Forgot my Transmitter! Flying day saved with a cellphone and laptop ...
01-03-2015, 11:42 AM
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Forgot my Transmitter! Flying day saved with a cellphone and laptop ...
Yes I do have a flying checklist and the number one item on the checklist it ... My Transmitter! I just forgot to look at my checklist that said use checklist!
So as we get older it seems like our memories don't get any better.
Yesterday I had my Skymaster Mig-29 in the truck, I had flown the day before so I left everything in the truck so I wouldn't have to re-load. But I decided the night before to top off the charge on My transmitter (on the workbench). Doh! After driving an hour to get to the field and unloading my jet reality sunk in .... NO TRANSMITTER! Dang! I hate it when that happens!
Anyway the point of this thread in not to impress all of you with how dumb I can be (this is not the first time in my life I forgot my transmitter). It's make all of you feel a little less dumb for all the times you have gone down to the field and forgot you Spar Tubes, Wings, Wing Bolts, Compressor, Canopy. I think the list goes on and on about all the things that could wreck your day.
But wait there's more .. technology has changed over the years
.
As I was packing up looking like a kid with a broken Christmas toy my buddy Gary comes over and says "I feel for you man, I have my Futaba 18mz but obviously I don't have a program for your Mig-29". A light bulb went off in my head. This isn't 1979 when you needed a separate "Red and White" transmitter for each of your planes.
I called my son at home, I talked him through saving my Mig-29 program on My Transmitter at home to an SD card. I then had him load the SD card to his computer and email the Mig-29.mdl file as an attachment to my cellphone. Thanks, son!
Gary's brother at the field just happened to have his laptop with an SD card reader on it. Another buddy just happened to have an SD Card. Using his cellphone as a wireless hot spot I forwarded the email to him and he was able to write the model file onto the SD card.
At first the 18mz could not find the file on the SD card. I had Gary save one of the models in his transmitter to the SD Card. When we put it back into the laptop we saw it had created a half dozen new directories with one called "model" we then copied the Mig-29.mdl file into that directory and Bam! there it was.
I rebound the Rx to his transmitter and had 3 very successful flights .. without even a click of trim change!
With all the new radios out there with all the great data swapping capabilities I'm sure this could be repeated on many different radios.
I just wanted to share in case this helps someone else someday.
Happy Flying,
Steve
So as we get older it seems like our memories don't get any better.
Yesterday I had my Skymaster Mig-29 in the truck, I had flown the day before so I left everything in the truck so I wouldn't have to re-load. But I decided the night before to top off the charge on My transmitter (on the workbench). Doh! After driving an hour to get to the field and unloading my jet reality sunk in .... NO TRANSMITTER! Dang! I hate it when that happens!
Anyway the point of this thread in not to impress all of you with how dumb I can be (this is not the first time in my life I forgot my transmitter). It's make all of you feel a little less dumb for all the times you have gone down to the field and forgot you Spar Tubes, Wings, Wing Bolts, Compressor, Canopy. I think the list goes on and on about all the things that could wreck your day.
But wait there's more .. technology has changed over the years
.As I was packing up looking like a kid with a broken Christmas toy my buddy Gary comes over and says "I feel for you man, I have my Futaba 18mz but obviously I don't have a program for your Mig-29". A light bulb went off in my head. This isn't 1979 when you needed a separate "Red and White" transmitter for each of your planes.
I called my son at home, I talked him through saving my Mig-29 program on My Transmitter at home to an SD card. I then had him load the SD card to his computer and email the Mig-29.mdl file as an attachment to my cellphone. Thanks, son!
Gary's brother at the field just happened to have his laptop with an SD card reader on it. Another buddy just happened to have an SD Card. Using his cellphone as a wireless hot spot I forwarded the email to him and he was able to write the model file onto the SD card.
At first the 18mz could not find the file on the SD card. I had Gary save one of the models in his transmitter to the SD Card. When we put it back into the laptop we saw it had created a half dozen new directories with one called "model" we then copied the Mig-29.mdl file into that directory and Bam! there it was.
I rebound the Rx to his transmitter and had 3 very successful flights .. without even a click of trim change!
With all the new radios out there with all the great data swapping capabilities I'm sure this could be repeated on many different radios.
I just wanted to share in case this helps someone else someday.
Happy Flying,
Steve
Last edited by stevekott; 01-03-2015 at 11:51 AM.
01-03-2015, 05:28 PM
#4
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I have done this and had to go home as you said, "looking like a little kid with a broken xmas toy". It was a stroke of luck that everything fell into place for you. One word of advice, save all your model files to a dropbox account or to a spare SD card and keep it in your car. In the event you forget your transmitter again you already have the SD card with your models on it. Trust me it has saved my butt on one occasion when I have rushed home after work, loaded up my truck, and grabbed the wrong transmitter case.
01-03-2015, 07:46 PM
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Sounds like a good Idea! I found out I can also save them to a USB stick also! I just save all of my models onto the Micro SD card on my phone using a Micro SD to USB adapter. I would never forget my phone! 
And I hope I'm never dumb enough to forget my transmitter again but ...
Oh yea I forgot to mention. Gary had a lot of time available on his Tx yesterday because he left the canopy for his big glider at home
And I hope I'm never dumb enough to forget my transmitter again but ...
Oh yea I forgot to mention. Gary had a lot of time available on his Tx yesterday because he left the canopy for his big glider at home
01-05-2015, 03:20 AM
#8
Nice story Steve,
reminds me of a similar situation some years ago...Me and a friend drove to a flying site (1.5 hour drive), about halfway my wife called and asked if we needed the two "boxes" that we left behind? These two boxes were our transmitters....
We arrived a little later than planned at the field
reminds me of a similar situation some years ago...Me and a friend drove to a flying site (1.5 hour drive), about halfway my wife called and asked if we needed the two "boxes" that we left behind? These two boxes were our transmitters....
We arrived a little later than planned at the field
01-05-2015, 01:50 PM
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Yes it's a very humbling experience to be so focused on so many elements of this hobby but so absent minded about something so basic!
I think this story resonates well because we all have a certain level of Attention Deficit Disorder! LOL
I think this story resonates well because we all have a certain level of Attention Deficit Disorder! LOL
01-05-2015, 02:23 PM
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Great story Steve, off to my workshop to save all the models on a separate sd!! Last weekend i forgot my transmitter at the field and this weekend ip forgot the side door of my van open.......am getting old i guess!!
