Uncertainty
 

UNCERTAINTY (the fear of the unknown). Honestly there is nothing worse than having uncertainty, or a lack of confidence when it relates to your RF signal. Regardless of what we fly we should ALL have a professional obligation to ensure our equipment maintains the highest level of safety and redundancy, irrespective of the cost.

I may have mentioned this before but the region where I fly is incredibly polluted, in fact it’s possibly the most polluted RF airspace on the planet. We are surrounded by a combination of Microwave Towers, HV Power Lines, Military activity (adjacent to an Air Base), RC shops on the Club Airfield (with Wi-Fi boosters), AND a Drone School (with a lot of telemetry systems using 2.4Ghz).

Now let’s add another factor. There are a few who lack common sense and are totally oblivious to RC Safety, Rules and Regulations, and common etiquette that most clubs adopt (which are “sort of” in place over here but are often neglected). To elaborate, you are flying one of your $25K competition models when suddenly a “no name brand unregulated drone” will appear and hover 1 meter behind your head as the guy wants to film your gimbals inputs, or he will try to chase your jet down the runway during a flyby - and believe it or not they actually had to shut down the International Airport recently (for an hour with several diversions), because a drone guy thought it would be nice to stand under the approach path, climb his drone up to 500’ and see what an airliner would look like head on.

Anyway the point of all this is that our good old faithful, tried and trusted RC Transmitters and Receivers are being put through their paces (over here and by default), and unfortunately some are NOT performing well anymore. It’s not that they were manufactured wrong, on the contrary, my original JR PCM 10s (from MacGregor Industries 1994) was simply a marvel and way ahead of its time. It’s just that the unregulated system (over here) has evolved to such an extent that the equipment simply can’t cope anymore and has become the weakest link in the chain. Even with modern Power Supply SRS units we can still see the poor RF quality from the receivers. Unfortunately this has caused a lot of unexplained LOSS OF CONTROL accidents and I know, some will blame the equipment over poor judgement and flying ability, but even if that’s as high as 50%, we still have had an unprecedented amount of signal failures over the past couple of years.

Now please don’t take offense, I have the utmost respect for my fellow RC colleagues (YOU), but perhaps some of you may have been a little spoiled, meaning: You live in a first world country where everything RC is regulated and licensed, you have the best RC facilities and equipment at your fingertips, you have wonderful clubs and committee’s (which ensure the behavior mentioned above should NEVER happen), and your RF atmosphere is clean and NOT polluted. This means that your current RC equipment “may” work just fine for the next five to ten years. My good friends (David Gladwin, Olivier Nicholas, and Dave Wilshire), have for years been using some RC equipment that was simply way ahead of its time and is perhaps still considered exceptional today (namely Weatronic), but unfortunately that system is currently in limbo and so my conscience and circumstance lead me to seek alternative and more modern equipment with the next decade in mind.

We all know that 2.4GHz is NOT perfect and can reach saturation on some frequencies within the spectrum, so it was for this reason that I was drawn to the ingenious design of the JETI DC-24 with its 900MHz redundancy. Should any of you ever feel any uncertainty or lack of confidence in your current RF equipment, and want something “Bullet Proof”, then please do yourself a favor and do some research, honestly you won’t be disappointed in JETI. I have been using this system for a little over six months now and despite what you may read the RF quality is exceptionally clean on 2.4GHz. Having been in the hobby for 45 years I can now comfortably restore some much needed confidence in my current RC fleet (a $300K investment).

Darryl Tarr
(BVM Field Rep)

The information above is NOT for personal gain but rather in response to dozens of questions from fellow RC enthusiasts, and PLEASE, let’s NOT start another brand war.

I'm a bit confused by your statement:
"Even with modern Power Supply SRS units we can still see the poor RF quality from the receivers"
What effect would an SRS unit have on received signal quality (or lack thereof) from a receiver?

BTW, there is no guarantee that a 900MHz receiver will not have similar issues to what you have observed on the 2.4GHz band.
Even when I flew 53MHz 'back in the day', I would still have to be aware of any nearby 6m ham operators.

IMHO, the Weatronic system had a very good antenna; much better than Jeti's simple coax antenna. Of course you could add an external antenna to Jeti (warranty and regulations aside).

FWIW, I always assumed that Europe was just as regulated with regards to spectrum as the US (via the FCC); at least that has been my experience.

QUOTE. I'm a bit confused by your statement: "Even with modern Power Supply SRS units we can still see the poor RF quality from the receivers" What effect would an SRS unit have on received signal quality (or lack thereof) from a receiver. END QUOTE

I think you miss-understood, or perhaps I wasn't clear. To elaborate, the SRS units are outstanding pieces of equipment and do exactly as they are designed (switch RX's if required by selecting the strongest and most reliable signal), but that's the issue. After landing when logging the RF flight recorder you can see that the Fades, Frames and Holds are ridiculously HIGH (an indication of poor RF signal quality).

Okay so what's the point of this post? Are you trying to sale us on Jeti radios? Or tell us to pay attention to signals loss? Most everyone I know range checks their models and can easily see signal strength after each flights.
Im not sure what equipment folks are using with poor signal quality but the only time I have seen any of my signal drop was a receiver that would sit about 5% below the other receiver so even in the primary slot the receiver was pushed to the secondary.

It is a very thinly veiled advertisement for Jeti.

First you build and define the problem and need. Expertly done, by the way. Then you close with the soft sell:
"Should any of you ever feel any uncertainty or lack of confidence in your current RF equipment, and want something “Bullet Proof”, then please do yourself a favor and do some research, honestly you won’t be disappointed in JETI. I have been using this system for a little over six months now and despite what you may read the RF quality is exceptionally clean on 2.4GHz. Having been in the hobby for 45 years I can now comfortably restore some much needed confidence in my current RC fleet (a $300K
investment)."

I've spent 45 years in sales and advertising, i Know it when I see it. May have been and, considering the source, was most likely, a heartfelt statement of concern for fellow pilots. But, net result, it was an advertising plug for Jeti. Not that I have anything against Jeti. Just calling this one as I see it.

Reminds me of the "Protect yourself from Mayhem" commercials by Allstate.http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2208169

David S

What is it with these guys? They sure have an aggressive following

The latest D18 day late and seems to be short


http://www.horizonhobby.com/media/pr...ator1_04012017

Have you seen how the Jeti guys usually come on these threads?? At least this guy was nice.

:)I still find at least twenty 9-10ch. SPCM receivers on 36 meg. bullet proof. Happy and safe flying.

ohh pleaassee...... give me a break. The scare tactics just don't work with me. Happily flown 2.4 for a decade. Works fine. Don't need to buy a Jeti based on some mysterious RF loss of control mumbo jumbo. Pilot error is the #1 loss of control factor. #2 is poor equipment setup. Buy the way, who are the dozens of RC'ers longing for this post??

Oh yeah... if I buy a "bullet proof" Jeti, does my model get replaced if it is crashed??? Probably not....

Most of the crashes you see on YouTube are people holding Jeti radios...no thanks

OMG !!!

So much hostility. You guys would never be treated with such contempt as guests at our local RC club. I’m in the Middle East gents (right in the thick of it), and 2.4GHz jamming does occur on random occasions (the Military have advised us so).

If my initial post was regarding a Turbine that out performs other brands in this harsh climate would you also slag me off as a so called salesman for them too, or would you accept an honest opinion from a modeler who is known for his expertise and is held with high regard.

RCU has certainly changed a lot over the last decade.

So you mean to tell me a Jeti setup is ALQ-187 proof?

And hear I thought "Uncertainty" was going to be the name of a new sport jet. Darn. :p

Q-Pilot error is the #1 loss of control factor. #2 is poor equipment setup. +10 on this.
Last few days I have removed the front cover on two of mine turbine engines, being horrified what state I found all fuel and gas lines after years of use. I wonder what is the percentage of pilots who actually check it on regulatory bases. Major crash and fire just avoided!

Darryl, I'm with you mate, no harm pointing out your findings and thoughts on the current issues around 2.4 etc, if it leads to some 'reviewing' their setups and final product purchases then great, guys we are all capable of making our own choices and decisions, you buy what you want and with whom - freedom of choice still exists....

RCU has changed and sadly not for the better.

Rarely post now.

marcs

What issues? My 2.4's have been performing flawlessly for 10 years. I have to agree with what was stated above, that all these isolated incidents must be due to all the crap people put on their models and their lack of understanding of their setup and functionality.

QUOTE: all these isolated incidents must be due to all the crap people put on their models and their lack of understanding of their setup and functionality. END QUOTE

Such a BOLD statement and assumption by someone who has absolutely no idea of our credentials.

To the OP. It's great you are thrilled with how your equipment works. It's important that you have assessed your RF environment and adjusted accordingly. But let's face it, you made a lot of broad brush statements about 2.4 equipment that simply don't hold up. So, you were called on that. Next, in many of the forums here Spektrum and Futaba owners are being bashed for having inferior equipment by folks feeling the need to sell more Jeti radios. Also, with broad brush comments. So, you were called on that. I think this is about having a thoughtful and honest dialog on the radio link. Not brand loyalty. So, to say that RCU is becoming uncivil or has changed is a broad brush statement as well. You'd be welcome to fly with me and we would chat up a storm about frequency issues. But I'm going to press back on statements that are not supportable. Cheers -Ken

BOLD STATEMENT would be to assume there is an overall issue with 2.4 GHz. Just because "some" have had issues, doesn't mean there is one. I am not questioning your credentials either, no need to. Simple ad discussion, that's all.

I suspect if Darryl had not mentioned the manufacturer in his original post I'm sure there would have been those asking him who it was out of interest and curiosity - rock and a hard place springs to mind.

If Mr Futaba or Mr Spectrum were online maybe they might have some views of their own but guys we are just involved in a HOBBY here and while we have preferences around kit manufacturers and all believe ours is the 'nuts' does not mean someone highlighting their issues needs a bashing - the world of electronic forums and no face to face is just making us all a bunch of grumpy old men and women - period!!!!!!

marcs

Really can you send me those videos , I would like to see them . Terry

Great timing for this thread Darryl. I am a Futaba 18MZ user.. so far so good, but even I am getting a Jeti 24 soon. Need to have the coolest toys around. I will continue to use both radios.

Now for the guys who are trolling this post. I don't think they know who Darryl is...fortunately I do... He doesn't need to sell or promote a product. I think the ones who are critizing are probably the ones who need to support/promote another product. I don't know why we can't be nice here anymore. These are only toys at the end of the day... and we like them all...