#11 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

The red + supply lead !! Not signal lead. Unfortunate typo Haverlock.
But you're dead right about dodgy connections introducing interference, especially at lower frequencies.. There were tales year ago of a Port of London dredger suddenly playing BBC Light programme (BBC Radio 2 for all the under sixties😉) out of a rusty dredge bucket!😲
The taxi problem may not have been swamping as such, more interference from a sub-harmonic of the VHF frequencies they used.
Once did some interference tracing for the Home Office and NATS / CAA many years ago and poorly maintained VHF taxi radios were a regular culprit!
Cheers, Doug 😎

Young at heart 😉 Slightly older in other places.😊 Cheers Doug

#10 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

Thank you for another good suggestion. Wiring on both my crash tenders is getting old (like me ! !).Will check it out carefully.
Rob

Barney

#9 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

Swamping could be the cause BUT if you managed to get the effect at home its unlikely. if its an old system have you checked for the dreaded black wire problem? Problems like this can be caused by worn/dirty/corroded plugs bad wires and poor connections generally. if you think about it radio systems in boats have a very tough life water and electrics make poor bedfellows. A bad connection leads to electrical resistance and this can cause a signal to develop where it shouldn't. The receiver does an excellent job of rejecting external signals BUT if a servo connection has a signal develop on it this can transferr to a second servo via the voltage connections.

"that's not a bug its just an undocumented creature."

Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE (28 April 1948 - 12 March 2015)

#8 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

😁Had this problem back in the mid 1990s with an MFA Spearfish with 12 volt set up and 40 MHz radio. in one part of the lake it appeared to lose radio contact which was puzzling.

A fellow model boat user said he thought it was interference from radios in taxis that were operating close by.

Never really got to the bottom of it but the fellow enthusiasts explanation appeared to have logic to it due to the close taxi operation.

Boaty😁

Dave Keech

#7 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

Hi Doug.
Thanks again for your suggestions.Will replace servo and let you know the outcome.
Rob

Barney

#6 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

Hi Rob, hope you didn't mind me pulling your chain a little🤓
Just my silly sense of humour - I see humour in most things 😁
"Always look on the bright side of life - de dum de de dum de dum de diddly dum" 😉
I would think it's unlikely the board is the problem. No I was thinking more of unusual spark generation in a worn servo motor. Highly unusual but not impossible if it's been in service for years with long periods of doin' nuttink in between! Just a thought, and it's the only thing you didn't swap 😉
Ciao, Doug 😎

Young at heart 😉 Slightly older in other places.😊 Cheers Doug

#5 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

Hi Doug. Thanks for response. Typo ! I obviously meant
2.4ghz.!Rudder servo appears to be ok ? Do you mean it could be its integral control board causing the problem ?
Rob

Barney

Liked by RNinMunich

#4 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

Hi Colin, Welcome back 😊 Still waiting for the pics of your last Expo!! 😉
I doubt it was the BBC Outside Broadcast TX in your case.
OB trucks nowadays usually use a satellite Up-link on zig GHz to send their signal back to the studio for broadcasting over the normal antenna network.
Curious🤔
Cheers, Doug 😎

Young at heart 😉 Slightly older in other places.😊 Cheers Doug

#3 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

Hi Rob, only other element left is the servo! Which would have been my first thought anyway! So-
Put the original RX back, use the same TX and change the servo.
Put the RX antenna as far forward as possible, i.e. keep it well away from ESCs, motors and the rudder servo. Also keep any servo signal cable well away from ESC / Motor power cables. Route 'em port and starboard.
Sounds like the servo motor might be on it's last legs.
Not man enough for the job? 🤔
BTW: brushed motors? Motor suppression?
TX battery low?
Cheers, Doug 😎
PS: 2mHz!😲 Wow! That's a wavelength of 150 million km😲 Where do they attach the other end of their antenna?? Jupiter? 😁😁😁

Young at heart 😉 Slightly older in other places.😊 Cheers Doug

Liked by robhenry

#2 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

Strange stuff this, I have just had the same problem that happened at an open public meeting put on by BBC HEREFORD AND WORCESTER. it hadn't happened before or since it affected my 40 mhz and 27 mhz models one losing throttle control (27mhz) the other lost left rudder. Afterwards when I went to my test lake it didn't happen again. it was suggested that maybe the bbc mobile radio transmitter was to blame. As it seems that it can have quite a broadband effect which affects older systems. I don't know if this helps, but all my vintage models suffer when there is a powerful mobile transmitter nearby. Hope you sort the problem, cheers Colin.

Fair winds and calm waters,
COLIN.

#1 8 years ago

Intermittent radio problems

I have a real mystery problem ! Occasionally, one of my crash tender models loses control for no apparent reason. It is running on 40mHz Futaba system. This has been used for a number of years without any probs until recently. I have managed to reproduce the problem in the workshop just once. Effect is that using rudder channel, interferes with throttle channel such that when rudder servo operated the throttle goes completely haywire ! At the lake I have checked to make sure that no one else is on same freq. Most people run 2,4mHz anyway.
When simulated in the workshop I have changed receivers transmitters and crystals and still had the problem. The next day
problem had disappeared ! The other kit used in the boat are a Futaba rudder servo and two 30amp Electronise esc's running in parallel. Have checked receiver voltage under load--- no problem with this either.
Has anyone got any ideas ?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Rob

Barney

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Intermittent radio problems

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Intermittent radio problems