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RE: Nomadio Sensor Radio
Roy, Thanks for the extra information. > 1 - if we used the big antenna that is on the prototype pictured in RCX photos, the range would be 1 mile. The real antenna is about 3 inches long >and yields a usable range of 1/2 mile. That is very impressive ground range! There are conventional airplance radios that don't have a 1 mile range. It looks like you are considering the same legal hurdles that I was thinking of. Your plan to prove the reliability and stability of the radio on the ground should work well. After all a 4kg monster truck doing 70km/h is a completely different proposition from a 15kg, 3m long model F-14 doing 400km/h as it power dives into the crowd. Exactly how much bandwidth would be available to a camera with the existing system? Is there any chance that the system will be open to the addition of new sensor made by enthusiasts and/or third party companies? Richard.
Posted on: 4/29/2004 7:50 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Car Radio Equipment"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1771973
RE: Nomadio Sensor Radio
Since the vendor has responded to my message, I have a few questions of my own: 1. What about range? How does it compare to that of a normal FM radio? 2. When will we see versions for aeromodelling use? 3. Can a PC interface with the TX when it is on and send and receive signals? Could be very cool for amateur robotics. 4. Any chance of a webcam as a sensor or would that need too much bandwidth? Good to see that inovation is still alive at the most fundamental level of the sport.
Posted on: 4/28/2004 9:11 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Car Radio Equipment"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1768795
RE: RC Car Interference Run-away
Hi! Check that the filtering capacitors on your motor are actually in place and not shorted. They used to look like little brown disks but I am not sure if people use the ceramics still (I no longer use electric). Basically these little components filter the high frequency radio noise that the sparking of your commutator produces. This broad spectrum hash will easily drown out your radio at 20'. Hope that this helps. Richard.
Posted on: 4/27/2004 8:38 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Car Radio Equipment"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1762796
Nomadio Sensor Radio
Hi, just found out about a new radio product: http://www.nomadio.net/subsensor1.html Basically it is a terrestrial radio that uses the public 2.4GHz band and spread spectrum technology to provide a bidirectional link to the car being controlled. Up to 32 servos, programmable via USB, 9 sensor channels (temp, speed voltage). Is it just me or is this the coolest Radio ever? Richard.
Posted on: 4/27/2004 8:35 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Car Radio Equipment"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1762790
RE: Volkswagen Beetle on TV AD.
The word eBay is semi underlined because RCUniverse is trying to jack evary mention of eBay over to their own auction site. Not a bad plan really if a little deceptive. Richard.
Posted on: 2/29/2004 1:09 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1575287
RE: why a monster truck?
I used to think that Monster Trucks were stupid American things. I still think that the full sized vehicles are pretty silly! However, I think that for the non-racer, the Monster Truck has far greater fun potential. I was gong to buy myself a Kyosho Landmax 2 Impreza which is a sort of hybrid road/rally vehicle when I started thinking about where I would be playing with my new RC vehicle. The fact is that there are far more construction sites, grassy fields and lumpy gravel pits around my house than buggy tracks or open carparks. I figure that a CEN Genesis or Savage 25 will give me a lot more chance to enjoy my money! Richard.
Posted on: 2/9/2004 5:34 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Monster Trucks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1510581
RE: making glow fuel
Most of your big hobby stores (including online like Tower) will sell you 2 stroke oil suitable for making fuel for your car. The cheapest of these is probably Castrol-M Castor Oil and from there the sky is the limit with oils from CoolPower and others. Your biggest problem is going to be mixing the fuel but if you did it 20litres at a time you will probably be able to shake the container to ensure that it is fully blended. There are plenty of recipes on the Internet for this sort of thing if you don't feel up to calculating the correct ratios. Try a google search. Richard.
Posted on: 2/6/2004 10:21 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Monster Trucks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1504358
RE: Futaba 2fr
Complex answer: Yes but unless you have a 27MHz version you will almost certainly be breaking the law. There are a few threads in the archives about this. You should read up on them and also check with your local regulatory authority to find out what your allowable terrestrial and airborne frequencies are.
Posted on: 2/6/2004 10:13 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Car Radio Equipment"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1504336
RE: FM vs PCM vs Digital
Hi, I do not have a 3PK but the questions that you have asked apply to pretty much any radio. Modulation: FM vs PCM vs "Digital" --------------------------------------- The modulation technique describes the way that the signal is encoded from the transmitter to the vehicle. FM or frequency modulation changes the frequency to represent parts of the code that is generated to control your servos. PCM or Pulse Code Modulation is actually a different coding/signal strategy that still uses FM to transport the messages to the vehicle. The difference is that PCM allows greater noise immunity since corrupt frames can be discarded and if signal is lost the vehicle can go into some form of falesafe mode. In the case of a car this would logically be zero throttle. The 3PK has another variation which sends twice as many signals. This is probably done by doubling up the frames representing each of the servo positions since there are code positions for 9 channels (or more) in the common FM coding. This double rate allegedly gives a smaller latency between moving the controls and servo response. Accuracy and holding power are also probably affected. Whether this translates to anything in the real world is another matter. What is certain is that you are locked into just one receiver. Unless the TX has the option of single rate you could end up in a dead end technologically. Crystals vs Synthesised ---------------------------- A synthesised transmittter/receiver combination allows the user to run on any of the channels in the selected band (27, 29, 36, 40, 72 or 75MHz). For Aeroplanes this can be a recipe for disaster (in that you can shoot down *anyone*) but for cars it is probably a very good thing in that you can always find a frequency to race on. Thing is, unless you are racing it is probably a lot of expense for nothing. Hope that this helps. Richard.
Posted on: 2/4/2004 6:39 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Car Radio Equipment"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1495654
RE: Transmitter modules
If the US is anything like Australia then the reasoning behind preventing crystal changes is that it is possible for a radio that passes side band tests to fail with a different crystal, especially since that crystal may be damaged. Personally I think that for land models this is a load of bollocks. Sure with air models there is a pretty good chance of killing someone when your slightly wonky transmitter shoots down a pylon model doing 300km/h and causes it to barrel straight into a spectator. With a land model on land frequencies I don't see this as a problem. Sure you might cause someone to crash their car but who cares? No one is likely to get killed. I believe that like here you have completely separate bands for land and air models? Anyway, just a few thoughts! Richard. -------- Phoenix Altantis with OS 50 SX VMAR Hotshot Aeroflyte Hustler with OS 40LA Soon to be CEN Genesis or HPI Savage owner.
Posted on: 2/4/2004 4:08 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1495563
RE: Phoenix <span class=
Yes, mine came with a fairly comprehensive manual. Of course it left a lot of stuff out so I ended up doing things my own way. I am sure that if the local hobby shop does not have a copy that the importer or Phoenix themselves could help you out. Richard.
Posted on: 11/17/2003 9:58 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=1285845
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
No, certainly felt like I should have though. Richard.
Posted on: 7/28/2003 3:42 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719145
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
It does indeed seem to want to fly forever. Can fly fairly slowly though so just a matter of cutting your speed early and you can get some good landings. I have not noticed any unusual wing vibrations... will check closer when I take her out next. I did not change the thrust line from stock. I will wait until I am used to the plane and have it fully trimmed. At this point I have not been able to do any long clean downlines to check thrust angles. Richard.
Posted on: 7/28/2003 12:44 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719143
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
My original setup on the plane had the rear of the pushrod located by a square of ply and balsa but still had too much flex. They may have changed the design of the wing servo mounts or improved the instructions by now. Can you post a picture of your setup? I will try and get a picture of mine up sometime soon as well. I am currently a member of Lilydale but am in the process of moving to P&DARCS near Pakenham. I live in Melbourne BTW. Richard.
Posted on: 7/17/2003 9:14 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719141
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
1. The plastic wing thingoes do seem a little weak but seem to be holding so far. I shaped the area to the shape of the captive nut as well as possible and then liberally soaked the area with thin CA to reinforce it. The wood there is very soft balsa otherwise and would definitely have problems. After the CA cured I glued in the wing nut. 2. Covering is holding up OK so far. Has needed a little tightening but should be fine. I suggest that you trim and lock down the covering in front of the wing since it can get fuel gunk under it. The covering behind the wing has buckled a little because on my plane the wing is a very tight fit with the front and back of the saddle. 3. Some of them are used to mount the servos sideways under the wing panels. I did not realise this until after I had decided to cut the covers and mount the servos more conventionally. Other bits are for reinforcing the servo mounting tray. I used these and changed the servo arrangement to suit my pull-pull arrangement for the rudder and solid CF pushrods for the elevator. The stock rudder and elevator pushrods are useless. 4. Landings are pretty fast but I am not to sure whether that is just me being paranoid. It behaves OK when flying slowly. No flaperons on my plane. My radio is an older non-computer unit that does not support them. Glad to help. Richard. P.S. Where do you fly?
Posted on: 7/17/2003 8:34 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719138
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
Diagonally with the muffler straight down. Richard.
Posted on: 5/8/2003 9:20 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719133
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
I am kind of proud of the radio install so I have posted a picture here. The battery is underneath the rudder servo and the receiver is velcroed beside it. Everything is pushed as far back as possible since the plane ended up nose heavy with the 50SX on it. Note that the rudder servo is closer to the wing than the other servos to allow clearance. The pull cables are crossed in the fuselage and there is some tubing to stop it from rubbing on the last fuselage former.
Posted on: 5/6/2003 10:14 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719131
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
I ended up buying the Atlantis. I figure that I might as well post a mini review here. First impressions were very good. The plane is made of genuine balsa and ply of a reasonable grade and is covered with proper iron on heat shrink covering. Wings and fuselge were very light for an ARF. The plane went together quite easily as per the instructions and was very square. When I got to the radio installation things got a little hairy since the instructions are very minimal and do not truly reflect the hardware that comes with the kit. I converted the rudder to pull-pull with a Sullivan kevlar kit and two 1/2A horns. The elevator was very fluttery so I cut a hatch towards the back of the plane and built a small frame to stop the hardwood pushrod from moving around. This made the elevator halves much nicer but still not ideal. Once I increase the elevator throws I will redo the setup with better hardware. Final balancing as in the manual required 60g of lead on the tail. Final weight ready to fly is 2565g with an OS 50SX and all standard sized servos. Not a bad model for the price at all. Richard.
Posted on: 5/6/2003 9:08 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719130
Designing a biplane: wing area
Hi, With all the talk of the bipe stik recently I was wondering what the accepted practise with wing area was. Let us say that you started with a standard ugly stik design. When converting to biplane would you keep the same total wing area? I have noticed from photos that a lot of bipplanes have a larger top wing, although Christophe's new bi-plane F3A ship looks symmetrical. What about wing incidence? I have read references to using -1 on the top and 0 on the bottom. Is this a good idea? Just dabbling. With my cop out purchase of an ARF Pattern plane to tide me over the next few months I have to find something else to build. Richard.
Posted on: 5/2/2003 1:38 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=738091
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
Bump. I guess no news is good news? Saw a Phoenix Fun Star today at the field. They seem to be finished quite nicely. No comments? Maybe I should expand this thread to Phoenix models in general?
Posted on: 4/25/2003 1:00 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719127
Phoenix Atlantis ARF Pattern Plane
Hi, I am looking for feedback from owners of this plane. It looks like it could be a cheap plane to learn advanced aerobatics while I finish scratch building. Particularly interested in: - Quality of hardware - Quality of finish/covering - Quality of manufacture and most importantly: how does it fly! Also, does Phoenix have a website? It is almost impossible to find information on this company! Thanks in advance. Richard.
Posted on: 4/24/2003 8:07 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=719126
Making a CNC mill
Hi, A laminate cutter is like a small, lightweight router. They don't have the same power as a router so can only spin small bits (which is fine for what you want). I was having a little trouble finding a picture of one on the Internet but here is a fairly expensive Festool (German) from a local Aussie supplier: [url]http://svc010.bne011i.server-web.com/catalogue/carbatec2/cache/header-820public__0-0.html?cache=no[/url] You can get them much cheaper than this of course. Try your local discount hardware giant. A low end router is also a valid choice. The main thing is that the tool does not need to be enourmously powerful but has to be fairly light to make construction of the moving parts easier. Rolled thread is your typical threaded rod. Typically fairly fine pitch and not the most accurate stuff in the world. Lead screws and ball screws are what most commercial CNC machines use. Check out somewhere like Kerk for what are known as "ACME Screws". If you have a lathe handy you will find one moving the carridge back and forth ;-) The thread you discuss is a proper lead screw and will probably work fine as long as you don't expect enourmous travel. The thinner the screw the less accurate it will be over long travels and the more likely for it to whip around resulting in inaccuracy and poor cutting. That site you linked to seems to have some pretty good prices. E19.50 is a pretty nice price for a basic 10mm screw. Local (for you) too! Richard.
Posted on: 4/23/2003 11:53 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=713999
Making a CNC mill
Rather than a drill you will be better off with a cheap laminate cutter. The bearings are made to take the lateral forces and they spin at 25000 rpm giving you a much better circumference speed with a small end mill. The threaded rod should not be too hard to get. Depends on whether you are using standard rolled threads or proper lead screws. Either way any engineering supply place should be able to help you. There are plenty of websites out there with plans and helpful items available as well. Do a search on this board for CNC and you will find a few threads with links in them. Richard.
Posted on: 4/23/2003 3:42 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=713997
Sizing wing tubes and fabrication.
G'day, Thanks for the sizing info I will look around for 0.75" hard aluminium alloy tube. There is certainly an aspect of "make it so that I can say that I made it" going on here. This is my first fully scratch built aircraft and I am trying to use as many different techniques as I can. The goal is education rather than a brilliant plane at the end. I am pretty sure that the result will fly well though! Richard.
Posted on: 4/23/2003 3:34 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=711133
Re: Ugly Stick Mods
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Mike Denest [/i] [B]Over the years, I built and flew several from the original plans exactly as designed. I installed everything from .40 to .60 engines and each one flew great. Why re-invent the wheel. Simply insure that your wood selection is good and build light. My current one is overpowered with a Veco .61. After takeoff, I throttle back to half and still have plenty of oomph for aerobatics. BTW, I covered all the solid surfaces with silkspan and used SIG Coverall on the wing. With a dope finish, the airplane weighs 6.5 lbs. ready to fly. [/B][/QUOTE] Mainly because I am interested in more than just the flying and the standard design just feels so completely over engineered to me. Thanks for the information though, it is good to hear from people who have successfully built and flown the model that you are looking at! The covering technique is also interesting since I was not sure what to cover the solid sections with. Regards, Richard.
Posted on: 4/21/2003 1:00 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=651217
Sizing wing tubes and fabrication.
Hi, Browsing the archives I found a lot of information on how to use wing tubes but not much on how big to make them. I also have looked at the Gator RC site and while they seem to sell a lot of wing tubes I can't find any info on application! I am desigining a .50 sized pattern stick type model with a mid wing (in line with thrust and tail stab). Wing span will be about 1490mm since I have ripped off the dimensions (fuse and wing span) of MK's .50 sized Synergy CPLR as a guide. The wing will be a scaled down version of that found on the anonymous AG120 design floating around the internet. (e.g. [url]http://www.aerotech-rc.com/plans/[/url] search for "pattern"). The fuselage is a scaled down and stretched version of the AG120 fuselage with slightly smaller control surfaces taking into consideration the greater moment of the longer fuselage. So, given that this will be a very aerobatic model, how big should I make my tube? Practivally, if I am going to have the tube aligned between the upper and lower spars I am limited to about 19mm (3/4"). My thought is to make a glass/epoxy or paper/epoxy tube over my aluminium tube with a few layers of mylar to stop it from sticking. I am hoping that if lubricated I will be able to slip this off the tube. I will then clean up and use kevlar thread and epoxy to fit the tube between the spars up to the third rib then carry the kevlar on past the tube to the end of the wing. The spars will also be webbed of course. I am also considering using plywood doughnuts on the spars to further provide strength. Wing location on the fuselage will be via pegs and there will be the traditional hook and rubber band setup to hold the wing in place. Am I over or under engineering this? Any advice to make things work out better? I fully expect this the plane to be a work in progress. I am not just out to build a beautifully flying plane or I would fork out the A$500 odd to build a Synergy CPLR or similar from a kit... Actually I may do this anyway since I am sure that I will learn a lot from the design and construction techniques. Thanks in advance, Richard.
Posted on: 4/21/2003 12:55 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=711131
transformer for foam cutter
I have a benchtop power supply that can put out 0-30V at 0-5A (adjustable current limit). Do you think that this would be able to power a foam cutter for wings up to 800mm long? Thanks, Richard.
Posted on: 4/20/2003 11:50 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=704032
Engine wing and tail alignment for pattern style aircraft
Hi, I have been messing with various designs for an aerobaric model and I find myself wondering what difference various wing positions make. Picture an aeroplane from the left side. You have the engine thrust line, the wing centre line and the horizontal stab centre line. Assume that wing and tail do not change and our initial design has all three on the same line. What would be the effect of lowering the wing centre? Or for that matter raising the wing? I have noticed that most of the current crop of F3A planes have the wing lower than central but the engine appears to be lined up with the tailplane. I know that this is a very broad question but would appreciate any ideas that you may have. I will be building a few Stik type prototypes but it would be great to have a bit more information before commiting knife to balsa. Richard.
Posted on: 4/19/2003 12:38 PM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Aerodynamics"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=706735
Lightning an Ugly Stik
Airborne magazine plans service has a plan for something like this if you are feeling lazy. Actually it is a wariant of the Middle Stik that has 3 .25 engines on it! Check plan number 136 from this page: [url]http://www.airbornemagazine.com.au/images/5_01_page7big.gif[/url] My plan is plan number 139 from this page. If self design is more your thing then I would think that it would not be too hard. Reinforce the spar out to the engine pod as well as bracing the back of the pod back to the back of the wing where it joins the fuselage or maybe sheet the wing out to the pod. Add doubled ribs on either side of the engine pod to hold it in place. Of course with all that weight out on the wings the roll rate is going to be pretty poor. If you were clever you could make it pretty slimline by using small thin tanks in the wings inboard from the engine pods. I am sure that you could still get a fair engine run with a mild .25 engine. Richard.
Posted on: 4/1/2003 3:49 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=651213
Best place to buy bulk balsa in Australia (Melbourne)
Hi, Pretty self explanatory. Starting a few scratch building projects and looking to stock up on the most common balsa sizes. I want to buy in reasonable quantity (A$250+) worth of wood to get best value. Any suggestions? Even international suppliers that supply trouble free wood if this is an option. Thanks in advance, Richard.
Posted on: 3/31/2003 9:39 AM by Author "rlaxton"
in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=660184
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