XPS ExtremeLink

On Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:55:44 -0400, "Ed Forsythe" wrote in :

Not me.

I held the JR TX module and RX at Toledo yesterday.

Very, very neat system.

The buyer says that a ground test showed 1 mile range on the ground which should translate to 5 miles in the air. This is hearsay, of course. He didn't do the range test nor did I. No hard feelings if you take the report with a grain of salt. :o)

$200 to buy the TX module and one 10-channel RX. Dunno how much the RX would cost alone.

I almost ran down the aisle to buy one myself, but I managed to keep my enthusiasm in check. On further reflection, I realize that for the time being, the systems are going to be incompatible. I'm not ready to start replacing my JR/Hitec receivers en masse.

I am looking forward to getting into spread spectrum some day. For now, I'm going to sit back and let the early adopters work the bugs out of the system and wait to see what develops from the competition.

Marty

Thanks Martin, Here's the price list - I think the prices are reasonable and less expensive than the JR and Futaba stuff. Looks as though I'm going to be an early adpoter. As soon as they go on sale on the XPS web site I'm goin to buy. From all the info I have read the system has neen tested thoroughly in jets and giant scale IMAC stuff. The reason I am going with XPS is the telemetry add-on. It will be great getting airspeed, altitude, and battery voltage readouts on an LCD module ssitting where your Tx antenna used to be. :-) PRICING

Futaba 9C/9Z/8U/3PK/etc. transmitter module with your choice of receiver below:

a.. w/6 channel park flyer receiver - $139

b.. w/8 channel receiver - $179

c.. w/10 channel receiver - $199

Futaba 14MZ/12Z transmitter module with your choice of receiver below:

a.. w/6 channel park flyer receiver - $139

b.. w/8 channel receiver - $179

c.. w/10 channel receiver - $199

Hitech Optic 6, Eclipse 7, etc. transmitter module with your choice of receiver below:

a.. w/6 channel park flyer receiver - $139

b.. w/8 channel receiver - $179

c.. w/10 channel receiver - $199

JR transmitter module with your choice of receiver below:

a.. w/6 channel park flyer receiver - $139

b.. w/8 channel receiver - $179

c.. w/10 channel receiver - $199

Receivers:

a.. 6 channel "park flyer" - $59

b.. 8 channel - $99

c.. 10 channel - $119

d.. 16 channel - $149 (preliminary pricing)

On Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:16:14 -0400, "Ed Forsythe" wrote in :

That should happen soon, I would think. I can verify that the JR stuff was being sold at Toledo. I presume that the other brands are available now, too.

Let us know how you like it. We on the sidelines are waiting for you pioneers to blaze the trails for us. ;o)

Marty

I bought one at Toledo and hope to fly it tomorrow (Tuesday). Will let you know. I just saw a flight report on RCU and he said it worked great.

Martin, Are you sure JR was selling the SS Tx modules or just their Spektrum DX7 stuff. I don't think the modules will be available until July.

On Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:05:23 -0400, "Ed Forsythe" wrote in :

The unit I looked at was not from JR.

It is from

is designed for JR radios.

I held the TX module and 10-channel RX in my own hands, so they were being sold at Toledo.

Marty

As promised here is my report.....

4-17-07

Test flight of the XtremeLink system. Futaba 9C and 10 channel XtremeLink Receiver. Temperature 50 degrees F. Sunny and 7 MPH winds.

4*60 with Tower 75.

This plane has been flying with a futaba receiver on channel 60 and the 9C transmitter.

Range checked at 400 feet plus. I got tired of walking.

Flight 1.

Took plane off with 7 MPH crosswind. Flew for about 5 minutes and engine quit. I had taken the plane to about 400 feet altitude. Glided down to an uneventful landing.

Flight 2.

Started engine and tweaked needle valve. Took off in to wind across the runway which placed the plane directly away from me. At about 70 feet of distance and at the point of lift off the plane turned left and I corrected with aileron. However, the correction was jerky. At 100 feet out and 5 feet altitude the plane once more rolled left. I responded with a correction and it responded with a jerk to level. At this time it rolled left again and I lost all control. It hit the ground and damaged the landing gear and some damage to the wing. Upon arriving at the crash site the radio appeared to work normally.

What happened? I don't know at this time and no guesses. I use dual batteries so batteries and switches can be ruled out. I don't believe it was turbulence as this plane has enough power to fly through most any gust.

A fellow club member flew his XtremeLink system today and I left as he was on his third uneventful flight.

Where do I go from here? I will repair the plane and during the repair I will check the receiver with heat and cold to be sure it is not a temperature problem. Additionally a vibration test will be performed. If all these test are passed, I will attempt to fly it again.

Dan

Much appreciated!

BUMMER!

I hate when that happens ... :o(

Looking forward to more field reports from you and your buddies.

Marty

I was contacted by Jim Drew, president of XtremeLink, and he wants to know what I find and said he is willing to help resolve the problem. How is that for support?

Dan Thompson

On 18 Apr 2007 16:51:54 -0700, IFLYJ3 wrote in :

Un-be-[insert expletive]-liev-a-ble!

Sounds like they want to earn my hobby dollars.

Keep us posted!

Marty

This A.M. I started a more through investigation of my second flight problem. I checked the receiver connections and did a vibration test. All passed. I then checked the aileron servos and found the right aileron servo to have stripped gears which only ratcheted at two different places and one place was near neutral. Where they stripped before or during the crash is any ones guess. However, a stripped servo would have given the exact symptoms that I had. The other thing that leads me to believe the servo was stripped before the crash is I had a previous 4*60 that stripped the same aileron servo on the same wing twice.

At this time I am calling the problem a servo one and not the XtremeLink. I will patch the old plane and try to have it back in the air next week for more testing.

Dan Thompson

On Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:25:00 -0400, "Ed Forsythe" wrote in :

Me, too.

I think I lost a Gremlin to a stripped servo.

I had run it into a tree, repaired it, but hadn't checked the servos carefully.

Next time out, I got into a spin and it never came out. Doing nothing didn't help; trying to counteract the spin didn't help. I had plenty of time to turn off the engine and watch the crash at my leisure.

Marty

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So tell us, how did the Gremlin fare?

Ed Cregger

On Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:55:55 -0400, "Ed Cregger" wrote in :

Seems to me that I decided I'd gotten my money's worth out of that one and then built another from scratch. Ah, yes. I did save the ailerons.

Last photo on this page:

Marty

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Ouch! You don't kid around.

I see you are still flying for CAC. I can see why you didn't opt for the initials.

At least I get the impression that you are having fun. That is what counts.

I hope you don't mind, but I was humming the tune to Chanson D'amour. After many years of searching for the song for so many years, just so that I could hear it again, and not speaking French, and without a clue as to how to spell it, I finally caught up with the tune and downloaded it yesterday. It was one of my favorite songs of the Fifties, even though I was naught but a tyke at the time. You see, I had fallen in love with my sexy, but aging, homeroom teacher. She was, well, I'd better not go into here.

Ed Cregger

On Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:37:17 -0400, "Ed Cregger" wrote in :

Yup. I'm a little behind in documenting the Lost Squadron of the C.A.C., too. :o(

Definitely!

No problem. I have some old songs that I hum, too, from time to time, for good or for ill.

Marty

"Martin X. Moleski, SJ" wrote

Had you ever put a gremlin into a spin, and flow out of it, before the crash?\

I'll tell a quick version of a gremlin story.

We had a fly in, and one of the former members came, and was now a hot shot, factory sponsored pilot.

We put up 5 gremlins, with the hot shot borrowing one of the gremlins. Long to short, after a bit, four were claimed in mid-air collisions, and hot shot was the only one left. He was doing hesitation rolls, and wagging his wings, and feeling over-all superior to everyone else. (which he was :-) )

He then climbed up nice and high, and put it into a flat spin. The owner said, "oh no, we forgot to tell you that these things will not come out of a flat spin."

It didn't, through all of the attempts that hot shot put into it. Fortunately, it went down in some really tall grass, and was hardly scratched, so we all got to give hot shot a BUNCH of crap. ;-))

So, it may not have been anything that you could have prevented.