Alex7403

Hello,

Attention to the right stick on the transmitter, its down.
The spring or something inside does not return it to the center.

During flight I felt a knock inside the transmitter and the airplane started to fly funny and before I could land it safely it caused a significant damage to my 4*40.
If that is not enough I cannot fly the rest of my airplanes, since they are on that transmitter…

I didn’t use it that much, 10 gallons of fuel since I bought it a year and a half ago, there should be still warranty.

I see some 5, 7, 10 year old transmitters being used at our field without any kind of malfunction.

Thoughts and questions:
- crashes so far happened because of mistakes from my side, this one is not!!!

- I spent $150 top dollars on this one, it was not cheap , Tower Hobbies 6XM Radio!!!

- This sort of things does not suppose to happen!!!

- I’m really off course with this kind of malfunction, it can happen again.

- As I look at the transmitter its identical to futaba 6EX 2.4GHz !!!

Thanks
Alex

Allfat

My Feedback: (1)

Open up the back and see if the spring just came off. It could be an easy fix.

brett65

My Feedback: (18)

I thought I fried my JR when I hooked it up backwards, but I opened it up and it was just a fuse. Call tower and ask them about it too.

doubledee

My Feedback: (4)

Have you talked to Tower Hobbies yet? If not, why not? Tower is usually more than willing to take care of any problems buyers have with their products. Give them a call, be polite and they will probably solve your problem.

Alex7403

Yes I called Tower and the warranty dpt, they said to send it for repair.
Question is why wont it happen again after the repair??

alfredbmor

And... who is going to repair your plane?

Happily I am a JR user since the 80's, never have had a problem like that, but yes I have crashed some planes because of the pilots fault.

opjose

Hate to tell you, but that and others in the same price range are "low cost" TX's.

That means the manufacturers take a lot of shortcuts to keep their prices down while their margins up... e.g. very "toy like" plastic stick mechanics.

Once you are well into the 260.00+ range the materials used on the sticks and gimbals BEGIN to improve.

And once you are over 500.00 things improve dramatically... e.g. metal shell cases, metal gimbals, high resolution potentiometers, etc.

That is yet another reason why it pays to get a higher end TX to start with, one that can handle many different planes...

Alex7403

The even more sad part is that the $260 Futaba 6EX is identical to this Tx, even the serial numbering system....
my guess that this sort of things will start happening to Futaba 6EX's soon.

opjose

Yup, it's the old "product line bump", shifting your marketing of older cheaper materials around to become new "enhanced" ones, so as to adjust your pricing/profits...

Throw in a new circuit... that does something different.. ( e.g. DSM ) and you can really go to town as a manufacturer.

da Rock

You know, I've never seen a house brand that was lower quality than the mfg's model that matched it.

It usually costs a mfg more to use lower quality components than he can recoup in the sale of the specially made stuff. Almost always, what's different is the "makeup" or decorating. There will be less of that.

For Futaba to cast "lower quality" interior structure would cost them big bucks just to produce the different mold. And the savings in plastic could be how much ??????

As for cheaper springs?????

What broke inside that Tower TX was probably as good as Futaba puts in their other TXs.

JohnW

My Feedback: (6)

Yeah, you got two threads now on this. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7978213/tm.htm

Do what I and others told you to do and check to see if the spring just popped off. I guess if it really irritates you the device failed, get a better radio. But even then, no guarantees.

bruce88123

Hey, stuff happens to the best of products. Haven't you ever seen a brand new Lexus in for warranty work? Stuff happens sometimes and you just need to deal with it but I am sorry it cost you a plane. A simple lost centering spring would have left the radio usable even if inconvenient.

Alex7403

im not gonna open it, then they will say no its your fault you broke it.

what do you mean "get a better radio" is it that low quality???

second thread: i forgot how to get there and after i spoke with tower and warranty dpt, which are not responsible for anything except for their no good product, now i'm ranting!!!!

yes thats what im afraid of, with my Futaba 6EX......

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ex+broke+stick
http://www.rccanada.ca/rccforum/show...956#post545956
Thanks A.T.

Alex

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Opening the back of the radio is not something that they would say "you broke". Taking the back of the radio off is a user serviceable area and you opening it is not going to void your warranty in any way. If I were in your shoes I would at least remove the back to verify if a spring has simply slipped off, or if it's actually broken. To be honest, it's more than likely a spring that has just slipped off. Things like this happen and do not have any bearing on the "quality" of the overall product. I have a $600+ radio that had the spring pop off when I first got it. It was a simple 2 minute fix to remove the back and put the spring back in place.

Ken

jester_s1

Stuff breaks. You can't do anything about it. That's just how this hobby is.

Alex7403

this is what i dont agree with, it should not brake like thi from the inside!!!!!!!
its poor quality for a very high price!!!

Alex

bruce88123

This would be YOUR opinion. MY opinion is that you are wrong. Unfortunate but true. Don't mistake this for me/us being unsympathetic with you. We're just more realistic. BTW, $160 isn't a high price. You bought an introductory level radio at a bargain price. You get what you pay for and even then stuff can still happen.

da Rock

Yes it is poor quality of a component. And that is why they give you a warranty for "materials and workmanship".

Would you rather manufacturers don't promise to fix what they sell?

They and everyone else knows that even quality things break. And they told you up front they'd fix it.

AS FOR OPENING THE BACK...... Look in your manual. In most there will be a section that explains how to increase tension on your TX sticks. They explain the proceedure. And it starts with opening the back. It is an accepted practice with our R/C transmitters.

bruce88123

Also, when the spring perch in my Futaba broke all it needed was a 20 cent part. If you can't fix it, send it in. Sheeeesh.

Alex7403

What i'm afraid of is that the $220 Futaba 6EX comes from the same place and has the saame serial numbering system and there for will act out the same some day......
and it was more then crapy $150..... [:@]

or even better question: was it worth these $150 or not??????

Alex

bruce88123

Even the 6EX is NOT a high end or even mid-level radio. It's up to you to decide what a system is worth to you I guess. I've seen other brands charge more money and deliver less so it's up to you. You still don't seem to understand that this type of thing happens even in more expensive radios of ALL brands. HIGH dollar radios that have the LCD screens simply go dead, sticks come apart, antennas come apart and all kinds of other things. It just simply happens and the ONLY way to avoid it completely is to pack up your stuff and go home and stop flying.

opjose

Yup, there are two complaints in one...

1 - That it broke to begin with.

2 - Crappy construction.

While the two tend to go hand in hand, a high end system will also break as you've pointed out... though the high end TX is more likely to go longer between servicing requirements because of improved components...

da Rock

So your TX broke. That means they all will?

Nope

At least half the radios at the fields I fly at are Futabas. I don't know of a one that broke at all, spring perch or anything. Does that mean Futabas never break?

Nope

alfredbmor

There is no reason to fight, if your radio is with in the guarantee, sending it will solve your problem.
If you are just buying a new Futaba 6EX (or you are thinking on buying one) and you are thinking that it will have the same problem, send it back (if you already bought it) and claim your money or upgrade that TX. and problem solved.
If you want us to know of the bad quality of their products, well, I guess that Opjose explained very well and it is very clear to many of us that you get what you have paid for.
Fortunately for you there are many brands out there, choose the one that make you feel comfortable and problem solved.
You already have many opinions here; there is no lack of information at least.

Regards

Alfred.

Alex7403

i was thinking of waiting to get a high end Tx for the next generation of 2.4 GHz with the antenna goes inside the Tx, that was the logic of buying the 6XM, the Futaba 6EX i got as a birthday present.

now i hope they will live long enough so i wont buy another low end Tx.

you get what you pay for i guess...

Thanks guys, well i didnt buy it from you so not at you i'm angry...

Alex