Moving toward remote control

[dixontj93060]

Well "soon" I will be building a large two-stage rocket, namely, an RDS Orion which will be upgraded to a 75mm booster. In any case for staging and sustainer control, I decided to purchase a Transolve TripleFire pyro system after seeing this video from Vahpr and noticing how the prices have been inching down on spread spectrum R/C controllers.

I decided to go least cost with a Spektrum DX5e radio and a Spektrum AR400 receiver (I have R/C controllers for my cars and trucks, but this system requires a 4 channel system as a minimum). When you include the Transolve TripleFire, total solution cost is only $170. This is far cheaper than other remote systems offered by other manufacturers.

Anyway, I did some bench testing during lunch today. The sequence you see on the video is "Enable" (red LED and beeper) followed by Channel 1, Channel 3, Channel 2, Channels 1 & 3, then Enable & Ch1, Enable & Ch3. The receiver is shown in the bottom right corner (just catching the edge of it). It is hooked up by the wiring harness on the right of the TripleFire board. The DX5e radio is shown at the end of the video.

[video=youtube_share;R5fJzcG5G_4]https://youtu.be/R5fJzcG5G_4[/video]

 

[kjohnson]

I don't like the AR400. Had two flights of an RCRG almost fly away on one this summer, and that was only at about 700-800ft altitude.

kj

 

[dixontj93060]

I don't like the AR400. Had two flights of an RCRG almost fly away on one this summer, and that was only at about 700-800ft altitude.

kj

Please elaborate--why do you feel the AR400 is any different than the industry standard AR600? I talked to Horizon Hobby and they said the receive circuitry was the same between the two. Most reviews say over 1/2 mile distance for the AR400. Also what is your experience with R/C planes/cars/etc. in general? What radio were you using? How did you layout/secure your antenna?

 

[kjohnson]

Welllllll, I've been flying RC of some sort for over 10 years. Specifically I've been flying RCRG for about 5 years. I won the RC Championship at NARAM-50, and was on the team that won a bronze medal in S8Ep at the 2012 World Space Modelling Championships. I also work at a hobby store that sells mostly just Horizon Hobby stuff. I've flown just about every full range and microlite receiver from spektrum in everything from park flyers through fast EDF, DLG, and quite a few rocket gliders with my JR 9303x and the spektrum module. I settled on the 9303 after using Dx5 and Dx6 radios and needing more powerful programming features for the models I was flying.

I thought the Ar400 would be great in my gliders because of the marketing hype from HH. It's small, cheap, supposedly full range with the boosted antenna design. I picked up 2 of them as soon as they were available from HH. I replaced the trusted AR6255 in my glider with the AR400 to save a gram or two. This glider has a kevlar pod and the antennas for the rx were well away from the carbon boom and the servos as it was in the nose of the glider. On two different flights the 400 lost link and went into failsafe at ranges that the 6255 was rock solid. I had to resort to cycling the transmitter to get the model back. I don't like flyaways, so I don't have much faith in the 400. As a side note, I flew with the 6255 in Slovakia and never had a flicker of trouble.

My experience may not the same as someone else, but I have a pretty firm grasp on using spektrum in rocket gliders. Take the reviews and information from HH with a grain of salt. I wouldn't trust a project like what you are talking about on the cheapest RX in the stable.

kj

 

[dixontj93060]

KJ,

I appreciate the input. I have had success with Spektrum receivers for years on cars/trucks (with both Spektrum and JR radios). Obviously a different application though. Regarding reviews, yes they weren't from Horizon, but independent reviews and/or forum "real life" experiences. So are you only recommending the AR6255, or are there others? Did both AR400's give you problems or just one? In any case, I will be doing thorough ground testing on my 100+ acres before any real flight application.

-Tim

Welllllll, I've been flying RC of some sort for over 10 years. Specifically I've been flying RCRG for about 5 years. I won the RC Championship at NARAM-50, and was on the team that won a bronze medal in S8Ep at the 2012 World Space Modelling Championships. I also work at a hobby store that sells mostly just Horizon Hobby stuff. I've flown just about every full range and microlite receiver from spektrum in everything from park flyers through fast EDF, DLG, and quite a few rocket gliders with my JR 9303x and the spektrum module. I settled on the 9303 after using Dx5 and Dx6 radios and needing more powerful programming features for the models I was flying.

I thought the Ar400 would be great in my gliders because of the marketing hype from HH. It's small, cheap, supposedly full range with the boosted antenna design. I picked up 2 of them as soon as they were available from HH. I replaced the trusted AR6255 in my glider with the AR400 to save a gram or two. This glider has a kevlar pod and the antennas for the rx were well away from the carbon boom and the servos as it was in the nose of the glider. On two different flights the 400 lost link and went into failsafe at ranges that the 6255 was rock solid. I had to resort to cycling the transmitter to get the model back. I don't like flyaways, so I don't have much faith in the 400. As a side note, I flew with the 6255 in Slovakia and never had a flicker of trouble.

My experience may not the same as someone else, but I have a pretty firm grasp on using spektrum in rocket gliders. Take the reviews and information from HH with a grain of salt. I wouldn't trust a project like what you are talking about on the cheapest RX in the stable.

kj

 

[kjohnson]

I moved the AR400 to the "not in a plane I care about" list, and since I was prepping for the world championships I didn't have time to fool with something that had shown unreliability when I had a reliable (if slightly heavier) alternative. As a community, the USA S8 teams have pretty much adopted the 6255 (for those of us flying Spektrum) as a standard. I'd love for the AR400 to pan out, since it's smaller and lighter, just haven't had the time to check into it further, and there weren't a lot of other folks using it to review when I got mine.

If you've used Specktrum for a while you are probably aware of the few recalls they had on various RX and TX models. I don't recall that being a problem with the surface stuff- but then if you lose control of a truck, you probably aren't going to lose it or crash it.

For large projects where RC is critical for function (like your staging and recovery control) I would want something with a satellite at a minimum to get full coverage vertically and horizontally in the rocket. But that's me.

kj

 

[dixontj93060]

OK thanks. BTW, trucks and cars definitely can crash and nitro fueled cars going 70mph hitting a wall can be pretty "spectacular."

I moved the AR400 to the "not in a plane I care about" list, and since I was prepping for the world championships I didn't have time to fool with something that had shown unreliability when I had a reliable (if slightly heavier) alternative. As a community, the USA S8 teams have pretty much adopted the 6255 (for those of us flying Spektrum) as a standard. I'd love for the AR400 to pan out, since it's smaller and lighter, just haven't had the time to check into it further, and there weren't a lot of other folks using it to review when I got mine.

If you've used Specktrum for a while you are probably aware of the few recalls they had on various RX and TX models. I don't recall that being a problem with the surface stuff- but then if you lose control of a truck, you probably aren't going to lose it or crash it.

For large projects where RC is critical for function (like your staging and recovery control) I would want something with a satellite at a minimum to get full coverage vertically and horizontally in the rocket. But that's me.

kj

 

[kjohnson]

OK thanks. BTW, trucks and cars definitely can crash and nitro fueled cars going 70mph hitting a wall can be pretty "spectacular."

Based on the number of folks coming in to get front end parts, RC cars and trucks hitting curbs at 30 mph chew them up, but they can be repaired.

kj

 

[dixontj93060]

Oh yeah, you have to be an expert in repair and have deep pockets (especially when racing with son, and soon grandson).

Based on the number of folks coming in to get front end parts, RC cars and trucks hitting curbs at 30 mph chew them up, but they can be repaired.

kj

 

[dixontj93060]

Just an update on this thread. Based on input from KJ, I did upgrade to the dual axis remote receiver, AR6210. So this adds $30 to the solution, making it $200 in total.