ddaveb

I think there maybe a problem with the Ar500 whilst I have not had any problems with these RX's ( have 4 of them) The number of flyers in my club that have had lock out problems resulting in crashes seems to grow every weekend all the usual checks like battery voltage ect have been made & found to be ok . On two occasions the RX was unbound when retrived from a crash but was rebound & seemed to work fine afterwards ,one RX whilst working fine for a while in a new model started to lock out , when a range check was done the RX was now found to be low range, I think there is a quality issue with these RX's & now only put them in foamies.

swank

I recently lost a beautiful airplane . . a Boeing P-26 Peashooter with 71" wingspan . . using an AR500 receiver. I have five other planes with AR-7000 receivers in them and have never had a problem with them. A video of the flight (and crash) is available on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVKjQC_Uvns (or do a search for "peashooter last flight). Prior to the flight, a rebind and range check was done and all was good. The flight battery was a Hobbico Hydrimax 6V 2000mah and was fully charged prior to takeoff, as was the battery in the DX7. Also, following the rebind, the transmitter was switched off to check that the failsafe was working properly . . none of the servos moved. All servos were Hitec HS325HB. The plane was double checked prior to the flight and everything was working properly. Transmitter was a Spektrum DX7.

I had been in the air approximately 6 to 8 minutes when the mishap occurred with no problems up to that point. You will see in the video that my flight included rolls, loops, and other manuevers, all performed with no problem. While flying straight toward me, the plane, without warning, suddenly went to full up elevator and full right aileron. When we slowed down the video, we could see the plane spinning on it's way to the ground, indicating that the ailerons were still locked full right.

At the crash scene, the plane was destroyed, but all servos and the receiver were still working fine, after which, all the radio equipment was removed from the fuse and bench tested . . all showed good . . no problems.

There were no other flyers at the field when the mishap occured.

I've had varied opinions on the cause of the crash, from the receiver getting it's signals crossed, interference from police K band radar, servos suddenly going bad, the battery failing under load and a few others.

I sent an email to Spektrum support asking for their input on a possible cause and whether or not they've had any similar issues with the AR500 receiver . . I've never received a reply. Shame on you Spektrum.

I've sold the AR500 receiver and will never have another and I'm not sure that I'll stay with Spektrum long term.

I should also add that I am not new to flying . . I am retired and have been flying for more years than I care to remember. There were no "rookie mistakes" made here. The fault lays squarely with the radio equipment, somehow, although I have no idea how or why. Servos, flight battery and receiver were less than 90 days old.

Your opinions would be welcomed.

Mtthwacrss

My Feedback: (1)

I have gone through 2 AR 500 this summer first time, made low pass and pulled up and turned to left plane locked up and flew in to the ground. It did not go into fail safe mode plane was full throttle even though that was the first thing I shut down. Receiver was in about 10 pieces. Second plane was on 4th flight with new receiver. Took off fine circled around downwind turned final and lost the plane this time receiver was in one piece. Took out of plane and checked it on the table and all works fine. I have heard that there may be a soft ware up date. I am sending it to Spektrum, but I am very leery of using the receiver again in anything.

rdcntrl1

i also lost my plane to a 500 rx ,took tx&4 rxto horizon (as i live here in champaign/urbana)picked it up 2 days later & they said nothing was wrong ????? but gave me all new rx's, my problem is why do i need a 7 or 9 chanel rx when i fly only 4 chanel planes? i talked to a horizon rep at the (illini super jets) in monticello couple of weeks ago & was told an ar500 was not intendid for a gas plane !!!i fly a 60 size big stik ????it says (full range on it )

denoferth

My Feedback: (71)

I would like to suggest to everyone what may or may not be obvious; that the spectrum antennas vibrate like little tuning forks in certain circumstances. That combined with handling stresses can and does cause the wire strands to eventually break which leads to shorts or intermittent contact at best. My fix, after an inspection to insure it’s not already damaged, is to simply tape them with a small strip of duct tape across the receiver. You don’t need much. About ¼” is fine and I pinch the tape around the wire just enough to prevent it from sticking to the aircraft. I don’t tape them down to the structure as I want the wire and receiver to move as a unit. The tape simply reinforces the wire and prevents it from vibrating independently from the receiver. Works for me.