Interspersed throughout the Falcon 3D Thread has been discussion on things to do to help minimize glitches. Since this appears to be the single greatest contributor to the most expensive problem with the Falcon, I am hoping we can present, here in one location, a condensation of the fixes and recommendations.

I recall posts dealing with ferrite rings, rerouting the antenna, relocating components and wiring, suggestions for positioning of the TX relative to the heli for improved signal, to mention a few.

I would encourage all reasoned input and responsible, dispassionate discussion, but especially input from those most experienced with RC and RF/electronic interplay.

I am also going to email HL encouraging them to share their recommendations; afterall, this topic has been an expensive one for them, as well - a testimonial to their incredible commitment supporting this new product!!

Thanking everyone in advance for their contribution to this effort.

Steve

Hi sgomes

looks like I am going to need a new esc have tried about every thing I have read or could think of to stop the glitch
Peace
X

hope this tread gets some results
thanks sgomes

here is a link to my fix to the glitch...It is what I found and did to reroute the antenna.....

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=5330513

I've never had any glitching problems with mine personally, but have seen reports from several others about glitching.

Off the top of my head, here are some things to check:

1. Make sure the antennae in your TX is screwed in snugly

2. Make sure the crystals in both the TX and RX are seated fully

3. Make sure the ESC is not too close to the RX. Definitely not right below it. Mount the ESC as far to the rear (motor direction) as possible.

4. Make sure the batteries in the TX are good, and seated firmly. squeeze and gently shake the TX while observing the LED on the front. If it flickers or turns red, etc, then you have a bad connection somewhere (This happened to me with another heli once)


That's all I can think of right off hand. I'm sure I've left some stuff out, but I'm sure others will contribute also...

If antenna routing is the problem how about a replacement antenna like [link=http://helihobby.com/html/extras.html]these[/link]. A Dean's 2 piece antenna worked on my Walkera 22D and if it worked on that I sure it could help the Falcon.

Thanks for the input so far. I am hoping for much more, particularly since this is the root cause for many of the most expensive repairs.

I have emailed Eric, VP Hobby-Lobby, requesting input from his technical staff. He has been responsive in the past, so I am encouraged he will see the value to HL in this idea. VP - probably has the weekend off, so maybe Monday or Tuesday. I will post here when he responds.

In the meantime, keep the thoughts comming.

Steve

I've not had any glitching issues with my Falcon however that's not to say I haven't with other helicopters. When I first finished building my Eolo helicopter I had intermittent glitches that eventually caused a crash. Generally glitching can be a real pain to diagnosis and find but it can be done using the process of elimination. In order to do this you will need spare parts, i.e., receiver, servos, speed controller and motor. In most cases glitching can be traced to bad solder joints, broken wiring, faulty equipment, and poor placement of electronics. Since most helicopters have limited space to mount electronics it can be difficult to move things around so one must use their imagination. Glitching can be identified as sudden loss of control, twitching servos or motor, reduced range and delayed control response. Sometimes glitching can be found without having to fly your helicopter, just sitting on the ground it will "glitch". I've found my Falcon to be very reliable from day one, however, I did once have a glitch probably caused by radio interference but I never was able to pin point the problem. All that being said, you will have to try and diagnose your "glitch" by trial and error. If say it only happens when it flight you might be able to eliminate the receiver or servos if say the motor cuts out momentarily or shuts off completely. Unfortunately the Falcon speed controller is probably being taxed to it's limit with four servos and gyro. Since the Falcon does not use a switching battery elimination circuit it can be overloaded which can cause all sorts of problems. If a servo is pulling too much current because it is stalled or binding it can pull more current than the speed controller can apply and this can lead to momentary power loss. This will be seen as a glitch if the power loss only lasts a split second. If the antenna wire is wrapped over or overlapped this can reduce the range and cause glitching. Cold solder joints on the motor wires connecting to the speed controller can cause glitching as well. Unfortunately there's no simple one step method to cure glitching, it takes time, effort, and patience. My Eolo problem took nearly six months of tinkering before I finally found that the speed controller couldn't supply enough voltage to the electronics to prevent glitches. I ended up replacing the speed controller with a very expensive one that had a switching BEC and that cured my problems. I hope maybe some of this helps those with glitching problems. Don't give up, they can be corrected!

Gary Morris

If you want a shorter, full range ant., try this one. http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/gadgets/flywire.htm I have it on my Lite Machines and many glow planes. Have it in my 25 size Piza Box overhead till it was a dot with no problems. Don't have it on the Falcon since I went to the Spectrum DX7.