Tatty treasures

[Big Bandit]

Posted by Erfolg on 15/07/2010 14:48:44:

I have been surprised by the relatively poor market sales of Waltron Gear. I found that my own to be reliable, often in conjunction with Micron 27 Rx. Yet most preferred the more expensive Futaba M.

 

Never owned a Waltron set, but as you mentioned Micron if I remember correctly they took over the RCM&E gear mid 1985. I remember building the original 27 meg set, when it was first published,  then converted to 35 with the add on board for servo reversers and preset rates (still got the original PCB masks as I made my own boards). Very reliable, remember sending the gear off to a place in Garforth near Leeds for type approval, I was very pleased to get my type approval sticker. Flew a number of slope soarers to the limit of vision with that gear. I wound up making about 5 sets for mates, and I think that some still have them.

 

I also remember Modelcraft in Leicester selling full servo mechs without amplifiers, in the late 70's and I still have one somewhere (FD22 I think) I remember also building servo amps from my own design, ( still have the PCB mask). Didn't work out much cheaper, just more satisfying. If only usable mosfets were cheaper and more readily available then.

 

Chris.

 

 

 

Edited By Big Bandit on 18/07/2010 17:12:07

[Josip Vrandecic -Mes]

Hi Chris !

Everything is clean and tidy....old school,every respect rgds Josip. 

[A.A. Barry]

B B, I notice you have several "Veron tomtits", as i missed out all those yrs ago, would you be prepared to release one to me??????  PLEASE

PM me if you will

Thanks

A.A.Barry

Edited By A.A. Barry on 20/07/2010 10:22:45

[Big Bandit]

Hi Josip,

 

I'm afraid not, since we had the loft insulation upgraded !

 

The Study !

 

Spare bedroom !

 

 The Garage !

 

Have all been turned into complete tips, Hopefully It'll all go back one day soon so I can get back to normal.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris.

 

[Josip Vrandecic -Mes]

Dear Chris 1

Please  du not touch anything, becouse this is a structural mess,which creates the years and decades

ciao Josip.

[Chris Downing]

Ah -lovely things!  I remember adverts for many of these RC systems etc. in RCM&E and Radio Modeller.  I could never afford the "real" Rc systems in the magazines so I built my own.

My first contribution here is my first home built system- designed by someone else but built from kits, a few pieces at a time, as I could afford them.

This one was in the 1970s - a Microtrol 27MHz AM system from a design by Paul Newell. I bought the book and used the schematics and instructions, together with many sub-kits of pieces bought from a model shop in Sunderland. I remember being thrilled as each small, brown parcel arrived in the post!  A joystick kit, another joystick kit; a Tx circuit board, a Rx kit with separate receiver and decoder boards.

I eventually built this system, complete with charger and 4 servos (FB-3 mechanics from Skyleader SLM)

  I had to tune it with a bulb and pick-up coil.  I never got my plane off the ground with this  but later (1990s) I put it into a model boat and got some use out of it!.

 

 

[Stephen Grigg]

You see you guys dont know how lucky you are Im a beginner no history to fall back on.

[Chris Downing]

Of course, as soon as I had the Microtrol AM unit ready,  the FM systems took over and everything changed to 35MHz!

I fancied building the RCM&E FM system when the articles came out but it was too soon after my  Microtrol. So I waited and then Radio Modeller published their FM 35MHz system in the 1980s, designed by Terry Tippet of Micron RC.

I ordered kits for this system, as I followed the articles month by month, and this time I had an oscilloscope to help test it, although ironically this system could be tuned without one, whereas the Microtrol system could really have used one!

The Radio Modeller (Micron) system was very good, with a centre-loaded aerial and strong, reliable transmitted signal, plus silky-smooth sticks.  I built the miniature version of the receiver and both this and the transmitter were designed around IC chips, whereas the Microtrol used separate transistors and timing capacitors.  I used this system first in my attempts at flying a semi-scale Aeronca Sedan, bought second hand.  Then in the 1990s I built a a Great Planes PT20 trainer and made my first attempts at getting off the ground with that, using this gear.  I couldn't get off the ground although I did get a young fellow to make the plane's maiden flight using this same RC gear.

 Now In Canada I bought a Futaba T9C (FF9).  Finally I own a famous brand that I drooled over in the late 60s and 70s!   Ironically, I bought this 72MHz Futaba system in very recent years and by the end of that same year 2.4GHz had taken over.   At least I can plug a 2.4 module in the back if I want to upgrade.

 Not much point in building my own gear now because the cost of RC has come down so much in real terms.

 

[Chris Downing]

Stephen, I missed your post while finishing my last one- good to see a beginner reading the thread! I hope you are enjoying reading this stuff.

Actually I am still a beginner even though I have been reading RCM & E for many years

I finally managed to get airborne last year (2009) and made one landing in tall grass- using a buddy box and a very helpful chap on the other end!

 So - a beginner for many years but still very keen and determined.

Just think - if  RC flying can keep me interested through these years then you will have a lot of fun ahead!

 

Edited By Chris Downing on 20/11/2010 23:35:43

Edited By Chris Downing on 20/11/2010 23:36:11

[Stephen Grigg]

Hi Chris,if my legs and back hold up.its whats keeping my head straight in these difficult times.

[Big Bandit]

Hi Chris,

 

That's an interesting read, I missed out on the Micron gear, but as I've said previously the RCM&E set was my first home built gear. I think the first reason for building my own was down to lack of funding to buy something to the same spec from Futaba, then satisfaction from flying with gear that I built myself kicked in. I remember playing around with single channel gear using rubber powered escapements, then little electric actuators with center tapped batteries in the 70's, then building oscillators to switch the tone circuit from the tranny on and off with varying mark space ratio's. I flew a Veron Impala with that gear using a home built flyball actuator on rudder only.

 

As you've said commercial gear is so cheap and reliable these days, there's no point in building your own. I still dabble with other electronic stuff, but it's mainly gadgets these days. The scope and signal generator when to the tip a couple of years ago as they were just gathering dust and getting in the way.

 

Cheers,

 

Chris.

[Peter Christy]

Grundig Variophon / Varioton, anyone?

 

 

Or maybe an original Bonner Digimite?

 

 

 

[

 

But of course this Sprengbrook is just too modern!

 

 

 

 

--

Pete

 

Edited By Peter Christy on 21/11/2010 16:26:28

[Don9f]

In the early 1980s I also owned a Waltron 4-5 radio plus a Futaba M series 6 channel. In an issue of the RCM&E mag (I think) was a circuit design for a v-tail mixer for home construction....obviously these radios had no provision for such mixing, servo reversing and the like so the mixer had to be carried in the plane! At this time it was a Multiplex Scirocco, a v-tail glider which I still have although its a bit battered and hasn't flown for about 20 years.

The printed circuit board was home made, drawing the circuit with a special pen, then etching the copper away with hot Ferric Chloride solution.

I've still got this mixer, plus a MkII version and also in the pictures is a home made servo reverser, some of the leads have long ago been cut off and re-cycled for something else....

The components would have come from that absolute Mecca of an electronics shop....J Birkett's at the bottom of Steep Hill, Lincoln. Anyone familiar with this place in the 80s will remember having to almost climb over stuff to get in the door and stand waiting to be served treading on all manner of components littering the floor. In here you could buy almost anything from a piece of wire to a radio set from a Lancaster Bomber !

 

Cheers     Don 

 

[Michael Evans]

I remember that place in Lincoln. It looked like you could build the teleporter machine from The Fly with bits in that place. 

[Chris Downing]

Don,

I too remember the resist pens and etching process for PCBs- it was rather exciting waiting for the copper to etch and 'develop' your traces!  A bit like developing prints from your photo enlarger- but that's another story!

 

 

Edited By Chris Downing on 28/11/2010 22:10:18

[Big Bandit]

Chris, Don,

 

Weren't they called Dalo pens. Do you remember the rub down transfers from RS with the sticky PCB track, I finally wound up with a UV box which is still in the loft although Photo board is becoming harder to get. The photo resist was softened where the mask was exposed then dissolved away with Sodium Hydroxide and the board was then etched with Ferric Chloride in the normal way. It enabled multiple boards to be made very quickly.

 

Chris.