blade glitch monster

[iammerc]

ive had a blade cp for two months now and once out of the box it just glitched and i thought that was it... then two weeks later i went to fly out side and it freeked pounded the blades into the ground and stripped the main gear..... i called the support line and ive never been so humilated when he said well you just dont know what your doing..so when he asked me if i would like to ship the heli to him he said he cant promise anything and it will cost me..... so i said heck no .. and went to the hobby shop met a heli pro and were working on it but it but it still doesent make sense its stable till if you put your hand anywhere near the radio antenna then freeks... and it seems to get worse every time...
ive realy honestly broke one set of blades the rest which is three sets were sacrificed to the ground gods of glitch.So if any one can help i would be much gratefull !!!!!

[redout]

Are you talking raido interference? Like tail twitch or main motor kicks over? Do you hold (on your body) or ground your TX as you approach the Heli?

I put my TX on the ground about 5 feet from heli before I unplug the battery. Also remember to NOT turn off your TX before unpluging your battery. I did that once, thats all it took was once. Damn thing went bonkers on me.

Hope this helps.

[iammerc]

no i mean this thing was 5 to 10 feet away and all you need is to just wave your hand within 5 inches of the antenna of the radio and presto the throttle is full tilt tail all over almost as if you plug in the battery with out the radio.
its like the radio has some kinda short or something cause its on but the heli doesent see it...so it does what it does with no radio...freek.
the antenna on the skids is the shops idea..

[redout]

sir, first and foremost I am new to helis and RC in general. But I do read anything I can get my hands on or eyes on the internet. with that said. By looking at your picture looks like your antenna is crossed over its self on the skid. Is this correct sir? I have read many a times now, do not cut or cross your antenna wire. Gain and/or reflection will be greatly shortened.

Have you tried flying or turning on in a completely differnt area from where you are flying now. Say at least 3/4 to 1 mile from where you now fly.

The antenna comes out of the 4 in 1 box, does it cross over the motor or any other wires. Are your battery wires on the same side as your antenna wire.

And I know this may sound silly but can you ground yourself and check? Grounding strap. It sounds silly yes. Well my friend sets off the store alarms everytime we leave damn near any store (no hes not stealing either), sounds silly but its the truth.

Anyways
I have mine come straight off the the front of the box, goes down and wraps around the strut. Though i have been told thats not the best place either. In this manner. with some space between each wire so they dont touch.

| > |
| < |
| > |
\__ |____|

Thats pretty good art, for not getting an A in school eh?

Looking at the picture again... Is that a power antenna? Did you modify your antenna in anyway shape or form? Add some more wire to the original antenna? Sir I have read your post 4 times now. The more I read it the more i believe its you sir. Ground yourself. Its winter and static is in the air.

Antenna therory sucks your will to live faster than your dollar at the gas pump.

[iammerc]

thanks for the insight and given the propertys fo myself ive kinda got the same problem with magnetism since i was little i could never wear a watch...but in 17 years of r.c. raceing this is the first time ive had any problem of this nature its weared no other radio i have has encountereed this same problem.but i will go with your ideas. ill try anything right now.. the antenna is set the way the hobby shop heli pro wanted it.but i will make another trip to see if theres anything i have done wrong..
as always thanks to all for your help...
where can i find a ground strap?

[tdswan]

I knew a guy who couldn't wear a digital watch either. It would go all wacky on him in less than 24 hours of wearing it. That's strange. I guess no reason why you may interfere with a radio, but who knows. IT workers like hardware guys wear ground straps while working on PC's. Don't know where to get one, but it's worth a try to check that out.

[axis]

We (us geeks) attach them to a metal object thats grounded somehow.
Now I'm not being a funny guy here but....
If your really serious about this being a major attribute to your glitching and you want to use a ground strap then your going to have to drive a grounding rod into the ground in the middle of the field where you are flying, attach the strap to your wrist and then to the grounding rod.

I haven't actually used a ground strap like that in quite a few years.

[iammerc]

wow sounds like a real blast like being strapped to the ground like a lightning rod but i think its just a radio prob and will probably get an answer tomarrow at the hobby shop.
but it still sounds kinda funny....getting wired to fly..

[iammerc]

well we found the problem the radio is the issue at the hobby shop the pro and i did a range check and it glichhed there with him his only response was lets think of a new radio cause this ones not the best anyway...
so anyone got any suggestions..
im all ears.
ive been thinking of two different ones
the futaba 7c
or the new specteum dx6
and what else do i need..
as always thanks!!!

[axis]

DX6 I have one and I love it. No more glitching.. PERIOD..
As for what esle will you need.
You will need an ESC for the main motor.
I reccomend the GWS-100. I used it when I went seperates and it works great. The have 2 versions. 1 for LiPo and one for Nickels..
You will need an ESC for the tail motor.
I reccomend the GWS-50. Some scenario, I had one and its awesome.
You will need a Gyro.
Once again I say go with the GWS PG-03. I had one of those in my setup as well. Very easy to tune and works great.
GWS-100 - - - $14.00
GWS-50 - - - $12.00
GWS PG-03 - - - $35.00
DX6 - - - $189.00

That isnt bad considering. Just remember when you move up to another heli you can take the radio with you and in some cases the gyro too.

[iammerc]

im sorry is the gws pg03 a heading lock. or tail lock
and is the gws 100 enough for a 370 size motor
what do you use for lipos or the does gws have a cutoff.
im thinking of setting up for lipo but might stay with nimh
so far the dx6 is winning
also the hobby shop said i could use the 7ch futaba with the existing 4n1.
what do you think of the 2n1 from e-flight it might take less room.
i would sure like to see how it all fits...
its gotta be a tight fit.
thanks you have always been great (and pretty wise too)
keep up the great work thanks

P.S. its also a great way to soften the blow when getting the new trex......
otherwise the wife would kill me.

[axis]

Tail lock
Yes, I have already done and am currently flying the setup I told you. It didnt come out of thin air.. :D
Like I said there are 2 versions, one for lipo's and one for nickels. I am assuming the LiPo one has a cut off. I haven't used it yet so I cant say for sure.
The 2n1 from e-flite is larger than this setup. With what I listed and the DX6 Rx it is lighter than the 4-1 unit that came with it.

Here is what I did. I mounted both speed controls to the bottom of the tray that originally held the 4-1 unit. Basically between the shelf and the battery location. They are ultra tiny and fit there with no problem. The Gyro and the Rx are servo taped back to back and then attached as a unit to the 4-1 shelf. Everything else wires up normally. You'll have a bit more wiring but it'll be ok. :)

[iammerc]

incredable it sounds so simple...
youll have to tell me later how much you like it..
by the sounds of it, it might be the way to make this thing realy move....
also i was reading elsewhere you have a trex ccpm.. do you have the same gear for this
or beefer...

oh and glad to haer you got your blade cp back these seem to be the best for practice.
insted of just taking out the rex..

[axis]

I havent really splurged on the TRex. I am using the PG03 in it as well with great results using the revo mix function in the DX6. I have all HS56's in the Rex and for motor it has the 420 motor and the 25a speed control as offered in the combo from Align. So far so good for me on the TRex.
I have been flying the BCP this way for a few weeks and its nice. I like it because I can tune the ccpm mixing with the dx6 vs no adjustments on the stock radio.
I trimmed down a set of Align Plastic blades for the TRex and tried them on my BCP last night. Handling was very crisp.. Too crisp for my skill level and I stuffed it while inverted.. The blades didnt break :) but eveything else did.. :( ... I think I am going to try and make another chassis for it..

[iammerc]

incredable sorry for your loss guess ti happins every once and awhile..
ok so i get this right lets go over the list :D
gws 100 is there a letter or any other number ive found 3 different ones
gws 50 same here just want to match everything up right the first time.
dx6 on its way
gws pg 03 on its way
did you see heli direct has upgraded air frames for the blade cp for 20.00 with a bit stronger skids and tail support..

ive been hovering still in the house since the radio range is still limited but running out of things to land on the t.v. the v.c.r table ect...doing little figure 8's still doing well, just itching to get out..

oh by the way where do all the wires hook up its confusing cars were so much more easy.
like the bec is on both speed controlls or does one run the gyro..

well thanks and good luck with the trex.. looking forward to (maby getting one).. :rolleyes:

[axis]

Simply for the sake of saving the typing time, this is where I leared the procss at..
HeliHobby How To (http://www.helihobby.com/html/separate_electronics.html)
They explain it all.

When you get your DX6 let me know and I'll give you my mappings for the BCP with that setup. It will get you into the ballpark with your revo mixing and ccpm mixing.

[iammerc]

yep took a while but the dx6 is here just working on the install..
any ideas..
...use the existing or new servos...
thanks

[iammerc]

the dx6 is in and i also hacked the 4n1 to work with the set up i will post a pic later,
but the setup is a drwam come true all the goods of a digital radio and the clenlyness of vary little wireing.... and saved weight..

i have the artical on hacking the 4n1 if anyone needs it..

[axis]

Hey Jammer,
I have my DX6 settings for the BCP with GWS seperates if you need it. I hacked my 4-1 at first too but eventually got rid of all that and went full on seperates.

[iammerc]

yea sure i would like to see what settings you got for the dx6
it would be interesting how close im getting..
i figured since im working on the heli i started upgradeing with swash n more.
the only thing is it seems a little squirrley, maby its in the settings?..
i have all the gear for the seperates insted of the 50 and 100 electrifly has the c7 and c12 close in price and good for both nimh and lipos with cut off..

....started looking at my next heli the t rex just gotta convince the wife..
she dont like 20inch rotors in the house im surea few more might not be noticed......


one more thing the article says adjust the revo mix but it wasent working well..

[axis]

My ESC's were:
GWS-100 for the main motor
GWS-50 for the tail motor
GWS PG-03 for the gyro

Ok here are the setting in my dx6. I'm not giving you subtrims and what not as those will vary from heli to heli. I hope this helps ya out. I havent really had a chance to go thru and get the stunt mode worked out for the CP. I have it pretty much for the TRex.. Right now both of my CP's are in shambles due to an attempted forward flip in too tight of an area. The other one had a boom strike, in the same area.. No more flying in that area for me. Anyways, let me know what ya think.

THR - NORM
AIL - REV
ELE - REV
RUD - REV
GER - REV
PIT - NORM

D/R AI1 - 100%
D/R AI0 - 50%
D/R EL1 - 100%
D/R EL0 - 50%

EXP EL1 - 0%
EXP EL0 - 5%
EXP AI1 - 0%
EXP AI0 - 5%

TRV ADJ AIL +100%
TRV ADJ ELE +100%
TRV ADJ RUD -120%
TRV ADJ GER +100%
TRV ADJ PIT +100%
TRV ADJ THR -100%

HLD -1%

PLN 88%
P2N 89%
PHN 90%

(I HAVENT REALLY SETUP STUNT MODE YET)
PLS 88%
P2S 89%
PHS 90%

PHH 0%
PLH 0%
P2H 0%

TLN 0%
T2N 45%
THN 95%

(ONCE AGAIN WITH THE STUNT MODE THING)
TLS 20%
T2S 50%

RVU -100%
RVD +80%

MIX A11 0%
MIX OFFSET A11 O%
MIX ACH 11
MIX ASW ON

MIX CCP ON
MIX CP2 +100%
MIX CP3 +100%
MIX CP6 +100%

[iammerc]

interesting im backwards no wonder im haveing a little pain.
ill try these the only upset is im down another set of blades due to major errors but as soon as they get here ill try for now this is all ive got done..
the tracking tape is reflective vinyl.

[axis]

Looks good. I'm diggin the Hurst sticker.. lol
Let me know how the settings work for ya.

[Mark Jester]

It appears to me that these Blades were engineered as entry level helicopters. From where my research leads me, the engineers wanted to make a cheap, entry level bird; one that most people could afford to purchase and maintain. As you all know, before the Blade, you could not get into this hobby for less that 1 grand. At the same time, the CCPM part of the Blade allows new helo pilots some growth in this sport without to much additional money ouitlay. As the CP was a little sensitive to fly and a little tricky for a brand new pilot, they came up with the CX which as we know is even more entry level than the CP. Then as new pilots were coming into the sport (with these CPs) and crashing them, the manufacturer made the replacement parts cheap, easy to find and purchase.

As we all know the initial cost of the Blade is pretty affordable. But when you start tinkering with upgraded swashplates, Bell-Hiller upgrades, brushless motors, brushless controllers, get rid of the 4 in 1 box and replace it with separate components, etc. the cost of your entry level helo is as much as a T-Rex, Shogun or Swift. In the end, it will still be a Blade. Sure it will look nice and fly like it is one rails. But I think one has to weigh the cost of the upgrades verses what you hope to accomplish with the additional money outlay.

I like the Blade and for what it is designed to do. It does it's job well. I too suffer from tinkeritus. I always want to push ahead and make things better. I have here in front of me a Blade and a Shogun. The Blade is all about plugging in the battery and flying it in perfectly calm days. It is about being easily (and cheaply) repaired. It about learning and crashing and then putting on readily affordable and available parts and start the process all over again.

The Shogun, T-Rex, the MX400, etc. helicopters are about picking out the perfect components that work in concert with each other.I have had my Shogun for months and it is still waiting for me to finish it. I have spent months comparing parts with other parts and trying to put together a strong, crash-worthy aircraft that will allow me to do 3D with it. While all that is going on, the Blade is the one that's flying. I don't know if I would ruin a good thing by overbuilding it. The more goodies you have installed, the more things can go wrong. Just my two cents.

[axis]

My GWS speedo's were cheap @ $12 for one and $14 for the other. The GWS Gyro was $39.00 and I used it in my TRex for a little while. Knowing I was going to buy a TRex I bought the DX6. So really for the price of a 4-1 unit I had all seperates sans Rx, which is an additional $60. So now I have 2 heli's, both on the same radio and no annoying 4-1 unit.

Blade CP 4-1 unit - approx $70
GWS 100 $14
GWS 50 $12
GWS Gyro $40
Thats $66 for seperates. Not too bad IMO. Oh and they are also lighter weight as well.
I understand what your saying but, I feel that I went the well thought out and not overdone route.

[iammerc]

axis has a point were not spending much over the top and usally its just a performance helper not just for show.. i too have only spent 70 over the cost but the gear is now interchangeable if need be i just dont have the time right now to get my trex so as for now tinkering is what i doo just cant help it.....

oh and i love the dx6 its great (NO MORE GLITCHES !!!!!)

thanks for the insight though..

[axis]

Your welcome sir. :D

[iammerc]

were all done now with a little upgradeing to the frame too.
so what do you think.
by the way most settings worked quite well with a littlt tweeking.
thanks for everything....



look ma no wires!!!!

[Mark Jester]

That thing is really, really nice! Well done!

[axis]

Bravo, bravo!! I like it. I have got to get one of those frame sets from HD.. I am glad the settings worked for ya.

[Mark Jester]

Where did that frame come from? Thanks.

[axis]

Heli Direct
http://www.helidirect.com/index.php?cPath=30_65

[iammerc]

now were cookin if your interested its a www.flyingsport.com frame from helidirect
unassembled is only 12 bucks its well worth it its so much more durable and im my eyes better looking too

[Mark Jester]

Thanks for sending the link. This is a worth while upgrade. So far I have seen three frames break where the tail boom goes into the frame with the stock setup. Maybe this would be a bit stronger. Anyway, muchas gracias!

[axis]

Correct me if I'm wrong but all the frame offers for the boom are the 2 braces from the chassis to the boom. The top portion of the stock chassis "plugs in" the new lower frame/skid unit. So the boom is still stuck in the stock hole.

[iammerc]

correct the whole thing is like a unit that screws onto the existing frame but it uses support bars from the struts to the tail and in the kit also has horrizontal and vertical fins.

[Mark Jester]

I did go to the helidirect web site and found the frame we were talking about. What I also didn't know is that someone is offering an entire aluminum frame including the tail boom. It was pretty expensive but cool anyway. Again, this seems to be a lot of money to throw at a blade. Talk to you all later!

[axis]

Yea I have read that the aluminum frames dont line up very well..

[Mark Jester]

Just received the newest issue of RCHeli. I could not believe it! There is someone out there making a belt drive tail for the blade. It didn't sound too expensive. Thus far I have seen belt drives, brushless motors, enhancement kits, aluminum frames, B\H upgrades, all aluminum heads, frame stiffeners, lions, tigers and bears, Oh my! I wonder when it stops being a blade and turns into something else. Anyway just thought I would say howdy from Colorado. Take care... m