Mark Agate

A few months ago I had exactly the same problem with Chrome. I tried running IE9 on the same PC, and that had the same problem too. It didn't happen on my laptop running Chrome though, so I could post from that machine. After a few weeks the problem went away, and I don't know why. It may have been after I had deleted all browser history, cookies etc, so you might like to try that.

In one way they have done you a favour by sending a small pack of glitter. PayPal will insist that you return the item to the seller before they will give you a refund. I once bought a 3D 2.4GHz heli from a Chinese seller, but received a cheap 27MHz contra-rotating toy. It cost me over £40 to send it back to China (and the seller had moved on anyway!).

In Dubai they don't like the Flintstones, but Abu Dhabi do.

Update: **LINK**

I've done similar experiments myself (not with Perkins packs), and been similarly disappointed. My Spektrum Tx pack seems to give about 1400mAh, though it's advertised as 2Ah. It's not just NiMh packs either - I seem to get about 1800mAh out of a supposedly 3Ah 2s LiPo pack, discharging it at 200mA down to 6.2V. The discharge current can make a big difference - discharging at less than 100mA will tend to give a much bigger value than running at anything approaching 1C. Even so, I think the manufacturers are often wildly optimistic about their stated capacities, and the distributors ought to do proper quality control rather than just repeat the manufacturer's figure when they stick a label on the pack.

Sorry to be the bringer of bad tidings (pun intended), but it crashed... **LINK** Edited By Mark Agate on 28/11/2012 11:10:50

Sounds like you're not the only one he's causing problems to: **LINK**

All of the above please!

What about an option for "Saw a bloke flying at the local field"? In my case it was a friend's 10th birthday party - we were taken to Epsom Downs to play football, but I refused to play because I just wanted to watch the model flying.

Posted by Peter Beeney on 16/11/2012 14:10:45: A lower charge rate would have been a better idea, say 0.5C, 100 milliamps I fully agree, though you mean 0.05C.

I think the problem is that we got used to trickle-charging the old NiCads at 0.1C. Their capacity was typically 500mAh, and at 50mA they would happily accept a 100% overcharge, so charging overnight before each flying session was quite OK. Now we have 2000mAh batteries, so a 0.1C charge is 200mA. Unfortunately the heat generated is proportional to the square of the current. Combine that with the pack being surrounded by foam and you can see that things might get heated. I guess we have to try and keep track of how much charge a pack has and recharge appropriately, but this is difficult if the pack has been stored for a while (self-discharge). Alternatively discharge the pack down to a low level before each recharge - it's a faff, but at least it means you test the capacity fairly regularly.

I believe the DX7 has a higher voltage pack than the 4-cell nimh used in the DX8, and I don't think the charging circuitry is built into the DX7 Tx, so you shouldn't get the same problem with that model.

Is it just me, or do planes always fly better after they've been crunched and repaired?

I design equipment for the water industry, and have experimented with transmitting 2.4GHz from a pit with the manhole cover removed. I was quite surprised by the result. We used a high power bluetooth module which has up to 1km range line-of-sight. With it sat in the bottom of the pit (only about 18 inches deep), we could only move about 6 feet away from the pit before losing the signal at the receiver. It's a different story down at 900MHz or even 1800MHz - we are able to send GSM text messages and GPRS data, even with the manhole cover in place. I have flown at a slope site where there is a gully about 4 or 5 feet deep. Pilots often stand in it while flying to shelter from the cold, and it was never a problem on 35MHz. I haven't flown there since the advent of 2.4GHz, but I suspect signal attenuation might become a problem if the plane is low and the pilot is just peeking out.

A quote by Douglas Adams: "I love deadlines! I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by!"

Wonder if I could get paid for doing this?

Google translate detects it as Turkish. I suppose it is something to do with models...

All donations gratefully accepted.

I have a 2.5m Salto V-tail glider which I flew from the slope earlier this year. Couldn't understand why it seemed to climb when I did a left hand turn and dive when I turned right. When I stopped trying to do co-ordinated turns and just used ailerons it seemed a lot better. Then when I landed I found one of the servos had failed - a good argument for V-tails, and a bit embarassing that I only half noticed the problem!

Didn't think much of the way that guy holds the propeller at the start of the video, while the model is clearly powered up. One slight slip of the throttle stick and he'd be minus a few fingers.

If several of us build them, maybe we could get 7 Up!

Got shot down on 35MHz last year for the first time in 35 years of flying. Went straight over to 2.4GHz.

Good description of what causes ground looping from Prof. Dave Burton on page 23. Had experienced it, but had never thought about it quite like that.