Hi chaps,
has any one had ant issues with 12x in cold weather ....? loss of range.....

regards
steve

I noticed that the printed wiring board in my 9303 is not conformal coated. As a result condensation that can occur on the board when moving from a warm to a cold environment (car at 22C to outdoors at -20C) can cause problems. This was a dissapointment as every Futaba radio I have owned has had conformal coated boards.

Check the 12X for conformal coating.

JR should start doing this.

Colin.

I would not advise opening a 12X up. Even sponsored guys are reminded repeatedly to send the radio in if it needs to be opened up as its significantly more complex inside than the 10X was.

I have not heard anything of the sort, Steve, but what Colin says makes sense.

hi ryan,
was out the weekend , temp was about 0 degrees , and major lock outs !! , have been advised not use in the cold weather ,mmmmmm my good friend and his 14 mz worked great!!........

bit puzzling! to say the least!!.

steve

Ryan,

I would be surprised if the 12X is more complicated inside than the 10X or even a 9303. As the features improve it is usually on a software level, not hardware. I know on every radio I've opened up over the years, there are less and less boards in the new ones. I'm sure from a warranty stand point they recommend not opening the case, but I would be surprised if there is much in there when it is open.

Arch

Hi Steve,

My 14 mZ worked ok at -1C up in the frozen North! Hope nothing was damaged.

Keith

hi keith ,
only a set of boxer shorts!!!, got the model down ok so big relief!! , rich c , was with me at the time so he has seen what happened!!..

regards
steve

the new model is still in one bit, must get a tranny warmer!! , do jr make one or may have to knitt one!!..

The 12X as Ryan said is completely different inside, I had to open a 12X to change a broken sw, and that radio is not supposed to be opened by the common modeler, all the hardware, processor, and specially the 2.4 connections are different and difficult to reassemble.

I completely support Ryan's comment, do not try to disassemble the radio.

Regards

Do they do service at Horizon Hobby UK? I've been out at close to freezing with my 12X and with others with no issues. Perhaps there is someting internal that is not up to par. I see Spektrum on the side of your airplane, is the modulation DSM2 there, or FHSS? Are you sure it's not an issue with your receiver? That's a beautiful airplane, I'd hate to see something happen to it.

hi ryan,
dsm 2 mate , the aircraft has flown 20 plus flights on a dx7 just to run the motor in , and no issues !!, then we add the 12x with cold weather and now issues , so it does point to tx , it is now with a JR service agent as i type..... so should no the out come pritty soon.

rgds
steve

What are you using for power in both the TX and the airplane? My initial guess is that the cold has reduced the capability of the batteries to supply proper power.

Steve,

In the northeastern US, we pretty routinely fly in 25-35F in the wintertime, and I've never experienced decreased range in the cold (and I've been flying all JR for 20 years, from the 512 PCM to the current 12X).

The 12X is substantially more difficult to take apart due to the arrangement of the RF section. In the US, there have been some battery issues with the 12X, which could be magnified in the cold (as Tony F suggested), but since the TX output is regulated, I'd have expected the low voltage warning would go off before the range was affected. Good to hear you are getting it checked out.

Regards,

Dave Lockhart
Team Horizon/JR/Spektrum

it is a known issue that 2.4 mghz RF technology can be affected from moister or wet weather
i dont know if any one of the manufacturers in the RC industries have verify this matter "to the bone" and can put the finger on it and say - NO, the 2.4 RF that is used in the RC is free from moist and wet weather affects!

food for thoughts![8D]

I flew my 14mz on new years day at -18C....so no reason why other systems should not be able to work in very cold weather as well.

Hi Steve,

Coincidence !!!???

Brian

As I said before...lack of conformal coating makes the JRs not suited to rapid changes in temperature. The moisture WILL cause problems.

Even really cheap cell phones have CC'd boards...JR is cutting costs in the wrong places.

Colin.

I think people need to observe the manufacturer's specifications for operating in extreme temperatures. The electronic components used in the radio gear determines what the limit of operation is. For example, most commercial spec parts operate fine from 0C to +70C. If you operate the radio beyond the manufacturer spec then you could open a can of worms insurance wise and we all know how lovely insurance people are... :-)

Crystals in particular are very sensitive to temperature change.

Just my $0.02 worth...

Check your instruction manual that came with your radio. It should specify the operating temperature range. If it doesn't, contact the manufacturer.

Cheers
Jason.

Why did you move away from Futaba then?

At our annual Freeze Fly my DX7 wouldn't start up after being exposed to 20 degree F for a couple hours. After some extensive testing the problem was narrowed down to cold temperatures affecting the stock NiMH battery. Replacing the battery cured the problem. With the new battery, even leaving the DX7 in the deep freezer for a couple hours didn't seem to bother it.

Going from warm to cold will not cause condensation, but once the transmitter is cold bringing it back into a warm environment will cause very bad condensation. I am very familiar with this because I used to do mountaineering with very nice cameras and it is a huge problem. The condensation can be almost entirely eliminated by putting the transmitter in a plastic bag and vacuuming out as much air (and therefore moisture) as possible before returning to a warm environment.

Of course this addresses only the moisture issue... how the cold affects batteries/electronics is another matter I can't help with.

I agree with Aussie....

From the JR FAQ section

What's the maximum and minimum operating temperature of my JR equipment?
0 Degrees Celsius or 32 Degrees Farenheit Minimum

50 Degrees Celsius or 122 Degrees Farenheit Maximum

Funny, I just tried to find anything about this in the manual for my brand new JR radio.... can't find a think about temperature range for the transmitter or the receiver.....

Maybe the assumption is no one would ever fly if the water in your bottle is frozen solid or evaporating due to heat...

i think that the best it to call jr AKA HB

Steve,

A good friend of mine suffered total radio loss on Sunday costing him his Impact. Pretty much straight after take off and at a distance of around 30mtrs away from us, his model went into a series of left rolls at a height of around 15ft from the floor, result a totalled airframe!

The symptoms were like a short range signal, the radio is a JR PCM9X V2 with a Spektrum module kit, this has proven to be TOTALLY reliable and rock solid up until Sunday which coincidentally would appear to be the coldest day that the system had been used!!

I also had a couple of flights however with my Twister which is JR DSX9 guided without any issues so an array of questions and scenarios have been going through our minds ever since.

We can all live with pilot error when it comes to losing an airframe, but unexplainable situations like these are just unbearable............

Not much use to anyone but thought I'd share the experience here with you all as food for thought.

Regards,

Andy.