Trying out plastic velcro on the servos

I wanted to give plastic velcro a chance with the servo mounting.

I also wanted to show off a fasntastic tool I bought from the local RC shop for making the perfect 90 degree bend in the linkage rod...

And finally, you can see how the torque, all 48 ounces of it, tugs the servo off the velcro. (Dang!)

Here's a short video summarizing my attempt with plastic velcro.

Adding another hinge, dismantling a satellite motor

After taking a few nights off, it was time to jump back into R2 work.

Tonight I traced the spot on the other front door panel for adding another hinge. This hinge will be in a better location for a servo to mount, just like I did on the other side last week.


After sanding clear a spot for the hinge, I mixed some JB Kwik and laid out the hinge on top of it. I'll let this dry overnight even though it should be done in less than an hour.

Finally, it was time to remove the shoulder mounts off the satellite motor that has failed. At some point, either through bad wiring or a fault connection somewhere, the motor does not power on.

The motor will not be thrown away. Instead, it is being sent to Jerry Greene to be dismantled. These motors work great with one huge weakness....the gear inside the motors are prone to failing. Several builders have had their motors shear the gear inside. Upon further examination, many have noted that the gear is not made of a very strong metal. With Jerry's CAD abilities and shop resources, it is hoped we can make a replacement gear out of a stronger material that can stand up to the heavy loads our droids put them under.

Here's the motor with the shoulder hub off, all that remains is the mounting piece to the frame.

And here's the satellite motor, ready to be stuffed in a box and shipped away.

That's it for this evening.

Setting up the SyRen controller with dome motor (more); New eye lense

Last night I got the dome spinning via remote control.

The video clip I uploaded was large, so I didn't have time to post some photos and commentary of the setup.

As always, I printed the SyRen documentation, reviewed it then gathered the pieces together to get the assembly going.

In my testing of the receiver and transmitter last week, I learned that the Spektrum power switch was defective. I exchanged it for a new one last weekend. (Its nice to have a fully stocked R/C shop 5 miles away!)

Since this wouldn't be any kind of permanent installation, I used alligator clips and some pieces of a cut up paperclip to make most of the electrical. I also picked up a 12" servo extension cable for the connection to the receiver.

Here it is is, all wired up.

As the video (previous post) shows, the dome turns but it is catching in several spots. There are a few things some fellow builders suggested checking, which I will in the next night or so.

And one more thing...a new part arrival, a radar eye lense. These have the different profile, where they are taller than the old style.

Installed Sysren10a Motor controller to Pittman motor

Adding a hinge & making a servo bracket

Last time I learned that I didn't plan my hinge location well.

This time, I clamped the skins back on and traced where a "good" spot would be to place a third hinge.



As I had last time, I prepped two hinges. I found using tin-snippers worked AWESOME to cut the hinge. I also drilled a small hole for where the servo push-rod would go. (Much easier to do when not mounted in the skins!)

I sanded smooth where I wanted to place the hinges and traced around the hinge, marking where to glob the JB Weld Kwik.

And the JB Weld Kwik is applied and drying.

While that is drying, I am experiementing with some angle metal (aluminum) I bought at Lowe's. I wanted to see what kind of bracket I could fashion out of this material.

After using both a jigsaw and hacksaw to fashion a quick, make shift bracket.

I used some 4-40 screws and despite some messy holes, everything bolts into place.

Always use a hole punch! And if possible, a drill press. Despite my best efforts, the drill bit wandered around on me.

And here's another shot. Ideally, after some careful measuring, the bracket would be JB Welded to the skin.

I would really like to use a thicker material that allows for a bracket with threaded holes. But we'll see how this works when clamped into position tomorrow.

Trying out the Robart hinges and servos

I managed, after a great deal of trial and error, to get my Spektrum DX6i radio and the BR6000 receiver "bound". The BR6000 doesn't come with much of a manual, just a sheet of paper explaining the process.

The big problem I had is the manual talkes about a male bind plug, yet they include a female one.

Also, the manual and paperwork with the receiver both instruct you to wait for a green light while binding the receiver and transmitter. There ISN'T a green light! Just an amber one, that once it goes solid, is ready to go.

Worse, I bought the switch they reccomend and got a faulty one that doesn't work. I certainly can't rave about their quality...they have made getting started very difficult. Next time, I'll pay extra and go Futaba or someone else.

Consider that my informal review on Spektrum equipment. ( If you like a lot of hassle, poor documentation and abysmal customer service, these guys are for you! )

With that said, I bought some threaded push rods and some worked on seeing how I could link up the door to a servo.

Hindsight note: Check servo and hinge alignment before mounting the hinges. I wish I had mounted my hinge a few inches higher.

After playing with the radio's adjustments for the landing gear switch, I got the servo and radio talking. Below, while holding the camera and radio in one hand, bracing the servo in another.....here's my early progress...

This servo has 47 ounces of torque. Clearly I will need to make a bracket to mount it into. I will also have to fine due the servo head some as well.

Its not a pretty connection and I am sure I could have done a lot of things better....but not bad for a first try!

Working on servo mounts, setting up electronics

Over the past few nights I have been sorting out where the servos will mount inside the body for the recently installed body doors.

One thing a few people have suggested is a servo bracket, since you do not want to use anything that might work loose. Anything working itself out of position can throw off the alignment, so doors may not open smoothly or not close all the way, etc.

I was playing with some leftover aluminum scrap from the aluminum skins and just using a tin snipper and pliers made something rough like this...



Granted the corners would look a whole lot better if I had a brake to produce those sharp, 90 degree edges. But that's the rough idea...I'm still toying with some ideas.

I also hit up the local remote control airplane shop and purchased some items I need to get things rolling. A receiver battery, battery charger, pushrods, another servo and servo wire extensions (12 inches). Once the battery has charged overnight, I can set the receiver and transmitter up (bind).

This is the fun stuff....once I have these working, its on to work on linking the servo to the hinge!