Getting the micro radio working

This evening was spent getting my radio setup working. This micro radio from hobbyking is very cheap, and seems to be working fine. However, the documentation is lacking, to say the least.

First of all, my servos and the radio has the power and signal leads completely backwards. This meant that I had to unhook the leads from the servo connectors, and insert them in reverse order. Not terribly difficult, it's just a matter of using some sharp tool to lift the small plastic hook holding the leads in place, while pulling the wires out. Then just push them back inside in the correct order.

The leads should pull out with no resistance after lifting the plastic hooks

The binding was confusing. You have to connect channel 1 and 5 using a wire that comes with the radio, and then bind using your favourite hitec A-HFSS compatible transmitter. I'm using an Aurora 9x.

Set the transmitter in bind mode for a Minima, and wait for the green led to flash rapidly on the receiver. This worked fine. However, connecting the power/ESC to channel 3 after binding did not. The LED started flashing green again (it's supposed to be constant red when getting a signal). After some trial and error, connecting the ESC/power to channel 2 seems to do the trick.

Here's a video of my setup in action:

I guess I am running out of excuses to postpone the actual buidling of the plane now...

Don't try this at home

Just a quick update. I finally got the last JST connectors for my 2s 450mah batteries, and I threw together a ragtag balance + charging cable. It will short and burn down my appartment, I am well aware. However, it also pumps current into my batteries, which is, as we all know, far more important. I repeat; Do not try this at home. Ever.

Time to build!

After quite a long while of thinking about eventually doing a Guillows free flight-to-electric conversion, I finally got pretty much everything I need to do the build. I'm still missing some connectors, but they should arrive soon. Regardless, I now have the essentials to actually start the assembly!

Sweet tiny parts of joy!

Foamie flight trip

I took my most recent plane, the RC Powers SU-34 and the F18, both from the V4 package, out for a spin this Sunday. The weather was calm, and the planes performed admirably.

Unfortunately, the wind increased throughout the day, and gave the F18 an unintended landing in some shrubbery. Luckily, it survived without any major damage. And I could probably have salvaged the situation had I remembered switching to 4x4 when the plane started stalling. Ah well, at least there were no dead toddlers with very recognizable aircraft sticking out of their skulls this time.

My previous concerns about the SU-34 stability seems to have been related to a faulty flap-to-elevator mix, causing it to wobble during the launch and transition to normal flight mode. Even with my less-than-perfect duct tape emergency fixes from the maiden trip, I at no point felt the plane doing anything I did not want it to do.

Additionally, I lost no canards today, which is good. Nobody likes losing canards. Especially not at the checkout counter of the grocery store. That sucks. Big time. Really.

All in all, I am very happy with both planes, although I still favour the F-18 purely on an aesthetics preference basis!

Part of me was hoping for a catastrophic crash today, so that I could take on the MIG-29 from the V4 package, but alas, it will have to be postponed yet another week.

F18 V4

Our favourite game: Find the plane and pray it's not deformed into grey goo!

If only I remembered the 4x4 when it counts...