The following is simply a copy & paste of a post I made on RC Heli forum, "RunRyder" earlier this month.
What helicopter? What gyro? What servos? What radio? What sim?
Do these questions look familiar? They should.
So often, as in several times daily, these questions are asked by a forum member.
I don't have a problem with anyone asking the questions, as I think everyone has been in a situation being torn between two products. Decision making can be difficult.
It's some of the typical answers I disagree with, as well as who's replying, who perhaps don't have the "qualifications" to form a valid opinion based on their experience (or lack thereof).
Genuine, unbiased answers & opinions are few and far between on an internet forum. Not saying the genuine answers & opinions are non-existent, but it takes a skill to determine whats genuine and whats not.
The major problem I see is that internet forums such as this one are too influential, and create too much of an impact as to what products people buy and what they don't, and what becomes "industry standard".
______________________________________
RunRyder
RunRyder has strict advertising policies.
* "With site continuity and appeal at stake, RR policy disallows Reps from influencing discussions."
This is all good, but unfortunately it isn't 100% effective.
RunRyder administrators don't always know who's a rep and who's not.
Forever there will be brand cheerleaders and fan boys. Who are they? Are they Reps? Who's to stop them?
* According to RunRyder, the definition of a Rep is:
"Anyone that develops a pattern of product promotion."
That could be anyone on this forum. The only problem is that if you get rid of one, there will be another brand-loyal fan boy to step up and promote a product.
* According to RR,
Membership break down goes as follows:
99% represents the true hobbyist. 1% is the compensated insider. The 1% will have their promotional cheerleading (spam) kept in check irregardless of post contributions. The site is about the end user and their contributions.
I don't know where this statistic comes from. Sometimes it feels like more than 1% cheer lead and promote. Apparently some "fan boys" are some pretty dedicated individuals working without compensation.
I like RunRyder. For me, this forum gives me the most insight and technical information. I'm not as naive as one might think and deny that RR doesn't have more than it's share of biased information, there is plenty of it here, I have learned to detect it when I see it, and I filter it out.
I'm confident that RR's vendor & member policies help to make it what it is. These policies are what set this forum apart from others. Without these policies, RR wouldn't be what it is today, and could not live up to it's mission statement.
______________________________________
What did you buy?
"Eury" posted a comment on a recent thread that really opened my eyes. It was something I myself have known for some time, but have never given it enough thought to be able to put it in words.
Quote
"90% of the posts on this subject are useless. This is just a "What did you buy", (thread). The majority of the people posting don't have experience with both"
The quote posted above was in response to a "what radio should I buy" thread. It applies to all the numerous similar threads, all of them that start with "What ______ should I buy?"
He went on,
Quote
they just went out and bought the first that was available, then the rest went and bought what their friends had. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's hardly a good reason to decide what to buy in the future
Of those who responded, I'm curious to know why did THEY buy what they bought?
Perhaps:
* When they chose Brand A, Brand B did not yet exist
* They themselves were influenced by a 'majority rules' 'what did you buy thread' on a forum
* Brand A or Brand B just happens to be what the salesman at the LHS presented to him at the counter, or the LHS deals only with Brand A or Brand B, but not both
* His "mentor" at the field chooses Brand A, because of which, so did he
Siding with the majority seems to be the most influential factor.
Regardless, features Brand A has over Brand B may or may not have been considered in the decision making process.
At the end of the day, what they bought is always "the best".
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WHO ARE THE MAJORITY?
We need to have a look at forum demographics.
To quote a member on this forum from a few years ago,
"Some people are in this hobby to fly model helicopters. Some people are in this hobby for Internet drama."
While this forum has a mix of both types of hobbyists, I feel strongly that the active membership base(regulars) is not an accurate representation of the "real hobbyists" we have in this hobby.
Been to some events, and even visiting the local field, I was surprised to find out that seemingly most of the people I have met don't participate in online discussions, many don't have an account to do so.
In my opinion, of those who I've met, these guys who don't visit the forums have extensive experience and a broad knowledge of this hobby.
I also value their product opinions as they're not as influenced by marketing or hype.
To me it seems as if I have met far more guys who DON'T come online regularly than those who do. I imagine most of you who read this can relate to this and possibly confirm my statement.
Of all the forum "regulars", how many of us can say that we are mostly uninfluenced by hype and marketing? Are we of a generic sampling representing "real world" toy helicopter enthusiasts?
I don't think so.
Is this the group of individuals most qualified to define the "industry standards"?
______________________________________
When asked, "What should I buy?"
Many of the same answers come up again and again. I don't agree with them all
* Buy what your Local Hobby Shop has parts for
Unless your LHS is one of those large online retailers, you can forget about this whole idea. Remember we live in America, and by now you should know that LHS's cater mostly to the RC Car guys, next the plankers.
For the majority of us who don't live down the road from HeliProz or Ready Heli, if we were to take that advice, it means we would all be limited to flying Blade CP's and the occasional HeliMax kit they sell at Hobby Clowns USA.
Of the rare "local" LHS that do carry some parts for our heli's, I can't expect them to carry ALL the parts I need for when I crash. Maybe the usual boom, main shaft & spindle, but after that, I can expect the Hobby Shop to get it in with they're next order due middle of next week.
I think I'd be better off ordering everything I need online and having it within 2 to 3 days.
* Buy what the guys at the field have so they can help you
Thats a load of crap.
If there is actually good, experienced help at your field, he can help you set up any model, any gyro, any radio. You learn one, you pretty much learn them all.
Good help is everywhere. Just because you bought Brand A doesn't mean guy with Brand B won't help you.
If he can't, he's probably not the kind of guy I'd turn to for help.
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Which side do I listen to?
I asked "What should I buy?"
"I have a bunch of cheerleaders in both of my ears, one side tells me to buy Brand A, the other side tells me to buy Brand B"
Who do you listen to? 70% tell me to go with B, while 30% tell me to go with A. A few said they've used both
Here's where it gets interesting:
I looked, and while 70% recommended Brand B, none of them advised against Brand A.
On the contrary, of the 30% who recommend Brand A, many of them claim to have experience with with Brand B, and advise strongly against Brand B.
Can a 2.3:1 majority be wrong? Why did so many people come out of the woodwork?
My belief is the 2.3:1 majority comes out of the woodwork to cheerlead:
* to feel positive about their past purchase
* to fit in with their peers. Their peers promote the product, they should to
* to help ensure future success of the product company
I brought up forum demographics earlier. I think this plays a significant impact as to why we had such a lopsided decision.
Of the guys here that bought into initial hype and marketing of Brand B, could it be that they are a louder, more boisterous group of individuals?
Perhaps there is a Brand C, and the guys who like Brand C are pretty laid back, stay within a particular section of RR, and they seldom come out of the hole to cheer lead. Perhaps Brand C is the obvious choice to buy?
______________________________________
Before you ask
Have a look around online. Go look at the specs & features of Brand A.
Look at the specs & features of Brand B. Make your own comparisons between the two.
Look at all options with an open mind.
--OR--
Of course you could still create a new topic that asks what to buy.
Just brace yourself and expect a slough of answers from a biased majority that have experience with one brand but not the other.
They should all be happy to tell you what they bought and tell you how it's "the best" they've ever owned.
If it's what you want and you have done your homework, there is nothing at all wrong with siding with a majority.
The catch is that you can't do your homework here.
What's wrong is when you DON'T do your homework and dive in head first and trusted the majority rule that said, "the water was plenty deep enough on this end".
Persuaded by the majority's cheers, at least you'll "fit in"
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Protecting that 2.4ghz receiver
It's always necessary to protect your electronics onboard your helicopter. Electronics are what keep your helicopter in the air.
Of all the electronics, the receiver is the most important, as it is the only link between you the pilot, and the model. It's in your best interest to protect the receiver from shock & vibrations to ensure it keeps functioning properly to avoid a dangerous or disasterous situation.
A few years ago when everyone and their brother used FM receivers, a popular method of choice was a plastic case padded with foam on the inside. It had an openings on either end. One end wider to pass through all of your servo, gyro & governor wires, the opposite end just a small hole just large enough for the antenna wire.
A simpler option, possibly even lighter weight, was a foam rubber sheet wrapped around the receiver. A rubber band would be placed around the wrap to hold it all together, and usually more rubber bands, sometimes zip-ties, would hold it to the helicopter. It looked kinda tacky, but it worked. It didn't matter that it looked ugly since everything would be covered up by the canopy anyways. It was a good option both economical and extremely effective at serving it's intended purpose.
Today, it's a different story. Those FM receivers are a thing of the past, at least in the RC Helicopter world they are. Unless you've been living in a cave you know that 2.4ghz spread spectrum radio technology is commonplace in the hobby.
The new receivers are great. No longer do we have to worry about routing a long antenna wire. Brands like Spektrum, JR and Futaba have available several different receiver models, some of them purpose-built for specific models such as helicopters, giant scale airplanes and park flyers.
It's still important to protect our receiver from the shock of a crash impact or vibration from an obnoxious nitro engine. With the 2.4ghz receivers comes a problem; we can no longer protect our equipment like we did with the FM stuff. The plastic box and the foam rubber wrap are no longer practical. With the new technology comes unique requirements in the positioning of antenna wires and additional "satellite receivers" where applicable. Not to mention the wires on some of these receivers are very fragile.
I've seen some pretty iffy setups on others' machines. I've seen the receiver stuck to the frame with some double-sided sticky tape, hard-mounted with a couple of zip-ties... What are they doing for vibration absorption? Nothing.
I've been searching for the best way to mount a 2.4ghz receiver, and I think I've found it. Credit for this (to the best of my knowledge) goes to Augusto from AvantRC.
He posted this himself on his own forum in the beginning of 2007.
It's very simple to do, and the only equipment you need is Velcro.
Put a prickly side of Velcro on both the receiver and the airframe.
Next, take 2 pieces of the fuzzy Velcro and stick them back to back to form a 'pillow'.
Secure the receiver with a Velcro strap, and thats it, you're done!
Understand that when you put the strap over the receiver, you don't want to fix it too tight, as that would just squish down our Velcro pillow and defeat it's purpose.
The Velcro pillow we have created is pretty thick as you can see in the pictures. It should do quite well in absorbing vibes, keeping them out of the receiver.
What I like about this solution is that it's Velcro. Removing it is a breeze, and reinstalling it is just as easy.
Some other options in vibration damping for your 2.4ghz receiver I have seen or tried myself:
A foam rubber pad between the frame and the receiver, secured with a velcro strap.
This works just as you would expect, the downside is that the foam rubber pad (along with the receiver) can still slide around and work it's way from under the strap.
"Zeal Tape." Zeal Tape really works. It's really nice and squishy and provides excellent vibration damping capabilities. The downside is that it's got a pretty strong adhesive, and doesn't work too well after you pulled something off of it. If you need to remove your receiver at the field for whatever reason, you might have to cut yourself off a new square of Zeal Tape to remount your receiver.
As always with any other method, be sure to use a Velcro strap to ensure your receiver isn't going anywhere.
Of all the electronics, the receiver is the most important, as it is the only link between you the pilot, and the model. It's in your best interest to protect the receiver from shock & vibrations to ensure it keeps functioning properly to avoid a dangerous or disasterous situation.
A few years ago when everyone and their brother used FM receivers, a popular method of choice was a plastic case padded with foam on the inside. It had an openings on either end. One end wider to pass through all of your servo, gyro & governor wires, the opposite end just a small hole just large enough for the antenna wire.
A simpler option, possibly even lighter weight, was a foam rubber sheet wrapped around the receiver. A rubber band would be placed around the wrap to hold it all together, and usually more rubber bands, sometimes zip-ties, would hold it to the helicopter. It looked kinda tacky, but it worked. It didn't matter that it looked ugly since everything would be covered up by the canopy anyways. It was a good option both economical and extremely effective at serving it's intended purpose.
Today, it's a different story. Those FM receivers are a thing of the past, at least in the RC Helicopter world they are. Unless you've been living in a cave you know that 2.4ghz spread spectrum radio technology is commonplace in the hobby.
The new receivers are great. No longer do we have to worry about routing a long antenna wire. Brands like Spektrum, JR and Futaba have available several different receiver models, some of them purpose-built for specific models such as helicopters, giant scale airplanes and park flyers.
It's still important to protect our receiver from the shock of a crash impact or vibration from an obnoxious nitro engine. With the 2.4ghz receivers comes a problem; we can no longer protect our equipment like we did with the FM stuff. The plastic box and the foam rubber wrap are no longer practical. With the new technology comes unique requirements in the positioning of antenna wires and additional "satellite receivers" where applicable. Not to mention the wires on some of these receivers are very fragile.
I've seen some pretty iffy setups on others' machines. I've seen the receiver stuck to the frame with some double-sided sticky tape, hard-mounted with a couple of zip-ties... What are they doing for vibration absorption? Nothing.
I've been searching for the best way to mount a 2.4ghz receiver, and I think I've found it. Credit for this (to the best of my knowledge) goes to Augusto from AvantRC.
He posted this himself on his own forum in the beginning of 2007.
It's very simple to do, and the only equipment you need is Velcro.
Put a prickly side of Velcro on both the receiver and the airframe.
Next, take 2 pieces of the fuzzy Velcro and stick them back to back to form a 'pillow'.
Secure the receiver with a Velcro strap, and thats it, you're done!
Understand that when you put the strap over the receiver, you don't want to fix it too tight, as that would just squish down our Velcro pillow and defeat it's purpose.
The Velcro pillow we have created is pretty thick as you can see in the pictures. It should do quite well in absorbing vibes, keeping them out of the receiver.
What I like about this solution is that it's Velcro. Removing it is a breeze, and reinstalling it is just as easy.
Some other options in vibration damping for your 2.4ghz receiver I have seen or tried myself:
A foam rubber pad between the frame and the receiver, secured with a velcro strap.
This works just as you would expect, the downside is that the foam rubber pad (along with the receiver) can still slide around and work it's way from under the strap.
"Zeal Tape." Zeal Tape really works. It's really nice and squishy and provides excellent vibration damping capabilities. The downside is that it's got a pretty strong adhesive, and doesn't work too well after you pulled something off of it. If you need to remove your receiver at the field for whatever reason, you might have to cut yourself off a new square of Zeal Tape to remount your receiver.
As always with any other method, be sure to use a Velcro strap to ensure your receiver isn't going anywhere.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
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