Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

OK Guys....I need some more help (Please). I have never actually built an actual fuel airplane myself. I have a few electrics that I seem to do ok on but I have had this Seagul PC-9 3/4 complete for over a year now. I have a Futaba 7CAP receiver with compatable servos. I am having a problem getting the engine started but that was what I was origionally going to work on when I went outside today. It's a newer OS 46FX motor that has not been started in years. One of you nice RC'rs was nice enough to give me some suggestions on what to try to get it started.

My new problem is that I can't get my Radio and servos to work. The Radio is on and the green light on the receiver is also on. I double checked my connections in the receiver nd everything seems to be ok. The light was a little dim but on ( could the battery be to low to opperate the servos) ? I am charging it now ( how long should I charge?) The other thing is I use the same Futaba 7CAP to fly my electric Foamy EDGE 540 and it seems to work just fine.

I can't find my 7CAP manual anywhere. I know where I put it but it's just not there. I think when my kids were cleaning they through it out. My radio is now set to PPM instead of PCM does that matter between the electric and fuel planes? IF any of you have detailed info on what I should try I sure would appreciate it. I have been working on this thing on and off for ever and would love to get it running finiallly. My kids are just at the age where they can learn to fly with a buddy box. They are 10 and 11 years old and I plan on teaching them on an electric trainer just for the savings in price WHEN a crash happens with one of them.

Plus in addition to your help if any of you have a link as to where I can download the 7CAP manual I would also really appreciate that. I can't find it on the Futaba website.

Thank you once again for all of your great help.
Dave

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

If you have a PCM RX and are transmitting PPM it will not work. What model/type RX are you using? If TX & RX don't match then simply reprogram the TX modulation.

Is the RX crystal the original crystal or have you changed it? Trying to decide if you may have a WRONG conversion crystal in the RX.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Your radio has to be set to PCM or PPM depending on what receiver you are using, if it is not set right it won't work.
Here is the instruction manual for your radio:
http://www.futaba-rc.com/manuals/manual-7c.html

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Also batteries tend to die when you don't use them for a while. If its been over a year since you used that battery it may be toast, especially if its Nicd

Bruce was dead on. [link=http://www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.com/pulse-position-modulation.html] This page will give you an idea of the difference between PPM and PCM for future reference. [/link]


Was it working OK before it hibernated for a year? If so, then you know all the equipment is compatible so there must be a setting changed or a dead battery.


If you have changed receivers or crystal you may want to take a look at the link below.



[link=http://www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.com/rc-frequencies.html#3]Here are some other guide lines for mixing and matching Tx and Rx .[/link]

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Check your link Wings, didn't work for me.

OK< working now.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Thanks Bruce!

I forgot the L at the end of htm. gets ya every time!



[link=http://www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.com/pulse-position-modulation.html]Try this one...[/link]

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Who in the world ever told you that? I had a plane and radio put up in a garage for 5 years without touching it and the batteries in it were still good after charging them. Receiver and transmitter batteries.

If your statement is true then all the batteries in a radio outfit that have sat around in a hobby shop for over a year could be toast then!

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Batteries self discharge over time, Nicad are among the worst. IF they discharge too far they can present problems when trying to recharge them.
If you got a good charge and measured good capacity when discharging your batteries should be fine. Still it doesn't hurt to check them before each flight.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Both NiMh and NiCad self discharge just sitting around, NiMh twice as bad as NiCad. NiCad is more imune to damage due to storage, if you slow charge either NiMh or NiCad for 16 hours at 0.1C and check for capacity. Right off the bat, if any cell did not come up to at least 1.1 volt or higher, it is toast and; if one cell is dead the rest are not far behind. However, it the receiver pack came up to around 5 volts and the transmitter to over 10 volts, then do a discharge test. If either pack does not provide at least 80% of rated capacity in mah when discharged at 0.3C or less, it is time to replace them. As an aside, NiCad are quite a bit better than NiMh in all but 2 catagories. NiMh has more energy storage capability per unit mass than NiCad and are less toxic to the environment when discarded. In all other respects, NiCad rules as they will last twice as many charge/discharge cycles than NiMh, withstand more abuse such as deep discharge or overcharge and have a lower internal impedance. The old myth that NiCad's suffer from a memory is just that, a myth. Both NiMh and NiCad can and do suffer from voltage depression which can often be corrected with a slow charge occasionally, a slow charge being defined as charging at 0.1C for 16 hours. Check out www.rcbatteryclinic.com for some good info on the care of all types of batteries.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

No body told me that. I have experienced it. I am glad your batteries lasted five years without touching them. That is great. But I have had one or two battery packs that just will not hold a charge when I had them laying around for a couple years. I was offering a suggestion for him to check the batteries as this may be the problem. No need to argue here, the goal is to help the man get is equipment going and a dead battery is a possibility.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Thank you all for your help I am going to mess with it more tomorrow. I think I just need to switch the radio to pcm to get it to work. I use the PPM for my electric planes.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

I'm heading off to bed but I decided to give it another shot . You all know I have the 7CAP radio my receiver is the HiTec Supreme IIS Dual Conversion receiver so it will work with positive or negative. I have the HiTec dual conversion crystal in it also. I Can't seem to figure it out. I have everything fully charged even the battery now. I ran a check on the power of them but somethings not letting the servos work. ??????? I will try another crystal in the morning and see what happens then. The receiver is almost brand new never ever flown. The light on the receiver is bright green when the battery is connected to the switch, but still nothing. Thanks again, I will let you know how it goes . If all else fails I have an old receiver I can try.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

dpsa98----Is your Hitec Supreme II the newer auto shift version or the older one that has the plug with a pigtail in it. If it is the older version you will have to move the plug to the outside two pins in the slot that it is plugged into. The auto shift does this automatically(from JR to Futaba/Hitec). And double check that you have the same channel crystal in the rx and the tx.

Good luck

Curt

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

If your using the Hitec Supreme IIS you need to go back to PPM.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Also sometimes with Futaba and a different reciever you have to use different plugs for stuff. Such as your ail. might plug into your throttle slot and your throttle into something such as elev. If this is the same system you had in an elec. it will not work. Your glow recievers are diff. from your elec. As they use the ESC to power your motor. They are just different. But would think that maybe you just need to change slots with your batt plug. Maybe leave an elev. plugged up and try moving the batt. plug into different slots and see if you can get one to work. Also I think you have to have a switch on your plane you don't want to leave your batt. plugged straight to your reciever. I guess you cleared the reciever with the radio to be able to input the new plane. Not just a whole lot that it can be. Hope you get it fixed. But if your taking it out of an elec. plane and trying to use in a glow it won't work. At least i don't think it will someone should know more about that than me though and maybe someone will post to confirm or not. Good luck.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

It will work, whether it's glow, electric, gas, etc. The receiver doesn't care what it's installed in. The only difference is where the power comes from, either straight from the battery pack, or via the esc.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

It's the newer supreme with the auto shift. I am going to take the whole thing out of the plane itslef and just use one extra servo I have and start from scratch with just getting the one servo to work. Then if I get it going I am going to program it for my gas plane first and my electric planes second. I will let you know what happens. I may give it a try after breakfast. It wont hurt anything if I just connect the battery straight to the receiver while I'm just trying these tests will it?

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Nope... Done that a hundred times myself...no trouble at all. Just don't short anything out!!


Curt

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Alright guys,,,,,here's what I have done so far. I took the receiver out of the plane and connected one of my extra servos to it and just the battery with no switch. I started from scratch with the radio settings and I set my gas nitro plane as my number 1 plane on PPM mode. At first I got nothing but I turned everything off and sitched the way I had the plug for the servo plugged into the receiver and presto......IT WORKED....YEAHHHH. After my poker tournament this afternoon I will work on getting all my control surfaces working then get a jump on trying to get the enging started again.
Thanks again guys,,,,,,,,,

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

So, you are saying that you had your servos plugged in backwards?? Naughty, naughty;);). Glad you got it figured out though.

Regards

Curt

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

One thing to note, and it sound like you may have stumbled on it by accident. When switching from PCM to PPM or visa-versa you have to shut the transmitter off and turn it back on before it will work. Same thing when switching from one model to another if one is PPM and one is PCM.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Your totally right about shutting off the radio when switching between pcm and ppm. That was one of my mistakes. I have been trying to get this plane flying for so long and get everything working right so I could take it out for a test flight but ir just would not happen for me. Thanks to all of your help in this post I have all of my control surfaces workng now and I even got the engine running. It sounds a little rough with a few skips here and there but thats nothing an adjustment and the break in period should not fix. Now I need to go join the club thats over an hour away from my house since they shut down the 2 other clubs that were within 20 minutes away.......Later this week I will take a video of it in the driveway and post it here so any of you who care to take a peak at it can. Thanks again guys......your all great!!!!!!!

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Yes, please post pictures, we love pictures.

RE: Help getting Radio and servos to work please
 

Found 3 clubs within 25 miles of Lodi:

TOKAY RADIO CONTROL MODELERS
6.97 miles
MARK SHERRILL
108 SILVER ASPEN CT
GALT CA 95632
Phone: 209.745.7758

DELTA VALLEY MODELERS
11.52 miles
TIM CASSIDY
393 E MARKET ST
STOCKTON CA 95202
Phone: 209-462-3920

CENTRAL VALLEY FLYERS
22.15 miles
MICHAEL MATTHEWS
1152 THOMAS CT
RIPON CA 95366
Phone: 209-599-4770

Of course one or more of these may be the closed fields you mentioned.