The Race to 2.4, one year later. Time For a Poll!

[Trumpetman]

Still flying a 9303 on 72 but the 12X is on order

[mark nichols]

Interesting thread, no real conclusion reached except if you're plagued by toy plane enthusiasts or bad field practice change club or go to 2.4. Im sticking to my ff9 on pcm for the moment as had zero problems. But when i need a new radio due to wanting 2048 it will be 2.4, why buy new old technology when 2.4 is proving itself on a daily basis as proven in this thread. We are lucky to have guys flying here on spektrum 2.4 and working great, reasons for buying one a new starter and one moving to gas so gave 2.4 a try. With people flying 2.4 at the club and working so well, just like our present systems it will encourage others to change when they need a new radio or fancy a change.


So lets see another poll in a years time and i guess a lot more guys might have switched or maybe still enjoying there good pcm systems as they are presently. And maybe a poll on why did you crash, where you shot down, rx problems, battery problems, wiring problems, engine problems,build problems or dare i say piloting problems or the whole host of other possible problems.


A very enjoyable thread.

Mark

[KrisW]

I got my DM-9 transmitter module back from Horizon today .. or should I say I got the REPLACEMENT module and antenna back.

A couple of points . .our 8-cell transmitter packs charge to about 11.1-11.4 volts, and that is the standard for the hobby. In the note from Horizon service, the question was asked whether I was using an "aftermarket" battery pack in my 10X. Aftermarket or not, I can't imagine fitting a battery pack in the unit that had over 12vdc capacity. Any NiCad of NiMH pack would be full at less than 11.5vdc, and even a 3-cell li-ion or li-po would be topped off at 12.3 or so but quickly come down to less than 12vdc after a few minutes.

I called Toby, the service manager for Horizon and discussed it with him, especially since one of his techs gave me a "9.6 volts only" answer when asked about it. The actual voltage from stock style packs is compatible with the Spektrum modules, since the Spektrum radios use the same pack cell counts as everyone else. Actually, the possibility of "burning out" a transmitter module, from voltages as high as 14-15 volts, is pretty remote (though it can probably happen at such elevated power levels)

Then I asked about the "do not transmit with antenna disconnected" warning on the modules, to see if there was any danger of accidentally damaging a Final Output RF amplifier by leaving the output unloaded by a tuned antenna. Toby related that this warning had more to do with not trying to fly a model without the antenna attached, or doing a range check that way, than with actually damaging the module by leaving the antenna disconnected. It's still a GOOD idea to never transmit without an antenna, since damage can occur if left disconnected for too long (Like 5-10 minutes or more).

Soo . .1bwana1. . . maybe NOW I can "feel the difference". . . .I'm going flying today. . . . .

[Jason Michael]

	Quote: Originally Posted by mark nichols
	Interesting thread, no real conclusion reached except if you're plagued by toy plane enthusiasts or bad field practice change club or go to 2.4. Im sticking to my ff9 on pcm for the moment as had zero problems. But when i need a new radio due to wanting 2048 it will be 2.4, why buy new old technology when 2.4 is proving itself on a daily basis as proven in this thread. We are lucky to have guys flying here on spektrum 2.4 and working great, reasons for buying one a new starter and one moving to gas so gave 2.4 a try. With people flying 2.4 at the club and working so well, just like our present systems it will encourage others to change when they need a new radio or fancy a change. So lets see another poll in a years time and i guess a lot more guys might have switched or maybe still enjoying there good pcm systems as they are presently. And maybe a poll on why did you crash, where you shot down, rx problems, battery problems, wiring problems, engine problems,build problems or dare i say piloting problems or the whole host of other possible problems. A very enjoyable thread. Mark

Well said ! I could not agree more. 2 big reasons I switched is because my local hobby shop is selling 72mhz park flyers like you wouldn't believe on all different channels. I was driving down the road the other day and seen a guy flying a century nitro heli in his lawn right by the road , Not a very intelligent being... Anyways, they are all over around here. The other reason is exactly what mark said I got into gas planes and heard rf noise does not glitch a 2.4 system like 72.
I rubbed every metal on metal to carbon whatever we could think of the other day when i could not maiden my new gasser to try and get the system to glitch. Motor running and not; we could not get any glitching or eradic behavior.??? learning and experimenting...

[KrisW]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Jason Michael
	Well said ! I could not agree more. 2 big reasons I switched is because my local hobby shop is selling 72mhz park flyers like you wouldn't believe on all different channels. I was driving down the road the other day and seen a guy flying a century nitro heli in his lawn right by the road , Not a very intelligent being... Anyways, they are all over around here. The other reason is exactly what mark said I got into gas planes and heard rf noise does not glitch a 2.4 system like 72. I rubbed every metal on metal to carbon whatever we could think of the other day when i could not maiden my new gasser to try and get the system to glitch. Motor running and not; we could not get any glitching or eradic behavior.??? learning and experimenting...

I'm beginning to think I shall be VERY glad when I get all my stuff switched over to 2.4.. if for no other reason than a lack of frequency conflicts.

Went to the field late today, because they were doing some grass and landscaping in the field surrounding the runway, and I did not want to fly over the crews heads. I didn't have my Bunny with me, just my 72mhz planes, all on ch. 18. Well, I have synthesized receivers, so when I found that the only other person there was on 18, I decided to dial in ch. 15. Unfortunately, synthesized receivers, when faced with one radio on their current channel, and another on a different channel, may not switch and realign themselves properly. Since the other pilot was VERY busy trying to tune an engine on a brand new plane, getting him to shut his TX off for even a minute was like pulling teeth without novocaine. When I finally got him to shut down for a few minutes so I could change frequencies, the freq conflict was finally avoided as I got the receivers on channel 15.

That one incident has tipped me over the edge. As quickly as I get my other receivers from Spektrum, I'm switching my other 2 planes to 2.4ghz.

As for the other guy??? I hope he learns a bit of patience. No one "owns" a frequency, and everyone wants to fly. Only by working together at the field can we ALL get planes into the air and have fun flying. Getting resentful and angry over a frequency conflict, which will GROUND you if not rectified, is not the way to handle the situation.

[KIM]

i will be switched over on all my planes this weekend 2 on fasst 4 on spectrum

[Jason Michael]

Hey Kris i did not know it had to be done like that with a synth radio. I never used one but I could see how would happen. A guy in my club uses a multiplex radio or something like that that searches for a open frequency then locks on it but it is 72 still I believe. German made I think and quite pricey.

Alot of unsures in this post here. lol

Kim get the pektrum flight log if you don't have it, Cheap and a good way to range check accurately. Members pushed me towards it and if anything else so far it is confidence.

[KrisW]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Jason Michael
	Hey Kris i did not know it had to be done like that with a synth radio. I never used one but I could see how would happen. A guy in my club uses a multiplex radio or something like that that searches for a open frequency then locks on it but it is 72 still I believe. German made I think and quite pricey. Alot of unsures in this post here. lol Kim get the pektrum flight log if you don't have it, Cheap and a good way to range check accurately. Members pushed me towards it and if anything else so far it is confidence.

Well, imagine what the receiver is seeing. Two transmitters, both within 50 feet of the antenna, one antenna up, the other down, and transmitting on PCM. It goes through it's little re-program process, and it might pick one. . or the other. Which one is more logical for it to grab? The one that is on the same frequency it started on. At least that is what appeared to be happening, because the person was so impatient that 30 seconds after shutting off, he turned back on, right in the middle of the receiver scanning for a signal, and I could not achieve lock on.

But that's what you get when people are all in a big rush, and their last consideration is about their fellow flier, instead of getting their plane into the air.

[RTK]

That's why on my non 2.4's I choose channel 13. Nobody likes that one

[Jason Michael]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RTK
	That's why on my non 2.4's I choose channel 13. Nobody likes that one

LOL, bunch of superstitious people around you it seems. Work it brotha wok it

[KrisW]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RTK
	That's why on my non 2.4's I choose channel 13. Nobody likes that one

JR had so much trouble getting things to work well on ch 11-14 that I could not even FIND crystals for those channels about 5 years ago, and was told that JR had quit nothing available on those specific channels. I don't know why they were having difficulties . .perhaps because they "tuned" their receivers near the center of the band, and just let you plug any old crystal in place at your discretion, unlike Futaba, which seemed to have a dedicated "Hi" and "lo" frequency range on their receivers, and basically told you not to put high channel ceystals into a module aligned for lower frequencies, and vice versa.

In any case, I can dial any channel I want on my synthesized modules, so perhaps I'll do that in the future if flying on 72mhz.

[RTK]

I bought a Futaba synth 9z years ago so I could avoid radio conflicts. Then I discovered no one liked ch 13. I haven't changed frequencies in over 5 years. At any of the 3 clubs I fly at. I'm in my own little world.
Superstitions are good