imsofaman

My Feedback: (2)

I have a Voyager E and would like to upgrade to a brushless motor. I have been looking at the Astro 020 and the Hacker...the one suggested for the Voyager. The Astro is cheaper but wondering if is infact a good choice. Any advice would be great.

rwainw

Imsofaman,

I've had both on a Voyager E so I guess I'm qualified to toss out my opinion. Get the Hacker C40-8L and fly it with 8 or 10 NiMH cells or a even better a 3s4p ThunderPower LiPO pack. The Astro is certainly cheaper but it's NOT the best motor for the VE. The Hacker has far more torque and does not get hot. My Astro was the original design and it seized twice (both due to heat) before I replaced it with the Hacker. The new Astro has a built in heatsink, but I have heard of continuing heat problem even with that. I fly mine with the C40 and a Hacker 40-3p ESC. Currently I'm using a 17t pinion and use the GOV mode of the ESC to operate in Idle Up 1 with a straight 90% throttle curve and couldn't ask for better performance. Hope that helps...any other questions, just ask !!

bmratc72

I just bought a voyager E last week, I cant help you with that question, however, i do remember reading a post on the yahoo forum specifically for the voyager E about motor upgrades. you may want to go check that out. Hope it helps.

rwainw

You're right bmratc72, a great group of folks on the VE group...I should have mentioned them in my first post.

bmratc72

thanks. I do have a quick question for you rwainw. Where do you order your parts for your VE (if you still need to that is). The first day I fley mine I crashed hard and had to order 8 seperate parts. I ordered from helihobby on line sunday 1-2 day mail. It's friday and i havent received them yet. thanks

bmratc72

rwainw

I get virtually all my stock parts from [link=http://www.heliproz.com]HeliProz[/link]. They have always had the parts I need and they have a good selection of upgrades at better prices than I've found elsewhere. For upgrades I use HeliProz, [link=http://www.aircraft-world.com]Aircraft World[/link] (electric motor prices can't be beat), [link=http://www.fxaeromodels.com]FX Aeromdels[/link] (good motors and accessories plus carbon frames and such) and for servos and related parts I use [link=http://www.servocity.com]Servo City[/link]. Hope that helps.

By the way, here is the link to the Voyager Group homepage over on Yahoo!! [link=http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JRVoyagerE/]Voyager E Yahoo Group[/link]. Truely a great bunch of folks who will help with almost any VE issue.

KnimRod

I usually order my VE replacement parts from HeliHobby too. They're not the fastest or even the easiest outfit to deal with but I always get my parts. When they ship, they will send you an email with a copy of the invoice. You can usually count on receiving your items 2-3 days after that if shipped by priority mail. They may be shut down over the holidays and I'm guessing there will probably be delays from the PO too. Good luck!

Lance

imsofaman

My Feedback: (2)

Wow...Aircraft seems to have the best deal!!! I will be waiting for an e-mail from making sure that I have chosen the correct ESC....Hacker MASTER HELICOPTER 40-3P BEC. I think that is correct. The motor will be the Hacker C40 11S. Thanks for all of your help and links!!!!!

Dave

rwainw

imsofaman,

You might want to consider the C40-8L as that is generally considered the "best" motor for the VE. The 11S and the 8L are really close in terms of KV rating but the 8L being the longer motor should provide more torque with very close to the same RPM. The Hacker 40-3p BEC is what I use and it has been bulletproof for me. The only issue with it is the lack of a "soft start" mode so make sure you set your throttle curve at something like 0-45-85-90-100 in the Normal mode. For Idle-Up 1 (or Stunt depending on your radio) I use a straight 90-90-90-90-90 setting with the GOV mode enabled. Start up in Normal then switch to Idle Up for most flying.

If you order from AC world they ship via the Japanese post which becomes Priority Mail when it hits the states. If you want it a little faster, ask them to ship via EMS which is a higher priority method. When it gets to the US it then goes as EXPRESS mail which is overnight. It took 4 days from when I ordered mine until it arrived at my door. They are excellent vendors!!

Lance,

You might want to check out HeliProz for replacement parts...unless you want them shipped Priority Mail. Proz only does UPS but their pricing is always the lowest I've found. If your order is more than 100.00, shipping (UPS ground) is free (something I've had to use a couple of times after gravity attacks).

imsofaman

My Feedback: (2)

Well...I was going by what Aircraft was reccomending for the motor. Although another sight had suggested the C40 8L. Damn....I am not doubting you RWAIMW....it is just confusing to me. I have airplane background and I have never used Hacker before and I am a rookie with the helis. AXI and MPjet are the brushless motors I have delt with in the past.

I had bought my AXI motor from Aircraft and it came within a week. Great people to deal with.

Thanks for you feed back......any info is appreciated!!!!!

rwainw

imsofaman,

I know what you mean...all sorts of choices and different ideas. Before I bought my 8L I did a bunch of homework trying to confirm what everyone was telling me then I decided to try and save a couple of bucks and bought the Astro. Two months later I was buying the 8L (which came HIGHLY recommended) and I've never looked back. The KV (rpm's per volt) value of both motors is very close...3750 for the 8L and 3818 for the 11S. Add in normal load on the drive train and any other mechanical drag and the end result will likely be a wash RPM wise. The higher torque of the 8L "should" help overcome those drag factors plus give you additional "grunt" when you load up the rotor during manuvers. That should mean less heat build-up and better use of the available battery power and longer motor life. I don't know what your flying plans are for the VE, but sooner or later you'll be glad you have the extra ooomphh of the 8L. Hope this helps, let me know if I can provide any more info.

One other note...make sure that if you order the Hacker ESC that you get the Heli version...there is a difference in programming features.

imsofaman

My Feedback: (2)

Hey....you are the man!!!!! Thanks so much for the honest and up-front knowledge! Wow! So....now that I know which motor to get...what about the ESC? Hacker MASTER HELICOPTER 40-3P BEC 7-10 cells....is this the right one?

rwainw

Thats the one....works good lasts a long time. I fly mine using a TP 3s4p lipo pack and the Hacker ESC with no problems at all!!!

imsofaman

My Feedback: (2)

The TP 3s4p lipo pack is like $150.00? How may minutes do you get with this pack? Is it an investment that should be made? I have twenty Sanyo 2400s that have not been made into packs yet and I have five eight cell packs that are like new. So I am up to eyeballs in Sanyos. Just curious about your satisfaction with the lipos. How many packs do you own?

rwainw

The LiPO's are great but pricey (about 230.00 for 8200mah pack) plus they require a special charger (more money[]). I get about 25-30 mins of non-stop flying on them with incredible power but I usually break the flights up into 10-12 minute segments. If you have that many nicads laying around just use them for a while...make up a couple of 10 cell packs and try both the 8 and 10 cell configuration. After you get some time on the heli and you're sure it's the right one for you then drop the cash for the LiPO's.

imsofaman

My Feedback: (2)

Ralph,
I put in my order to Aircraft this morning. Can't wait to drop in everything. I have to replace my main rotor hub after dumping her when I had a "brain fart". My local hobby shop has ordered it and should be here Friday. Maybe by the weekend I will be ready to fly again.

Another question.....main rotor balacer.....where do I find one?

rwainw

I get all my VE stuff..stock parts and general heli accessories from [link=http://www.heliproz.com]HeliProz[/link]. They're quick, efficient and very knowledgeable plus they have the best prices around. They don't do much if any electric stuff, but when it comes to heli's in general they're great.