To PCM or to not PCM
10-26-2003, 09:32 PM
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To PCM or to not PCM
Hi,
I’ve got a few questions about PCM
1) Aside from very fine control over your servos, what other benefit do you get from PCM?
2) Is very clean control really worth the extra cost (if your not in a competition)?
3) How often do planes crash because a signal was lost and the servos were “locked” into the last position before the signal was lost? (A: It seems to me that a loss of signal would also be a problem with PPM Tx/Rx’s even if things went to neutral. B: Aren’t there failsafes for PCM too.)
4) Is PCM greatly prone to atmospheric disturbances? (Are there days when PCM flyers are grounded while PPM flyers are up in the air? )
THANK!
I’ve got a few questions about PCM
1) Aside from very fine control over your servos, what other benefit do you get from PCM?
2) Is very clean control really worth the extra cost (if your not in a competition)?
3) How often do planes crash because a signal was lost and the servos were “locked” into the last position before the signal was lost? (A: It seems to me that a loss of signal would also be a problem with PPM Tx/Rx’s even if things went to neutral. B: Aren’t there failsafes for PCM too.)
4) Is PCM greatly prone to atmospheric disturbances? (Are there days when PCM flyers are grounded while PPM flyers are up in the air? )
THANK!
10-27-2003, 08:23 AM
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RE: To PCM or to not PCM
Ke,
1) There is no difference in control as far as "being fine". There is a difference that your model isnt bounced around by stray interference if hit on PPM.
2) For many, it isnt about the lines staying clean as much as it is about the safety of a PCM failsafe setting in the event of a bad hit.
3) This one is a tough one to answer. Here in central IL, almost never. In the middle of LA, I saw failsafe locks every weekend. I also saw FM "scramble all over the place and who knows what's going to happen" hits every weekend. The difference, though, is that PCM will filter out and still obey your commands in some interference situations, and that you can tell your system what to do, thus for example shutting off your gas engine and hopefully helping to avoid a catastrophic situation with a large gasoline aircraft crashing into a populated area.
4) No.
1) There is no difference in control as far as "being fine". There is a difference that your model isnt bounced around by stray interference if hit on PPM.
2) For many, it isnt about the lines staying clean as much as it is about the safety of a PCM failsafe setting in the event of a bad hit.
3) This one is a tough one to answer. Here in central IL, almost never. In the middle of LA, I saw failsafe locks every weekend. I also saw FM "scramble all over the place and who knows what's going to happen" hits every weekend. The difference, though, is that PCM will filter out and still obey your commands in some interference situations, and that you can tell your system what to do, thus for example shutting off your gas engine and hopefully helping to avoid a catastrophic situation with a large gasoline aircraft crashing into a populated area.
4) No.
