Brand vs Brand

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
I remember a BIG plane crashing in combat at FF. It was on fire so we hurried out with fire extinquishers and found the moto bolts had punctured the batteries. FUN times. Had they trimmed the bolts and/or put ample padding in there, NO BIG FIRE 🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥 would have happened.....
 

Mr Man

Elite member
I remember a BIG plane crashing in combat at FF. It was on fire so we hurried out with fire extinquishers and found the moto bolts had punctured the batteries. FUN times. Had they trimmed the bolts and/or put ample padding in there, NO BIG FIRE 🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥 would have happened.....
Another option would be to have the batteries somewhere else.
 

Houndpup Rc

Well-known member
The thing I learned when it comes to motors, firewalls and batteries is never have the motor mount screws sticking out the back of the firewall. The only time I had a battery catch fire combat ship crashed motor first battery slid forward and was greeted by the motor mount screws. Was epic fire for a few minutes.
Sounds exiting! lol know what the best fire wall material is?
 

AIRFORGE

Make It Fly!
Moderator
I was wondering if carbon fiber is good and if you can cut it and make your holes?
It can be cut and will work well but the dust is toxic, so protect your lungs/skin. And it can be expensive considering plywood works well and is cheaper. But CF looks cool! Also, keep in mind it is a conductor. I've seen RC car batteries short on the CF chassis. After cutting CF, the edges can splinter and sealing the edges with CA glue will prevent that. (Probably not too important for RC plane applications, though.)
 

Merv

Moderator
Moderator
I was wondering if carbon fiber is good and if you can cut it and make your holes?
I agree with Airforge, the dust form cutting carbon fiber produces tiny fibers that, if airborne, can get lodged in your lung tissue, not good. If you are going to cut it, do so in a well ventilated the area or cut it under water to control the dust.

In addition carbon fiber blocks radio signals, as does anything metallic. You need to make sure your antenna's have a clear line if sight to the receiver and are not blocked by carbon fiber or metal.
 
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Merv

Moderator
Moderator
...I honestly wonder if there is any quality difference between these...
Back to the original topic
I have always used the cheap stuff and my flying buddies all use the name brand stuff.
My stuff fails at about the same rate as their stuff. I'm my opinion there is no difference in the "quality" of name brand vs the cheap stuff.

There is a huge difference in the service. If they get a dud or break something, they will often get a free replacement in the mail a few days later. When I have a dud or break something, I chuck it and grab another form my replacement bin. It takes me 2-3 weeks to get something form overseas. Which would be a huge problem if I could not fly until the replacement arrived. But if I'm just replenishing my stock, the lag time is not a problem. I live in an area where the nearest decent hobby shop is 150 miles away. In essences, I have become my own hobby shop. If I had a good local hobby shop, I would support it.

I can generally buy 2 or 3 of something for what my buddies pay for 1.
 
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Shurik-1960

Well-known member
I returned to the modeling business more than 10 years ago and I only buy cheap Chinese goods. My regulators only broke down in winter or during flights in the rain due to water. I learned how to repair them by changing burnt-out MOSFETs. I just rewind the faulty motors and they work. But there is one type of motor that I don't buy: they have a bad flat wire winding, very weak magnets, and weak coupling.This is a Chinese marriage. The batteries were of high quality 10 years ago, they rarely ran out. I removed the swollen jars and climbed on top of the workers. It all depends on the case: if you are lucky, it will work for a long time and perfectly, if you are not lucky, you will have to repair it. This topic is about NOTHING to me.. Just blah, blah, blah.You should buy whenever possible and not necessarily branded.
 

Houndpup Rc

Well-known member
Well I find that some brands of motors can take a lot more abuse than others. for instance I bought a surpass hobby 1120kv motor last spring and it burned out when I flew it in damp weather and my brothers smoked a couple weeks later when flying in full sun! (looked cool, kinda like he had a smoke system ! lol) and we both had a couple 910kv Emaxs and they had been crashed and beaten and mud soaked and they are still running strong!!
 
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Houndpup Rc

Well-known member
Hmmmm. beginning to wonder if I was right, saw this blog post the other day:
Your transmitter (controller, TX, radio) is one of the most important pieces of hardware you’ll use, and I’m happy to say that there is a definite best. The TX16s is an exceptionally good value product, boasting a color touch screen, OpenTX software, hall gimbals, a JR port (for external transmitters such as crossfire, etc.), USB-C recharging, 18650 batteries, and a multiprotocol internal transmitter module. If you want to know more about it, Oscar Liang has a review.


While the TX16s has a near-perfect feature set, many newcomers would still rather get something cheaper and upgrade later. One of the most commonly bought low-end transmitters is the Flysky FS-i6. Don’t give in to the low price—it will cause you problems later. While it works acceptably for RC airplanes, nothing about it is reliable or precise enough to fly a miniquad well, and you’ll upgrade it very quickly, making it a waste. The best ultra low-budget controller is the BetaFPV LiteRadio 2, for $40. It’s become very popular for pilots starting with a Tiny Whoop because of its inclusion in the BetaFPV whoop bundles. While it is great for whoops, it will make it harder to fly larger quads. Like goggles, you won’t crash your transmitter, so there’s little reason to “upgrade later.”


There are also several other options for transmitters from companies like FrSky (I’ve been using a QX7 for years), but I would suggest spending the extra $50 for the TX16s for the added features. Additionally, if you’re going to be using the default FrSky radio protocols, (standard for the TX16S and LiteRadio) The FrSky XM+ and RXSR receivers are great value.


To see the whole article here is the link.
 

bisco

Elite member
it's hard to know what you are going to want down the road when you first get started. i weighed the flysky $50. vs the DX6 $250. or 300., i forget. i went for the dx, but after 5 years, i nowrealize that the flysky would have suited me perfectly.
 

Houndpup Rc

Well-known member
Yeah, probably for most people it works great! (I think the guy in the article is somewhat a purist) I was quite young when I got my first equipment and there was no way I could afford a more expensive radio, and the flysky has served me great! I am wondering if the flysky is good enough for flying a 5" quad, as I kinda want to make one next year. I don't know if the expensive ones have a better gimbals for flying with greater precision. If any who flies a fast drone uses a flysky please let me know!:)
 

bisco

Elite member
i remember asking when i first got started. of course you get a million opinions, and everyone says, 'it depends on what your going to want to do with it'. and of course, i had no idea.
looking back, i would rather make the mistake of starting inexpensively, and buying something else when i knew what i needed, rather than spending too much for something i might never use
 
Back to batteries, we've had good luck with Turningies. Most of ours are 7-10 years old and still maintain good voltage under load. I believe they've worked well is because I baby them. All packs are 3S's, from 1000 to 3000 MaH. All are 25-45C. I never charge at over 2 amps, I don't discharge at over 20 amps, and I always balance charge. I use two Hitec chargers at the same time, charging up to 4 packs at a shot, so the slower charge isn't an issue (note that my wife also flies, so I'm usually maintaining two planes at a time).
Please note that we aren't square bashers. We both fly frequent aerobatics -- loops, rolls, spins, etc. Our batteries get workouts, but we don't push them to their boundaries.
 

Houndpup Rc

Well-known member
I am really impressed with my brothers lumenier! I have always liked OVONIC but now that I have seen his I am beginning to reconsider! I have a 850mah 4s and he has a 550mah 4s and he seems to be able to fly longer than me! (of couse flying yourself always seems shorter than watching somebody else lol) Of course it might be that I pour the coals on more (entirely possible😂:ROFLMAO:) and we haven't flown at the same time yet so I am not super sure. Will have to try racing together sometime and see who lasts longer. I have to say I like the looks of the lumenier!
battery pict.PNG