ROCKY1405

My Feedback: (6)

HI: I recently installed the 42% Products Z-Kill switch on my magneto equipped Quadra 42 gas engine and had to take it off because it caused the motor to have an ignition miss at full throttle. It also caused the motor to abruptly shut off right after take off on the first flight after the Z-Kill was installed. The motor did not miss or indicate any problems during the range check or run up before the take off and I really was surprised when it abruptly shut off a few seconds after lift off. I managed to get it down Ok and it got stopped by a hedge on the far end of the field with little, but some, damage so I got off pretty lucky. I took the Z-Kill out of the model and after that it ran fine just as it did before the switch installation, so that was obviously the problem. The engine had none of these problems ever before I installed the switch. Luckily, all that got damaged was a few cracks in the cowling and a few small puncture holes in the wing of my Midwest Extra 300. The radio used is a Futaba 8U with the Fasst Module and the Futaba R607FS Fasst Rx. I liked the idea of having a way to shut the motor down from the Tx but had to take the Z-Kill out in my case it was not safe to use it because it caused the above-mentioned problems with the engine. Maybe I got a bad one but I sure can't use it and felt I'd better share my experience on this forum for safety purposes. []

rgoldy

What has 42% had to say about it?

ROCKY1405

My Feedback: (6)

I tried emailing them and the msg got returned as undeliverable and I haven't tried contacting them again. I'm on the road now and will try next week when I'm home to see what they say the problem most likely is. I'll give them a phone call.

Grizak

My Feedback: (3)

Rocky1405,

Send me a PM with you name, phone number and email address and I'll make sure someone from 42 percent contacts you. I'm the Canadian distributor for their products and talk to them often.

Thanks,

Grizak

ROCKY1405

My Feedback: (6)

That's been done and ken emailed me. I wrote him a full explanation as to what happened and we'll see what he thinks.

GBR2

My Feedback: (1)

When I orginally got my Opto-Kill, I was using a HiTec servo programmer to test the functionality of the unit. What I found was that at the low end (about 936 us) and close to 1.0ms that the unit would switch on and off (you could watch the LED turning on and off). So I did some further investigation and found that the voltage level of the servo programmer got pulled down by the Opto-Kill unit to about 1.8v such that even though the pulse width was correct, this lower voltage caused problems with the unit being able to respond properly. This was obviously a mis-match in the impedance between the 2 units. When I used an HP signal generator to provide a solid 5v for the pulse, the unit functioned as I expected it would and the unexpected switching went away. So it might be possible for this unit to not operate correctly if the voltage level of the supplied pulse from the receiver is lower than the unit expects. What the minimum level it needs, I don't know.

In the end, I didn't trust the unit and installed an RCATS RC100.

yarom

My Feedback: (82)

Everybody I know at my field that tried this unit had issues, on any type of radio or engine.

I don't think there were crashes, but quite a few deadsticks...

OK2Fly

I've used this unit with with no problems. My engine does have a high speed miss, so I'm gonna pull it out and see if the ignition kill's causing it. It's a very good alternative to the more expensive units.

Wda Pres

The signal as we talked about in your email was in our "out of range" area nothing to do with impedance mismatch.
if any of you don't know it we have our web site active www.42-percent-products.com we also have an active dealer base also for support.
I can always be reached at [email protected] our service is always our top priority some guys simply over react on the net just like anywhere else.
There is NO on going issue with any product we make.
Fact is our return / fail rate is about 1 in 2650 per product sold on avg over a one year term.


Ken
42% Products

Wda Pres

Now this is flat our BS what club and what names can i look up that used my gear and had issues?
Prove what your saying!
I don't believe this for one second and you need to step up and prove what you are saying.


Ken
42% Products

denney47

My Feedback: (359)

Being the Canadian distributor, do you also sell to dealers in the US?
Thanks

Whistling Death

yea, sounds like crap to me too.

GBR2

My Feedback: (1)

Yes, the 936 and the 998 - 1020us were outside your range or just on the hairy edge with the 998 -1020. However, I did look at the signal with a scope and saw the output voltage level from the HiTec servo tester get pulled down to 1.8v from almost 5v. The "problem" stopped when I used an HP signal generator with a high output impedance that was able to maintain a 5v high in the pulse to drive the Opto-Kill. It was obvious to me that the output drive chip of the servo tester was not up to snuff as its voltage was so easily pulled down. Call it what you want but it didn't operate with the servo tester and personally, not knowing what the unit would do to the output driver in a receiver I didn't want to take the chance, so I bagged it and put it in the box with all the other questionable electronics. I'm sure it works fine for others but the thread asked for opinions and I gave mine. People are free to ignore it.

yarom

My Feedback: (82)

I really don't care whether you believe me or not and you can take that language together with the product elsewhere. It does not belong on a public forum.

I have two units and they did not work for me on DA-50 and DL-50 ignitions with Spektrum 9ch receivers on two separate planes. I was lucky and managed to replace them with Smartfly units before flying, so no issue there. I now use these 42% units to switch my strobe lights on and off and they work fine.

My flying friend, Mike Smicklas, had issues on his new EF Yak 88. Several occurance of the engine dying while flying - mostly at high rpm. Removed the unit at the field (I was there) and the plane and engine started running smoothly. He too, has just installed the Smartfly unit and all is working well.

A third gentleman flying a BME Extra 330 was going through the same issue two months ago. I can get his last name when I get to the filed, first name Dave and I see him frequently. Same issue with a DA-50 starting to run irregular and then dying. Once the unti was removed, the engine run with no issues.

I can go on and collect some more but do not really feel compelled to do so if this is your attitude. It's your choice to commercialize this product as you see fit, it is my choice to buy what I want to protect my fairly large investment in 30% planes and up. This valuable exchange of information is what this board is about and I value any testimony I can get from fellow flyers regarding any product, good or bad...

Have a good day...

ROCKY1405

My Feedback: (6)

Hi again, guys. Ken offered to send me a new unit but I declined. He thinks the problem was caused by a programming issue with my radio and I disagree because it did not show up in any way until the airplane was in the air for the first time with the Z-Kill switch on-board so I think it was a vibration caused problem. Luckily, my model is salvageable and I'm a bit wiser about the advisability of using remote ignition kill switches.
[]

Crash-n-Burn

My Feedback: (2)

I just found this thread, I have a 42% opto kill that I got from dons hobby in salina kansas and it has caused me probs to. The engine is a DA-50 just returned from DA with a clean bill of health including the ignition. The radio is a JR 12x with dual recievers running off fromeco regs / switches / batteries at 6 volts. I noticed my engine running real rough esp at idle, transition was okay but the top end was short by just over 200 RPM. Next the engine started acting crazy, it would start up but as soon as you advanced the trottle the RPM's would drop and at 1/2 throttle the engine would die. It did it consistantly and no I did not touch any of the needle valves. This engine had many flights at the current high / low end settings. Then the engine became impossiable to start, it normally turns over after 1 flip, its well broken in. I took off the spark plug wire and it seemed to be sparking okay, after further failed attempts at starting I yanked out the opto kill switch and wala - starts on 1st flip, idle is super smooth and I got 250 more RPM at the top end after it was warmed up. I am not going to bad mouth 42% for me the switch just didn't mesh well with my set up, I dont know why but whatever, on to smart fly for me.

ROCKY1405

My Feedback: (6)

Well, after my engine failed right after take off on the first flight after installation of this switch AND I finished repairing the damages the Extra 300 sustained because of the resulting hard landing, this model's engine has now ran trouble-free for over 4 hours of flight. So, for whatever reason, the switch is what made the motor quit right after the model got airborne on that first flight. The only thing I did different was to remove the switch. On mine, switch equals problem and no switch equals no problem. That's too bad because I really liked the ability to have another way to turn off the ignition in flight.

Whistling Death

I am trying them out in a few planes right now. No problems so far. I will update as I go with them.
They are both Zenoah engines with RC Excel ignitions.

yarom

My Feedback: (82)

I had similar problems in the past.

The SmartFly optical cutoff did not exhibit the same issues, so I replaced it.

Not sure if it's an issue with this particular unit or not.

Whistling Death

Are you saying the 42% was the problem and you replaced it with a Smartfly?

yarom

My Feedback: (82)

Yes. The Smartfly unit removed all the issues associated with running the engine.

Wda Pres

Folks Don't be mislead by posts like this, take note of the lack of names / dealers name and that 90% of the posts here are from the same area and state.
We do know a guy that worked for a dealer of ours that hides behind posts like this and i'll be contacting him about this type of stuff.
Also take not that every time a guy posts here a smart fly pimp shows right back up to post the same thing again and again.
We take great pride in our product and have very few reported fails of any type on over 15 products we make here in the USA.
Our Wa dealer has had no reports of this type of action in his area or any returns - requests for service or support.
When things go wrong people don't just do nothing they contact us or the dealer that they bought from for some action.

Like any company things do fail and we do replace a few once in a great while in the end everyone has been happy .
Our service is such that the guy using the Z-Kill had bought it 6 months plus before he used it and when he advised us he didn't wish to try a new one we refunded his money six months plus latter!

Yet he still keeps posting his story and failing to tell anyone that we refunded him his money over half a year latter!
We worked with him on the phone and offered new product for him to use he as he said didn't wish to try again with new stuff.


Anyone that has nothing to hide would post were and when they bought it and the dealer name along with there name why hide that info?
I welcome the few guys here posting all this stuff to post there names and the dealer they bought it from.
If they can't do it think about why they are hiding it.
Also as said think why they keep re posting the same story over and over again.


Ken
42% Products

Crash-n-Burn

My Feedback: (2)

I got nothing to hide, check out my sales invoice from dons, the opto kill just does not work correctly.

Wda Pres

I Believe you i was really speaking to the guys posting here from WA that don't look like they are being upfront about things.
It looks like you have a unit that needs to be replaced .
Both Dons and 42% are glad to make this whole thing right for you if you send me an email i'd drop ship a new unit ASAP.
Our service like Dons is second to none let me know how we can make this right.
I don't even need the old unit back just an email to [email protected] with your name and address.

Crash-n-Burn

My Feedback: (2)

Ok that sounds good I will give it another try. I know that any manufacturer no matter how good will have a few units that mess up, heck I just had a Fromeco battery go bad and a friend who had defects in a DA 50 ( a while back) in both cases the fromeco and DA stepped up and fixed the problem thats what makes them the best. So thanks for stepping up I will send you an E-mail in a few mins, I got to get back 2 work if I loose my job over Rc aircraft my wife will smash my planes for sure.