what_stanger

I have a JR6102 (?) transmitter. If they battery voltage was at 8.9 and running out, would that have an adverse effect on my range to my plane?
I had some glitching with the antenna collapsed on the transmitter. My transmitter was very very very low on battery though (its been in the closet for over a year).

Its either that, or my antenna in the fuse of the plane(not on the outside at all) is causing a disturbance.

Any thoughts?

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Charge it and see if the range test works better. Running on such low power would definitely reduce the signal.

jetmech05

if your testing the transmitter and receiver and they were next to each other you could have been over driving the receiver causing the glitching. charge both the transmitter and receiver keep the antenna down and see if you can get 75 to 100 ft away and still respond to signals.
I run my antennas inside my fuselage, so unless you have carbon fiber fuse or pushrods your ok

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Why would you run your batteries that low in the first place? That is just asking for trouble. I just hit the field charger when it even begins to show indications of low charge levels. I use a high capacity TX battery so I get several flights out of one charge, but I still monitor it closely and charge once it reaches a certain limit.

It just isn't worth it to take a chance on getting 'one more flight' out of a questionable battery.. that is, of course, unless you just don't care if you smash your plane into some private property or somebody in the staging area.. your call, I guess. I hope you have good insurance or a good lawyer.

rangerstl

Strange:

#1 Come on, now... CHARGE IT. Nominal voltage is 9.8V 8.9 may cause glitches.

#2 Don't stand right on top of the plane, 30 feet with the antenna collapsed for a range check is good.

N

opjose

While running the battery low will indeed cause glitches....

Most of my better JR radios have a voltage meter, and they indicate the cutoff point where I should not be flying.

This occurs below 8.5 volts.

Above this the radio is "safe" and transmitting at the proper signal strength.

With a good battery, that is freshly charged, I usually fly all day before approaching this point.

skeeter_ca

Why would beeing close to a Rx cause problems. It's hard to believe you would overpower it as it receives a signal no matter how strong correct? I can't see how this would happen. What exactly is really happening? Is "overpower" just a slang term?

opjose

The transmitter's RF tends to be picked up by components that shouldn't be receiving the RF signal directly.

My cell phones cause the sound card on my computer to start producing noise whenever the cell phone does a "data check in"... same principal.

bruce88123

"Overpowering" is real. It's also called "swamping". Ever heard the expression "Too much of a good thing"? That applies here too. Just too much signal strength for the circuit filters to handle and as Opjose said all the other components within the RX become antennas too. Just lower the antenna and/or move the TX a few feet away. Is that asking too much?

But contrary to rangerstl, I expect a lot more than 30 feet during my range checks. 30 feet? That's pitiful.

what_stanger

wow. where to start.

First off, it was never a case of "one more flight". It was in my closet for over a year, I haven't flown in quite sometime. I lost the charger for the Tx, and was curious if a low battery would have an effect on the signal. I never fly below 9.5 volts let alone 8.xx

I am very cautious with voltage, I put a voltwatch on every plane I have. The last thing I want is a radio related crash.....I didn't build this plane, I'm not sure what is acceptable for servo chatter. 50 feet away with antenna collapsed and I have some chatter. I think the reciever is just beat.
I actually had some chatter 100-150ft range with antenna extended. I've never had that happen before. I've got a spare receiver to put in it, so I guess I'll do that. Probably end up running the antenna outside the plane, vertical stab better than beneath the fuse or difference negligible?


Just to clarify, it seems people thought I was trying to get away with not charging here, its not the case guys. I'm not trying to do shortcuts especially with a Tx below 9 volts. Thats just stupid.

what_stanger

I know a 6V battery for the Rx speeds the servo up and increases torque. Would it strengthen the range at all? Just curious.

bruce88123

No, most RX's have internal regulators and operate internally at around 3.3 volts (approx) anyway.

jetmech05

You don't need to move the antenna, unless you just want to. you orginally said you had a glitch. a glitch is an uncommanded movement of a servo. and a chatter is a servo making noise. such as a control in a bind not allowing free movement. what servo is chattering? after a year perhaps you have a bind somewhere.

what_stanger

sorry. Its chatter then. I'm not sure i think the elevator chatters pretty bad. I'm sure the others are doing it as well though. Its pretty noisy. Its got horrible range.

Shortymet55

Why don't you go buy a TX charger first. I mean even if the low voltage did not cause it, you said you lost your charger, and your gonna need a new one anyways. If it does solve your problem then thats good.

Big feet

Hi,
1 I range check, 80 strides Tx areial down, no problems, with PCM.
2 Are the servo pots just dirty after sitting for so long? Try moving the sticks end to end for a while and see if things get better.
3 Agree with swamping description above, can get this if Tx aerial extended right beside Rx.

Buy charger, charge batteries and test range again. If you are in any doubt about Rx either get it serviced, or bin it.

Hope you get this sorted,

Cheers,

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

You might go back and read your original post.

what_stanger

Read it, It states that I had the transmitter in my closet for a year.

I was getting ready to fly a 4*40 I've had for a long time. I didn't build the plane...I don't(didn't) know what condition the Rx was in. I have a Rx charger (futaba...doesn't matter), but didn't have the Tx charger. My buddy gave me one a couple days after the original post.

I wasn't asking the question to skimp on doing stuff the right way. I was trying to figure out if the signal would be bad because of low Tx voltage! Whats so hard to grasp about that. I planned on charging it and checking it as well....but I still wanted to know the answer to my question. Simple enough?

I charged it up and checked it again, and it was indeed still very crappy. The antenna was routed in the fuse, and I thought maybe that could be part of it. So yesterday I took out the old receiver (ppm) and put it in a brand new PCM and routed it outside the fuse near the tail. I did a good range check, it all checked out just fine. I had the plane up today and it flew great.


Not everybody is trying do stuff the cheap and dangerous way. Sorry if the original post looked bad. I only wanted to try to change the inevitable. I knew the receiver was probably bad, but I was hoping someone would say, YES 8.xx volts will make the range 10 feet!!!!.
I don't know if range is affected by voltage (I didn't know, rather) because I charge after every flight.