mharvey1

My new Thunderbolt has a fairly significant glitching problem - it cuts out intermittently at various locations then will pick back up. The boat was built by Tom at Expresscraft and the antenna is mounted inside the hull. I assume fiberglass does not interrupt the signal, but should I mount the antenna externally ?, or other ideas ?. The failsafe seems to be working properly. Thanks.

Justaddwata

My Feedback: (3)

Do you have this issue at various ponds ? Could be outside interference. Could be an issue with the concealed antenna (though I have run antennas below deck on many boats without issue).

mharvey1

I have only run it on my lake and dont have the same problem with other boats....

Justaddwata

My Feedback: (3)

Do you use the same radio with the other boats and have you tried swapping out receivers with non glitching boats ? Just to humor me - swap out your on off switch (had a friend with a T-bolt with same problem and it was his switch).

mharvey1

Do you use the same radio with the other boats and have you tried swapping out receivers with non glitching boats ? Not yet .

Just to humor me - swap out your on off switch (had a friend with a T-bolt with same problem and it was his switch). Will do. Thanks

xxxboatworks

Does it glitch on land when you walk away from it? Does it only glitch when the engine is running?

02f350psd

My Feedback: (3)

Yes, try the on/off switch!!!! It took me like 3 months to find it was the on/off switch on the thunderbolt. If you can, try to run the boat on a stand at your house (if you can run water through the engine) and walk away from the boat with the radio. This is what i did many times so i would not have to go after the boat when it died on the pond. Good luck! I feel your pain.

xxxboatworks

If Tom built the boat, you probably have servo lead extensions on your throttle and/or steering servos . Check the connections on the extensions. Maybe blow them out or spray with corrossion-X or wd40. The extension leads are a common source of the glitch you are getting. Hope this helps

mharvey1

Thanks for the replies. It appears I corrected the problem ..the receiver was just flopping around unprotected in an aluminum radio box. I secured and protected it and seems to be working okay now. I will, however, take the advise from this thread.