I’ve been looking for a pocket size battery monitor for some time now for several reasons. Many times when I’m at the flying field or an event, I’ve been curious to know what the voltage of my packs are both before and after a flight without having to break out my charger as well as a DC power source. This last weekend I was in Seattle for an event and I met David Gray from Progressive RC he showed me the CellLog 8S and I had to have one. The CellLog 8S fits the bill perfectly for me. It’s tiny, well built, very accurate, and has a back lit LCD for those night flying pilots. Here are some of the features as well as some pictures of mine.

Specifications

• Lithium (LiPo/LiIo/LiFe) battery cell count: 2–8 series
• Pack voltage range: 4.0–43.0 V (with USB to 1.0 V)
• Alarm pack voltage range: 0.1–4.3 V
• Cell voltage range: 1.3–4.9 V
• Alarm cell voltage range: 1.3–4.9 V
• Voltage display resolution: 1 mV
• Voltage display resolution: 5  mV
• Current loading of test: 8mA
• Maximum voltage for alarm port: 50 V
• Current drain for alarm port: <500 mA
• Log Files storage: 16 Mbit (36 hours)
• PC Connect: USB port
• Weight: 18 g
• Dimensions (LxWxD): 62×39x12 mm [2.44”x1.53”x0.47”]

Features

• Accurate cell voltage monitoring and measurement to three decimal places
• Small size with many functions, backlight 128×64 LCD and tone alarm
• Simple, easy to use interface

Buy a FASST radio system and get a second receiver FREE!

No other 2.4GHz system provides you with the level of reliability and security that Futaba FASST does. Now, here is another reason to make a 3PK, 4PK, 7C, 8FG, 10C, 12FG, 12Z, or 14MZ your 2.4GHz choice. Buy any of these systems between now and July 31, and your retailer will give you a second receiver FREE. Hurry — offer lasts only through July 31, 2010!

Air systems will receive an R617FS receiver; surface systems will receive an R603FS receiver.

http://www.futaba-rc.com/promos/fut-free-rx-0210.html

My E9 might be one of the fastest electric helicopters I have ever flown! The speed of the E9 along with the Castle Creations Auto Rotation mode equals way too much fun! Check out the video.

I received one of the brand new Futaba GY701 (governor/gyro combo) two days before XFC. I was a little bit skeptical to change right before a competition but I am very pleased I did.

The Gyro portion of this unit works just as well as the GY520 if not slightly better. The sensor, believe it or not, is smaller than the GY520! The sensor also now has a special locking plug so that it cannot vibrate out of its slot. There are many programming options that allow you to fine tune the gyro but the stock settings worked excellent for me.

The Governor portion of this unit is very small and works amazingly well. Futaba fixed the old brittle sensor of from the GV-1 days and made a very nice solid case for the new sensor. I’m not 100% sure but I think there will also be a crank sensor available as well. I made a comment to my good friend Steve Helms of Futaba Corporation USA that it almost worked too well! I ended up turning the gain down a little bit just so I could get back the slight over speed I was use too.

Over all, I couldn’t be more pleased with Futaba’s new offering to the helicopter community. Thank you Futaba!

For the past three years I have been flying the Futaba 12Z transmitter and have been very happy with it, you couldn’t ask for more in a radio unless you like a lot of bells and whistles such as MP3 players and touch screens. In 2010 I am going with what I like to refer as the “sleeper” radio, the Futaba 8FG is a budget priced radio that has all of the must have programming features such as swash detail, program mixes, and a blazing fast response time of 7ms when coupled with the R6008HS Rx in high speed mode. I may be wrong but I think 7ms is the fastest response time on the market right now. Remember the days of 90ms response times? After flying models close to realtime, I could never go back! You’ re familiar with the ease of navigation on your IPOD right? Well now that same sensor touch pad is integrated into the 8FG so that you can navigate quickly through the programming menus. The 8FG also has an SD card slot for additional model storage and ease of updating the transmitter. You night flyers out there will enjoy the adjustable backlit LCD screen, I know there have been dozens of times when I needed flashlight assistance while trying to make a quick programming change on a dark flight line!  Last but not least the radio balances nicely when using a neck strap so there is no need to install aftermarket balancing hardware. Great job Futaba!!