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Gyro Hobbies . E-flite . Next D

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e-Lite Machines Corona > New Corona Owner
 
 
rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

I have just purchased a bare bones Corona. I am newly returning to RC aviation but have never flown helis. I flew RC sailplanes thirty years ago. Whew, where did the time go? Anyway, I just picked up a Corona with 2 HS 81 servos and 1 HS 85 MG servo. No motor, battery, gyro, or receiver. I hope to use my existing Tower 4FM xmtr with it.

A Berg 4 channel rcvr has been recommended to me but that is about as far as I have gotten. Any advice as to how to configure the ship would be greatly appreciated.

Can't wait to get into the air with the Corona.
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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KnimRod
Senior Heliman
Location: Central Michigan

It looks like your off to a good start. The Corona is easy to fly and to maintain and should be perfect for getting you started.

For a motor, you may want to just bite the bullet and get a brushless. You won't regret it. I use an Astro 020/ Phoenix ESC combination which is very reasonably priced and works exceptionally well. Take a look.

For a gyro, the Futaba GY240 heading hold gyro works well and is inexpensive. You see them pop up in the RR classifieds frequently for less than $100.

Before you buy battery packs, you should decide on the motor first. Different motors will have slightly different cell count requirements for optimum performance. The Astro 020 brushless works great with 7-cell packs. When your ready, contact Steve or Sarah at http:\\ onClick="urchinTracker('http://www.battlepack.com')">www.battlepack.com for a good deal on GP3300 packs.

Your Tower 4FM tx should work fine and the Berg 4 is a pretty good receiver. The Hitec 555 is also a good choice. You may also want to consider a Dean's Mini Antenna.

If you don't have the Corona manuals, you can download them here:
http://www.litemachines.com/Downlds/Corona_Manual.pdf
http://www.litemachines.com/Downlds/Operator_Guide.pdf


Good luck!

Lance
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

Thank you Lance. Great info. I appreciate your informative reply. As a matter of fact, I did download the pdf versions of the manuals and have been studying them. Glad to hear your opinion on the Astroflight 020 because I was looking at it to but did not know how well it performed.

Wow, this forum has been an amazing resource and I am sure I will have a zillion questions as I am totally new at this. Thanks so much for being so helpful.
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

battlepack.com posts the following on their battery packs page:

Quote 
Due to an extended illness in the family we are suspending pack sales until we are caught up with current orders. Taking new orders at this time would not be fair to anyone. We are shipping parts and loose cells and pre-made packs as normal. Things should return to normal in two weeks.


I heard that batterystation.com is also a good place to get batteries. ?????
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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KnimRod
Senior Heliman
Location: Central Michigan

Just about any pack with the GP3300s will be good. However, I avoid packs that use welded tabs and prefer that they be soldered. I also prefer matched cell packs for better performance and longer flight times.

Lance
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

Sorry, GP3300s? What does that term mean?
02-29-2004 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
KnimRod
Senior Heliman
Location: Central Michigan

Sorry... "GP3300" is a Gold Peak 3300MAh, Sub-C battery cell. It has great characteristics for high current use in RC applications.

Lance
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

Thanks Lance. Found some Sub Cs here, http://www.batterystation.com/nicads.htm , but have more questions.

What is Zapping? They say they will Zap Sub C's for you free. I am assuming that has something to do with charging?

They have GP3300s listed but I have no idea which pack configuration and connectors to ask for. This is assuming using an Astroflight 020.

Will this Berg rcvr http://www.rc-direct.com/Berg_5_micro.htm?id=913 work with my 4FM xmtr? They have a free crystal with it this month.

Is my old Hobbico Accucycle Charger going to work?

Enough questions for now.


Bob
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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KnimRod
Senior Heliman
Location: Central Michigan

"Zapping" is a technique where a pulse of high current is dumped into a cell, spot-welding the cell's internal connections. This lowers the internal resistance and increases the voltage under higher loads.

I always have my cells zapped. It seems to make a difference.

The pack configuration your looking for is \"style 14\". For battery connections, go with the Dean's "Ultra".

The Berg 5 DSP is an excellent receiver and will work with your transmitter just fine.

I'm not that familiar with the accucycle but I think that's going to be a bit weak for Sub-Cs. You may want to look into a different peak charger. SuperNova, SuperTurbo, Triton, Orbit, Schulze, etc. There is a virtual smorgasboard of chargers to choose from depending on your current and future needs.

Lance
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

Thanks Lance. I have a 5 DSP on order now. Zapping is not what I thought it was. Now I understand and that does make sense. Guess I will have to look at a new charger too. You have been a terrific help. I am sure I will have more questions but have enough to chew on for now.
02-29-2004 Over year old.
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thriller
Heliman
Location: british columbia canada

keep asking the questions, then I can get all the answers to the questions I never asked I am new to the corona's and electrics what other brushless and brushed setups do you recomend for the corona
03-01-2004 Over year old.
 
 
rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

Does the Astro 020 combo come with a pinion gear or do I need to get one of those separately?

I notice that Astroflight suggests an 8 cell battery pack for the 020 but you said it works fine with the 7 cell pack. From what you said in a previous post the 7 cell pack is satisfactory?
03-01-2004 Over year old.
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KnimRod
Senior Heliman
Location: Central Michigan

You'll need to get a pinion: 9 tooth, 32 pitch. 32 pitch pinions are fairly common in RC cars so your LHS should have some.

I have both 7 and 8 cell packs and I prefer 7. 8 is just a little too much power for simple flying around and the extra voltage and weight make for more heat in the motor and ESC (though the extra weight makes it a lttle more stable). Astroflight's datasheet simply says "8 cells" but on the main page for the 803HC, they list the performance specs for 7 cells (go figure).

The longest flight with my Astro powered Corona was 15 min, 46 sec. with a 7-cell matched GP3300 pack from battlepack.com.

Lance
03-01-2004 Over year old.
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rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

Ok. I have my Corona in hand. It has a few little scrapes here and there but seems to be in decent shape. Waiting for my Berg receiver to arrive and then will have the motor and ESC and batteries to order and install. I may have to spread these purchases out over the next few weeks but I will get there. It is neat having the heli sitting here to look at. It will be even neater to see the rotors turn. Pretty clever little machine.
03-01-2004 Over year old.
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KnimRod
Senior Heliman
Location: Central Michigan

I bought my Corona used from Ebay. The seller was less than forthcoming about its condition and it was a mess when it arrived. He claimed he paid a "hobby shop professional" to assemble it for him but I found it to be completely unflyable. I would never have thought that anyone could screw it up so badly. It's no wonder he gave up on it. I had to tear it all apart, replace some parts and start over. But it was still fun.

It got me to the point where I now own a tricked out Voyager E and a stock Eolo. I'll probably buy a bigger electric this year. The Corona is a keeper though. You can fly it without aprehension and practice things that you don't want to risk on more expensive hardware. I've never had a crash that cost me more than $15 to repair and most only resulted in blowing the dust off and taking off again. I know you'll have fun with it.

Lance
03-02-2004 Over year old.
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rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

I can't wait but my budget forces me too. I am excited about this little heli. Thanks to everyone who has guided me along this path. You guys and this forum are an incredible resource. I cannot thank you enough.
03-02-2004 Over year old.
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rbrown3rd
Heliman
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

I have my receiver a Berg5 DSP

So, I figure I have about $360 worth of stuff to remaining to buy to get in the air.

Astro 020 "Corona" Helicopter System $179.95 from Astroflight.com
Futaba GY240 Gyro $119.99 from Towerhobbies.com
Sub-C GPS3300 battery pack $ 60 ???? Battlepacks.com

Unless someone can suggest cheaper prices somewhere. Whew!!!
03-02-2004 Over year old.
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e-Lite Machines Corona > New Corona Owner
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