DX-7.... explain this!

[smokin]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RappyMan
	Hi Jim Thanks for the constructive info there. I've tried changing other things like expo & it dissappears after the TX is turned off. This also happens on other models. I've went to models 12 and 14 and changed things & that change dissappeared as soon as the radio was turned off and back on. The TX does remember what model it was on... just not any changes. Preflight was painfully obvious as we were testing things out at the crash site. It hasn't got much more obvious than then. If we were really doing it right, the pre-flight would include a range check, pulling on control surfaces to check hinges, pushing on the control surfaces to check for slop & servo torque, prop bolt and motor mount bolt tightness... ect (before every flight.) I went to a fun fly that was a blast last weekend & never saw a single person do a range check. I'm just an ordinary guy & we missed the ailerons being backwards on the 2nd flight. The radio did something unexpected and it wasn't caught. Hopefully the video of this wierd behavior and the picture will help someone else from having the same story. Thanks Terry

wow!!! that's nuts! this is not criticism, but there is NOT a plane that takes off at our field without a range check after each charge!!! now we arent' doing them at every flight but each and everytime we alter anything, we range check em. we also pretty much fly with spotters and the spotter just knows to ask to see the control throws prior to the plane taxiing out. the funny thing here is,,, this field is not an ama field. it is just a private spot a few of us fly at. we are not doing these things to satisfy REGULATION.... we just KNOW that we will go home at the end of the day with better looking stuff than if we skip these all important steps...

the tough part for you here is that even if horizon were to assume 100% fault with the tx, you have already posted the fact that you could've caught this ahead of time and skipped steps to do so. it sucks man... i feel your disappoinment.

in the future, if ever you have issues with any company's product........ get them envolved before admitting fault publicly on a major RC website forum!

[66stang]

You could just keep screwing around with the radio and miss the entire flying season! Sorry for the loss. I do check my controls every flight and range check my plane when I maiden it. Besides that you should be able to have some trust in the equipment you buy!

[66stang]

	Quote: Originally Posted by smokin
	wow!!! that's nuts! this is not criticism, but there is NOT a plane that takes off at our field without a range check after each charge!!! now we arent' doing them at every flight but each and everytime we alter anything, we range check em. we also pretty much fly with spotters and the spotter just knows to ask to see the control throws prior to the plane taxiing out. the funny thing here is,,, this field is not an ama field. it is just a private spot a few of us fly at. we are not doing these things to satisfy REGULATION.... we just KNOW that we will go home at the end of the day with better looking stuff than if we skip these all important steps... the tough part for you here is that even if horizon were to assume 100% fault with the tx, you have already posted the fact that you could've caught this ahead of time and skipped steps to do so. it sucks man... i feel your disappoinment. in the future, if ever you have issues with any company's product........ get them envolved before admitting fault publicly on a major RC website forum!

Nobody range checks after every charge... come on dude!

[Foamaholic]

Nice pony.

[Chris Puckett]

This sounds like a diode has been burnt out in the transmitter not allowing the transmitter to save data. Once powered off it will return back to the settings it had stored prior to the diode being blown out.

[smokin]

	Quote: Originally Posted by 66stang
	Nobody range checks after every charge... come on dude!

why would i suggest that i do if i don't... and better yet, why doesn't everybody do this? my dad has had me doing this since i was 7 or 8 and it just stuck with me the past 25 or so years. many of the guys i fly with are also full scale guys (not me yet) and they all check their systems like they were going up in them. it's just how things are done at our field. believe it or not, we actually use a big glove to flip our gassers too... maybe overkilll but we have a better safe than sorry attitude.

my investments are too important to me not to check them thoroughly prior to use. i fly mostly compys, 3m's and .... at $5,000-10,000 per rig, we should all be checkin' sh*t out before they go up.....all the time!!!!!!

[66stang]

Smokin, I don't know how you charge your batteries, but if you need to range check after a battery charge, there's a problem! I comend you on being safe and it always better to be safe than sorry. I'd rather see a guy range check his plane all the time, then do what most I see and that's nothing. Maybe I'll start range checking my planes more often,,,, at least I'll loose some weight..Lol

[smokin]

hey, weight loss.... see i knew i was getting more out those walks than piece of mind! LOL

i realize that charging doesn't do anything to call for a range check specifically, that is just kinda my check list time. i start over after every charge just like i brought the plane to the field at that moment!

as strange as it sounds, i don't think you'll see a plane fly at our field without a range check (first flight of the day atleast) i am one of those anal retentive people that wouldn't function well without a checklist for just about everything! this quirk may seem over zealous but atleast it helps end results be more in my favor.

i think my effort to range check VERY often has even been more concerted since i made the switch to 2.4.... not that i don't have faith in the system, i just became that much more aware and am that much more cautious. anything "new" or even new to me, gets a thorough checking for quite some time before i just leave it be!

happy flying 66!

[1bwana1]

Has your, or anyone else at your field, plane failed a range check after charging since switching to 2.4?

[RappyMan]

Hi all
The TX is in the mail - I just wanted to learn all that's possible here. The diode sound quite possible too. The DX-7 remembers everything from sometime in the past & when turned off, it just goes back to those settings. I put in a request that if the radio could detect that something has failed.... could it put up a warning message. Maybe if it added a phantom channel and reversed it everytime the power was cycled... if this didn't happen, it would pop up a message.
The vid shows a failure - I'm not trashing Horizon Hobbies on here - just showing a failure of the DX-7. I'm all for the 2.4 and the TX has been perfect till this. Zero glitches and no worries about shooting someone down or being shot down is great too. Model match is high on the list too.
I didn't get to the fun fly 1st thing, so there may have been some range checks earlier. I think that pre-flight intensity is proportional to the $$$$ that will be going up in the air. Nobody wants to loose a plane, but when it might be a few months of pay going up in the air... you really want to make sure it is perfect before going up.

Thanks
Terry

[Chris Puckett]

The diode failure is not only a DX7 issue. This can happen with many radios. This is caused usually by charging at to high of rate or reverse polorizing the transmitter.

[RappyMan]

Is there any way the radio could detect this fault and put a warning up on the screen?

[GooseF22]

if you reverse polarity charge the DX7, it will blow the fuse in the mother b oard. its a 2.5 amp shorty. dont ask me how I know.

If the radio wont memorize the settings, barring an internal failure, you have a bad battery. plain and simple. the voltage is depressing somehow. change batteries before sending it in. Make sure you exit the setup menu before powering off. both left buttons

Load test your battery. as the battery dies, the eprom is disabled....then later the display....then finally the transmitter. ITs designed that way to let you know somethings wrong. If the emprom wont save and the voltage is up, it could be too high. Your voltage regulator internally could have problems too. requiring repair.

Ive had mine over a year and we have put switching regs on the board, so we get about one month from a charge.

[RappyMan]

Okay - update time!

The DX-7 was mailed on June 11... and no word from the service center. I supplied email and phone numbers and requested that they respond when they worked on it & what was wrong. (Acutally it would be great if they had send a "we got it today" email and a "we are starting work on it" email - should just take a second to do this & would be very nice.)

I called in today & found out it was check out and a new TX sent on the 20th. The person on the phone was able to tell me it was something with the chip... but nothing more. I requested & hope a complete explanation shows up with the new DX-7 and..... hope very much that the 14 models in memory were transfered to the new one! Here's hoping for a great year of flying as well!

Thanks
Terry

[sdherington]

I feel your pain. I have had 3 planes roll right and into the ground. The 1st was a Pawnee and after 10 minutes of flying and a touch and go it rolled over into the ground full throttle. The next was a GA when I was on final approach in a left hand turn and it rolled right and into the dirt. The last was my Rascal 110 and I always do a Preflight check. Roll out was good and I was about 10' in the air on my climb out and boom. Rolled right and here comes the ground. I have sent the TX and all 3 RX's into Horizon and am waiting for their prognosis. I have flown all these planes with JR for a while and thank goodness I kept the old stuff. I am skeptical about 2.4 now but I have a buddy that has flying his in IMAC for over a year with no problems.