mr_matt

My Feedback: (10)

Hi Gene,

You might want to look at the amateur bands, the test now is quite easy to pass, you will get a least a bit more protection (at least more than 72Mhz offers IMHO).

As for SS, almost everyone I know either has a spektrum or is looking at spektrum, I think it is a good design (as a start). I am interested in what Futaba will be offering. I am waiting and I bought a 12Z (that is really a 14 channel) and I can use any of the solutions if they pan out.

Dustflyer

My Feedback: (13)

Matt,

That's any interesting idea, haven't thought of it.

For now I think I will pursue the obvious solution: stick with my 9Z and switch flying fields!

Have you been out to Tad's new house and shop in Agua Dulce? Pretty wild. Being born and bred in the east I felt like I was on another planet out there.

Alex from Cermark was in Tad's shop not too long ago and says my HotSpot is almost done.

Take care,

Gene

Dustflyer

My Feedback: (13)

[/quote]
They let you fly jets there? Things have changed i guess. I flew my A-4 there as a guest years ago and from the moment i took off i had some old geezer bending my ear while i was trying to fly. After a few minutes i said just let me land and i won't bother you anymore. Very conservative crowd at that time. It is a nice spot, just a tad tight on the right hand approach with the road and wires. Doug
[/quote]


Yes, believe it or not they let you fly jets there. I've lost count how many times I've flown my HotSpot. 60 times or better I would guess. Everything was great until one day I took off and could't turn, hence my newfound interest in 2.4ghz. Man I wish I could just drop one of those systems in and forget about it! Not quite the panacea we all expected, is it?

You are correct, it is very tight in a right hand pattern but the HotSpot can handle it. You won't believe how slow you can fly one of those things. It really is the secret to the airplane. (PS. The speed brake looks cool but is completely unecessary.) Once you get the hang of it you can handle Valley Forge. Since I flew there we've had a Eurosport and a Super Reaper as well.

Valley Forge is a hard field to give up. It's a beautiful place.

Guess who's the old geezer now!

dbateman

My Feedback: (31)

Dustflyer, sounds good. i don't live in that area anymore but best of luck to you guys, it is a nice field. I'm finishing up a Yellow A-4 converted to EDF and have a Tam's F-16 EDF on the way. Sold my turbine last year to fund all these projects. Bought the DX7 for both,but have a trusty PCM thats turbine worthy in the wings. Doug

JasonP

My Feedback: (1)

Mr. Drew
You can find the field info on the Valley Flyers WebSite.
http://www.valleyflyers.com
Though I welcome your concern and your intention to test the site,
I highly discourage you to do it during the weekend (300+ People)or in a Turbine Powered model.
This is the only field left in Southern California that will allow jets and you will find our users to be highly protective of it.
We have 34 local Turbine members that use the facility. Most of them are flying the Spektrum
with %100.00 success.
We have had 4 pilots at the Basin with XPS with poor results.
This facility is in the middle of Los Angeles county,highly congested and in close proximity to residence,
and south of the Van Nuys airport, the busiest civilian airport in the contry.

Jason Pakfar
Valley Flyers President
http://www.valleyflyers.com
http://www.lajets.org
AMA CD 9686

Dustflyer

My Feedback: (13)

First off I want to once again thank all who replied to this thread. A tremendous amount valuable information has been offered by highly experienced and knowledgeable modelers. At this point I have no choice but to agree with Goekeli, Lightemup, George and others. XPS is a NO GO.

I have been through two complete XtremLink transmitter and receiver modules for my Futaba 9Z. So far I have not been able to achieve a consistent, reliable radio link during testing on the ground.

My XtremeLink system will either:

A. Work perfectly.

B. Work perfectly then stop working altogether. Radio link will simply terminate.

C. Work perfectly then one control surface or another will begin to pulse back and forth 30 degrees or so.

D. Further move control surfaces from their full stick deflection commands. Move sticks full aft and left, controls displace as commanded then a half-second later move another inch or so on their own.

E. Begin to work perfectly again as it happens to be doing today.

I have a achieved perfect range checks with my system at the flying field and in my front yard only to have random anomalies occur on a different day.

My setup is perfect. Receiver mounted high up in the turtledeck of my 33% H9 Cap completely away from any metal. Wires pulled away from receiver, away from antenna. Batteries fully charged. I use two 1650 nimh packs. Problems will occur using one or both.

In all fairness the problem could be with my transmitter or servos, the geographical location of my home or a high 2.4ghz noise floor or possibly something else I haven't considered.

For now; however, I will suspend use of XtremeLink.

George

My Feedback: (57)

Dust, sounds like you did plenty of "experiementing" with your set up. Sorry to hear about the mixed results, but thanks for letting us know what you found. It's good to know that it was just not me who had a problem, although it sounds like you had some completely different issues. I never experienced any problems on the ground.

Again, thanks for sharing.

George

Dustflyer

My Feedback: (13)

For anyone interested here is the thread and videos: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=722695

martinan

Dustflyer,

Did you have Futaba check the pots on your transmitter? It was reported that a few folks with 9Z and some 9Cs sent in
their transmitters and the problems disappeared.

Just a thought.

Andre.

Dustflyer

My Feedback: (13)

Actually I did. After the crash I sent my transmitter in for a complete checkout. All the pots were changed per my request to check everything in the signal path. I used the transmitter only once or twice after that. The videos were taken with brand new pots in the transmitter! It wasn't until just recently I realized all the pots were changed when I discovered the bag of old parts I had saved and stuffed into my transmitter case! Here's the photo of the old parts:

Dustflyer

My Feedback: (13)

In the months gone by I have used Spektrum in my 9Z WCII and it has worked perfectly ever since.

DelGatoGrande

My Feedback: (23)

just saw your vids!

i dont know why you are complaning man! this could give you the first place on TOC!afterall the plane is made for aerobaticks!

...dont know what will hapent in jets now!..you will get famus for sure![8D] lol

..take care