Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi JPEE,

I stopped by several repair shops today and described the situation with the tranny and the speed I was going and both shops said it sounds like the clutch plate broke free - so a clutch replacement it sounds like. I did get a few estimates ~ $1200 (850 for 9 hrs labor and about 375 for the clutch). I haven't made any commitments but will also ask about the possibility of a bent or broken fork as you suggested.

Yeah, I noticed the poor machining on the shift tower also as it got my finger as I was cleaning it.

On a high note I did get to take my old Zero out flying on Sunday. I had been struggling with the decision to try and fly it at my smaller field that I fly my jets at. It has a nice long dead-end road that has only grass edges, no curbs to run into. But the approach is a bit tricky as I would be coming between trees and lightpoles. I'll have to post a picture of it later so you get a better idea.

Well I decided to just go for it on Sunday. What I really wanted to do was work on my takeoffs as I developed a really bad habit of just gunning the throttle to get her in the air as quickly as possible, mostly b/c my 'runways' were roads with concrete curbs and the way it would pull to the left was irritating.

So I lined her up and slowly gave throttle. As she started to pull left I gave right rudder and let off the throttle a bit and surprisingly she straightened up. A bit more throttle and she lifted off - a nice shallow scale take-off. All at less than half throttle. I was estatic - finally a take off that was gorgeous. Not having to worry about the curbs I'm so used to I feel made all the difference.

The flight went without a hiccup. The field wasn't as small as I feared as I had lots of room to open the throttle up. Nice big loops, cuban 8's, high speed dives - it was all great. And the landing was stress free as I have gotten used to landing between lightpoles at the under-construction subdivision I used to fly at so this wasn't too different. A nice on-the-mains landing and smooth roll-out...and no nose-over. It really was great and a needed distraction.

I've seen the news reports on the rain you guys are getting and I hope it clears up for you. Sounds like your in the 'rainy' season out there.

Mark

JPEE

Hi Mark,

I am still on your side on this tyranny situation. Older transmissions had the speedo drive come out of the middle to just behind moving towards the tail shaft. But that was with the older trans's that had the shifting arms that had the linkage hooks on the side of the case. Now with your car being a front wheel drive that changes the entire game. After some deeper consideration I don't doubt the that clutch could have been damaged, but this point is clear to me at least, the speedo comes off of the drive end of transmission (in my mind) because the read out on your dashboard is governed by the speed of the drive wheels turning and is not governed by the engine rpms or the gear you are in.............it all wheel turning revolutions. With that said, if your siting in the driveway and revving the motor in gear and the speedo is moving then clearly something is sheered between the engine input to the trans and the output to the drive line to the front axles. (I think you said you car is a front wheel drive?) Same-thing applies to a rear wheel drive anyway.

Zero: Well congratulations on a great flight! Seems like your correction of the speed and use of rudder is the panacea to a smart, safe take off. I'll bet with flights like that all of your troubles were farrrrr away that Sunday. LMAO....I had to looks up what the Cuban 8 was, pretty neat stuff there.

Today we have some rain clouds ( been raining three days ) and 50% decent blue skies but I think the field road is impassable down there in the river bed :-( Yep we sure needed it badly too. Just not all at once. For us the big deal is Colorado and how much snow the Rockies get is (snow pack) what determines our water usage in Cal.

Well take care and good luck on the car. I see you missed out on a the Rocket Launch today for Mar rocket tests for several reasons, I hope you get to see it when they reschedule.

Don't know if you know who Huell Houser is of PPS but this is something I know you will love. We saw it on TV last night but I dug it up from the shows archive for ya. It is a 30 minute TV show and well worth watching.

JPEE

http://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/2010/11/08/lunar-landing-californias-gold-13003/

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi JPEE,

You are right about Orion's flight getting scrubbed yesterday...a stray boat, impeding winds, and finally a failed valve were just too much. But looks like they are going to try again at 07:05 EST this morning, hope the weather holds out for them. They do have until 9:40am so a decent window for sure. And if everything goes as planned then the capsule should be splashing down on your end some 4 hours later - so 9'ish am your time I believe.

I never thought of the snow fall they get in CO affecting you in the spring, but I guess the melted snow has to go somewhere.

I hope the drive to your field dries out so you can take advantage of any nice weather that comes your way.

Mark

JPEE

Mark,

I am sorry, perhaps I ran something together. The snow in Colorado only pertains to our getting our domestic drinking

"only" from the Colorado River piped over to us in California, but no flooding or like that. In the High Sierra Mountain

Range where the famous Lake Tahoe is that range extends down to southern California is another place we take the

ice melt through a series of Dams to for our drinking water too.


I saw this morning the Orion got off safely, lets prey for a great landing.


I it looking pretty ugly outside, there another 20% chance of rain :-(


NOW MY NOVEL:

THE LIGHT CAME ON ............... How could I have missed this, "trees for the forest as they say" it baffles me.

I have been pushing "a gallon of water through a nail hole" in the bucket so to say.... huh? This is to say, the

big battery packs come with #10 wire leads (my 700 packs have #8 wire leads fyi) with red cable ends (Hobby King)

capable of handling 93 amps amps and great for spikes. My receiving leads on the Hexa were #14.....crap!

So how was I expecting to squeeze a max of 60 amps + on a spike through wire and connectors rated for far less?

So I started with the copter and put on #10 wire, a EC5 end. They have a max current of 120 amps on #10 wire per HK.

Now having had used the XT 60's they were rated for 60 amps max. When I amp tested the Hexa in flight I got 65.5

amps when I spiked her up and down a few times which is not the way you fly a camera ship but still, you want to test

for adverse conditions. So now from the battery to soldered down leads in the Hexa we have the EC5's and all

#10 wire end to end so I hoping this will be my cure! Anytime you have heat in electrical that means "resistance"

and now that should be non existent. Gonna load the copter for video with everything and do some testing out front

today if the rain lets me. Wheeew, that wasn't a story but rather it was a book lol.

John

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi JPEE,

Nice 'novel'. Did you get a chance to load up your hex and see if the new larger wires and connectors made the difference? Out of dumb curiosity each multirotor has a separate ESC for each motor, so did you have to resolder each ESC with the larger wire? Wow, if so that's alot!

Yep, Orion went up as scheduled. I was a bit surprised as the skies that morning were pretty clouded over. But I was able to run outside to see a smoke trail left over between two cloud layers. Missed the rocket itself by a few seconds - darn. But the flight was successful and hope they got lots of technical data.

One thing that irked me was the local newscasters were going on and on about how there hasn't been a capsule water landing since the 70's - umm, did they suddenly forget all of the SpaceX capsules splash down?

Took my 450 for a test hover and dang thing just about shook itself apart. Gotta check the shafts and try again with no blades then add tail blades then mains and see what happens at each step.

Hope the weather improves to give you a nice weekend.

Think I'm going to leave the Zero home today (out of respect) if I go flying...

Mark

JPEE

Hello Mark,

I got some more education on the Hexa. Yes did make the flight out front but I have a few things first to clear up. I charged my 4S 4000mAh pack slow and well.

I also put on a battery audible low voltage alarm! It can set the cell status of your choice, 3.9, 3.8, 3.7, you get the idea. I took off and hovered for a moment

over the street and then gave it its first spike and the VU (this is what flash's on the NAZA aboard to tell me when the battery is running low or is going dead and it will

auto land). The light can be seen from the ground and will flash yellow under load, or red under load tell you to land. Left to long in the air in either can result in

your Hexa taking itself over and go into GPS auto-land and over ride the transmitter and bring itself back and land itself! Anyway back to the story, the light flashed red on

the first spike.....crap. That pretty well tells me the pack while having 4.1 per cell doesn't have the amps in side to carry the load any longer. LESSON: Jason said

that because it was quite cool outside that the battery does not have its full potential when its that cool/cold. So he wanted me to charge and take another flight at the same

temp, then come in and land and recharge at 2C and slam the pack back to full charge thus making the battery very warm and not be affected by the ambient outside

temps and fly again, but I ran out of time that day. Also.......... after the first spike and the red light coming on, I went ahead and flew the Hexa up and down the street and spikes

from time to time until the light was staying red and the alarm was sounding! I landed and checked the pack and it was at 3.7 and it was a short flight.

I spoke with another smart guy and he pointed out that my Hexa and Quad can be set to fly on 2S to 6S WHAAAAAAAAAAT! Dag nabit if he wasn't right when I looked

my NAZA and look it up in my user manual. Butttttt and there is always one and it's hefty. My Hexa weighs in at 5.6 pounds "loaded". My naza, esc's, are both 2-6s capable.

The BEC if you will is in the Naza drives the my landing gear, rx, gimbal,......so here it comes, my motors will only go up to 4S voltage :-( My motors are 1000kv X 6 ea.

and they are pushed a bit with the weight so that's why amperage is a bit high on their draw. Oh btw..........it was still 59 amps on this flight.

So here is where I am at, I can either cure my issues with doing some calculations and buying some some like 350-400 kv 6S high voltage motors and wham.....we're done.

They are from $45-$60 each X 6! OUCH or....... I can buy a new DJI Phantom with gimbal and camera and FPV and transmitter on a 450 size for about, $1,369.00

http://www.amain.com/dji-phantom-2-v...FUJsfgodZjoAOg

That's about what I have in the 550 Hexa???. I saw the bills yesterday for the NAZA $370, Gimbal $359., New Gopro #3 $400, landing gear $95, Hexa frame $27.00, 6 ESC

$102, props $28.00, 6 ea. 1000kv motors $102.00 and sweat equity unknown lol.

So I have some thinking to do because I would need the new motors and even at the $45.00 level that's $270.00 and I would not FPV still.


Yes I guess they did forget Space X in a big way or............. that announcer was fed poor information.

So sorry to hear you missed the lift off....................... next time my friend! There will always be next time :-)


Have to balanced the blades on your 450? if you haven't there is a process to balance them, and as where on the blade to add the additional weight to make them fly true.


No I did not have to touch the 6 ESC's there is only one power pole soldering point. If you look at the attached pic's you'll see the red and black #10 wire going straight in

and they are soldered down. You'll also note that under the wires there is a some soft side velcro, that's so the wire don't chaff on the frames sharp edges. You can't see the shiny solder joints

points because I went over that connection with "liquid tape" as there were some burrs I did not want to rub the surrounding wires. The second angled pic shows the smaller red and black ESC wire

soldered down to the frame on the pre determined points and there is one on each arm.




Let me know if your not familiar with blade balancing, I share the deep dark secrets. JPEE

evdreamer

Mark,

Work was really slow on Thanksgiving. That is cool you got Thanksgiving off from work. I am surprised that I got Christmas day off from work.

Sorry to hear about your transmission.

I asked for this whole week off from work, so I am enjoying my extra free time. I only have two school days left before the end of the semester! Then I have one final next week. My last HW in my Digital SIgnal Processing class was to create a voice scrambler, so no one can listen to the signal. Then I had to unscramble the signal. I finished that up last night. It was pretty cool to see that work.

John,

Those heli parts can add up real quick. I get sick looking at what I spent.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Nick,

Congrats on getting Christmas off this year and I know you will enjoy it! Getting any heli stuff you've been eyeing?

Your scrambler sounds interesting and only a short time left before your vacation from school. I know your looking forward to that.

Has your snow melted yet or are you guys still in the white covering?

JPEE,

I've heard of some guys who use those audible alarms on their heli's and use them over a timer. I guess it would take some getting used to but at least with that there is no guessing on pack voltage.

That's something about your hex and the motors only being 4S with the kv ratings. Looks like your going to have to replace them. Now, I am about certain you can put your current motors up for sale and recoup some of the costs. AND, have you considered looking to see if anyone is selling motors for your hex in the kv range your looking for? That way you may be able to get the 6 your needing for less than what they are going for new.

Of course the kicker is buying used. But you can test each one individually on a bench stand to see if any problems exist. I would think the chances are good at getting decent motors that have much life left in them. Definitely worth a look I think.

You have too much invested in your hex to even consider another multirotor. Plus you know your machine and its flying characteristics. I wouldn't give it a second thought.

I found the vibration culprit on the 450 - a slightly bent tail shaft. After replacing it everything was smooth. But the flight didn't go very well as I nearly lost it. Was doing some easy oval circuits and it got away from me. Got real small real fast. I slowly fought with it to get it back and was successful but realized I had gotten used to larger heli's. I wondered if this is how you feel going from your 700 to your 500 or Nick with his 700 to his 450.

BTW, what's this deep dark secret of yours on blade balancing? Inquiring minds are interested!

Has your weather improved any?

Take care,

Mark

evdreamer

Mark,

There hasn't been anything heli related that I have wanted in a long time. All I want for Christmas is some cash to invest with. It will be worth a lot more in a few decades than any presents would be worth.

It didn't take long for the snow to melt. It has been a pretty mild winter here except for a few really cold days.

That is good you fixed the vibration in your 450. The 450's can get small really fast. That is why I fly my 450 really close to me, but that doesn't leave a lot of room for mistakes.

Nick

JPEE

Hello Mark,


Today I took off the 8 inch props Slow fly props and put on the 9 inch Carbon fiber props and oh baby did I get some lift and handling on the hexa. The test today was to see if having 2 ea. 6000 mAh batteries would give me the amps I need so the battery would not get hot like when I flew "one pack" in the past with the same props. After a full and complete charge into the the 2 ea. 6S packs..........just as soon as I lifted up and got airborne the red light came on my NAZA telling me my batteries were low (per the setting I had in the software that is adjustable). The adjustment for the NAZA comes via my laptop and needs to be lowered before goes into red light mode, I have it just wee to high right now. As I said before, I had the backup audible low voltage alarm on board as well. Today I set the audible horn at 3.6 per cell. With the red light coming on at lift off I knew with the two packs I still had plenty of power so I flew over the house in the yard until I could see hardly any lift left. I was running nearly wide-open within just a couple of minutes. I hovered low over the grass until the audible alarm sounded and I was wide open I could not get lift so I landed. I took the copter in the garage and put a meter on the batteries and the cells were already coming back to 3.8 per cell. When I charged it from the last flight still again both batteries only took 4000 mA. So this shows me once again those batteries are done cuz they should hold at least 8400 after burning 70% out of them


I wanted to run this test before I made a commitment into new motors. I'm embarrassed to say the following…… I had posted that my NAZA would take a 3 to 6 cell as well as my ESC's. Last night looking at my ESC's thoroughly I realized what it said on the bottom was 6 to 16 V. I was so intent on 6S in my brain that when I looked the right of that information and saw the 16v my mind saw 6S not 16v. With that said doing the math were looking at another $500 of investment for motors and ESC's and and that is not going to happen. Yes you're right I might get something $$$ for the motors and ESC's that are on there now but for now but from a forum sale but...... I think I'm going to just get new batteries and see what type of a flight time I get before I make any determinations to go that much more in debt on this copter. When it comes right down to it what I'm trying to do is make silk out of a pig's ear! I'm starting out with a 550 hexa that flew well when I first put it together. Then with the upgrade of deciding well I should put a GOPro on their it got a little heavier. With the GOPro in mind I had to then put landing gear to keep the helicopter up high enough that the camera would clear under the belly. Once that was in place then I realized if I put the camera down towards the ground or even put it it a 30 to 40° angle I saw the landing gear of the helicopter in the frame, not acceptable so now new retractable landing gear was put on. And let us not forget the gimbal as the kicker. So what I'm doing is taking in 1957 Chevy and trying to build it up to make it as fast as a Corvette, which can be done at considerable cost. At some point I have to draw the line and I think I'm there for the amount of video work that I do as a hobbyist. My proposal of the new batteries I think is a solid one because I can always use the batteries on something else if I don't a remarkably improvement in my flight time.

Glad to hear the wonderful news about your 450! And yes after flying my 450 Pro I believe two weeks ago they get small so fast. I think the thing to do is to fly at a couple of times and don't fly anything big in between get your perspectives back in your memory bank of how small it is, and how quick it can go a lot of line of sight. And yes the time I took my 450 I also took my 700 and I know exactly what you're speaking of. I flew the 450 first, then the 700.


I will fill you in on balancing the blades and here it is, FINLESS! You'll need to be logged in to HF to view http://video.helifreak.com/?subpath=...lancing101.wmv I also use a small piece of day-glo orange tape on one blade tip that stays there for the life of the blade for tracking set up, then I balance the blades (I use the light blade for the orange tape) which helps towards the total balancing later. What I add if weight is needed is clear scotch tape so you don't see it.




Nick,



As I have said in the past I hold a great deal of respect for you and your good judgment. Cash in lieu of gifts so you can invest is so smart, so sensible, so adult. Hope you enjoy your Christmas break with your family and as you like to do sleep late and just chill out.


Speaking of chilling out it's going to be 41° tonight December 14th burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I will be looking for the control to my electric blanket tonight for sure!


Take care gentlemen…… JPEE

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Today is a good day...as my car is finally fixed.

Turned out to be something much less work then a clutch job - a broken CV axle on the passenger side. Discovered it a week ago when I jacked the car up to get a good look at what needed to be done to open up the tranny. Imagine my surprise when I found the axle in 2 pieces.

Seems that when my foot slipped off the clutch so much torque was applied to the axles that it caused the right one (longer then left one) to shear. I also found out that with my type of transmission when one wheel loses power both wheels stop, so thats why it seemed I had no gears. So several days of working under the car (on jack stands of course for safety) I got the axle replaced and finally took it for a test drive just this morning. I also took the opportunity and replaced a leaky valve cover gasket, cleaned up all the oily muck underneath the car, changed the oil and replaced the transmission fluid. So not too bad and better then having to get a new car! This ones got a few more lives left in her.

Nick,

Glad your enjoying some unseasonably warm weather.

How did your finals go?

At least with the money you get for Christmas investment you have that software of yours to better help you place your money in areas it will grow.

JPEE,

You have a dilemma...motors and ESC's only rated for 4S. Now that is a game changer. Hopefully the new lipo's will be the solution your looking for. And if they don't work out you can always use them for something else.

Gotta run now but wanted to give an update on the car...

Mark

JPEE

closed

JPEE

Hello Mark, Nick,


What great news to hear about your car! Sometimes digging in your spurs in gets the job done, certainly for you on this occasion. Now you can drive by that used-car lot and flip them off from your repaired car! Well at least

I was right when I said something was completely sheared into two pieces with the motor running, the speedo going, but the car not moving. I take no solace in being right on that one little speculation, I'm just glad you got to

the bottom of it. Certainly a great deal for you at Christmas time to now be able put more money towards George and the Mrs. for those special gifts.




To date on the hexa I have gone back to the 10 inch props from the nine incher's that were on their to draw less amperage. The lift that I get with the 10 inch props is certainly the way the helicopter was built to fly so that made

the handling and the maneuvering all 200% better. Still drawing 60 amps but here are a couple of the oddities. I charged 2 of my 3 S packs and put them on the copter with a Y connector and flew seven minutes with the 9" blade

before I got a red light to land from the Naza sensor. I recharged those batteries and they only took 4000 Mah which if the batteries were fresh should have taken 9600. So when I recharged and change the blades up to 10 inch

then in 15 seconds of getting the copter off the ground the red light went on saying it's time the land. But being left-handed and anal I had put a audible battery alarm set for the cells to go off at 3.6 per cell. So I continued to fly in

the red and I got seven minutes. When I landed and I had just enough battery left to hold it in the air as I landed, there was no lift left even it wide-open I carried the hexa copter in the garage in through a meter on it and the cells

were at a true 3.6 3.7. it is because clearly I flew for seven minutes in the red. I think the reason the red light came on sooner also is because I'm pulling a little more amperage with the 10 inch props in the batteries are just too

older handle it.




Don't know if I mentioned this before I went back and read the rest of this page and didn't see it, but I bought my grandson a one hour certified flying lesson in a single engine Cessna type airplane. Once completed one hour in the

air he gets in FAA rating of one hour on the books towards getting a license when he grows up to a big boy. Last year his other grandmother and grandfather got him a ride on a helicopter with other passengers out over the ocean

in Malibu and over the famous Hollywood sign for like 20 minutes. This he goes up with a pilot instructor and they (post their videos online) and a boy younger than my 13-year-old grandson taxied down the runway first time the pilot

set the throttle when they reach the proper speed limit he told the little boy pulled back two inches on the you'll and they were airborne so I think my grandson is just enough flip out over this. I think I'm more excited that he's got to

be when he takes his flight. After they get up in the air in about 3 min you've seen pretty much the whole thing so there is no need to watch until the end. You will se the pilot take his hands off the yolk and completely rest them in his

lap (at times) so the boy is totally flying the plane!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3S7L3Ae4Go#t=1708



All of our Christmas shopping is done and we are just trying to hold it together until the big day comes.






Nick, I hope your sleeping in late, eating well and enjoying your Christmas break and like Mark said I hope your grades came in where you expected them to be. A's

Take care guys

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi JPEE,

I saw that double post!

Looks like you'll have to try out the new lipo's on your hex and I'll bet you won't have the problems your experiencing now. Also lower the settings in your naza since your using the on-board monitor and you should get more accurate flight time I'm sure.

You and your grandson are going to absolutely love the flight lesson! 1 hour in the air and able to handle a Cessna will definitely be memorable and hey, it may even lead to something other than just curiosity in the future. Will you get the chance to go along with them...Cessna's are 4 seaters right?

I saw on the news about a month ago a company here in Orlando that does 1 hour lessons also, just to 'get your feet wet' so to speak. I don't know how much it costs but know they take you out to the Cape Canaveral area and back and you have the opportunity to handle the controls while up there. So something I have put aside for a time later on as something to do with my son when he gets older.

Glad you got all your Christmas running around done. I still have just a little bit left to do myself, then wrap everything up and then I'll be done.

I took the car for a long drive on Friday morning and happy to report no problems. Whew. I actually drove up to a club I found over the summer but never had the chance to follow up with. So I packed up the Zero with a few lipo's (no heli this time), my recently renewed AMA, and hoped for the best. Well, it was great. First off, the field is located atop a finished landfill so its really out of the way of local traffic. And being atop a landfill hill its wide open space all around. I also got to meet 4 really great retired guys. One had a flybarred Trex 600, but he had already flown it before I arrived so we just talked about heli's for a bit. I was questioned about my flying skill so to make sure I could control what I had brought and they were confident to let me fly.

Well, when I unpacked my Zero talk about the questions and amazement. I talked about the FMS brand, MotionRC as a good supplier, quality of the foam and the level of scale detail, the retracts were a special point of interest to them as if they were durable. The runway is this synthetic fabric material laid out much as a tarmac or concrete runway is - so a smooth surface to fly from. I took off using my new method of slowly applying throttle and letting off as the tail begins to sway and she lifted off just beautifully. I flew around just enjoying the open spaces and able to give the occasional full throttle climb out - it was a nice field to fly from. My landing was great as I had that huge unobstructive strip to land on, no light poles or trees to worry about. I heard positive comments after she set down on the mains and had a long roll out ending in a nice stop. I stayed a little longer then I expected just enjoying talking with these guys and hearing all their stories. It was a really nice change for me. I am planning to join next month as soon as I get the funds together as I have to pay initiation in addition to yearly dues. But my short time spent there shows me its worth it, plus its a simple 20 minute drive so that's a plus.


That's about it from my side. Have a good weekend all,

Mark

JPEE

Hello Mark,

I told driving by the used car dealer would be a good long trip lol. Again I am so happy your back on the road for a reasonable price and some sweat equity, well done!

No the plane is a two seat-er for Joe and the Pilot, no rides for me think you. The flight is called a "Discovery Flight Lesson" to let you get your feet wet so to speak and see if this is something

you want to follow through with. them (hopefully for them) to go on purchasing more air time and ground school. They have the same thing for helis too, a small 2 seat Robinson and you fly,

my buddy has done that twice. Here he is in the heli, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHLg94yXuaA


So glad to hear you found a great field to fly at and what sounds like a like a good group of fellas to interact with. My good field where I fly with Joe is 20-22 miles but Joe is on the way so that's nice.

My local field field in the river bed is 12 miles! Your zero flights sound spot on. Yes, it is nice when you hear consoling remarks from respected peers on your skills and flight. I think you have found

a new home I am so happy for you.


Merry Christmas to you and Nick if I don't get back here before then.

John

evdreamer

Mark,

That is good your car is fixed and you didn't have to rebuild the trans.

I got A's in three of my four classes. I am still waiting for my final grade in one class. I am already enjoying my break from school.

That is cool you enjoyed your air field.

John,

That is a cool gift to give your grandson.

Nick

JPEE

Hello Nick,

Congratulations on getting 3 A's! I sincerely hope 4 "A" is in the mail as they say. Remember, your job now is to sleep till noon, eat everything that's not nailed down, gain 5 pounds and enjoy your family. And come Friday the 26th if the stock markets open put that Christmas money to work!


Merry Christmas...... John

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hello John and Nick,

Wishing you a Merry Christmas.

Enjoy today with lots of gifts, good grub, and time with family!

Mark

JPEE

Thank you Mark and we to wish you and your family and Nick and your family a Merry Christmas and a safe New Years.

We were woken this morning with a Skype call from my daughter and grandson. You just can't beat technology for bringing people close on those special days.

John

evdreamer

Merry Christmas everyone.

John,

That sounds like a nice surprise to wake up to.

I did end up getting another A in my last class. I am surprised because it was a difficult class. It kind of helped that I just had one exam and a lot of projects in that class.

Nick

JPEE

So So happy for that 4th A!

Enjoy your day

evdreamer

John,

I had a fun Christmas with my sister's family. I hope you and Mark had a good Christmas.

In the evening on the 25th my antivirus software stopped working. It turns out the company changed the policy without notifying me. I used to have three computers that could use it, but then it went to one computer. I gave them a call and they were very helpful and gave me a code, so I could have three computers again.

Then on the 26th I found out someone was using my credit card online. Luckily I caught it quick enough and it was just a test charge. Now I have to use cash again until my new card arrives. I am not sure how my card info got out there, but it might have been from the Amazon breach this holiday.

Nick

Aframomum

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Hi Nick,

I'm glad you had a nice Christmas with your sister's family.

We actually opened presents yesterday. I had to work Christmas and Christmas Eve so trying to do presents then wouldn't be a good idea as I had to get some time to sleep and I know my son would want to play with all his gifts with dad all day long, so we decided Saturday would be a better idea.

I'm a bit excited as I got a new battery for my transmitter. My original one from 2008 finally gave in so I consider it gave all it had. I got a replacement from an online place called Batteries America. Kinda fell for some marketing hype and got what they call Eneloop cells (NiMH) and they are supposed to hold the charge longer then normal cells. The price wasn't too much more then the standard pack so not too bad.

I did get lucky as my tx pack went while I was visiting the flying field last week and was actually getting my Zero ready for her second flight when the low batt alarm went off. I can only imagine the panic if I were in the air and heard that alarm.

That is a shame the virus company didn't send any alert emails concerning thier software change that would impact multiple computers of yours. Glad it was an easy fix. I hope you let them know they need to do more with keeping their customers up to date.

Sorry to hear that your account got hacked and attempted withdrawl. How were you able to catch it early on? Do you check your account often or is it set up to alert you with small w/d's like that?

I did some shopping with Amazon this season, even signed up for thier new 'Prime' offering, and I hate that they don't have Paypal as a payment option. They keep your credit/debit numbers in their database and after this breach I'm going to have to remove them and figure something out as I do use Amazon sometimes. Might just get a dedicated low balance credit card and only use it for online purchases. Helidirect had some issues too earlier this year but they seemed to have taken care of it and plus they offer paypal to purchase option.

BTW, congrats on straight A's this semester. If I recall you were a bit concerned with some of your courses, Chem esp. Guess no worries in the end.

JPEE,

Glad you were able to Skype with your grandson. Tech is a good thing, I remember the old rotary phones with the 20ft. line so you could 'sorta' walk around the house while on the phone. Oh what a horrible shutter just thinking about that.

Mark

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Oh, almost forgot - I also got this from a member on HF as a Christmas gift.

JPEE

Hello Mark and Nick,


Nick, That's great news that you had a wonderful Christmas with your sister and family. I hope you got all a cash that you had hoped for so you can start your investment fund, that's going to be interesting to watch. No words can express the sorrow forgetting one's credit card hacked and misused. It's happened to me twice and between the police reports and letters to the three major credit agencies just did general PIA.


But for the both of you this is what I do, I never use a credit card so I have one I just never use it. What I do have is a debit card to a checking account with a minimal balance. When there is a purchase I need to make such as Amazon and they do not take PayPal that's where I use the visa debit card that pays ride out of that small checking account. If I ever get hacked they would get a small amount of money. As it runs low I refill that checking account with a transfer from my major checking account. The other thing I did I signed up for my bank where the accounts are and even my credit card though it sits locked away and twice a day I get my account balances emailed to me! Any time there is a movement in either of my accounts deposit, withdrawal twice a day I am notified. So if I ever did get hacked or fraud call it what you will against my accounts I will know within that day or after the second email and I get up in the morning I would see it. As I said going through that police report and credit letters I am Mr. paranoia when it comes to putting numbers on the computer and this has been my panacea.


Well Mark, sounds like you prepared for George to run you into the ground with Christmas toys LOL. That's a good dad seriously to be prepared to be able to share that with your son and wife of course but not to be too tired to play with him lots of respect for ya. Mark, you kind of lost me on somebody on Helle freak gave your Christmas gift? In the words of Ricky Ricardo please S plane? lol


With regard to enloop batteries I have been using them for several years. I use them in my keyboard for my computer, both of my transmitters, and I put them in Joe's transmitter. When you read up on them they will hold a charge for six months best of my recollection. And they come with a charging station that holds four of them for a recharge. I liked the first ones so much as I said that when it came time to outfit Joe it was either the second or third generation which were out and they are even better now. That was a good move Mark, you won't regret it!


Oh, I wanted to bring this to your attention. I ordered some new batteries from buddy RC or sometimes noted as E P buddy RC. They have a line of batteries called Glacier, Jason my brainiac friend has been following these batteries on Helli freak and people really like them and they are giving excellent service. But here is the kicker, if you read the users opinions they say that these are really Gen Aces that have been rebranded! Their price is way below the Gen Ace and adjust a few pennies above Turnigy so I'm giving them a try for my hexa. That'll put me flying with 2 each 3 S 5300 Mah packs. My estimate is that I will get near 14 minutes of flight..


Our Christmas went well, Joe loved his Christmas gift of the one hour discovery flight in the Cessna. Now we just need to schedule a weekend for him to take that flight.

Okay guys, happy new years to the both of you and your families and I look to another year of our keeping our thread alive and staying in contact with each other.

JPEE