Blade 130 X setup - HELP!!!

[Paul Marsh]

Has anyone got the Blade 130x?

I bought one today, but although reading the setups, hardly know anthing about setting up helicopters, and gave up. I can't make head or tail about setting it up.

Please has someone, who's set up theirs, or know anyone who's got a decent .SPM file for the DX18, or compatable.

Added to that, the supplied battery was flat, and if no-one can help, would give up trying to progress on helicopters and stay on fixed-wing for ever.

Thanks

[Ade Eades (Eadsie)]

There are some great guys on heliaddicts who can help, not that there aren't any here, i have a Blade MrsX and a Blade 450 3D what do you need to know? dont loose faith, heli's are more challenging set-up wise, i can help to a certain extent. or you could look **here**

Regards Ade

Edited By ADRIAN EADES on 31/08/2013 21:19:01

[Paul Marsh]

I've sort of "set" it up, but I can't get it right. Also, when I move the sticks, the swash delays and stops at the last command, then is a delay, after I move the sticks before it moves. Also the tail isn't compensating.

Not flown it, just held it and span it up, it's all wrong, as the last time I had a collective heli, was a shuttle, but not  ccpm mixing don't know personally a heli expert, and the last person who set my shuttle up was Paul Heckles at Weston Park, 15 years ago.

Probably why I haven't got any further than a Blade MCX...

Edited By Paul Marsh on 31/08/2013 21:22:48

[Ade Eades (Eadsie)]

chill.......i always wanted a shuttle, great trainer and solid, your 130 is the next step up from my msrx, which is fixed pitch...how did you recieve the 130x? was it already assembled? was it new? have you vhecked that everything is plugged-in correctly? check all connections & re-bind, let me know how it goes

 

ade.

Edited By ADRIAN EADES on 31/08/2013 21:30:32

[Ade Eades (Eadsie)]

the battery needs to be fully charged

[Ade Eades (Eadsie)]

are you using a DX18? have you set the 'Dual Rates'? have you used the DX18 before? are all the switches 'Back'?

Just take time and double check everything. Is the swash level after bind? and sticks centre? crikey there are so many questions....lol

ade

[Jamie sawyer]

I've quite a lot of experience on heli setup and a member on RC Heliaddict...

I have a different radio though which is Futaba Fasst though which is a slight problem maybe.

With your ccpm setup first disconnect the esc to the motor so it doesn't spool up on you and you dont get a bonny fright or inhibit the throttle hold if you have one....

When you increase the trottle the whole swash should go up and decrease throttle the swash lowers. If you have a pitch gauge set it on each blade and measure the pitch angles. I'm not sure what pitch you should be looking for on that perticular helli but if your learning -4 at bottom throttle and + 11 at max throttle would be a good starting point. If your pitch on each blade is out by much more that above the hellie will bog down on roator speed at max throttle. This is a beginner setup. 3D guys use +12....-12 on the pitch settings of the blades or there abouts. If the pitch angles are way out you can go into the radio setup on transmitter and set the end points till you get the desired pitch settings on the blades.

On the ccpm setup you reliy on 3 servos working with each other if one is reversed then the whole thing goes to hell and the swash wont behave properly. The transmitter will have ccpm setup in the programmes for the 3 swash servos....check that they are all operating in the correct direction.

What kind of tail setup is on the heli is it a small motor or is the tail rotor driven by a belt ??

Jamie

[Paul Marsh]

The 130x is bind n' fly, but the radio needs to be set up. I can fly helis, but if the radio's not set-up, then no chance. The manual goes into setting up on the DX8, but using the DX18QQ.

Pity I didn't get the SPM file off the person who was flying one in the Hanger - I know who he is, and ask him for advice. Ho.hum...

Know everything about 'planes, but very little on helicopters - hence why I want to expand into rotary , and eventually get my "A" rotary wing cert.

I've got some new Turnigy 450mah 2s, they are fully charged, but the battery that came with the heli (eflite 300mah unit) is totally flat, therefore: useless. Also it's slightly puffed, so although the charger won't allow me to charge it, I won't want to, anyway.

Really not flown it yet, but if no joy getting s SPM file by next week, will take it back to SWM and get the Seagull Models Liberty, that I was going to get originally , but didn't,as I've got too many 'planes and want a change (also takes less space!)

The tail is shaft driven, with the servo operating the tail pitch. My Blade MSR is poor in rudder, due to the motor and/or gyro not working properly. The direct drive tail is much more precise, I reckon...

 

Edited By Paul Marsh on 31/08/2013 21:58:53

[Jamie sawyer]

**LINK**

If this helps watch this bud cheers

Jamie

[Frank Skilbeck]

Paul I set my 130x up on my Dx6i note the swash plate and rudder won't really respond to the controls until the main rotor is working and it's in the air as the control board has a 3 axis gyro (AS3x) built in and all your instructions go through that, it doesn't become active until the power is applied. You are also send a command to the AS3x board and it then decides where to move the servos, so if you apply a little right aileron the AS3x moves the servos to give you a slow roll to the right, if you bang the stick over it thinks you want a fast roll etc

Also as it's controlled through the gyros on board you don't set the swash plate up like a normal heli with 3 cyclic servos but instead as though it has ailerons and elevator, then the only thing to do is to set the pitch curve and flight phases, I don't have (obviously) a Dx18 but would have thought that the Dx8 instructions shouldn't be too different.

While it flies great it can be a bit tricky to get it in the air, and I find it best to "pop" it off the ground. I also added some rates and expo to the main controls just to tone it down a bit.

I know the Dx6i has a lot less features than the Dx18 but it wasn't too difficult to set up the 130x.

[scott finnie]

quite similar i have the rtf blade sr and find that it requires full right yaw and right trim to stop it spinning, it does fly nicely but dont get the tail issues

[Ausferret]

Try here

**LINK**

[Frank Skilbeck]

Don't input any trim into the 130x the ASX3 board needs the trims at neutral when it is initializing. Once it's in the air it is pretty stable, just if you try and do a slow lift off it will try and tip over especially on the first take off. Better to take off from a surface with some friction too.

[Paul Marsh]

Has anyone got a .SPM file they can send me? Problem is with the link above, the parameters are different with the radio I'm using, although very close. On the DX18, there are more variables, as I don't know what I'm doing, it's like blind leading the blind.

If I can get a working file, I can learn to see what changing things does. The heli still isn't set up, and won't fly it until someone can check it over. If not, I'll take it back to the shop (will need to, with the faulty battery) and come back to helis later...

[Frank Skilbeck]

I'd try posting on a helicopter forum for a DX18 file, but you may not be lucky as a DX18 is a.way overkill for a helicopter and hence it won't a common combination.

[Paul Marsh]

I could use the DX8, but it's full-unless I move a model onto the DX18 from that. Also, when the DX9 comes out, the DX8 will be for sale.

[YakMad]

Paul,

Why not copy a model from your dx8 on board memory to the SD card until you get the 130x flying, as setting the heli up will make more sense when you get it flying, if you are new to heli's I would recommend checking out **LINK** , I found his e-book on setting up micro helis very useful as it explains how to set-up the 130x with beginner friendly pitch and throttle curves and should help with setting it up on the DX18. The 130X uses a factory set 3-axis gyro so requires no mixing set-ups in the TX, you just need to input the pitch and throttle curves of which you will only need pitch curve 1 and throttle curve 1 until you master flying it. Do not hold this heli to check the controls are working correctly as this causes the 3-axis gyro to overcompensate as it expects the heli to be free to move and when it does not the gyro keeps moving the servos to compensate which causes the controls to go crazy, this is what happens when you try to take off too slowly and the heli will roll over. I would recommend checking that the swash plate is level before your first flight, an easy way to do this is to create a pitch curve of 50% on points 1 thru 5 and a throttle curve of 0% and check the swash plate is level left right and front back, it should be a right angles to the main shaft. I bought my 130X second-hand as the chap said he just could not master it turns out the swash plate was off which caused the heli to fly backwards on take off, once this was corrected the heli took off and held a steady hover everytime.

[Andy48]

Why not move one of your simpler/less used models from the DX8, or simply copy its settings to an SD card and reset that model memory, then follow the handbook for a DX8 setup. Once you are familiar with the 130x then program your DX18.

[Paul Marsh]

I got it flying. Followed your advice, as I couldn't even get it to bind to the DX18. So deleted a model off the DX8 and found it ok to follow and set up.

Managed to hover it round the garden, but wonder how the idle up works, when I want to fly inverted or aerobatics.

The collective works ok, but needs over half stick to get in the air - it seems a very high head speed.

SWM emailed, and they've got a new battery for me, when I take the duff one in. Luckily I bought 4x 450mah Tunigy Lipo's last week, so wasn't stuck for batteries...

[Dave Bran]

Zero pitch at half stick is the usual setup, and of course, it won't fly with zero pitch!! It needs a high headspeed, as there is little weight anywhere to give rotational inertia, a 130x needs careful collective managment to keep the thing spinning ready to take sudden loading!

Forget Idle-Up for now. If its set up as per manual then it'll mean hover positive at about 2/3rd stick, hover negative (inverted) at about 1/3 stick, but you need to be ready to hit throttle hold or it'll batter itself to pieces on the ground.