Garththefacebiter

Cheers Mine is definately the R120 4C, with the pull-out choke thingy that I wasn't aware of until now. It does matter that I know which it is, because sooner or later I am going to have to order spares for it. TBH I'm surprised just how much extra power the R120 is claimed to make (2.1 bhp against 1.6), but that was 20 years ago when the motor was new.

I have a used Enya 120 4C Or R120 4C. I'm really not sure which. It came with a load of old aircraft stuff How do I tell if it's an early 120 4C or the slightly later R120 4C? I found a test report of the R120 online, but the crankcase inscription visible in the photos seems to read 120 4C so that seems to get me nowhere. Any obvious external differences? Or am I going to have to start measuring up carb venturi sizes?

Cheers Pete So 27Mhz is still legal, 35Mhz is legal, but 40Mhz is for surface use only. Cool. That means that I could actually use my MacGregor MR240 single channel outfit without breaking the law then? TBH I did wonder why old 27Mhz outfits are still attracting bids on eBay if the kit was illegal to use. Last week I was watching a youtube clip of a Bazbomb (I think) single channel aerobatic model being flown on superegen radio gear with rubber band escapements. Brilliant! TBH I think I've done alright with the Graupner 3 channel for £20. It's there and it works OK I know that theoretically you can get HobbyKing 2.4Ghz outfits for very low money, but they are usually out of stock, and have a very dodgy quality rep.

Cheers Simon I totally agree with your comments about the wisdom of investing in decent quality 2.4 Ghz gear. I certainly wouldn't fly an expensive scale job or something with a big four stroke motor on 35Mhz What you seem to have overlooked is the fact that the Graupner Tx/Rx is brand spanking NEW. Even if the eBay vendors have ransacked the outfit and taken the servo etc out. I doubt if Graupner would honour any guarantee on it now, but it would be most definately still subject to the Sale of Goods Act. The basic concept is that I can put it in a vintage model (like the Junior 60) and leave it there, so that I can fly the thing at any time, without having to mess about with battery packs, servo leads etc. Maybe in the near future 35Mhz will be relegated to surface only models as 27Mhz has been, that should make some people very happy.

My suggestion is to bin both sets as I reckon the Graupner 303 set is not on 35Mhz (probably a surface radio on 27/40Mhz or even 72mhz) and using that on aircraft is very very naughty... Well if you had bothered to even read the title of the thread correctly, the X306 that I have just bought is 35Mhz and carries a CE mark (just found it on the back) X306 FM 35 Mhz CE 0682 I've honestly no idea what the range will be, but its got to be better than some of the cheapo 2.4 Ghz outfits such as the Planet. The one Planet outfit I looked at only had a guarenteed range of just 100M, which isn;t even adequate for a park flier IMHO. I've managed to locate a full range Hitec Optic 6 2.4Ghz outfit inc nicads, charger and 4 servos for just £133, a much better prospect than the real cheap 2.4Ghz junk i think. As for the Graupner, I've just pulled the protective film off the front metal badge, and the badge came off with it! Oh dear, so much for Graupner JR quality.

I've recently bought a new Graupner/JR X306 3 function Tx/Rx combo off eBay for the princely sum of £15 plus £5 postage. Basically it's the remains of a German market outfit (but made in China) which has been robbed of its servos, Rx battery box, and wiring harness. You do get the box and the instruction book with it. I'm hoping it will be OK to use on a Junior 60 I am in the process of rebuilding. Any forseeable problems? The instructions are in German / English /French so I'm assuming it's legal to use right across the EU?

Cheers Graham The price of 2.4 Ghz gear seems to be falling all the time now, I'll be buying a new outfit shortly anyway. I'm definately going to do a 2.4Ghz single channel outfit (with a Phil G encoder) as funds permit. This winter coming hopefully. If I was going to do a hack convertion on a propo transmitter, it would be on an old Digimac or Skyleader from the early '70's

I had an idea it might be. It looks like there may have been a warning sticker on the back of the Tx saying that at one time. Oh well, it can go back in the shed for now. Anybody got any idea what length the Rx ariel should be please? it just bugs me when people do dumb things like cutting ariels down.

I dug out a Futaba Attack-R transmitter (FP-T2NBR) and receiver (FP-R103F) combo from the depths of my shed last week. It's a 40Mhz combo. Will this be any good for aircraft or is it suitable for cars/boats only? I powered it up this afternoon, everything seems OK but I'm puzzled by the length of the Rx ariel wire compared to my 35Mhz sets. It's only 460mm long - I'm thinking maybe some bright spark has cut it down to fit in a car or boat.

Cheers All. Well, I've taken the plunge with my dodgy AA cells and holder (and dodgy fake pattern Futaba type connector too - you can plug it in facing either way!) My brand new £20 Graupner/JR 306 3 channel combo is working OK, with its weird thumb side throttle control. I've transplanted the nicad from my ancient M series Tx into my challenger T-5N transmitter (it's a Yuasa and it still holds good charge) and fired it up with my used eBay crystals that came today. All good as far as I can see. Finally, I tried my 40 Mhz 2 channel Attack-R with a T2NBR Tx. Works OK but I think the Rx Ariel has been cut down. A good afternoon all in, but I haven't tried testing the range of anything yet.

Does a Futaba FP-R107N receiver need a battery pack with a centre tapping? I've just bought a cheap & cheerful 4 x AA cell battery holder with a Futaba type plug (to hopefully get my semi-obsolete gear tested) but it's only got two leads, no centre tap. My 35Mhz Hitec outfit from the same era is two wires to the Rx, but earlier Futaba have three wires, so I'm a bit doubtful.

Cheers Bob I'd have thought that removing the butterfly thing and just relying on the strange early type R/C carb would have left me with an inadequate throttle respone. Thinking about it, all modern R/C engines are just controlled by the carb, with no exhaust restriction, so maybe it will be OK. Actually, once the butterfly has gone the Fox .59 is a pretty good candidate for a silencer conversion. I think I might knock up something of my own (resembling a silencer) and bench test it as the next step.

Will I ever be allowed to use any of my vintage engine collection to fly with? I've got about ten '50's style relics, only one has a silencer (my PAW 19R/C which is still new in its box) In particular I have a Fox .59 R/C which would be a nice period engine for some of the larger Ben Buckle type vintage models, but there is no way you can fit a silencer to it, as there is a rotating exhaust baffle connected by a linkage to the carburettor. Will I ever be able to fly with it? Or is it consigned just to become a display item?

I've just found another single channel servo amonst my hoard of ancient R/C cast offs. "Mainstream Autron 2PN Made in England" Orange/white plastic and not exactly minature either. Various Google searches have revealed absoluetly zikch about it.. 2 x 3 wires on it, black/white/red, and blue/green/white. I'm assuming the first three are for a centre tapped 6V supply. Can anybody tell me anything else about it please?

Got the thing up and running today. Well, almost. The radio gear is working fine, I've picked up the Tx tone output on my little SW radio set no problem. The Rx didn't seem to respond at first, but then coiling the receiver ariel around the transmitter ariel got the relay clicking away nicely, so maybe the relay armature was stuck after lying dormant for years. Looking at the Rx ariel, it's seen better days (the final 3" are bare wire strands), it needs renewing. As for the Minilite servo, this is 100% dead so far. Either bad/broken wiring, bad relay contacts in the Rx, or bad contacts in the servos internal switching gear. My money is on the latter, and as it has it's' own power pack (4x "AA" centre tapped) I'm going to divorce it from the Rx and overide the relay function with a jump wire next.