A few quick Questions...

[Carzan]

1. Does Synergy Still use larger Ball Links than normal?

2. What FBL Units do y'all suggest? Looking for simple set-up and solid performance!

3. What Governor? Again simplicity that works well is my goal.


This will be on an N5cTT with an OS 55

One More'

4. How do I get rid of the verification questions that I must answer before the site will let me post each time?

[Rodney Kirstine]

1. Does Synergy Still use larger Ball Links than normal?

Yes, they're 5.5mm.

2. What FBL Units do y'all suggest? Looking for simple set-up and solid performance!

Some of that might depend on what radio gear you use.  If you use Futaba, the CGY-750 is a great FBL unit with a great nitro governor.  That one and Vbar seem to be the two most widely used by the Synergy team pilots.

3. What Governor? Again simplicity that works well is my goal.

CGY-750, Vbar, Icon, and Skookum all have built-in governors

This will be on an N5cTT with an OS 55

One More'

4. How do I get rid of the verification questions that I must answer before the site will let me post each time?

That will go away after about 10 posts, or so.

[curmudgeon]

I believe the balls are 5.5mm.  The Boto-Sizer is a great tool for sizing the links.

BTW, the plastic links are beefy and last much longer than other brands without getting sloppy.  This saves me time in maintenance.

[Carzan]

Considering a Spektrum DX8 with an AR7200BX receiver FBL unit and doing the firmware update to get the governor. Any known successes or issues with this unit?


I am mainly a sport flyer! I like BIG circuits and Lots and Lots of autos! So not many real big power demands as far as electronics goes.

[Rodney Kirstine]

I ran an AR7200BX in a couple of my helis for quite a while and was happy enough with them.  This was all prior to the release of the new firmware with the governor support, though, so I don't have any experience with the governor.  The AR7200BX is somewhat prone to brown-outs if the voltage drops below about 5V so it's a good idea to either use a BEC set at >6V, A LiFe pack, or 2S Lipo with HV servos to eliminate that as a possible issue.

The AR7200BX, for me at least, had a bit steeper learning curve for programming compared to some of the newer FBL units since it has no display but there are a lot of good videos out there.

[jluthe1]

The boto sizer is a must !!! For the 5.5mm balls .
I always vote vbar except for nitro so full size  vbar, demon, ikon or brain work well with nitro.
Never in a million years a beast x spektrum combo
Rodney said it best on govs

[Carzan]

Ok additional Questions

4. tell me your Transmitter preference and WHY

5. What battery preference for the Heli

6. Good to great battery chargers of today, which ones are they



PS - NEVER NEVER NEVER sell all your stuff!!! No matter what the circumstances! Even if you're getting out for life! You'll be back and you will regret selling all of your support equipment!

[Rodney Kirstine]

These are just my opinions, for what they're worth...

Ok additional Questions

4. tell me your Transmitter preference and WHY

Futaba 14SG.  I started out with a Spektrum DX8.  The first issue I had with it was the antenna came unplugged internally.  I also had to replace the antenna twice when it broke.  I didn't care for the gimbals and never could get the tension adjusted to where I liked it.  The biggest one for me, though, was the software bug that kept destroying my helicopters that took me quite a while to finally figure out.  There was a bug that if you had the timer set to "vibrate" and you hit throttle hold while it was vibrating it could send random servo commands. Even though mine was supposedly not one of the ones that was affected, I know for a fact that it was because I watched it slam my helicopter into the ground when I hit throttle hold.  It took me so long to figure it out because it didn't happen every time and sometimes I would end my flight and hit TH before or after the timer alarm was going off.  I didn't know about that issue until I definitively found out what was happening and when I posted what happened I got several replies within minutes asking if I was flying a DX8.

I bought the 14SG and I feel like it's in a completely different class of electronics.  It just feels way more substantial when you hold it, for one.  The gimbals are nice and smooth.  The flexibility of the programming is steps ahead of the DX8 with one exception.  Not being able to start/stop timers based on throttle percentage is the only thing I miss from the DX8.

Granted, these are the only 2.4GHz radios that I have first-hand experience with but I wish I would have started with the Futaba.

5. What battery preference for the Heli

I'm currently running Pulse Ultra 2550mAh 2S receiver packs on mine.  Prior to upgrading to HV servos I was using a 2100mAh LiFeSourse LiFe pack.

6. Good to great battery chargers of today, which ones are they

I have a Revolectrix Powerlab PL8 that I really like.  I had a PL6 prior to that and I just upgraded for the higher wattage that the PL8 is capable of.  I built my own power supply from two PC server power supplies that I bought for $18/pair off of Ebay.

PS - NEVER NEVER NEVER sell all your stuff!!! No matter what the circumstances! Even if you're getting out for life! You'll be back and you will regret selling all of your support equipment!

I guess this is one instance where my hoarding tendencies could pay off. 

[Carzan]

Rodney, A lot has changed in the past 4 to 5 years! What is the difference between FASST and S-FHSS technology that Futaba is now using?

[Rodney Kirstine]

Yep, that's for sure, on how fast things have changed.

From my understanding, FHSS is meant for "bind and fly" type park flyers.  For instance, the newer Trex 150 comes with a receiver/fbl controller that will bind with an FHSS transmitter.

The 14SG also does the latest Futaba protocol, which is FASSTest.  FASSTest is bi-directional so you can receive telemetry from your helicopter.  So far, I really like having the receiver pack voltage level handy.  I've also used the temperature sensor on my nitro motors.  You can set alarms based off of your telemetry.  Examples would be temperature too high or receiver pack voltage too low.

[Carzan]

So which receiver do you use for a nitro heli?

[Rodney Kirstine]

So which receiver do you use for a nitro heli?

I'm using the R7003SB and R7008SB.  I'm using the R7008SB on two of them.  One came with the 14SG and I bought the other prior to the R7003SB coming out.  The R7003SB is about $50 cheaper and when you're using an FBL controller with a Futaba receiver you only need the SBUS connection between the receiver and the FBL controller.  The R7003SB still gives you two ports that you can use for something like a Switchglo Pro and a telemetry sensor.

[Carzan]

I went with a 14SG. It came in yesterday and I have been looking through the manual some last night and today. Man things have changed! I feel like I could fly a drone to the middle east and take out a terrorist or two with this thing! I have experience with Spektrum DX6, an older futaba radio ( don't remember the model #) and a JR 9503. None of them were anywhere near this! My son did have a 12x radio that was fairly complex so maybe this will intuitive for him. Can somebody please explain S-Bus to me and do I need to be concerned with it or can I still wire my hell the same way I used to wire helis? Maybe I should've just gone for simple!

[Rodney Kirstine]

Don't worry, we can talk you through this.

Here is a good place to start with the 14sg.

Futaba 14SG Radio Programming Tips: http://youtu.be/aiBV1GGRJe8

On the sbus thing, you'll run all your servo wires to the FBL controller and then there is just one wire between the receiver and the FBL controller.  You will need to change the mode the receiver runs so that it gets along with the FBL controller.  You will want to run it in mode c or d. The FBL controller you are going to use may figure into that because some aren't compatible with sbus2.

[Carzan]

Thanks Rodney.