Gyro mount

[Helifino]

I finally broke down and invested $14.00 for the inverted gyro mount from Modefo's. Alot of money for a little piece of plastic :eek: , but alot more money if a blade takes out my gyro. Well worth it in the long run! :)

[DoubleD]

Any pics?

Does it fly any better??? :p

[Helifino]

Here's a pic. I've not flown it yet. I hope to within a few days...FINALLY! I still have to set up the radio, set the pitch on the blades and put together the training gear.

I glued the mount to the frame,used double sided tape on gyro to mount and then topped it off with tie straps. I hope it holds :D

[DoubleD]

I could mount it like that... I wouldn't even have to spend 15 dollars...

[Helifino]

Yea, there's not much to it. Would be easy to make. There is a small square block that's attached and recessed in frame(not visible).

[kcasner]

I could mount it like that... I wouldn't even have to spend 15 dollars...

yah, looks like a piece of plexiglass/acrylic. For $15, you could buy a sheet big enough to make alot of those.

[Motions]

I can't justify paying someone $15 for a piece of plexi-glass. I made my own carbon fiber mount when I got my Trex and it was free.

[axis]

I make the ones similar to motions for my LHS out of carbon fiber. I also make battery plate extensions for the front as well. I am not real hip on hanging my gyro upside down under the boom for some reason.

[Chickenhawk]

I am trying to understand gyro mounting locations while I am building my MX400 Pro - that I first read about in RC Heli mag, by the way - and I don't like mounting it at the top of the frame because it is more vulnerable in crashes, but inside the frame is closer to the motor and more prone to interference. But from what I can see of this upside down mount, it is almost exactly as far from the motor as mounting it inside the frame at the very back end. I would most like to put my gyro inside the frame at the very rear. (Using the Spektrum receiver means I have LOTS of mounting options.)

I also mounted my ESC slung under the frame for better cooling. (I read somewhere that the heat sink side if there is one, or the side with the bumpy electronics if there is no heat sink, should face down.)

Before I commit my gyro to the sticky tape, am I wrong in my thinking here? Am I still going to have interference problems and should I resign myself to mounting it high?

Thanks for any input.

[Motions]

As you can see from my photos above, I mounted my gyro on the bottom extending out of the frame. I have absolutely no interference problems with this location.

[Chickenhawk]

Finally I received my Spektrum radio and I could finish my MX400 Pro build. As soon as I had the gyro hooked up, I could immediately see the interference problem and the constant tail wagging. There seems to be something in the stock motor or ESC that causes this interference. Mounting it on top of the frame was my only option.

I didn't even need the motor running; as soon as I powered the helicopter up with the radio in throttle hold mode, I could watch the gyro working the tail back and forth. I moved the gyro in and out and you could very plainly see what locations were causing interference and what weren't. I wonder if so many people who are having tail wagging problems are instead getting interference in their gyros. It is easy to check; power up everything with throttle hold on and move the gyro around to various locations. The spot where the servo is not moving back and forth when the heli is stationary is where there will be the least interference.

Live and learn, my friends. Every day I learn something new.

[heli-cuzz]

Either you have a faulty gyro or your esc is to close to the reciever. My first heli{Caliber30}came with a hobbico micro piezo gyro. That gyro was bad from the beginning. It would cause a glitch in channel6{pitch}and bring the swash plate to full negative. Needless to say, with my inexperience at the time, it resulted in a crash. I have a Trex450 and the gyro location is behind the main mast on top of the frame where the tail boom clamps in. A couple of my friends own the mx400 and they mount the gyro in the same spot as my Trex.
What type of gyro are you installing on the heli?

[Chickenhawk]

I wanted to mount a 240 gyro inside the frame at the very rear because the Spektrum receiver can be mounted almost anywhere without interference problems. However, almost evryone who has an MX400 Pro has ended up mounting it at the top of the frame behind the rotor mast - right where your SE has it mounted. I really wanted to try inside the frame first but I bought a gyro mount for the top of the frame anyway and I did not apply the tape until I found the right spot.

As soon as I powered it up, I could see what everyone else was saying about interference causing very tiny but noticeable tail wagging, even with the motor not spinning and the helicopter stationary on the ground. So it ended up mounted behind the mast at the top of the frame ... just like everyone else's, including the authors of the articles in RC Heli Mag and FlyRC.