Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: regiment on October 31, 2015, 01:36:15 pm
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went to the lake today with my mate last week yacht would not respond to tx on the water.. on the bench all working . mine was perfect he took his boat home and put all new gear in it batteries tx rx etc today he put it in the water do you know what lost control of boat mine ok so any brainy person who knows the answer please let us know this is urgent before he packs sailing in
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Here's a stab in the dark - if your mate is using 2.4ghz set up, is the rx sighted ABOVE the waterline ?
Regards,
Ray.
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Good one Capt Podge.
When on the bench was the model exactly as it is when on the water - all hatches fitted & sealed etc?
Did you try a range test before putting the model in the water?
Are the batteries - transmitter & receiver both fully charged?
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hi all tx rx are 27 MHz he just has to put it in the lake 2 foot away and trouble gordon
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A broken receiver aerial wire will do exactly that. The plastic outer might be OK, but the wire up the middle might not. This assumes that his wire is above the waterline.
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Hi Gordon, assuming that the Rx aerial is the correct length, it should be somewhere between 27 and 33 inches I believe, and has a good soldered joint, then it should be laid up the front of the mast using an elastic band or tywrap at the end to keep it reasonably taut , though if the mast is metal do not let any uninsulated end of the aerial touch it. Alternatively tape it to the underside of the deck laid out as straight as possible. If the hull is carbon fibre you really need to have the aerial outside of it. Don't have it scrunched up into a bundle- you'll reduce your range, good luck!
Trevor
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Sorry if this question seems dumb.
Was the yacht an AMRTR or RTR model? If so the radios are often a 27MHz kinda system (toy grade TxRx) and are easily swamped by dedicated channel hobby grade TxRx.
It probably isn't so, but it is good to eliminate the low level issues first.
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Try checking if the transmitter aerial has not become detatched inside the case
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Worth checking that the transmitter had a crystal marked with a 'T' and the receiver had one marked with an 'R'. You can often run a model up close with the crystals the wrong way round, or possibly with two Tx or two rx crystals in the model and handset, and it will still function. All is good until you get a few feet apart, then it all stops.
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I had a similar problem with a 27mHz outfit . The boat would respond as long as the transmitter was no more than a couple of feet away. Same problem with a different Rx, so assumed something had gone wrong in the Tx, degraded joint or something like that.
Time to upgrade, I decided.
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thanks for all of your answers my mate is spending all next week trying to fix problem ( I have hidden the hammer ) gordon
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O0 Hi,regiment,it might help us to help you if you told us what system he is using and the make and model of Tx Rx involved,usually find that someone on here has had the same problem and have managed to sort it out but we do need some clues to get us started......Ray. O0 O0
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Hi someone mentioned earlier, is it when there is another Tx in use that you have the problem? That is 2 boats on the water together?
regards Roy
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The rocking motion of the boat maybe causing a poor wire to disconnect?
What equipment is he using?
How old are the battery packs? (Black wire syndrome)
Do they charge enough to give a signal at at anything other than close range?
Is any water shorting out connections?
Bleed over from other transmitters (already mentioned :embarrassed: )
Failing these things and the things already mentioned I would (and did recently) replace each item in the circuit one at a time (with items from a known working model, even if they are borrowed) don't be tempted to change more than one item at once.
Also, make sure your transmitter is not in low power check mode (futaba have this and I'm sure the others will also)
Try also taking your transmitter crystals and putting them in a known good transmitter to rule out a faulty transmitter.
Finally, let us know when you find it please. Good luck. U2
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hi l will ring my mate tomorrow will find out what rx rx he is using I know the batteries were ok he used my tx with his crystals in it the hull is all wood scratch built only boat on the lake the rx is a new one thanks gordon
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I know it seems obvious but!!! is the aerial on the radio fully extended, I have been sailing for more years than I care to remember and took my grandson to the lake with an old model on 27mhz, cursing the fact that a few yards from the side it would stop working, until, oops, ho ho I had forgotten to extend the aerial, 2.4 ghz spoils you, I am now reminded each time by a 3 year old, put the aerial up granddad when we sail.
Howard Q