Futaba FAAST: important announcement (from Ripmax website)

[Lud]

Hi All I got my system o n 24 December 07 so it looks as if mine is going to be one that needs to be checked    I got mine from Slough models, does any one know if Slough have a tester. I have fitted the system to my plane and I know I have turned it on and  off a few times so my have got all 00000's

[Tom Sharp]

if you mean the well known slough models it is owned by the people who also own ripmax so they should have a tester

[Tom Sharp]

The thing I thought when I bought my Futaba 2.4 set was that things would be so much simpler at fly ins, contests, etc.  Now I will not feel safe flying at such events because there may be some 2.4 trannies there which have not been tested. Therefore it is imperative that all such events have the equipment to test all 2.4 transmitters used on the day. Also at the big shows where 2.4 sets are being sold it is again imperative that suitable testing take place.

And before Timbo says it, this is taking us back towards frequency control.

[wlfk]

Going back to the Spectrum reset issue, my theory is that it isn't so much a question of brown-outs as susceptibility to electrical noise. Or perhaps a combination of the two.

On trextuning.com they did some tests that as I recall showed that the Futaba RXs would actually brown out before the Spektrums did and took longer to recover. Can't find it any more. But people have been complaining about Spektrum lockouts but not Futaba - as far as I'm aware.

I'd also take issue with the idea that sensitivity to transient voltage drops isn't an issue. What you want out of a BEC is:

• It should give good power to the servos
• It shouldn't go on fire
• It shouldn't fail open circuit and fry £200 of electronics
• And lastly of course, that it should power your receiver happily.

If it appears to be meeting the first 3 criteria but not the last, then it seems to me the receiver is the weakest link in the system and it's a shame it isn't more resilient.

K

[Tom Foreman]

Well my TX checked out OK on Saturday morning, although the model shop owner seemed a bit grumpy, maybe because I didn't buy my radio from him!

David, when you said

The proprietor got a new, unsold 6EX 2.4 off the shelf and wanted to see how easy it would be in practice to make this happen so he proceeded to give the switch a good thrashing, repeatedly switching it on and off within 1/2 a second or less. The Tx then proceeded to operate with the test receiver so the proprietor had in doing so, uncoded the Tx. I couldn't quite believe what I'd seen but it was a salutary warning to me that I mustn't cycle the unit quickly

Did the TX get a chance to double beep or not? I expect that this signifies a successful boot up sequence but obviously am not going to test the theory. I would be interested in your observations.

Cheers

Tom

[David Ashby - Moderator]

No it wasn't given the chance Tom. I said all this just in case someone is thinking on a chance experiment at home because the possibility of uncoding the Tx is very real.

[David Ridgeon]

Hi Guys

I want to get a 2.4 set for using 4 or 5 servos with a 600mah 4 cell Rx pack and I want to fly say at least 6 or 7 fifteen minute flights with a glow engine. Am I barking, or is this realistic? Im thinking of the Spektrum dx6i when it comes out or the futaba 6EX when its totally fixed.

Any ideas?

[Chris Dickens]

David

7 fifteen minute flights (an hour and three-quarters) with 5 servos from a 600mah pack is really pushing the safety limits with any radio set and I wouldn't wouldn't be happy no matter what the brand, frequency, or modulation! I always use 5 cell packs with a minimum of 1100mah (AA size 1800mah packs weigh virtually the same as a 600mah one and are identical size) and am now starting to change over to 2 cell Li-pos running through a regulator to give a stable Rx operating voltage.

So the ansewr to your question is 'NO' if you want that flight time (over 2 hours with stat-up and shut-down), no matter what the radio,  then to be safe you should be using a much bigger capacity Rx pack.

Chris

[Tim Mackey]

amen

[David Ridgeon]

Interesting thanks Chris - David

[Martin Hoyle]

Hi all

I still have my ZGUID 6EX in my possesion, and I did have a discussion about it with Ripax service center in November last year when  I was offered a replacement.

To be honest I had other issues at the time because of the fact that the 3 606 receivers I had were not onwardly compatible with the TM7 unit I had just bought

As my set still worked perfectly as does my TM7 (on a normal GUID) and I believed I was the only user with this issue I posted my issue on RCU Radios Forum and decided to wait it out to see if other users developed problems

This is my original post in september last  year and its followup

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6317205 

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6374812

End of part 1

Martin

[Martin Hoyle]

Hi all

Part 2

As I had had some health problems in December and January with a stay in hospital I only discovered the posts on RCGroups in late January

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=798002

and a couple of my posts

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9041700&postcount=542

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9051170&postcount=629

I will take the set for "checking"  this week and report on the outcome

Martin

[Martin Hoyle]

Hi all

Just to say that I have never had a problem with any model using the FASST system

it is only the possibility of a set reverting to ZGUID without a customer being aware of the possible consequences of rebinding  to ZGUID that concerns me and how are Clubs going to check FASST systems at the field short of buying a new unbound RX to check TXs against?

IMartin

[Kelly]

Hi

Had my Futaba 2.4 tranny checked yesterday, I was in the shop less than 5 minutes and all is well.

Got a nice sticker on the back of my tranny now .

I still think Futaba is great value.

Kelvin

[Anthony Jones]

YakMad wrote (see)

David,

It's easy to check your 6EXA, just try to connect to a new unboud RX, if it does you have a problem, the green LED should blink if you cannot connect. The RX is supplied with a zero Guid.

i did this last wekk with a new rx and was fine got a green flashing led on the rx before binding does this mean that mine is safe to use with other units

[YakMad]

Anthony,

 Yes yours is safe to use as the TX has not got a zero GUID as it will not connect to a new unbound RX (which also has a zero GUID), I ahve done this with all my TM-7 modules and found one had the zero GUID as it would connect to two unbound RX's, it's since been returned.

 Has anyone seen the reports that ROBBE in Germany have issued a recall of all 6EXA's, 7C's and TM-7 modules as it appears that Futaba have found a fix which involves replacing boards in all 2.4 TX's and replacing all TM-7 modules. I can't read German but here's the link to the notice they issued.

   http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9087563&postcount=792

[Chris Channon]

Blimey, at the end of the day, is the Futaba stuff worth buying or not? I have just bought a P80 turbine Boomarang combo, i was going to use Futaba 2.4ghz, 6EX, or is it worth sticking to good old Optic 6  ?

[G]

Martin, can I just say that I'm impressed, you figured it all out in September last year!  I mean, you had a binding problem and you deduced it had reset to a default code number rather than an individual one, that is amazing!   If that had happened to me I would have been in the dark about it.

[Dr1deck]

The announcement although stating the T7C transmitters have been checked is not clear about the risk of them losing code in the future, the following is a reply I received from RIPMAX on this subject

QUOTE

Hi StevePlease disregard the Futaba serial number. It has no significance in the UK.If your transmitter is a Futaba T7CP and it has a Ripmax serial number then it will not have any problems with the ID code.You do not have to take any special precautions when turning the transmitter off or be concerned if the battery runs flat.All T7CP transmitters sold in the UK (with a Ripmax serial number) will have version 2 firmware installed and cannot lose their correct ID code under any operating conditions.RegardsJim MeierFutaba Service Department
Ripmax Ltd
241 Green Street
Enfield
Middlesex
EN3 7SJ
England

TEL: 020 8282 7510

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Common coded receivers like that are what the shops have to test the 6EX's Eric, yes good idea though

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Peter Christy]

As I understand it, all the T7CPs were modified before RipMax released them, so unless you've "grey imported" one, you shouldn't have a problem.

 However, the 6EX sets and TM-7 modules can be zeroed at any time, if mishandled. Just because you've had your set tested doesn't mean you are immune! Like the MOT on a car, all it means is that the set was OK at that moment in time!

 Having said that, the information I have is that a 6EX can ONLY interfere with another 6EX, and a TM-7 module can ONLY interfere with another TM-7. Both sets have to be faulty for interaction to occur. For club users, this just means a simple check for any interaction with other users of similar sets prior to take-off. However, for event organisers, its a nightmare!!!

I hear on the grapevine that Futaba have now issued a permanent fix, and are in the process of distributing it to their dealers. It sounds as if Robbe are recalling, and presumably RipMax will do the same once they have the repair kits. But give them a break! There will be a lot of sets to fix, and they can't do them all at once!

In the meantime, the best advice seems to be check carefully with other users of similar equipment before flying. Event organisers are likely to restrict users of the suspect sets to a "one out at a time" policy.

 --

Pete

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[John Cole]

YakMad refers above to a possible recall of the 6EX and TM-7.  This seems to be confirmed by Colin Straus of Ripmax as quoted by Manny Williamson (BMFA) in this month's (April) BMFA News p.5.

 "Look out for an announcement on the Ripmax site about a "permanent solution" in early April"!

The text of the german article referred to above (automatically translated using Babelfish) says that for 6EXs they replace the "HF board with processor" (= motherboard?) and for TM-7s they update the firmware.  They also say update firmware for FF7s but of course Ripmax have made claear that all FF7s they have sold already have the new firmware.  I guess the same was not true in Germany.