I'm reading here that using a whip antenna (effectively raising antenna higher off ground) or raising model 2-3 feet off ground will improve my radio range problems and/or is the proper technique for range checking.

Bryan, "Placing the aircraft in an inert stand that holds your aircraft 2 - 3 feet off the ground ------does absolutely nothing to "improve your radio range problems." All it does is place your aircraft up out of possible "re-bar, pipes, wires, anything else that may cause anomalies while your doing your range check. You must understand it is very difficult to have the same environment for testing so you can compare what I say you should get in distance, compared to some other quoted distances. The distances I have stated are just observations I've made over time. The (1848 foot distance with a fully extended trans ant.), is a distance I define as a minimum for any turbine powered model that I would fly or own!! That distance I would require regardless of type of receiver PPM or PCM!! No one person has an empirical magic distance. There are people flying turbines at over 200 miles per hour that could barely get a lockout free range check of 150 feet (JR Trans & Rec. antenna removed). One hundred and fifty feet (ant. removed) equals about 1320 feet with the antenna fully extended. And of course they had the model sitting on it's tires on a taxi-way! What they are doing is comparing other range tests they have done with other successfully flown aircraft. Not a bad standard for them as long as they stay consistent ----!!

Bryan, you have a good standard to work with, even if you don't realize it ------ if you can predictably find the range you are getting with a "known problem radio" you then know what won't work! In a way it's a measure that is good to know, because now you know for sure what is unacceptable!! I believe those guys flying with range checks of barely (150 / 1320) feet are living on the edge, to close to the edge for my pocket book ----------! The fact is you've proved the PCM / PPM thing, (see below) if I remember correct you said you were getting something more than the 150 feet, well you were using straight FM not PCM. They have been getting small Glitches all along they just don't "see them" the way you have.

I have quoted standards which I know will work universally and they are high, higher than most manufactures would ever think they had to set for every unit they sold!! That's why the distances they quote are much shorter than can be achieved!! Remember it's your 5 to 10 grand in the air not there's. If you crash because of a poor RF link you will never be able to prove it and even if you could you won't get any reimbursement from any manufacture. So work to get the best RF link you can because it's your time and money!!!!


My understanding is that the transient servo "jitters" I get will not occur with PCM although the loss of signal during that time, remains. I guess it's still better to have neutral servos during brief signal loss than dancing servos while flying at 150 MPH!! Bryan

The whole reason the radio manufactures came up with PCM was to shut us up about "Glitches" Shoot 25 years ago FM was new and supposed to be better than AM, well a Glitch is a Glitch is a Glitch AM or FM. Maybe FM was slightly better than AM cause it is not quite as susceptible to some forms of EMI. Then they were able to build in a NO movement reaction to a momentary Glitch. We call it PCM, they call it a God send -----.

If you really want to see the difference, between PCM and PPM ask your buddy with his new JR 10X to program in fail-safes in his pattern plane or Jet or racer and set fail-safe for a full throw command, lets say to an outside snap roll !! Unless he is very very confident with his RF link, and knows it's very strong, he won't do it !!!

The reason is with the JR 10X whoever wrote the software program removed the "time delay" to execution of preset fail-safe positions. The 10X transmitting to a PCM receiver will Glitch just like a PPM / FM, in the correct situation. If the RF link is strong you might not see it "Glitch to an outside snap roll very often" but if it happens to be he has a weak RF link, watch him do the "Glitch dance" kinda fun it a way --------.

Until just recently no one flying a turbine bird would ever program in fail-safe on the throttle channel to a shutdown position. They didn't want to take the chance of a "Glitch flame-out." I only did it a couple of times just for grins and then only with RF links that I new to be very very strong. Shoot now with the great new software from Jet Cat all of us are programming in fail-safe shutdowns because Jet Cat has given us the time delay back!!
Lee ----------