Battery
 

Looks too big and heavy for a slowstick. I tried cheap batteries and found it false economy. Thunderpower is all I will use now.

OK, thanks.

I've had good success with CommonSenseRC Lipo's. I use a 3S 1250mAh for my Slo-V. Nice thing about them is they are 2C charge capable... they can be charged in 30min.

Thanks I may have to do some surgery another cycle of freezing rain / snow/ shovel the drive way end every 3 hrs because of city plow dont know how not to fill it in week ahead. I think boredom of winter is here and even the sim gets old fast! :mad::mad: :confused::confused: :(:(

Ordered parts yesterday from HURC, HobbyPartz, and Amazon. Anxiously waiting!

I am also having trouble finding a screwdriver small enough to change the servo arm. With the ones the HS-55 come with I am not getting enough throw to move the control surfaces more than 10 degrees.

A cheap soldering tool for large Soldering Tabs: Just take a 1/4 Inch 10Inch long Brass rod, file one end like a soldering tool, ad a wooden handle. Heat the brass rod with the gas torch and you have a effective soldering tool for large connectors.

Very cool!

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I had some trouble with the servos centering. I centered the trims and they werent centered, so I took out the screw, moved the arm to center, and put the screw back in:blah:. That was the rudder servo and it was fine after a little bit of trim, but I still had the elevator servo to fix.

Is there any way to correct an off-center servo without taking out the screw and moving it?

Thanks,
PA

Have you moved the push rod to the innermost hole (the one closest to the control surface) on the control horn? This will increase the control surface travel.

You should be able to find a kit of these small screwdrivers (called Jeweler's screwdrivers) at Radio Shack. They come in a little plastic case and consist of about 4 - 5 each of flat blade and "X" point (or Phillips head) types. Shouldn't cost more than a couple of dollars.

As a temporary fix, if you have a computer radio, you can adjust the Sub Trim (what Hitec calls it) to get the arm back to the center. I wouldn't depend on it for major adjustments because it then messes up the full throw limits of the servo, allowing more throw in one direction than the other. I use Sub Trim only to correct for the 1/2 spline adjustment when you can't get the servo arm set to exactly 90* when you psychically move it. This will happen on some servos that have an odd number of splines on the shaft; one way will be exactly 90*, but if you rotate the arm 180* the arm will be off by a couple of degrees one way or the other. You'll need to use Sub Trim to get it back to exactly 90* in this case.

Bill

Aside from using a computer radio to adjust the trim/subtrim, it's the only way to do it. Before installing the servo's you can hook them up to the Receiver, turn on the Tx and center them all. Then, while turned on, install the control arm in the "center" position you wish.

Now you can turn everything off and install the servo's without too much worry of them being off center.

OR: sometimes an easier method... install the servo's in the plane first w/o the control arms, then hook everything up and center it all. Finally add the control arms.

Your method will be determined by how accessable the servo's are. In the SS case, they're very accessable, in which case you can install them first, then adjust the control arms as necessary.

OK, will do that.




I dont have a computer radio yet, so I will have to do it the long way.

Well it's not really the 'long way'. You still need to get the servo arm correctly installed in the first place. The sub-trim on a computer radio is really for fine tuning.

The process for setting up the servo's varies depending on the model and method of servo installation. To make things easier, I use a Dubro EZ connector mounted on the servo arm as I can easily make coarse adjustments. I then use the trim buttons on the TX if needed.

You can get idea of the setup I use on my Nutball:

http://www.wattflyer.com/photopost/d...tball_tail.JPG

OK. In the SS case I can just slide the mounts up/down for the first servo connections. The second one has to be perfect, though. Thanks for all of the input!

PA

Here is another example of servo connections on a Slow Stick by Elfi-Flyer. His servo's are mounted farther back than stock, but you can clearly see the EZ connectors on the servo arms. Servo placement isn't critical as you can adjust the push rods independently by simply loosening the set screw.

http://www.wattflyer.com/photopost/d...0/01020016.JPG

Dubro EZ Connectors:

http://mediacdn.shopatron.com/media/...jpg?1231183338

Image courtesy Dubro

I think its too late for the EZ connectors now, so I will rough it out with L bends and retainers.

Wow, thanks for using my SS as an example. I am flattered!!

I like to use the EZ connectors that make use of a square fitting and a cap screw for adjustment of the control rods. It makes it easier to grasp the connector with a set of needle nose plyers (I use a 90 degree set), and it's easier to get a really tight fitting of the cap screw via the use of a ball wrench or Allen head tool.

I mounted the servos closer to the tail feathers because:

1.) I anticipated a possible CG balance problem knowing I was going to be using a 3S 2200 Lipo and a heavier brushless motor;
2.) I wanted to minimize the deflection of the control rods during hard maneuvers, most notably with rudder, hence the additional use of thicker control rods;

This SS was built for combat sessions, not trainer flights.

You can set the control arms on the servos to favor more "differential", mechanically, should you not have a computer radio with which to do this. In the case of the Slow Stick, it reacts rather quickly to elevator, easily popping up or ballooning with "up" elevator input. To offset this mechanically, you can mount the servo control arm such that it moves in one direction more than the other, merely due to the rotation of the arm.

The Slow Stick needs all the rudder movement it can get, especially if the plane is to be flown aggressively. This SS has a heavier duty rudder control horn installed, with the control rod positioned for maximum throw. In contrast, the stock control horn is used for elevator, the control rod being set for lesser throw (sensitivity).

Please note these are just some of the rather extreme modifications made to this purpose built SS. However, the servo control arm arrangements can be favorable, IMHO, to a stock SS configuration.

Hope this info is helpful.

No problem Elfi-Flyer, I was trying to get some better photos of a servo setup and yours were very well done!

I especially like the photos of the control horn setup... less and more sensitivity/throw.

It is! Thanks for the input. Since this is my first electronics set up, I can't eyeball anything.

Glad to be of help. Subsequent to setting up my "mechanical differential" on the elevator linkage, I went back to neutral servo arm position, and used the exponential function of the Futaba Fasst transmitter. So, I can still pop the SS up sharply if so needed. I reduced the incidence angle of the wing and found, as a result, I could tolerate more elevator movement without ballooning up when coming out of a loop or turning into a headwind. One of the side benefits of building the combat ready SS is being able to fly it in high wind conditions that keep most other planes grounded! Who would have thunk it!! :eek:

Try radio shack they have some mighty small screwdriver sets phillips and straight. They had the one that would fit the Walkera 4#3B rotor blade attachment and that is almost microscopic !!!!!

Thanks guys. Ill go to RadioShack eventually, for now I am using a screwdriver designed to repair eyeglassed.

PA

One thing I've found about those "Jeweler's Screwdrivers" is that the real cheap ones are made in China and the quality isn't all that great. The tips twist, break, and the "X" point ones wear down quickly and become useless.

However, I found this one (pictured) at my local hardware store which is a very fine quality with 4 interchangeable tips. Cost was around $3.50, I think, and well worth it.

Bill

OK, Ill be sure to consider that.

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I hooked up the servos. They have good throws when they are at the second-closest hole to the surface.

Whats wierd is these servos started randomly spazzing, without any input at all from me. At first I was hearing a bit of a grinding noise for, like, 2 seconds after the servos returned to neutral, but now they just spazz. Does anyone know what is causing this. I have no flying fields near me that may be interfiering.:<:

Thanks,
PA

A little bit of 'coasting' is normal sometimes. Anything more and it could be a control surface or linkage is binding up. Do you have pictures?

in my experience, the "spazzing" has always been caused by the wrong channel selected on my TX, or not turning my tx on at all.

Good point. I have never experienced FM systems so I am not familiar with those sort of problems.

With my Spektrum RX's, all of the channels (except throttle) keep their last commanded position when the TX is turned off. Even when the TX is on, the only time I get servo twitching is a bound up control surface... or in one case a bad servo.

Can I upload a video, without youtube?

EDIT: Apparently not. I will take photos.

The pictures dissapeared.

EDIT:

Oh there they are again after I just made the next post.

OK. The first pic is the servos in normal position with everything off.

The second pic is the linkages, still no spazzing.

The rest are the "suicidal" looking servos. They seem to twist as far as they possibly can.

Hmmmm.....

Did you rotate the servo arms by hand with the power off to 'center' them?

I think I may have pushed the control suface up, and that may have happened. Would that have destroyed the servo?

If you force a servo hard enough you can strip the gears.

Personally, I would disconnect the linkage, remove the servo's from the plane and test them. You can simply rest them on a table top or something. If they still behave erratically then I would start looking at your connections, the RX and perhaps try a different servo.

Ok, will try that. I dont have more servos, so I may have to order another.

It seems that the problem was that my tx battery was very low. Is this possible?

No spazzing now that I have charged it.

EDIT:
I recieved the motor, battery, ESC, props, prop saver, and connectors Wednesday. HURC supplied it in perfect condition.

So, is it possible that the servos were spazzing because of the low tx battery?

Looking for an answer:D

Similar to what I posted awhile ago.... Low battery in the TX would be very similar to no TX at all. Plus, if you charged the battery and the spazzing stopped, you've already pin pointed the issue.

So go install your gear and have some fun!