receiver problem?
 

I've got a Hobbico Electristar Select and have been enjoying the heck out of flying it.
Last week I took out the electronics to re-route some wires and neaten up the innards.
Now when I turn everything on, the throttle stick is moving the elevator (the elevator stick does nothing). Rudder and Alierons are OK
It's got a Futaba radio & receiver that came with it as a RTF.

I cleared the radio and it didn't help. I checked and double checked all the connections and all the batteries are charged.
I think the receiver might be bad.

Any thoughts?

RE: receiver problem?
 

When you say your rerouted the wires what did you do with the receiver antenna. Did you shorten it or double it back on itself??? If so this will drastically impair the operation of the radio. The antennas on these radios are at a set length (~39") because that is where then need to be for the proper operation of the radio. But shortening it you can affect the way it operates.

Ken

RE: receiver problem?
 

The antenna is right back where it was and how it's supposed to be.
That's something I didn't think of, but it's Ok. Thanks.

I just routed some of the servo wires so the inner compartment wasn't such a rat's nest.

RE: receiver problem?
 

Did you un-plug the wires from the Rx ?
if so you might have them mixed up (plugged into wrong channel)

RE: receiver problem?
 

Then I would have to agree with E-Mo. You probably didn't get all the servos hooked back into the proper connections in the receiver. Double check and make sure that they are plugged in correctly.

Ken

RE: receiver problem?
 

Ken...what ch# on Rx goes to which sx lead
I am not familar with FUT set up.
might help him.

RE: receiver problem?
 

Well, I would but I'm not familiar with Futaba either. And I can't seem to find an online manual for that radio. Did the plane come with a manual for the radio itself?? If so it should list in there where each servo should be connected. If nothing else, you can figure it by trial and error. Plug a servo in and see what control on the radio moves it.

Ken

RE: receiver problem?
 

Futaba and Hitec as well: CH1 ailerons, CH2 elevator, CH3 throttle, CH4 rudder.

RE: receiver problem?
 

Thanks for posting that John!!

Ken

RE: receiver problem?
 

Hobbico receivers, at least some models, have channel assignments that are different from those of Futaba's. I don't recall the specifics, but following RCKen's advice by plugging in the servos and observing what control surfaces move will likely solve the problem.

DaveB

RE: receiver problem?
 

Sounds like two servo plugs are in the wrong slots and one of them is upside down.

The elevator does nothing because that plug is upside down.
The throttle stick is moving the elevator servo because the elevator servo plug is in the throttle slot on the RX.

Beginners, there are some simple ways to beat this Futaba problem. It is actually a problem with all RXs that label the slots with numbers. Be advised that some brands of radio's label their RXs with names on the slots. An amazingly simple yet very useful thing to do for beginners and experts alike. Anyway.......

Learn what the numbers mean and write it on something and stick it on your TX. You might also stick it into the airplane. And on the wall of your shop. ;) Or just memorize them. And remember that the numbers mean different things by brand (of those brands that don't feel like printing names instead of numbers that is). Or if you're a beginner, consider starting out with a brand that puts names on things.

So how to keep from mixing up the plugs...............
Start from the servo. Figure out what it drives first. Keeping that in mind, trace the servo wire to it's plug. Now you know what the plug does and what RX slot it should go in. Look at the slot names and plug it in. If it doesn't want to go in easily, there is a reason. The plugs either have tabs (A good Futaba idea as they have tabs to keep you from using them on other brands of RXs and to keep you from plugging the plug in upside down) or a shape that matches the plug hole. If you have a Futaba servo look at the plug and you'll see the very prominent tab. Any other brand, don't rely on it's shape, simply plug it in the easy way and see if the servo works. If it doesn't then unplug, turn over and plug back in. After plugging in the first one, plug all the rest into their correct plug slots with the three servo wire colors matching the wire colors on the first plug.

It's often a good idea when you're installing servos to write on the wood somewhere around that servo what it does. Like "rudder" beside the rudder servo. Of course, if you've got a Futaba radio, you might want to write whatever number means rudder. And then maybe write rudder also.

RE: receiver problem?
 

On Futaba you need to look and see where the #s start. For ex. some Futaba rx Ch#1 is next to the battery and other it is at the opposite end.

RE: receiver problem?
 

Yeah, everything is hooked up correctly. I checked & double checked.
The plugs on my Rx only allow one way to plug in and CH1 ailerons, CH2 elevator, CH3 throttle, CH4 rudder are all in the right spots.

Maybe the reciever is bad [:o]

RE: receiver problem?
 

try taking one of the other servo wires, like what is plugged into ch#3 and put in Ch#2 to see if that works. If it does then I would suspect that the servo wire or servo on ch#2 is bad. If it doesn't work then possible bad rx

RE: receiver problem?
 

just reverse channel 2 & channel 3 and see if it works

RE: receiver problem?
 

Hey flyer495th you said it easier than me. But I get paid by the words.

RE: receiver problem?
 

You mentioned what the TX is? Does it allow programming of functions?

If you have everything plugged in correctly, and no problems with the TX programming, yeah, the receiver is.

So whatta you got to lose. Swap those two plugs. And let us know what happens.

RE: receiver problem?
 

If he has the Electristar RTF package then he should have the Futaba 4EXA radio. No programing, just a bare bones radio.

Ken

RE: receiver problem?
 

If he has the 4EXA which comes with that package then it is a basic computer type with multiple airplane storage, Expo, endpoints, V tail, elevon and so on.

Looked but could not confirm that this Tx has selectable stick mode like the 7EXA. If in fact it does then that could be the problem as inadvertant selection of the wrong stick mode among the four avalible also cause similar strange problems as this.

John

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXKJD8**#tech

RE: receiver problem?
 

phoenix426,

I made a laminated chart for the channels and hung it up on my shop wall. Remember when you get over 4 channels 1 and 6 can be used as aileron channels and then you don't need a Y-Harness. If using a computer radio it is much easier to trim them with seperate channels. Channel 5 should be the flap channel. The rest of the channels can pretty much be assigned to whatever you want by use of just programing it into the radio.

Guy's I think I'm right, but correct me if not,

Gibbs

RE: receiver problem?
 

My bad. Sorry about that. I thought it was a non-computer radio.

Ken

RE: receiver problem?
 

I figured it out. Actually, thanks goes to one of the airplane gurus at Hobbytown USA.
Turns out this basic radio has "Modes". It was on "mode 1" which I guess puts the elevator on the left stick.
I've never heard of such a thing, but hey, I'm pretty new to this hobby.
It's now back on "mode 2" and working fine. I've got some tweaking to do, but it's flying great agian.

Thank you all for your input.
This forum is incredible!

RE: receiver problem?
 

Here are the modes for RC radios.

Ken