Post by killbucket on Dec 5, 2010 15:13:12 GMT -5
OCT 26:
I don't recall the DPC being previously bally-hooed in copters.
Not that I pay attention well.
OCT 27:
www.xheli.com/doho903chrcm.htmlVirtually the same copter at xheli.
It's $33.99 at my local Costco. Just shy of ELEVEN dollars cheaper, and in my hands at 10:05 AM today*. As a bonus, I'll probably get to admire Mommy-Bottoms in line while I wait to pay for it
At Costco, I won't even need the freeking receipt, should I need to to exchange it!
NoobCrash factor would kill the thing off. I can see the lines at the return counter already.
Although I WOULD like to be working the salvage company that ends up with the returns
You-all who who can do your own wrenching, pat your backs a bit- hardly anybody can work a darn screwdriver these days, and still far more fear the live electrons, even if they could.
My first copter purchase in over half a year, and both Ebay and the Online shops are undersold by a
grocery store. Ouch.
Here's the funny part- I know the fine people at the "counter" at my Costco (wifey never, ever has to shop, do dishes, laundry, etc. I handle ALL of this. She's a Registered Nurse, do the math), and they are SURE to be of better help than my LHS guy. If my copter so much as sits lop-sided on its skids, I'll get ZEERO argument on getting another fresh, sealed example, NOW.
Over my head...by choice, some things I avoid learning to keep free HDD space in my Gulliver.
Got the copter home, Tx's is different, kinda Nintendo-looking. I have a few things to do yet about the shop, but I'll get it onto the charger pretty soon here.
So far, it looks pretty nice for a $33.00 copter. I need to round up a 9v cell, forgot to snag some at the store.
OCT 28:
Foregoing my usual gushing "this copter has made my life finally happy" speech, here's a few notes:
Tx is different than pic'd.
Tail is two-speed, not variable at all.
Flybar is bigger/heavier than S031's: FF is somewhat slow (the flybar weights would dwarf a licorice Jujube. Porky!).
Head parts are THICK.
Motors are tiny, (whispering) S032-sized (fingers crossed).
Sheet-metal parts look a trifle austere- function precedes pretty, and I approve.
Motor wiring is enclosed, unlike...every other copter I can think of.
Struts and boom do appear to be CF.
Blades are beautifully painted.
Canopy, not so much, the red color here is molded in, but a fair match.
Charging plug is a new animal: round, long, fragile-looking, but we'll see.
ON THAT CHARGER, per Instructions*, you FIRST plug both charge plugs into your USB, THEN plug to copter.
After charging, unplug the USB plugs BEFORE de-plugging the copter.
Odd, but I will try to comply.
Cross yer eyes, See the Costco $33.95 helicopter.
More pics on my site in a short bit. Yanking the canopy for an inside look.
www.air-sharp.com/copters.htmWanna see my copters?
*Manual actually says "Bladerunner Interceptor".
www.killbuckets.com/bladerunnercopter.htm
Notice that the canopy is snapped onto a dual-pinned stub. Both good and bad: it requires no rubber nubby, but will result in stresses in the plastic, which will show up as white lines around the hole.
Also notice that the metal stampings are different than the 9074's, or anything else I can find right now.
It took you longer to see these bits, than it took to make them. If they survive the test of time, bravo.
Tiny bits of plastic "flash" still cling here and there. I am willing to bet a machine placed these screws, and a box got shot over the whole thing without a human ever seeing them.
The only other place to find paint this garish is on a MV Agusta motorcycle, or a dogfood bag.
Sadly, there is no rumble feature.
Want more?
Do you suppose one day that "Old Schoolers" will pay $$$ to get a working radio that uses a long WIRE to get its signal? RF seems VERY out of place, even on the cheapies today.
I am going to PAINT over this mess immediately. Puh-Yew. I will however, give proper credit for the numbers not being www.air-sharp.com/fj750.htmreversed on one side.
What appears to be a burly tail setup, in use comes off a bit flaccid.
I think the flybar is actually to blame: it just does not want the shafts to lean.
Again with the GACKY color application. But, I expected low-rent at the price...Wifey's improved my tastes, I guess.
Note the trimmer position after the 1-minute maiden flight. Erk.
Cheap, paper decals are making me miss the Big Wheel I never got (I was tooold poor when they came along in 1969).
thanks!
In "pro" mode, the tail rotor is faster.
It flew much better after it visited the can. Meaning, I canned the flybar weights, and what the heck, I left the covers and screws off too.
As you can see, there's still plenty of mass at the ends.
A smart person here the other day pointed out that the helicopter has to LIFT the flybar, too. Duh, Bucket, it's lighter now!
Let's rip its clothes off, shall we?
It has a LOT of power/lift, especially considering the wimpo motors I saw in there.
Despite removing the weights, I was unable to drive it into either a Death Roll or a blade strike. It flies a LOT faster now, even in NOOB mode.
Recovery power is nice. No surprise, with everything new...but it's good and peppy.
Battery is one cell. I would much rather see more voltage in a copter of this heft, but it isn't sluggish (once those porker weights are nixxed).
Note the use of actual, real, WIRE.
And it has a small, dedicated skid added in, so the canopy can't rub a hole in the battery casing. The clear tape you see is holding that granny-old wire antenna in proper situ. All wiring in these pics is as-routed: I didn't move, remove, or add anything after taking off the canopy.
That's a nice added part that I'd expect to be omitted at this price-point. Still more foam pads the cell in its mount.
As you probably noticed in the last macro shots, soldering flux residue is at a minimum on the PCB. There's our pal, the GYRO standing up on its own daughterboard. The white jack on the mainboard is for the canopy LED to plug into.
The waaaay-old tech resistor is a hoot in this day and age: Replace this with a surface-mount, save some weight?
Better not to: it may be needed for its reliably lousy characteristics!
This is the first time I've seen a proper screw grommet on a toy's circuit board screws -no shorts, and helps absorb vibrations.
A bit of glue-goober string on the side here, but overall, a nice job done with some, uh, "cost-effective" looking raw materials. time will tell.
Now, the caveat here, is COSTCO carries any ONE item for about a half-hour, in the Grand Scheme of things. So, give us two weeks, and if we have a croaker THEN, it's pretty much refund* only.
See the picture gallery here:www.killbucket.com/bladerunnercopter.htm
*Try THAT with ANY other source for a helicopter, tho. I am confident I can return the torched bits (as long as they don't watch much Youtube, giggle) in THREE MONTHS, and get money for 29.43 Polish dogs, no questions, no quibble.
OCT 29:
Pretty typical for Radio Schlock. But, they have a history of actually stocking parts replacements for their toys.
And, RS has also been known for rugged, if not glamorous offerings. Just the fact that RS carries this model, gives me a bit of confidence in its longevity I would otherwise not have.
My experience with their RC offerings has been that only intentional mayhem kills them.
I'm intrigued by this particular model- carbon parts, a decent-sized cell, a fair price for the box contents (at Costco, anyway).
At $34 clams, I feel like I got an Ebay price, but a LHS instant gratification.
I've opened the Tx for a pic session. WOW, this has the nicest innerds I've seen in an RC product, period.
Pics to come...
Even though I rag on the color scheme for the thing, I'm coming off very impressed with it.
Though I expected LESS from this purchase than any previous, I feel I've instead gotten more than my money's worth. If for no other reason than knowing others will fork over way more at Radio Shack, but more so for knowing the assembly was done properly at the price.
This is the Tx, opened. I lifted out the toggle thumbs, but this is essentially all that is in there. You could eat off that PCB. It doesn't even smell of flux, burn-in, nothing.
Nothing was moved- this is great cable management! "11 Mar, 2010" is written clearly, in English, on the board. Proper flanged screws are utilized to mount the smaller PCB. Metal throttle contol body is a plus...removing a throttle spring is however made much more problematic, but not impossible.
Another member has shown how to "do" these.
NO flux is present here at all. It appears all work was done properly, and QA'd as required. This is "Buying Power", and Costco has it, and it's why I shop there so much.
You cannot find a better steak anywhere else on the planet.
BTW, that's paint inside the casing, not flash from some kind of conflagration. My guess is the parts are "racked" for airbrushing, and that's a side effect of the method used.
The small smudge there next to the antenna lead, I think will be excused. You usually have to buy a car audio amp to see a pretty blue PCB like this.
You kids, take note of the mix of both through-hole and SMT components...this is going away, fast.
..and then I can go into RS one week after Xmas, and say "What's broken?", and maybe get some cheap stuff to tinker with.
I got a Mattracks truck a few years back that just had a bad battery in the Tx, for 20 bucks.
www.air-sharp.com/rpvguns.htm(It's a little bit "tinkered with" now).
My very FIRST RC car was a returned Golden Arrow Frame Buggy, it was a customer return also. RC quickly became its own sickness, and I have never recovered.
Had that kid not returned it (not a thing wrong with it), ya'all may not be reading this post right now.
OCT 30:
At this point, I don't even hope to pin a copter to a particular builder...so I really don't know. Build quality had gotten pretty good across the board before all the Mr Slippyfits S107 lower blade issues came about.
Oh, and those short-lived motors in the larger, not smaller, copters.
What Da? I don't get it, shouldn't re-purposed pager motors keel over sooner than purpose-built toy motors?:confused:
I guess I'll have to snag a few more boxes up while Costco offers them. I'm confident that their buyer held them over a barrel on "staying sold" quality levels...or those pallets wouldn't have the proverbial snowball's chance of being there.
As I said, I've been keeping an eye on their returns counter, looking for this now-familiar box. None spotted in the return lane yet, amazing.
Once, I bought a dozen molasses cookies at Costco. My phone rang the next day, they wanted to tell me they had gotten the seasoning wrong on them, and I could discard them, and pick up free replacements at my leisure. Wow.
Yes, shopping there will put weight on ya...free samples! I think you could pick a food you normally detest, and find that you like the version THEY offer.
I thought I hated hummus.
The carbon fiber tail struts and boom crack me up, they are such a sharp contrast to the post-beercan side plates.
Maybe they're trying to wean us back offa "all-metal" so they can take a second crack at the "Ultra Durable Super-Pretty Diamond Kick Me In The Groin Copter".
Had to go get doggy food, grabbed another one of these. Shelved at the moment. I know how Costco only carries toys before Xmas, so get, while getting is good.
I may pick up at least one more...
OCT 31:
Project idea: graft a heli to its back, so liftoff stops the legs, and landing turns them back on. Make it look like a giant wasp.:cool:
No, not this kind.
EEN you face. KeelBucket, now he have a-two. Costco, itsa great a-place. And not for just watching Mommies pick up, a-dog food bags.-No?
I just had to buy the Machinebug at Radio shack. They knew nothing of the overpriced helicopter they will be hawking. They must not be an "A" store.
See the S107 hodge-podge half Helizone Firebird for a good size fix on the Costco Helicopter. If you look REAL close, you see Scotch tape holding that S107's tail together. This is the only part I've broken on them so far.
So now we have a new set of Twins at the 'Bucket household. I've painted a silver stripe on the tail of the newer one.
Incidentally, I got a 49 migglehurtz model so Wifey and I can dogfight with them. I do think I'll have to spray-bomb one, or it's going to get confusing in a hurry with two identical birds shooting around.
$68.00 worth of fun? I really think it's more than that, as long as they can fly for a while, and don't die pretty.
The last motorcycle I owned said "Interceptor" on the side. Unlike this copter (in stock form), it could actually intercept. There's the VFR750F, and everything ELSE Honda's made. Had I a second life to live, I'd get one earlier.
Turns out that this has not one part in common with either Volitation, 9074, S006, or even "33CM Metal Heli", it's pretty much a clean-sheet, from what I can learn. I haven't even seen the controller body anywhere else before this, and indeed, the moldings show pristine mold surfaces, inside and out.
BTW, an antenna shouldn't cross itself, as it clearly does as delivered. You should unwind it and let it dangle*, as on the other copter. Yes, it's hard to keep it out of the rotor head...once you solder one back together though, it's easier to do.
*Not this kind of Dangle.
It doesn't seem brittle- no breakage yet.
It has a BIG battery...I haven't looked, but it HAS to be over 250mAh.
While the motors look a bit on the wee side, power is abundant for lift and recovery.
Control is tight, less so with the flybar lightened. This lets forward speed increase a LOT, though.
I haven't had any unusual things happen. No sudden drops, no wig-outs, no wobbly turns. Piros are reasonably fast given the copter's weight.
I toasted my gram scales, or I'd weigh it for you. Harbor freight stuff is so flimsy.
I'm left raggin' on it's looks, that says something.
NOV 01:
The pallet is now half-gone. These were in four-copter trays, and four trays to a level, about 15 levels high at first. My guess is the store got the ONE pallet of them to sell. In the past 3 years, I've never seen them re-stock Xmas toys. But I don't think I've seen Xmas toys this early before, either.
I know that I'll snag more of them while I can, they fly great.
Well, heck, another of these seems to have materialized in my hangar.
That makes three!
NOV 03:
www.air-sharp.com/012babyM2HB.JPG
I'm painting my half-sized M2HB today, so I'll snag the bodywork offa one or more of these to do as well.
This IS a different copter than xheli has, and there's no disco going on at all on it -whew-, just the LED on the nose, and it actually serves as the charging indicator.
GREAT value for the money.
Keep in mind- I did not buy ONE copter for over six months, after buying over 60 of them in less than 4 months.
I watched the Forum and the market, and was unimpressed with...everything.
The price lured me in, but the great performance/quality won me over (you saw my Tx PCB pics? you could eat off the parts).
No, 3- channel coaxes aren't made to contend with moving air, and I submit that no scale coaxial minus dual swash helicopter really is.
Going larger just means you're dodging a bigger flying cat-slicer, or collecting bigger bits to somehow discard, in my experiences. Only when it's "Earthquake weather"*, do I take my 3-channels outside.
*Californians are convinced that if the air goes still, the ground will start moving.
No reason to believe they are the same model at all...except the things looking exactly alike otherwise, and the online stock No. being www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11542398&search=helicopter&topnav=&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode%20matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=helicopter&Ntt=helicopter&No=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial532977.
My receipt says: "535009 CEPTOR COPER" ...
BTW, the web price of $49.99 includes getting the thing to you. = $16 S&H.
The online copy says nothing about the flybar being lighted, that was an assumption of my own in an earlier post,
based on their loopy pic/artwork there.
Another cortex-straining pic in 3D. Apologies to the single-eyed in advance.
NOTE: the actual copter does NOT have a battery plug as shown in the attached pic.
Notice that neither Costco or Amazon pics show the actual copters I've taken pics of-
The metal parts are completely different.
The pic'd copters do not have the carbon tail boom and struts, either.
I hope the Firebirds keep coming- without any known "S107" issues arising.
$31 is a GREAT price for such NICE copters.
NOV 04:
I like how it's available in December, but there's already a review posted.
They do, however have a correct pic of the copter itself.
Excerpt:
"Take it to the skies and feel like a real pilot with this cool R/C helicopter! Featuring Real Joystick Flight Control Simulation and 3CH control, it flies Up & Down, Left & Right, Forward & Backward. Easily recharge the battery via the included USB cable and let the fun go on for hours!
This indoor/outdoor helicopter offers a realistic flying experience, with a joystick that looks like a real helicopter joystick offering flight control simulation using virtual radio control. Pull the trigger to soar, tilt for left and right for direction and tilt down for safe landings. You're sure to have a stable and reliable flight! "
Mine don't have that.
Getting more flight time in, these act like a big 9808 with the lighter flybar trick: banked turns, and I still haven't managed a blade strike.
Oh, just exchange it*.
Note the pic I'd posted of the trim dial cranked over- yes, typical.
There IS a Caveman-simple fix, anybody recall?The Killbucket Blade Tweak
Hey, there's another one of my 3D stereo-pairs on that page, I forgot.
NOV 05:
I know that after December 25, NO toys will be found in Costco. They will have the floor filled with the leather furniture you didn't get for the wifey instead.
Which will ensure an unhappy for those with defectives rec'd the day before- refunds will be the only recourse.
It's a great little flyer, if a tiny bit wonky (trim issues)- Costco got in a giant 'nother pallet of 'em...
Must fight temptation...#4...#5......I just know these will be blown out at/right after Xmas...now if I can just be sure to be THERE when this happens.
NOV 06:
Unfortunately, I haven't found frequency markings on the OUTSIDE of the packaging, so now I have two 49meggy-hertz, and one twenny-seven. Dangit.
What size/model cheapo Airwolf fuse will fit these? Anybody with a clue?
The Costco heli has 12-inch diameter rotor disks, and is about the same 12 inches long overall.
Finally got all my "customer's work" done, now to goof off while she goes to lurk at Macy's a few hours.
I think I'm going to design a 4WD chassis for my Ford GT40 since "4wd GT40" didn't find one.
Or I just might fire up a video game and veg out...ah, Saturday.
Got one of the CostcoCopter (CostKopter? whichever, I'm in disbelief it's not been typed before) body kits stripped off...not easy, the tail feathers were super-gloo'd securely. Gloss black? Hugger Orange? Bright red? Olive drab? Khaki? Yellow? Pink? Green? Wrinkle black? Metalflake...
NOV 07:
www.ujtoys.com/813-New-Aero-Craft-Gyro-3D-Large-p/uj%20813.htmCan you believe this?
Borders on criminal, $200 for a 3.5 channel Cat-slicer?
www.ujtoys.com/257-Defender-3-5-Channel-Gyro-Helicopter-Large-p/uj%20257.htmthe ~$40 Hughes Defender, at $150.00!
The Mall Kiosk Guys have a Mother ship.
EDIT: The Review is priceless:
"Reviewer: Herschel Herring from Wichita, KS United States
I bought this in a mall in Tulsa. The man running the stand was skilled in operating the choppers. He said 30 min or so to learn how to fly. My friend and i bought one. I can say that flying this was no easy task. We both crashed from low level take offs, My tail broke off, my blades were beat up, one screw fell out and is missing so now i need a special screw to reattach. My friends chopper flew only 1 time and fell from about 15 feet and his landing rails broke. After about 3 charges and 3 flights the plastic shaft of the blades broke clean off. The parts are available for about 15 dollars but i would highly sugguest that you start with a Metal Mini chopper that is Gyro equipped and learn to fly that chopper before attempting the large choppers. We are both going to order a mini chopper with spare parts to learn how to fly these very well before we fly our large choppers again. This will save you some disappointment from broken parts and frustration."
Snagged another today...store was a MADhouse. I finally found a freq. ID on the box,
it's in a red box, teeny-tiny on the front lower corner. Now have 3 49-miggy's, one 27.
You're seeing everybody else's pricing- no need to ask why I'm grabbing while grabbing is good.
NOV 09:
Yes, they are going fast from my store. Hm, can't venture a guess why.
If these prove to be long-lived, they will BE the copter I'd hoped the S006G was...pure irony if SYMA actually makes these. Just look at the wiring in some of my other shots: all different colors, no mix-ups. Most bitty-copters have red/black, maybe a blue wire now and then. Rear motor wires? Tail motor? Ever have to hook them up to see? Not with this one.
The closer I look at these, the more good work I see. Now, all four of my lower blade supports are a bit wiggly, but not loose. I'll probably put a goober of hot-melt onto each one carefully next time I have it fired up.
Side note, entirely useless:
I've had the same glue gun for 18 years.:eek:
Notice that the flybar has ONE link ball- no questions about where's the other link. Duh-Ralph thinking here, nice
No crashes, no idea of durability.
I do know that with the flybar weights nixxed, they come alive. I was darting all around in a five-foot space, and yet not even worried about wall or killbucket-contact. I feel like I'm in perfect control all the time with them. Not precise, they are more 9808 than S107: Best when flown fast and loose, not slow and methodical. You can get NICE banked turns and neat "tricks" out of them once you learn their quirks. Again, just like the 9808's, but minus the gear gnashing-noise.
Those boom parts are indeed carbon fiber...ghost of the Diamond Ultra here? All of my tail feathers are Superglued: Evidently the clamping arrangement cannot grip the slick tubes enough, and slip out of place otherwise.
Shame they used CA, because the white blooming really looks ghetto. Wouldn't Shoe-Goo or my $7 glue gun be a better choice?
Which also depicts a different chassis, the one from the online seller's ads.
"BladeRunner"...maybe this copter should be Midnite Blue?
How about another size-reference-fix? Here with the GREAT SYMA S022 Vertol CH-47 Chinook. The Chinook's blades are about an inch shorter: the Costco Heli has 12" rotor disks, making the 'Nook about 10".
Upon yarding away the outer box (Costco does NOT tape the ends shut, you could do a pre-buy inspection if you knew what to look for), you see a tidy, if sparse-looking tray of minor Happy. I'm trying to figure out why I needed a plastic baggie for the manual. My guess is, it makes it easier to slip in last behind the tray without getting wrinkled up. Between the buying, printing, assembling, handling of the baggie, wouldn't slightly heavier paper make more sense?
Wire cutters...whatever this frustrating metal knot is, it wants to break/bend/otherwise mangle your skids. Just lop it and be done with it.Manually unwinding it will make you a Serial Killer.
Wrenched loose. Notice the nice head cushioning job.
I've read about more than one High-Dollar Heli getting shipped with not even this much protection, criminal. Costco's obvious purchasing muscle* has it there, and done exactly the same way, every time.
As long as this PooCopter (no "h", therefore "good" kinda Poocopter) doesn't keel over at 15 flights, I've no quarrel with it outside of its seasonal availability at this price.
Be sure to note also the glue slop on the tail: As indicated before, CF good. Using it for production**, not so good.
Why does this pic remind me of Terrence and Phillip? Antenna (old-school, enjoy them while they last, in short order they will just be too expensive to include), USB charger, two extra buckles for the upper rotor (if you ever need these, you are doing it wrong), and a spare tail rotor (I have piles of them, too), and another frustrating wire knot all hide back here.
*Unrelated side note #2: If there was a Costco Steak topic, I'd be a regular poster. Awesome tenderloins, ribeyes, porterhouses, etc.
**Gentlemen's Bet: One day, we find out that the diamond Ultra No-Show copters wouldn't stay together. The prototype seen was a custom-build with tight tolerances possibly? Knowing the unforgiving nature of CF parts, did the mountings for them fail and need similar chemical fixturing?
Nothing like a shiny red copter with white gluing blooms all over it...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate#Reaction_with_cottonIsn't cotton a popular clothing material in China? Hm, stories we never hear.
Haven't fiddled with it yet, but it looks "fixable"- they could have made the pins bigger.
The copter uses the same blade grips top and bottom, so it needs a lock for the lower rotor. Cost(co)cutting.
Anybody else notice how this one can fly sideways, really fast?
...with the flybar lightened, of course...it's a total blast to get this one zipping.
NOV 10:
I've now removed all of my flybar weights. The one I left the caps off of is even livelier. Flying them all back-to-back last evening while she was off in the other room. Got to the lightest one, and whoa- almost took out a 100+ year old hurricane lamp chimney...I'd be a DEAD man! I would almost say "outdoor only", but this usually means Haunted Copter with Malevolence...here, YOU are the danger. It's just too easy to get into going FAST, and end up in over your head.
I am really liking this model.
One thing I'll grouse about is the Noob/Normal switch: being right below the on/off and about the same size and shape, it's all too easy to shut off the Tx instead of change the speed setting. Which is a gimmick and a half...I see where it would be nice for a kid who was starting out, but the capabilities of the copter even in this mode, are enough to allow destruction readily.
This really is too much copter for a rank beginner or small child.
I do want to find the hidden cave these are coming from, because it could easily become a standard model in my line-up here. My ONLY worry is motor longevity, period. This 3-channel is done nicely- more so than any I've seen so far, especially in this size class. If I'd paid the $60 prices we're mentioning, I'd still be very happy with what I got here.
I do think that would work. I don't see this as a caveat for the model, given the crash conditions.
HM: What if I took two of these copters, and linked them together, using a PCB from a Syma S026 Baby Chinook? They are the same voltage. This would make a capable flying camera mount on the cheap.
Video is uploading...I will have the first and only Youtube of this model...unless one of ya'all can beat me!!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ETkmpbX0mw
Here's the link for the first of 3 vids...
...And, they no longer have their own pallet, and only about 20 boxes or so remained this afternoon.
Why does their Artichoke/jalapeno dip have to taste so good? I hope I have room for dinner left.
Glad I snagged a few while I could. I almost went for #5, but I spent the money on stupid things like food and prescriptions instead.
NOV 15:
I think it's pretty clear that the "tabs" are a weak point, but not necessarily a design defect.
I had a few run-in with the two ottomans in my living room, and nothing broke. Besides, two en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_EmpireOttomen should be able to kick a couches' butt.
It's a $30 copter, I'm not going to spend much time re-engineering or upgrading it. It's not "Hobby Quality", remember?
But a picture of how exactly you've employed those pins would be interesting to look at. Maybe the people who designed the thing will see it and learn something, too.
So a simple plastic shim between the parts would do the trick. I think careful attention to blade tension for the lower set is also in order- this is critical to prevent shock loads from reaching these little tabs in the first place.
It's all too easy to get down a path to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GroupthinkGroupthink. If there's a defect, it's in the slop that allows the parts to build some energy before striking the tabs.
Of course, this breakage issue is moot, minus a severe crash. None of mine are broken, and I really haven't felt compelled to tighten up that slop I mentioned. But I will explore what the form of the parts are in my tear-down* today.
BTW, only the throttle is proportional. Yaw seems to be somewhat variable in speed. Luckily, it can piro fairly fast, because its forward speed (lightened flybar, of course) will allow you to endanger stuff with it without trying very hard. Once you get it zipping around, it takes a lot of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beavis_and_butt-head"Self-Patrol" to calm it back down to something sane. You usually crash instead...well, I do, anyway.
NOV 16:
Got wrapped up in designing a 1/10th scale RC Tee Bucket frame yesterday, so this got back-burnered.
I just removed the inner main shaft, that drives the upper rotors, and it was a bit dirty-looking. As I slid it out of the bearings, I could actually feel the "grit"...I'm now VERY intrigued to clean/re-assemble it.
So Guangdong's finest didn't have much particulate control in the assembly area, or gawd forbid, they used dubious grease to offset all the other things they were told to get right (it's obvious a whip was cracked over these).
I once worked in a Robot factory (Adept) that got some cut-rate lube into a bunch of assemblies. They promptly chewed themselves up in customer hands...after passing every single quality test they had. These were $100,000 systems, mind you, not $30 helicopters.
I estimate each copter is actually assembled, and packaged for just under $3.75USD, this being one-eighth the street price. Um, that's parts, labor, and "consumables", the area you ALWAYS cut costs first.
Seeing 300V wiring in these was a surprise. Maybe they got a good deal on it surplus, as it looks identical to that on a PC power supply...
The silly wire antenna lead is a pain- it's routed and taped, then loomed onto the tube on the skid. -Hardly a reason not to own it- but it's going to slow down any maintenance.
I echo the WhaTa? was going on with the Sony-Wannabe controller stubs. They are just plain in the way, I don't need the wrist support for 3-minute user cycles, and it's not like it weighs several Troy ounces.
...where's that hacksaw?
We need a SIMPLE way to yank the throttle spring without muss or fuss...
I figured out where they stole the graphics.
I don't recall the DPC being previously bally-hooed in copters.
Not that I pay attention well.
OCT 27:
www.xheli.com/doho903chrcm.htmlVirtually the same copter at xheli.
It's $33.99 at my local Costco. Just shy of ELEVEN dollars cheaper, and in my hands at 10:05 AM today*. As a bonus, I'll probably get to admire Mommy-Bottoms in line while I wait to pay for it
At Costco, I won't even need the freeking receipt, should I need to to exchange it!
NoobCrash factor would kill the thing off. I can see the lines at the return counter already.
Although I WOULD like to be working the salvage company that ends up with the returns
You-all who who can do your own wrenching, pat your backs a bit- hardly anybody can work a darn screwdriver these days, and still far more fear the live electrons, even if they could.
My first copter purchase in over half a year, and both Ebay and the Online shops are undersold by a
grocery store. Ouch.
Here's the funny part- I know the fine people at the "counter" at my Costco (wifey never, ever has to shop, do dishes, laundry, etc. I handle ALL of this. She's a Registered Nurse, do the math), and they are SURE to be of better help than my LHS guy. If my copter so much as sits lop-sided on its skids, I'll get ZEERO argument on getting another fresh, sealed example, NOW.
Over my head...by choice, some things I avoid learning to keep free HDD space in my Gulliver.
Got the copter home, Tx's is different, kinda Nintendo-looking. I have a few things to do yet about the shop, but I'll get it onto the charger pretty soon here.
So far, it looks pretty nice for a $33.00 copter. I need to round up a 9v cell, forgot to snag some at the store.
OCT 28:
Foregoing my usual gushing "this copter has made my life finally happy" speech, here's a few notes:
Tx is different than pic'd.
Tail is two-speed, not variable at all.
Flybar is bigger/heavier than S031's: FF is somewhat slow (the flybar weights would dwarf a licorice Jujube. Porky!).
Head parts are THICK.
Motors are tiny, (whispering) S032-sized (fingers crossed).
Sheet-metal parts look a trifle austere- function precedes pretty, and I approve.
Motor wiring is enclosed, unlike...every other copter I can think of.
Struts and boom do appear to be CF.
Blades are beautifully painted.
Canopy, not so much, the red color here is molded in, but a fair match.
Charging plug is a new animal: round, long, fragile-looking, but we'll see.
ON THAT CHARGER, per Instructions*, you FIRST plug both charge plugs into your USB, THEN plug to copter.
After charging, unplug the USB plugs BEFORE de-plugging the copter.
Odd, but I will try to comply.
Cross yer eyes, See the Costco $33.95 helicopter.
More pics on my site in a short bit. Yanking the canopy for an inside look.
www.air-sharp.com/copters.htmWanna see my copters?
*Manual actually says "Bladerunner Interceptor".
www.killbuckets.com/bladerunnercopter.htm
Notice that the canopy is snapped onto a dual-pinned stub. Both good and bad: it requires no rubber nubby, but will result in stresses in the plastic, which will show up as white lines around the hole.
Also notice that the metal stampings are different than the 9074's, or anything else I can find right now.
It took you longer to see these bits, than it took to make them. If they survive the test of time, bravo.
Tiny bits of plastic "flash" still cling here and there. I am willing to bet a machine placed these screws, and a box got shot over the whole thing without a human ever seeing them.
The only other place to find paint this garish is on a MV Agusta motorcycle, or a dogfood bag.
Sadly, there is no rumble feature.
Want more?
Do you suppose one day that "Old Schoolers" will pay $$$ to get a working radio that uses a long WIRE to get its signal? RF seems VERY out of place, even on the cheapies today.
I am going to PAINT over this mess immediately. Puh-Yew. I will however, give proper credit for the numbers not being www.air-sharp.com/fj750.htmreversed on one side.
What appears to be a burly tail setup, in use comes off a bit flaccid.
I think the flybar is actually to blame: it just does not want the shafts to lean.
Again with the GACKY color application. But, I expected low-rent at the price...Wifey's improved my tastes, I guess.
Note the trimmer position after the 1-minute maiden flight. Erk.
Cheap, paper decals are making me miss the Big Wheel I never got (I was too
thanks!
In "pro" mode, the tail rotor is faster.
It flew much better after it visited the can. Meaning, I canned the flybar weights, and what the heck, I left the covers and screws off too.
As you can see, there's still plenty of mass at the ends.
A smart person here the other day pointed out that the helicopter has to LIFT the flybar, too. Duh, Bucket, it's lighter now!
Let's rip its clothes off, shall we?
It has a LOT of power/lift, especially considering the wimpo motors I saw in there.
Despite removing the weights, I was unable to drive it into either a Death Roll or a blade strike. It flies a LOT faster now, even in NOOB mode.
Recovery power is nice. No surprise, with everything new...but it's good and peppy.
Battery is one cell. I would much rather see more voltage in a copter of this heft, but it isn't sluggish (once those porker weights are nixxed).
Note the use of actual, real, WIRE.
And it has a small, dedicated skid added in, so the canopy can't rub a hole in the battery casing. The clear tape you see is holding that granny-old wire antenna in proper situ. All wiring in these pics is as-routed: I didn't move, remove, or add anything after taking off the canopy.
That's a nice added part that I'd expect to be omitted at this price-point. Still more foam pads the cell in its mount.
As you probably noticed in the last macro shots, soldering flux residue is at a minimum on the PCB. There's our pal, the GYRO standing up on its own daughterboard. The white jack on the mainboard is for the canopy LED to plug into.
The waaaay-old tech resistor is a hoot in this day and age: Replace this with a surface-mount, save some weight?
Better not to: it may be needed for its reliably lousy characteristics!
This is the first time I've seen a proper screw grommet on a toy's circuit board screws -no shorts, and helps absorb vibrations.
A bit of glue-goober string on the side here, but overall, a nice job done with some, uh, "cost-effective" looking raw materials. time will tell.
Now, the caveat here, is COSTCO carries any ONE item for about a half-hour, in the Grand Scheme of things. So, give us two weeks, and if we have a croaker THEN, it's pretty much refund* only.
See the picture gallery here:www.killbucket.com/bladerunnercopter.htm
*Try THAT with ANY other source for a helicopter, tho. I am confident I can return the torched bits (as long as they don't watch much Youtube, giggle) in THREE MONTHS, and get money for 29.43 Polish dogs, no questions, no quibble.
OCT 29:
Pretty typical for Radio Schlock. But, they have a history of actually stocking parts replacements for their toys.
And, RS has also been known for rugged, if not glamorous offerings. Just the fact that RS carries this model, gives me a bit of confidence in its longevity I would otherwise not have.
My experience with their RC offerings has been that only intentional mayhem kills them.
I'm intrigued by this particular model- carbon parts, a decent-sized cell, a fair price for the box contents (at Costco, anyway).
At $34 clams, I feel like I got an Ebay price, but a LHS instant gratification.
I've opened the Tx for a pic session. WOW, this has the nicest innerds I've seen in an RC product, period.
Pics to come...
Even though I rag on the color scheme for the thing, I'm coming off very impressed with it.
Though I expected LESS from this purchase than any previous, I feel I've instead gotten more than my money's worth. If for no other reason than knowing others will fork over way more at Radio Shack, but more so for knowing the assembly was done properly at the price.
This is the Tx, opened. I lifted out the toggle thumbs, but this is essentially all that is in there. You could eat off that PCB. It doesn't even smell of flux, burn-in, nothing.
Nothing was moved- this is great cable management! "11 Mar, 2010" is written clearly, in English, on the board. Proper flanged screws are utilized to mount the smaller PCB. Metal throttle contol body is a plus...removing a throttle spring is however made much more problematic, but not impossible.
Another member has shown how to "do" these.
NO flux is present here at all. It appears all work was done properly, and QA'd as required. This is "Buying Power", and Costco has it, and it's why I shop there so much.
You cannot find a better steak anywhere else on the planet.
BTW, that's paint inside the casing, not flash from some kind of conflagration. My guess is the parts are "racked" for airbrushing, and that's a side effect of the method used.
The small smudge there next to the antenna lead, I think will be excused. You usually have to buy a car audio amp to see a pretty blue PCB like this.
You kids, take note of the mix of both through-hole and SMT components...this is going away, fast.
..and then I can go into RS one week after Xmas, and say "What's broken?", and maybe get some cheap stuff to tinker with.
I got a Mattracks truck a few years back that just had a bad battery in the Tx, for 20 bucks.
www.air-sharp.com/rpvguns.htm(It's a little bit "tinkered with" now).
My very FIRST RC car was a returned Golden Arrow Frame Buggy, it was a customer return also. RC quickly became its own sickness, and I have never recovered.
Had that kid not returned it (not a thing wrong with it), ya'all may not be reading this post right now.
OCT 30:
At this point, I don't even hope to pin a copter to a particular builder...so I really don't know. Build quality had gotten pretty good across the board before all the Mr Slippyfits S107 lower blade issues came about.
Oh, and those short-lived motors in the larger, not smaller, copters.
What Da? I don't get it, shouldn't re-purposed pager motors keel over sooner than purpose-built toy motors?:confused:
I guess I'll have to snag a few more boxes up while Costco offers them. I'm confident that their buyer held them over a barrel on "staying sold" quality levels...or those pallets wouldn't have the proverbial snowball's chance of being there.
As I said, I've been keeping an eye on their returns counter, looking for this now-familiar box. None spotted in the return lane yet, amazing.
Once, I bought a dozen molasses cookies at Costco. My phone rang the next day, they wanted to tell me they had gotten the seasoning wrong on them, and I could discard them, and pick up free replacements at my leisure. Wow.
Yes, shopping there will put weight on ya...free samples! I think you could pick a food you normally detest, and find that you like the version THEY offer.
I thought I hated hummus.
The carbon fiber tail struts and boom crack me up, they are such a sharp contrast to the post-beercan side plates.
Maybe they're trying to wean us back offa "all-metal" so they can take a second crack at the "Ultra Durable Super-Pretty Diamond Kick Me In The Groin Copter".
Had to go get doggy food, grabbed another one of these. Shelved at the moment. I know how Costco only carries toys before Xmas, so get, while getting is good.
I may pick up at least one more...
OCT 31:
Project idea: graft a heli to its back, so liftoff stops the legs, and landing turns them back on. Make it look like a giant wasp.:cool:
No, not this kind.
EEN you face. KeelBucket, now he have a-two. Costco, itsa great a-place. And not for just watching Mommies pick up, a-dog food bags.-No?
I just had to buy the Machinebug at Radio shack. They knew nothing of the overpriced helicopter they will be hawking. They must not be an "A" store.
See the S107 hodge-podge half Helizone Firebird for a good size fix on the Costco Helicopter. If you look REAL close, you see Scotch tape holding that S107's tail together. This is the only part I've broken on them so far.
So now we have a new set of Twins at the 'Bucket household. I've painted a silver stripe on the tail of the newer one.
Incidentally, I got a 49 migglehurtz model so Wifey and I can dogfight with them. I do think I'll have to spray-bomb one, or it's going to get confusing in a hurry with two identical birds shooting around.
$68.00 worth of fun? I really think it's more than that, as long as they can fly for a while, and don't die pretty.
The last motorcycle I owned said "Interceptor" on the side. Unlike this copter (in stock form), it could actually intercept. There's the VFR750F, and everything ELSE Honda's made. Had I a second life to live, I'd get one earlier.
Turns out that this has not one part in common with either Volitation, 9074, S006, or even "33CM Metal Heli", it's pretty much a clean-sheet, from what I can learn. I haven't even seen the controller body anywhere else before this, and indeed, the moldings show pristine mold surfaces, inside and out.
BTW, an antenna shouldn't cross itself, as it clearly does as delivered. You should unwind it and let it dangle*, as on the other copter. Yes, it's hard to keep it out of the rotor head...once you solder one back together though, it's easier to do.
*Not this kind of Dangle.
It doesn't seem brittle- no breakage yet.
It has a BIG battery...I haven't looked, but it HAS to be over 250mAh.
While the motors look a bit on the wee side, power is abundant for lift and recovery.
Control is tight, less so with the flybar lightened. This lets forward speed increase a LOT, though.
I haven't had any unusual things happen. No sudden drops, no wig-outs, no wobbly turns. Piros are reasonably fast given the copter's weight.
I toasted my gram scales, or I'd weigh it for you. Harbor freight stuff is so flimsy.
I'm left raggin' on it's looks, that says something.
NOV 01:
The pallet is now half-gone. These were in four-copter trays, and four trays to a level, about 15 levels high at first. My guess is the store got the ONE pallet of them to sell. In the past 3 years, I've never seen them re-stock Xmas toys. But I don't think I've seen Xmas toys this early before, either.
I know that I'll snag more of them while I can, they fly great.
Well, heck, another of these seems to have materialized in my hangar.
That makes three!
NOV 03:
www.air-sharp.com/012babyM2HB.JPG
I'm painting my half-sized M2HB today, so I'll snag the bodywork offa one or more of these to do as well.
This IS a different copter than xheli has, and there's no disco going on at all on it -whew-, just the LED on the nose, and it actually serves as the charging indicator.
GREAT value for the money.
Keep in mind- I did not buy ONE copter for over six months, after buying over 60 of them in less than 4 months.
I watched the Forum and the market, and was unimpressed with...everything.
The price lured me in, but the great performance/quality won me over (you saw my Tx PCB pics? you could eat off the parts).
No, 3- channel coaxes aren't made to contend with moving air, and I submit that no scale coaxial minus dual swash helicopter really is.
Going larger just means you're dodging a bigger flying cat-slicer, or collecting bigger bits to somehow discard, in my experiences. Only when it's "Earthquake weather"*, do I take my 3-channels outside.
*Californians are convinced that if the air goes still, the ground will start moving.
No reason to believe they are the same model at all...except the things looking exactly alike otherwise, and the online stock No. being www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11542398&search=helicopter&topnav=&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode%20matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=helicopter&Ntt=helicopter&No=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial532977.
My receipt says: "535009 CEPTOR COPER" ...
BTW, the web price of $49.99 includes getting the thing to you. = $16 S&H.
The online copy says nothing about the flybar being lighted, that was an assumption of my own in an earlier post,
based on their loopy pic/artwork there.
Another cortex-straining pic in 3D. Apologies to the single-eyed in advance.
NOTE: the actual copter does NOT have a battery plug as shown in the attached pic.
Notice that neither Costco or Amazon pics show the actual copters I've taken pics of-
The metal parts are completely different.
The pic'd copters do not have the carbon tail boom and struts, either.
I hope the Firebirds keep coming- without any known "S107" issues arising.
$31 is a GREAT price for such NICE copters.
NOV 04:
I like how it's available in December, but there's already a review posted.
They do, however have a correct pic of the copter itself.
Excerpt:
"Take it to the skies and feel like a real pilot with this cool R/C helicopter! Featuring Real Joystick Flight Control Simulation and 3CH control, it flies Up & Down, Left & Right, Forward & Backward. Easily recharge the battery via the included USB cable and let the fun go on for hours!
This indoor/outdoor helicopter offers a realistic flying experience, with a joystick that looks like a real helicopter joystick offering flight control simulation using virtual radio control. Pull the trigger to soar, tilt for left and right for direction and tilt down for safe landings. You're sure to have a stable and reliable flight! "
Mine don't have that.
Getting more flight time in, these act like a big 9808 with the lighter flybar trick: banked turns, and I still haven't managed a blade strike.
Oh, just exchange it*.
Note the pic I'd posted of the trim dial cranked over- yes, typical.
There IS a Caveman-simple fix, anybody recall?The Killbucket Blade Tweak
Hey, there's another one of my 3D stereo-pairs on that page, I forgot.
NOV 05:
I know that after December 25, NO toys will be found in Costco. They will have the floor filled with the leather furniture you didn't get for the wifey instead.
Which will ensure an unhappy for those with defectives rec'd the day before- refunds will be the only recourse.
It's a great little flyer, if a tiny bit wonky (trim issues)- Costco got in a giant 'nother pallet of 'em...
Must fight temptation...#4...#5......I just know these will be blown out at/right after Xmas...now if I can just be sure to be THERE when this happens.
NOV 06:
Unfortunately, I haven't found frequency markings on the OUTSIDE of the packaging, so now I have two 49meggy-hertz, and one twenny-seven. Dangit.
What size/model cheapo Airwolf fuse will fit these? Anybody with a clue?
The Costco heli has 12-inch diameter rotor disks, and is about the same 12 inches long overall.
Finally got all my "customer's work" done, now to goof off while she goes to lurk at Macy's a few hours.
I think I'm going to design a 4WD chassis for my Ford GT40 since "4wd GT40" didn't find one.
Or I just might fire up a video game and veg out...ah, Saturday.
Got one of the CostcoCopter (CostKopter? whichever, I'm in disbelief it's not been typed before) body kits stripped off...not easy, the tail feathers were super-gloo'd securely. Gloss black? Hugger Orange? Bright red? Olive drab? Khaki? Yellow? Pink? Green? Wrinkle black? Metalflake...
NOV 07:
www.ujtoys.com/813-New-Aero-Craft-Gyro-3D-Large-p/uj%20813.htmCan you believe this?
Borders on criminal, $200 for a 3.5 channel Cat-slicer?
www.ujtoys.com/257-Defender-3-5-Channel-Gyro-Helicopter-Large-p/uj%20257.htmthe ~$40 Hughes Defender, at $150.00!
The Mall Kiosk Guys have a Mother ship.
EDIT: The Review is priceless:
"Reviewer: Herschel Herring from Wichita, KS United States
I bought this in a mall in Tulsa. The man running the stand was skilled in operating the choppers. He said 30 min or so to learn how to fly. My friend and i bought one. I can say that flying this was no easy task. We both crashed from low level take offs, My tail broke off, my blades were beat up, one screw fell out and is missing so now i need a special screw to reattach. My friends chopper flew only 1 time and fell from about 15 feet and his landing rails broke. After about 3 charges and 3 flights the plastic shaft of the blades broke clean off. The parts are available for about 15 dollars but i would highly sugguest that you start with a Metal Mini chopper that is Gyro equipped and learn to fly that chopper before attempting the large choppers. We are both going to order a mini chopper with spare parts to learn how to fly these very well before we fly our large choppers again. This will save you some disappointment from broken parts and frustration."
Snagged another today...store was a MADhouse. I finally found a freq. ID on the box,
it's in a red box, teeny-tiny on the front lower corner. Now have 3 49-miggy's, one 27.
You're seeing everybody else's pricing- no need to ask why I'm grabbing while grabbing is good.
NOV 09:
Yes, they are going fast from my store. Hm, can't venture a guess why.
If these prove to be long-lived, they will BE the copter I'd hoped the S006G was...pure irony if SYMA actually makes these. Just look at the wiring in some of my other shots: all different colors, no mix-ups. Most bitty-copters have red/black, maybe a blue wire now and then. Rear motor wires? Tail motor? Ever have to hook them up to see? Not with this one.
The closer I look at these, the more good work I see. Now, all four of my lower blade supports are a bit wiggly, but not loose. I'll probably put a goober of hot-melt onto each one carefully next time I have it fired up.
Side note, entirely useless:
I've had the same glue gun for 18 years.:eek:
Notice that the flybar has ONE link ball- no questions about where's the other link. Duh-Ralph thinking here, nice
No crashes, no idea of durability.
I do know that with the flybar weights nixxed, they come alive. I was darting all around in a five-foot space, and yet not even worried about wall or killbucket-contact. I feel like I'm in perfect control all the time with them. Not precise, they are more 9808 than S107: Best when flown fast and loose, not slow and methodical. You can get NICE banked turns and neat "tricks" out of them once you learn their quirks. Again, just like the 9808's, but minus the gear gnashing-noise.
Those boom parts are indeed carbon fiber...ghost of the Diamond Ultra here? All of my tail feathers are Superglued: Evidently the clamping arrangement cannot grip the slick tubes enough, and slip out of place otherwise.
Shame they used CA, because the white blooming really looks ghetto. Wouldn't Shoe-Goo or my $7 glue gun be a better choice?
Which also depicts a different chassis, the one from the online seller's ads.
"BladeRunner"...maybe this copter should be Midnite Blue?
How about another size-reference-fix? Here with the GREAT SYMA S022 Vertol CH-47 Chinook. The Chinook's blades are about an inch shorter: the Costco Heli has 12" rotor disks, making the 'Nook about 10".
Upon yarding away the outer box (Costco does NOT tape the ends shut, you could do a pre-buy inspection if you knew what to look for), you see a tidy, if sparse-looking tray of minor Happy. I'm trying to figure out why I needed a plastic baggie for the manual. My guess is, it makes it easier to slip in last behind the tray without getting wrinkled up. Between the buying, printing, assembling, handling of the baggie, wouldn't slightly heavier paper make more sense?
Wire cutters...whatever this frustrating metal knot is, it wants to break/bend/otherwise mangle your skids. Just lop it and be done with it.Manually unwinding it will make you a Serial Killer.
Wrenched loose. Notice the nice head cushioning job.
I've read about more than one High-Dollar Heli getting shipped with not even this much protection, criminal. Costco's obvious purchasing muscle* has it there, and done exactly the same way, every time.
As long as this PooCopter (no "h", therefore "good" kinda Poocopter) doesn't keel over at 15 flights, I've no quarrel with it outside of its seasonal availability at this price.
Be sure to note also the glue slop on the tail: As indicated before, CF good. Using it for production**, not so good.
Why does this pic remind me of Terrence and Phillip? Antenna (old-school, enjoy them while they last, in short order they will just be too expensive to include), USB charger, two extra buckles for the upper rotor (if you ever need these, you are doing it wrong), and a spare tail rotor (I have piles of them, too), and another frustrating wire knot all hide back here.
*Unrelated side note #2: If there was a Costco Steak topic, I'd be a regular poster. Awesome tenderloins, ribeyes, porterhouses, etc.
**Gentlemen's Bet: One day, we find out that the diamond Ultra No-Show copters wouldn't stay together. The prototype seen was a custom-build with tight tolerances possibly? Knowing the unforgiving nature of CF parts, did the mountings for them fail and need similar chemical fixturing?
Nothing like a shiny red copter with white gluing blooms all over it...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate#Reaction_with_cottonIsn't cotton a popular clothing material in China? Hm, stories we never hear.
Haven't fiddled with it yet, but it looks "fixable"- they could have made the pins bigger.
The copter uses the same blade grips top and bottom, so it needs a lock for the lower rotor. Cost(co)cutting.
Anybody else notice how this one can fly sideways, really fast?
...with the flybar lightened, of course...it's a total blast to get this one zipping.
NOV 10:
I've now removed all of my flybar weights. The one I left the caps off of is even livelier. Flying them all back-to-back last evening while she was off in the other room. Got to the lightest one, and whoa- almost took out a 100+ year old hurricane lamp chimney...I'd be a DEAD man! I would almost say "outdoor only", but this usually means Haunted Copter with Malevolence...here, YOU are the danger. It's just too easy to get into going FAST, and end up in over your head.
I am really liking this model.
One thing I'll grouse about is the Noob/Normal switch: being right below the on/off and about the same size and shape, it's all too easy to shut off the Tx instead of change the speed setting. Which is a gimmick and a half...I see where it would be nice for a kid who was starting out, but the capabilities of the copter even in this mode, are enough to allow destruction readily.
This really is too much copter for a rank beginner or small child.
I do want to find the hidden cave these are coming from, because it could easily become a standard model in my line-up here. My ONLY worry is motor longevity, period. This 3-channel is done nicely- more so than any I've seen so far, especially in this size class. If I'd paid the $60 prices we're mentioning, I'd still be very happy with what I got here.
I do think that would work. I don't see this as a caveat for the model, given the crash conditions.
HM: What if I took two of these copters, and linked them together, using a PCB from a Syma S026 Baby Chinook? They are the same voltage. This would make a capable flying camera mount on the cheap.
Video is uploading...I will have the first and only Youtube of this model...unless one of ya'all can beat me!!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ETkmpbX0mw
Here's the link for the first of 3 vids...
...And, they no longer have their own pallet, and only about 20 boxes or so remained this afternoon.
Why does their Artichoke/jalapeno dip have to taste so good? I hope I have room for dinner left.
Glad I snagged a few while I could. I almost went for #5, but I spent the money on stupid things like food and prescriptions instead.
NOV 15:
I think it's pretty clear that the "tabs" are a weak point, but not necessarily a design defect.
I had a few run-in with the two ottomans in my living room, and nothing broke. Besides, two en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_EmpireOttomen should be able to kick a couches' butt.
It's a $30 copter, I'm not going to spend much time re-engineering or upgrading it. It's not "Hobby Quality", remember?
But a picture of how exactly you've employed those pins would be interesting to look at. Maybe the people who designed the thing will see it and learn something, too.
So a simple plastic shim between the parts would do the trick. I think careful attention to blade tension for the lower set is also in order- this is critical to prevent shock loads from reaching these little tabs in the first place.
It's all too easy to get down a path to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GroupthinkGroupthink. If there's a defect, it's in the slop that allows the parts to build some energy before striking the tabs.
Of course, this breakage issue is moot, minus a severe crash. None of mine are broken, and I really haven't felt compelled to tighten up that slop I mentioned. But I will explore what the form of the parts are in my tear-down* today.
BTW, only the throttle is proportional. Yaw seems to be somewhat variable in speed. Luckily, it can piro fairly fast, because its forward speed (lightened flybar, of course) will allow you to endanger stuff with it without trying very hard. Once you get it zipping around, it takes a lot of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beavis_and_butt-head"Self-Patrol" to calm it back down to something sane. You usually crash instead...well, I do, anyway.
NOV 16:
Got wrapped up in designing a 1/10th scale RC Tee Bucket frame yesterday, so this got back-burnered.
I just removed the inner main shaft, that drives the upper rotors, and it was a bit dirty-looking. As I slid it out of the bearings, I could actually feel the "grit"...I'm now VERY intrigued to clean/re-assemble it.
So Guangdong's finest didn't have much particulate control in the assembly area, or gawd forbid, they used dubious grease to offset all the other things they were told to get right (it's obvious a whip was cracked over these).
I once worked in a Robot factory (Adept) that got some cut-rate lube into a bunch of assemblies. They promptly chewed themselves up in customer hands...after passing every single quality test they had. These were $100,000 systems, mind you, not $30 helicopters.
I estimate each copter is actually assembled, and packaged for just under $3.75USD, this being one-eighth the street price. Um, that's parts, labor, and "consumables", the area you ALWAYS cut costs first.
Seeing 300V wiring in these was a surprise. Maybe they got a good deal on it surplus, as it looks identical to that on a PC power supply...
The silly wire antenna lead is a pain- it's routed and taped, then loomed onto the tube on the skid. -Hardly a reason not to own it- but it's going to slow down any maintenance.
I echo the WhaTa? was going on with the Sony-Wannabe controller stubs. They are just plain in the way, I don't need the wrist support for 3-minute user cycles, and it's not like it weighs several Troy ounces.
...where's that hacksaw?
We need a SIMPLE way to yank the throttle spring without muss or fuss...
I figured out where they stole the graphics.