Martin Harris - Moderator

Hi Neil and welcome to the forum. I’m sure I’m speaking for many members here (and probably most of the longer term ones) in recording my thanks and appreciation of your superb design and vision in bringing Laser engines to the market. I hope my Lasers will last me out!

I suspect that the lack of response to the OP’s actual question is due to the enormous area requested. Perhaps, Enforcer, if you’re a bit more specific you might get some suggestions?

The wiring suggests a brushed speed controller but I haven’t seen one without its heat shrink to confirm it.

Not that far away - I’ve taken the highway to Hull…

Spring is sprung (except, apparently, in West Wales and Somerset) so it’s time to reawaken this thread. Unfortunately I’m engaged on missionary work in East Yorkshire this weekend so missed today’s lovely flying weather and have nothing to report.

Is it time to put winter to bed and reopen the spring thread?

That would have been Tom Wright. The easiest solution is to use the same propeller and cell count in your new model. If the combination isn’t suitable, you could measure the power (watts) with a wattmeter and use that as the top limit for a different cell count/propeller combination - checking that the current (amps) doesn’t exceed the ESC rating.

Almost inevitably - I’m unavailable for flying this weekend!

Funnily enough I just tried this too and noticed that counterintuitively, the contrast increases as you turn the roller to the left.

A heavier prop will be of benefit in manoeuvres involving torque and gyroscopic effects such as the Lomcevak.

Similarly, these are what we use - with the LED on extended leads. Very handy as one type can be used for a variety of functions. https://store.flytron.com/collections/led-light-systems/products/strobon-v2-navigation-light The lenses which they sell complement the effect on the nose light but my top mounted one works well without. https://www.flytron.com/products/strobon-v2-polycarbonate-lens

Isn’t the trade name Whattmeter rather than wattmeter? Strictly speaking, they don’t measure watts but calculate them from the product of measured voltage and current.

The wing “trick” is the most reliable. I have a white LED fitted in the nose of my Arrows Hawk (and a strobing one on the top decking) which have their uses when flying in a tight gaggle of 5 or more as we frequently enjoy, but their primary benefit is cosmetic. The downside is while doing an approach in poor light when you can lose the wings in the glare - fit a switch so that you can turn it off!

Several speculative posts (and replies quoting them) removed. Please respect Jon’s request not to post comments and questions about the decision made by the company’s owner. From a personal point of view, I’m saddened by the loss of these fine engines in the near future and wish Jon (and his fellow employees) all the best for the future and thanks for all his efforts over the years. Thanks also to Neil Tidey for the original design and concept of the Laser engine family.

Great that it’s sorted - hope you enjoy flying it.

You can open the throttle after turning the transmitter on - it’s the ESC seeing full throttle when the flight battery is connected that starts the training sequence.

The theory is that the engine runs at peak efficiency to charge the battery which acts as a reservoir for driving the electric motor(s). Unlike a conventional engine which has to run at varying speeds and loads with complex sensor monitored controls. It’s an interesting concept that seems to have value while the electric charge infrastructure is being developed or a better alternative is found. It does nothing to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. While there are batteries to carry, I would imagine there are weight savings on a larger engine and transmission to help balance the differences.

That’s exactly the point. Your ESC and motor have been shown to be working so it has to be a problem with the signal being seen by the receiver. Did you confirm that the other servos e.g. ailerons, elevator, respond to control inputs to confirm that your receiver is bound to the transmitter? If so, then follow Rotten Row’s guidance.

Have you performed the ESC training procedure? If your transmitter’s throttle range isn’t recognised then the ESC may not operate the motor. Before doing anything, check that the throttle range hasn’t been altered from default and that the trim is at neutral.

Reconnected the ESC? I assume you mean reconnected it to the receiver. No - if your motor runs correctly then it may be a transmitter programming problem. Do you have the ESC plugged in to the correct throttle channel in the receiver? It may not be channel 3 as you're used to with Futaba - I don't know FlySky. Do the other controls respond? If not, there could be a binding error.

What? What's a whatt? What's bad in your earlier post? The unit being measured is the watt (note the lack of capitalisation) abbreviated to W (note the capitalisation). Unless you're referring to a trade name, I think you could argue that wattmeter without the space would be the correct spelling for the power measuring equivalent of the voltage measuring voltmeter. An ammeter rather messes up the pattern...

While a servo tester will give a "clean" input to the ESC, you still need your ESC to control the motor so it will be at the same risk of damage from a faulty motor. P.S. I'm assuming this is a 3 phase brushless motor and not a DC one?

I'm a bit confused...it happens...too often these days... Your sister seems to have kept a photo of you boarding G_AHAG - you only flew in 1956 - a current pilot, who I'm assuming wasn't associated with the aircraft in 1956, told you it wasn't labelled as SCENIC at that time? Did you get any further with your research?

While it could be a myriad of things, the first that comes to mind is whether you're using a Futaba transmitter? Why should that make a difference? Futaba throttles work the opposite way to almost everyone else's and need reversing, otherwise most ESCs won't arm. Also, have you calibrated your ESC - usually a case of connecting the battery with the throttle wide open (propeller NOT fitted please!) wait for the beeping to stop and close the throttle - refer to specific instructions if possible. Don't forget that if you're reusing an IC model memory, the end points must be returned to 100% range.

I've pasted this exceptionally clear explanation (I can understand it!) of the technical differences from another thread - thanks Pete: