Frequently Asked Questions - 2010/05

May 2010 65
Du-Bro Products’ E/Z wire bender
Bob Aberle | baberle@? Frequently Asked Questions optonline.net
Also included in this column:
• Protruding motor shaft
performance issue
• Easy ParkZone motor shaft
repair
• Solder-It aluminum solder paste
• Follow-up: receiver low-voltage
warning
• Follow-up: reversing brushless
motors
• Follow-up: more wireless
trainer systems
This right-angle bend is the start of landing gear for a
small model. Du-Bro plans to add a second bender; it will
work with wire as large as .093 inch in diameter.
Thi s instr uc tion sheet comes wi th t he E/Z Be n der. Making a b end takes
practically no effort. Two dies are supplied.
Du-Bro’s E/Z Bender, for $24.95, can make Zbends
or any angular bend for landing gear, etc. in
.015- to .045-inch-diameter wire.
The E/Z Bender makes a Z bend in .015-inch-diameter
wire. The tool can be placed in a bench, as shown, or
attached to a workbench with two screws.
PLEASE WRITE IN with your
questions; that is the only way we can
keep this column format going. When
referring to published questions and
answers (for follow-ups), provide the
number as a reference.
Also note that references to addresses
and Web sites are placed in a group,
separate from the text, at the end of this
column under “Sources.”
Q445: “I know there have been many
wire bending tools on the market for
years. But recently I saw an
advertisement for a new Wire Bender
from Du-Bro Products (catalog No. 480).
I’m interested if you have tried this new
tool and what you thought of it.”
A445: I had just seen the advertisement,
05sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 3/24/10 2:32 PM Page 65
so I asked Brian Bychowski of Du-Bro for a sample tool. The E/Z
Bender Wire Forming Tool is relatively inexpensive, with a street price
of $24.95.
There are basically two molded plastic parts: a base and a handle. It
is suggested that you place the base in a bench vise. Or you could
attach it to your workbench with two wood screws. This leaves one
hand free to hold the wire while the other hand is free to rotate the
handle.
The E/Z Bender can form wire sizes from .015 to .045 inch in
diameter. Two dies are supplied; one covers wire as big as .025 inch in
diameter, while the other goes from .025 to .045 inch in diameter.
Depending on which way you hold the handle (face up or down),
you can make perfect Z-bends or any form of single bend that might be
suitable for landing gear and similar components.
The bender works easily, and with practically no physical effort
required. The fact that it is limited to .045-inch-diameter wire means
that its application is limited to the smallest models, such as indoor/
micro, up to maybe a small park flyer.
I like the E/Z bender very much. I was pleased to learn that Du-Bro
will have another version available soon, and it will accommodate wire
diameters from .062 to .093 inch (1/16 to 3/32 inch).
Q446: “I recently purchased one of the new micro size brushless
outrunner electric motors. I ran the motor on my test stand and it
appeared to have plenty of power.
“I next mounted that motor in one of my new designs. To my shock
the motor ran as if it were laboring (sluggish). Could I have damaged
the motor some way in the process of mounting it in my aircraft?”
A446: I had an immediate thought when I read this question. Many of
these brushless outrunners have part of the shaft facing rearward—
opposite to the end where you mount the propeller. In many cases, this
rear-protruding motor shaft can stick out beyond the motor mounting
plate, ring, or flange. To cope with this protruding shaft, you need to
drill a clearance hole in the firewall.
I suspected that the reader either failed to drill that hole or didn’t
drill it large enough. Then the shaft rotation was restricted because it
was pressing on the firewall.
I got back to the reader and suggested that he loosen all of the
mounting screws at least one turn each and then try the motor. He did,
and it ran much faster.
So I had him remove the motor. As it turned out, he had drilled a
hole in the firewall, but the hole was still too small. Once he enlarged it
(providing enough clearance) and remounted the motor, it ran
perfectly, as it did on the test stand.
Be careful when mounting any motors with that type of protruding
shaft.
Q447: “I have a micro/indoor electric powered model. I recently hit a
gymnasium wall while flying indoors. The crash resulted in a broken
motor shaft on my little Parkzone Cessna RTF aircraft.
“Are these shafts replaceable or must I purchase a complete
replacement motor?”
A447: I love to network from modeler to modeler. Frank Pisano had
contacted me and explained how he repaired the broken motor shaft on
his ParkZone Cessna.
Frank learned that Bob Selman at BSD Micro RC in Missouri sells
propeller saver adapters that fit directly on the 1mm-diameter Cessna
(and Citabria) motor shaft. The shaft generally breaks at the start of the
threads. Then it is only a matter of slipping the new adapter onto
what’s left of the shaft.
If the shaft is bent instead of broken, you can cut off just enough to
eliminate the bent portion and then slip the adapter onto the “good”
end. Frank also pointed out that an adapter is available for the
ParkZone Sukhoi or P-51, and it has a 1.5mm-diameter motor shaft.
Many aeromodelers have found that a GWS 5 x 4.3 propeller
works much better than the supplied ParkZone propeller. The GWS
version will fit easily on the Selman propeller saver adapter. Bob
Selman’s contact information is included in the source listing at the
end of this column.
Q448: “I’ve heard that there is a special solder available for use with
aluminum. Is this for real? Where can I obtain a sample?”
The knife tip points to a protruding motor shaft on the back of a
typical brushless outrunner motor. This is opposite to where the
propeller is mounted. A clearance hole must be drilled in the
firewall to allow the motor shaft to rotate freely.
Bob Selman of BSD Micro RC sells propeller-saver adapters that
can be slipped over 1mm and 1.5mm motor shafts when they
break or are bent in a crash. It’s an easy fix.
All e RC Solder-It Aluminum Solder Paste can be used on Li-Poly
battery tabs, as well as in many other applications.
66 MODEL AVIATION
05sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 3/24/10 2:33 PM Page 66
A448: Yes, it is for real! It’s been on the
market for years, but I haven’t heard of too
many modelers who have tried it. I was able
to locate this product—Solder-It Aluminum
Solder Paste—at All e RC.
Solder-It is claimed to have applications in
such areas as automotive repair, aviation,
model railroading, and remote-controlled
airplanes and cars. I asked the company if it
might be used on the tabs on Li-Poly battery
cells, and I was told that it does very well in
that application.
Having found the aluminum solder, I was
impressed by all of the hobby products that
All e RC sells. The company’s contact
information is in the source section. Go to the
Web site and browse around.
Follow-Up—Q426 (December 2009 MA,
page 76): The subject involved a low-voltage
warning when the receiver voltage dropped
below a certain level. This is particularly
critical on fueled powered model or sailplanes
that cannot benefit from a low-voltage
warning, as the ESC provides on electricpowered
aircraft.
I mentioned in the column that on the new
Hitec Aurora system, the receiver is actually a
transceiver and can broadcast a low-voltage
warning back to the transmitter on the ground.
You receive a visual display on the
transmitter’s screen and hear an alarm.
My old friend, Jack Albrecht, informed
me that a preset low voltage can be set in the
receiver on the new Airtronics SD-10G
system. If that voltage is reached during a
flight, the receiver will cycle the throttle
channel on a powered model or the flap
channel on a sailplane at one-minute intervals.
Seeing that reaction on the aircraft is
your warning to land quickly. So even
though this system doesn’t transmit a
warning signal back to the ground, an
effective warning is provided.
Follow-Up—Q431 (January 2010 MA, page
80): I made a fool of myself on this one. A
reader had written in, claiming that he wanted
to reverse the rotation of his brushless motor
and followed the instructions that all you
needed to do was swap any two of the three
wires. But thinking that wasn’t enough, he
swapped the wires a second time and then the
motor rotated as it did before.
The reader should have done the swap only
once, but I didn’t write that in the column. I
went directly into how you actually swap the
wires. I even mentioned the possibility of a
bad connector.
That carelessness on my part prompted
more critical e-mail than you can imagine. The
only good part is that I’m happy that so many
people read my column.
There is one other thing I’ll add on this
subject. Several brands of ESCs now on the
market resort to an accessory cable and
software that allows you to select certain
features on your ESC. Castle Creations has the
Castle Link cable and software that works
with almost all of the company’s controllers.
Using this software permits you to reverse
the motor rotation with merely the click of a
mouse. You never need to touch the motor
wires.
Follow-Up—Q435 (March 2010 MA, page
68): This question and answer involved
several new wireless-type trainer systems. The
traditional trainer cable that joins instructor
and student transmitters is eliminated with the
use of a Wi-Fi, or wireless, system.
I mentioned two systems in my answer,
and I’ve since learned of a third: the BY
eDesign TeachMaster. Although I don’t have
hands-on experience with this system, it
appears to be easy to work with and has some
interesting features.
A user’s manual on the BY eDesign Web
site is available as a PDF file. It should give
you all the information you need about the
product. MA
Sources:
Du-Bro
(800) 848-9411
www.dubro.com
BSD Micro RC LLC
(417) 358-9521
www.bsdmicrorc.com
All e RC
(480) 456-4300
www.allerc.com
Airtronics
(714) 963-0329
www.airtronics.net
Castle Creations
(913) 390-6939
www.castlecreations.com
BY eDesign
+33 685 393 486
www.by-edesign.com