Jeff-C

I agree with JC in regards to gas, I have a Butane soldering iron from Maplins. It was a fair old bit more expensive (£30), but that included gas and quite a few different tips as well as a carry case. The whole thing is small enough to fit in my bag, and it is AMAZING!! Instant heat - fully controllable temperature - interchangeable tips - portable - can be used as a heat gun. I would not be without mine ever again. And trust me, cheap soldering irons are a false economy. Why buy 2 or 3 cheap soldering irons, when you can spend that little more at the start and have a quality item that will last years. One last thing, I have puffed quite a few LiPo batteries because my soldering iron was not hot enough (hence buying the gas one). Make sure you have a hot hot hot iron as using a cooler iron you have to leave the hot tip on the connectors / leads for a long time. The heat will go straight down the wire into the LiPo, and if you are really unlucky you get a BOOM & FIRE!! (seen it happen).   Edited By Jeff-C on 27/06/2012 22:11:54

I can't live without my gas soldering iron. It is perfect and totally user friendly. Also can be used for a multitude if things at the field that am electric iron can't. Well worth the money!

Was in Malta reacently in my real plane. As I was coming in in approach into RW13, I saw a large model with smoke. It looked like an extra or Sbach doing aeros. You may ask how on earth did I spot that? Well I shall tell you.....someone was enjoying themselves with 'smoke on' at a height just slightly above 400ft.......closer to 800ft I would suggest. Anyway, the aeros looked good, but not that close to me next time please!! Hope that wasn't you Ken.......?!

I think the limits are something like the package having a 'Declared' value of $50 US / £35 for VAT threshold. I will have a little look as I had a package from China stopped and it had VAT added by customs. Basically, what is the item worth and have that put on the outside of the package as it's declared value, (what ever that might be). @import url(http://www.modelflying.co.uk/CuteEditor_Files/Style/SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/CuteEditor_Files/public_forums.css);

I would imagine what is in the fob camera is something really small like a little 1s 100mah lipo. Before attaching one, see if you can find any writing on the cell. If it is a 3.7v lipo, then you can buy these really cheap online, or use a little e-flite one. Then once it is wired in, just heatshrink it all together. Good luck.

Hi Guys. Hate to bring this 'love in' back towards the original thread topic, but I need some help! I recently went to upgrade my little 50mm edf as the fan blades destroyed themselves, and getting a replacement was going to take a long time. I decided to buy a 51mm fan housing and spare fan blades, but unfortunately the outrunner I had would not fit, so I had to get an inrunner. So here in is the problem. The edf stated it was best suited to a 4000KV, 2445 inrunner with 8-9 turns. I get the KV, I also get the 2445 = 24mm diameter and 45mm length, however I have no idea what the turns means.   Now, I bought what I thought would be the right inrunner for the job. It was the right size, correct KV, and correct weight. I put it in the model, and gave it a throw.....and it staggered into the air. Massively underpowered. I thought it was the balance. Brought the plane in and added a little more nose weight. Gave it a throw. It flew a little better, but full power and screaming its head off, it was just under powered.   Anyway, the result was a tip stall on final due to not enough speed, an abrupt arrival to the ground and splitting the nose straight down the middle of the aircraft, even though I was flying it on about 50% min. It turns out that what I had installed was an inrunner designed for an RC Car. But I have no idea on the spec.   So, finally to my point. My little 50mm outrunner with less KV was able to shove my little Goshawk around with great haste, however this 51mm monster KV fan seems pathetic in comparison. What have I done wrong, and what are these pesky turns all about, and how do I know how many of them are in my motor?!

If you are not massively worried about the appearance of the model, and the actual problem is the foam has gone 'soft' because the bending it has suffered from "arriving" on its nose, there are a few options. You can fibre cloth and epoxy it, effectively making a new outer skin for the front end, or what I would do (but is not as pretty), is run 2 or 4 little wooden splints from the nose back. Using something like lollypop sticks or something. That will basically take the loads away from the soggy and bendy foam. You could fit them inside, and that way if the splint is butted up to the inside part of the firewall, it will stop it moving forward or backwards.  Glues i would use would be 30min epoxy, hot glue gun, or UHU Por. All work on foam and would. Any epoxy that dries quicker then 30 mins will just eat the foam, so longer the better.    Note; Only applicable if the motor mount is intact, and is it the surrounding foam that has gone weak.Edited By Jeffrey Croot on 12/07/2011 14:18:10

The tax man can have a look, but in reality if the items have already had the tax paid when originally bought, and have been used for private use and not as an investment then there is no tax / capital gains to be paid, especially if the item is sold for the same if not less then originally purchased.   I do like the new simplification though of the Ebay fees......basically more expensive!

So I have now done the above, removed the ESC +ve lead and replaced it with a standalone RX power supply from a 1s LiPo. What I have noticed, is that I am using a voltage regulator to bring the 3.7v up to a constant 5volt 1.5A. Now I know that my little park flier RX and 2 5g servos are not using that much juice at anyone time, but what I have discovered is that I now have a twitching from the servos when they return to the centre position. This only happens with the VR plugged in and the BEC removed. If I return it back to the standard configuration, then everything is fine.   You may be asking why I want to do this and remove the BEC from the ESC. Well, the answer is that I am using a 4-6volt2.4Ghz FrSky RX, and for some reason it gets 'brown out' when I am at full power flying and rolling the aircraft. I can only imagine this is to do with the power supply as I have tried several different mini 4ch RXs with the same problem.   I originally thought it was the location of the aerial, but having fitting the version with a 3-16v power range , I no longer get it.   Any Ideas?   Basically, there are 2 things; - Am I getting twitching from the servos with the VR plugged in because it is using more then 1.5A combined, or are they being over powered? - Do you think it is a batch of duff mini RX, aerial locations on either the RX or TX, or is it the power supply that is causing the brown out?   Any ideas would be great!!   Thanks guys  

I think the simple answer is to give up on the RUBBISH WINDOWS operating system, and move over to the far more user friendly and efficient MAC OS. My Apple MacBook Pro has never let me down in over 2 years. It is still as fast booting up as the day I bought it, (bet the windows users can't say that!!), and I never get the annoying 'WINDOWS WAIT' as it thinks about if it wants to start the programme I launched. Also, I have never seen a 'Blue Screen Of Death'. To be honest, if you are a windows user and never want to change, maybe think about getting Safari as your browser. Never had a problem on any website.    

Kozmyk.   Thank you so much. I tried exactly what you have said and it has worked. The only problem I have now is what if I want to use all 4 channels on the RX, and still run a standalone lipo. Would I just cut it into a servo connection via a Y-Lead, or can I cut it into the already made Y-Lead from the ESC as this diagram?  

So, I have given it a go. I have changed the wiring. Black and white now go from ESC to RX, and the +ve only from the standalone LiPo to the RX.   So now it is all gone the other way. I now have no power or life in the RX, but the ESC is happy and beeping away.   Am I totally missing the idea? Can someone give me a bit of an idea via a schematic diagram?

Ahhhh.....THANK YOU!!   I tell you what, I have been wracking my brain trying to work that one out.

On a similar line, I want to add a little extra weight to the nose of my parkjet, and I also want to use a little micro 4ch RX. Problem is that the RX is a 4.8v and for some reason, when using it through my ESC it sometime 'brown outs'. My idea is to disable the outward power leads from the ESC, and attach a separate 3.7v lipo with voltage booster to bring it upto 5v. So, here is the diagram of what I have; problem is, I can not seem to be able to get the motor to work. The ESC knows the power is there from the main lipo, and is getting info from the little white control wire, but no motor movement.   what am I doing wrong!!??

Kc,   I guess most people do not hold money in paypal, and only use it as a debiting device to take payments from your card and send it to another. You can also transfer money directly out of paypal on receiving money. As an independent company owned by the ebay organisation, I would presume that it has liability, and if it took your money and you had proof it was there in the first place, the receivers and liquidators would be the people to talk to. Thing is, I can't really see Paypal going anywhere as does it actually own any assets? Does it actually have any value other then the value of the custom using it?

Maybe a full reprint of the plan attached as a 'bonus' into next months magazine??   I guess that means subscribers would get it as usual, and casual buyers will have to go out and buy another copy of the magazine. Repeat business. (Maybe it was all a cunning plan.......?!)   Look at it on the bright side. I know that I am going to make a hash of it when I come to build it. I will start on the fuselage so when I get it wrong and spill tea all over the plans, I can then move onto the 'good copy', and work from that instead!!

I have found this too! It seems that the seller looses out because of the fees, and the buyer gets stiffed with higher prices. What I have also noticed is that postage costs are well over the price they should be most of the time. I think the only thing that ebay does allow is the platform to sell your items to a worldwide audience. I guess that is what you pay the premium for. You can find just about anything, and you are almost sure you well sell anything.......if the price is right.   Maybe people should start to use the dedicated website set up by a keen modeller for just model related items. It is like ebay and is free.   http://www.rc-model-auction.com/   It has been featured on here before, but alas because everyone was using ebay, no one is advertising on here anymore. Maybe a revival?  

As an uneducated guess. I think it is No. 60Edited By Jeffrey Croot on 20/05/2011 15:05:47

I have just watched the videos on firewalls and engine mounts and I have to say, that they are a massive help!! The only thing I would have said, is I was very interested in the video about prop balancing. I have heard so many different ways of doing it from snipping the ends, to sanding LE / TE, even sticking a bit of sticky tape around the light end. SO, when there was a video by the acclaimed Pete Lowe, I was looking forward to watching his way of doing it, and getting some tips.   Sorry to say, that unfortunately there wasn't that much useful content in that video, (sorry Pete). I watched a couple of props get put on a prop balancer, but that was it.   Any chance that you might show us very quickly you balancing that old black 70's prop that was way out? Other then that, an excellent few videos, and I look forward to seeing more and more!!   Thank you. Jeff     Edited By Jeffrey Croot on 23/04/2011 12:38:25

This is what it should look like   And this is what it looks like when the prop gets hungry and the mount has failed catastrophically.   Other then this motor mount, this is genuinely a fun little model. If there was a group of you, could be modified to have streamers on the wing tips for dogfighting??  

Please don't get me wrong, I think that from a legal point of view H&S is vital and within a workplace I agree. Like I said, its all about the company and 'Cover Your A*%e'.   When creating a club or site, then yes, assessments must be done, but to do assessments on 'how is the best way to stop your finger getting chopped off by a moving propellor', the answer is simple - Don't put your fingers near it! Edited By Jeffrey Croot on 11/03/2011 22:54:40

Indeed. I was trying to upload them straight onto here, but it seems I have to upload them to my album first before then adding them to here, (unless it is my mac that is being a bit funny!)

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I find all this talk of 'risk assessments' and 'health and safety' all a bit over the top. Why does everything have to be so regimented these days and all so "C-Y-A"?   If you ask me, HSE and RA is simple common sense. Spinning propeller = Don't put your fingers there! The equipment is available for you to purchase. The assessment is; Buy it and use it, protect yourself. Don't buy or don't use it, don't use it and don't protect yourself. If you choose not to use it, then you choose to 'risk' having your fingers chopped off.   A prime example is this. You are walking along with your 2 children and come to a road and want to cross it. You look at the road, assess the danger, and choose to use the pelican crossing. You are a teacher with 2 pupils wanting to cross a road. You have to spend 3 weeks before hand looking at every aspect of that road, the layout and the speed of traffic, the location of the pelican crossing. Will the timer on the pelican crossing be long enough to walk across the road. Will you have to take another supervisor with you to stand in the road on the pelican crossing in a high-vis jacket to ensure that cars know you are there.......etc etc etc.   As a human being, you are brought up to be aware of your surroundings. Risk assessment is instinctive. Just because a form or document has been written, it won't stop people ignoring it. You are either careful and methodical and sensible and look at the dangers that come in real life, or not. You shouldn't be doing something that is potentially dangerous if you don' have those basic natural skills you were born with.     Edited By Jeffrey Croot on 11/03/2011 22:33:39

Well, I have to say, I bought this little fella in order to fill up my allowance of weight when ordering from Hobbyking in China. I have just looked, and to have it shipped on its own will cost $65 for model and shipping to UK.   So, it is a little deltawing V-tail parket. It comes with 20amp ESC, 2x4.5g servos and a motor with 5x5 prop. (All you need is your own TX.RX and LiPo). It weighs about 150g with no battery, and is able to accommodate just about any size battery from about 700mah up to 1300mah (C of G becomes an issue at this size pack). It runs 2s and 3s packs. Elevons only, so you need a digital TX, or use the free V-Tail unit that comes supplied. I have been using 2s-1050mah and 3s-1050mah packs, with 4channel FrSky RX. When flying, it pulls 15amps on the 2s at about 150W, but if you bump it upto a 3s pack, you can achieve almost 300W and draw 25amp peak, (the stock ESC can take 25amp bursts). With this power, and AUW being about 300g, it is a seriously rapid plane!!   Build takes about 20 mins to complete, and is really simple, but use your own epoxy on it. The glue that comes is naff.   BEWARE - Motor mount needs to be checked before fitting, and it is well worth reapplying epoxy onto it. The standard mount will not take the power of the 3s pack very well. I have had 3 mount failures because of the power of it with 3s power!!   How does it fly? Very well actually for a cheapy. It is really nice on 2s, and has more then enough power for verticals. Maybe put a little expo on the surfaces to stop it being twitchy with little control movements. Slow speed is excellent because of the big wing surface, and the fact it is so light. Floats nicely to the exact point you want it.   Would I recommend it? Yes, but only if you like speed!! It is very durable and has survived a thrashing from me. It has had 3 hard impacts already, (due to motor mount failure) and it is still flying perfectly straight. Just make sure if you are going to fly it on the 3s set up, make your own mount or reenforce the supplied one. If you can wait a week or so for it to get here, and you don't mind ordering something like this from China, it is a bit of a giggle, and to be honest, I would be surprised if you can get the motor/prop/prop-saver/ESC/2x4.5g servos for the same price.

Thank you Kozmyk,   I think I put this in the wrong thread, but I can bring it back!! So basically, I am looking to be replacing 800ma into a 1000mah pack. That should be pulling the pack down to around 3v per cell whilst under load.   Do you mind me asking where abouts you gained this information. I hate not knowing things and would love to read up about it all!!