one from a relative newby doing his second full build and another much more experienced builder. I did mention stuff earlier on and included things in the pdf's for download. I'm sure that people don't necessarily read back over so many threads, so a reminder helps. It's good to hear of the shim position change and also the reaming of the bushes. I didn't feel that the bushes were a problem but will recheck and also review the main gear alignment. I've currently got the 0.5mm shim in the top position but will inlude this in my close check on the drive train as I mentioned it being 'snug' way back in thread #51.

Regarding the Supra X connections, I didn't include a ruler alongside the link wire, which is 12cm long and will form a nice gentle 'S' shape when fitted. As yet, I haven't put two finished connections together, only the component parts. I decided on the version without screws as I got more connections for about 60% of the price. The bullets don't have the 'click' feature but that doesn't concern me too much. The connector is 1cm across the flats and the cable 0.5cm outer diameter giving a really good grip for pulling them apart.

At the moment, I think my largest bit is a a tad too small as it takes a while to bring the connector up to temperature once fitted in position. I'm afraid their holder is just about useless and doesn't hold the connectors very well at all. I'll need to spend a bit of time to see if I can come up with an improvement in its use.

Any tips on soldering the new connectors to the battery? I'm planning to cut one wire, solder on the new connector and then do the other so avoiding an arc across.

That's all for now, I'll take a few screen shots from the Bavarian Demon software and put them in the gyro section.

Bye now!

 

[Smoggie]

For soldering battery wires, yes it's very good practice to do one wire at a time. Only start the second wire once the first is complete and insulated with heatshrink (if using heatshrink). This avoids possibility of a short.

Rather than cut the wire I'd recommend de-soldering the existing connector and re-using the solder tinned end of the wire. This means that you aren't shortening the wire and it makes soldering easier as the wire end is already tinned.

 

[Smoggie]

Hmm now that's interesting to know. These makers of servo's esc's and electronic components doing this must be a lot more common than I thought, slapping their name on these things like that.....and really it makes sense to instead of having the separate components made in house. At least they have a good maker making them!
I'd be interested to know the cross reference of the different esc's servo's of who actually makes them. Would be handy to know.

In the case of the Align ESC it was pretty much an open secret that it was made by Hobbywing, but with it being markes 12S rather than the 14S that the Hobbywing labeled version is capable of I thought there may be some hardware differences. The fact that it takes the same firmware makes me think that they are in fact identical. It's a nice ESC either way!

Yes it would be good to have some sort of cross reference to tell us what ESC's are the same under the label. Apparently Align used to have their servos made by Savox but according to the word on the forums more recently they are made by OMG. It's hard to tell with servos because often the cases are different but the 'guts' are the same. This is true for example for BK servos, they are made by Servo King (Bert stated this) yet they look different to any Servo King branded servo.

 

[Heliman450]

I've got at least 3cm of spare on the battery wires. My thinking was along the lines of the Supra X video as it doesn't particularly matter in my case but no harm in giving it a try as I've got 8 new connections to put on the batteries anyway.

On the subject of electronics, I don't have the Hobbywing box of tricks to re-programme the ESC and probably don't need the option as I'm intending to use my existing 6 Cell batteries.

What frequency did you programme in for the servos? I was looking at my servo lists and haven't found them yet, it seems a strange thing not to present clearly in the specs of their servos on the Align website. Maybe I missed them in the instruction book but it's in the workshop now not here at home.

I just took a series of screen shots from the BD software and have entered some values to play with the drop-down options but obviously need to input all the required stuff correctly with power to the heli instead of just on my desk alongside my laptop . I think the orientation I set is one that would work for me. It's on menu 4 when I get round to preparing them for uploading.

 

[Smoggie]

The Vbar doesn't have a wide choice for servo frequencies. According to the guys at Mikado higher frequency makes virtually no difference to performance anyway (though too high for the servo will damage it). Anyway, for the swash servos I think the Vbar sets all digitals to 250hz, so that's what mine will be set to. For the tail servo i have it at 1520us / 333hz and it's working fine.

Overall the FBL setup went really easy. The geometry of some Align heads means you could not get optimum travel settings in the FBL but this seems to have been sorted out on the new head, all the travel range settings came out well within the desirable range.

 

[Smoggie]

PS.. If you dont have the programming box then the default settings will work ok but you will be stuck on 'Governor ELF' which means that the RPM needs to calibrate on every startup. This isnt a big deal, you just let the RPM come up to steady speed with zero pitch on the blades so the governor can set itself, then you fly as normal. I prefer 'Governor Store' as it remembers the calibration so you only have to do it once, but you need the programming box or bluetooth interface to make the change.

This is the box: LCD Programming Box ( Hobbywing Xerun, Ezrun, Dymond Smart X) | DYMOND Flight ESC | ESC for planes | Electronic Speedcontrollers | Motors

 

[Heliman450]

Hi all,

The screen shots as promised are located here:

Bavarian Demon - Axon Wizard Screens

 

[Heliman450]

PS.. If you dont have the programming box then the default settings will work ok but you will be stuck on 'Governor ELF' which means that the RPM needs to calibrate on every startup. This isnt a big deal, you just let the RPM come up to steady speed with zero pitch on the blades so the governor can set itself, then you fly as normal. I prefer 'Governor Store' as it remembers the calibration so you only have to do it once, but you need the programming box or bluetooth interface to make the change.

This is the box: LCD Programming Box ( Hobbywing Xerun, Ezrun, Dymond Smart X) | DYMOND Flight ESC | ESC for planes | Electronic Speedcontrollers | Motors

Hi Steve,

I followed the link but the site's down at the moment. One thing that I'm sure will work is the governor function within the Axon via the Ex-Bus system. I'll look into it along with all the other stuff when it comes to the set-up.