The Future of indoor micro r/c flight is here!
Introducing the Firefly remote controlled indoor micro RC helicopter. Ready to fly (RTF) right out of the box, the Firefly is full function, 2 channel digital radio control micro helicopter. Have a blast flying this tiny twin coaxial rotor helicopter around your home, rec room, dorm, office – anywhere indoors!

The Firefly is available in both 27 MHz and 49 MHz frequencies allowing 2 Fireflys to be flown together! Micro-motor technology and revolutionary rotor design give the Firefly its amazing indoor flight performance! Also available with FREE Next-Day Express Shipping so there is still time to get the Firefly under the tree before Christmas.

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Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
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It isn’t just a charger. With its high power, balancer communication ability, and numerous safety features, it comes together with surprising synergy. The Thunder Power 1010C allows you to revolutionize your lithium polymer usage.

The 1010C can charge very fast. Credit for this goes to the new safety features. The charger can communicate with the Thunder Power 210V and 205V balancers. The 1010C charger is available separately, or as a bundle consisting of the 1010C and 205V balancer or 1010C and 210V balancer. The balancer, attached to the battery during the charge, automatically attempts to correct imbalance. It also communicates each cell’s voltage to the 1010C. The 1010C analyzes the cell voltages to determine if the battery is unsafe to charge. It will slow down or stop an unsafe charge.

With these features ensuring an unsafe battery can’t be charged and making 3C charge rates safe, the 1010C’s brawn takes center stage. The power limits are 5s @ 10A and 10s @ 5A. A 5s 2100mAh battery can easily and safely be charged at 3C (6.3A).

The 1010C also works great on the largest lithium polymer batteries, where it will likely be ran at full power. It is common for these large batteries to be used in series, and the 1010C offers the ability to charge them in series or separately. Series charging has the advantage of charging the pair of batteries in one charge with one charger. The other option is to separate them when charging and use two chargers simultaneously. Using two chargers requires a larger investment, but will enable the battery to be used again sooner due to the shorter charge time.

Small battery users and large battery users alike can re-think their charger and battery requirements. It may be wiser to own fewer batteries and charge them quickly at the field. This allows you to do the same amount of flying in one session and get more use out of your battery dollars.

The power going into the battery has to come from somewhere. At full power, the Thunder Power 1010 C from Advanced Energy will demand about 250W from its power source. Ensure your power supply can handle that. A 20A power supply is just barely enough to run a Thunder Power 1010 C at full power. To power two or three 1010Cs you’ll need an extreme power supply, like the Iota 55A. If you charge at the field from a lead acid battery, you may need to buy a larger one to meet the power demands.

It’s an impressive charger now, and can only get better as Thunder Power releases free firmware updates. Very safe, very fast, and very powerful: the Thunder Power 1010C charger. Please remember, never charge batteries unattended, and always follow standard safety procedures.

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© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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You want to measure the power system of your electric rc helicopter or remote control airplane. This article discusses why, what you can measure, and how you can measure it.

Or maybe you don’t particularly want to measure your aircraft’s power system. But you should. Why? Because you spent money on your power system, and you might not be getting everything out of it.

What Is An Electronic Power System
Your power system is a combination of propeller, motor, speed controller, and battery. Each of those is good at something. Are you taking advantage of that? A 25A speed controller (for example, the Castle Creations Phoenix 25) in a 7oz foamie drawing 5A is not being used properly. By measuring your electric power system you can discover mismatched equipment and correct it. In this example, a Phoenix 10 ESC would save weight.

It’s a complex universe; you’ll never understand it all, but you don’t need to. Humans have figured out that numerically describing a few things is good enough. For us electric modelers, the numbers we use describe electric current flow (unit of Amps, A), electric potential (unit of Volts, V), and temperature. We’ve found it best to measure current and voltage with a wattmeter, and temperature with an infrared temperature gauge.

Wattmeter
A wattmeter is connected between the battery and the speed controller. Among other things, it displays the voltage and current. You should mentally note the voltage and current readings while the aircraft is at full throttle, and write them down after you’ve disconnected the battery.

Current And Voltage
The current reading should be within the limits of the speed controller, battery, and motor. The voltage indicates how your batteries are performing. Usually you can confirm your battery is adequate by noting that current is below the battery’s rated max current (For Thunder Power batteries, this would be the continuous rating, not the burst rating). This rating generally says ‘this battery model is approved for this use,’ whereas voltage says ‘this battery is performing as expected’ or ‘this battery can’t handle this.’ As a rough guide, your lithium polymer battery voltage at full throttle should be above 3.3V per cell (i.e. a 3s lipo should be above 9.9V).

Temperature
The temperature gauge is used to tell you the temperature of your motor and batteries immediately after a flight. For both, the key temperature is 60°C (140°F). Both should be under that temperature. Above this temperature, lithium polymer batteries are permanently damaged, while motors lose efficiency and become dangerously close to demagnetizing and burning the windings. However, being too cold isn’t ideal, either. Cold is a sign that the motor isn’t being properly used (i.e. it’s too big), and cold batteries don’t put out as much power as 50-60°C batteries.

Tips
An electric expert is someone who puts together a power system that is slightly conservative. He’ll test and measure that system, and then prop up based on those measurements. The second prop will perfect the power system: currents will be near every component’s limit, and temperatures after a flight will be ideal. At that point, every component will be played to its strength. Thereafter is the fun part that we call flying.

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© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
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Web: www.rctoys.com
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The Thunder Power TP-210V and TP-205V lithium polymer battery balancers are plug-and-play simple and are a very powerful tool to maximizing the life of your lithium polymer batteries. Both TP balancers have various connectors for your battery, charger and data cables and sport LED status lights to let you know exactly what’s happening during the charge. Although these two TP balancers seem simple there are a few tricks to using them correctly.

When should you use a Thunder Power 205/210 balancer?
Balancing once every ten charges is useful, but we recommend using a balancer every at charge. Using a TP balancer every time you charge your lipolys is a very good idea because the battery balancer will provide early audio and visual warnings if any cells fail while charging. The balancer will also protect li polymer cells from going over 4.2V/cell during the charge thus extending the life of your lipoly battery packs. For greater safety and peace of mind while charging lipolys always use a Thunder Power balancer.

What do the LED lights on my Thunder Power balancer mean?
The TP balancer displays one LED light for each lipoly cell, and two status LEDs (one yellow, one red). The meaning of the LED lights depends on the situation. The first situation is when the battery is first connected, and the second situation is during a charge. Be sure to read the manual: TP-205v Manual | TP-210v Manual

• Yellow Status LED ON, red LEDs ON for 5 seconds = imbalance under 0.03V
• Yellow Status LED flashes, red LEDs ON for 5 seconds = average voltage under 3.6V (over-discharged)
• Yellow Status LED OFF, red LEDs flash for 5 seconds = imbalance between 0.03 and 0.2V (high imbalance, charge slowly)
• Yellow Status LED OFF, red LEDs flash for 60 seconds = imbalance over 0.2V (high imbalance, don’t charge until corrected)
• Indefinite danger beeps = Error: a cell is over 4.3V (stop charging, use caution)

Battery to Balancer Data Connection
Both the Thunder Power TP-210V and TP-205V balancers can communicate cell voltage information to Thunder Power chargers. This enables the charger to stop charging if imbalance becomes dangerous; a revolutionary safety feature. If you have a Thunder Power charger and balancer, we strongly recommend using them together with the data connection cable every time.

Temperature
These two balancers operate by converting energy stored in high voltage lipoly cells into heat and the heat warms up the balancer when it is active. Feeling your TP balancer’s temperature is a good way of determining how busy it has been recently, especially when balancing large li polymer battery packs.

Balancing 6 to 10 Cells
The Thunder Power 210V balancer can balance up to 10 series cells. Because Thunder Power balance connectors top out at 6 pins, it is necessary to use two connectors. You have two packs (or just one 6-10s pack), two balance connectors coming from those packs, and two connectors on the 210V – labeled Group A and Group B. The first step is to connect the two lithium polymer batteries in series. This is done by connecting pack A’s red power wire to pack B’s black power wire. Now connect pack A’s balance connector to the 210V’s Group A connector, then B’s balance connector to the Group B connector. Finally, press the Start button on the 210V balancer. You should see the correct number of cell LEDs light up.

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© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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The new Thunder Power RC TP-535C Lithium Polymer Battery Charger li-po charger (also known as TP535C or TP-535) combines the value of the TP-425C charger with new features previously found only in top-of-the-line lithium polymer chargers like the TP-1010C. These features include a data port to connect to a Thunder Power balancer (such as the TP-205V or TP-210V), and higher charge rates (3000mA and 3500mA).

Able to charge 1 to 5 cells, the TP-535C charger has a 45 Watt maximum power output, and requires a 12V input capable of 5A. Also newly released, the Thunder Power TP-1205P Power Supply is perfect for powering the 535 charger. The 1205P outputs 12V and can supply a current of 5 Amps. The TP-535C charger and TP-1205P power supply are also available as a combo, for more savings.

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© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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Choosing the right Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) for your radio control electric aircraft can be made quite simple. ESCs are available with many different features, limits, and price ranges. Sorting through the list of ESCs can be done by identifying what you need, and eliminating the rest.

The general procedure is to narrow the list down to ESCs that will get the job done, and then make your final selection based on price and preference. First, select ESCs based on their most fundamental features.

Brushed or Brushless?
R/C speed controllers are separated by the type of motor they work with, either brushed or brushless. If your motor has two wires, it is brushed, and you need a brushed speed control. If it has three wires, it is brushless motor, and you require a brushless speed control. An exception to these rules are ESCs that can work with both types of motor, however this feature is not commonly available. Castle Creations and Hacker Brushless are two manufacturers of brushless motors and ESCs.

Current Rating
An ESC will have a power limit. To handle more power, the ESC needs to be larger, heavier, and is more expensive. It’s important to know the peak current your motor is going to pull at full throttle. This determines the current rating you should look for in an ESC. Always choose an ESC with a current rating that is higher than what you need. If the motor is going to pull 12A, a 25A-rated ESC is a much better choice than a 10A-rated one. The 10A ESC will probably overheat and cook, even if you only fly at half throttle. ESCs are relatively light and maintain great resale value, so this is one item in your power system where skimping isn’t worth while.

Choosing the correct type and identifying the minimum current rating are the two big steps. The next choices depend on your preferences. Here are some of the features and limits that can affect your selection.

Voltage Rating
All ESCs have voltage limits. Some even have more than one! What is your battery voltage? Choose an ESC that is designed to work with an equal or higher voltage. Some ESCs are designed for low voltages (below 13V), some for medium voltages (below 25V), and some for high voltages (above 25V). You shouldn’t connect a high voltage battery to a low voltage ESC, but it is also wasteful to use a high voltage ESC with a low voltage battery. The second voltage rating that some ESCs have is based on their Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC). For an ESC to provide power to your receiver and servos, it has to drop battery voltage down to 5V. This becomes difficult once battery voltage is above 13V, so usually a separate receiver battery or voltage regulator is required. Consider what is going to be powering your receiver and servos.

Low Voltage Cutoff (LVC)
To protect your lithium polymer battery pack from being discharged too much, most ESCs can shut down when they sense battery voltage has become too low. This is almost always a useful feature, as it can save your li poly battery from being permanently damaged.

Price
ESCs with the same current and voltage rating can vary in price. Investigate this large market, and put prices on the features that you want.

Programmability
Some ESCs simply work out of the bag, like a servo. Others can be fine-tuned and set up with exotic throttle profiles. The most advanced can be configured via a computer program and cable.

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© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
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Finding the brushless motor that is the best choice for your plane or helicopter can seem to be a daunting task due to the large number that are available. There are a few important considerations you should keep in mind when choosing. This article will help you identify these issues so you can spend more time flying and less time trying to find that “perfect” motor.

Ultimately, you want to swing a certain size prop at a certain RPM. In fact, the freedom you have in choosing propeller size and operating RPM can lead to huge performance gains over comparable glow motors used in many remote control airplanes. Prop and RPM selection determines how much power you need, it is important to choose a motor that is almost at its limits when running at that power level. A motor that is too small will overheat and ruin itself, a motor that is too large will be a detriment to performance, due to the added weight.

Translating propellor size and RPM into power requires some help. This help can come from a computer-based prop simulator, such as the Slough RC Model Club Prop Power, Thrust and Efficiency Calculations web site by Rod Badcock. You can also find data posted by someone who has done what you are trying to do; find out what prop they used, what RPM it spun, and how much power was used.

Your list of potential motors should now only contain motors that can comfortably (but not ‘in their sleep’) put out the power you need. Now you’ll have to make decisions on the other things: battery voltage and capacity, direct drive or geared, outrunner or inrunner, and kV.

The easiest choice is whether to use direct drive or a gear box, so make that one first. If you want to turn high RPM (greater than 10,000 RPM) you’ll probably want a direct drive inrunner. For lower RPM, you can run an outrunner in direct drive or an inrunner through a gearbox. The outrunner is simpler and quieter, but the inrunner in a gearbox can be more adjustable and slightly more efficient. In some cases, the outrunner can be quite a bit cheaper. Each has its advantages, so consider them both.

At this point you know what RPM your motor needs to turn. It is either the same as you want the prop to turn(direct drive), or at a ratio faster than the prop when using a gearbox. Motor RPM is going to determine your specific motor and battery choice, by the following approximate formula (assuming lithium polymer batteries).

Motor RPM = 0.8 x 3.5V x Series Cell Count x Motor kV Rating

You need to select the right motor and battery combination that will satisfy the motor RPM formula. You can do it with a low kV motor and a high series cell count battery, or vice versa.

Lithium polymer battery packs, such as the ones made by Thunder Power, are ideal for use with brushless motors in radio controlled airplanes and helicopters due to their low weight and high capacity compared to NiMH and NiCd packs. Along with a brushless motor and battery, you will also need a brushless speed control (ESC) with an amp rating equal to or greater than the peak current drawn by your motor.

Make your choice, order the parts, put them together, and test it with an Eagle Tree watt meter. You want to make sure that you are near the RPM and power levels you were aiming for. Remember, though, the most important test is how it performs in the air. Fly it, and fine tune with prop selection. Hopefully this article has brought you close enough that a motor or battery change isn’t required.

In the event you require an upgrade, Draganfly Innovations Inc. is your best choice for Hacker Brushless Controllers and Motors, Castle Creations Brushless Controllers, APC Landing Products electric RC airplane propellers, Eagle Tree flight data e-loggers and Thunder Power RC Lipo Battery Packs.

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© Draganfly Innovations Inc.
Phone: 1-800-979-9794 / 306-955-9907
Email: info@rctoys.com
Web: www.rctoys.com
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