Upgrading to 2.4ghz

[MATT SMITH]

Thanks for advice all!

[Stuart Z]

Matt,

I still use a Futuba FF7 which is the same era as your F.C. 28. It has a new battery and I had Ripmax check it - everything is fine! I did buy a 2.4 Futuba transmitter as well, the T8J, as the 2.4 receiver are soooo much smaller than the old PCM jobbies. But both transmitters are in use, so as said above, try the 35mhz stuff but you can always get it checked out for peace of mind.

S

[Paul james 8]

As someone who recently returned to flying after a long lay off I had the same question about going over to 2.4 from 35.

I've stuck with the 35 as I fly mostly older semi scale models which had it originally or work fine on it anyway. There are very few in our club using 35 still, those who do have a couple of allocated channels so no conflict occurs.

Mike Ridley supplied me some parts to fix one of my Futaba transmitters and they have worked really well so far.

Maybe if you plan to fly those orrible electric things (only joshing) it might be wise to fit a ferrite on the cable from the speed controller to the receiver, it helped on my foamie Wot4.

Anybody chucking out Futaba 35mhz receivers please let me know! I'm running out as I like to fit them to the models and leave them in situ.

[Geoff S]

Paul, if you're using 35Mhz on PPM as opposed to PCM (Pulse Code Modulation, which is, like 2.4gHz, specific to a make of transmitter) then any quality receiver is fine. Ones to look for are the ones that perform some digital signal processing (DSP) like the Multiplex IPD type receivers and others. The Muliplex ones also protect against being 'shot down' by someone switching on another transmitter on the same channel because they measure the pulse characteristics of 'their' transmitter and, to some extent, reject others. It does work in the workshop but I wouldn't like to test it in anger with a flying model.

Geoff

[Mike T]

I agree with the several suggestions that your best course of action is to get your FC28 professionally checked and fitted with a new battery. Then get a FrSky DFT module and a couple of rxs from T9 and try them in a foam cheapy or an old hack to see how you get on with it. I use said modules in a FF9 and a JR388s, and I still use an 'original' 388 for 35MHz.

Alternatively, you could buy Futaba's own 2.4GHz (FASST) module, or FrSky's FASST clone. I'm sure Orange and Lemon rxs are available on the FASST protocol as well, so the 'proprietary' nature of 2.4 is slowly being broken down...

[gangster]

Some have suggested you go to the local club and see what others are using. I suspect that having had the FC28 you would be disappointed with the offerings in the low to mid price range from the mainstream manufacturers. Whether or not to fit a 2.4 module is up to you the only advantage I can think of is that it is easier to carry an ic model out to the flight line on 2.4 (less chance of sticking aerial in the prop.). I have recently fitted a FRSKY module to a beloved JR TX probably the only reason being I thought I might want to do it sometime and surely those modules won't be around much longer. Now a caveat, and I am willing to be corrected but I believe those FRSky modules DFT,DJT do not switch themselves off range check and remain on low power if you forget. I wouldn't have needed the bin liner if I had stayed on 35. Like you Matt I have never suffered from interference in 40 years flying RC I am also willing to bet that neither have 99% of those who have claimed to

Suggest to carefully check out your Futaba especially the battery and switch or send it to the guy mentioned in an earlier post to do

[Frank Skilbeck]

If the set hasn't been used for several years and the batteries were left in, check for the dreaded black wire corrosion.

BTW we have several fliers (inc me) who still fly some models on 35 mhz in our club.

[PatMc]

Posted by gangster on 31/10/2017 18:18:18:

Now a caveat, and I am willing to be corrected but I believe those FRSky modules DFT,DJT do not switch themselves off range check and remain on low power if you forget. I wouldn't have needed the bin liner if I had stayed on 35.

There is a visual [LED] & an audible warning whilst the module is switched to range check if it's in "D" mode [telemetry] but only the visual warning if in "V8" mode. However I believe that all new V8 Rx's [Series II] will operate with the Tx in "D" mode though there will have no telemetry features.
The visual warning isn't much help as it can only be seen if you're looking at the module mounted on the rear of the Tx.

[MATT SMITH]

Looks like I’ll be sticking with the fc28 then boys! Can anyone suggest a reasonable battery cycler/checker I could use to fully cycle all my battery packs. There are a couple of ‘super nova’ chargers on eBay at around £20. Are these any good?

[gangster]

Pat. Thanks for the heads up there. I am using V8 receivers. So will try D mode and see what happens. As you say the visual mode is not much use. Also need to discipline myself to do a real hard switch off before flight that will be more positive than that little button. Failsafe check into the bargain

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by MATT SMITH on 01/11/2017 00:14:21:

Looks like I’ll be sticking with the fc28 then boys! Can anyone suggest a reasonable battery cycler/checker I could use to fully cycle all my battery packs. There are a couple of ‘super nova’ chargers on eBay at around £20. Are these any good?

I have a Super Nova charger and if it's the same as mine it's fine for nimh and nicd and it works well (even if the buttons on mine don't work very well anymore), you might be better buying a more modern one, like this which will not only cycle your tx batteries but also the newer battery chemistries (Lipo/Life)

[Engine Doctor]

Re Gangsters post about forgetting to turn off the low power setting on FrSky modules and them only having a visual reminder is a bit like forgetting to pull up the aerial on a 35 meg set after a range check . Seems obvious but can easily happen if distracted and switching between 2.4 and 35 meg sets on different models .Guess how I know😀. I was lucky though and regained control after nearly snapping the aerial in my haste to extend it. I decided to ditch 35 meg after that and move all models to 2.4 . Also found after a rare visit to a nearby slope that many flyers don't talk to other flyers and just turn up with 35 meg sets and fly . They are either ignorant of the way the system works or just ignorant . 2.4 meg stops all the worry of that and must therefore be safer in non club environment.