dbcisco

I was limited in that I don't have a line of sight more than a 1/4 mile.

jaseter837

Hi Rob2160

Despite "dbcisco" executing a failed attempt to appear clever, this whole discussion has been insightful. The topic on which you have provided info on is one that goes through every beginners mind the first time they buy, assemble and pluck up the courage to fly an RC Plane.

I am relativley new to this hobby and have surpised myself just how far i have come in a short time.

As an aircraft engineer by trade i am always looking at the technical components of any equipment i buy and plan to use. One of the firstquestions that crossed my mind as i walked out of the shop and headed towards an open park area with my brand new Venom Island Hopper with its FM radio was "how far is too far for this model"

I did a few range checks and discovered it was very low. Around 200meters in fact. My initial tought was 200meters, but that means i have to be constantly turning the plane and fly it low. This made me nervous, as turning was something i had yet to practice, and a very good friend of mine told me "Altitude is your friend" so now i have to fly it low. In reality 200 meters is a long way for a plane that is 800mm long and 800mm wide. The plane is very underpowered and takes a while to complete a 200m run especially in a wind any stronger than the one coming from "dbcisco"

i have progressed now, i have replaced a few brushed motors with brushless ones and the hoppers are easily able to get out of range. so i needed to find some information on other radio systems that were cheap to aquire and easy to install being as the Hopper itself was only $100aud. I have acquired (from a good friend of mine) an FM radio from the brand FAMOUS that has a range of 450m. This now has restored my confidence that i can let it fly in a straight line for more distance and altitude is now my best friend. The plane simple truth is In actual fact this plane would be difficult to orientate if it were not for the lovely flower stickers on the upper side of the wings at 250m. At 450m this thing is a white spec. Had it not been for info here, and the fact that someone took time to do it as apposed to pick holes in it but do nothing, i didnt need to go out and spend $400+ on a radio system that was not needed.

I now have a PZ Corsair and a few other planes. These are slightly bigger with a lot more grunt, and the DX5E that came with the Corsair is for someone like me perfect. this didnt stop me buying a DX6i though which is now my preferred TX.

I progressed through the field, stage by stage. I started at the bottom and worked up. That is what a forum is for. to see where to start and how to move on. Had Rob2160 not done this experiment i would have been using a Futaba FASST or a Spek DX6 on a $100 Island hopper. And by the way, i have run the hopper to over 350m with a keychain camera on it, turned it back to look at me and my buddy and we look like two Ken dolls..... SMALL.... just be comforted in knowing that no matter which of the high end items you prefer FM or 2.4g, unless you are flying by remote a life size Airbus 380 your insignificant human eyes are not going to see past the range of your TX/RX. Thanks Rob2160 for some insight and very useful information

victorzamora

jaseter837, as an aircraft engineer (whatever that means) you should know about Factors of Safety (FS) and Margin of Safety (MS).  They are different.  FS is added onto a design for safety purposes, and MS is anything above and beyond that.  FS starts at 1 (no excess) and goes up.  MS starts at 0 (no excess) and goes up.

Rob2160

Thanks jaseter837,

Those Island hoppers are great.. I used to have one myself...

Glad the info was useful mate.. I love the DX6i radio and that range check gave me confidence in the new technology also..

Safe flying mate!

Rob2160

Just a quick update...

The Hobbyking Orange Futaba RXs have identical range to the genuine Futaba RXs I test earlier in this thread..

I tested 4 of them and they are consistently good.

Rob2160

Here are two vids from some range testing performed today..

Futaba FASST

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPIWgfgvxAU[/youtube]

And Spektrum DSMX

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMCahz4tNXg[/youtube]

Rodney

Since range if more a factor of the receiver than the transmitter, have you tried it with several different receivers? You may get a surprise in how much difference there is between receivers. Also different brand receivers may have quite different sensitivities. This is not to belittle your test, I think they are very good and valuable information, I'm just curious of possible differences in brands and even different receivers of the same brand.

Rob2160

Hi, yes a very valid point..

I have tried this test with a number of different genuine Futaba RXs, 617FS and 6008 etc.. as well as the Orange Clones and they all seem about the same.. (I tried different TXs also, 7C and 6EX)

Also with Spektrum I have range tested every receiver I use before using it in an aircraft, AR500s, AR600s AR 6200s, AR8000s etc, they are all very consistant.. the only one that range tested much less was the 6100E, but it was still over a 1000 meters so it works fine in a helicopter.

I have tried DX6is, DX8s, and JR11Xs, all with fairly similar results...

(I test every new item before trusting it in the air.)

Today I just decided to film a range check and share it..

2.4Ghz tests much better than my old 40Mhz FM radios in the 80s, they got around 1200 meters maximum.

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

I've judged some IMAC contests where pilots used loggers and at distances of over 1,500 feet or so you can still see the plane, but it is really hard to tell exactly what it is doing. These are larger 40% type of planes.
That's why they fly them out there so the Judges can't see the little mistakes.

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

Who cares how far a radio will reach out and touch someone ... I have had so many dead sticks that I don't fly further than gliding distance from the runway. Besides what fun is it flying something you can't see preform. Jets just go FAST and HIGH. War Birds about the same. Now Choppers and 3D do it right out front where ya can see's them Buggers. Another benefit to Up Close and Personal, ya don't have to walk so far to collect the "WRECKAGE" .

Keep the Greasy side UP ... It's more Fun!

rmh

Those 6100E rx , will work as far as the naked eye can see to correct flight attitudes-on small models
at 1/4 mile, the model is very small-( that's only a little over 400 meters)

chuckk2

Wait a minute! Antenna orientation - -
Usually horizontal for 2.4Ghz transmitters, and vertical (sort of) for 72Mhz.

JIMF14D

What? RX, TX or both?

Rob2160

Yes, I tried that too on seperate occasions.. I didn't notice much difference with vertical or horizontal for 2.4Ghz, but pointing the Antenna directly at the RX did reduce range by about 30%, still ample rangefor almost every in flight situation.

Same deal for 40Mhz (in my case)