Nice landing. My 130X vibrated straight out of the box, when spooling up. Saw a video here on oiling of the bearings on this Heli. Got myself some special oil and silicon grease for the gears, Now no more vibrating and runs very quiet. I do it now on all my Helicopers
I just did the bearing mod as well as put metal gears on the torque rod and put on some kbbd tail blades on, and it took the vibration away. Yea!!!! The 130x is great for practicing what I want to do on my 500x.
Since I made this video I also did some upgrades, I now have the Microheli tail case and slider. The Microheli tail case comes with a spacer that you put on the torque tube that eliminates the slop in the torque tube gear. Thanks for the tip on sloting the motor holes, I upgraded my main gear to the Microheli delron (not sure how it's spelled) gear, and the gear mesh seems a little tight, so I will experiment with the motor slots.
Thanks man, I also plan on buying the microheli tail and slider unit with a red metal rakkon heli tail case, as I heard the rakkon tail slider has slop in it, but the case seems nice. It just so happens I have some extra carbon rod to hold me till then. I also saw a video on helifreak that explains some 130's gear mesh are too lose or tight, and if you slot the motor holes slightly you can get a perfect mesh resulting in less crash damage and smoother flight.
Great tip!! I waiting for my 130X to arrive and its feels like forever! :) If i get tail vibration ill give this mod a try! Much easier than adding bearings to the rear shaft that ive seen as other potential solution.
OK, gents, here is the TRUE VIBRATION FIX. I too, like a lot of others, have tried various thickness carbon fiber rods hot-glued to the skid. After some wear, and crashes, things continue to loosen up. The main rotor, tail rotor, frame, boom, and tail skid are a complex set of spring-masses that change over time. So, at first, a carbon fiber rod might work for a while, but the vibration can come back. The reason is the carbon rod just stiffens the skid and MOVES the resonance up to a higher FIXED frequency. So after the next set of repairs, wear, and crashes, new frequency vibrations can excite the "fixed" skid anew. The REAL fix is to put what is called a "constraint layer damper" right on the tail skid. I used about 1.5 inch x .5 inch of low-cut pile velcro with self stick adhesive. All vibration is gone, or absorbed, over a WIDE FREQUENCY RANGE. That is the key to the long term fix.
Cool, thanks for the tip. I will give it a try once I'm back home. Currently out in the middle of the Pacific, and didn't bring my 130x with me this time. But as you said in your post, I noticed that I got the vibration again, so started replacing all kinds of parts, but still using the CF rod on the tail with no luck. So looking forward to using the velcro trick. :)
The 130X is a great little helicopter. I was just out flying it yesterday, and I have as much fun flying it as I do my Blade 450x. And yes, if you have the vibration during start-up and landing, try this modification first, it's cheaper and easier than replacing bearings or doing other modifications. I also recommend getting the CNC upgrades that they offer on horizonhobby, I have most of them now, and they really do improve performance. =)
It's a great little heli once you get the bugs worked out, some of the Microheli upgrades are nice as well. I now have the complete Microheli tail setup, along with the Microheli main blade grips, drive gear (with anti-rotation feature), and metal main shaft. I'm curently out at sea and wont be home until middle of Jan. I hope to make a new video showing all my upgrades once I get back home.
It was a 2mm round CF solid rod that I had. And it's still flying great! Since I've made this video I've done a lot of the Micro Heli metal upgrades. I bought the metal tail assembly and that helped a lot as well, it comes with a spacer to put behind the torque tube gear on the tail end in order to remove the slop that comes with the stock setup. If you get the vibration again after adding the CF rod, and crashing, check that the torque tube isn't bent. I discovered a bent TT after crashing
I also bought some after market main rotor blades that were stiffer than the stock blades, and I really like them. I can't remember the manufacturer at the moment, but the local hobby stores might know, they come in all kinds of neon colors. Also, sorry to the delayed response, I'm currently on a ship out in the middle of the Pacific, wont be home again until middle of Jan. If you have any other questions, please let me know, and I will try to answer as soon as I can. Safe flying!
Sorry for late response, thought I had responded to your comment already. And yes, a CF should also fix the problem considering it's much more rigid than the plastic one.
Sorry for late response, I'm currently on a ship out at sea, and weather has been messing with our internet connection. Have you had any luck with your 130x? Did you get any of the micro heli upgrades? Once I get home on vacation I'll do another quick video of what I've upgraded on my 130x. I'm loving the micro heli stuff. As for how to add contacts to TH-cam, I'm not sure how to do it either, not even sure if it's possible. I've never liked the messaging system that TH-cam has.
What do you think about swapping the stock fin for a carbon fiber one? Seems if the issues are one of stiffness or the lack there of the CF fin should do the same thing and look better too eh?
@2011manimal I think you will like the upgrades, after spending the extra cash to upgrade my 130x,I love it more than when I first bought it. Once you get the upgrades install, let me know what you think.
I used hot glue, but you still might be able to use CA you will need to roughen the surface of the CF rod by using some sandpaper. Might also want to use a little sandpaper on the vertical tail fin as well. The rough surface give more holding power to the CA. Also I've heard the epoxy works well with CF.
Unfortunately I tried to do this fix and it didn't work, the trail shaking flung off the cf rod on the 3rd takeoff. I think I got a really bad one though, it shakes sooo bad it makes the worst sound like a rough grind on a dremel or grinder, also wags so far and fast the whole tail turns to just a blurry streak like spooling main blades. I did CA glue it though because I didn't have hot glue/gun. Maybe the CA glue was too stiff and the softer hot glue you used absorbs some vibes at that resona
Is that a round carbon fiber rod?(solid or hollow tube?) Or is it a flat piece of carbon strip? Is it still working? I want to do this but it looks like a flat cf strip, but you said it was a rod, I can't really tell. A reply to clear this up would be soooo helpful. Thanks for the bid.
nice tip i will try that,i agree with what you say about the upgrades,its just the price of them,if i done all the upgrades it would cost the same as i paid for heli,so far ive just done,rkh main blades,lynx tail blades,xtreme main blade grips,and a metal bevel gear,plus 450mah lipos and will be putting a spin 8000 in it soon
Is your Blade 130 new? here are a couple other things you can check: Make sure that the tail is pushed all the way up into the main frame, some shipped with the tail not all the way in, and this allowed for some slop in the torque tube gears. You may also want to take out your torque tube (the rod that runs through the tail) and make sure that's not bent, I had that problem after a few hard crashes. Let me know if that helps, if not I'll try to remember some other things that might.
LOL, problem is, if she does move back, I'll most likely have to move all of my stuff back into storage, but I'm NOT going to let her paint the walls green again! I've got the walls all painted white now, and it's really starting to look great. I should have some new 'How To' videos up soon and you will see the difference.
I'm gonna do the cf rod on the tail now, then I'll let u know how it goes. Then I think I'll do some micro heli tail mods in a few weeks then let u all know how it went. (Can someone please tell me how to add contacts in youtube?)
Dogh! Don't feel bad, I didn't see your second post, so commented any way. =D You may also want to invest in some of the microheli CNC upgrades, I'll send you a private message with the URL where you can find them. They really improve flight performance. =)
After re-reading your post, it does sound like there is something really wrong. Especially the rough grinding sound! Check all of your gears, even on the main shaft. If you bought it at a local hobby store, you may want to take it back and have them look at it. If you purchased from horizon hobby you may want to contact customer support 877-504-0233. But it definitely sounds like something more than just a flimsy vertical stabilizer issue.
Full Fix. #1 buy the metal tail gears all A, B, (C and D not needed from the start but will help too) $10-$15. buy the O-Ring kit (10 new rings) $3. Set up your Controller better, i changed almost everything. This helicopter went from my most hated aerial rc and is now in my top 3 or so(of about 30). Key Note- When pushing the tail tube back into gears B and C, make sure they are pushed tightly not binding on the gears. You want gear B pushed as far back as possible towards the ball bearing and gear C pushed inwards upon the tube at the same time. This thing flies brilliant now.
Nice landing. My 130X vibrated straight out of the box, when spooling up.
Saw a video here on oiling of the bearings on this Heli. Got myself some special oil and silicon grease for the gears, Now no more vibrating and runs very quiet.
I do it now on all my Helicopers
I just did the bearing mod as well as put metal gears on the torque rod and put on some kbbd tail blades on, and it took the vibration away. Yea!!!! The 130x is great for practicing what I want to do on my 500x.
Since I made this video I also did some upgrades, I now have the Microheli tail case and slider. The Microheli tail case comes with a spacer that you put on the torque tube that eliminates the slop in the torque tube gear. Thanks for the tip on sloting the motor holes, I upgraded my main gear to the Microheli delron (not sure how it's spelled) gear, and the gear mesh seems a little tight, so I will experiment with the motor slots.
Thanks man, I also plan on buying the microheli tail and slider unit with a red metal rakkon heli tail case, as I heard the rakkon tail slider has slop in it, but the case seems nice. It just so happens I have some extra carbon rod to hold me till then. I also saw a video on helifreak that explains some 130's gear mesh are too lose or tight, and if you slot the motor holes slightly you can get a perfect mesh resulting in less crash damage and smoother flight.
Great tip!! I waiting for my 130X to arrive and its feels like forever! :)
If i get tail vibration ill give this mod a try! Much easier than adding bearings to the rear shaft that ive seen as other potential solution.
OK, gents, here is the TRUE VIBRATION FIX. I too, like a lot of others, have tried various thickness carbon fiber rods hot-glued to the skid. After some wear, and crashes, things continue to loosen up. The main rotor, tail rotor, frame, boom, and tail skid are a complex set of spring-masses that change over time. So, at first, a carbon fiber rod might work for a while, but the vibration can come back. The reason is the carbon rod just stiffens the skid and MOVES the resonance up to a higher FIXED frequency. So after the next set of repairs, wear, and crashes, new frequency vibrations can excite the "fixed" skid anew. The REAL fix is to put what is called a "constraint layer damper" right on the tail skid. I used about 1.5 inch x .5 inch of low-cut pile velcro with self stick adhesive. All vibration is gone, or absorbed, over a WIDE FREQUENCY RANGE. That is the key to the long term fix.
Cool, thanks for the tip. I will give it a try once I'm back home. Currently out in the middle of the Pacific, and didn't bring my 130x with me this time. But as you said in your post, I noticed that I got the vibration again, so started replacing all kinds of parts, but still using the CF rod on the tail with no luck. So looking forward to using the velcro trick. :)
The 130X is a great little helicopter. I was just out flying it yesterday, and I have as much fun flying it as I do my Blade 450x. And yes, if you have the vibration during start-up and landing, try this modification first, it's cheaper and easier than replacing bearings or doing other modifications. I also recommend getting the CNC upgrades that they offer on horizonhobby, I have most of them now, and they really do improve performance. =)
It's a great little heli once you get the bugs worked out, some of the Microheli upgrades are nice as well. I now have the complete Microheli tail setup, along with the Microheli main blade grips, drive gear (with anti-rotation feature), and metal main shaft. I'm curently out at sea and wont be home until middle of Jan. I hope to make a new video showing all my upgrades once I get back home.
It was a 2mm round CF solid rod that I had. And it's still flying great! Since I've made this video I've done a lot of the Micro Heli metal upgrades. I bought the metal tail assembly and that helped a lot as well, it comes with a spacer to put behind the torque tube gear on the tail end in order to remove the slop that comes with the stock setup. If you get the vibration again after adding the CF rod, and crashing, check that the torque tube isn't bent. I discovered a bent TT after crashing
nice fix thanks for the tip just got mine loving it.
I also bought some after market main rotor blades that were stiffer than the stock blades, and I really like them. I can't remember the manufacturer at the moment, but the local hobby stores might know, they come in all kinds of neon colors. Also, sorry to the delayed response, I'm currently on a ship out in the middle of the Pacific, wont be home again until middle of Jan. If you have any other questions, please let me know, and I will try to answer as soon as I can. Safe flying!
Sorry for late response, thought I had responded to your comment already. And yes, a CF should also fix the problem considering it's much more rigid than the plastic one.
Sorry for late response, I'm currently on a ship out at sea, and weather has been messing with our internet connection. Have you had any luck with your 130x? Did you get any of the micro heli upgrades? Once I get home on vacation I'll do another quick video of what I've upgraded on my 130x. I'm loving the micro heli stuff. As for how to add contacts to TH-cam, I'm not sure how to do it either, not even sure if it's possible. I've never liked the messaging system that TH-cam has.
What do you think about swapping the stock fin for a carbon fiber one? Seems if the issues are one of stiffness or the lack there of the CF fin should do the same thing and look better too eh?
@2011manimal I think you will like the upgrades, after spending the extra cash to upgrade my 130x,I love it more than when I first bought it. Once you get the upgrades install, let me know what you think.
I used hot glue, but you still might be able to use CA you will need to roughen the surface of the CF rod by using some sandpaper. Might also want to use a little sandpaper on the vertical tail fin as well. The rough surface give more holding power to the CA. Also I've heard the epoxy works well with CF.
Unfortunately I tried to do this fix and it didn't work, the trail shaking flung off the cf rod on the 3rd takeoff. I think I got a really bad one though, it shakes sooo bad it makes the worst sound like a rough grind on a dremel or grinder, also wags so far and fast the whole tail turns to just a blurry streak like spooling main blades. I did CA glue it though because I didn't have hot glue/gun. Maybe the CA glue was too stiff and the softer hot glue you used absorbs some vibes at that resona
Is that a round carbon fiber rod?(solid or hollow tube?) Or is it a flat piece of carbon strip? Is it still working? I want to do this but it looks like a flat cf strip, but you said it was a rod, I can't really tell. A reply to clear this up would be soooo helpful. Thanks for the bid.
Thanks! I will give it a shot.
nice tip i will try that,i agree with what you say about the upgrades,its just the price of them,if i done all the upgrades it would cost the same as i paid for heli,so far ive just done,rkh main blades,lynx tail blades,xtreme main blade grips,and a metal bevel gear,plus 450mah lipos and will be putting a spin 8000 in it soon
Is your Blade 130 new? here are a couple other things you can check: Make sure that the tail is pushed all the way up into the main frame, some shipped with the tail not all the way in, and this allowed for some slop in the torque tube gears. You may also want to take out your torque tube (the rod that runs through the tail) and make sure that's not bent, I had that problem after a few hard crashes. Let me know if that helps, if not I'll try to remember some other things that might.
Did you use hot glued on it or what did you use? I tried CA and the carbon fiber rod just flew off the helicopter.......
Thanks for the video
brilliant flying! you saying all you had to do was add a metal bar to the tail fin and that sorted the tail vibration?
I used a small carbon fiber rod. it worked for a while, but then I still got some vibrations.
Nice flying. What are your transmitter settings? are they stock?
Yes, I was using the stock settings.
Hobby room, yeaahh!!
LOL, problem is, if she does move back, I'll most likely have to move all of my stuff back into storage, but I'm NOT going to let her paint the walls green again! I've got the walls all painted white now, and it's really starting to look great. I should have some new 'How To' videos up soon and you will see the difference.
i see ebay has someone selling full al cnc rig for 70 and the full al tail section for like 45 or 50 i was just gonna get them and see how it went
I'm gonna do the cf rod on the tail now, then I'll let u know how it goes. Then I think I'll do some micro heli tail mods in a few weeks then let u all know how it went. (Can someone please tell me how to add contacts in youtube?)
Nevermind as soon as I paused it I wrote that comment about the hot glued and then I unpaued it and you said you hit glued it!
Dogh! Don't feel bad, I didn't see your second post, so commented any way. =D You may also want to invest in some of the microheli CNC upgrades, I'll send you a private message with the URL where you can find them. They really improve flight performance. =)
After re-reading your post, it does sound like there is something really wrong. Especially the rough grinding sound! Check all of your gears, even on the main shaft. If you bought it at a local hobby store, you may want to take it back and have them look at it. If you purchased from horizon hobby you may want to contact customer support 877-504-0233. But it definitely sounds like something more than just a flimsy vertical stabilizer issue.
Full Fix. #1 buy the metal tail gears all A, B, (C and D not needed from the start but will help too) $10-$15. buy the O-Ring kit (10 new rings) $3. Set up your Controller better, i changed almost everything. This helicopter went from my most hated aerial rc and is now in my top 3 or so(of about 30). Key Note- When pushing the tail tube back into gears B and C, make sure they are pushed tightly not binding on the gears. You want gear B pushed as far back as possible towards the ball bearing and gear C pushed inwards upon the tube at the same time. This thing flies brilliant now.