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Futaba M4


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futabe vintage 3-17-img_0407[1].jpgThis came with a bunch of other stuff. Can anyone throw a little light on what I've got? I thought these were 27mhZ, but it comes with a Micron rx ( 6 ch) & Micron aerial marked 35mhZ. A Type Approval notice on the back of the TX is marked 'Micron UK 1981'.

Of value to a collector, or should I just put in on a shelf and look at it?

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When 35Mhz was first approved there were quite a lot of conversions available either as 'Factory' conversions or done by independent businesses. I didn't realise that Micron did one. If you pop the back off the Tx you will probably find a entirely new board has been fitted. Certainly Futaba M4 27Mhz AM sets did not have a centre loaded aerial. If it had been a later 27 Mhz FM set the upgrade to 35Mhz was simpler, a change to one of the coils and a change of capacitor and a new crystal was all that was needed.

Whether the set you have has any value beyond being a curiosity I have no idea but I expect Phil Green will be along with more info soon.

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I have a M series 4 Channel set here (27MHz not modified like yours) bought new 1972/3. I also have a 2 Channel Tx. It all works perfectly (though no way would I fly with it, its used in period race cars)

The red and black labelling on the servos denotes rotation direction.

The larger servos are higher torque but also were gasketed to make them reasonably splashproof. I used these as steering servos on 1/8th scale Stock Cars, but their main use was boats.

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I have an M6 set up in the loft - bought new back in about 1973/4 or thereabouts.

Certainly, as already mentioned, the centre-loaded aerial is not original.

The servos would work today, if you really wanted to use them, though I wouldn't suggest it as I'm sure modern servos are faster, more powerful and more reliable. You'd need to change the plugs (adapter leads used to be available) and re-centre them - they used (from memory) 1.3ms as the pulse length for neutral, as opposed to 1.5ms on modern gear. Also with square pegs you'd be unlikely to find any servo arms to fit, and I don't think I'd trust 40-year old plastic under any sort of load...

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