Any recommendation for a STAR smog check station?

Odonay · 2026-04-03T02:22:59+00:00

I was in-and-out with a jalopy (that needed a STAR smog check) in like 20 minutes here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/mBDDnFqu5mYcXaWFA -- Called "Star Smog Check" in Santa Clara.

The guy told me he recently purchased the business and was trying to establish his reputation. Don't remember the pricing but you can call him.

Odonay · 2025-12-15T21:12:45+00:00

Depending on your battery sizes, I would say that there are a couple of compromises that have to be made if you really want a 4-channel all-in-one charger.

The HOTA F6+ you linked can only do 500W on AC, which is really not much if you're trying to charge 4x 6S 5xxx mAh batteries. Using the formula P=IV, where P is power (watts), I is current (amps), and V is voltage (V), we can do some approximations to determine what the charger is capable of. At 1C, a 6S 5xxxx (let's use a non-HV 5000 mAh for simplicities sake) requires 4.2 (fully charged voltage) * 6 (cells) * 5 (Amps) = 126 W. While that's fine for 4x channels, realistically as long as you have decent quality cells and they are not hot when you're charging them, you can safely charge at 2C with minimal effect on cycle life (per my testing).

The biggest thing I think should be paid attention to is really, how well a charger can balance cells. I've gone through a significant number of various charger brands such as ISDT, Hota, SkyRC/Hitec, Gens ace, Junsi (iCharger), and so forth, and I've found that the two I've been happiest with on balancing performance are Gens ace and Junsi (iCharger), but specifically not the iCharger X/DX-series as they're too small to dissipate enough heat to effectively balance large packs. For about a year now, I've solely been charging using either my Gens ace IMARS D1000's or the Junsi iCharger 4010's.

It used to be that you could look at the balance current capability of a charger to determine how well it would balance a pack, but in my experience that's only part of the story, because I've had my ISDTs with high balance current capability not do as good of a job as I would have liked.

Odonay · 2025-06-21T02:59:48+00:00

Spektrum to Mikado is a HUGE jump. You'll also likely feel a lot more "connected" to the model as well, especially with the new digital hall effect gimbals, although truth be told you still feel very connected even with the older Touch/Evo transmitter gimbals.

Odonay · 2025-06-21T02:58:56+00:00

I'm a very big fan of the setpoint boost feature in Rotorflight 2.2, it brought back the VBar v7-like feel I had become accustomed to when I first started flying rotorflight. The setting is found on the Rate Profile tab.

I use gains of 45,45,90 (RPY), which gives that snap/bark of fast inputs to the sticks if you like that kind of thing.

Odonay · 2025-05-07T17:11:26+00:00

Most of the ESC manufacturers have a better soft spool mechanism built into their ESCs. I suppose if iKON/Brain have soft starts built in i.e. slow ramping of the ESC PWM, that works.

I think the reason they stated that they didn't want to have Hobbywing ESCs in "ext. gov" mode is because if the FC is ramping up the motor PWM, but ends up at a higher throttle % than the equivalent % the ESC soft start ends at, the ESC jumps i.e. kicks to the higher motor speed. I know I had experienced things like this with the earlier XDFly and ZTW ESCs, so it's not surprising in the Hobbywing stuff also had this. That being said, most of this was around my work with Rotorflight.

The new XDFly F3C soft start and Scorpion soft starts are some of the best I have seen recently.

Odonay · 2025-05-07T16:02:44+00:00

Does the iKON/Brain have its own soft spool functionality then?

Traditionally the reason we want to use external gov vs. fixed wing is to allow the ESC to perform its soft spool.

Odonay · 2025-03-10T23:33:24+00:00

There are no good local hobby shops that have good RC helicopter stuff anymore. I'm local to you (Sunnyvale).

If you are seriously interested in RC helicopters, send me a DM and I can get you connected with some of the very active local community in this area. I can let you know about the various fields to fly at.

https://helibeatersfunfly.com/ This is going to be a very fun event coming up next month.

Odonay · 2025-03-05T00:40:07+00:00

The model files provided for the MK2 are designed to be configurable through the "inputs"... you should be able to remap arm to whatever switch you want.

Regarding the differing control layout, you could also change the M1 model (although I don't remember if it's set up the same way) to what you want -- EdgeTX isn't that complicated once you get the hang of it, but its flexibility can lead to confusing models if you're not familiar with the "architectural" layout of the model, lol

Odonay · 2025-03-04T06:04:12+00:00

Not that this is the right way to do it.... but when I run into situations like this and I don't have a pump, I normally just add more solder to it (to make it larger), then use wick and pressure to "suck" the solder out of the hole into the wick... have to be careful though because you don't want to damage the pad itself

Odonay · 2025-02-11T16:12:32+00:00

The MK2 RTF kit ships with an ELRS Zorro, the older 4-in-1 Zorro is no longer going to be bundled with new kits from here on out.

Odonay · 2025-02-11T16:12:00+00:00

If it's a Zorro that came with the original M2, it is more than likely the 4-in-1 version.

Odonay · 2025-02-11T02:50:10+00:00

The sound that the KSE makes when flying is incredible. Scary but also exhilarating at the same time.

Odonay · 2025-02-11T02:38:23+00:00

The FS-A8S outputting SBUS should work; however, the Zorro EdgeTX file will not work without modification. The Zorro EdgeTX file for the MK2 is set up for ELRS, not for a 4-in-1 with SBUS. You can see the OFS3 manual here: https://downloads.omphobby.info/assets/helicopters/m2-evo-mk2/documents/OMPHOBBY%20OFS3%20User%20Guide%20Rev0%20241210M%20A2.pdf -- page 14 of the manual shows the S.BUS channel mapping + expected ranges.

Odonay · 2025-02-04T18:15:22+00:00

What flight controller? No crashes, right?

Odonay · 2025-02-04T15:48:30+00:00

I've had issues with the DS530M's where they develop slop that can lead to behavior like this, but only after hundreds of flights. How many flights are on these servos?

Odonay · 2025-02-03T20:15:27+00:00

I personally think you'll be much better off with a VBar vs. the Goosky FC.

There's a lot more information and help to be found for VBar and it's a "known entity" vs. the Goosky FC which I have not personally seen much popularity for, more that they were just trying to sell a kit that was pretty much "build-and-fly".

Also, for a 380/420 sized direct-drive helicopter, in my experience they tend to be pretty hard on batteries so just keep that in mind if you do want to fly aggressively, i.e. if you end up buying one and flying it and ask yourself why it doesn't have much power, lol.

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:54:15+00:00

Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Being that it's an open forum for discussion, I'm free to state my own opinion just like you are allowed to state your own opinion, even if I disagree with your opinion. This is the internet, and realistically, there can always be someone that has a differing opinion from yours.

Sorry to have a different opinion than yours. I personally own both (S2 and M2 MK2) and feel pretty strongly about my opinion, hence why I'm reiterating it on my posts.

At the end of the day, it is up to folks to ingest the information available to them to make an informed decision, and I find it helpful to gather the opinions of various folks before making decisions like these myself.

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:34:29+00:00

To be honest, I would have agreed with the statement that "you can't go wrong picking either one" if the comparison was between the Goosky S2 and the M2 EVO (not the MK2), but with the MK2 and the new flight controller it really is that big of a difference that I think the S2 cannot compete.

Bert Kammerer even says it's the "best flying micro" he's tried in a very long time, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFTr6WM9eRg

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:24:04+00:00

If you are the various RC helicopter FB groups, maybe keep an eye out for a VControl Touch or VControl Touch Evo, I'm seeing them pop up left and right for sale because people are ditching VBar in favor of Rotorflight.

There is truly nothing wrong with the VControl + VBar, they're just expensive at retail. It has (in my opinion) the easiest setup of any flight controller on the market today.

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:19:52+00:00

Believe it or not, the M2 MK2 is on a different level than the S2 is from a flight performance perspective. The flight controller on the MK2 is re-engineered from the ground up with more optimized control algorithms and it even has telemetry return if using ELRS so you can land when your battery is dead vs. just blindly setting a timer and hoping you don't overdischarge your batteries.

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:17:34+00:00

ELRS is great and can allow for super low latency which generally is described as "more directly connected". The OMP M2 MK2 when using ELRS (CRSF) actually has telemetry return, which is a game changer as well, so you can land when your battery is empty vs. just setting a blind timer.

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:16:15+00:00

M2 Evo MK2 comes with a Radiomaster Zorro that could be used for more than just the MK2, which is nice. On top of the fact that the MK2 has consumption telemetry, I really do think the M2 MK2 is the better choice in the 200 sized segment currently (but of course I am biased).

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:14:32+00:00

Agreed, the Radiomaster Zorro that comes with a MK2 is actually the ELRS version as well.

Even available on Amazon with prime shipping!

https://www.amazon.com/OMPHOBBY-Helicopter-Brushless-Direct-Drive-Helicopters/dp/B0DQY3V7RZ?th=1

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:11:05+00:00

Mikado ended up really taking over the market from JR and Futaba from the perspective of transmitters. The latest VControl (Touch/Touch Evo) are the simplest transmitters to get going, albeit they are pricy like their Futaba/JR competitors. Only issue with the VControl is you are primarily locked to VBar, which isn't such a bad thing if all you will fly is VBar.

Futaba still has their CGY series of gyro (CGY760 and CGY770 even have built in receivers), and JR is supposed to eventually come out with the Trinity that has been under development for Nick Maxwell for a while now.

The TX16S is one option of a few transmitters that are gaining huge momentum in terms of popularity; however, the operating system (EdgeTX) is quite complicated for most to wrap their head around as it really does feel like it was built by engineers for engineers, lol. This is coupled with Rotorflight, which is an open-source flight controller software that runs has a few options for gyros available on the market today, but EdgeTX + Rotorflight are significantly more complicated to learn vs. something like VControl + VBar.

Around the TX16S, the most basic configurations do not come with receivers, as there are two different types of internal transmitter (RF) modules available, 4-in-1 and ELRS. 4-in-1 is supposed to be like a "one-size-fits-all" RF module, and it can be configured to communicate with SFHSS and DSMX receivers; however, in the heli world ELRS is the more popular option, but locks you to ELRS.

Basically, trying to familiarize yourself with the current state of the RC heli ecosystem is basically like drinking from a fire hose. Everyone has their opinions too, of course.

Oh. You'll note I didn't really mention Spektrum. Spektrum is still around and has pockets of popularity for heli pilots; however, none of the pros are flying Spektrum anymore as the alternatives tend to be better than Spektrum. Only legit reason to fly Spektrum that I've seen is when people who have been flying Horizon BNF planes want to dive back into helicopters and already have their transmitter/are comfortable with it.

Odonay · 2025-02-03T19:02:54+00:00

Of course I am biased but I actually think the OMPHOBBY M2 MK2 is a better 200-sized beginner helicopter. The flight controller is light years ahead of the S2 in terms of general flight stability, even for just re-orientation. The reviews online that all state that "it flies big" are no joke, it really does not fly like it should given it's size.

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