bagged71

My Feedback: (1)

I just bought a Enforcer 55 magnum got done building it the other day. I put the electronics in and when I turn on the reciver power the servos go crazy till I turn on the radio. They move very fast and all over the place. Once I turn on the radio everthing is normal. I have an fm radio and don't understand why it goes so crazy with the radio off. My friend bought a blackjack 55 and has it in my garage and when he turns his radio off his servo's don't go all crazy. What gives? His has an fm radio that came with his, why does my radio have so much interference?

goldendesign04

ALWAYS turn on your controller before turning on you reciever. Bottom line thats the way it needs to be done. You run the risk of it not completely recognising your Reciever, would be a shame to lose control of your new boat because of such a simple matter. An your friend is also lucky, read your directions on the RX/TX on everything Ive ever owned rc, car/heli/boat it always says in bold to do this. Dont tempt fate, nothing is wrong with your equipment, just turn it on in the right order.

-Wayne

nothinbetr2do

the remote is always the first and last thing you turn on and off

bagged71

My Feedback: (1)

But why does my reciver get so much interfirence? Our boats are two feet from each other if I turn on his reciver it has no glitch at all.
I know better to turn my radio on first, but just don't understand why one reciver has so much interfierence when the radio is off.

KNahinu

There could be alot of reasons : shared channel, I've heard c.b. radios can interfere with rc radios? But like what the others have said ALWAYS turn your radio on first and last to turn off.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

It's not interfernce but it simply is not receiving a signal, that's why the servos go crazy.

CB radios can interfere with R/C radios only if they're on the 27 Mhz frequencies. About the only time that you should see this is if the CBer is illegal running a "footwarmer" (amplifier), broadcasting on an illegal channel or his radio is out of tune. The old radios used to have crystals in them when you could pop one in from your R/C equipment, back when we were limited to 23 channels.
I spent a lot of years with those back in the CB radio craze and still own and use some.

KNahinu

Thanks Ron, The C.B. intreference is what I heard form the OLD timers at our pond. Using a 27mhz radio is almost insane.. So much rtr's on 27mhz.

mfr02

AM radios are more prone to interference because they resolve anything as a valid signal, and pass the information to the servos, which then do as they are told. The interfering signal does not even need to be in band, it just needs to be strong enough to kick its way through the filters in the receiver.
An interfering signal on FM will have the effect of damping the proper signal out, so the effect is less noticeable.
The best way is to read the instructions and follow them, even if only as a last resort.

bagged71

My Feedback: (1)

If 27 mhz is insane to use and am is no good for interfirence what do you use? I have a 2.4mhz but I was told it was no good to use on the water. So what is the best on the water?

mfr02

Just try your set following the instructions. It will almost certainly work just fine. Do a range check - this involves switching on un the right order, then moving the transmitter away with the aerial down. If you get past the point where you can easily see that the controls stop working, it will be OK for normal use.
DO NOT USE THE TX AERIAL DOWN FOR MORE THAN A VERY FEW MINUTES.
It can be bad for the health of the transmitter.

LtDoc

I think the idea that AM and 27 Mhz is 'bad' is going a bit too far. In most cases, an AM 27 Mhz system will work just fine.
The thing about 2.4 Ghz and water is that it doesn't work very well THROUGH it, but works just dandy OVER it. The sub guys will have -very- little use for 2.4 Ghz, but the surface guys should do just fine with it. That has to do with the 'penetrating' ability of RF and how it's related to frequency (very low frequencies work through water better than very high frequencies).
- 'Doc

bagged71

My Feedback: (1)

Makes sence. Thanks for the input guys. I took my boat to the lake for the first time today and had zero problems.

manuerg

Hi,
The advice about the order in which to turn on your TX and RX given on this and other forums, is basically correct and, in the vast majority of cases will work OK.

However, I used to do fast electric boat racing here in the UK, and always used ESCs made in the USA, as they were much more reliable. The instructions with them clearly stated that the RX must be switched on FIRST, followed by the TX. The reason was that, if there was already someone on your frequency, the ESC would sense this, it would not arm itself. The rudder would work OK, but the motor would not. Once the ESC sensed the frequency to be clear, and this was shown by an LED changing colour, the TX could be switched on and all would be well.

Sorry if that seems a bit long-winded, but the moral is to ALWAYS read the instructions and follow them. Do NOT assume anything! Safety with any R/C craft is paramount.

LtDoc

manuerg,
I agree that reading the instructions is a good thing. But the part about the ESC sensing frequency/channel use I have doubts about. I'm not familiar with all of them so can't honestly say for sure, but I've never seen an ESC that could do that, or even heard of one. Then again, I may have my usual difficulty in translating between English and American English ?
- 'Doc

mfr02

The times do change. Older ESCs just sat there and worked because they designed that way, so it didn't really matter about which order things were switched on. Newer ones, being mostlt programmed devices, need a valid signal from the RX to "learn" every time they switch on. The RX gets this from the transmitter,which obviously needs to be switched on first.

manuerg

Hi,
I agree with all the comments so far, but I have to say I used an ESC that needed to be switched on first before the TX in order to "arm" itself. Switching the TX on first resulted in the motor not working. I have looked for the instruction sheet, but I must have sold it with the boat.

It took me some time to get used to this idea, as it was alien to the way I had been brought up! However, the ESC is still going over four years later, and has never failed. I bought it from offshoreelectrics.com (I think that's the right address), who were absolutely brilliant.

Having given up FE racing, I sold the boat complete and, as far as I know, it is still racing OK. I have watched racers with UK made ESCs fail time after time, but mine never did, and I have recommended the US ones whenever possible, although those coming from Hong Kong now appear very reliable.

I learnt a lot during my FE racing days. Everything gets wet at some time during each race, and reliability is important. But the main thing is to go home smiling at the end of a great day out.