T-Rex - Install receiver/gyro and dressing up the wires

After I was done soldering my charger and batteries, I had time to add wire loom to the wires and plug things into the receiver, the receiver is mounted inside the frame. I also connected the gyro, but I need to figure out how to best manage the wires. The gyro attaches to an aftermarket mount the fits beneath the boom. If you mount the gyro above the boom like the manual states you run the risk of destroying your gyro in a crash as the flybar or blades can come in contact woth it. As you can see from the pictures there is a lot of extra wire on the gyro that I will have to loom and manage, some people shorten the servo lead but I am going to leave the extra wire on it in the event that I want to use it on anothe Heli in the future. I am eagerly awaiting my transmitter so that I can trim the servos and get the head set up and leveled.

T-Rex - Charger modifications

Ok some new developments, I got the parts I ordered in the mail, woohoo.



The DN Power charger I bought is a field charger, that’s fine but I may want to have the ability to charge in an outlet. Well being the geek that I am I have a smalex 13.8V 23A power supply that I used to use to power my peltier device when I was water-cooling and overclocking my PC. I posted the question to the HeliFreak forum "will this PSU work?" and sure enough someone is using that PSU to power their charger…Sweet! actually he is powering 4 chargers with it.
It was also suggested that I get rid of the banana clips on the field charger and use something else as they are dangerous. Well the PSU terminals take stripped wires, so I attached the stripped ends of a molex connector to the PSU. I then snipped off the banana clips and added a molex to the bare leads. Now I can make any kind of cable work with my battery charger, by adding a molex connector. At some point I may change to a more robust connector like the powerpoles suggested by z11355 on the freak forum. http://www.powerwerx.com/category.asp?CtgID=1001



I also soldered my Deans connectors on my Lipo batteries while I had the iron hot.

T-Rex - ordered Transmitter

I am such a dumbass. I, when I ordered my servos and receiver, ordered a crystal for the receiver, and requested a random channel (49) If I think about it now I did it backwards, I should have ordered the crystal when I ordered the Radio, not when I ordered the receiver because it is very unlikely that I will find a radio in stock that happens to have the right channel. Lesson learned.

I ordered a Futaba 7CHP Transmitter, it seems to be a versatile radio, and good enough to meet my needs down the road when I get the T-Rex 600 or even an airplane.



Money in the pit:

I ordered this from modefosheli.com

$161.95 Futaba 7CHP

Total so far $1453.95

T-Rex - More parts ordered

Alright, more parts ordered. I have chosen the Futaba 9650 and GY401 gyro for my tail servo and gyro, this combination is the best for the Rex. The 9650 is a fast digital servo and the GY401 can be adjusted from the radio. There are plenty of other reasons why but that would be too much information.


I opted for a cheaper charger and battery combo. I will be learning how to fly this bird on these packs and won't really need the burst rates the some of the better packs offer when flying 3D. I chose the DN Power Combo that has a charger and balancer and comes with (2) 3S 2150mAh 15C Lipos.


I also ordered a bunch of odds and ends: velcro, wire loom for the servo wires, fun reflective tape for the rotor blades, more Deans connectors for the new battery's, and adapter for my charger to charge Thunder Power Battery, Deans solder, and a GY401 under the frame adapter.

I still need to buy a Transmitter (Radio)

Money in the pit:

purchased at ReadyHeli.com

$59.95 Futaba S9650 Digital Servo
$129.95 Futaba GY401 Heading Hold Gyro
$1.95 1" Velcro Hook & Loop Fastener - 1 Ft. Section
$0.95 Reflective Prismatic Blade Tape 1"x3" Purple Rainbow Mirror
$0.95 Reflective Prismatic Blade Tape 1"x3" Silver Rainbow
$4.95 Servo Wire Sleeving Kit - 1/4"
$3.95 Servo Wire Sleeving Kit - 1/8"
$2.95 Deans Solder
$3.95 One-Way Bearing Removal Tool
$129.95 DN Power Combo - Charger/Balancer & 2 Lipo Batteries
$2.95 DN Balance Charger to TP Battery Adapter
$3.95 Deans Ultra Pack (Male/Female Pair)
$1.95 Deans Female Plug
$18.65 RDLohr's SE Gyro Mount

Sub Total $367

Total so far $1292

T-Rex - Pinion issue

When I was routing my wires for the ESC, I noticed that the main gear was too low on the pinion and was in danger of getting chewed up by the shoulder on the pinion. So I removed the servos and removed the motor. My T-Rex kit came with a motor and ESC also in the kit were two sets of motor mounting screws and washers, as there are two sets of different diameter mounting holes on the motor itself, I used the smaller washers as a shim between the motor and the mount to moved the main gear off of the pinion shoulder.

(pinion shoulder)


After re-installing the motor with the washers I clearly have a enough room and my main gear isn't in danger of getting chewed up. I set my gear mesh using the paper method, where you slip a piece of paper between the pinion and the main gear.

T-Rex - Soldering Motor/ESC and Deans connectors

The next step is to solder the conectors on the motor and the ESC, the kit that I have came with the motor and ESC as well as the bullet connectors and heat shrink tubing. I started to re-tin the wires and noticed that my solder wasn't flowing well and realized that the iron I was using was only a 23 watt iron, so off to Radio Shack I went. I bought a 45 watt iron and an additional tip...more money in the pit. It is also good to have desildering braid on hand if your solder gets messy. The solder job went as planned and I also did the ESC with a Deans connector that I ordered when I ordered the servos and such.



I am now able to plan my wiring route so that all of my wires are neat and tidy. It took quite a while to figure out how I was going to route the wires but I did it and this is how it looks.



Money in the pit

$ 10.00 Soldering iron and tip
$ 4.00 long handled allen keys

Total so far $925

T-Rex - Parts arrived

I love getting packages in the mail! My servos and receiver are here so I can start installing some electrics and keep progress moving on this build. Here is a pic of my unopened parts.

I watched the finless "installing servos" video on HeliFreaks forum in preparation for this step as the servo placement in the frame is important. My HS65MG's didn't just slide right into the frame such as Bob's did in the videos, but I managed. Instead of using shoe goop on the back of the servo to hold the servo mounting tab, I used a drop of CA, the cure was faster. I also had to remove a frame support in order to install my servos.

T-Rex - Tail assembly

These steps were easy, I installed the blades on the tail hub and attached it to the boom. In order to get the belt down the boom I snaked a piece of dental floss down the tube and attached it to the belt then pulled it through. I attached the fins to the boom and fitted the boom into the frame to see what it looked like, I also slipped the belt over the tail gear to test the movement. I am not going to secure the boom to the frame yet as I will need to remove the tail to install the servos, rx, ESC, etc. Hopefully I will be getting my servos and rx in the mail today.

T-Rex - New parts ordered

I ordered some electronics for the Rex as they are needed to move forward with the build. I will say that my choices were based on extensive research, and I will briefly discuss why I have chosen the parts that I did. Servos are what control the heads angle and also the blade pitch. There are many different kinds, sizes, and brands of servo. The T-Rex being a smaller heli requires a "micro servo" I have chosen the Hitec HS65 MG, this servo has metal gears which is why it is the best for my heli. When you crash your heli (you will crash) your servos will most likely get stripped if you are using the standard plastic gears.


The next component that I bought was the Futaba 146ip receiver and crystal. The receiver (rx) is the device in the heli the receives the radio stick inputs (up, down, left, right, etc.) The 146ip is just a very popular rx for my model, I will also be buying a Futaba radio when my wallet permits me to.


I needed a few other miscellaneous tools and parts. I bought a blade balancer, a pitch gauge, some Deans connectors, a swash leveler.

Money in the pit

All of these parts are from ReadyHeli

$3.95 Deans connectors
$11.99 Pitch guage
$74.95 Futaba 146ip receiver
$12.95 Receiver frequency crystal
$107.85 (3) Hitec HS 65MG micro servos
$4.95 Blade balancer
$13.95 Swash plate leveler

Sub total $230.59

Total so far $911

T-Rex - Electronic speed controller mod

Ok Align has done something really strange with the latest version of their Electronic Speed Controller (ESC). It seems that someone over on R&D decided that it was alright to mount the heatsink on the outside of the heatshrink tubing! not a great idea. I found this nifty little tidbit in the HeliFreak forum, and followed the directions layed out by Finless.
I will remove the heatshrink tubing and heatsink and thermal epoxy it to the appropriate spot on the controller, then I will re-apply the heatshrink tubing. Here is a "before" picture of the ESC



Here are a couple of shots of the process and the after.
I am happy with the way it turned out. I made sure that I didn't bridge the connections on the MOSFETS




Money in the pit
$11.00Artic Silver epoxy from newegg.com

Total so far $681

T-Rex - more progress

I was able to get some more work done on the Rex last night. I installed the motor which proved to be a real pain. I need to buy better allen keys, the ones I have are the standard "L" shaped ones and they make it really hard to fit in tight areas. I will be picking up some of the ones with handles like a standard screwdriver. Installing the motor and getting the gears to mesh took quite a while as they need to be just right. The next step was to assemble the landing gear and install on the frame. This step was easy yet a pain in the butt as the screws to secure the gear to the frame are the smallest allen screws you have ever seen and I think the plating on the allen head had filled in the screw head preventing my allen key from seating properly. I did get it installed.

BBQ meets technology

Ok a quick break from my helicopter project. I for the last month or two (prior to the heli proj) have been learning the backyard art of BBQ. Yep I was given a Weber Smoky Mountain(WSM) smoker, and I love it. There is quite a group of enthusiasts on the web over at http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ anyway I have had great success smoking all sorts of meats from pork butts to turkey and chicken, I have done sausage, brisket, buffalo wings, and even pot roast. A good friend once said to me "It's all in the rub" which is mostly true, another key ingredient is temperature which brings me to the point of this post. During my research for BBQ methods I found this killer device and I think it is germane to this blog.
The Stoker is a logic controlled blower that mounts to the smoker. It monitors and regulates the temperature. There are temperature probes connected that tell the controller to turn on the blower if your temps are too low thus keeping your smoker at an even 225 deg, or whatever temperature you set it for...pretty neat right? Well that is only the half of it. The stoker has an ethernet port and a built in web server that allows you to monitor your temps remotely from any web enabled device!! How cool is that! So I can monitor my meat from my phone, or even from work. Heh heh I said "monitor my meat"...sorry sounded funny. Anyway I need one of these!

T-Rex Kit - progress

Here is a picture of the progress that I have made thus far. I will state that the instruction manual leaves something to be desired. Most of the instructions are just an exploded view of the section you are trying to build with very little text detailing the most logical path to take in completing the section. Trial and error is part of the fun...I guess.


I also purchase more tools for this project. The kit comes with 2 small screw drivers and some allen keys but they are kinda whimpy so I bought some new ones. The kit also has two small containers of threadlock of different strengths, mine happened to leak thus requiring me to buy more. I also bought some Teflon/Silicone lube and some CA super glue and Zip Kicker. Oh yeah and I also bought some Calipers for measurements.

Knowing that this project was going to take a long time to complete and quite a significant sum of $, I had to prioritize what parts I bought and when. I decided to buy a flight simulator so that I can hone my flying skills while I build and buy and save for the parts for this Heli.

Money in the pit:
$400 for the kit
$200 for the flight simulator
$7.00 red threadlock
$4.00 blue threadlock
$10.00 CA and Zip Kicker
$12.00 calipers
$15.00 screw drivers and torx
$4.00 flybars
$17.00 325mm Pro Wood blades
$5.00 Teflon/Silicone Lube

Total so far $674

T-Rex Parts - The Heli Kit

The first item I bought was the helicopter kit itself. There are many versions of the kit as there are many different iterations of the T-Rex. I opted for the "Superior Edition" version which comes with the carbon fiber frame, CNC aluminum Head, CF paddles, etc. This kit also came with the 450L motor and 35G electronic speed controller.

I was fortunate enough to find this kit on ebay for $400 instead of the current market price of around $489.oo. There are some better pictures on rchover.
It is not a good idea to buy already built kits on Ebay as you don't know what you are getting. Mine was just a kit and I also looked at the pictures of the packaging from the seller and comapared it to a legitimate SE V2 kit. (there are counterfeits out of Hong Kong all over Ebay)

Money in the pit:
T-Rex kit from Ebay $400.00

Total so far $400

Building my T-Rex 450 SE V2 R/C Helicopter

Well after realizing I needed more out of my entry level fixed pitch r/c heli I started researching more advanced kits with better performance... so out on the net I went.
I cannot remember where I first was exposed to the AlignT-Rex 450 SE V2 but the more I searched and the more I read the more I knew this was the bird for me. The T-Rex is a very popular heli, therefore there are many forums and/or discussions on the net regarding it's assembly, setup and just about anything else related. I have settled on www.helifreaks.com as my forum of choice. One of the reasons that helifreks is my forum of choice is the atmosphere there, everyone is very helpful to people of all skill levels. I have rarely seen negative comments. The next reason is Bob White aka. "Finless". Bob has a forum area that has "build" and "setup" videos, as well as others, that I find invaluable. Bob is a real credit to the hobby.
Anyway this is the intro to this blog, I will go into my parts selection process, where I purchased my goods, my stumbling points, and other points of interest on this latest of my obsessions.

Other posts soon to follow.