SYMA S107G R/C COAXIAL HELICOPTER
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You have no chance to survive make your time.
This isn't a flashlight, household lamp, Christmas light set, or other thing that glows, but it *DOES* have a flashing R/B (red/blue) LED in it, so what the hey.
This is only the eleventh R/C helicopter to have graced these pages (out of at least a thousand other products) over the last eleven-plus years this website has been online, so please play nice and don't bite my head off to tell me that I forgot some important detail.
I love things that fly; that's why I took the bate (I saw it on Ebay not that long ago) and also why I added a seperate section titled "PRODUCTS DESIGNED TO FLY" on my website a number of years ago.
This is a fairly small, lightweight (as a helicopter in a metal & plastic body goes), easy-to-fly 3-channel remote-controlled indoor helicoper. Its remote uses IR (infrared) radiation in leiu of radio waves, so you'll note the conspicuous absence of an antenna on the remote control. This also means that the helicopter is designed exclusively to be flown indoors -- though you can indeed fly it outside after sunset if there's no (or extremely little at worst) breeze.
It has a coaxial design to minimise those "out-of-control" moments, and make flying possible even with a busted tail rotor (though if the tail rotor is completely gone, moving forward & backward will no longer be possible).
"Coaxial" in this case means that it has two sets of main rotor blades; one set of blades spins in the opposite direction as the other. Doing things this way virtually eliminates that wild, out-of-control spinning that plagues many other non-coaxial R/C helicopters and makes this one exceptionally easy to fly even for beginner pilots!!! It also has a gyroscope (very commonly abbreviated to just "gyro") in it that makes this heli exceptionally stable and lets slow-speed maneuvers and hovering be accomplished much more easily than it would be in R/C helis without a gyro.
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This toy (some people might call it something other than a "toy") is remarkably easy to use for a helicopter...here's how to get it off the ground:
As with any rechargeable product, charge it first (see directly below), and then you can pretend to fly a dragonfly (well, that's what the kitty cat thought it was when I flew it in the house the other day).
1: On the right side of the Coaxial Helicopter's body (on the metal part just below and behind the cockpit), there's a tiny on/off switch.
Use a fingernail to slide this switch to the "on" position.
A flashing R/B (red & blue) LED on the Coaxial Helicopter's body in the nose and below the cockpit will now come on, and then begin giving you a little light show. A video farther down this web pages shows this.
2: On the remote control, turn the "on/off" switch to the "on" position.
3: Place the Coaxial Helicopter on a flat surface; the floor is a good place. Orient it so the tail faces toward you.
4: Look in the helicopter for a small yellow-green light. If this light is blinking, that indicates that the sensor has not sensed the ground*, and the helicopter will not work -- I believe that this is a safety feature designed to help prevent injury if you attempt to hand-launch it. Place the heli on the ground; the light should stop blinking and switch to steady-on within several seconds. NOW it will take off when the left-hand stick is pushed forward (see step 5 directly below). Not too hard on that stick now; you don't want the heli to smash into the ceiling!
5: Push the left-hand stick on the remote control forward and then let it go back.* This "arms" the helicopter. Gently push the left-hand stick on the remote control forward a second time -- but do so more gingerly this time so that the helicopter doesn't just blast away -- it has a good deal of thrust, so the possibility of it getting away in this manner does exist.
6: The Coaxial Helicopter should now lift off the ground. Congratulations, you're now a pilot!!!
Reading this web page (about another R/C helicopter) will give you a good idea of the process of flying it.
For additional instructions & tips on how to fly, please read the instructional material that comes with the product.
Turn the Coaxial Helicopter and remote control off when finished using them.
Same switches as before, but slide them in the opposite direction this time.
* Another owner of this product has come to the conclusion that this is *NOT* a ground-sensor; but is in fact part of the circuit that initialises the internal gyro! If movement is detected at power-up, the gyro cannot initalise. The solution is to place it on the ground, allow the gyro to "come to terms with itself", and *THEN* you can pick the heli up and hand-launch it if desired.
* Although it is stated in the instructional materials that the controller must be "armed" in this fashion, it is not necessary to do it with this particular unit. As usual, your mileage may vary.
The battery in the Coaxial Helicopter itself is rechargeable and is not designed to be changed; however the batteries in the remote will need to be changed from time to time.
To do this, unscrew & remove the phillips screw from the battery door on the underside of the unit, using a small phillips screwdriver (the #0 from my set of jeweller's screwdrivers worked well here). Set the screw aside.
Remove the battery door, carry it to the top of the basement stairs, and kick it down those stairs into the basement crawling with thousands of hungry piss ants that have to piddle -- they'll think it's something yummy to eat and start chewing on it, but quickly find it unpalatable so that they drag it to the queen, who also finds it distasteful so she piddles on it and instructs the worker ants to do the same...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.
Remove the six used AA cells from the compartment, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.
Insert six new AA cells into the compartment, orienting each cell so its flat-end (-) negative faces a spring for it in each chamber.
Finally, place the battery door back on, and screw the screw back in.
Aren't you glad you didn't kick that battery door down the stairs to all those hungry, hungry piss ants with full bladders now?
To charge the battery in the Coaxial Helicopter via the USB dongle, take the thin cord that comes furnished with the product, and note that one end has a small rectangular plug on it, Plug this into the female receptacle for it on the underside of the helicopter, directly opposite (on the other side of the heli's body) of the "ON/OFF" switch. The side of this small plug with two tiny metal contacts visible on it should face up (toward the ceiling) when you're plugging it into the heli.
Be certain that the Coaxial Helicopter is turned off at this point.
Plug the larger, flat, rectangular end of this cord into any free USB port on your computer.
When the charge cycle is in progress, the red LED inside the rectangular USB plug on the end of the charging cord will stay off; it will become illuminated when the charge cycle is complete.
You may then safely unplug the helicopter from the charger, and unplug the USB plug from your computer at this point.
To charge the battery in this heli via its remote control, slide the door on the lower portion of the left side of the remote control so it's open.
In the compartment you just exposed to atmosphere , you'll see a thin cord with a small plug on the end.
With the helicopter turned off, plug this into the small squarish receptacle for it on the left hand side of the helicopter's body; located on the metal portion below and behind the cockpit.
This connector is keyed to fit the receptacle on the S107G only one way; please do not force it or you may irreversibly damage this heli that flies so well and it might not fly for you again.
Turn the switch on the remote control to the "on" position. The LED on the remote should now come on and be glowing red.
When the charge cycle is complete, this LED will turn color from red to yellow-green. At this time, you may unplug the cord from the heli's body, turn the remote control off, stow the cord in the compartment on the remote that you originally removed it from, and slide that door closed.
***VERY IMPORTANT!!!***
Charging the helicopter in this manner is pretty hard on the batteries in the remote; the USB dongle should be used whenever possible and charging via the remote should only be performed when there is no USB-equipped computer nearby.
Charging via either method is advertised to take between 40 and 50 minutes when the battery in the helicopter is essentially fully discharged (flat).
Fully charging the Coaxial Helicopter's battery should give you 6 to 8 minutes of flying time.
This RC helicopter is meant to be used as a toy indoors or in a dry area outdoors after sunset, not as a flashlight meant to be carried around all the time, thrashed, and abused; I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the {vulgar term for feces}bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoņata (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a scanner-type device on a platform with a large readout, with a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; and the cannoņata is only used to shoot piņatas to piņata parties away from picturesque Piņata Island), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that I might inflict upon a flashlight.
So this section of the helicopter's web page will be significantly more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.
Stated range of the infrared controller is 20 to 25 meters (~60 to ~75 feet).
The unit has a 3-channel remote control; this allows for forward / backward / up / down / left / right movement (movement on all three axes -- X, Y, and Z). It also has a fully proportional control system; simply meaning that the motor speeds can be varied depending on how far you move the joysticks -- it isn't simply "full power and no power at all" like some other R/C products.
The only thing that pisses me off (even a little) about this helicopter is the fact that it is specifically intended for indoor use only...seeing how well it flies and maneuvers, I'd really love to fly this bird outdoors as well. It *CAN* be flown outdoors after sunset or before sunrise, but never, ever, EVER in full daylight.
Photograph of its remote control.
Spectrographic analysis of the R/B (red/blue; red die) LED on the helicopter's front (yellow canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the R/B (red/blue; blue die) LED on the helicopter's front (yellow canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the R/B (red/blue; red die) LED on the helicopter's front (red canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the R/B (red/blue; blue die) LED on the helicopter's front (red canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the R/B (red/blue; red die) LED on the helicopter's front (blue canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the R/B (red/blue; blue die) LED on the helicopter's front (blue canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the yellow-green die (indicating "Power") LED in the helicopter's remote control (yellow canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the red die (indicating "Charge cycle in progress") LED in the helicopter's remote control (yellow canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the red LED in the USB dongle ( charger) for this product (yellow canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the yellow-green die (indicating "Power") LED in the helicopter's remote control (red canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the red die (indicating "Charge cycle in progress") LED in the helicopter's remote control (red canopy).
Spectrographic analysis of the red LED in the USB dongle ( charger) for this product (red canopy).
Attempted spectrographic analysis of the NIR transmitter LEDs in the remote control.
Attempted spectrographic analysis of the yellow-green "Gyro stabilised" LED in the heli's fuselage.
This video on YourTube shows the Syma S107G R/C Coaxial Helicopter on its maiden voyage -- and hey, no crashes!!!
That music you hear is from the Commodore 64 computer demo "It's No Secret" from the late-summer 1988. This heli is not sound-sensitive; the audio may safely be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off. That kitty cat on the bed troward the end of this video is Patches; she just so happened to jump up there when this recording was made.
This video is approximately 37.87735623128 megabytes (38,088,440 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than one hundred eighty eight minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
This video shows the Syma S107G R/C Coaxial Helicopter on a night mission -- I just wanted to show off those nifty lights on it. :-)
That music you hear is the song "The Stroke" by Billy Squier. This heli is not sound-sensitive; the audio may safely be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.
This video is approximately 20.55572342390 megabytes (20,756,986 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than one hundred two minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
ALL OF THE OTHER VIDEOS NOW HAVE THEIR OWN WEB PAGES BECAUSE THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY OF THEM AT THIS TIME!!! THIS IS PAGE 2.
Video on YourTube showing how the red LED in the USB charging dongle for Syma micro helicopters slowly brightens instead of just turning on at full intensity immediately upon completion of the charge cycle.
O BOY! A RED LIGHT SLOWLY BRIGHTENING!! SO THRILLING!!! MAKES YOUR HEART RACE, DOESN'T IT?!? (Actually, it makes you want to whack somebody's pee-pee, doesn't it?)
That music you hear is music from the pee-cee computer demo "Verses" by the demo group ''Electromotive Force [EMF]''; this product is not sound-sensitive -- the audio may be ignored or even muted if it tees you off...though I'd recommend not doing so as this video is kind of boring without it.
This video is approximately 9.77845642361 megabytes (9,864,523 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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I cannot provide these videos in other formats, so please do not ask.
TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Ebay (from Superstition Hobbies) on 04-07-11 (or "07 Mar 2011" or even "Mar 07, Twenty Double Sticks" if you prefer), and was received at 4:04pm PDT on 04-11-11 (or "11 Apr 2011" or even "Apr 11 28, Twenty Double Sticks").
UPDATE: 05-03-11
I have moved all but two videos to this web page so that people who do not really want to be bombarded by all of them will not be when they just want some other info. about this heli.
UPDATE: 05-09-11
The Li:POLY flight battery appears to be circling the drain for an as-of-yet unknown reason, so I purchased a replacement and will solder it in shortly after receipt -- probably late this week.
UPDATE: 05-13-11
The battery came yesterday, but the positive (+) wire busted off the PCB during final reassembly. Therefore, that dreadful "" icon will be added to its listings on this website to denote that the product no longer functions.
I do have another on the way however, so that horrible green circle with a big fat red "X" through it will not be here for too long.
UPDATE: 05-13-11
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update (and a good one too!!!)
I was able to (eventually) successfully conduct repairs and get flying again!!!
Once I got the (+) positive wire soldered into place and the battery positioned above the battery tray for installation, the negative (-) wire also busted off the PCB; but five minutes with a soldering iron took care of that. I reassembled the studly litttle heli, charged it, and took a brief test flight, and it looks like this repair was 100% successful!!! As a result, that dreadful "" icon will be removed before I ever went "hot" with the update.
If I religiously practise good battery hygiene, the replacement should last quite a while.
The heli has more upward thrust than I remember it ever having, leading me to believe that the LiPo cell that was installed in it when I received the studly little heli new was defective in some manner. I also noted right off the bat that the time needed to charge was significantly longer than it ever was -- also an indicator that the original battery had already gone to pot before I ever made my first flight; plus the USB charging dongle's LED came on full-intensity at once when the charge cycle was complete, rather than coming on and brightening slowly as it ought to -- which is exactly what it does now.
UPDATE: 05-20-11
After a failed attempt to repair a "tail rotor appears shorted" problem, I now deem this heli officially dead.
It still lifts off and I have *EXTREMELY LIMITED* control over tail rotor forward speed, but I can no longer fly backward -- or very fast forward for that matter.
Therefore, that dreadful "" icon will be added to its listings on this website to denote that the product no longer functions.
I'll still keep it around though as a "parts" copter when my S107G with red canopy arrives (and when it does, that awful "" icon will be removed.
The following is a video of how it behaves now:
The Syma S1076G Coaxial R/C Heli has now effectively become worm food. :-(
The tail rotor spins even when you don't want it to. Full reverse stick stops it; but this heli can no longer go in reverse and just slowly crawls along at full forward hammer (stick). The last segment of this video where it is prefaced with "Full reverse stick", you'll see the tail rotor move -- that was me, attempting to prevent a crash that would have otherwise happened. Otherwise the little propeller would have been absolutely still.
This video is approximately 5.64523123072 megabytes (5,813,849 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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Before I had the camera "rolling", I attempted a test flight without the tail rotor blades; it hung in the air for several seconds and then abruptly dropped to the floor -- deader than a doorknob. The heli's power had shut down, and I rather quickly detected the odour of burnt circuitry when I picked it up to examine it. Once I power cycled it, power stayed on, and no smoke issued from it; though the tail rotor motor had slowed considerably.
***IMPORTANT!!!***
The videos web page will continue to see updates for at least several more days; these videos show the heli flying *BEFORE* this incident took place!!!
UPDATE: 05-24-11
The tail rotor has now gone to pot; as evidenced in the following video:
The Syma S107G R/C coax heli flying with a tail rotor that has gone down the drane.
You can see me push it in the air with my cane; when I was not successful there I simply allowed it to land.
That voice in the end-credits is from the speech synthesizer program "S.A.M." for the Commodore 64 computer. I heard this phrase in 1987 (from S.A.M.) and thought that it was funny enough to re-create. :-)
This video is approximately 5.90073456237 megabytes (6,111,791 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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UPDATE: 05-27-11
The replacement (with red canopy) arrived at 3:33pm PDT yesterday (05-26-11 {or "26 May 2011" or even "May 26, Twenty Double Sticks" if you prefer}.
To wit, here is a photograph of it:
Above, you'll also find spectrographic analyses of the red/blue LED in it.
Finally, here is a video of the studly little heli in flight:
Video showing the Syma S107G Coaxial Helicopter (the replacement with the red canopy) flying to some Raven zax.
As I just said, that music you might (well, are SUPPOSED TO) hear is the song "Screaming Down the House" by the band Raven. This is a NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) act, not Raven Symoan or however the F you spell the douche's name. This heli is not sound-sensitive; the audio may safely be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.
You can probably tell by now that I just love the living tweedle out of this little heli -- even more so than my Havok Heli that I got to fly extremely well back in mid-January 2011.
I added "***NSFYE***" (Not Safe For Your Ears) to the title because not everybody who tunes in to YourTube to watch R/C helicopter vids is a metalhead.
This video is approximately 12.34345676090 megabytes (12,510,943 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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UPDATE: 06-06-11
I learned about a modification that is rather easily performed on the Tx (remote control) that disables the "spring return" on the throttle (left-hand stick); many R/C enthusiasts prefer their Tx to behave in this manner. Since I have two that will operate this heli, I was able to perform it on one while still leaving the other one "stock" in case this modification pisses me off or if I were to destroy the Tx while performing it.
Here is a video I was directed to on YourTube that shows you this rather simple-to-perform modification:
And here is a video of a test flight I made using the Tx that I modified in this manner:
The Aldo Nova song "War Suite" is clearly audible here.
This heli is not sound-sensitive; the audio may be ignored or even muted if it torques you off.
This video is approximately 4.04423734554 megabytes (4,202,721 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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Shortly thereafter, I took note that if the throttle (left-hand) stick on the Tx is anywhere but at its lower position when the Tx is powered up, the yellow-green "Power" segment of the LED will blink, and nothing will happen to the heli itself -- that is, until the stick is lowered. Then the LED will go from blinking to steady, and the unit will function absolutely normally.
This is the same video as above, but sans music.
This video is approximately 3.38745634661 megabytes (3,566,331 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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I have two TX units (remote controls) that both function properly here, so if I screwed this one up, I wouldn't be SOL.
UPDATE: 06-14-11
This is a video showing that the flight battery in the newer one (with red canopy and fuselage) is going to pot.
It flies fine for several seconds, then it has difficulty gaining altitude. But if I let it rest for several seconds (even when left on), it behaves properly for several more seconds...lather, rinse, repeat.
I've practised good "battery hygiene", so I don't know why this one is going down the tube so quickly.
This video is approximately 12.08247367656 megabytes (12,278,667 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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UPDATE: 06-14-11
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
I successfully "transplanted" the new battery from my sad little S107G with the yellow canopy & fuselage into this one, and everything appears to have gone off without a hitch. A test flight confirmed this.
Here, let's let the following vid do the talking here:
That music you hear is the song "The Model" by Kraftwerk.
This heli is not sound-sensitive; the audio may be ignored or even muted if it torques you off.
This video is approximately 10.62252396577 megabytes (10,819,089 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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UPDATE: 06-24-11
The new battery (transplanted just ten days ago!) is already going down the tube.
Here, let's let the following video do the talking here:
Battery going to pot yet again in the Syma S107G Coaxial R/C Heli. :-(
This video is approximately 13.02984544482 megabytes (13,223,672 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
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I've already ordered another; this studly little heli is just too good to bin (throw in the garbage can), so I'll once again attempt to repair it.
UPDATE: 07-01-11
The replacement battery arrived several days ago; I just installed it yesterday morning and gave the bird a little test flight...all's fine on the Western front as they say.
UPDATE: 07-19-11
I took note that my red and yellow S107G helis came in different boxes...to wit:
I wonder if perhaps one of them is a knock-off.
UPDATE: 10-22-11
The Syma S107G heli {with blue fuselage} that I ordered several days ago (to replace the red one that keeps pooping out and eating its battery) arrived late yesterday morning.
To wit:
UPDATE: 10-24-11
This one has a great deal more upward thrust than any S107G that I've ever used before!!!
So much more in fact that it's like flying a totally different heli!!!
UPDATE: 11-25-11
I flew this heli this heli outside after dark this last Sunday, and it flew exceptionally well (it got at least 75 feet in altitude!) until all I could see was its flashing blue & red LED. After a surprisingly long flight, I intentionally crash-landed it into a bush approx. 45 feet away.
UPDATE: 10-19-12
From bigfathairybiker on YouTube comes the following (no changes to grammar, syntax, or spelling were made):
"Hmmm... one thing to note about the Syma USB Charger is that it has no LiPo charging circuit inside! It is just a diode and resistor to supply the charge current and a transistor and a couple of other resistors to switch the? led on as the current supplied goes down. Which is why the led is on full brightness when no battery is connected.
The LiPo charger circuit is on the battery!"
MANUFACTURER: Syma
PRODUCT TYPE: Indoor-operated R/C helicopter
LAMP TYPE: LED
No. OF LAMPS: At least 7 (1 red in USB dongle, 1 R/G & 3 NIR in the R/C, 1 R/B and 1 yellow-green in helicopter itself)
BEAM TYPE: N/A
SWITCH TYPE: Slide switch on/off on both R/C and helicopter
CASE MATERIAL: Plastic & metal
BEZEL: N/A
BATTERY: 6x AA cells for R/C; unknown capacity 3.7V Li:PO battery in helicopter
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
WATER- AND URANATION-RESISTANT: Very light sprinkle-resistance only
SUBMERSIBLE: FOR CHRIST SAKES NOOOOO!!!
ACCESSORIES: Tail rotor blade, USB charging cord
SIZE: 220mm L x 98mm H x 190mm Rotor diameter
WEIGHT: 39.50g (1.390 oz.)
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: China
WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated
PRODUCT RATING:
Syma S107G R/C Coaxial Helicopter *
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