Accessories
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Servo chatter
So, metal or plastic gear? What's it to be? This tutorial is all about servos, how they work, how to fit them and which one's to choose. First let's look at how they operate. ANATOMY No matter what the size or type, the components that make up a servo are practically the same, and knowing…
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Hitec H4
It's been pretty quiet on the charger front for the last few years. There were a glut of cheap and reliable new units on offer a while back, all in similar vein – anodised blue metal body, four programming buttons, 50W output, comparable software – it seemed like they'd all come from the same sausage…
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Battery Chargers Demystified
Chargers can seem a little confusing at first but a good charger will soon become a valued tool. It seems that not long ago we had a very simple life when it came to batteries. Other than a few pioneering electric flyers, almost every R/C modeller had fairly standard equipment, usually comprising a model fitted…
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MVVS outrunners
MVVS are a Czech manufacturing company with an established reputation for engineering excellence. Although the firm has been making model i.c. engines since 1952 I was still surprised to see that it has turned its resources to the electric flight scene with this, the launch of a home-grown brushless motor range. In pursuance of the…
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RTF Tx rechargeable battery conversion
Last Christmas my wife gave me an indoor helicopter, the type where the flight battery is charged directly from the transmitter (Tx). Whilst this method is very convenient it wasn't long before the Tx batteries needed replacing, especially as I was rapidly becoming addicted to this micro hovering marvel. I tried swapping the four single-use…
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Telemetry
For years, decades in fact, model flyers have wondered just what’s happening to their aircraft as they streak across the sky. Models can be subject to stresses that are difficult, if not impossible, to appreciate from the ground while, stresses aside, engines and power systems can behave differently when they meet moving air. Flyers…
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O.S. go brushless!
WIth brushless electric motor sales decimating those of glow engines and small glow engines in particular, it's perhaps no surprise that O.S. have finally released their own range of brushless outrunners. There are four initial releases all designed in-house and featuring a special cooling system that brings air inside the motor for improved efficiency and…
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New battery technology
Scientists working on the possibility of electric powered manned flight at the Hamburg Geschellshafts Zentrum (HGZ) in Germany have developed a revolutionary new type of battery. The new cells are based on a substance called ‘colloidal selenium’. “Selcol” batteries, as they will be known, have a number of significant advantages. Their charge density is…
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Futaba S3152 servos
This review was first published in 2005, the S3152 servo remains on sale. The advances in servo technology haven’t really caused much excitement among modellers, have they? We’ve just taken for granted the servos’ steadily increasing rotational speeds and torque, and accepted that their increasing cost is the price of progress and reliability. Once we’ve…
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Plasti-dip
Distributed by Jamara, PLASTI DIP is a new synthetic rubber coating (liquid rubber) that dries in the air and can be easily applied by spraying, brushing or dipping. The insulated rubber coating protects, adds grip, seals yet remains flexible while resistant to moisture and acids. It adheres to metal, wood, glass, stone, rubber, concrete, fabric,…
