Rob2160

Just thought I'd post this for anyone interested....

I bought my Kraft radio in 1980 and it performed flawlessly for 20 years.

Since 2000 it has been unused.

After a few cycles the battery seems to be working normally..

Tonight I tested the RX with a servo and everything still works.. .

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xULHFUN89qk[/youtube]

I need to replace the broken RX antenna, can anyone advise how long it should be for 40 Mhz?

karolh

It's amazing isn't it just how far we have come regarding our hobby, as looking back on the stuff we used back then makes one wonder how did we ever get our models to fly and for as long as they did. My 1978 Aero Sport 4 AM radio from Hobby Shack now Hobby People still works, but certainly has little or no resemblance to our current radios. Oh yes, we certainly have progressed right across the hobby's spectrum.

fiery

My Feedback: (2)

One (1) metre.

Rob2160

Great.. thank you.

Another question please.. do you think this RX will work with the Kraft?

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...40Mhz_v2_.html

I ordered one already.. - happy to blow 20 bucks on the gamble it might work...

TFF

I never could afford a Kraft My first bout in the hobby in the mid 70s-mid 80s; I had, actually still do, a Futaba 4 channel with the chrome sticks. My mentor had Kraft so when I returned about 15 years ago, I got some nice Krafts for nostalgia. They are still good and legal; and the Futaba still works too; I wish it was narrow band.

Rob2160

yes, I am amazed it still works..

I used to get $10 per week pocket money as a teenager, This radio cost me $700 (asking for cash at birthdays and christmas helped also.)

Didn't know they were still legal, mine is 40 Mhz so that may be out here in Australia, I don't know.

Mine was 10 Khz spacing when I first bought it.. after the last service the technician put 20 Khz on it and told me it just doesn't meet the 10 spacing requirement but is otherwise perfect to use..

Pic of the module removed with the 20 Khz sticker attached.

TFF

Dont know if it will work but I have tested mine with a JR shift Hitec FM OK. My radios are in nostalgia airplanes with Kraft receivers and servos. Keeping good servos is the hardest part.

Dave McDonald

My Feedback: (19)

So your old 1980 Kraft is FM?

Or did you upgrade it to FM?

Rob2160

Thanks for the reply, I will let you know when I get mine..

I managed to test the original servos today and they all work great..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMFvPE_yhmo[/youtube]

Rob2160

I bought it new with FM 40 Mhz - it is all orginal. It was one of the first FMradios at the club..

My first radio was a Futaba AM on 29 Mhz, after out growing my first trainer, I built a nice OS45 powered sports plane, flew it regularly until someone accidentally turned on a radio on the same frequency and it spiralled into the ground..

After that I was determined never to repeat that scenario so I bought the best radio available in Australia at the time.. It was built to order and came directly from the USA. Almost nobody else was on 40 Mhz at the club and the Kraft never let me down in more than 20 years of flying..

TFF

All mine are or were retrofitted with factory Kraft FM except one which is a non module radio and it is narrow AM. Kraft had a leg up as it offered duel conversion receivers that the pattern guys used back in 77 and had FM for the ham guys then too. Kraft was also the brand used as liaison for the AMA to prove to the FCC it would work. Pretty easy 2+2 except for the selling of the company which killed everything. I even have two FM 6 channel Spectrum radios; I never knew they made the FM modules for those.

Dave McDonald

My Feedback: (19)

That's very interesting that Kraft had FM available in OZ back in 1980. Here in the USA, I had a Kraft Series 79 on 72 mhz that was only available on AM. I don't remember exactly when Kraft offered FM on 72 mhz, but it seems like it was much later on.

TFF

I think Kraft was gone in 85 in any original form. KMI bought all the surplus. I dont know if they acted as Kraft with the surplus for a period. I do have some KMI narrow AM recievers that are the same as the Krafts with a different sticker. I have a Channel master set and they were out 82-83; the mags were all impressed I remember. I bet most people saw FM as an unnecessary expense of the time.

Hossfly

Kraft had 72 MHZ on the 6 FM channels that we had in 1971. I owned a Hobby Shop in Mt. Prospect, Il opened in 1970. They were NOT the same channels we have today as the 72MHZ channels still operating today came on board in November, 1981. It was a bit later that we got to start using the first 25 channels. They filtered in up until about 1991 when all transmitters had to be narrow band. Some tried to use the old wide band receivers with the newer transmitters and found that was rather expensive as models went into tailspins. HA!

I was a CL Stunt competition flier, along with Class C Free Flight and Outdoor HL glider. As a Hobby shop owner I had to learn RC. I did with a Hinode 4 channel on 27 mhz.
I imported them for a while. The FCC had problems with my import procedures and cut me off.

In 1971 I accquired a Kraft Series 71 (72 Mhz.) with 4 wire servos. In 1972, I acquired a 72 mhz Series 72 Kraft 7 Channel with 3 wire servos, and 2 receivers all on dual frequency. My next Kraft was a series 75. It was not to my satisfaction as well as the 72 which was a sweetheart. By that time the Futaba and - what the heck was it - hit the market and Kraft and Proline were on their way out.

For those that wish to become up-to-date on RC times from prior to 1970 and to now, especially the phase-in of the new "Channels" from 1981 to 1991, take a look - check in an AMA MA magazine, look on page 8 or there abouts, for the names of STAFF, find the name, Bob Aberle, Technical Editor, for the magazine and contact him. He can supply everything one should / want to know about those war-games with the FCC. It was FUN! [:@] It was NOT FREE!

Rob2160

Yes there were a few FM radios starting to appear, a friend of mine bought a Futaba J Series shortly after I got my Kraft. (a pic of a J series below)

I know we had 29 Mhz AM and 40 Mhz FM in 1980 in Australia, I didn't buy another radio until 1990 and it was a 6 Ch Hitec on 36 Mhz FM. I only ever used it in 2 channel slope soarers and it stopped working long ago - the switches seized completely due to corrosion

The Kraft lived in exactly the same environment for longer and shows no sign of deterioration at all.

My radio came with nice metal stick ends and I used the radio with a genuine Kraft plastic tray (Much to the amusement of the other club members - I was the youngest member of the club and the only one who was flying with a TX tray - it was all good natured with comments like "Here comes Hanno" or "Get yer Peanuts... chips... softdrinks")

I accidentally broke the tray in 82 and went back to normal thumb flying.. but the metail sticks were too slippery for me.. in 1983 I travelled to Geelong in Victoria and visited Kraft Systems Australia and bought the plastic stick ends that are currently on the radio.. They gave much better grip for thumb flying.

In 1990 I again visited the Kraft Service centre in Melbourne (I can't remember what name they were trading as at the time - that was the last time I had the radio serviced)

This video is several years old now but shows the Hitec radio..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8DU7WD8ra0[/youtube]

modeltronics

My Feedback: (27)

I am flying a Kraft Spectrum 6. It used to be on 53 mHz but I converted it to 2.4 gHz.

A pic of it with it's short antenna is in this thread:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10...m.htm#10097051

Rob2160

That is fabulous, enjoyed reading your thread. Good job on the conversion. I remember seeing that model radio when it came out.

Thanks for sharing.

Rob

Rob2160

The synthesized receivers arrived last week and I have tested them with the old Kraft..

The single conversion models don't seem that great but the 9 channel dual conversion model is excellent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXsIOjDy5Gc