Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / April 2004

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How do you know this?  Is the range check (with the antenna down) not
doing well?  (How far are you getting?)  Something else?

Low batteries don't usually cause poor range.  Battery problems
usually manifest themselves as the batteries not lasting very long --
but they usually work fine for at least a little while after being
freshly charged.  Long enough to do a range check, anyways.

The RX antenna is just a wire -- of a specific length.  If you replace
it with something longer or shorter, you'll reduce your range.  Unless
it's been broken internally, it's not something you want to replace.

It's prudent to not trust it.  But if you really want to know what
happened to it, you'll really need to send it to Airtronics and have
it fixed.  Even if they just replace it because they can't repair it,
the prices are usually at most half the price of new equipment.  (At
least with other vendors -- I've never dealt with Airtronics
personally.)

You could also bring your equipment down to the local club and ask
them about it.  I could probably help you narrow down what the problem
was (receiver, transmitter, batteries, etc.) in a few minutes, and so
I imagine somebody near you could do so as well.

Are these the *really* old connectors that have wires sticking out of
the servo plugs?  If not, you don't need any adapters, though you
might need to pop out the wires from the current plugs and change the
order they're in.  (I seem to remember that airtronics servos were
wired differently.)  If you do have the old servo plugs, I'd suggest
cutting the old ones off and replacing them that way, but that's
harder to do properly and it might be safer for you (I assume you're
pretty new to all this) to just replace the servos -- they're
obviously pretty old anyways.  In any event, don't buy those adapters
-- they're just another thing to fail and they're expensive.

As long as you either 1) know what to look for, or 2) trust the person
selling you the equipment, used equipment is usually a very good deal.
If somebody in your club or a friend wants to sell you an old radio,
and he knows what he's doing and the price is right, do it.  You might
need to replace the batteries, but old equipment (as long as it's
post-1991) usually works just as good as new stuff.  But if you don't
know/trust the guy selling it, and can't tell if it's good yourself,
it's a bit dangerous.

If you do decide to go the `new receiver' route, keep in mind that you
can use Hitec receivers, and they're a good deal cheaper for the same
quality.  For example, if you go here --

  http://radicalrc.secure-mall.com/shop/index.php?shop=1&cat=42&cart=151318

you can use the M-5 (not Hitec, but still a *great* receiver -- I have
about 6 of them now) for $55, or the Hitec Supreme 3200 for $60.  And
that includes the crystal.  Or any other receiver on this page will
work, as long as it says it works with Futaba.  (Except for the GWS
R4P or Plantraco park flier receivers.  And you probably don't want
the Ham band receivers.)

Bad, bad advice.  From what I can tell, the commercial spread spectrum
R/C setups aren't even available yet -- all we've seen are prototypes.
Is *anybody* actually selling these things yet?  (as in now, today?)

In any event, there's considerable concern about interference and
range problems with any R/C controller that uses the 900 mHz or 2.4
gHz bands.  Alas, we don't really have any real world success or
failure stories to relate - we just don't know how well it'll work in
the real world.  Not having to worry about channel conflicts would
indeed be very nice, but I wouldn't suggest that a relative newbie
(I'm assuming that the original poster fits this category) should run
out and get these new things the moment they're available.  Let other
people work out the kinks first :)