Xtals?

[Made2Fade]

Recently i just put the Esky lama v3 (which i bought to practise nose in and mess on with for fun indoors) on my Futaba 9CHP transmitter. I have took the Esky TX xtal straight out and dropped it into the Futaba set. It seems to run fine no glitches at all and feels alot smoother etc. Im aware that you are supposed to use the manufacturers own Xtal in each bit of equipment. Questions i have are... because ive used the esky Xtal in my Futaba set, will it do any damage in the long run? If it works completely fine with no glitches etc then is it ok to continue using it? How do these Xtals actually differ apart from the fact they are made by diffrent manufacturers?
Thanks
Lee

[Raptorite]

Hi Lee,

Whilst the recommendation is to use the same manufacturers xtal in the same piece of equipment, in most cases either it works or it doesnt.

As the radio control in the UK is reguated by the UK Radio Control Council and there are fixed channel number assignments within the 35Mhz band, each manufacturer will be obliged to manufactur xtals to exactly the same radio spec's, so there wont be any problem there.

Most of the basic sets that are included with these models tend to be based on futaba type radio's, although I have seen one recently which had the same plastic face plate as the JR 2610, the make escapes me at the moment but I seem to remember the model was called a "Mystery"

I would suggest though at some time you do change the tx xtal for a genuine futaba one, and that you also think about sharing the same channel amongst all your models, so you dont need to keep changing the xtal in the tx whenever you fly a different model, as taking them in and out is when damage can occur.

Cheers,
Pete.

[Made2Fade]

Cheers Pete, good tip about sharing same channel with other models. I have mine on all diffrent frequencies and have to chop and change out the xtals. Do you think that what ive done could at any point electronically damage the futaba set?
Lee

[Gaza07]

I have all my models on 1 channel, I even had my twister medevac on the same channel using a futaba single conversion xtal in the 4 in 1 unit with no probs

I did read some where that to keep taking out the tx module on futaba`s,
To change channel can lead to problems on the joints to the pins that make the connection in the back,
Id deff stay clear of unplugging your tx module to much as the pins may tarnish or wear, And its just one more thing that can bring ya model down that can be avoided

[Raptorite]

I would think it highly unlikely that you will cause any damage to the futaba set by using a different manufacturer's xtal in it. The electronics are such that it will either read the signal from the xtal or it wont.

Cheers,
Pete.

[moyesboy]

The xtal is a precisely machined wafer that vibrates at a particualrt frequency. It is quite fragile, hence the advice about not sapping them out uneccessarily.
Good to have a few spare rx xtals on the same channel too, as its that end that hits the ground hard sometimes.
The xtal frequency is not the frequency the tx transmits at. The tx transmits at a particualr offset from the xtal frequency. Most manufacturers use the same value for the offset, so most xtals will work in different manufacturers txs (same for rx if they are the same conversion, single or dual). however if your tx uses a different offset then it will not work, ie the the rx wont receive the transmission. However that doesn't mean the tx is not working, becuase it might mean the tx is transmitting on a sligtly different frequency to the one printed on the xtal.
Thus you should certainly not go to your local flying field and swap xtals form different manufacturers in your tx even if you have the peg for the channel printed on them, becuase you might just find your Tx working just a bit too much on a nearby frequency!

[Made2Fade]

Very helpful and intresting info, thanks to all
Lee

[Leebert]

Hi
I remove the crystal on my Futaba T7CP everytime I fly on the sim so as not to suffer an early flat battery. Has anyone had problems with the crystal socket on thier tx'ers by repeatedly taking out and putting in the crystal?
Thanks.

[David Drew]

Does the Tx transmit when using it on a sim?

Is that why Leebert takes out his xtal?

David

[Gaza07]

Some do some dont my ff9 doesnt if your not sure taking out the xtal will stop it transmitting

[David Drew]

Mine's a T7CP, so probably similar.

Thanks
David

[Leebert]

Does the Tx transmit when using it on a sim?
Is that why Leebert takes out his xtal?
David

On some tx'ers, putting the buddy lead / sim lead in switches off the transmit bit of the txer but some don't.
On mine, a T7CP, the battery lasts a lot longer with the crystal removed so I assume it's transmitting if I leave it in, even if the sim lead is plugged in.

Regards
Lee

[David Drew]

Same then, leave the Xtal out.

Thanks

[moyesboy]

Just power up one of your models and see if its transmitting with the sim lead in.
My optic6 doesn't transmit with the sim lead in. If it is not transmitting you are probably wasting your time taking the xtal out.
Dunno how the buddy system works. Maybe you set something in the menu that makes it master or slave, or it could be the way round the lead is plugged. The slave won't be transmitting unless the master has the buddy button down. Even then it may be transmitting through the master. It seems likely that the sim lead will be disabling the rf in most if not all cases.

[David Drew]

[QUOTE=moyesboy;26512]Just power up one of your models and see if its transmitting with the sim lead in.

Why didn't I think of that??