MattyB

Very interesting - HH are resurrecting the PZ brand with two re-releases, the Artizan and the Stinson Reliant. A change of heart, or an effort to restock their pipeline of "new" products at absolute minimum cost? You decide...

Looks like they have brought this back again... Youtube video

Posted by Piers Bowlan on 28/04/2017 14:01:36: The 180 petrol would be £475 and the 100 £375 according to Jon in an earlier post, Percy. Would you buy one, or both?! That is still very competitive compared to the Saito FG-30 at ~£580 retail, £650 list. Plenty of people have bought those, but they do not seem to run as consistently as the Laser 180. Edited By MattyB on 28/04/2017 15:48:58

NP at all, happy to help. Edited By MattyB on 28/04/2017 13:57:07

To help others I have updated my Sticky throttle cut example on RCSettings - instead of 1 setup there are now 4 within the same file catering for different tastes: StickyThr1 - Cut enabled using an additional mix line with "Replace" logic. Throttle inhibited when SF↑. StickyThr2 - As StickyThr1, but switch reversed (throttle inhibited when SF↓) StickyThr3 - Cut enabled using Override CH1 special function. Throttle inhibited when SF↑. StickyThr4 - As StickyThr4, but switch reversed (throttle inhibited when SF↓) This is a good example of the modular nature of OpenTX - different approaches can be combined from individual components (i.e. the same sticky switches L1 and L2 can be used to trigger different actions - in this instance inhibit via a mix line, or inhibit via the Override special function). Edited By MattyB on 28/04/2017 12:08:10

PS - Remember if you have switch checks enabled on startup you will also need to reverse the direction of SF there too. This will ensure it the TX requires you to switch on with throttle cut enabled (though the "sticky" functionality does mean the motor can't jump into life even if you did; still, safety first!). Edited By MattyB on 28/04/2017 10:53:59

OK... here are the two switches we set up in my original example: To reverse the direction for which switch SF activates the throttle cut you need to reverse BOTH references to SF in logical switches L1 and L2. That means the additional AND condition in L1 needs to be set to SF↑, and variable 2 (V2) in switch L2 needs to be SF↓. Try it and see - modifying the template I uploaded to RCSettings seems to works fine in Companion. Edited By MattyB on 28/04/2017 10:47:07

Ian, not a problem - let me get the kids to bed and I will post you up a simple solution.

I suspect you might be surprised by demand for the 100, even at £375 - there are those who would like a smaller petrol engine just do they don't have to lug two lots of fuel to the field, and plenty of people have converted the smaller lasers to petrol with Walbro carbs. You should still start with the 180 though, it is a far more commercial proposition. Edited By MattyB on 27/04/2017 19:49:38

Posted by John Lee on 27/04/2017 14:28:50: I damaged the canopy of my E-Flite CZ T28 when it blew over on Sunday. All the usual UK suppliers were showing out of stock so I ordered direct from HH Germany. The price on their website was shown in Sterling & is what you pay (unlike HK) & was a bit cheaper than the UK (none) stockists were showing. Ordered Sunday evening & it arrived yesterday, Wednesday. All good & I'd certainly buy that way again. If you listen closely you can hear the few HH distributors left in the UK crying quietly into their beer glass with this post...

Posted by Erfolg on 20/04/2017 16:42:18: John F My interpretation of no longer supported, is that they will no longer repair the product. This approach is not unique, nor new. My parents had a Warfedale Amplifier when they made them, it broke, there response was the same. That was probably 40 years ago. Not surprisingly there next amplifier was completely different, an Aiwa. Which I now have, which still works fine. OK, but a (probably very expensive in those days) analogue amplifier is a rather different product from a low cost digital receiver. It would probably cost far more to fix the RX than replace it, which they are not legally obliged to do if it is out of warranty. Edited By MattyB on 27/04/2017 14:43:29

I say get the 180 into production and prove your new concept first n the hands of real owners, then move down in size if things go well. In the 180 I suspect you have a product that is superior to all it's competition, but unless it's actually available to buy that is somewhat of a moot point.

Posted by Josip Vrandecic -Mes on 27/04/2017 11:46:30: Reliability above all ...... some talk about high priced ..... English proverb says: "I'm not rich enough to buy cheap" Maybe, maybe not. In reality all modern digital RC based on 2.4GHz FHSS protocols is EXTREMELY reliable, irrelevant of who made it. There are a few exceptions to prove the rule - physical quality on some of the very lowest price kit(such as Orange RXs and the original 9x TX) have caused problems, but step up to the FrSky/FlySky/Tactic etc and the products are just as reliable as any big brand. I am happy to state that from a reliability perspective I would be happy to use any FHSS based protocol for my models, be it from Flysky, FrSky, Futaba, Spektrum, JR, Jeti or Frsky - I view them all as reliable as each other. Ultimately the number of true radio failures nowadays is incredibly low - the bit that causes the issues is the squidgy thing that installed the gear, charged the battery and twiddles the sticks.

Posted by David Mellor on 26/04/2017 17:25:10: Posted by MattyB on 26/04/2017 16:43:45: I suspect FrSky are now suffering from the "cheap and cheerful" tag that got them started so successfully, even though nowadays they are a lot less cheap (and higher quality in the main) than they used to be! I think you are right, Matty. I switched (from Spektrum) to FrSky Taranis because of its essentially unlimited programming capability. What I find puzzling, though, is how many people are attracted by its Open Source capability. Why not just program it yourself to do what you want?? Perhaps I'm missing something....... Ultimately I don't think most buyers care about the fact it is Open source. The main reasons they go for it are a) they get a huge amount of functionality for the money compared to big brands, and b) if OpenTX is missing a feature they want they can request it and have a reasonable chance it will be implemented within a few weeks. By comparison the number of people who want (and have the skills) to code firmware (be that adapting/forking OpenTX or starting from scratch) is tiny vs. the number of traditional buyers who just want great functionality and reliability at a bargain price. Edited By MattyB on 27/04/2017 11:22:19

Posted by Chris Bott - Moderator on 26/04/2017 21:42:11: I prefer what used to be called a sticky throttle cut. A toggle switch programmed so that when switched to "cut", it instantly cuts the motor. But when switched to "arm" it won't arm unless/until Thr is at -100. Yep, that is the default option I use on all but one of my electric models; works great and is very safe. I have actually layered the three position unknockable switch as a pre-arm on top of a sticky throttle cut on my Miss Wind, purely because after installing the battery and making the model "live" you then have to screw on the hatch with a tiny screw only mm behind the prop arc. What a great bit of design! I'm sure the sticky cut on it's own would be enough really, but that additional pre-arm gives some extra piece of mind. Edited By MattyB on 27/04/2017 00:01:50

It is interesting that so many Spektrum users are saying they will leave to go over to Futaba following the closure of HH's UK service centre and rejigging of their distribution - are old habits dying hard? Moving from a brand that develops new products rapidly to one that is positively glacial seems a little strange, but I guess many people are only looking for relatively basic functionality and high reliability from their radios. Futaba does still do that well (though at a price). I suspect FrSky are now suffering from the "cheap and cheerful" tag that got them started so successfully, even though nowadays they are a lot less cheap (and higher quality in the main) than they used to be!

When I first went to Burrough in the late 80s the far NW slope was the best, with booming lift when a 12-15mph wind square on the slope. Unfortunately that slope has had a lot of scrub develop on it, and it's far less buoyant than it used to be. The SW slope is now probably the better of the two, even though it is compromised by other hills in front of it. The biggest issue though is that in a Westerly (which used to be the prevailing wind; nowadays that seems to be less common) the air is "split" off the point and next to no lift is generated. On those days I would recommend you stay home! So in summary not a "boomer" of a site, but still plenty of fun can be had in the right conditions.

If you prefer a toggle switch but like the "unknockability" of a sprung bias switch I designed these unknockable safety switches (patent pending... ). They use a logic switch cascade to require the user to follow a sequence of moves that include a change of direction within a time period:

Posted by Allan Bennett on 25/04/2017 21:01:53: Posted by Caveman on 23/04/2017 20:31:17: Here's how I do it:. . . . I use switch H because it's sprung and returns the throttle to 'normal' when released. . . . If you use a spring-loaded switch with an electric model it won't disable the motor, for it will be live again as soon as you release the switch. You can just use the "Sticky" switch to create a toggle if you want Allan - long pull above a certain number of seconds to enable, short to disable (or opposite if you prefer).

Posted by Mark Kettle 1 on 26/04/2017 10:02:43: There is some interesting history to Burrough Hill, with some various digs by Leicester University. The Ernest Cook are the current land owners, 'ECT' and they are into 'learning from the land'. It is set up as a trust and was founded and endowed in 1952 by the late E E Cook as an Educational Charity, they have ownership of other estates in Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Gloustershire and Oxfordshire. For visitors the Trustees' encourage appropriate public access to Burrough Hill which started when I was a lad in 1974. Primarily it is based down the road at the village called Little Dalby. From the main estate there is an established footpath which is a lovely walk from Little Dalby to Burrough on the Hill Iron Age Fort know as the country park and this is let by ECT to Leicestershire County Council, it is these that control the signage to the site, which is 5,600 acres in total making it the largest and most complete estates the trust owns. There is no signage to mention about or restrictions to slope flying I know of or seen, we don't fly with i.c motors, it's just not appropriate and sensible usage of electric models is undertaken, with other flyers mentioning if walkers are near by etc when landing. Good information thanks Mark; that aligns with my understanding too (my Dad still flies there occasionally; I believe you know him from the odd slope session and electric flying behind with his Cub behind old school, Brooke Hill!). It does seem strange that the MDMC imply on their website that club membership is required to fly there given public access to the site is via the CRoW act and grandfather rights for model flying must apply - it is not like sloping started there last week!   Edited By MattyB on 26/04/2017 11:00:31

This doc is interesting, but it does not show the list of bye laws on the signs clearly.

Posted by Tony Kenny on 25/04/2017 19:44:11: Hi All, I've been reading about Burrough Hill in Leicestershire and I'm told that no club has exclusivity, although one does claim that membership of their club is a requirement. Having flown there since I was a child (though admittedly not for about 10 years) I was very surprised to hear this - previously you did not need to be a member of any club to fly there, and I am aware of no bye-law that requires club membership. However I see the MDMC state on their website "The club also pays an annual fee for a licence to fly slope soaring gliders from Burrough Hill" and "Bona fide paid up members of the Club must produce a valid membership card when requested to do so by the Ranger or other duly authorised officers of the Leicestershire County Council." The only way to tell for sure would be to visit and check the signage onsite (there used to be a sign on the left at the end of the track just before you peel off right to go up into the hill fort) - to be enforceable it would have to be stated there, but even so without a bye-law (and I have been unable to find one online) I can't see you having any problems as long as you can provide proof of insurance and fly safely. Edited By MattyB on 26/04/2017 09:07:55

Interesting poll, but I think the result is likely to be skewed by the disproportionate number of builders who post threads here; not a criticism, just something to be remembered when interpreting the results. Edited By MattyB on 24/04/2017 16:10:01

I suggest you ask one of the mods to alter the title of your thread to "Who wants one - Warbird Replicas Lavochkin La7 kit?" or something similar, that way you may get more positive answers. Best of luck!

Posted by ken anderson. on 23/04/2017 10:37:31: matty ......low battery...not bec failure.... sorry if I confused you... ken Anderson...ne...1 confused dept. A bit of a tangent given the OP is looking for a solution for an IC model, but still worth stating... You do not really fit redundant power to electrics that utilise a BEC in order to prevent a crash caused by total exhaustion of the Lipo. That is a human error, not an equipment failure; using timers and/or telemetry plus solid prep routines should mean that never happens. After all, any battery they is on it's way out will tell you via incremental lost performance over a period of time long before it goes completely dead early in a flight. No, redundancy is primarily there in those models in case your BEC dies; they can and do fail, so it's a sensible precaution on larger, more expensive models of >4S. An alternative is to fit dedicated RX pack(s), but if you want to avoid the weight associated with that a separate high quality UBEC scaled for the load is still a good option. Edited By MattyB on 23/04/2017 20:33:11