robotronski

I use a "Smart Charger"
Bought one a while back to charge 6-cell packs for RC Stadium Trucks.

All-battery.com Part # UPC_800 $23.95

It has a low and high current setting and when the red light turns to green, the battery is ready to use and the current to the pack shuts off so it doesn/t get cooked like the El-cheapo charger does. It comes with all kind of adapters except the one you'll need. I use the alligator clips and bought a JST Connector at the hobby shop to connect the charger to. You could just cut and use the red plug off the original wall wart charger instead, I didn't since I keep the wall wart as my travel charger since it is rather compact.

Check out this place for battery/charger goodies. All-battery.com Never had a problem with them. Even had a Lipo charger fail and they swapped it out fast, no problems (switch broke, didnt hurt my packs from the failure)

I'm always ordering from them, In fact I'll probably get a 7.4 lipo for the Falcon40 and give it a try.

(7.4V 800maH for $12.00, try beating that !!!! Oh yeah, weighs 1/2 of the stock NiMh pack)

Remember Lipo's need a Lipo charger. Also have their Lipo smart charger.

Well I gotta get a morning flight in, today is rain so I'm an indoor pilot today.

Best of luck to you. If I can help in any way let me know... Robo

TheVirus

Got a link to it? I don't want to get the wrong one. Also, what do you mean you had to use aligator clips and a JST connector, I'm not sure what a JST connector is.

Thanks.

TheVirus

I'm guessing you mean this one http://store.all-batts.com/chun-100.html

Though I don't know the mAh of the battery, it says not to use anything under 1100mAh.

robotronski

Nope thats not it, try this one instead.

http://www.all-battery.com/index.asp...OD&ProdID=1351

And the stock Nimh battery that comes with the heli is only 600-700maH anyhow. A bigger number (miili-ampere Hour = mah) means more flight time but also more weight to haul around too.


Heres link to a good shot of a JST connector, I just clip the alligator leads from the sharger cord to the red and black wires on the JST

http://rcehobby.com/images/JSTfemale.jpg

I'll try to upload a picture of my "Sooper Hi-TeK" battery set-up for you too see.

TheVirus

Odd, I went to all-battery.com and apparently it forwarded me to all-bats.com, very odd. So all I would need to do is just use the aligator clips and hook them into the leads on the Falcon 40 battery?

robotronski

I know that a lot of internet retailers have many different wb fronts for some reason (probably something to do with how a GOOGLE search operates I bet) I always check the physical street mailing adress if I suspect its the same vendor with a different web page look.

Yep, I made an adapter out of a wood block (painted black for the high tech look !) with some small brass picture hanger nails pounded into the wood. The I soldered the wires from the JST plug to the brass nails.

Then all I do now is clip the alligator clips to the nail heads. Red to red, black to balck, no mistakes to be made here.

This keeps the alligator clips from accidentally shorting each other out ( FIRE - FIRE !!!!)

I used brass nails as they accept solder readily and won't corrode or rust later on.

Simple, and I use it for all my batteries
[img][/img]

TheVirus

I see now, thanks

bart77

So far, I like everything about the Falcon 40. Seems to be pretty rugged, I've had it for 3 days now and crashed many times (no experience). Broke one blade on the living room couch and one side of the landing gear (with training kit attached) in the front yard (30 ft drop) and only out 12 dollars. But , being impatient about learning this new hobby, I would like to have a good simulator to practice with until I get the basics down.

Is there a flight sim that will work with our Falcon transmitters? And what are the switches for ? I thought is was only 4-channel?

robotronski

I'm glad you think its rugged as well. I crashed today when I lost orientation and all I had to do was find the missing ball bearing on the floor and pop the rotor head back on. It just slides around on the tile floor, my problem is when I hit a table or some chairs.

As far as the trainer cord goes, it's supposed to be used with the FMS simulator which is freeware, download it for free from:

http://www.flying-model-simulator.com/

Problem is you get what you pay for. Quality is nowhere near a purchasewd sim. My opinion only, of course.

As far as the switches on the Tx go, flip em' up and down all you want. They are not even connected inside. I opened up my Tx to adjust the tension on the throttle stick. I bent the little thingy that acts as a ratchet for the sticks position. Once inside, I removed the switches from my Tx for another project that has nothing to do with RC helis. 2 FREE switches included with every heli sold . WOW!!!! My Tx now has two holes where the switches used to be. My guess is that part of the radio is produced on one assembly line and the next manufacturing step determines if its a 4 or 6 channel radio set-up.

TheVirus

Where did you get the JST connector from? Is it a specific kind of will pretty much anything work? I wonder if I can just rip off the JST connector off of the charger that the heli comes with.

snooptalian

My Feedback: (7)

Loving the Falcon so far. Has anyone had a motor burn out yet? Specifically the tail motor? Mine is still good, but I know the tail will burn out soon as I have had it happen on other helis, and that seems to be the biggest gripe people have have about motor driven tails. I plan on upgrading to a direct drive when it does go out. Has anyone done this yet to their Falcon?

robotronski

Feel your tail motor after a flight. Mine is not very hot at all.

It has a smaller pinion gear (brass one) than lets say a Walkera 22E collective heli and that allows the motor to work less to spin the prop.

Have many flights on my original Fal40 with both original motors running strong.

No probs here.

robotronski

EDIT Vers.

As far as the question from The Virus, look at Post #51 above where it says:

You could just cut and use the red plug off the original wall wart charger instead, I didn't since I keep the wall wart as my travel charger since it is rather compact.

Theres so much information on these sites one tends to get lost.

I do it all the time too !!!!!

So yeah, just cut off the plug that already fits the battery connector on the heli. Be sure to leave yourself enough wire to work with.

Best of luck to ya'

TheVirus

Aha, didn't see that part I was going to do it anyway and if I needed it for the wall charger, I'd just strip the wires and twist it back on.

Thanks.

robotronski

By the way most hobby shops that have RC cars have a wide range of battery connectors. The JST plugs are fine for low power stuff like the Faclon 40 electronics or a low amperage batt charger.

For my heavy-duty larger electric motors and chargers, I like the Deans brand of connectors. Excellent product.

mikeang

Hello to everybody.
I am glad to found that there is a Falcon 40 forum.

I have this heli for 2 months and i also love it.

Many times i can hover pretty well, but still i am newbie and cant avoid crashing. I would like your opinion on a problem that i have.

A few times after crashing i saw that the main blade holder was separated from the one bearing, i pushed back and it flew again fine.

One time i had a big crash and the main blade holder was totally separated from the bearings, since then i cant keep the tail straight,sometimes it turns to the left and sometimes to the right, and it vibrates when in the air.

I can see that the blade holder is slightly lifted up at one side, is it possible that i damaged the rotor head?

Today i tried to straight one blade and i broke it, no spare blade [:@]

Thanks.

robotronski

How are the paddles on the fly bar? They can get knocked silly in a crash. If one out of whack with the other you could get bad vibes/instablity. Make sure they are both parallel to the landing gear skids. Both paddles should be level with each other. I set the heli on the table and sight down one paddle across the rotor head and look at the other paddle for alignment issues. Be sure to turn on heli 1st so as servos are at neutral position. Then turn off heli for safety, please.

Also, you may actually have succeeded in bending the main shaft that supports everything...

Its worth checking I say...

Hope you fix it soon, I hate waiting for parts myself!!!!

mikeang

Robotronski.Thanks for the reply.

Everytime i am checking the flybar paddles to ensure that they are in the correct position.

U said that maybe i bend the main shaft; i forgot to mention an important thing, that at low revs and sometimes at high revs i hear friction noise between the main motor pinion and the gear. This must be the problem.

Can somebody post the exploded diagram of this heli? I have the diagram of the Sabre heli which is the same as the F40 but the diagram is not vey clear.

I will order my parts, but will have to wait a bit longer to fix my heli because in the next week i must travel abroad for 2 weeks.

I hope this forum to stay active and more people to join in.

Mike.

xclam

I bought a used Falcon 40 last week and had to replace one main rotor blade and the swashplate. I flew it for the first time yesterday and had fun crashing it many many times. I only broke another main rotor blade after about 20 crashes. I love it but have three problems:

1) I noticed that the Falcon acts kind of strange when you initially plug in the battery. The rotors move sometime on their own eventhough I have the throttle down to the bottom. I always switch on the transmitter first before plugging in the battery and it still happens most of the time. Anyone else have this issue?

2) Another strage thing is that on some crashes, the rotors keep spinning wildly eventhough I cut the throttle on its way down in the grass....shouldn't the rotors stop immediately when I cut the throttle?

3) I have very poor range on the transmitter. Placed new batteries in the TX, and fully charged the RX battery. With the attenna all the way down I can only control the servos and throttle within 3-5 feet. With the antenna all the way up, I get about 15-20 feet of control. Is there a way to tune the TX and RX?

Thanks for any insight.

robotronski

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

A simple fix is to make sure the telescopic antenna on the transmitter is screwed in all the way at the base.

My next suspicion would be the fact that its a used heli... (sorry)

Do you know the 1st owner well, can you find out about previous crash history???

For example, has the transmitter ever been dropped on the ground ???

Its not impossible to have a hairline crack in circuit board somewhere due to an impact.

I would also be sure to re-route the antenna wire away from any motors.

Also how is the battery connector, if the plug is intermittent you'll get radio litches like you described.

Are you useing a name brand battery in the transmitter?? Duracells pump out enough juice. If the battery indicator is not lit up green, that could give you the limited radio range you mentioned. That transmitter is power hungry too, needs lots of current.

Process of elimination will do wonders for you.

Good luck in your search!!!

xclam

Thanks for the reply Robo.

1) The batteries are Rayovac and they are new, but I can buy some high-powered Duracell batteries to give them a try.
2) I made sure that the antenna is screwed on tight.
3) I have the receiver antenna wire wrapped around the left landing gear bar. Is there a better way to do this? Can I replace the antenna wire with a ticker gauge wire?
4) I don't know the original owner, but the TX has no scuffs or cracks that would lead me to a dropping incident.

robotronski

Are you still using the original NiMh (Green Pack ) battery?

As far as the antenna on the heli goes, wire size is insignificant. It is the total length that effects the reception. Based on fractional wavelength of a radio wave at 72MHz.

Are there a several wraps of antenna wire around the gear leg? Any chance the original owner cut the wire (or snapped it in a crash)? Sometimes a wire can break inside the plastic insulation from a sharp impact yet the outside will look OK. Just a thought here...

My next step would be to try to open up the plastic case covering the receiver and look for a loose wire or bad solder connection. Again I cant touch or see your heli so I'm just telling you what I would check if I had the same symptoms.

Keep at it, its a ton of satisfaction when YOU SOLVE a problem and GET TO FLY that day !!!!!

robotronski

Oh and one more thing, what do you mean when you say the rotors move when you turn on the heli?

Does the rotor actually spin a few times (drive motor turns large black gear?)

Or does it just wiggle a bit, but no spinning? (servos move/tilt rotor head up and down breifly)

This is important to know...for my diagnosis.

oblakmd

Hi everyone.

I fried my charger. I am looking for a replacement and I found robotronski's post for the Smart Univresal Battery Charger.

I do not understand that the if the stock battery is 650 mAh and the charger is for batteries 1100 or over, then what will it do to the battery? If this is not what I need, then what? If it just decreases the battery life, then no biggie.

Oh, another thing...would charging 2 battery packs in parallel make the mAh 1300?

Thanks
Mitch

robotronski

Not to worry, all the 1100 number means is that it is capable of putting out 1100mA of charge if needed. It will have no problem charging a smaller 650mAH pack.

Where did you see that number ? 1100ma?? You are talking about the Tenergy Ni-Cd/NiMh universal charger?

I use the same charger for my RC trucks and they have 3300maH NiMh packs. It does a good job on those too, just takes a bit longer to top off the battery to peak volts, thats all.

My charger has a switch that sets charge current to either 900mA or 1800mA. I use 900mA setting for my heli packs. Its the charge current that makes the battery warm during charging. If you continue to apply current after it is "Full" the current produces excess heat. The smart charger senses the "Full" state of charge and shuts off the charging current supply, then lights up the green LED.

You won't cook your stock650maH battery with that charger. With the provided alligator clips, I use it to charge cordless drills and all sorts of household gadgets.

The charge light is red when charging and green when ready. Green means go fly !!!!

Not sure about charging 2 packs in parallel. Risky if one pack hogs all the current (internal resistance not the same)
Not sure how the smart charger would react to such a condition...

Hope I was some help to ya'