jigeye

I have a Futaba R127 FM low band receiver that was in a trainer I crashed. Question: I checked it on the ground with a range check and it seemed to work fine. I have just got a lot of money/time in a newly built SIG Fourstar 60 with S3010s high torque servos.
I'd like to hear stories about radio equipment that has been transferred from wrecks into other airplanes. I guess I'm taking a chance and should pony up for another reciever.
Speaking of recievers: I heard the hobbico reciever is good {need the 7 channel} and works well with Futaba and requires no crystal. Anybody had one? what did you think?

Silent-AV8R

If you crashed hard enough to break a plane then you should ABSOLUTELY send the RX in to get checked out. No matter what you do on the bench at home, you cannot really know if it is actually damaged and waiting to kill your new bird. At the very least you are risking your new plane, and at the worst you may be risking killing or injuring another person if the crashed RX takes a dump on you.

Why take a chance? Get it looked at.

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

Absolutely have the RX checked out; this particular unit will need to have a fragile ceramic filter replaced at the very least.

It makes sense to have the rest of the gear inspected to IMO

Deadeye

While I can respect the opinions of the guys above, I will take another road. I have had 4 smash em' up crashes. In all those crashes, the only radio problems were stripped servo gears. I always wrap my RX in foam and isolate it from the battery (meaning the battery won't slam into it in a nose dive). I have never sent my RX's in, but do test them on the ground extensivly before flying with them again.

Personal preference, I guess. Send it in if you have deep pockets, but usually a good check on the ground will show any RX damage.

Silent-AV8R

All due respect, you do not have the equipment required to properly determine if in fact the RX is damaged. You can determine if it has already failed, but that is not the concern. The concern is something that will show up early on in the next flights. And this could cause more than the simple loss or damage of a plane. It could result in the loss of property, injury or even death to someone else. Are your pockets deep enough to handle that??

I mean really, the idea is that you can afford this hobby, but not to the extent that you will spend 30 or 40 bucks to make sure your stuff is safe to use??

Deadeye

All due respect to you, also. A civil disagreement can be healthy, so by all means, let's keep it decent.

I can understand concerns about problems showing up after crashes. However, I am not in the minority in my feelings on getting things checked after a crash. Know your equipment. Obviously if there is visible damage to an RX, it should be looked at. But if a RX is properly cushioned and securely attached, then I see no reason to send it in after a decent range check and ground test has been done.

I know it may be an unpopular stance, but it is my stance nonetheless.

tadracket

My Feedback: (1)

Well, I feel the same way deadeye does. I had a Futaba 7 channel that went through 4 planes. All crashed due to pilot error, not faulty equipment. It is a chance you take and I got by. If money is an issue, do what you can with what you got and don't let people tell you this is a rich mans hobby. If that means you reuse crashed equipment, then so be it.

SwampFlier-RCU

I guess we should involve our friends the spad enthusiasts in this thread as you know those pesky spads can take a beating and keep on ticking. Impacts that can send a balsa plane to the doctor's bench will only dent a spad so hard impacts are a way of life

I believe after a crash an inspection of the receicer is a must to check for cracks in the case (which means something slammed into it) being, the battery, the ground or something else if it's crackerd send it to for repari, if no damage is apparent and a thorough range check does not show glitches, twitches or other signs of damag I say go ahead and fly!! usually electronics are not like engines either the impact damages them or not ... there is no gradual loss of reception or other problem like that. (Flame suit on ) For those of you with negative tendencies, every time we put up an rc plane in the air we are incurring the risk of property of bodily damages, some days we take more chances than other days (flame suit off)

Where we fly, receivers are two or three weeks away... not a couple of days away, so usually after a crash we check them and if they work flying we go!!![8D] In 5 years of re-using "impacted" receivers, not once a receiver that pass the visual inspection and range check has died on us... actuallly some of them (not mine) are multiple crash cases due to a member insisting on learning to fly 3D without the benefit of good thumbs...

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I operated a repair shop for about five years in the early '70s. I never did figure out how to fix a problem that was not there. If you have crashed a receiver and send it in to the repair shop he has two choices; fix the obvious problems, bless it and send back, or he can sell you a new one. Some shops will offer you a new one for 1/2 price.
If I suspected a receiver was bad I would thoroughly check it out then fly it in an old airplane for awhile. You don't need exotic instrumentation to do that.
If it makes you feel better you can take it to the local priest for the blessing

BigSkyRCFlyer

My Feedback: (36)

I have been in this hobby for a long time, and many a crash! LOL I have never had to send in an RX due to a crash. Maybe I am just lucky? Or know how to pack the RX in good quality Latex Foam Rubber??? Who knows.........

I agree with Deadeye, Dirtybird, Swampflier, and other's on this one. Inspect the RX for damage, do a couple range checks, and your good to go. Install the RX properly in your airframe i.e. LOTS of Foam, and you will be fine. I do not advise taking an RX you have crashed several times, and placing it in your shiny new $10,000 Turbine, or 40% bird, just out of respect for the airframe and investment........Range Check, Range Check, and Range Check, if it passes, fly and have fun.......send it in, if that would make you sleep better at night. There are so many anal people in this hobby, come on guys you can be as meticulous as you want, the world is not going to stop turning if you don't send in your crashed RX.........sheesh

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

mglavin is correct; that ceramic filter almost always gets dinged in any sort of impact. It may work fine now, and for an indeterminate time. But odds are it WILL fail eventually, and you're rolling the dice big-time by NOT having it checked out with the proper instrumentation.

The "deep pockets" comment was amusing; if one doesn't have the wherewithal (or is too cheap) to drop less than fifty bucks getting the very heart of your model checked out, then perhaps one should seek a less expensive hobby.

Deadeye

It would be interesting to get a RX tech in this discussion. An honest one that would say the actual percentage of RX that are damaged, and ones that he just pockets $ 20-$40 to 'look' at it.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

The only ceramic filter I ever took apart was one of those little red jobs that came in the old Heathkit. It was about 3/16 in dia. and about 1/32 thick. You would have to hit it with a hammer to damage it.
Tell me just what instrument are you going to use to check it out and tell you how long its likely to last? I'd like to get one of those. I could make a fortune selling it to the aerospace industry.

FatBoy123

Hi there gentelman,

Another question over here is for the people who fly in REMOTE countries around the world, like myself, who have no means of sending your Rx in for a checkup.

Now after reading this thread, I got very worried about my stuff and that ceramic filter, as I crash A LOT, so is there a way perhaps to check this ourselves?

Thanks again in advance for your answers.

Mohammad.

Deadeye

If you've crashed 'A LOT' and never had a problem, then keep on keepin on my man! I think this boils down to personal preference. Mine is to test myself; but like my fellow Montanan, BigSkyRCFlyer said up there, if it makes you sleep better, then send it in.

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

I don't think the ceramic filter is checked when Futaba RX's are serviced there simply replaced due to known MTBF numbers by Futaba and or the fragile nature of same. Check with Futaba Service and they'll advise that they replace this specific component every time their RX's are serviced, who knows better than the OEM?

Other things that fail are crystals; these fragile components are suspect too, IMO. Again the vibrating test may reveal problematic areas here too.

I suppose a rigorous range check with engine running and not to compare range is a viable method to insure one that there RX is good to go or not, thing that concerns me is most problems realized subsequent to crash damage are not always noted immediately thereafter.

We place a vibrating tool against the PCB when testing any and all RX's to evaluate there resilience to vibration and flight loads. You’d be surprised how many apparently working RX’s are in need some work to bring them to minimum acceptable standards. Crash damage is typically unseen by the untrained eye, its relatively cheap insurance to have a unit inspected IMO… Hitec Service charges a flat fee of $30.00 to repair and or replace a Supreme RX. In most cases Hitec Service will simply inspect/evaluate the RX, make a minor adjustments if need be and return it free of charges less shipping costs.

Jimmbbo

Verry interestink discussion..

Does anyone know if airborne RC components have a max g design requirement? Seems the FCC would want to expand their influence and place some kind of minimum requirement in the interest of "public safety"....?[sm=confused.gif]

Cheers!

Jim

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

I have no clue. But when I'm told that this filter is a weak link in the R127 rx, by a man who has absolutely NO reason to blow smoke up my ***** and is in a position to know EXACTLY what is going on with these things, I tend to pay attention.

I dorked a plane last year and sent an R127 in. I got a note back saying the filter was cracked and something eles (don't recall now) was done, and that the reciever was not "economically repairable" or some such verbiage. I was offered a brand new one for $40, and if I took that deal I would not have to pay the tech inspection fee.

At first, I was rather suspicious of this; as some on this thread are. It was a topic of discussion on another thread, and someone pointed out that it was no doubt cheaper for The Empire to offer me a new product at cost+, rather than pay a tech to fix mine. Empire employees do multi-tasking; they don't have a crew of idle techs waiting around for a dorked radio component to come in. They're doing other things between repairs. Viewed in that light, the offer makes sense.

Now, of course, I dunno for sure; all of this may be some huge conspiracy by The Empire to bleed us white, $40 at a time...

But somehow, I doubt that.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

Could it be that Futaba is using an inferior filter in that receiver that needs to be replaced?

A vibrating tool held against the receiver while checking for sensitivity is a good check provided the tool itself does not produce RF noise. However that is at only one vibrating frequency. Possibilities of mechanical resonance dictate that the receiver should be checked over the frequency it is likely to experience during its use. If the frequency of the tool is changed then the stroke must be altered in order to keep G forces within reason. All of this must be done while keeping from producing RF noise. It makes for an expensive instrument that must be designed for our application. I don't think any repair shop has one.
Its much simpler just to put the receiver in an old airplane and fly it.
I agree that the crystal is a fragile device. But if its broken the receiver will not work at all. If you think it might fail just replace it. It costs less than any service fee.
With our integrated circuits there is not much else that is delicate in a receiver.

tadracket

My Feedback: (1)

tadracket

My Feedback: (1)

Can anyone here say they lost a plane to a Rx failure after that Rx was recovered from an earlier crash? So far, I am not getting that. If it look good and tests good, use it or send it to me. I will use it.

ALbert.S

Yes I have I took a receiver from a crashed plane and put it in another after a visual and ground range check passed everything OK So I flew it after about 4 flights it stopped the plane went down but landed in some tall weeds with no damage Of course the receiver worked fine and a complete check of equipment showed no problems Everything worked fine Same story second time escaped with monor damage Changed the crystal TROUBLES OVER I took the crystal to my dentest and he xrayed it It turns out the crystal is not soldered or glued inside the case but is held by little spring clips and the crystal had moved a little so it was touching the case and it would stop vibrating and no more signal after a bump it would start again This is probably true of the filters in the receivers also

sfsjkid

Ok, but if one were to send the RX to the manufacturer, looks like the ceramic filter would be changed, but would the other crystal(s), assuming a DC RX, be changed? Clearly from your experience this would need to be the case. BTW I wish my dentist would be nice enough to xray my crystals.

Also, I had an RX in my parkflyer develop an intermitent jitter after several crashes. Turned out that the solder joints on a sub circuit board had "cracked". Do all manufacturers also do a vibration test during the check out?

Finally, when buying a crystal or a new radio for that matter, sometimes I feel like I'm playing Russian Roulette, for it is possible to have crash damage in "shipping".

So what I think I'm trying to say is that while sending a RX back after a crash does have clear benefits, it cannot take care of all issues. If one does have serious concerns, maybe it is best to replace with a new one?

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

If you are worried about it getting a new one helps. However it has been shown that 90% of electronics failures occur in the first few hours of operation. So maybe you might be better off getting that new one at a swap meet.
I think if you are going to worry this much about it I would sell my aircraft and quit.
Personally I just make sure the receiver is well protected with foam and check it out after a crash and use it.

sfsjkid

Actually, I was trying to point out that there is not one solution without its problems