About

HacksMods is my personal journal where I share the mods I completed and their success or failure. I am always looking for ways to make the stuff we own a better fit for us. Whether in the way they operation, fly, fit, or function.

Nowadays, it contains a lot of the mods and hacks pertaining to my R/C hobby. You can find me as Daryoon on RCGroups.

Post any general questions below and I’ll do my best to give my thoughts on it. Just be nice. :)

Comments

18 responses to “About”

  1. Bonzailyte Avatar
    Bonzailyte

    hey man, great site, i wasnt sure if you covered it but was wondering what soldering iron you use for “Precision” soldering i have a fairly steady hand but the cheap harbor freight style irons i insist on buying arent cutting it. however im ready to buy a new one.  btw some realy great ideas on the site i couldnt agree more with your methods :)

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Thank you. I appreciate those comments and users like you are the reason I try to write and photograph as clearly as possible.

      The soldering iron I use is the Metcal MX 500. Any of the Metcal are great. Try to win one on Ebay. It’s almost unaffordable to the home hobbyist any other way. I used it back when I worked in the tech industry. It was the standard in the engineering labs and once you use one, you will sell your kidney to get one.

      The pencil doesn’t get hot like the traditional iron. (Well, it does…but you don’t feel the raw heat like a traditional iron, it’s concentrated mainly at the tip) It uses induction technology (smartHeat) or something. Basically, the result is the solder melts right away. Instantly upon contact. No fussing with a temperature knob. It just works. And the solder iron handle is thin like a pen, so you have great dexterity . You also get to hold the iron really close to the tip. This aides in precision. Being a professional smd rework iron, they got tip shape and sizes for every job imaginable.

      Anyways, hope that helps. I realize it might not given the price of the unit. LOL

      Also, it’s a misconception the smallest tip is needed for precision soldering. But too small a tip produces poor heat transfer, which means the solder doesn’t melt as readily. Therefore, you spend too much time with the solder iron’s tip on the component and increases the likelihood of burning out the component despite the solder not melting properly. Here’s a really good series on soldering that is worth a watch. http://youtu.be/J5Sb21qbpEQ

  2. RightHandRule Avatar
    RightHandRule

    Excellent site – fantastic photos and write-ups. Your organization and presentation are outstanding. You are making the web a better place :)

    Would you mind cluing me and others in on the camera equipment you use to capture your photographs? Are you using a big-hitter DSLR and macro lens? Any particular techniques you might care to mention? Much appreciated!

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Your welcome RightHandRule. Sometimes modding gets confusing. Especially if you don’t have all the parts in hand to look at. So I like to make sure my photo is pretty clear to help remove that as a hurdle. And then write in proper, casual English so that the task isn’t daunting. Mod repeat-ability is something I strive for. :) Don’t always have the time to do things exactly as I’d like with three little kids to keep entertain, but it’s a hobby.

      I use my normal camera, with is a DSLR. I sometimes use a kenko extension tube to help me get closer to the object. Most of the time, I use a relatively “cheap” Canon 50mm macro. However, P&S excell at macro shots. Because of their smaller sensor size, they have great depth of field. Especially the Canon P&S I have seen. Just put it in macro mode. Get as close as possible. Have adequate lighting. And the shots will come out crispy. Like flying, it takes a little practice. :)

  3. BlueHavoc Avatar
    BlueHavoc

    Your advice & tips are invaluable and I thank you for all of the time you invest into helping your fellow pilots ;) One tip I’d like to share is the Cold Heat soldering tool.  I use the Cold Heat soldering tool with a conical tip regularly on my heli’s to re- attach loose wires that break lose from crashes back to the RX board and it works incredibly well for this purpose. There are several advantages to using it,  1. no cord! it runs on AA batteries, 2. no excessive heat to burn the board, 3. it heats instantly on contact, using induction I believe – no waiting for it to heat up! 4. It also cools instantly, no burnt fingertips or burn marks on anything, also great for novices! 5. they are fairly inexpensive and are still available on ebay,( tips also). 6. You can take it with you anywhere, to the field or whatever! 7. most of my repairs take less than a couple of minutes, Turn on the cold heat tool, hold the wire in place, touch the tool tip to it, Done! I never even need solder, the existing solder is usually plenty and bam! I’m back in the air! I hope some of our pilot pals find this useful, it has saved me more than a few times!

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      You’re welcome. Comments and tips like yours keep the interest alive on this end. :) God knows I have other priorities…but hacking and modding is just too fun. Thanks for the advice on the Cold Heat soldering irons.

      1. BlueHavoc Avatar
        BlueHavoc

        My pleasure, I hope it can help someone…

  4. Ed Avatar
    Ed

    Hello Hacksmods, really enjoying your site. It’s so well done and the pictures provided are fantastic. I have a turnigy 9x on the way and am hoping you can clarify some information for me regarding the dsm modification. Is it possible that you email me when time allows at gatzrus@yahoo.com with “DSM” on the heading? Many thanks in advance, I know I’m asking a lot.

  5. Chalz Avatar
    Chalz

    Nice site- I’m pretty sure I need a 16mhz cylindrical crystal from reading it. Wanna part with six of the fifty you got on Ebay? Let me know.

    1. HacksMods Avatar

      Sure, if you are in the USA.

      1. Chalz Avatar
        Chalz

        Great- Ya- I’m in Phoenix, AZ. How can I contact you privately for address and payment? I don’t see your e-mail around here…

  6. Andrey Avatar
    Andrey

    hello HacksMods, thank you for you website – I found many useful information about my 9x and v911. But I couldn’t find or get any answer to one question – my stock 9xv2 needs a reverse aileron for v911, when i do reverse the right aileron servo starts to jitter, however without reverse it doesn’t jitter. Nobody on rcgroups could answer that question…

    1. HacksMods Avatar

      That’s an interesting problem. Does reversing the elevator also cause jitter?
      The v911 servo does exhibit a little bit of jitter sometimes. Especially when it’s between two points. Try clicking the trim button once or moving the subtrim to get it out of that “in between points”.

      Come onto the RCGroups v911 thread here and pose your question. There’s some smart people there and perhaps they know the answer.

      http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1548027&page=818

      1. Andrey Avatar
        Andrey

        Thank you HacksMods, you are awesome!
        RCGroups – just registered and will do!

        P.S.: sorry for the late reply :P

        1. HacksMods Avatar

          Awesome. Good to see you over there. I saw that a later revision of the board shared by user KKDDMM has a capacitor across the servo motor. We wonder if this is to reduce jitter like what you’re experiencing.

  7. Julian Castro Avatar
    Julian Castro

    Great page! I see in your graphs that the hyperions are the best, where can i buy them with international shipping? thank you!

    1. HacksMods Avatar

      Most people who have used the Hyperions do like them. I don’t care too much for their price though. Right now, my favorite are the new E-Flite 150mAh 25c. For about $3.99, they are good price for the performance. Second would be the Turnigy 160mAh.

      See if AllerRC ships internationally:
      http://www.allerc.com/batteries-lithium-polymer-batteries-hyperion-premium-lipoly-hyperion-g3-cx-25c-c-3_4_93_155.html

      1. Julian Castro Avatar
        Julian Castro

        Thank you!

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