Futaba Radio Upgrade
 

Jim , If these old radios need new batteries and a new reciever, you could buy a new radio for less money.
plus if the servos have the old G style connecters they wont plug into a new reciever without changing the ends.
As far as the updates, Futaba's service center in Champaign Ill used to do it. Maybe someone else will answer that knows if they still do.
later daveo

Futaba Radio Upgrade
 

Last I heard, The Futaba Service Center (now at Tower Hobbies, Hobby Services, contact [email protected] and they'll get the message to the right place) had stopped doing narrow band updates. Any radio needing a narrow band update would be over 10 years old anyway, and there's a lot of other things that will start to be going wrong. (gimbals breaking down, cases falling apart on most FG series radios by now)

Tower's Hobby services will check out the systems and tell you what they'd need. They also have a list of the Futaba radio models and which are narrow or wide band.

FCC rules aren't very clear... but the way I read them, its now illegal to do a narrow band conversion of an old radio. (previously converted can be used until they can't be repaired any more.)

The only modern standard that the old systems could be upgraded to is the narrow band, assuming they don't already meet the standard. If they are already narrow band... all you need to do is have the batteries checked and it wouldn't be a bad idea to have the tuning calibration checked. Hobby Services, or Radio South (or a lot of other places) can do the tuning check. You can check the batteries just by doing a few charge/discharge cycles. (best to check using a modern cycler/charger)