Researching the ancient Ripmax Futaba M6

[Frank Skilbeck]

Or maybe a Digifleet set, but 1982 might be too soon for the brushed ali cased XP/FM and PCM sets. But Fleet were know for providing sets to special effects departments.

[J D 8]

NK guy, It may be of interest to you that the full size Millennium Falcon for Empire strikes back was built in Pembrokeshire in Pembroke Dock the old flyingboat station before being shipped to the film studio.

 

www..pembroke-dock.co.uk/millennium_falcom/htm    More info and pics on other sites.

Edited By J D 8 on 10/09/2020 13:50:50

[NK Guy]

Posted by J D 8 on 10/09/2020 13:47:58:

"NK guy, It may be of interest to you that the full size Millennium Falcon for Empire strikes back was built in Pembrokeshire in Pembroke Dock the old flyingboat station before being shipped to the film studio."

Indeed! The original trilogy was largely filmed in the UK, and a lot of interesting contributions came from all over.

- NK Guy

Edited By NK Guy on 10/09/2020 14:02:11

[Alan Gorham_]

Posted by Frank Skilbeck on 10/09/2020 13:09:39:

Or maybe a Digifleet set, but 1982 might be too soon for the brushed ali cased XP/FM and PCM sets. But Fleet were know for providing sets to special effects departments.

It's definitely not a Digifleet set as their transmitters were covered in black vinyl back then with silver coloured stick gimbals.

[Former Member]

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[John Wagg]

Dirty Tx ? - with a little care it's fairly straight forward to dismantle the front fixings and then clean the case if needed.

I bought my Futaba M6 (2nd hand) at an Old Warden scale day Very reliable but I don't remember what I did with it. Progressed to Futaba 35FM with later models and still have them.

[Robin Colbourne]

Posted by Barrie Lever on 10/09/2020 11:20:39:

Doc

You will not be the first person to have fried Sanwa gear with the centre negative wiring.

Sanwa was really good gear, I remember the first sets they were like something from another planet in styling.

The Japanese gear at that time was superb, very little concessions were made which would compromise quality unlike todays cheap Chinese tat.

Regards

Barrie

Barrie

The Sanwa Conquest was not a good set. The potentiometers moved with the sticks, and it was only a matter of time before the wires to the fixed PCBs broke from continual flexing (As I recall,they broke at the solder joints onto the pot). Many a model was lost when the ailerons stopped responding as a result. It was a case of 'when' not 'if'.

Regards, Robin

[Former Member]

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[NK Guy]

 

Okay, since you all seem to be doing brilliantly at figuring out RC transmitters from low-resolution snapshots, any clues on what this unit was?

https://40bc6f4f-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/3dsfinfo/various-esb-radios.jpg

That's the type used on Empire Strikes Back. The photos aren't great, I'm afraid.

Thank you!

- NK Guy

Edited By NK Guy on 11/09/2020 02:43:35

[Former Member]

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[J D 8]

Bottom right with square stick box's could be Futaba FP-T4L.

[NK Guy]

Thanks for the replies.

I can't find any photos of a Futaba 5L. I'd also be surprised if they used a budget system - the Empire Strikes Back was, after all, a pretty big film production!

I've found some photos of the Futaba FP-T4L, but it has a wide chromed carrying handle right above the aerial, which isn't visible in the photos. Also the photos seem to show at least a pair of toggle switches on the left back, which the FP-T4L does not have.

I'm wondering if the rectangles on the top of the unit are strips of tape for labelling, and not parts of the transmitter. Hard to tell.

Just as a reminder - the Empire Strikes Back was in production from 1978 through 1980, with most of the on-set stuff in 1979. It was filmed in the UK, and so that presumably would limit the focus of the equipment search.

Edited By NK Guy on 11/09/2020 12:05:00

[Former Member]

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