stuey

Hi, i have just installed a Spektrum AR500 receiver into my Phase 3 F-16 and need a bit of advice. I have the receiver installed so that the short aerial is pointing vertically into the canopy, and the longer is going out through the cockpit floor and along the fuz. This has left the short aerial a bit exposed in the cockpit, and i want to put something over it to give it some protection. I am considering some thin wall silicon tubing which fits nicely over the outlet hole, or possibly a piece of heatshrink over the outlet hole along the length of the wire (which is approx 30mm). Would there be any shielding issues? I know when i briefly had a Spektrum rx in my 1/8 rallycross i.c buggy we use flexible aerial tube to protect the wire where it exits the radio box and bodyshell with no apparent effects. I also noticed a pic where Timbo has covered his aerial wires on a AR7000 with what looks like heatshrink along their entire length, can you confirm this Tim? Cheers

Not forgetting the newish AR500 which has 1 short and 1 long aerial, marketed as a full range receiver. My first one is now installed in my Phase 3 F-16, as i'm not confident in the range of the AR6100e (personally!)

I have just received the receivers back and tested them. They both now respond instantly once power is restored, be it power off/on quickly or left switched off for 10 seconds. Much more like what they should have been doing, although I'm not 100% sure if they are replacements or updated with some firmware. Now to see if i can get my £4.60 postage back from them...

I recall seeing 2 different things, one was a hook 20 degrees in front of the cg, and the other i think was half way between the nose and the cg. Those 2 positions might not be too far apart actually.

I think the two i have bought came from tx/rx combos as they were out of stock. Since the new Spektrum5ch tx has only recently come out, i assumed a new type of receiver would be up to date with the current specs. Its not like brownouts are a new thing is it? Be nice if Horizon offered to refund my postage costs, i might ask what they think of this idea. I know the postage isn't the end of the world, but i don't like sending valuables without being insured for loss etc. Hope this might be useful for anyone else out there who may have just bought a AR500 rx.

Hi, i have just bought 2 Spektrum AR500 receivers which have this issue. I have read on an international electric based forum that the receivers should recover after a brownout (receiver power dropping too low) almost instantaneously. This is consistent with my AR9000 and AR6100e receivers, and i thought now standard throughout the range. I have tested both by very quickly turning the rx power off then back on again, resulting in between 3-4 seconds before they respond. I have spoken to Horizon who said to send them back for an update, which is ok but means i cop the postage and have to wait. I haven't even installed them in a model yet, and i'm aware of the need to maintain a suitable supply of power at all times. It doesn't hurt to have this feature available, shame they weren't sorted from the factory...

Thanks again for that info. If you have a  Spektrum tranny and a module setup might not be as good, maybe i'm ok. Can't see why a module would be worse though... Thanks to everyone who has contribute so far, hopefully i can report a successful outcome at the weekend

Hi Mark, thanks for the info. I will try again at the weekend hopefully, can i ask what tranny you are using? The guy at Horizon said a module setup like mine might not range check as good as a Spektrum TX. If i can get 20 paces i will probably give it a go. I might also try flying it in my Picojet combat if its not too much grief to fit, at least it will survive a bad arrival better!!

I spoke to someone at Horizon today about the range check, they offered to check the receiver out for me if i wanted. Near the end of the conversation i said i have a module for my FF9, not a Spektrum tranny. He then said that the module might not give as good a range check as a Spektrum tranny, maybe due to the power output differences?? I have also been back to the place of purchase with my plane to see if i had made a mistake in the install, he said it looked fine and couldn't offer any more advice, other than they could send the receiver back. This would most likely be swapped for a new one. Not sure whether to try it as is or send the rx back.....

I have just tried a low power range check again, using different angles. I still can't get more than 20 paces away, and that wasn't consistent. Tried nose on, sideways, and sideways with the model in a knife edge position. Tx aerial was pointing straight up vertically, also tried at 45deg angle yesterday with little difference. I am doing this out in the street btw (not particularly cluttered), so that may be affecting things. Original poor range check (imo) was at the patch.

I have just taken a pic of the receiver install as originally tried, having now placed the aerial wires straight as they leave the receiver. I will try a range check later with the model nose on rather than side on which meant only 1 end of the aerial was facing me.

Hi Timbo, come to think of it the end of the rx aerial wire was probably facing me, if i had the nose pointing towards me i would have both aerial wires along their length. The advice was given to be my a very well known pilot and shop owner re angling one of the elements compared to the other, i may pop in with the model and see what they say. Thanks for the reply

I went out yesterday to try my new Spektrum AR6100E receiver, mounted with the pins facing backwards and the aerial wires poking into the sides of the fuz through plastic tubes. I did the 30 paces reduced power range check, which failed. I was lucky to get 15 paces, which wasn't what i wanted to see. I got a mate to walk off with the plane in normal power mode whilst i constantly moved the controls, to about 110-120 metres and never lost contact as far as i know. I know this is a park fly receiver, but it was recommended as fine by the shop where i bought it, they use them in their own F-16's. Having spoken to them on the phone, they recommended bending one of the wires up to put it at 90deg to the other side. Having tried this, i think i have gained more range in reduced power mode, but not 30 paces. I am wondering if the 30 paces only counts for the full range receivers rather than the AR6100's. I have also noticed that if the bind button is held on for more than a couple of seconds when control is lost, it can take several seconds if not longer to establish control again. Having read several threads on a popular website, it seems this is the only model that takes so long to start working again.  I didn't fly the model, i want to find out more before risking what i feel is an uncertain situation. If anyone else can tell me the kind of range they get with the bind button in i would appreciate it. I am using a module in a Futaba FF9 btw. Cheers

Thats good to know, i havent had many convincing answers from the distributors of 2.4Ghz radio kit or the film. Thanks for the reply

Hi, was thinking about a similar plan myself. I am thinking of installing the receiver in the model, then wrapping the fuz with the covering off the roll and trying the range check procedure. At least i might find a problem before i cover the model!!

Thanks for the tips guys. I have just opened up the case on the receiver, i noticed the aerial wires have a blob of clear sealant looking stuff each side, so that seems to be done already. I did stick the big capacitor down as noted somewhere else, and on the Spektrum website referring to the AR9000 issue.

I have just bought a AR6100E receiver to put in my F-16 today, not sure what to do with the aerials. Any chance of some pics from you guys that have already done this??

Hi, I am about to recover a Kyosho Mustang 40 hopefully with silver Profilm. I have just got a Spektrum module setup, so i will want to use that. Is there any issues with using the silver Profilm and an enclosed Spektrum receiver? I have asked Horizon, they sent an email to Spektrum who said it would be a problem if it is a conductor, if not thats ok. They do a chrome Profilm which I am sure I read somewhere will cause issues, hoping the silver will be ok. Anyone got any views on this one???

I had bad glitching with the aerial along the fuz, was better when taped along the leading edge as advised by motors and rotors. I have just got a Spektrum module for my Futaba FF9, they are on special offer with a few shops for £125 with the 9 channel receiver!! Will get the AR6100 receiver to go in my F-16, that will hopefully cure the scary random glitching issues

Good luck, nice model

A fully charged 3s pack will be 12.6v, I believe lipo packs normally arrive about half charged which would be about 3.7-3.8v per cell. Once a pack is fully charged i dont think it needs or should be topped up.

I have been told the power system should fit in an Alfa EDF model, or you can buy another F-16 airframe for around £35 if it is finished...

Just posted about this on the Kong thread

 Most modern lipo friendly controllers have a suitable low voltage cutoff (LVC) built in, and maybe adjustable to your needs. There are small devices that will light up an LED when a certain voltage is reached, I have one on a model which doesnt have a lipo friendly speed controller. It will activate the LED at 9 volts, indicating that you should land asap. It doesnt do anything other than that though, so you would need to be able to see it. My model is quite small, the LED sticks out the bottom of the fuz to give me a chance to see it. I do however fly it to a timer, so i don't get near the lower end of the batterys discharge limit. Best way is to fly for say 5-6 minutes, land then recharge when appropriate and see how much you put back in. That will give a rough idea how discharged the battery was. This all depends on the setup and how it is used of course. 

Thanks Shaun, i did it with tester pots from the Dulux range, £2.09 for 250ml per colour which is plenty. I will try and add a little more detail soon. The logos are vinyl pre cut ones, very cheap. If anyone wants to know where from let me know, not sure if i can say where i got them on the forum.