Solidtronics/Space Control models
09-10-2008, 12:31 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Solidtronics/Space Control models
Working we Zel, we determined there were 5 Marks, or versions released of the Solidtronics/Space Control, not including the Dual Trainer, which was custom made to order. They are listed below with the details to identify them. You can see pictures of these at the Radio Control Hall of Fame under Space Control, link: http://www.rchalloffame.org/Manufact...rol/index.html but be aware that some of the models you see there may have pieces replaced on them that are not original, or off different versions, so the model guide below is your referance. This also holds true for the ads too, the pictures in them may or may not be what was actually being sold at the time.
Mark I was the original version and has a carrying handle on the left side of the red anodized case, a round meter, black knobs with chrome rims, Tx uses dry cell batteries, Solidtronics logo. Receiver PC board has “minimum etch” type pattern, throttle servo on lower left side, two sockets on the receiver board for battery and aileron plugs, arms on servos. Later Mark I receivers had the discriminator and pulse decoder capacitors replaced with temperature stable polystyrene types. Made from 1959 to 1961
Mark II is very similar, but the Tx lacks the carrying handle as it interfered with the left forearm “cradling” it. Some were modified for Nicad Ritchie packs, these have a charge indicator bulb in the case side, or front, the case back has a bracket to hold the battery pack and a hole for the AC charge cord. The receiver has the sockets removed and two pig tails with plugs for the battery and aileron. The throttle servo has been moved to the upper left corner, the etch pattern and traces are different. The servos have round output wheels. The Mark II was also produced by Space Control Corp., Gardena, Ca. and had a sticker with the new company name over the Solidtronics and advertised as the “S-100”. Made in 1960 through 1961.
Mark III had the transmitter’s elevator and trim knobs relocated to the upper right side panel so they could be operated with the left hand. There was some variation of knob styles used, the throttle and joystick knobs in particular. Receiver had some updated circuitry and component value changes but retained essentially the same appearance as before. Made in 1961.
Mark IV versions of the transmitter had a new joystick, the on/off switch was relocated to the left of the gimbals, with the charge light to the right of the switch. The transmitter case was silk screened with a large Space Control logo. New slide rule style meter. Cases were anodized red, later ones were gold, and now had the battery pack clamp riveted to the inside front of the case. Knob styles were changed over to the ribbed type, and the throttle knob was enlarged and flattened. The receiver etch pattern was modified to include the Space control name, address, and the unit’s serial number. Rx cases were red, or gold. The Rx circuit had some minor component modifications and additions to the elevator discriminator. Some of the Mark IV transmitters were modified for use as a Dual Trainer and had a jack on the front panel for a trainer link cable, typically they were red anodized cases with yellow silk screened logos. There is some variation in the silk screened logo ink color, and the case anodizing at this point as they were changing over from red to gold, additionally some units came with the older style knobs. There were several gold anodized case transmitters with yellow instead of black silk screening, some may have been “master” trainers as yellow was used to differential them from the standard models. Some of the last gold Mark IV transmitters had the charge light relocated to the left of the on/off switch. Made in 1961 through 1962.
Mark V was the final version and came with Nicads and charger as standard equipment. The gold transmitter case had the charge indicator bulb relocated to the left of the on/off switch so the gimbals would not hang up on it’s wires. The tx circuit board was a new layout that included holes for the new style printed circuit mount tube sockets and 4 additional 10uf 150 volt capacitors to improve performance. The control pots were A/B sealed types, and the receivers remained essentially the same as the Mark IV other than minor component value changes. Made from 1962 onwards.
The two working systems we have are a late Mark IV and a Mark V.
Both opperate quite well. There is no noticable drift, and the sevos are reasonably fast, actually they respond better than a comparable Digimite servo! We were not able to confirm any of the rumors and myths that have circulated over the years about analog proportional with respect to the Space Control. One time we did experience severe shift in neutral and slow response, but this was determined to be the receiver battery pack dying! The other time we had an issue was when the transmitter pack died, again, with everything charged up, the system performed quite well. Although the torque is limited on the servos, it is more a function of the motor type and not the actual electronics capability, meaning a more modern motor could be used if increased torque and speed were desired. In actuality, most flyers today dial quite a bit of negative exponential around neutral to soften up the controls so they are not so touchy; this is because todays systems are almost too responsive in certain cases. Essentially, the Space Control has a sort of built in exponential that is a function of the servo motor, it's a bit slower off neutral when compared to a digital system.
We have done demonstrations of the Space Control systems recently at the PVMAC club meeting in Corona Ca., and the Scale Squadron(scale masters sponsor) in Fountain Valley Ca., by request. Zel is a very good speaker and has quite an entertaining repetiore that gets alot of laughs and responses, they love him!
Mark I was the original version and has a carrying handle on the left side of the red anodized case, a round meter, black knobs with chrome rims, Tx uses dry cell batteries, Solidtronics logo. Receiver PC board has “minimum etch” type pattern, throttle servo on lower left side, two sockets on the receiver board for battery and aileron plugs, arms on servos. Later Mark I receivers had the discriminator and pulse decoder capacitors replaced with temperature stable polystyrene types. Made from 1959 to 1961
Mark II is very similar, but the Tx lacks the carrying handle as it interfered with the left forearm “cradling” it. Some were modified for Nicad Ritchie packs, these have a charge indicator bulb in the case side, or front, the case back has a bracket to hold the battery pack and a hole for the AC charge cord. The receiver has the sockets removed and two pig tails with plugs for the battery and aileron. The throttle servo has been moved to the upper left corner, the etch pattern and traces are different. The servos have round output wheels. The Mark II was also produced by Space Control Corp., Gardena, Ca. and had a sticker with the new company name over the Solidtronics and advertised as the “S-100”. Made in 1960 through 1961.
Mark III had the transmitter’s elevator and trim knobs relocated to the upper right side panel so they could be operated with the left hand. There was some variation of knob styles used, the throttle and joystick knobs in particular. Receiver had some updated circuitry and component value changes but retained essentially the same appearance as before. Made in 1961.
Mark IV versions of the transmitter had a new joystick, the on/off switch was relocated to the left of the gimbals, with the charge light to the right of the switch. The transmitter case was silk screened with a large Space Control logo. New slide rule style meter. Cases were anodized red, later ones were gold, and now had the battery pack clamp riveted to the inside front of the case. Knob styles were changed over to the ribbed type, and the throttle knob was enlarged and flattened. The receiver etch pattern was modified to include the Space control name, address, and the unit’s serial number. Rx cases were red, or gold. The Rx circuit had some minor component modifications and additions to the elevator discriminator. Some of the Mark IV transmitters were modified for use as a Dual Trainer and had a jack on the front panel for a trainer link cable, typically they were red anodized cases with yellow silk screened logos. There is some variation in the silk screened logo ink color, and the case anodizing at this point as they were changing over from red to gold, additionally some units came with the older style knobs. There were several gold anodized case transmitters with yellow instead of black silk screening, some may have been “master” trainers as yellow was used to differential them from the standard models. Some of the last gold Mark IV transmitters had the charge light relocated to the left of the on/off switch. Made in 1961 through 1962.
Mark V was the final version and came with Nicads and charger as standard equipment. The gold transmitter case had the charge indicator bulb relocated to the left of the on/off switch so the gimbals would not hang up on it’s wires. The tx circuit board was a new layout that included holes for the new style printed circuit mount tube sockets and 4 additional 10uf 150 volt capacitors to improve performance. The control pots were A/B sealed types, and the receivers remained essentially the same as the Mark IV other than minor component value changes. Made from 1962 onwards.
The two working systems we have are a late Mark IV and a Mark V.
Both opperate quite well. There is no noticable drift, and the sevos are reasonably fast, actually they respond better than a comparable Digimite servo! We were not able to confirm any of the rumors and myths that have circulated over the years about analog proportional with respect to the Space Control. One time we did experience severe shift in neutral and slow response, but this was determined to be the receiver battery pack dying! The other time we had an issue was when the transmitter pack died, again, with everything charged up, the system performed quite well. Although the torque is limited on the servos, it is more a function of the motor type and not the actual electronics capability, meaning a more modern motor could be used if increased torque and speed were desired. In actuality, most flyers today dial quite a bit of negative exponential around neutral to soften up the controls so they are not so touchy; this is because todays systems are almost too responsive in certain cases. Essentially, the Space Control has a sort of built in exponential that is a function of the servo motor, it's a bit slower off neutral when compared to a digital system.
We have done demonstrations of the Space Control systems recently at the PVMAC club meeting in Corona Ca., and the Scale Squadron(scale masters sponsor) in Fountain Valley Ca., by request. Zel is a very good speaker and has quite an entertaining repetiore that gets alot of laughs and responses, they love him!
06-17-2014, 10:06 AM
#2
Thread Starter
As an update to this post, the Mk I versions of the Space Control s had a very distinctive printed circuit pattern on both the receiver and transmitter boards that was Don Mathes' trademark. Don worked for Hershel Toomim at Electrolsolids/Solidtronics doing design and development of the Space Control. The Mk I receivers' servos had a servo arm, which was replaced by a wheel on Mk II versions.
The Mk I reveiver IF cans were the sub miniature type, and were later replaced with the larger style in the Mk II versions. There were a significant amount of additional red "bricks" (receiver/servo assembly) manufactured for additional airbornes, and replacements ordered by customers.
Doug Garabrandt's early prototype transmitter of the Space Control was developed prior to Mathes involvement, and used some small peanut style tubes that were extra surplus from another project at Solidtronics. This prototype had a cumbersome, complicated throttle lever arrangement on the left face of the transmitter that would have been very difficult to manipulate while holding the transmitter and flying. The date codes on the parts indicate this prototype was produced sometime around 1958. This then dovetails with both Doug's and Hershel's accounts of how the prototype was under test and development for 3 years prior to it being released. Doug related that Mathes put a super-regenerative gas tube type receiver in the "brick" to replace the transistorized receiver they were using to get it to perform well enough for it's first flight. Hershel was frustrated by this development once Mathes told him about it, as he had wanted to use all transistors in the airborne brick. This further delayed the debut of the radio system, as Hershel and Mathes had to re-design the receiver, and also find a transistor that had good enough performance as a super-het mixer in order to make it all solid state. Garabrandt's prototype lacked the "brick", presumably because it was cannibalized to add the tube circuit and then subsequently re-vamped, along with the transmitter by Mathes.
The Mk I reveiver IF cans were the sub miniature type, and were later replaced with the larger style in the Mk II versions. There were a significant amount of additional red "bricks" (receiver/servo assembly) manufactured for additional airbornes, and replacements ordered by customers.
Doug Garabrandt's early prototype transmitter of the Space Control was developed prior to Mathes involvement, and used some small peanut style tubes that were extra surplus from another project at Solidtronics. This prototype had a cumbersome, complicated throttle lever arrangement on the left face of the transmitter that would have been very difficult to manipulate while holding the transmitter and flying. The date codes on the parts indicate this prototype was produced sometime around 1958. This then dovetails with both Doug's and Hershel's accounts of how the prototype was under test and development for 3 years prior to it being released. Doug related that Mathes put a super-regenerative gas tube type receiver in the "brick" to replace the transistorized receiver they were using to get it to perform well enough for it's first flight. Hershel was frustrated by this development once Mathes told him about it, as he had wanted to use all transistors in the airborne brick. This further delayed the debut of the radio system, as Hershel and Mathes had to re-design the receiver, and also find a transistor that had good enough performance as a super-het mixer in order to make it all solid state. Garabrandt's prototype lacked the "brick", presumably because it was cannibalized to add the tube circuit and then subsequently re-vamped, along with the transmitter by Mathes.
06-18-2014, 03:11 AM
#3
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Interesting information on this pioneering proportional outfit. Here in the UK back in the 1960's I had an RCS Tetraplex which worked on the same principles as Space Control but had an all transistor Tx.
06-21-2014, 06:40 AM
#4
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In 1960 I went to work for Honeywell in Denver in purchasing. The T.I. transistor saleman found out I was interested in R/C and one day brought me a sample transistor that would work on 27mhz. I never tried to use it when I found out the 1pc price was $125.00.
