Looking for parts/info/ & advice
12-27-2019, 09:08 PM
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Looking for parts/info/ & advice
I am looking for a Futaba FP-R127DF receiver which is a little older unit. It is an FM 72.37 mhz and the crystal I have in my transmitter is channel 29. Even if someone does not have the dual conversion channel 29 crystal I am sure I can find one. At present I need the receiver and also the receiver switch that comes with it used for connecting the receiver to the battery and also another lead off it connects to a battery charger when not flying. Any help or advice is appreciated. It will work on my Tower Hobbies System 3000 6 channel FM transmitter.
Also can anyone tell me if there is a difference in the technology of these two type transmitters below. I figured I would look into them in case I am unable to find what I need for the older FM unit I now have.
I have seen this one:
Futaba 6L Sport 6-Channel T-FHSS Mono Radio System
I have also seen this type: Spektrum DSMX technology. I think they are both 2.4ghz frequency but what is the DSMX na the T-FGSS Mono? Are these two radios only good to be used with certain receivers or can they be used with any 2.4ghz receiver? Is the DSMX some special technology used with a brand specific or is it a type of technology incorporated with special units? Just a little confused and sure could use a little help. Thanks for any help.
Also can anyone tell me if there is a difference in the technology of these two type transmitters below. I figured I would look into them in case I am unable to find what I need for the older FM unit I now have.
I have seen this one:
Futaba 6L Sport 6-Channel T-FHSS Mono Radio System
I have also seen this type: Spektrum DSMX technology. I think they are both 2.4ghz frequency but what is the DSMX na the T-FGSS Mono? Are these two radios only good to be used with certain receivers or can they be used with any 2.4ghz receiver? Is the DSMX some special technology used with a brand specific or is it a type of technology incorporated with special units? Just a little confused and sure could use a little help. Thanks for any help.
12-28-2019, 08:25 PM
#2
The Futaba receiver you're needing is definitely older, and discontinued, but still available as a used component. The 127 receivers were split into high band and low band, depending on the channel. I think the split was between ch.35 and 36.. meaning everything ch.35 and under was low-band, and everything ch.36 and up is high-band. I'm sure your ch.29 you're looking for will be a low-band Futaba receiver.. there will be no green sticker inside the crystal port area.
Many generic cheap switches will work fine for this type of receiver, and the charge lead is usually a pig-tail that comes off the switch and allows charging without unplugging anything... Very old school stuff, but still very doable and relevant if you know what you're doing. Many of us cut our teeth on this type of system.. I did.
That newer technology you're asking about is actually 2 different systems, that use different means of signal transmission... all on 2.4ghz though. Futaba to Spektrum is definitely NOT compatible.. and Futaba itself has different protocols even in it's own brand that aren't compatible. Futaba actually has 4 different protocols that aren't compatible, so you have to study and know what you're buying and what you have.. and you as a consumer and hobbyist really should know those basics.. which at this point it's good you're inquiring. There's much to learn.
Spektrum also has a few different protocols, but are mostly compatible within the Spektrum brand equipment. I've found Spektrum to have very advanced technology compared to others, mainly because they've seemed to evolve more the most I've seen, and have some very sophisticated systems to offer.
Yes, it can be very confusing when starting out. We all want the best first system we can get... Thing is most of this stuff(pick a brand) works as it should if the end user(you and me) study it and use it as it should be used. Don't try to reinvent, or add or delete components, or think you can outwit the designers. Any good Spektrum or Futaba system installed and used as it should be works fine. We all have our favorites for different reasons, but that takes time and experience to develop.. There's only one way to get experience though, and reading about it won't give you first hand experience. So read and study, buy the best system you think will work for you, and go use it.. that will give you experience. I hope this helps. Good luck with it.
Many generic cheap switches will work fine for this type of receiver, and the charge lead is usually a pig-tail that comes off the switch and allows charging without unplugging anything... Very old school stuff, but still very doable and relevant if you know what you're doing. Many of us cut our teeth on this type of system.. I did.
That newer technology you're asking about is actually 2 different systems, that use different means of signal transmission... all on 2.4ghz though. Futaba to Spektrum is definitely NOT compatible.. and Futaba itself has different protocols even in it's own brand that aren't compatible. Futaba actually has 4 different protocols that aren't compatible, so you have to study and know what you're buying and what you have.. and you as a consumer and hobbyist really should know those basics.. which at this point it's good you're inquiring. There's much to learn.
Spektrum also has a few different protocols, but are mostly compatible within the Spektrum brand equipment. I've found Spektrum to have very advanced technology compared to others, mainly because they've seemed to evolve more the most I've seen, and have some very sophisticated systems to offer.
Yes, it can be very confusing when starting out. We all want the best first system we can get... Thing is most of this stuff(pick a brand) works as it should if the end user(you and me) study it and use it as it should be used. Don't try to reinvent, or add or delete components, or think you can outwit the designers. Any good Spektrum or Futaba system installed and used as it should be works fine. We all have our favorites for different reasons, but that takes time and experience to develop.. There's only one way to get experience though, and reading about it won't give you first hand experience. So read and study, buy the best system you think will work for you, and go use it.. that will give you experience. I hope this helps. Good luck with it.
12-29-2019, 12:06 AM
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Thank you DGrant for the information. Yes, my receiver is low band with channel 29 (72.370 MHz). Since I have like new equipment never used I am trying to get it to work or find used parts to get it working. Since I did not have a receiver with my TX years ago, I bought a new HITec receiver but at the time they did not have the crystal I needed. On the box it says to use a HiTec dual conversion crystal so I think I may have found one but still checking into that one. In case I can not find one I will just have to buy a Futaba receiver R127DF which there are plenty on the market. I have found several Ch. 29 crystals that will work with the Futaba receiver but many say at the end of the designation for the crystal, XTAL. Do you happen to know what that means? They all say dual conversion which is fine. I just do not know if the XTAL will present a problem with the receiver I found or with the transmitter. I also noticed these receivers have eight positons to plug into. Is the 8th positon usually used to connect the receiver to the battery? Thanks for any help. I greatly appreciate it.
12-29-2019, 08:02 AM
#4
XTAL is an abbreviation or meaning for crystal... and probably a truer description in technical terms. The R127's do in fact have 8 ports, 1-7 for servos, and the "B" port is battery.
The Hitec 72mhz receivers are mostly compatible with Futaba and a known alternative for them when needed. The crystals however shouldn't be be swapped brand to brand, although it's been done over the years, it's always been recommended to use brand specific crystals. If it calls for "dual-conversion" crystals, use them. The dual-conversion crystals are used in most if not all full-range receivers.. The less common single-conversion crystals are found in park-flyer(lesser range) receivers.
There are plenty of used Futaba R127's out there, and usually very cheap. There's a few "for sale" threads lately that had several of them.. although I'm not sure if they're hi or lo band.. I actually do notice those types of posts, and am sometimes tempted to buy more of them. I actually have several(over a dozen) R127's and other receivers that I'd bought when everyone was switching from 72mhz to 2.4ghz. I made the switch to 2.4ghz several years ago though, but still successfully use my 72mhz equipment in several planes. It works fine in my area for what it is, and I've never had a problem with it.... although the 2.4ghz systems I have do offer much more with telemetry and very sophisticated features... my much older 72mhz Futaba 9C transmitter has been a real workhorse and never given me any problem in the 18yrs I've owned it.
The Hitec 72mhz receivers are mostly compatible with Futaba and a known alternative for them when needed. The crystals however shouldn't be be swapped brand to brand, although it's been done over the years, it's always been recommended to use brand specific crystals. If it calls for "dual-conversion" crystals, use them. The dual-conversion crystals are used in most if not all full-range receivers.. The less common single-conversion crystals are found in park-flyer(lesser range) receivers.
There are plenty of used Futaba R127's out there, and usually very cheap. There's a few "for sale" threads lately that had several of them.. although I'm not sure if they're hi or lo band.. I actually do notice those types of posts, and am sometimes tempted to buy more of them. I actually have several(over a dozen) R127's and other receivers that I'd bought when everyone was switching from 72mhz to 2.4ghz. I made the switch to 2.4ghz several years ago though, but still successfully use my 72mhz equipment in several planes. It works fine in my area for what it is, and I've never had a problem with it.... although the 2.4ghz systems I have do offer much more with telemetry and very sophisticated features... my much older 72mhz Futaba 9C transmitter has been a real workhorse and never given me any problem in the 18yrs I've owned it.
12-29-2019, 08:27 AM
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Thank you very much for sharing your experiences and knowledge with me. All I can say is WOW!!! 18 years of RC flying. That is just awesome. You sound like an experienced pilot for sure. That is great. I wish I would have followed through back in 2008 when I bought my receiver but no reason to look back since I can not change that. That period of working around the clock was difficult for my family and myself and am thankful I am back home and retired. Now I can spend time with all of them and also pursue this hobby that was put on hold. I thank you right now for your communication with me is greatly appreciated. I will do as you say to study this hobby and communicate with knowledgeable people like yourself. I found a fellow with a low band receiver and told me he would also include the crystal I need for a pretty good price and I think I will be buying from him. Yes, the HITec receiver is compatible with Futaba as per the instructions on the box so I think I will still try to get a HiTec crystal to make it usable maybe for another plane. I live in a rural area with little or no interference around and want to start flying with another retired person that attends my church. He flies the later 2.4GHz models. He retired from TWA as a pilot and I kid him about having issues with his plane but, as he told me when you are behind the controls sitting in the pilot seat in the air it is a whole different world trying to fly something while standing on the ground. LOL ! Like I told him I think it is time we start enjoying life.
I think about all I will need to do is find a good working pigtail connector to join the battery and the receiver with a switch to also be able to connect to a battery charger. Can you tell me when you connect the battery charger to the battery while it is still in the plane is the purpose of the switch to actually block the battery charger from putting any electricity to the receiver? Will the battery charger damage the receiver if your switch is not blocking the charging voltage while charging the battery? Thank you.
I think about all I will need to do is find a good working pigtail connector to join the battery and the receiver with a switch to also be able to connect to a battery charger. Can you tell me when you connect the battery charger to the battery while it is still in the plane is the purpose of the switch to actually block the battery charger from putting any electricity to the receiver? Will the battery charger damage the receiver if your switch is not blocking the charging voltage while charging the battery? Thank you.
12-29-2019, 10:46 AM
#6
Your quite welcome. My pleasure to share a bit of what I've learned. I've actually been building and flying RC for over 40yrs.. since I was a teenager. That Futaba 9C transmitter I own is what's 18yrs old.
You're on the right track with studying and taking your time in choosing equipment. This hobby can be a money pit if we're not careful.. on the contrary also it can be very rewarding for a very reasonable cost if a person is careful, and has reasoning and the skills, or takes time to develop those..(study for reasoning, practice for skills). You're approach to it should be very enjoyable, and that you also have a friend to work together with makes it that much better.
There's many layers to RC and the systems that are part of it, and alot has changed over the years. Even from 2008 when you apparently delved into it some. I can give you some insight into batteries and a bit of technology, and much of that will depend on what type of plane/system/engine/motor/etc.. you'd be working with. Since you're asking about switches, I'm going to guess it's a conventional glow engine powered plane of some sort.
There's a few different types of batteries that come to mind you can use in something like that... actually there's several, but for the sake of simplicity I'd say look at NickelMetalHydride(Nmh), or LiFe... LiFe's(Lithium Phosphorous) are now the leading battery chemistry for RC for many reasons. They're very stable, they hold a charge forever, and last indefinitely when charged at the correct rate(rate depends on battery size/capacity).
With LiFe's, you can charge through a conventional switch set-up(with charging pig-tail), without having to remove the battery, although LiFe also has a "balance port" connector you also want to hook up when charging.. which allows a "balance charge". A modern "4-button" charger(generic term) will be capable of charging most any battery in most any mode you want.. and they're reasonable price through HobbyKing and a few places like that. They can vary in price from about $30 all the way into the $100's... I successfully use one charger for all my batteries that cost me about $40. I use all battery chemistries at different times, but lately have been using LiPo's quite a bit for my high-voltage systems in my Giants... but my charger does them all.
When charging LiFe's, I just hook up the main lead from charger to the battery lead in the plane, hook up the balance lead from charger to plane, set the charger, hit start, and I have a fully charged plane in less then an hour. LiFe's are simple like that. Even simpler is Nmh.. just hook charge lead to battery lead, set charger rate, hit start.let . and again in an hour or less go fly. I wouldn't waste money on NiCad batteries these days. The other types are just too good. Even though NiCads might be cheap cheap.. don't do it. I won't go into LiPo(Lithium Polymer), although very good batteries, they belong into high-voltage systems.. of which I don't want to confuse you or overwhelm you. LiFe's work in just about anything though for very reasonable cost.. so I'll leave it at that for now.
So what type of engine/size/plane are you working on?
You're on the right track with studying and taking your time in choosing equipment. This hobby can be a money pit if we're not careful.. on the contrary also it can be very rewarding for a very reasonable cost if a person is careful, and has reasoning and the skills, or takes time to develop those..(study for reasoning, practice for skills). You're approach to it should be very enjoyable, and that you also have a friend to work together with makes it that much better.
There's many layers to RC and the systems that are part of it, and alot has changed over the years. Even from 2008 when you apparently delved into it some. I can give you some insight into batteries and a bit of technology, and much of that will depend on what type of plane/system/engine/motor/etc.. you'd be working with. Since you're asking about switches, I'm going to guess it's a conventional glow engine powered plane of some sort.
There's a few different types of batteries that come to mind you can use in something like that... actually there's several, but for the sake of simplicity I'd say look at NickelMetalHydride(Nmh), or LiFe... LiFe's(Lithium Phosphorous) are now the leading battery chemistry for RC for many reasons. They're very stable, they hold a charge forever, and last indefinitely when charged at the correct rate(rate depends on battery size/capacity).
With LiFe's, you can charge through a conventional switch set-up(with charging pig-tail), without having to remove the battery, although LiFe also has a "balance port" connector you also want to hook up when charging.. which allows a "balance charge". A modern "4-button" charger(generic term) will be capable of charging most any battery in most any mode you want.. and they're reasonable price through HobbyKing and a few places like that. They can vary in price from about $30 all the way into the $100's... I successfully use one charger for all my batteries that cost me about $40. I use all battery chemistries at different times, but lately have been using LiPo's quite a bit for my high-voltage systems in my Giants... but my charger does them all.
When charging LiFe's, I just hook up the main lead from charger to the battery lead in the plane, hook up the balance lead from charger to plane, set the charger, hit start, and I have a fully charged plane in less then an hour. LiFe's are simple like that. Even simpler is Nmh.. just hook charge lead to battery lead, set charger rate, hit start.let . and again in an hour or less go fly. I wouldn't waste money on NiCad batteries these days. The other types are just too good. Even though NiCads might be cheap cheap.. don't do it. I won't go into LiPo(Lithium Polymer), although very good batteries, they belong into high-voltage systems.. of which I don't want to confuse you or overwhelm you. LiFe's work in just about anything though for very reasonable cost.. so I'll leave it at that for now.
So what type of engine/size/plane are you working on?
12-29-2019, 10:56 AM
#7
Here's an example of a switch harness you might be thinking of. Simple and effective.
https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?I=LXZTE2&P=ML
You can get very similar items from EBay or HobbyKing, or you can study a bit and see if a heavy-duty version might suit you better.. a bit more robust or trustworthy maybe. There's dozens available to choose from. Most everything works as it should with these, but maybe you have a favorite or something picked out already, or a favorite outlet/supplier. Just a few ideas for you is all.
https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?I=LXZTE2&P=ML
You can get very similar items from EBay or HobbyKing, or you can study a bit and see if a heavy-duty version might suit you better.. a bit more robust or trustworthy maybe. There's dozens available to choose from. Most everything works as it should with these, but maybe you have a favorite or something picked out already, or a favorite outlet/supplier. Just a few ideas for you is all.
12-29-2019, 02:06 PM
#8
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Thank you DGrant. Yes, I am just into flying simple small electric units. Something like this foam unit which I hear is easy to learn on.
This is the Great Planes ElectriFly ARF Glider
HobbyZone Sport Cub S RTF .
I may try to find a plane similar to this size and all that just comes with it would be an electric motor. I already have three micro servos and one standard. Who knows I may just get the set up for my transmitter and the receiver I need and put them into this ARF glider I bought years ago which is suppose to be a nice way to learn. It is the model below. The only HobbyZone Sport Cub I have seen is a ready to fly out of the box with new style 2.4GHz transmitter and all. I am thinking that switch harness link is exactly what I was thinking about and yes, I think most of what I have bought was through that company. I figure it should work with this glider if I am not mistaken. Thanks for the conversation.This is the Great Planes ElectriFly ARF Glider
12-29-2019, 06:27 PM
#9
The Sport Cub is a perfect way to learn.. many of the RTF's from HobbyZone/ParkZone and are very nice for just that, and advancing with your skills. EFlite products are very decent as well and in some ways a cut above the HobbyZone/ParkZone... Many/most of the RTF planes from Horizon are directly compatible with Spektrum transmitters, and you could upgrade that transmitter they come with for a more equipped unit in the DX line of radios.. Remember though just take your time and study.. haha. I think you'll do just fine. Have fun!
