my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting!  
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All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros >> Radio Manufacturer Direct Support >> Hitec/MultiPlex Radios- Ask Hitec Customer Service >> my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting!
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my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/13/2006 9:51:58 PM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		Hi Hitec Customer Support,

My three month old Hitec Optic 6 TX suddenly stopped transmitting today, right after a routine hand launch of a glider. It was working fine during the flight of another plane that preceded the glider launch. It has the Spectra RF synthesizer Module. Before I ship it to Hitec for service, I was wondering, could I order a single frequency RF module for the frequency I normally use, ch 31, to temporarily replace the Spectra module in my Optic 6?

That way I can determine whether maybe just the Spectra module has failed, and if so, I can avoid being without the use of my TX for a couple of months while it's being repaired, just when the weather is starting to improve for flying. I could instead just send in the Spectra module for repair or replacement, and use the fixed frequency module instead.

Disappointed,
Steve Vaglica
Newton MA
       Post #: 1

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/13/2006 10:08:17 PM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		Forgot to check the "Notify me via e-mail when someone replies" box.

(in reply to SteveVag)
       Post #: 2

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/14/2006 8:44:17 PM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		A fellow RC pilot who owns a Hitec TX that uses the Spectra synth let me install his on my Optic 6, and the radio still showed no signs of transmitting. Then he took my Spectra synth and installed it in his radio and it worked fine. So it looks like the problem with my TX lies elsewhere. Seems I have no choice but to pack the radio up and ship it to Hitec for repair. I've since heard that a fair number of Optic 6 TXes have had to be repaired recently due to a problem with the electronics. Is this true?

(in reply to SteveVag)
       Post #: 3

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/14/2006 11:38:54 PM   
bigdsti


 

Posts: 5
Joined: 6/29/2005
From: Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
Status: offline 		Bah, this happened to mine also today. It would "restart" itself after 10-15 seconds of being turned on. Then it would restart again 5 sec later. then again 1 sec later, then it would restart every 1/10th of a sec. ****???? Mine also wasn't because of the Spectra module, this happened whether it was plugged in or not..

Now the display doesn't even come on. I'm sending mine back to Hitec for repair, and this SUCKS because I've recently rebuilt a plane and now I can't fly the damn thing for another month until the borken Tx comes back.

(in reply to SteveVag)
       Post #: 4

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 1:19:30 AM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		Hi bigdsti,

You ought to get a cheap 4channel transmitter as a backup while your Optic is in the shop. BalsaProducts.com sells Art-Tech radios for $30:
www.balsapr.com/view.asp?id=V469339&pid=tx10031

If you need elevon or V-tail mixing you can buy a mixer to install on your receiver: www.balsapr.com/view.asp?id=V718224&pid=T498579

Maybe we'll be lucky and get our Optics back by May.

(in reply to bigdsti)
       Post #: 5

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 4:30:26 AM   
bigdsti


 

Posts: 5
Joined: 6/29/2005
From: Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
Status: offline 		aaaand after taking it apart and putting it back together, it's working perfectly again... i dunno.

Hm. I'm a little paranoid to fly now.. I'll see if it keeps working, because if it is, I doubt Hitec will be able to fix anything. (Like a car that suddenly works fine when you finally take it to the shop to get it fixed)... I ordered a Futaba 7CA Tx for $149 from servocity.com. I'll use it for my primary aircraft, and I'll send the Hitec after the Futaba comes in. It'll be here probably next week, and keep the Optic for my secondary stuff as a backup.. The 7C's are supposed to be pretty solid, so I'm interested to see the differences.

(in reply to SteveVag)
       Post #: 6

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 12:44:51 PM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		I see your point about not sending it in unless it fail only intermittently. But can you ever really trust it enough to fly with it again? What if it fails when your plane is a couple of hundred feet off the ground? Maybe I should feel lucky mine failed and stayed broken! And that it failed on my lightest, slowest plane, when it was only 20ft off the ground.

My flying buddy bought a Futaba 7CA a few months ago and is very happy with it. You got one for a good price, I think. Good luck with it.

(in reply to bigdsti)
       Post #: 7

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 1:00:13 PM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		reading your initial reply again, your Optic problem sounds like a loose connection somewhere in the battery circuit. I has the exact same symptoms once with my Flash 5 on several different occasions.

Either the battery connector is failing, or maybe the solder joints on the female battery connector have failed, which is what happened to my Flash 5. Another possibility is that the power on/off switch is failing. This also happened on my Flash 5. So with the power switch turned on, if you wiggle the battery connection, the female battery connector, and the power switch, you might be able to make your Optic fail consistantly enough to locate the problem. Just a thought.

(in reply to SteveVag)
       Post #: 8

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 1:12:22 PM   
geh3


 

Posts: 472
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: wilmington, DE, USA
Status: offline 		For what it's worth, you should always do a thorough ground test for range etc with the engine off and then repeat with it running for any new radio, several times. even before this during the radio installation in the plane, it is wise to run the radio through it's paces on the bench and again at the field before ever taking off. This possibly would have found the problem and saved your plane from massive destruction. I have been flying since the escapement days and have had all sorts of radio brands both inexpensive systems and some top end stuff and the vast majority of them are very reliable BUT then there is MURPHY's LAW and any electronic device can be subject to freaky failures! so it is better to do a lot of testing before that first flight.....

(in reply to SteveVag)
       Post #: 9

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 2:40:08 PM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		I usually do some sort of ground test on the first flight. And of course I check for correct control surface deflections before flying each plane. This TX failure occured with the second plane I flew, after having had no problems on several flights with the previous plane. And when checking the control surface throws before launching the doomed flight, no problem was detected.

So I was pretty surprised when I discovered I had no control after the hand launch of my newly constructed glider. Fortunately my discus hand launches are still pretty feeble, as the glider only got about 20ft high before nose diving into the ground. Fortunately no visible damage occured. The ground was softened by the rain earlier in the day.

But you're right about these electronic devices. You never know when one might fail, no matter how reliable it has been in the past. Not sure if I'll ever feel as comfortable flying as I felt before, especially when flying a favorite plane higher than 50ft off the ground.

Hey, aren't the Hitec support people supposed to be monitoring this forum? Where are they?

(in reply to geh3)
       Post #: 10

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 2:42:48 PM   
bigdsti


 

Posts: 5
Joined: 6/29/2005
From: Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
Status: offline 		I'll still send the Optic back after the new unit comes in. When I was taking it apart last night I left it on to see if there were any loose connections I could jostle around. Nothing. There's no loose wires or connections anywhere, not even in the battery pack.

I think the problem is that the circutry was registering *too high* of a voltage. When it was on, it would register the pack at 11.1 or 11.2v (freshly charged), then start kicking on and off and flipping out. Now when I turn it on (after draining the pack a bit), it's down to 10.X volts and it's working perfectly. My NiCd pack will register at 11.X voltages when freshly charged, so (many months ago) I tried plugging in a slightly drained LiPo to see if it would work because I was in a pinch for time, and it did the exact same thing... The power light came on, but nothing functioned, and the LCD screen didn't work. I think the voltage was slightly too high for the unit to function properly.

I know a freshly charged NiCd pack will have a higher-than-normal voltage, and I think that's the culprit, something on the board is somehow overly sensitive to a fully charged pack, and anything higher than 10.X volts.. I'll try to recharge the pack tonight and see if the problem repeats itself, if so, bingo. (Frustrating, but still bingo.)

(in reply to geh3)
       Post #: 11

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 2:52:25 PM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		Looks like you might be onto something, with the failure at high battery voltage after a fresh charge. By the way, I was afraid to open mine up, for fear of voiding the warentee. Do you happen to know what Hitec's policy is regarding this? I only repaired my Flash 5 myself once it was beyond the warantee period.

(in reply to bigdsti)
       Post #: 12

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 2:58:10 PM   
bigdsti


 

Posts: 5
Joined: 6/29/2005
From: Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
Status: offline 		They actually tell you how to in the manual...

It's for changing the stick characteristics, adjustable spring tension, removing the notching leaf spring, or making the left stick self-centering.. If it says how to take it apart and what screws adjust what in the manual, I don't see how the warranty is void.

(Now if I tried to claim a warranty from a stripped screw from doing this, then they'd say "go screw yourself"...haha....ha..). nevermind.

(in reply to SteveVag)
       Post #: 13

RE: my new Optic 6 TX stopped transmitting! - 3/15/2006 3:57:30 PM   
SteveVag


 

Posts: 118
Joined: 10/31/2003
From: Newton, MA, USA
Status: offline 		If I had realized that it was ok to open it up, I definitely would have done so. Now that you just mentioned it, I'll have to keep that in mind next time. As I just came back from the UPS store after dropping off the TX, it's too late to take a look inside. I've been told that Hitec<