fourthearth

Hi..

OK... Here is a good one for you guys. I have a UCANDO 46 size with a 100 Saito engine in it. I bought this plane fully built from another flyer in our club. This plane had been flown many, many times by the previous owner who is a extreeml;y good pilot and builder. He sold me the plane with no radio gear. He had been using all digital servos and a Futaba 9C radio, not sure on the receiver. I have a Hitec Eclipse 7 radio, I bought all full size standard servos Hitec HS-475HB for all control surfaces and a Hitec HS-625MG for the throttle. I bought a Hitec RCD3800 Supreme 7-Channel Shift Select FM receiver. I found that I had to put a servo reversing "Y" connector in for the elevator servos as this model uses 2 elevator servos and the previous owner had digital servos which can be reversed.

Anyways.... I've been flying this model set up like this for about a year, when one day at the field I pull the model out and start preping it for flight, and I find that channel 6 on the receiver (left aileron) has gone dead. Found this out by going through the steps of trouble shooting it down to that. No biggy.... Really happy it happened on the ground. I send the receiver back to Hitec and they replace it with a new circuit board installed.

OK, here is where it gets strange..... I put the same receiver back into the model, and fly it again for a few months, then one day during pre-flight prep, I find that channel 6 (left aileron) and channel 4 (rudder) are now dead on the receiver. This happens again on the ground. I decide that a diferent reciever is in order for this plane this time. I through an older Futaba that I had in the plane this time and fly for another few months.

Now... Today... I go to fly and during pre-flight.... The plane is just massively glitchy, I can stand 6 feet from the plane with my radio on and the receiver on (No one else in on my channel), and the plane glitches like mad, even when I put the antena up about 6 inches it still glitched. No flying today.

Has anyone heard of radio electronics causing receivers to go bad? I mean, do I have a rouge servo that just keeps killing my receivers? Or is the "Y" harness with the servo reversing switch in it cause me issues?

I have been extreemly lucky, that my UCANDO is still a UCANDO and not trash bag inards.

Deadeye

I had a Somethin' Extra with a Saito 82 on it. After 100 flights or so, the crystal went dead in flight. Totalled the airframe. I noticed that the plane vibrated llike crazy with the 82 on it. I wonder if vibration is killing the RX? Do you use a an iso mount for the 100?

fourthearth

I wondered about the engine vibration also. I have no vibration isolating typ engine mount on this plane, and the saito really vibrates the heck out of the plane, I'm always going through and replacing screws that have vibrated out. I do have the receiver in a budle of foam. Thanks!

Rodney

Do you have any extensions where the plugs do not get exercised occasionally? Any corrosion in the connectors can cause this. Try just unplugging and replugging all connectors and see if the problem dissappears. Corrosion is one good reason for never using extensions, much better to splice in an adequate length of wire using solder.

davewallace

My Feedback: (29)

FE,
This may not be the same problem. Have you tried another battery? Jumpy servos often are cause by a weak or insuffcient battery. I always wrap my receivers in foam. I have been doing this for over forty years and haven't had a receiver effected by vibration. My old reed radios in the early sixties were very sensitve to vibration.

Dave

fourthearth

I do have extensions, with heat shrink on the plugs, I'll check these out. I may replace the battery also. Thanks for the ideas!

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

How about your transmitter? Transmitters go bad too.

JimO

My Feedback: (7)

I would cycle the batteries and see what their readings are . Sounds like the amps aren't there to push the servos.

Nogyro

My Feedback: (10)

Ditto! I had a Hitec transmitter years ago and lost one channel on it. I almost always pack up the transmitter and receiver when shipping back for service........