Tracker III radio issues

[flying jeep]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

You know what? I've put off joining the admirals long enough, I need to get off my butt and do it. Probably not much going on this time of year in Indy though. And I still have not figured out how you join the local Subron group.

Send Chris Campbell a PM. He can be reached here as "admiral commander". Chris is tied into both the Indy Admirals and SubRon5 so can get you the details for joining both.

-Jeff

That's great! I thought it was SubRon6 here in Indy?
Jay

[flying jeep]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Ed,

Apparently there is a difference between AM and PM radios! That did not work very well. I guess I'm stuck waiting to see if those servos from Polk show up this week.

Jay

[flying jeep]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Ed,

Just for fun I checked the voltage with the nicad battery that came with the radio. It stayed pretty close to 5.6 volts no matter how much I stirred the sticks.

Jay

[ramius-ii]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Hi Jay,
Yes it does seem strange and the possibilties are almost limitless. It could be the servos that did not come with the radio are more sensitive to the information on the servo's command wire (typically the white wire on one side as power and ground are center + and side -). It could be that some signal is ending up on the power lead. It could be that what is called the "local oscillator" inside the receiver is somehow getting through to the command wires. It's one of those troubleshooting trial and error events when you do not have an oscilloscope to actually "see" what is what. All you can do is look for what is the most likely cause. Over the last 50 years I have seen many strange things and designs that are far from "text book". Had one voltage regulator (BEC) in a piece of military equipment where a capacitor was left out of the circuit and under certain conditions this BEC became like a AM transmitter causing all kinds of strange activities! In television we have often sent corrections to simple ciruits from big companies. My goal is to assit you by walking you through some of the basic steps of troubleshooting to see if we can isolate the cause. Knowing that you have the cleanest ample power possible is the first step for without this narrowing down the root cause could be difficult to determine. As for other servos aside from the one with that came with the radio, if they are from the same manufacturer you could have obtains some defects. For example, if they forgot to add the "bypass" capacitors across the servo motors, when the motor start to turn it will produce a spark, the servo will think this is a command, and start to move, creating another spark, and the result is chatter. This is probably not the case and you get the idea as to what we are up against. If you wish, you can send me one of your worst chattering servos and I can try it for you on my receiver.

Best, Ed

Just saw your post about AM and PM and yes there is a very big difference! AM is "Amplitude Modulation" where the receiver interperts changes in the power of the transmitter. PM is "Pulse Modulation" where "Pulses" are sent. Modulation means how the basic signal (72 mhz) is changed. We typically call AM "Ancient Modulation" AM varies the power, FM varies the Frequency (such as varing from 72 mhz to 73 mhz for understand purposes only).

There should be no voltage change during operations. If the voltage drops you do not have enough current mAh available.

I truly hope all this has value to you and anyone else who reads our exchanges.

[JWLaRue]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Jay,

Oops. Sorry for the typo. It is SubRon6.

-Jeff

[flying jeep]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Thanks Ed. I need to see if any of my heli's have digital servos in them that I can try on the Tracker and see what happens. I'm almost to the point of beer drinking and beating my head against the wall. Putting a heli kit together is easier than this sub build.
Jay

[ramius-ii]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Hi Jay,
Yes I completely understand and the one problem with beer is that you can never own it, only rent it! If you wish to have and interesting experience go to your local small airport and take a "demo" ride in a real helicopter like a Robinson R-22. You will quickly find it is as if you are trying to pat your head while rubbing your stomach while standing on a basketball and singing!






Best, Ed

[flying jeep]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Ed,
Not to brag, but I have a little Bell 47 time, and spent one evening bouncing around the SF bay area in a LongRanger. I couldn't hove the Bell to save my life if I had to. But put me in a fabric covered Piper tail dragger, and I can teach you a thing or two
Jay

[ramius-ii]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Hi Jay!
Sounds great would love to try a Bell 47! I also have a fixed wing license as well. It would be great some day to swap "war stories". Lol

Best, Ed

[flying jeep]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Ed, still no servos from Polks Hobby so I'm waiting, and waitng, and waiting. Just for fun, Google "Newby Landing"....
Jay

[salmon]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

jay! Need more to search.....
Look forward to seeing your build!

[flying jeep]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Hey Salmon,

I know who you really are...., try this link.

http://skyvector.com/airport/36II/Newby-Landing-Airport

Jay

[salmon]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Oh no my secret identity is discovered. Wow you have a lot of water near by. I think I am jealous.... I won't divulge your true identity if you don't tell mine

[flying jeep]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Success at last!!! The servos showed up from Polk Hobby tonight. And although I've only tried the one servo so far, it is totally quiet. No buzz and no twitching! Now I get to take the whole mess apart and start over. Even the gas servo deep in the sub driver tube. At least now I have something to do on the sub build. It's a good thing it's nice here for January, I got a couple short Heli flights in yesterday and it's still in one piece

[JWLaRue]

Re: Tracker III radio issues

Jay,

Good to hear that progress is being made.

-Jeff