ORIGINAL: Adui
ORIGINAL: bruce88123
ORIGINAL: thedr
I guess it depends on if one feels comfortable doing it or not.
If you're a competent soldering, no problem. If not, well...
Aimlessly soldering one back together can lead to trouble. Seen it, been there, done that. You have to be very sure of the correct manufacturer recommended length. Anyone know that off the top of their head?
That may well depend on the manufacturer and the RX model.
That will actually be solely based on the frequency. The antenna must have the correct ELECTRICAL length to mathc the frequency. Assuming RX's do not use any base loading in the circuit to shorten the antenna, it will be a simple math problem to determine the correct length. That said its much easier to order one pre cut, unless you are a math whiz AND know or have access to the formula. (The one question left is are these antennas based on 1/2 or 1 full wavelenght, or is it a more complicated 5/8ths or 1/4??)
(Sorry, ham radio dayz coming back to me, I used to build antennas for fun! [X(] NO I will not build an RX antenna for you Im not THAT good..)
There are OTHER ways of loading the antenna that can cause the length to differ from a standard length. There is also one of the high dollar Futaba RX's that they came out with a mod to GREATLY change the length. So as I said before it depeds on the mfg and model of the RX. And possible hidden damage (cracked crystals and the like) still make sending it in a better choice on many occasions.
Costs? Review this:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_1131517/tm.htm for information on this and other problems.
http://www.tpub.com/content/neets/14.../14182_218.htm