Model Boat Mayhem

Technical, Techniques, Hints, and Tips => Other Technical Questions... => Topic started by: lozvik on November 16, 2009, 01:35:47 pm

Title: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: lozvik on November 16, 2009, 01:35:47 pm
Ive heard one or two probs from people using 2.4ghz in boats saying reflections from the water can cause interference, but on the other hand ive also heard people say that 2.4ghz works perfectly in a boat. Anyone here heard or had similar probs, was thinking of getting the planet 5 2.4ghz
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Martin (Admin) on November 16, 2009, 01:38:57 pm

There does seem to be a rumour going about ( Spektrum!) but no one I've spoken too has ever had any problems with 2.4GHz in surface boats.
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: andygh on November 16, 2009, 01:54:38 pm
Surface boats = no problems
Submarines = no way
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: lozvik on November 16, 2009, 02:01:15 pm
thats good news then, ill install receiver as close to top of hull as poss just in case,  i spose all radios will eventually be 2.4 in the end anyway
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Andy K on November 16, 2009, 04:31:23 pm
I bought my Spektrum DX6i the first week they came out. Never had a problem, I now have 3 receivers for the one transmitter. (Too idle to swap from boat to boat.) The best thing I ever did moving away from crystals, pegs and of course the waiting game.

Andy
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: snowwolflair on November 16, 2009, 04:42:16 pm
thats good news then, ill install receiver as close to top of hull as poss just in case,  i spose all radios will eventually be 2.4 in the end anyway

Its not the reciever that matters, its the tip of the aerial that matters, and if it can stick up out of the hull even better.
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: andygh on November 16, 2009, 04:47:25 pm
Quote
The best thing I ever did moving away from crystals, pegs and of course the waiting game.

Exactly, the freedom it gives you is fantastic

Quote
its the tip of the aerial that matters,

Yes, just the top inch, so long as you keep it above the waterline you're laughing. Easy peasy  :-))
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: DickyD on November 16, 2009, 05:01:34 pm
I'm waiting for all you lot to go over to 2.4 and I wont have any trouble with my crystals. ok2
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: andygh on November 16, 2009, 05:25:44 pm
cheapskate  :}
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: lozvik on November 16, 2009, 05:30:16 pm


Yes, just the top inch, so long as you keep it above the waterline you're laughing. Easy peasy  :-))
[/quote]

I actually already have an ariel on the boat from my existing 40meg radio so would it be an idea to connect that to the little 3cm ariel lead on the 2.4 or does it not work like that?
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: andygh on November 16, 2009, 05:32:14 pm
No, just the supplied 1" is what you need
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: lozvik on November 16, 2009, 05:33:55 pm
ok thanks :-))
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: snowwolflair on November 16, 2009, 06:07:39 pm
Whatever you do dont cut modify or dammage the aerial.  It is absolutely the correct length.  Also keep the last inch clear of paint, glues or any other form of contamination.   Free to air is best.
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: andygh on November 16, 2009, 06:31:27 pm
It's fine in a plastic tube, that's what I use to support them, just don't encase it in metal
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: john54 on November 16, 2009, 07:47:07 pm
Been useing Dx6i in fast leccys for 2yrs  :-))rx in waterproof box wrapped in bubblewrap stuffed in bow. Spray , rough , other boats in way. 40 (ish) m.p.h NO worrys at ALL :-) :-)
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: DickyD on November 16, 2009, 08:01:21 pm
cheapskate  :}

Not really, I am like you, dont like changing receivers over.

I have 13 boats, soon to start on my 14th.  ok2
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Nige52 on March 05, 2010, 03:28:06 pm
I have changed over totally to 2.4 gig. For my buggies I have a Spektrum. each has their own receivers, no problems at all, and now for my boats I'm using a cheapo E-sky 2.4 radio that cost me about £50 and I'm changing all my receivers over to this, they cost about £15 each.

Lads down at my club all seem to be buying the cheap Planet 2.4 radios and I have to say that they all work superbly, my E-sky run boats are nearly out of sight with no loss of signal and no glitches. All my receivers are simply velcro'd inside the hull with no particular attention paid to the tiny aerial... :-))
Nige
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: tomo55 on March 10, 2010, 12:32:35 pm
2.4 is fine in surface boats .Some people say the rooster tails on fast boats can interfere . I,ve used 2.4 in a Deans ASRL which is fast ish with no problems at all,as mentioned before try and get the tips of the Rx as high above the waterline as you can.
Chris
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Ticonderoga on March 19, 2010, 02:04:15 am
The Ticonderoga has a large vertical antenna on the quarterdeck (fantail in USN speak) will be a perfect spot for the receiver antenna. Never thought about until now.

Thanks for the idea.

Regards,

Tico
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: pneumatician on March 20, 2010, 08:15:45 am
I am using "Planet 2.5"  at £49 a set and receivers at £11 ea its as cheap as chips.  Have 3 boats on Planet 2.4 and been using it for about 12 months.
Cheap as chips it frees up my Futaba 2.4 for use in my Aeroplanes.  No problems so far.
The ariel on the Planet is about 50mm long and I just install the whole receiver in a small plastic box which is underneath the deck.

Steve 
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Nordsee on April 25, 2010, 07:47:38 pm
Hello, I have a Spektrum 6.Not the 6i, just 6. This was marketed by Graupner a couple of years ago. Never been reliable, it has been back twice to Graupner and once to the Uk Supplier. I had it in my everyday boat, see my pic. It works perfectly at home, both in and out of the boat. Take the boat to the waterside, switch on TX, wait 5 seconds, as told to in Book, Switch on RX and all 3 servos drive to the end of Travel and stay there. All buzzing and jerking. Bring it all home again, switch on and everything works again! This has happened sooooooo many times! So now the 2.4 is out and in its box under the bench. It is now out of Guarantee, and there are no spare parts for it anyway.I have installed my old ( 16 years) 40 set and everything is fine. Anyone want a 2.4 Set ? There is no way I would ever trust one in a 'plane!!
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Peterm on April 25, 2010, 08:16:49 pm
Nordsee, as a matter of interest, is this occurence just at one water, or always wherever you sail it?   Possible local source of interference?  Pete
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Peter Fitness on April 26, 2010, 12:13:11 am
I, and several other members of our club, have been using the cheap Chinese 2.4Ghz sets without any problems at all. There is one section of our lake where, for some mysterious reason, some radios experience interference, but the 2.4Ghz sets have no such trouble. Their range is excellent, too, covering all parts of the lake, which is about 200 metres long and 100 metres wide.

Peter.
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Nordsee on April 26, 2010, 11:37:03 am
Nordsee, as a matter of interest, is this occurence just at one water, or always wherever you sail it?   Possible local source of interference?  Pete
It is at my local water,which is only 400 metres from home. ( Aren't I lucky!!) But surely 2.4 is supposed to be bullet proof? Also Horizon UK and German Graupner both found and rectified, problems. Anyway, it is under the bench! I am going to set up my Planet 5 with a couple of Servos and go to the lake and see if that works. If it doesn't .....
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: wideawake on April 26, 2010, 01:02:22 pm
Hi Nordsee

Yes, it'll be interesting to see whether you get the same effect with the Planet gear, though not conclusive as there are a couple of different systems used at 2.4GHz.   I'm not sure which one the Planet uses.

In principle both systems are bombproof in the presence of interference.  The only explnation I can think of is some form of broad spectrum interference across the whole 2.4GHz allocation so that the transmitter can't find a clear channel anywhere.   It would need the appropriate (professional) test equipment to check that I think.

Cheers

Guy
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: g4yvm on August 29, 2010, 10:23:45 pm
Apparently JR are to relinquish their use of Spektrum's DSM2 technology and introduce their own full frequency hopping system which is apparently under CE testing as we speak. I found this link to a post on RCMF by a JR technical rep in the UK see HERE[url]http://www.rcmf.co.uk/4um/index.php/topic,73700.msg826504.html#msg826504/url]

Speky might not be worth investing in just yet, unless you already have of course.

Also


Cheap Rx from Hobbyking. The Orange ones. 
[url]http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?catname=2.4Ghz+Spektrum&idCategory=294&ParentCat=190/url]

David
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Ghost in the shell on August 29, 2010, 11:27:17 pm
i run the T5 radio in a boat with ZERO issues
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: Nordsee on September 16, 2010, 08:38:13 pm
Tried the Planet 5, no problems, had control as far as I could see what the boat was doing, and that is far enough! I have tried the Spektrum again, in the shed, and it works perfectly!! I am going to make a test rig, two servos and battery box etc and take that to the lake to try again. I will put a flag on the servo arms so I can do a range check, it would be nice to get it working.
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: garston1 on September 16, 2010, 10:12:49 pm
same with my DX6, had it over 2 years, no probs at all. will still hang on to my 40s though.
Title: Re: 2.4ghz in boats any good
Post by: John Mk2 on September 18, 2010, 03:51:53 pm
i run the T5 radio in a boat with ZERO issues

Same here Tugs , Fast Leccys Ect NO WORRYS AT ALL :-))