[hydravien]

running your own reg isnt aproblem, just make sure everything you do can handle the vibrations (solder hates them) and everything can withstand being in a heli.

On the topic of using a 1200-1500mah lipo:
it is a little on the low side, but depending on your setup you should be good for a number of flights. Believe it or not, my 600n with all digitals (9452 cyclic, 9254 tail, 5925 on the throttle) only draws about 200mah/5 min flights. I'm not the bets pilot around, but i'd say my style is mild to harder 3d. I honestly thought that i would draw higher than that, but i didnt.

So lets say your average is 300mah/flight, because depending on your setup you may draw more. That makes you good for about 3 flights on a 1200mah pack and 4 flights on a 1500mah pack, leaving margins in both the pack and how many mah/flight you draw.

On the topic of regulators, anyone is fine, just make sure its quality and well built. If you have the know how, do it yourself so you know that everything in there is going to work fine. On my setup i peaked at 3.67A in flight, but i had a few really sporadic peaks up in the 6A range. (again dont know why). I would not run a 3a reg on the heli, its simply not enough.

I personally run a duralite 5.3v reg with a 2200mah apogee lipo. I got it cheap ($22.50) at zebra hobbies when they were clearing out. My second 600n, to be flying this summer, will use a flightpower 2500mah lipo and a duralite 6v reg. There is nothing wrong with running a smaller lipo, but just monitor the voltage in them.

[Vulcan1]

Cassat,
Will go back to the drawing board to bring the voltage up. It does not shut down but lites up when the voltage is down to give a warning. Same as the regular type except no meter and the load is provided by the servo's when flying. Just another piece of electronics to hang on the side which you do not want to lite up otherwise you know you have a problem.
Nick,
I am in the same boat as the 2 cell was on my bench with out a home. It is a good test to start with but will install a larger capacity when I get the chance. The regulator should not be a problem as they can take more amps but they need to keep cool. Most of them will thermal shut down around +125c to +150c and if you try a 3 cell it heats up very quick as I found out. Will have to make a cable to see what the draw is when operating.
Thanks for the info on your servo's as I am going to install new ones. The ones on it are not digital and I was going to replace them with 5925's but on Hitec's site they do not make them any more. I think the replacement is the 5965
which is just about the same. I hope they will work.
John

[Vulcan1]

I changed a couple of resistor's and now it turns on at 6.3 volts. I made also a small bench adjustable power supply for checking the turn on and also the load on the battery pack. At idle with no led's on it draws 7 ma. When the 4 leds come on it draws 95ma. I am going to order some high bright red leds and only use one on the board. They are rated at 20ma so 27ma would be acceptable for me. The way it is now although it really is bright the draw is to much and defeats the purpose.
Going to keep tinkering until it works the way I want.
John

[cassat]

Hi John,

am glad that it " really is " ha . Good thing it is not invisible, hence the red LED's !
I like the 6.3 volts better. I think Nick has some good points, as I was also thinking
that 1200 maH was a bit small. Thanks for the input Nick !

Cassat