5bbasher

My Feedback: (3)

i just bought a spectrum DX2S 2.4ghz trans / SR3300T receiver and a s100 servo. am i going to have problems with this on the water? my lhs guy says it will be fine as long as i don't have any carbon fiber in my boat which i don't. i have been able to find very little info on this but some say i will get lost signals or interference. i ran it once at close ranges and didn't notice anything but the old THUNDERCAT 31 wasn't running very good so it was hard to tell. can someone clear this up for me?

thanks

mfr02

Dont know about C/F, but as long as there is line of sight between your TX and the RX aerials, there should be no problem.  Sheet metal or metal mesh would likely create a problem, but all the 2.4GHz setups I have seen so far have had no range problems.

5bbasher

My Feedback: (3)

MFR02, do u run boats? the problems i have heard about have to do with the signals reflecting off of the water.

bigstang

well i have a spektrum 3.0 and it has 4 memory and today ill be going to the lake for some first time running to see how it works. ill let u know

5bbasher

My Feedback: (3)

looking forward to the results. anyone else?

mfr02

Been model boating for the last 20-something years. Gained some knowledge of radio during my 30 something years in the communications industry.
The boats in my club fitted with 2.4GHz gear have been seen to be OK with no problems at 200 yards plus across salt water. Experience in the real world with microwave links has shown that a link across a tidal bay could be disrupted by a ferry getting in the way during a high tide. Not reflection, just something either reflective or absorptive getting in the way.
A 2 aerial RX will be proof against most problems as long as line of sight is not compromised for both at the same time.

amax

I've been using the Spektrum DX2, DX2.0 & DX3, DX3.0 for a few years now I have tried them on many boats and only had 1 gas boat with a range issue, My range is around 500 to 700 ft.

You can see in this vid I have no range issue.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF6f3krLpt0[/youtube]

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

The newer Spektrum radios supposedly have the problem taken care of. I saw 2 of the first versions have problems, one guy lost signal about 100 feet out and the other one we don't know if it was a lost signal or a receiver pack without enough juice in it.
The first incident just happened to be in a TC 31.

5bbasher

My Feedback: (3)

thanks guys, so basicallyyou're sayini sould be fine? the question is about the receiver antenna. can the 2 1/2" antenna just lay inside the servo box or does it need to be straight up and out of the boat? the hatch on my tc31 is tall and only 3/4" of the antenna will stick out. also how new is the DX2S? not many rc'ers seem to use it.

amax

I know some of the FE guys leave the antena inside the hull to keep the hull sealed as well as possible. I stick what I can up out of the hull, the SR3500 micro is the hardest to work with because the antena is extremly short, I prefer the 3001 PRO.

The bud boat has a Pro rx the Formula has the micr 3500 the micro ant just does stick out the lid to the radio box


Pro here


Micro here in a vegas

mfr02

[quote]Not reflection, just something either reflective or absorptive getting in the way.
A 2 aerial RX will be proof against most problems as long as line of sight is not compromised for both at the same time.f/quote]

Looking at the pictures in the previous post, I see metallic objects above the waterline, and therefore potentially in the line of sight for a small aerial. This is where the two antenna system comesshould come into its own. When tracking down a radio interference problem, I once found that a single horizontal strand of a barbed wire fence between me and the radar station where the interfering signal was coming from was enough to prevent interference from the radar station that looked after the north west of England (Dont know how much power it coughed out, but they had a BIG standby generator). An exhaust pipe or engine block could do the same job of hiding the signal for a model.

amax

Both the Formula and the vegas had the ant sticking out of the radio box but were hiding under the cowl and I never had any prob with either. The ant cap on the formula did get kinda hot and sticky so I moved it. I like to put the ant. on the Starboard Side(Right) so when I'm on the back straightaway I have a clear line of sight with it, so I have the best reception when I'm farthest away