Broken Receiver Aerial
 

Hi, has anyone ever had a broken reciever aerial ? I have had some spurious interference with a reciever that is about 5 years old, I have replaced crystals, it has never had a serious crash , and it is a futaba dual conversion. Theirs no metal to metal movement anywhere, no metal pushrods, and my tranni seems fine with my other models.

I was just thinking the other day, what if over that time the aerial has been flexed enough to break and cause an intermittent connection?? Has anyone experienced this and if they have has anyone replaced an aerial.

Nick

RE: Broken Receiver Aerial
 

I have seen this sort of post many times here on RCU. Any convenient lightweight stranded wire will work well as a replacement antenna. Naturally a small diameter will be more flexible and easier to work with. 24 AWG stranded is recomended. Note: solid wire will develop metal fatigue from bending and will break prematurely. The length seems to be anywhere from 36 to 39 inches. If you are handy at soldering in small places, you may remove the receiver circuit board from its plastic case, unsolder the original antenna wire from the pad that it is attached to, and simply solder in a new one. Too much heat, or for too long a time can damage the pad and board, so a little experience and a very tiny soldering iron are a necessity. Having three hands helps too! If the original wire is still in good shape from the solder pad to outside of the receiver box, you may just snip off the old wire at any convenient spot outside of the receiver case, and solder on a new piece, maintaing the original length. Cover the soldered area with a small piece of heat shrink tubing, or tape, to prevent unwanted contace with other metal...and you have done the job! Even though your replacement wire may be the same size as the original wire, you may notice that the original antenna wire is a bit more flexible than the stuff you get at Radio Shack...that will not have any effect on performance. The original wire is simply made up of a greater number of smaller strands...for more flexiblity...hard to find that kind of wire in the normal world. If, after you have done this quite well,...you still find glitching,...most likely it is not your antenna. Look for a metal to metal vibrating contact...even a metal hub tailwheel on a metal axle! ...and thats an entirely different subject...also covered well in multiple threads here on RCU.
good luck
jim