This series of articles is prompted by serious difficulties which a few of us experienced at our local club with new 2.4 GHz SSFH (Spread Spectrum Frequency Hopping) RC equipment failure, which caused several crashes. That said, at the time, the last thing any of us thought was that the root cause of the crashes could be the 2.4 GHz SSFH equipment. We were wrong in this assumption. Still worse, we discovered failure modes can occur in modern equipment that will pass the standard 30 metre Range Test, yet still fail in the air. This is perhaps not surprising when you consider mass production techniques of surface mount technology and batch testing for Quality Control purposes.
It is important to stress from the outset that article is generic and that no criticism is intended towards any manufacturer of RC SSFH equipment. Even in the case of new equipment failure, we believe it is our job as RC model pilots to ensure our RF Link is robust and safe and not the Original Equipment Manufacturers(OEMs).
Given the high cost of changing RC equipment brands, especially where multiple aircraft are involved, a few of us were very reluctant to make a blind change without:
- knowing for sure the root cause of the problems we were experiencing
- having done everything in our power to get the equipment concerned repaired and performing up to specification.
This bad situation therefore set off activity to get to the bottom of things, which surprisingly was to last about one year. At the end of that effort however, we were very much better off in terms of really understanding the root causes of the problems seen.
It is important to add that one of the biggest drivers in writing it and making it available for all RC aeromodellers, is safety.
A 10 lb., (4.8 kg.) model, in a vertical dive with no control can cause very serious damage and/or injury. While modern failsafe systems do a great job of protecting lives and property away from the flying field, they cannot protect personnel at the flying field, currently at least, there remains an element of luck if the only thing to suffer damage in a failsafe triggered event is the aeroplane.
As ever, this means that the ultimate responsibility for such events and their consequences rests with the RC model pilot and not the equipment manufacturer. It is up to us, the model flyers, to acknowledge this and ensure absolutely that our RF link is robust, if not bullet proof, before flying.
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Related Article Links:
2.4 gHz. RF link problems 1. New equipment failure.
2.4 gHz. RF link problems 2. Tx/Rx RF link principles.
2.4 gHz. RF link problems 3. Advanced Range Test Protocol.
2.4 gHz. RF link Problems 4. Causes and Fixes
2.4 gHz. RF Link Problems 5. Failsafe Triggered
2.4 gHz. RF link Problems. 6. Failsafe Strategies.
