2strokes

My Feedback: (1)

Decided to post this here BECAUSE people at our flying field including myself have had serious receiver failures consequently making lawn darts out of our planes. Within the last 2 weeks alone there have been 3 Futaba R127DF -72 receivers completely fail, one was caught during a pre-flight check and the plane was saved but the other 2 ended with total destruction of our planes.
I'm NOT bashing Futaba, I've always been a huge fan of their products but this certainly has me considering going another route.
Here's what is happening, when these receivers start going crazy, all of the servos will start twitching and within seconds the servos start going into full rate spasms and there is absolutely NOTHING one can do to recover the plane.
It's like some demon has ahold of your radio ....
What concerns me most is that I bought my radio/flight pack last month but it was well over a year old and had never been opened or used. The other receivers that failed are recent purchases with very current ( newest models) radio/flght packages!
This alone makes me think that Futaba's R127DF has some SERIOUS design flaws, and before anyone ask, the batteries were fully charged and none of these were ever involved in a previous crash either.
Anyway .. that's the story. If any of you folks are having problems with this particular receiver please post. And for the ones that are running this receiver and have NOT had any problems YET ... please be careful and do a good pre-flight before take off paying special attention to the warning signs like twitching.

2strokes

Flyboy Dave

My Feedback: (21)

You're getting some serious hits and glitches from somewhere....no doubt. []

FBD.

CrashPro

My Feedback: (1)

I've put 6 planes together over the last 2 years and used ONLY that receiver......no problems like that whatsoever

2strokes

My Feedback: (1)

UPDATE:
One of our guys talked with a tech from Futaba and was told that the problem was PROBABLY a cracked ceramic filter.
He went on to say that it was very common and that vibration alone will cause this to happen. My flying buddy told him that all of these had been securely wrapped in foam and 2 of them had never even seen air.
The response from him was that they would check the receiver if sent in and would replace the faulty parts or a complete replacement of the receiver.
I mean, what else could be expected out of the end user? No other advise was given either. Satisfied ... NOT [:@]
When a plane crashes because of this I suspect Futaba can then claim it was because the receiver had been involved with a crash that caused the failure. HUH ?
Not Cool, all other brand receivers work on this field without problems including different models of Futaba.
Granted, if you fly, you crash sooner or later ... that's a given. Was just hoping for a better response.
You can bet that all of these receivers will be pulled from our planes.

2strokes

cougar347

Sorry to hear about your problems. I use mostly Futaba products and I have been using these receivers in most of my 3D birds and have never experienced any problems similar to what you're describing. I've bought them new from Futaba, I've even bought a couple new ones on e-bay and they all work fine. I'd be very interested in hearing the final outcome of this after Futaba has a chance to look at them. Please keep us posted. I'm suspecting it may be something else, but can't imagine what, since other types of receivers seem to work well at your field. Anyone in your club have one of those new frequency checkers that will tell you if there's interference on any of your channels? Might be a good investment-they're not that expensive compared to what we put into most of our airplanes. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else out there is having similar problems with this rx, I don't remember reading anything about it.

gumhead

I have 3 planes running with Futaba R127DF recievers, I have never had problem.

2strokes

My Feedback: (1)

Yes, one of the instructors that frequents our field has a frequency checker. He has since purposely made 2 trips to the field and stayed for several hours checking at and in between the flying times we were seeing the failures and didn't find anything wrong or even suspicious. So ... until we know what caused this, the receivers will be pulled.
This field is out in the country although we did find out about a Ham operator that has just moved into the neighborhood. We asked him about his usual radio schedule times etc. and he insisted that his radio has not been turned on in over a month ... so ... we are at a loss for reason or rhme again []

hunt4679

My Feedback: (8)

I just found this weekend that with these recievers if someone else is on a channel within 2 channels in either direction the servos will go totally crazy within 100ft or so!

D Bronk

Do you think that is what made your Pitts crumple??

multicasting

It seems to me that we are really just speculating on the problem. It could be any number of things, including a bad crystal. With that said. I have about 8 FPR 127s in aircraft, and one in the parts box. The one in the parts box stopped working without warning, and was thankfully caught in pre-flight. An interesting thing was observed. As long as the two internal boars were slightly squeezed together, all was fine. Its as if the bus joining the boards didn't make good contact. However, these solder joints were checked, and reheated for good measure, but the problem persisted. I have yet to really find the problem, but I highly suspect that something has simply come loose, and makes good contact when squeezed. My $500 plane isn't worth a $70 reciever, so now I keep it for show and tell. The antenna was removed to ensure I don't reuse the equipment. I am still a fan of Futaba.

Bob

bob_nj

My Feedback: (62)

The 127's have been a problem for awhile. Yes, you guys may have good ones, but eventually they will exhibit the symptoms you describe. I'm not sure if the threads are still around, but a year or more ago this came up initially.

I too have alot of Futaba equipment and am not bashing either. It's just a fact with that receiver.
They work good until they start to jitter. At that point, just put it aside.

The problem may be the ceramic filter or whatever, but the fact remains that the reciever is a problem.

Just my opinion.

Search for the old threads_bob

Flyboy Dave

My Feedback: (21)

I have at least 10 of the 127DF's in use, and a few 148's....no problems. I
have noticed over the years that the Futaba's will go out (glitches) with just
a small crash.....they don't seem to be very resilient to abuse. The only problem
I've seen with the Futaba equipment was some bad switches a few years ago.

FBD.

gumhead

I highly doubt that futaba would continue making a product for 15 years if there were serious problems with it.

fasterthanlife

My Feedback: (2)

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interference

Flyboy Dave

My Feedback: (21)

Yep....they are getting hit....

....those recievers have been working perfectly for about 20 years. I don't think
a bunch of defective receivers suddenly showed up at your field.

Even with a "glitch" the servos won't turn from stop to stop. (100% ATV) They
will usually just shake like mad, and vibrate. You might have a clown around with
one of those new radio's that has all the freq's in it....you select the one you want
to use.....shooting you Guys down on purpose. [X(]

For all practical purposes....those receivers are dead-bolt reliable, plain and simple.

FBD.

JerryJake

have 127 rec'rs-no problems yet-however had a HOBBICO rec'r that crashed my plane 4 times, all when I was attempting the landings...sent it in for a check, it was found to be "intermittent" under vibration....cost of repair was such that they offered to send me a new one...that's when I found out that HOBBICO was made by Futaba...vibration played a major part in that problem so I'm glad I called and asked if there was indeed a problem with the rec'r, at least it proved I was right in suspecting the rec'r after changing servos,batteries....also shock-mounted the switch.....my point is that vibration causes more trouble than we think...vibration is more pronounced in low idle that full bore, right??

laker500

My Feedback: (2)

Vibration is always trouble. Is'nt that why we are supposed to use foam under our receivers, fuel tanks and batteries? Its always possible to have a bad receiver get through inspection at the factory but its not neccesarily a reason to throw out every one you own. It would suck big time if it was my plane and someday it likely will be but for now the concensus seems to be that they are fine. I will continue to fly them and go through my normal preflight routine. I may double check that they are isolated as good as they should be, just in case. Jeff

TEXAS ACE

I HAVE HAD (2) PLANES CRASH WITH DOUBLE SWITCHES AND BRAND NEW BATTERIES, INSTALLED AND
BRAND NEW FUTABA 127 REVIEVERS.
I HAVE SINCE SWITCHED TO HITEC SUPREME 8 RECEIVERS AND HAVE HAD NO "GLITCHING" PROBLEMS SINCE.

Jeffpro

My Feedback: (1)

I've had the same problems with the same receivers, but only when paired with certain servos (mostly Futaba 3010 servos). I had one plane that simply wouldn't pass a ground check. I replaced the receiver, thinking it was bad, replaced servos, rerouted the antenna, the whole lot. Nothing worked. I eventually proved that Futaba R127DF receivers and Futaba 3010 servos don't work well together by building a simple rig that consisted of one receiver, one battery, and one servo. The servo would jitter like crazy when I got 10 or 20 feet away with my transmitter antenna down. Replace the servo with a 3004 and it worked just fine.

I eventually got rid of the Futaba receivers and replaced them with Hitecs. That did the trick.

Something else I've noticed that seems somewhat unique to Futaba 3010 servos is that if you connect two together using a Y-harness, they like to glitch even with a Hitec receiver. (Too much current draw? I don't know.) I've started avoiding Y-harnesses and plugging each servo into a separate receiver channel.

50%plane

My Feedback: (5)

I haven't had any problems with the 127s. even after some hard crashing I didn't. Right now I'm running the Hobbico version of the 127 I have crashed that receiver HARD. I was flying a low pass over a young corn field when my engine cut out. The plane was mostly destroyed(now rebuilt) and the receiver had been ejected from the plane and was hanging on only by the servo wires. I fully checked it out and now I am flying it in my Kaos with NO hesitations. 100MPH down on the deck passes are no problems( I generally keep them higher though). But as a rule of thumb, I will switch to Hitec if I have problems.


Woops

turbobulldog

My Feedback: (-1)

The Futaba FP-R127DF indeed has a design flaw but it is fixable. The two boards are held together by 3 connecting pins on one side and four on the other side unfortunately they are in the middle of both boards and allow the board to vibrate on the ends causing fatigue of the solder joints, holding the pins, resulting in failure as you described. . I have had these fail twice in the last year. The fix I used was to add a dab of electrical grade silicone to secure the board with the servo connector pins to the ceramic filter on the other board this greatly reduces the flexing between boards eliminating the problem.

STAN-IOM

I have been a fan of Futaba systems for many years. The availability of accessories was a big deciding factor in my original choice. I never had any problems with these sets but I do take a lot of care with mounting receiver and charging of battery packs. Recently I have acquired two used Futaba receivers which failed to function in anyway. Switching on would simply send a supply to the servo which made it move fractionally but other than that completely dead. Having been trained in electronics ( some years ago ! ) I opened the case and made a few quick checks. I found that the reciever was built on two seperate boards but the supply from the battery passes through what appears to be a small inductor about the size of a 1/4 watt resistor. The same item had failed in both units. As futaba don't supply circuits to outside agencies I have replaced these coils with what I consider to be the equivalent item. I am reluctant to use these recievers until I can test them fully but replacement of this coil has got both recievers working again. I will not speculate on the component identification as I would not encourage anyone to tamper with their recievers. The point I am making is that this item would seem to be a weak link in the chain. Now whether this failure is down to vibration, excessive current or quality control I do not know. Has anyone else come across this component problem?

futaba_pilot45

i have a 127-df im my viper 500 racer... its boinked the ground more times in this plane than i care to admit... its also about 5 years old now... works perfectly fine... knock on wood... now if your the type of guy who usually buys a new plane every month then you might wana pick up a simulator and fly at home... or invest in another hobby as ANY brand will fail after repeated crashes... common knowledge...

~M

doggscube

My Feedback: (1)

I'd like to counter your anecdotal evidence with some of my own. I flew on ch. 22 for two summers alongside a fellow club member on ch. 21. I don't know what RX he uses, but neither of my Futaba 127's never had any trouble, even with his radio as close as flight box to runway centerline.

This is also anecdotal evidence, but you really have to question your sources when it comes to such a prevalent piece of equipment.

-Jeff

flyrc78

My Feedback: (29)

I have run these recievers in my airplanes since i started flying 5 years ago, no problems. There are 2 channels at our field with any radio brand we use we need to stay clear of. Someone in the area may be improperly using an air radio for something else. Were these plans on the same frequency by chance?