Still interference

[2robinhood]

I am still having interference problems. The surfaces do some twitching and glitches in range checking. It also can happen 5-15 feet away from the plane. Sometimes the surfaces will go full throw ( TX antena down ).
This all happens without the motor running, ( it is worse with motor running ).
I changed RX crystal, RX and TX crystals, Changed RX, Changed RX and TX, Went down to 4.8V, bypassed switches, Bypassed smartfly power expander, changed antena angles, RF filters on servo lines, totally taken the engine EI unit and battery from the plane.
Problem is still there no matter what I did.
I even went to the flying field thinking it maybe something at my house and the same problem.
I did notice that if I put the antena next to the four servos in the tail it got real bad.
Max lenght on any extension is 24" and all are 20ga.
Two 6V 1650mah batteries, two HD 20ga. switches.
Smartfly power expander.
No metal contact to motor.
I am at a lose, Been trying stuff for weeks.
Still havn't made the 1st flight.
I have a Futaba 6EX 2.4ghz Fasst system on the way,
Will this solve it??????????

[Kiwi]

What receiver and transmitter are you using.

I once had this happen with an FMA 8 channel Rx and it drove me to drink (my excuse) but seriously I see a few things that should help you in this.

First of all the power expander is one of the items that would have working overtime to stop all this from happening. It is supposed to stop erroneous feedback from say a faulty pot in a servo from effecting the others. It also filters induced interference between long servo extensions and stops glitching. Note I said try, if theres a real issue it may not be able too either.

I have seen this also occur with fully or overcharged batteries but again if your using the PE that should regulate the voltage to the RX to 5 volts and stop funny stuff happening as a result.

Changing crystals and frequencies wont help if the problem is between the RX and the servos. Try turning everything on and leaving the radio off. Does anything go haywire. If all is well then we have a start.

Was it exactly the same at the field as in your house. Again with radio on and radio off.

What I'm trying to determine is if the problem is transmitter related perhaps. Does someone have another Tx for you to test your setup on.

Mate your going to get asked all the funniest questions with what you gave us to work with above. But the key to it is systematic elimination of each individual component, one by one.

Lets get started.

Kiwi

[3ddd]

brand new reciever straight out of the box-bad filter in, it bad interferance

[2robinhood]

OK, here is the list:

Futaba 6EXAP transmitter
Futaba R127DF receiver
Smartfly power expander
Two 6V 1650mah batteries
24" 20ga Hobbico servo extensions
Cermark Hd 20ga switch harnesses
24" Hitec 20ga aileron y harness

Things I have done:

Changed RX crystal
Changed TX crystal
Used a different RX
used a different TX
Dropped down to 4.8V
Changed switch harnesses
Total disconnected the smartfly
Changed servos
unplugged one item at a time
Installed RF filters on servo lines
Totally removed engine EI and battery
Put in a JR receiver and JR transmitter
Nothing else to change or swap !!! except extensions.

I do not get any interference when transmitter is OFF and RX is still on.
Only get it when both TX and RX are on.
Same exact problem at home and flying field.
Glitches happen from 5 - 20 feet away without the engine running and TX antena down. They will even happen right next to the plane ( TX antena down ).
I also am using this same transmitter in two other planes without any issues, they both range check excellent.
I took one of the Rx's out of these planes to test with a resolt of the same problem , returned it to back to the plane and it worked excellent again.

[ChrisR]

Ok well here is my Input, get rid of those Hobbico extensions. Go buy some Airwild HD twisted servo wire. I had similar problems on my plane and nothing worked until I switched to Twisted servo extensions. After that, zero issues, solid range check in all conditions. Give it a go, worth the money to try it out.

[airbusmech]

I know this may be a pain but installation pictures would tell a thousand words and somtimes resolve these issues quickly.

[2robinhood]

	Quote: Originally Posted by airbusmech
	I know this may be a pain but installation pictures would tell a thousand words and somtimes resolve these issues quickly.

Here are pictures:

Smartfly, rudder and elevator extensions down the left of fuse,
switches on right and antena exit on the right.




Close up of smartfly, no ailerons extension, wing are not on.




Elevator extension with centering port, and rudder extensions.
All with RF filters.




Switch side. Two switches, and antena exit the fuse.




Outside of fuse, switches and antena exit.




A look down the fuse, batteries are, one on the left, one on the right of the throttle servo.

[ChrisR]

It may not be fun but I would seriously dump those Hobbico extensions, and pick up some twisted leads. Your RF noise is almost identical to what I was experiencing with my last plane. Especially since you have done pretty much everything else.

[Stinger1]

This will make you crazy won't it . Couple of ideas one being a repeat of a prior one, lose the extention replace with twisted wire extention ( I do away with out of the way plugs and solder all connections ) and do that both in the fuse and the wings second would be to check the antenna attachment at the receiver, I didn't see any stress relief clips in your pictures and possibly the antenna could have pulled loose from the receiver . Third start up your unit, transmitter then receiver then tap the case of the receiver with a screwdriver . If the surfaces jump a receiver filter went bad . If you have any hair left on your head after attempting to rectify this issue you're a better man than me . Good luck

[2robinhood]

The strange thing that I found is with the transmitter OFF and the receiver ON, I get no interference what so ever ( nothing out there over powering my TX ).
And I know that it isn't the TX and RX because I swap them with another Futaba set and even a JR setup at the flying feild. The JR setup was a guys that is flying a plane. We pulled his RX and battery out to try in my plane, Same thing. Put it back in his and all is fine.

[catman3070]

I would agree with everyone stating to change your extension leads. I had similar issue when leads had a nick in the wire. Both the signal and power wire was touching and it caused a glitch on all surfaces. I was able to locate the problem by setting the transmitter down at the distance I was getting the glitch. Then unplug a servo to see if it would stop. Don't forget that it could be more than one causing the problem.

[2robinhood]

	Quote: Originally Posted by ChrisR
	Ok well here is my Input, get rid of those Hobbico extensions. Go buy some Airwild HD twisted servo wire.

I went to Airwild's website and only found extensions ,but they are 22ga.
On Tower website I found Hitec in exactly what I need and they are 20ga.
Would I be better with the heavier gauge Hitecs??

[rc4flying]

I would also recommend twisted extensions. I personnelly do not see a need to go bigger then 22 guage wire. That is all I have ever used in any of my 40% birds.
I would check all plug end for any stray wire strands that may be coming into contact with an adjacent pin in the plastic connectors.
I have seen a plane where the AIl "Y" harness made the plane act strange. Disconnect one wing panel from the "Y" harness and take out the "Y" . Leave that one wing panel disconnected for the test. It could be the "Y" The plane that I seen our problem on did not like the Ail on the same channel. The guy had to plug the wings into different channels and mix them.
Also, What is the little black box to the left of the Power expander on the side of the fuse ? If it has anything to do with reversering a servo....get rid of it.
Just my opinions.
You may want to also try unplugging all the servos from the RX and only plug in one at a time. Thia may help isolate a certain extension problem.

Most of all, be patient and don't rule nothing out.
Hope you find it.

[Propstriker]

One thing I see, The antenna is feed through the fuselage right below the power leads from the batteries to the switches. I am a firm believer of running antennas as far from other wires as possible. Not saying this is your problem with all the things you've tried, just a suggestion. I'd also lose the automotive wire wrap, really doesn't serve any purpose, makes wire runs hard to see for troubleshooting and excess weight (though I guess it's only a few grams)

Radio Problems can be totally frustrating!!!

[airbusmech]

Maybe it's my eyes but do you have the ignition switch next to your receiver switch?