Eric Hartley Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Hi I've been using an APM2.6 board with a quadcopter for aerial phtograpghy and have recently moved into the world of helicopters. Most time has been spent on the Phoenix sim. and I have purchased a TREX450 plus which is ready to fly once the weather improves. In the meantime so that I have some knowledge as to the workings of a helicopter have decided to have a go at building the HK450 with DFX fbl conversion. With regard to a control board was wondering if I could use the APM 2.6 as according to the mission planner there is the option for helicopter as well as multi rotor. I have looked at the Arducopter manual and it provides details of the wiring connections etc. but there is no real detail on installing the board (bearing in mind the limited space on a 450) whilst there are numerous videos on multirotors which I found useful when setting up the quad. Has anyone successfully installed this system on a 450 and if so any useful ref. points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Hartley Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hi On thinking through the matter I think it will be better to go for one of the proven controllers such as Beast X or 3GX MRS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-richards Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 what about a naza v2 you can not go wrong they are more expensive but do all what you want Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Posted by steve-richards on 24/01/2014 15:37:25: what about a naza v2 you can not go wrong they are more expensive but do all what you want Steve That's useful I never realised the Naza could be used on a conventional heli, has anybody tried this. But if you use Spektrum the Beast X fbl Rx works really well on my Blade 300x. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Hartley Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hi Yes unfortunately I purchased the Futaba 14sg which rules out the E flite Blade series. Should have gone Spectrum. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Eric, what about something like this, plus directly into the Futaba S Bus system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Hartley Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hi I think I will have to purchase the Spectrum in order to operate the E flight Blade copters. The Align 150 micro was not up to the build quality of the Blade 120sr and the Blade durability seems a lot better. When looking through the various forums on helicopters the Spectrum system seems to be the way to go. The Futaba 14 sg is probably ok for fixed wing which of course I still fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I didn't realise that Blade helis don't come in receiver-ready versions. But, that aside, Futaba (and other brands) of computer trannies are equally at home with helis. If you've already got a Futaba 14SG, it would seem silly to convert to Spektrum, unless you're really desperate to get an E-flite Spektrum-equipped model. Is it possible on any of the E-flite models to install a Futaba receiver in place of the Spektrum one? As for fbl gyros, I love my BeastX (with Futaba receiver) which replaced the 3Gx unit which was bundled with my T-Rex 550. It's very easy to set up, and flew my heli straight out of the box, which I had been unable to do with the 3Gx unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryorbik Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Eric, Before you venture into flybarless with the HK450 it would be a very good idea to get it flying correctly as a flybarred helicopter as you may need to upgrade some parts to get it flying right before you consider converting it. I have just finished building a HK450 V2 Pro kit for a club member and it required new tail blade holders as the originals did not hold the tail blades correctly, new (Align) main shaft as the original was made from toffee metal and came pre-bent, both the main gear and tail drive gears needed replacing with Align parts as they were warped and eccentric and a new one-way bearing as the original slipped and Align plastic ball links throughout as the originals all came off too easily. The main blades have been replaced with Align ones too as the originals needed half a pound of lead to get them correctly balanced but after asll this work it now flies quite well !! Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 So that's 50-quid's worth of spares, just to get the heli flying properly I've heard similar stories before, and I still wonder if the HK helis are really worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bran Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Having to change lots of stuff on HK helis from new to get them "right" is IMO a total load of codswallop........................BUT, and it is a BIG but, there are HKs and there are HKs. The HKs Giant Cod used to sell were SERIOUSLY down on quality and spec compared to the ones sold by HobbyKing direct. This was so extreme at one point that for example the tail shaft pulley drive of a 'Cod 500 had the bearings minimally glued into the soft alloy side plates, NO Boss, NO strength. With only the sheet thickness it was always going to fail and the bearing rotate to grind away at an angle from the belt tension if left. A "genuine" HK500 had proper machined bearing holder bosses and no issues. This sort of thing was true all over the parts! I did a comparison list and the ONLY thing better on a 'Cod HK 500 was that you got two motor pinions, EVERYTHING else was lower spec or not as well fitting. I strongly recommend you ONLY buy genuine HK kits from HobbyKing direct! I currently own 2 HK250s, 5 HK450s (three with bodies), 4 HK500s in a very large Heli fleet. I do have experience!! A couple of the 450s and a couple of the 500s have done HUGE hours with NO issues, they are my goto hacks, all bog standard. With regard FBL controllers, I have been getting very good results from the very cheap CopterX C3X2000, however, you MUST load firmware 2.4 BEFORE any attempt at use. I carefully tested my first one for some considerable time giving it an increasingly hard time only just falling short of total abuse (actually on my "big hack", a Redline 53 engine powered Sceadu 50!!) before now owning six of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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