WEEKLY RC NEWS 10th Jan - 17th Jan

[Cipriani]

Weekly RC News!

Trex 100 flown!





Jan 2011 We can confirm now that Simstick is compatible with AEROFLY5.Please visit AeroFly5 website for details about this simulator

Priceless Tool of the Month

Matt Botos continues his Priceless Tool of the Month series for January . . . the Dial Indicator. Not only sharing information about the Dial Indicator but also why he uses a Dial Indicator. Thank you very much Matt for sharing your knowledge and experience with us. Click on to read what he has to share with us.
Priceless Tools – Jan 2011
January 6th, 2011 Posted in Priceless Tools

I’m going to start off the New Year with one of the most valuable tools in my garage…… the Dial Indicator. Dial indicators, also known as dial gauges and probe indicators, are instruments used to accurately measure small linear distances, and are frequently used in industrial and mechanical processes. They are named so because the measurement results are displayed in a magnified way by means of a dial. Dial indicators typically measure ranges from 0.25 mm to 300 mm (0.015 in to 12.0 in), with graduations of 0.001 mm to 0.01 mm (metric) or 0.00005 in to 0.001 in (imperial). You do not need the most expensive dial indicator, Harbor Freight has one that will do the job for $11.99.

Applications for R/C Helicopters

● Checking run-out on any spinning shaft within the helicopter.
● Checking run-out on engine crank shaft after a bad crash.
● Checking run-out on fan hub when mounting to engine crank shaft (with todays pinch style hub this is usually not an issue but quality control and tolerances machine shops hold can vary greatly. As a general rule, check everything even if its brand new.

In order to use the dial indicator you will also need a magnetic mount base and a bench vice with a decent platform for the magnetic base to sit. This will allow you to mount your nitro engine in the vice (always clamp on the mount tabs, never squeeze the outside of the case!). Both of these tools are fairly cheap from Harbor Freight as well.

If you would like to check the run-out on say a main shaft or head axle, you will need a set of V-Blocks. V-Blocks will allow you to slowly spin the shaft in a secure v-shape while checking the run-out on a shaft. Never assume any of your shafts are straight after a crash just by using the eyeball method, you will have a much smoother running helicopter if all of your shafts are straight.

Q: Why do you need these tools?

A: A vibration free helicopter is happy for many reasons. First and foremost, we have more sensors on our helicopters than ever before. With the increasing popularity of flybarless electronics there should also be an increase in awareness of where vibrations are coming from and how to cure them. A multitude of vibrations with sensors attached to the helicopter means the sensors will have troubles responding to change in axis inputs that they are designed to focus on. Imagine trying to perform an everyday task during an earthquake, your capacity for completing this task would decrease dramatically. This is why we see a drift in the tail or even on aileron and elevator when there are excessive vibrations. Secondly, power transfer is much more efficient when vibrations are minimized.

Good luck and fly vibration free!

Matt

90size conversion kits at fast lad

In stock now the new Rave 90 ENV conversion kits.. Quick and easy conversion to make your nitro Rave ENV 90 into electric.

http://www.fast-lad.co.uk/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=as112+conversion&x=0&y=0

[ng2279]

Does anyone know how much the Trex 100 is and if it is available yet?

[caddmus]

The Trex 100 seems nice, but I wouldn't buy a Trex 100 instead of a msr, and perhaps the Trex 100 has to be buyed with TX, that could be an advantage of the msr 

Thanks for your work Cip, always good stuff 

[Wayne]

Thanks for the reminder Cip!  I have been looking for the SimStick for a while now and no one had in stock, but I just checked Experience RC and they had a few, so I grabbed one!  Today is MLK so USPS will not run, but it will likely ship tomorrow and be here on Wed since they are only about 100mi from here    Let the wireless simming on my new 42" LED begin 

[Cipriani]

Nice one Wayne! let us know what its like 

[Wayne]

Just talked to the guy at my LHS about it and in typical fashion he is suspicious that the sim stick violates the DSM2 patent and they probably won't be carrying them.  Oh well, their loss!  I can't wait to try it out with clearview.  I am not sure it would work with some of the others that require hardware validation keys.

[caddmus]

I didn't know nothing about the simstick Wayne, I have been looking at the specs and seems very interesting, let us know how it works 

[Wayne]

Well, I got the simstick yesterday and so far have mixed feelings about it.  I will try to take some pics and post later, but the case around it is paper / thin cardboard which does not impress me.  Also, on the back of it, you have to plug in an RX like a 6110e or some such.  I was under the impression the RX was built in, but it is NOT.  That will keep them out of legal trouble with Horizon I suppose, but it will cost me another $65 if I pick up a 6110e or $8 if HK ever gets the clone in stock.

Ok, enough of the bad news, the GOOD news is that the thing is like a USB passthrough.  If you are running Phoenix or some other sim that requires a hardware USB dongle for licensing, you plug it into the simstick, then the simstick plugs into your USB port on PC or laptop.  It's like it just hijacks the control inputs and uses what it gets from the DSM2 RX.  So, all in all pretty cool, but you can add the cost of an RX to the cost of the simstick, so you are looking closer to $100 to go wireless with your DSM2 TX on sim.  Maybe I just bought it cuz Raquel Bellot is their cleb endorsement?   

[Cipriani]

Sorry for the delay everyone but The weekly news will return on the 24th Jan