I was having problems with short range checks using my Hitec Eclipse 7 Tx. I followed the advice I got from the guys in this forum and sent it in to Hitec. I got it back in less than two weeks. The rudder trim switch was replaced, a cold solder joint in the Spectra module was fixed, it was tuned. All this was done free of charge and I appreciate it because the Tx is three years old and out of warranty.

Problem is, my range checks are still shorter than any other radio I've seen. With a completely collapsed antenna the range checks are still in the range of 20-25 paces (about 50 to 60 feet). It improves substantially if I pull out six inches of antenna, but is still shorter than range checks for fully collapsed Futaba and JR radios. I've checked it with Airtronics, Hitec and Futaba flight packs and the results are the same. Everybody else at my field gets at least 3 times the range-check distance I can get. (Haven't seen another Eclipse 7 Tx at my field yet - I'm kinda new there) I still get a small glitch once in a while with one of my models, but don't know if that is related to the short range check problem.

Can you tell me if this is normal? If not, can the problem be fixed if I send it in again?

I've posted this in the radio forum and asked other Eclipse 7 owners to post their approximate range-check distances so I can try to determine if mine is unique.

Thanks for any help you can provide in this matter.

==Mike Gauthier==