Dirkg

What are your clubs doing about frequency control with the addition of Spektrum radios?
In our club we use a frequency board to identify a pilot as a club member, AMA member and frequency control.

Club rule

3. FREQUENCY CONTROL
All transmitters must display CHANNEL NUMBERS and appropriate flag on antenna (recommended A.M.A. guidelines). Your frequency pins MUST be put on the frequency board ( on the proper channel slot) while your transmitter is turned on! Your frequency pin MUST have your CHANNEL NUMBER, NAME and A.M.A. NUMBER (frequency pins or labels will be available at club meetings 3rd Friday of each month). When you are done with your transmitter, Please turn off your transmitter, remove your frequency pin and IMPOUND your transmitter! Please DO NOT leave your transmitter in the pits when not in use (put it in the impound area)!


Thanks,
Dirk

Cyclic Hardover

My Feedback: (3)

I have never seen a tx with a color flag on it at the field in 10 years of this. Although we do have strict frequency control.

gboulton

My Feedback: (15)

It strikes me that a club's freq board should have an area for Spektrum fliers to hang cards for a number of reasons:

1) So we know the pilot is an AMA or Club member, or has the appropriate local permit, whatever that may be.

2) So we know that guy flying over there didn't simply forget to put his card up on the correct freq.

I've already seen #2 come close to biting someone. Fellow had a short whip antenna, and another pilot arrived. 2nd pilot presumed the first was flying a Spektrum radio because of the short antenna and no card on the board. Turns out, the first pilot simply hadn't hung a card, because he was the only one there, and was flying 72 mhz with one of the rubber ducky antennas. [X(] Thankfully the 2nd pilot double checked, and potential disaster was averted.

Clearly that section of the board needn't be complex, but pins/clips/whatever SHOULD be provided for a suitable number of potential Spektrum pilots, imo.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Our club has 4 slots setup for 2.4ghz. I'm sure more will show up later. But we are ready now. It was discussed at the nov meeting and it was clear there was a need to accomodate it on the board so we know who are members and such.
Edwin

Gizmo-RCU

My Feedback: (27)

Our club will be installing a separate bar for the Spektrum radios where the card will be pinned. We only allow 4 fliers, one per station so it shouldn't be real difficult to track.

SDR-Hammer

I’m glad this topic has come up and will be interested hear various solutions.

Ever since our club changed frequency control systems a few years ago, to the take-a-pin method, mishaps have nearly disappeared. The biggest factor for this is that every transmitter not impounded, must have the correct frequency pin attached. Eventhough some guys still forget to reserve the frequency, another set of eyes has caught the mistake in nearly every instance before a plane got shot down.

Just letting 2.4Ghz systems circumvent frequency control will certainly ruin the continuity we’ve worked so hard to develop and cause problems gboulton points out.

The only equitable solution I see so far, for us, is adding a few card slots with pins that say 2.4Ghz and requiring the same procedures as if they were flying on 72mHz. That is until this technology becomes the norm instead of the exception.

[Edited for spelling]

GPutt33

My Feedback: (2)

Were a fairly small Club with about 35 to 40 members. We are lucky enough though to have a really nice facility. I guess the other thing I need to mention is we are in rural Wyoming (I guess that's just about a rule for the whole State). The first pic was the only pic I could find of the field with the Freq board in it from a couple of years ago. The 2nd picture is just of the same area now that we've got rid of the old wood bridges over the little ditch and put in a drain tile and all new sidewalks.

I don't know if you'll be able to tell from the picture but our pin board is rows of eye bolts with an aluminum strap below each row with spacers holding it out at the top away from the back. The pins are quick clips with a round brass tag attached with the frequency stenciled into it. When in place the round brass tags sit in the gap behind the strips to prevent them from blowing around in the wind when not in use.

What we do is back into the pits, take our car keys and AMA cards to the board and grab our pin, drop our card in the slot behind the straps and THEN attach our car keys to the eye bolts. OK, now the reason for the car keys. First, we ARE in Wyoming, so if the keys aren't hanging up they'd just be in the ignitions anyhow, nobody is going to drive off. Before the car key idea came up, it seems for some reason there was always at least one or two folks cards (no pins returned) left up on the board when you were the last one out the gate.

Most of us know who is flying on what channels and so if we wind up having guys waiting for the freq and pin to open up we then go ahead and replace things after each flight like any other field and club does.

This way we absent minded Cowboys now know we won't forget a few of the essentials when we have to trade our cards and pins out for our car keys Yes, you may all laugh your butts off now

Now to the original question - we'll add another row of eyebolts and a card slot at the bottom of the existing board for those of us going to 2.4

Dirkg

it is a red flag designated air frequency

Dirk

red head

A buddy and I were talking about the control factor with Spektrum radios today as he just got one.

We are thinking that after someone has had one for awhile that they might just get careless and take one of their older radios out and forget to check the freq.. Some places don't require empounding and some are even more lax then that and it could lead to some real problems.
Sounds like this may be a great subject to get a lot of opinions on. It's a great system but might just need a little help growing up.

ENJOY !!! RED

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

Yep, I supposed that could happen. We just need to stay on top of it for awhile. I figure it will take me till the end of 08 before I'm all spektrum.
Edwin

s. wallace

My Feedback: (24)

It is actually a way out of date requirement fom the 60's & 70's when a few (8 or so, I don't recall exactly how many) 72mhz frequencies were made available for RC use. Flag colors identified the frequency...white & brown, white & purple etc , each color combo represented the frequency. There were no "Channel numbers" in those days, fliers knew and went by the specific frequency, ex 72.080.
The Red flag on the antenna tip and Ch # to denote a frequency came along in the 80's.

Live Wire

Back in those day's we looked out for each other to day who cares every one is in the fast lane

RCFlyer

RED, I received a DVD from Horizzon for the club I belong to on the Spectrum DX-7. An interview with an AMA representative said that AMA recommends to have a pin to use for Spectrum users, so that if a flyer does use a regular channel he will still be in the habit of using the frequency board.

There is a video on Horrizon that you can down load to view on the DX-7, and the views of AMA.

Clarence