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.