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[Liverbudgie2]

 I'm in the course of refitting some of my older models  all of which have Fleet radio 40 meg gear.  It has been some time since all of them have been to sea (pond). The problem is that I'm having almost the same problem in all of them to date, namely problems with the receiver or at least I presume that is where the problem lies.
In one, the Osprey, it appears to lose range after a period of time, while at the same time stops/starts in rapid succession, giving the impression that there is interference coming from somewhere until  she comes closer then it stops.
In the other, the Opal, when the radio is switched on the servos twitch and that's it.  I have switch receivers over, changed the crystals used different transmitters the result is the same. The battery is giving out the full voltage.  While I was trying things out again in Budgie Towers superdupa workshop, the servos started doing all sorts of odd things, again giving the impression that there is interference coming from somewhere. I doubt very much that there are many operating 40 meg sets around here which could affect the system however, I was wondering if any domestic appliances could give out such interference. 
I should mention that my Futaba gear operates faultlessly.
So my question is there an inherent fault in Fleet receivers and if so what if anything can be done about it? I'm loathed to dump the whole lot as the transmitters are working fine as are the servo's .
As an afterthought, would it be possible to say replace the receivers with say Futaba ones, or `do the crystals have to match with the ones in the transmitter?
Advice would be most welcome on this matter.
 
LB

[roycv]

Hi Liver.... If it is the same as my Fleet gear (40 Megs with blue plugs) then the red and black wires are swapped over in comparison to Futaba.  So the Fleet servos are only compatible with the Fleet rx unless you swap the wires or replace the servo connectors to fit a Futaba Rx.
regards Roy

[gingyer]

I may be wrong on this as I have never used fleet gear.....
I always remember being told by some of the guys in the club
The transmitters had to go back every so often for tuning/ service
Or they started to go a bit like what you are telling us,
If this is correct when was it tuned in last?
Since digifleet stopped Operating Years ago

[barriew]

Do you have fluorescent lights in your super duper workshop?  You may be getting interference from there.


Barrie

[malcolmfrary]

Range based interference on the pool can indicate that the boat itself is generating a low level of interference.  The level remains the same, but is overcome as boat and transmitter get nearer.
AM sets, on whatever band, rely on having a quiet period to help recognize that the next information is for channel 1, which is why a twitchy rudder is often the first sign of there being interference.  FM sets are less prone, but not immune to this.  There are plenty of sources of interference at home, with fluorescent lights and dimmers being top of the list.  They don't need to be in the same room, and do work on the exact same 50Hz that out servos use as a frame rate.
A servo twitching on power up just means that the servo has got power, but no signal to tell it what to do.  Or it got power which then failed, the symptoms are very similar.
Tuning of a transmitter shouldn't drift with time, but that's in theory.  Practice might be different depending on design and whether the components used drift with age and cause the transmitter output to drift away from the channel center frequency.  This would weaken the received signal and give the results noted.
I was recently told about a hospital using a paging system that runs in the 40MHz band.  If its a forthcoming popular system, it could present problems, but I have no information on what sort of power these things use, whether they are widespread, and whether they actually transmit in the same bit of the band that we use.

[BarryM]

My oldest Fleet Tx/Rx is now 25 years old and never  a problem unless insufficient care is taken with earthing and suppression.
Was the response OK before and has now started to fault or is it a new installation?
Barry M

[Circlip]

Black wire blues?
 
  Regards  Ian.

[Liverbudgie2]

Many thanks for the replies and advice, nothing has really been solved yet but I'm still working onit and will report back later.
LB

[GAZOU]

Have you looked at the son? sometimes the wire + black becomes, we do not really know why.
This happens even on the real ships.
You can not weld,
he misbehaves electricity and must be changed
Check all son because it is contagious

[Circlip]

My answer was not a cryptic clue and Gazou is asking the same thing. Have you checked the conductors in the wire? For some reason, if the gear has been standing for long periods, the conductors become corroded as evidenced with a whitish/green dust. It was prevalent on the black wires.
 
   Regards  Ian.

  By conductors, I mean the actual wire cores of the leads.

[malcolmfrary]

Good points above.  Wiring that has been left a while can and, when it feels like it, does have the copper strands go black.  The only effective cure is replacement, since it tends to affect the entire length, and attempts to scrape away the blackened surface usually reveals that there is precious little copper in the middle.
I got a pack of replacement leads from Component Shop - fitting new leads is often a quick fix for odd behaviour because the black wire corrosion is difficult to measure.

[Liverbudgie2]

 
An update:
 
I had considered the Black Death problem and was intending to change the wiring between the battery and the receiver on the Opal. I found it to be in good condition though with no sign of any corrosion. I did check the operation again and the fault remains, namely: that the servos twitch when power is applied to the receiver and that is all that occurs; this happens even with different receivers attached and using different transmitters.
 
I'm at a loss now and have put the model to one side, with the intention of stripping out all the Fleet gear in the model and replacing it with more modern equipment; hopefully she will ready for when the Windermere Steamboat Museum re-opens in the spring of 2015.
 
As far as the Osprey is concerned. I re-called some time afterwards that the I had had problems with their speed controllers in the past, and had removed them replacing with Electronize ones instead. As I had an Electronize one spare I put that in yesterday and low and behold she sailed floorlessly for over an hour last night. So that problem has been solved.
 
I spoke to someone this morning who has long experience in the use of marine radio control, about the problems I have been having, and he said that Fleet gear always was problematic at the best of times. I have to say that I agree with this to a degree; though I have yet to find fault with the transmitters or servos.
 
Anyway many thanks for all the assistance and here are some images of the Osprey underweigh  last night.
 LB
 

[roycv]

Hi Liverbudgie, I just want to stand up for Fleet gear, my first set was from Derek Olley before he became Fleet and that was pre proportional and that always worked.  In fact it was exceptional for the time and had an electronic 'reed' system for 4 channels had a permanent blue crystal installed and did not suffer from outside interference in the days when just one model was sailed at a time.

I have an early prop set, Has always worked but not in use at the moment.  Then I bought the Marine version of his last set with mixer in the Tx.  My only disappointment was the miniature aerial he sold with it, there was only a 20 yard range.  I replaced this with a conventional aerial, everything OK.  My problem was remembering how to set up the channel memory system!

I have never had any problems with other servos bearing mind I would have to change over the connector wiring so not that many tried out.
Regards Roy

[BarryM]

"Fleet gear always was problematic at the best of times". I take it he had never owned Fleet gear? My oldest Fleet Tx/Rx, as mentioned earlier, is 25 years old and the second is not much younger and yet nary a problem with either. Not something you could say about some other sets of similar age. If you want to sell your Fleet gear you will not be short of bidders.
Barry M

[spearfish99]

"Fleet gear always was problematic at the best of times". I take it he had never owned Fleet gear? My oldest Fleet Tx/Rx, as mentioned earlier, is 25 years old and the second is not much younger and yet nary a problem with either. Not something you could say about some other sets of similar age. If you want to sell your Fleet gear you will not be short of bidders.
Barry M

Same here. I have 3 sets which work just fine