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Micron 'Elf' Single-Channel proportional set


Phil Green
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The 'Elf' is quite an unusual set in that it was a late arrival on the S/C scene and consequently Micron only sold about a hundred units. It was sold as a kit for home construction, as can be seen from the advertisement.
This one was kindly given to me by Phill Wigley and had long ago been hastily refitted with the board from an Acoms 2ch car set, the original Micron electronics lost. From that aspect it was ideal for conversion to 2.4g, which I've done using a Frsky DFT transmitter module (in V8 mode) and a V8R4 receiver which is lost inside the original Elf receiver case!
The encoder is the Digimac 1+1 with the throttle button left unconnected.
This is a true recreation of the original set which was strictly single-channel, it drove one proportional servo with no option to expand. The servo would typically be used for rudder in a model plane or boat.
Uniquely the transmitter didnt send PPM but instead was directly modulated by a standard PWM servo signal. In effect, it was like a servo tester via an RF link. The AM, single-conversion 27mhz receiver had no decoder as there was only one pulse per frame, and hence nothing to decode, its output a standard 1-2ms servo pulse.
After almost 45 years this set is again destined for the flying field, probably in a Veron Impala rudder-only slope soarer. It would also be ideal for a small diesel or Babe-Bee powered S/C model. Far better it spends the rest of its days 'out there' than on a collectors shelf!
Cheers
Phil

 

 

Edited By Phil Green on 31/10/2013 00:16:14

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Lovely Phil, and thanks for sharing with us.

Why did you have to mention the Veron Impala? That's yet another model from my "yoof" that I'd like to re-create now!

For the Micron Elf, how about a Tyro or Mini Tyro, or even a Tinker? Then you could join in with the mass build.

My mass build Mini Tyro will be diesel powered, and is likely to be guided by the Macgregor/Green single channel system at some point.

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  • 5 years later...

I nearly got one of those for my 13th birthday! At the last minute though, one of my dad's workmates ( he worked at RAF Leeming) who was a very keen flyer told him about a second hand Sprengbrook 2ch set at a model shop in Leeds. dad asked me which i preferred, and of course Sprengbrook won out. I vividly remember the Micron ads and loved their TX styling.

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Thanks for that Phil.
I remember building an Elf Tx, Rx & servo back in the late seventies.
I had to send it back to Micron to get tuned-in & set up but it worked superbly.
It was so much cheaper to build a kit in those days & it was the only way I could
afford an R/C set on a paper-round income!
Mine ended up in a Mercury Matador which was a thrill to stooge around until
the inevitable hard landing.

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Posted by Richard Wood on 10/01/2019 08:48:46:

It was so much cheaper to build a kit in those days & it was the only way I could
afford an R/C set on a paper-round income!

Back then, in those pre-VAT days, kits were exempt from Purchase Tax (predecessor to VAT) on the grounds that they were educational. You could even buy a Lotus Elan as a kit, and save yourself a fortune - as well as being well prepared for the inevitable breakdowns!

I wonder how many of us learned our soldering and electronics skills thanks to that tax break? I know I did...

--

Pete

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Yes, the Micron kits were great for learning soldering skills. The instructions were
very well illustrated & obviously aimed at model builders with only a little electronic
knowledge necessary to build them.
There were other kit offerings around in the late 70s from Waltron & Teleradio but
these didn't seem as popular as Micron.

 

Edited By Richard Wood on 10/01/2019 11:22:10

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