Some have been reporting issues with the 149DP receiver along with other related frustrations ... [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4587706/tm.htm]R149DP Issues[/link]

Right or wrong is there a specific receiver production run these supposed problems might stem from? It's not clear if this conjecture relates to one or both (IF?) filters. If I was to send in a couple of my 149s with instructions to "inspect and repair as necessary," would the techs retrofit an updated filter or . . . ? What other assurances or recommendations are there that mitigate some of these fears?

Thanks.

Mike

There are literally thousands of R149DP receivers in service in North America, let alone in the rest of the world. There were 4 or 5 events reported in that thread. While some people may have had a problem, it's usually not possible to determine if a component failure happened prior to or as a result of a crash.

We sincerely doubt that the one person's club had a dozen or so R149DF receivers fail out of the blue. Usually receiver failures can be traced to a bad installation, or a prior crash where nothing "happened" to it. We have never received a large number of returns for repair from any one area. If a large number of people in the same area are having problems, and other places are not, we'd start to wonder what they are all doing that is common to all the receivers.

One thing to be aware of is that many, many modelers just aren't installing their receivers particularly well. The receiver should be wrapped in at least 1/2" of foam rubber all around it, and the foam rubber must not be compressed. We've seen installations that used a gel pad, only, between the receiver and airframe, a thin layer of foam and velcro strapping, and even just a bit of double-stick foam tape between the receiver and the airframe. Velcro is fine, but it must not compress the foam, otherwise the purpose of the foam as a vibration-isolator is ruined.

Yep, I got all that, Bax - vibration will kill the IF filter(s) in short order. Your other points/observations are certainly valid wrt issues stemming from, ah let's say, less than optimum installation practices. Clearly, the larger airframe, big gasser powered airframes can be a real challenge in terms of vibration. There are several 149s in use within our club and no actual rcvr failures reported. All my 149s are flown in jets - both d/f and turbine - with a lot of hours on each airframe and the rcvrs have been rock solid.

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to cast dispersions on a great product - just wanted some feedback from the horse's mouth and you've been very helpful. Thanks for the reply.

Mike

Bax:

Is the 1/2" of foam also recommended for electrics? Just curious.

Victor

With smaller models, the level of vibration changes in amplitude and goes up in frequency. It can still be a challenge to properly-isolate the receiver. In an electric-powered model, the vibration is much, much less severe than in engine-powered aircraft, but will still be present. In the larger models, with big electric motors (gas to electric conversions), they get a high-amplitude, high-frequency vibration, which can be as destructive, if not more so, than the lower-frequency vibration of an engine.

For the very, very small electric models (park flyers, slow flyers, indoor flyers) a bit of foam tape or gel may be enough. Weight is certainly a consideration, but so is the longevity of your equipment. You have to compromise. For maximum weight savings, you remove protection from the system. For maximum protection, you add weight.