cptsnoopy

(I just posted this in the #36 forum and thought I should just make a topic out of it so more people will see it.)

Just a quick note for you guys having radio glitches! I have many Walkera Heli's. I am not an experienced model heli pilot. somewhere around newbie/beginer to intermediate. I have figured out first of all that the Walkera radios are prone to glitchng or outright shutting down while flying. So recently I went to buying the Walkera helis without radios. one of those is a #45. I put a Hitec dual conversion micro 6-channel receiver in it expecting only the best. the transmitter is a JR 8103. I was hovering it on one of its first flights and it was glitching a little bit. I was pretty bummed. The Hitec receiver has an antenna about the same length as the Walkera receivers. It was wrapped from the landing skids back to the horizontal stab and back twice to take up the length. I decided to try out the "Deans" antenna that I have seen mentioned on the forum a time or two. Keep in mind that the little base loaded antennas are not supposed to increase range or cure glitching. They are supposed to make your antenna fit in a smaller space and they look cool too. The instructions that come with the "Deans" antenna say to do a range check first before installing the "Deans" antenna so you will be able to verify if it is better or worse. Normally it should be nearly as good as the original antenna but no better and hopefully not much worse. be sure to do your range check leaving your heli antenna the way it normally is for flight. Big note here! either disconnect your motor plugs or take off your blades! as you get out of range your heli may spin up unexpectedly! I went outside and with my heli setting on the ground and my transmitter antenna retracted all the way down. I started walking back. I got about 6 feet and the heli lost radio control. I was suprised that it was that bad. I extended the antenna on my transmitter and started walking back again. I only made it about 50 feet and it was out of range again. I thought, no wonder this thing is glitching. that short range stinks! I went in and installed the "Deans" antenna and started a range check again. this time I just started with the transmitter antenna extended all the way. I backed up at least 150 feet before I gave up because I could not see the swashplate well enough to tell it was moving. I was completely surprised at the improvement! I got over 3 times the range going to the baby antenna. I beleive it has to do with having to loop the original antenna around the heli to keep it from hanging down and getting caught up in spinning blades. anyway I am sure results will vary. I just wanted to share my good experience to let you guys know that there is a possibility of a fix for the glitches out there. I beleive that there are several companies out there that are making the little "base loaded" antennas. usually they sell for around $10.00 and for me was worth every penny! I have one more "Deans" antenna that I have not installed on another heli yet because I am trying to decide which on to try it on. the #4 that has a stock walkera radio that has glitched from the day I got it or on the #35 which has a GWS 6-channel receiver (not dual conversion) that has a fairly short antenna to begin with. the #35 rarely glitches. The "Deans" antenna instruction sheet says the antenna is designed for receivers with antenna lengths of 36" to 39" in stock form. when I figure out which one to put the second antenna on, I will report back on how it worked...

cptsnoopy

I forgot to add, if you have tried one of these smaller antennas from any company please share if it made your radio range/glitching better, the same or worse. thanks

bfrunner

That GWS reciever you are using on your 35, is it compatible with the stock walkera transmitter?

I installed a base loaded antenna I got from allerc.com on a Walkera 5 version 3 and it seems to work pretty good. Its made by Tech Model products.

credence

My Feedback: (2)

I've got a base loaded antenna here that I intended to use with my eco-8 but have yet to put it on. I've noticed that the Walkera range is really bad, I also notice it's very susceptible to interference, and especially low tx batteries. Sometimes it's worse than others (I can hover my GWS/#4 hybrid atleast 30 ft in the sky with no problems, and then sometimes, even on the same flight, i can't even get 5 ft away from the thing before it starts freaking out).

I'll pick up a deans base atenna next time i'm at the LHS and slap that on the 4in1 and see how it works, even if it makes no improvement, I hate that long friggin antenna wire. Thanks for the tip

cptsnoopy

I don't think it is but I have not tried it. I have a Futaba transmitter that I am using for my #35 and I got the GWS receiver that works with the futaba radios.


EDIT: I wanted to add that the GWS receivers have a much shorter antenna than the Hitec and walkera receivers. probably about 1/2 the length. The "Deans" instruction sheet says on it that the antenna that I put on my Hitec is only for receivers that have a 36" to 39" length. For that reason I have not put one on the GWS receiver yet. I want to contact "Deans", co and ask them if they think it will work. I don't know how to get ahold of them yet. their number is not on the instruction sheet.

jh4db536

My Feedback: (2)

LONG 60" & STRAIGHT antennae is the best by up to 10x more often than not. there's a scientifically verified writeup on this i forgot the link tho...maybe someone else can find it.

PCM doesnt glitch period i gave up on anything less.

credence

My Feedback: (2)

Yeah, well, try to talk Walkera into converting all their electronics to PCM and the world would be a better place!

cptsnoopy

is there such a thing as a PCM micro receiver? I thought I was going all out with the dual conversion...

I called the hobby shop that I bought my "Deans" antennas from and they verified that the GWS receivers with the shorter antennas will work well with the little base loaded antennas. I guess I will put the second one I have on my #35 and hope for the best. at least they look a lot better.

CitYbYdBaY

cptsnoopy,

Which version of the deans mini antenna are you using? The one piece version or the two piece version?

Thanks

jh4db536

My Feedback: (2)

i THINK the JR R770 is the smallest PCM Rx. with the shell off, it is just a little bigger than my GWS Naro 6ch but the R770 has 7+B channels and it uses a regular sized crystal. it's small enough.

cptsnoopy

The hobby shop only had two left so I bought both. one was the single piece which is the one that I used on the #45. the other one is the two piece version which i hope to install on the #35. the two piece version is most likely a tad heavier but it is hard to tell the difference.

dinuka

So is you are telling that the walkera transmitter is good all I have to do is change the antena?

credence

My Feedback: (2)

For those interested, aslong as the shift is the same, the Walkera TX will work with a positive shift GWS Receiver, i know because I had used it in my GWS Beaver before I had gotten a good air TX, however, oddly enough, the only transmitter that i've found so far that works with my Walkera 4in1, is the walkera TX, even other pos shift TX's, the receiver refuses to work with them. I haven't tried my computer radio that is shift and frequency selectable, but i'm guessing it probably won't work.
So

Walkera TX + GWS reciever = OK
Other TX + Walkera Electronics = No go

CitYbYdBaY

Thank you for the info! Your info help open doors for all of us who own walkera stuff.

acr1346

Good reading material....... http://www.rc-cam.com/ant_exp.htm .....antenna
testing results.

cptsnoopy

thx acr1346,

that was good reading.