Bladerunner Information Sheet

This fact sheet contains basic information about the ITC Bladerunner,
including basic specifications, running changes made in production, advice
on how to trim, modify, and repair the Bladerunner. It is a summary of the
postings on www.rcgroups.com. Complete information can be found on that
site under the following heading:

RC Groups Discussion > Airplanes - Electric > Indoor and Micro Models

Please bear in mind that this list merely reports modifications made by
others, and I cannot vouch for them. Also, remember that any changes to the
Bladerunner will invalidate the warranty. The creators of this fact sheet, the
forum from which the information was taken, and the site on which this
sheet is stored assume no responsibility for the changes made as result of
reading this fact sheet. However, they could be fun and helpful! Any
suggestions and modifications are welcome. These can be sent to:

daledwardsmith@yahoo.com

This sheet is updated regularly

Last update: January 10, 2005

1
 Table of Contents:
Bladerunner Basic Components Page 3
Running List of Improvements Page 3
Setting Up the Bladerunner Page 4
Trimming Page 4
Balancing the Blades Page 4
Seating the Brushes Page 4
Rotor Adjustments Page 5
Checking Center of Gravity Page 5
Adjusting Center of Gravity Page 6
Bladerunner Modifications Pages 6-8
Cat Killer Mod Page 7
Getting Rid of Ratcheting Throttle Page 7
Lighten Bladerunner (incremental steps) Page 7
Lighten Bladerunner (whole package) Page 7-8
Longer Running Batteries Page 8
Spacer Mod Page 9
Shrinktube Spacer Mod I Page 9
Shrinktube Spacer Mod II Page 10
Shim Mod Page 10
Bug Mod Page 10
Carbon Brush Mod Page 10
Tape on Rotors Page 10
Vertical Support Mod Page 10
Viagra Mod Page 10
Convert Transmitter to Mode 2 Mod Pages 11-16
Landing Gear Mod I Page 17
Landing Gear Mod II: Page 17
Landing Gear Mod III: Page 17
Landing Gear Mod IV Page 17
Landing Gear Mod V Page 18
Boboche LED Mod Page 18
Bladerunner Repair and Maintainence Pages 19-21
Rotor Blades Page 18
Replace Rotor Blades Page 18
Lubricating Gears Page 18
Motor Replacement Page 18-19
Home-made Rotor Replacement Page 21
Improving Gear Mesh Page 21

2
 ITC BLADERUNNER INFORMATION
(from RC Groups Thread)

Bladerunner Basic Components:

• 2 high quality very hot N20 type motors (1.7 ohm, 60% efficiency)
• 4mm pager motor (tail)
• 300mAh li-po cell (7C)
• light weight electronics (5 gram) with 3 ch. proportional control, rudder-throttle
mixing
• 2 ESC's for main motors and a bi-directional one for the tail.
• transmitter has a built in li-po charger with a cable and connector to the helicopter.
• The rotor diameter is 11.5 inches. The body is approx. 5.5" long x 2" tall x 1.5"
wide.
• gear ratio is 1:13,5

Running List of Improvements:

• new better rudder (yaw) trim on transmitter
• removed mechanical steps in the throttle stick
• new rotor blades (I believe that spare rotors can be ordered from ITC)
• new battery, high current 300mAh cell at 6-7 gram, both incl. fuse and low
voltage cut-off.
• wires to the tail propeller molded into the CF tail rod
• weight reduced from 53 to 51 grams,
• larger ribs / stiffeners in main motor mount
• better material in the landing gear (that also doubles as the antenna).
• improved tail motor
• better production testing of the charging circuit
• bearings in the first batches are plastic (the frame itself). Ongoing production
however, uses brass bearings for the inner shaft. No bearings for the outer hollow
shaft.
• better weight control of the blister body
• rotors with the carbon wheel vs. glass white ones

3
Setting up the Bladerunner:
• Trimming: to compensate for the left turning (right trim) you should try to
increase the pitch angle on the top rotor blades. (pitch angle should be about 22
degrees in the inner part of the blade)
o Increase the pitch angle on the top rotor blades = right trim
o Increase the pitch angle on the low rotor blades = left trim
• Trimming in detail: (GMRO)
o I believe you can twist out pitch on either top or bottom rotors. I removed
pitch from both. The tops are easier to reach and I'd think there is some
physical effect that shows the lower disk needs more pitch vs. the top due
to the air being forced through it from the top disk. Ever see what happens
when a window fan that is blowing into the room gets hit with air from
outside trying to push in? The fan slows or loads slightly. SO, I'm thinking
the top rotor on the BR does not need the same pitch as the bottom. I think
the bottom requires more pitch due to the loading of the extra dirty air
forced in from the top rotor disk. Anyway, you only need to adjust one
rotor disk usually to keep the BR from yawing on it's own- SO goes the
rule of thumb posted above for left yaw and right yaw.
o In my opinion, you can remove or add pitch to both rotors. The key is to
make the adjustments or twists to balance the BR so it does not drift or
yaw on its own. Again, the top rotor would require less adjustment since
it's in cleaner air.
o If you remove too much pitch from both rotors you will lose lift faster
during the battery pack--you may only have 4 to 5 mins. of flying once the
battery drops to a level where it cannot spin the motors fast enough to fly.
If you add too much pitch to both rotors you can probably hover/fly longer
with the same battery but more heat will develop due to the increased load.
There is a balance that needs to be met--not too much or not too little
pitch. Trial and error works well. It just takes some time to get it where
you want. I found that once I got my BR to 45 grams that I could pull out
more pitch from both rotors. Could be this is why my motors seem to run
very cool vs. what some report.. And I get close to 10 mins on the stock
pack too.
• Balance the Blades: (66tbird)
I took them off and balanced the blades like a prop. (for more, see his “Spacer
Mod” in the “Modifications” section, below
• Balancing the Blades II: (GMRO)
I picked the lower 2 blades in the top rotor and I used black magic marker and
colored the brass coupler where the 2 lower blades mount. This way I could
separate the sets of blades from each other. Then I chose the upper blades on the
top disk and I added some pitch slightly to them. I spun it up in my hand and it
was worse. So I then took those blades and tweaked them back down and removed
some pitch. It got better. Next I took 1 blade out of the 2, I guessed, and I tweaked
it down a little more removing yet more pitch. WAM!!! Now the upper disk spins
perfectly and the white ring is true and there is no tail boom vibration.

4
• Rotor adjustment Jig: (Swilson50)
First, remove both rotors from the shaft I used 4 sets of 2 cassette tape cases
arranged at 90 degrees. This gave enough height to prevent the center piece of
the rotor from touching the work table. I placed the rotor ring on it with the
rotors between the jigs. I then measured the lower point of the inside of each rotor
from the table. I also measured the pivot distance between the rotors (approx. 1/4
inch). When I measured my rotors, I found that one had almost 1/4 inch more
"pitch" than the others. Using the root of my 20 watt soldering iron, I applied a
little heat to the carbon rod and twisted out the excess pitch. I did the same thing
with the lower rotor and again, found that one rotor had about 1/4" more pitch
than the other three. Again, a light stroking by the soldering iron and twist out the
pitch.
This is harder to describe than it is to do.

RESULTS: I still get rotor wobble, but the BR is MUCH MORE stable. It doesn't
wander around in simple hover.(Oscillation in heli talk, I belive) I've also found
that when moving forward and turning, the controls seem much smoother. Of
course trim is still required throughout the flight as the power curves of the
motors change as you increase throttle and as the batteries drop. (seemingly an
inherent part of helicopters).
• Seating the Brushes?: (Swilson 50)
I kept banging the joystick until I got the tail rotor running and then I held it in
place and let the rotor run about 5 minutes, then I reversed it and ran about 5
minutes...IT MUST HAVE NEEDED TO SEAT THE BRUSHES because it
functions now. I also taped the heli to the table and ran the main rotor at about
1/2 speed until it cut off. I would guess that it was 10 minutes or more. I could feel
heat through the canopy. I let it cool about an hour and recharged it...MUCH
BETTER POWER AND IT SEEMS MORE STABLE. I had noticed what I thought
was "cutting out" before. Perhaps the main motors needed seating too....and I
guess the battery needs deeeeeep cycling.
o Checking Center of Gravity (CG): put a ball point pen under the LG (landing gear)
as directed (a couple mm in front of the main rotor shaft) and see if it is near the
balance point. Report back where you find your CG at.
o To get the CG back a bit you must move stuff back (be sure the battery is
not displaced forward a bit), or remove weight from the front (like the
body) or add weight to the back.
o Of course adding weight is the least favorable option, but it should only
take a tiny bit way out on the tail boom to make a noticeable change in CG.
Maybe a couple bits of tape.
o Another option: To check the C.G. just gently lift the helicopter by the top
rotor and check that it tilts slightly (2-3 degrees) forward. The easiest way
is probably just to hover it in a large open space (if you have it). If
helicopter drifts very slowly forward it is correct.
o Adjusting Center of Gravity
o Correcting Center of Gravity (Swilson 50)

5
 I've also found that just a tad of clay on the front helps with forward
motion. I don't really need to back it up. I just use reverse to stop forward
motion. Be careful, though. As previously mentioned too much nose weight
and it will start some weird oscillations...resulting in an "uncontrolled
landing)..polite term for CRASH.
o Move Center of Gravity Forward: (CA’ed fingers) remove the tape holding
the battery and simply slide it forward to adjust CG then put tape back on.

6
Bladerunner Modifications:
• “Cat Killer”: the tail propeller works better if you cut the guard off to increase
rpm. (the 0,05W motor with the 0.5gram propeller is a hazard to eyes, so be
careful! Please note that on newer models, many users have reported that doing
this mod along with removing the canopy may result in a Bladerunner that is too
responsive, causing rotor strikes. Best to go one step at a time! If you are getting
too much power, GMRO suggests: a little tape on each tip of the tail motor prop
slowed down the rpms back there. With the ring gone the BR would work the
boom down and up if left on the ground sitting on the landing gear and full
forward/backward was given at the transmitter. Now with the addition of scotch
tape...just the normal clear 1/4" wide wrapped around each blade tip to allow the
tape to extend off the tip approx 4mm but not wider than the prop itself slowed the
rpms down to allow for better control. I have the tape on the prop about 4mm too.
Seems right. More or less tape could help tune for the feeling you want.

• Getting Rid of Ratcheting Throttle (early versions): for those with the early
version with ratcheting throttle, the ratchet indexer can be removed easily by
opening up the TX case and removing 1 screw.
• Lighten Bladerunner (step by step):
o blister body is about 5 grams (10%) and is what you need to remove to
really increase flight times.
• to Remove the canopy just cut the plastic tabs off at the bottom and
slit with a Exacto Blade (need to watch the antenna wire—it’s
hooked on to the back of the landing gear..)
• add about 1 gram of weight in the front to restore the C.G
o replace the 2mm CF tail with a 1 or 1.5mm rod

7
 o remove the guard from the tail propeller (see “Cat Killer,” above)
o start to trim down on gears and plastic parts
o maybe try a 340mAh Kokam cell (more suggestions below for batteries)
o The weight of the landing gears (and antenna) is less than 1 gram so not
easy to save a lot there, but it is possible to take a little.
• Lighten Bladerunner (whole package) (pjottr ):
Managed to get the weight down to 48 grams using a single (9,5 gr.) Kokam
360 HD, modded the undercarriage to carbon, used AWG 32 wire (same wire
as the original from print to lipo) for antenna (19 cm long) and battery leads
and some micro connectors from Bob Selman....Lipo is taped on (seems to be
the lightest option)
[Whatever you do maintain C.G. 1-2mm in front of the main shaft]
• Longer Running Battery?: The fuse and the low voltage cut-off is in/on the
existing battery itself so if you replace it with a new battery be careful. I would
suggest the 360mAh high current Kokam or similar battery. (Petter) Here are
other suggestions:
o Overview: Two different li-pos have been used. The first one is about 9
grams, around 300mAh, 5C the other one 7 grams 300mAh 7C. Any high
current (10C) 300-320 mAh cell below 8-9 grams should do. The most
important thing is to get the weight below 50 grams (also from Petter)
o I'm running two Etec-250's in parallel and that works very nicely. It even
charges with the existing charger, takes almost an hour though. My
original battery weighed 8.5gr, the 2 E-tec 250's together without all the
wires weighs on 10.5 gr. (thopter)
o the Kokam 340 HD seems to be the best choice for now After using the
inbuilt charger check your Volts, if it's only 4.1 V or less you can use a
lipo charger to charge to 4.2 V for a minute or so more flight time...(pjottr)
• I have two Kokams with tiny BSD connectors, I just tape them in
with the +/-solder tips of the lipo facing downwards in the front
part of the frame of the original lipo to maintain CG..
• After the 4 minute flight I switch battery, check rotors - the motors
can cool down- and I'm flying again
• Taking out the original lipo with the cut-off board is easy
enough, you don't need the cut-off because you need >3,9 V to fly
at all... (pjottr)
A little warning. (Petter)
If you optimize everything you will probably be able to fly for almost 10
minutes. After a while this could burn up the brushes in the motors. The
motors have not carbon brushes and while testing some 300mAh 7C batteriesI
have had flight times of 10 to 15 minutes. This burns the brushes quite fast !

8
• Spacer Mod: (66tbird) I took them off and balanced the blades like a prop, the re-
installed then with the 10mm "spacer" mod. It works even better. While I had the
blades off I took a little pitch off them to increase the rotor speed. Motors run
cooler now also.

• Shrinktube Spacer Mod I: (GMRO) Get a piece of shrink tubing. (I matched the
size from my Radio Shack bundle pack). I've found I could use close to 12mm as
far as the length of this new piece is concerned. I removed the top silicon stopper
on the top of the BR's mast and removed the top rotor. Then I went about ½ way
down and removed the stock spacers. I put the new piece of shrinktubing on the
mast and replaced the stock spacers and the top rotor. My silicon stopper is just
flush with the top area of the mast. I'd say it is on there about 4mm or so. Plenty
IMO to keep all on the mast. Now the 2rotors are further apart and I don't notice
any bad tendencies but the clashing of the rotors is greatly reduced. I get a much
faster forward speed now without clashing of the rotors.
REMEMBER: DON’T APPLY HEAT: USE SHRINKTUBE “AS IS”

9
• Shrinktube Spacer Mod II: (prevent rotor strikes) (jpottr)
I did put a piece of 10 mm shrinktube between the rotors on the shaft to increase
the distance between them...Flying seems to be as good as always, but less chance
for rotors hitting each other.
• Shim Mod: (GMRO)
I did reshim my motors on the BR to better fit the gears (the motor to pick up gear)
My motors seemed to be a bit far apart for my liking. SO, a little exacto knifing,
(and I mean a little) and I got a nice mesh. My concern was if the BR touched a
wall or ground sideways the motors could strip out the gear since mine seemed
loose. Now all functions better, at least I think, and I don't worry about stripping.
• “Bug Mod”: cut out the canopy of the body and glue it onto the front of the frame,
gives it kind of a bug look

• Tape on Rotors: (msburko)

I wrapped 3/4" clear tape (NOT transparent tape, to brittle) around the
blade tips. Too many rotor on rotor strikes took chucks out of the tips. The
tape is keeping the rotor from cracking all the way through.
• ”Vertical Support Mod”: (thopter)
I found on my two BR's that the gears would slip on the upper rotor
occasionally when I started up. It appeared that the backlash was too
great between the gears. After looking into the loose shaft as being the
problem I came up with a simple mod that fixes it perfectly. If you add a
small piece of foam between the upper rotor motor case and the battery it
applies a little force to push the motor outward. This corrects the problem.
Petter you may want to consider a small support built into the plastic
fuselage that accommodates vertical motor support in future models to
correct this. For now foam works well as a vertical support mo
• “Viagra Mod”: (66tbird)
Removed the canopy, and the lipo. Replaced it with a 250 on a connector
so I can use my own charger. The AUW is 45 grams and it stays up a LOT
LONGER, Sorry, I've got to do it, it's the "Viagra" mod.

10
• Transmitter Mode 2 Mod: (msburko)
Before you do any of this take the 9V battery out of the TX.
o The End Result: I'll start with the results. Have a look at the modified TX.
First of all it is now up-side-down. The wire coming out of what is now
the top is the new antenna. The wire is the same length as the original
extended antenna. Leaving the antenna at the bottom was not going to
work. It was poking me in the stomach. Flight testing has been 2 flights. It
works. I have to check if I am getting full throttle. If not the pot on the
throttle axis can be adjusted.

o Step 1: Gimble Mods

The Centering Mechanism (CM) must be moved from the original pitch
(fwd/rev) stick to the original throttle stick. Later we will swap the wires
so the stick functions swap. Photo 1 shows the 2 axis stick with the CM
removed. Loosen the 2 silver screws and wiggle it out. The 1 axis stick has
almost the same piece. It too needs to be removed. The 1 axis piece is just
a gimble support for the axle of the gimble. It does not have the spring,
screw or extra plastic piece. Get the gimble support installed on the 2 axis
stick and you are done with that side

11
o Step 2: Inserting the Centering Mechanism.
Photo 2 shows the CM inserted in the 1 axis stick's frame. Unfortunately
the Frame is different and blocks the movable piece of the CM (CM-
arm).The metal detent thingy was also removed. The new throttle stick
does not have the ridged part for a detent so the metal part is surplus.

o Step 3: Shaving the Frame

Photo 3 shows the frame shaved to allow the CM to work properly. I used
an Xacto knife. I cheated and also shaved about 1mm off the CM-arm. I
decided to unscrew the frame to make the shaving easier.

12
That shiny thing under the frame is a CPU heat sink I used to support the
frame during cutting. To unscrew the frame there are 4 black screws. One
of them is under the TX board. Be careful, the wires break easily. Photo 4
shows the CM has full travel after all that adjusting.

Get the gimbles back together and the hard part is over. It took me about 3
hours, with interruptions, To do this part. I consider myself slow at this. I
reassembled the TX and made sure it would still control the BR. I
recommend you do that too. I held the case together with tape for that
brief test.

13
o Step 4: Rewiring the TX
There are 3 pairs of wires to swap. Desolder and resolder as follows:
1) Brown and Black wires to the outer terminals of the two middle pots.
2) White and Gray wires on the center terminals of the two middle pots.
3) Brown and black wires to the outer terminals of the single pot.

Cut a length of wire about 2 inches (5cm) longer than the extended
antenna. I use a twisted pair and the 2nd conductor is a grounded shield
(of sorts) for the portion of the wire inside the case. I doubt this is
necessary.

Drill a hold in the case to feed the new antenna out. My shield wire is cut
off so it does not leave the case. Be sure the wire will clear the battery
holder on the insie of case's back cover.

Desolder the white antenna wire from the PCB. Move it to a safe place in
the case or just cut it off.

4) Solder the new antenna wire to the PCB.

Look for any broken wires and repair them. Put the TX back together.

Now when you hold the TX the 2 axis stick, with the trim adjust should be
on the left. The LED should be down (6 O'clock position).

The last part of this mod is to re-label the case. The photo in the first part
shows what I did. To write it up seems like overkill. The photos on the
next page show the before and after

14
15
o Landing Gear Mod I: For landing gear replacement you can use wire or 0.7mm CF
rod or similar and just glue them in at the front and rear as 4 legs. If you don't have
these materials; I have used Q-tips (the thing you put in your ears) on some
prototypes. Cut of one end and glue them like legs to the plastic frame. If one later
breaks or come loose, remove the old glue and glue in a new one.
o Landing Gear Mod II: Replaced it with carbon sticks and glue, used some thin AWG
32 wire for the antenna
o Landing Gear Mod III: (msburko)
had broken the front end of the non-Antenna landing gear (LG). I had already
added an aluminum tube to fit the now shortened LG into. I added 15mm of sq
toothpick to both front and rear LG mounts. That keeps the LG from going
completely flat during a hard landing (crash). The toothpicks were glued with
GOOP. CA and a wrap of Spiderwire Braid would probably be a bit lighter. The
GOOP was faster and easier. It's holding up quite well. I put the toothpicks to the
inside so the frame would back up the toothpick and take the impact.

o Landing Gear Mod IV: (spudandretti)

One leg in the front straight down and two in the back spread eagled using 1mm
carbon rod.

16
• Landing Gear Mod V: (schoey)
Put a curve in the LG, which works alot better and no added weight.

o Boboche LED Mod: (Boboche)

This mod is for the people who don't want to kill their battery while letting the
device on, or for people that love bright leds, or simply for people who like taking
pictures with lensflares
o I bought a bunch of 20+ candela white LEDs off Ebay
o I'm taking the power straight from the switch when it's turned on, and the
ground straight off the battery's ground. This adds a cool factor and also a
light to tell you that your switch is in the on position.
o I've limited the current to about 17mA (I didn't remember if the diode
took 20 or 25mA, but is bright enough as-is anyways).
o The only concern I'd see with this mod is the chance of the bladerunner
stopping before reaching the threshold where the battery could be
damaged, and still draining current to power the LED. I wouldn't worry
too much about it as LEDs consume a fraction of what the motors are
eating. Plus, if you pick it up and turn it off like you do usually, it's not +/-
1 minute that will make much of a difference.

17
Bladerunner Repair and Maintainence:
o Rotor Blades: To repair the blades, either to "restore" the leading edge or to fix a
broken blade I normally use a piece of tape wrapped around the leading edge. It is
also possible to glue in a small piece of blister material i.e. from a coffee cup,
however the blades then tends loose some flexibility and may break easier again.

o Replace Rotor Blades:

o destroyed my blades long ago....a large plastic party cup/barbeque cup Is all
you really need. Just copy the same pattern, or make your own..
o nail polish remover put on both sides It will eat the CA glue away and you can
save your rods. .For pulling them out of the hubs you can do the same....But
you have to pull it straight with a little turn......or your rods will get stuck in
the plastic hubs and you will have to drill them out...
o Lubricating the Gears:
o Silicon Lube: (Steve S63)
I have used Silicon Lube in a tube. I purchased it some years ago for plastic
gears as it is a plastic friendly lube unlike most petroleum lubes. It's not cheap
but it lasts a long time and I did notice in improvement in rotor speed
afterwards. I used a Q-tip to apply it on the faces of the two main gears where
they touch & on all gear teeth. I also lubed the shaft up to the reduction for
the top rotor. I also got the bottom of the shaft below the bottom gear. Make
sure not to get it too low or the bottom retaining tube might come off in flight
o Super Lube: (GMRO)
I've used Super Lube, it's in a gray tube and it looks like clear toothpaste,
once in a while on plastics that have larger gears in them as it has no
petrolum distillates in it. Those will destroy and weaken plastics.
o Motor Replacement: pull the axle for the gear to get to the screw. Just use a knife or
something sharp to get under the "head" of the shaft and pull it up.
o Any N20 type of motor with windings between 1.5 ohm and 2.2 ohm will do.
(I have used the standard N20 type motor from GWS with 6.5 ohm windings)
The flight times will probably be a little shorter than with new original motors
but it will work. (Petter)

18
 o Goldmine N-20 (inexpensive) motors: for those of you who ordered the gold
mine motors all you have to do is separate the black cap that contains the
brushes from the goldmine motors and epoxy that black cap onto the stock
motor can and voila!-- new brushes for your bladerunner N20 motors.....this is
a good temporary fix (until stock motors are available because it is 75 cents a
motor, a cheap fix....(MeBluEyz99)
ƒ STEP 1
Must have motors to do the brush swap. I used these motors and
bought a few for spare brushes......here is the link...
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.c...aitem=3&mitem=3
ƒ STEP 2
Carefully remove the motor from the BR.Remember the orientation of
the stock motor can by using the number markings on the side of the
motor can so you can place it back correctly. You may have to remove
gears and rotors as well as other small parts to make the screws
accessible that hold the motor to the BR frame.
ƒ STEP 3
Please note the polarity markings on the stock motor can and the
replacement motor can. It is very important use markings like (-)
Negative and (+) Positive. Take very detailed pictures of the wires and
motors and markings before dissassembly so you know how
everything goes back together.
ƒ STEP 4
Separate the black plastic end caps off of both motor cans which
contain the brushes and remember not to mix them up. To remove the
black plastic caps you may need to use small needle type tools
(soldering tools) or even jeweler’s screwdrivers, but be careful not to
break your tools.
ƒ STEP 5
Take the black plastic cap (the good new brushes) and apply very
small amounts (SMALL AMOUNTS NOT TWO GALLONS) of 2
part epoxy on the inner sleeve of the new cap that contains the new
brushes for your stock motor can.
ƒ STEP 6
Allow time for the epoxy to set.
ƒ STEP 7
Solder the motor leads back to the stock motor can, making sure the
proper polarity has been observed and put your BR back together
slowly and carefully, with great caution because it is toy quality it may
be fragile.
o Replacing Motors with Carbon Brushes: (Swilson50)
One of my motors gave out. When I opened it, the three fingers were just about
amputated. The commutator is also very badly scored from the fingers. I had a couple
GWS EDP-20 motors, so I thought that I would try them. They have CARBON
BRUSHES and they are rated 7.2 V. I put them in and it wouldn't lift with the 340
lipoly, so I switched to 2 140 lipolies in series. Wow, did it lift off, but the batteries

19
got very hot very quickly. So, I switched the caps to use the carbon brushes on the BR
factory case and arm. Just be very careful when re-inserting the com between the
carbon brushes. NOTE: you will have to reverse the motor wires. The carbon brushes
are bent in reverse from the finger brushes. (guess how I know.) This looks like a
LONG TERM FIX.
You can get the motors GWS EDP-20 from serveral places including Balsa Products
(www.balsapr.com). They're a bit pricy at about $10.50 each.
Please note that Swilson 50 was not using the stock battery with these
brushes
Step By Step Installation of Carbon Brushes:
1. Remove the BR rotors, remove the rotor shaft (the bottom retainer is a finger-
tight fit). The gears will come with the shaft. Watch for the little teflon spacers
and note their location. Unsolder the wires from the receiver to the motors. (I
use a 15 watt/grounded soldering iron). Note which wire is in front and back.
Note which side of the motor is outside. Push the pins out of the idler gears.
This is tight on some, and loose on others. Note the tiny teflon washers.
Remove the gears. With a tiny screwdriver, remove the screws holding the
motors. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO LOSE THEM..After removing the
motor, press the pinion off the shaft, but note how far down on the shaft it
goes. It's a tight, but unglued fit.
2. With a small screwdriver pry the two bend-over tabs from the "new" motor.
This will give you a feel of how to do it. Then push the arm out which will lift
the endcap. Then gently pull the endcap from the arm. Take a look at the
carbon brushes.
3. Do the same with your "old" BR motor. Again, carefully remove the old end
cap from the arm. You might need to take a q-tip with alcohol to clean the
debris from the arm. You want to keep the BR can and arm. You will need to
completely remove the arm which makes it easier insert it into the new end
cap. I place the end cap in a vise and gently spread the brushes with tweezers
(small pointy type). Place the arm into the end cap and gently twist it to be
sure it's seated between the brushes.
4. Here's the tricky part. Take the end cap/arm combo and slide it back into the
old BR can. You may have to "jiggle" it a bit to get the arm shaft into the
bearing. Hold your finger under the bearing so it doesn't jump in and pull
itself out of the end cap. The end cap and can have a notch, so you won't have
trouble matching them up.
5. Carefully bend the tabs back. It doesn't have to be a "hammer tight" fit.
6. FINAL RE-ASSEMBLY. Reverse the disassembly. NOTE: You will need to
reverse the wires because the GWS encap has the brushes in reverse order. (It
is easier to place the motors back in with what was the outside "inside"
because the wires from the receiver to the motors are so short.
7. GEARMESH...Check that the pinion is the right height to match the idler
gears and that the idler gears are the right height for the spur gears. If not, you
probably lost one of the teflon spacers (or put it in the wrong place).

20
• Addition to Motor Replacement: The intermediate gear is pretty easy to remove.
Those "rivits" are actually small axles with heads. They just press into the lower
black frame. I was able to use 2 dull blades, like utility knife types, to pry under
the head of the the rivit against the top of the intermediate gear and lift. The axles
will come out if you pull upwards. Once I got them up about 2 mm I was able to
get pair of hemostats or small plyers on them and pull them out the rest of the way.

There is a small washer under the intermediate gear so be careful not too loose it.
AND when you press the axle back in don't bottom it out. There should be some
space and play between the gear and the head of the axle. Try and check how
much play there is before you diss-assemble it. I used needle nose plyers to press
the axle back in by lightly squeezing the head of the axle and the bottom of the
black plastic plate it presses into.
• Homemade Rotor Replacements: (Kwok Yu): The plastic from 2 liter coke bottles
are good for making propellers. Here is a photo from
• Improving Gear Mesh: (pgoelz)
I've had a couple instances where the BR dropped abruptly. Turns out that
the gear set for (in my case) the right hand motor was very loose... loose
enough that the gears could slip from time to time. The two culprits were the
very loose fit of the intermediate gear on the shaft and the slightly sloppy fit
of the mainshaft. I was unable to figure out how to tighten the intermediate
gear on its shaft, so I compromised and moved the motor slightly closer to
the gear. I did that by slightly elongating the mounting holes. Then, I rooted
around in my scrap bin for some 2mm CF rod and found a piece that was
slightly larger than the stock 2mm mainshaft..... just larger enough to be a
nice clean fit in the frame. I ground a flat on the top of the shaft to accept the
upper rotor, pressed the gear and lower retainer back on, and voila.... no
more gear mesh issues. And the BR has not dropped since, either.

21