Spektrum AR620

[Simon Feather]

Hi there, has anyone tried one of these new internal-antenna Spektrum receivers yet?

I picked one up yesterday from Leeds Models. Clearly with the antenna purely inside the case there is a possibility of signal blockage if there are large lumps of metal or batteries up front. It claims to be full-range, and presumably Spektrum have tested stuff like that...

I've not tried mine yet, but will do lots of ground based range checks before I risk flying it, and will report back with my findings

Simon

[Paul C.]

Interested to hear your thoughts on this one, looks like a genuine receiver at a good price. Hope it performs ok, might be tempted myself.

Paul.

[Denis Watkins]

What Spekrum have done Simon, is to negate installation problems

Antenna work at the tip of the wire at that wavelength

What Spektrum have done is to fix this point within the case

It will have been tested " up hill and down dale "

Always give any 2.4 gig Rx the best chance, ventilated, not double wrapped, firmly fixed, not on one sticky pad on the side of the fuz, and with good power pack, and it will do its job

[Nigel R]

" Clearly with the antenna purely inside the case there is a possibility of signal blockage"

No more or less than with the wire poking out.

Only about one inch of the aerial, the tip, as Denis says, has any effect or use, for 2.4GHz.

Keep it a short distance away from the lipo as before, all will be well.

" ventilated, not double wrapped"

Not sure of the logic behind this statement Denis, foam wrap and airflow will make no odds to the RX?

[Stuart Z]

I think RCME are testing one of these and will report back in the mag according to the last mag I saw.

S

[Denis Watkins]

Posted by Nigel R on 11/12/2018 10:53:49:

" Clearly with the antenna purely inside the case there is a possibility of signal blockage"

No more or less than with the wire poking out.

Only about one inch of the aerial, the tip, as Denis says, has any effect or use, for 2.4GHz.

Keep it a short distance away from the lipo as before, all will be well.

" ventilated, not double wrapped"

Not sure of the logic behind this statement Denis, foam wrap and airflow will make no odds to the RX?

Thanks Nigel

With Spektrum, and Futaba, from the onset, maybe not so much these days

Neither Company liked the Rx deeply embedded in foam due to heat

I think this is long forgotten, but find early installation instructions and you will see it

From then until now, I just mount an anti vibration pad to the area, then a thin acetate surface UHU glue to the pad

Then a double sided mount tape on the Rx, leaving it in fresh air

This is just habit that I carried on doing

[Nigel R]

Ok, understand now, thanks Denis.

 

There is a long and interesting discussion on the big US forum about these RXs.

Seems they represent something of a leap in the technology with the PCB aerial being very tightly matched to the onboard CPU/RX chip; giving more range than previous generation AR400/610 implementation. Presumably we can expect the internal antenna to filter into the satellite RXs, and the main RX bodies for rest of range, in the future.

Also, news to me, they have basic telemetry built in, let us know how that works out.

Edited By Nigel R on 11/12/2018 12:07:20

[Cuban8]

A link please, to the US forum's discussion. Thanks.

[Former Member]

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[Former Member]

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[Nigel R]

"I see the AR410 and 620 as being receivers for foamies."

Don't know why - they're "sport" receivers which seem perfectly well suited up to typical "club size" wood models. Personally I'd be quite happy to run the them in 40 or 60 size models, the telemetry - flight pack voltage and RX signal - would work just fine for an IC.

I admit it makes little sense to disallow the use of a main lipo voltage sensor though. Seems you need to spend out on a 6600T to get that, or get an add on telemetry unit.

edit - Bit surprised about the new satellites going with external aerials now, maybe the layout/design wasn't ready in time.

 

RCGroups link - https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3123939-New-Antennaless-AR410-and-AR620

 

Edited By Nigel R on 11/12/2018 13:53:18

Edited By Nigel R on 11/12/2018 13:54:03

[Former Member]

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[Don Fry]

Posted by Steve J on 11/12/2018 14:33:40:

I wouldn't use a Spektrum receiver without a remote in a model with an engine. I appreciate the fact that lots of people do.

Looking at the photos in the FCC submission, it looks like there are pads on the AR620's circuit board for a whisker antenna (marked A2) so somebody with the right tools and a steady hand might be able to convert one to a whisker if they were minded to do so.

Steve

edit: removed reference to u.fl connector as the pads don't look right for one.

Edited By Steve J on 11/12/2018 14:50:16

Why not?

[gangster]

Could be a step in the right direction

There seems to be all sorts of old wives tales as to the directions 2.4 rx aerials should point and I have seen some brutal treatment to achieve this I have also seen some scarilit damaged ones Integral TX aerials dont seem a bad idea either. Certainly work ok on Futaba

[Former Member]

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[Glenn Philbrick]

Been using one of these in an IC model for a couple of weeks now. Read the thread on RCgroups first as they have been available in US for some time. Range quoted as better than normal, I have checked mine to quite a distance and it remained working until I was not prepared to walk any further. So easy to set up and fits nicely without having to worry about aerial positioning or damage. Rumour has it that there might be a eight channel one on its way. So far in my experience I would not hesitate to buy another.

[Don Fry]

Posted by Steve J on 11/12/2018 16:57:54:

Posted by Don Fry on 11/12/2018 16:19:31:

Posted by Steve J on 11/12/2018 14:33:40:

I wouldn't use a Spektrum receiver without a remote in a model with an engine.

Why not?

Assuming that your question relates to the first sentence of my 14:33 post, because Spektrum is direct sequence spread spectrum at a wavelength of 12cm.

Steve

Sorry, my query is a bit abtuse. You have given me an answer, but it is no use to me as I don't understand the terminology. Why is it Ok in an electric model, and not in a model with an engine? Curious.

[Former Member]

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[Don Fry]

Thanks, I think I understand that. I am, mostly, a engine user, and always assumed the lump was fairly benign.

[Nigel R]

Are these not dual antenna?

Are the previous gen 400 and 610 not dual antenna?

I'm missing something.

[Former Member]

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[Simon Feather]

Reporting back....

I have now tried the one I bought last week from Leeds Models, and I have to say I'm quite impressed. I positioned it centrally in a vintage sport model (a Precedent Lo-boy), with an OS 46AX up front, a 9oz tank and a 6v Eneloop flight battery just behind the tank.

When doing the range test, I asked a helper to hold the model at such an angle that the engine block, the (full) fuel tank and battery were all blocking the direct line of sight to the transmitter (a DX8 G2).

At over 40 paces, with my back to the model (so the signal had to get through me too) there was no sign of any glitching or anything other than normal operation. We didn't find any issues with any other orientation either.

So I was more than happy to fly that model, and have just returned from flying it almost exclusively all day with no radio issues whatsoever. Unfortunately I didn't manage to remember to note if the telemetry had recorded any holds or fades, but there certainly were no glitches!

I'll definitely be getting more of these receivers, certainly for the smaller models. Not having to worry about antenna placement is a bonus.

Hopefully this will concur with Mr Ashby's review when he does it for the mag.

Simon

[Bruce Collinson]

Simon,

Many thanks. I ought to have checked the forum posts first. Strictly entre nous, I found your user feedback a lot more penetrable than the technical dissections and I’ll look at the US forum directly.

BTC