more distance!!??!!??!!

[quadna71]

what's the trick to getting the most distance with your reception? i have an evader st - i'm using the futaba 2PH magnum sport (AM) with the r122je receiver. i have it mounted as directed in the manual and none of the antennae is coiled. the receiver is mounted in such a way that the antennae comes out and is heading directly up the tube about 1/2" away. i have the excess antennae wire dangling out of the tube - none is cut off. with fresh batteries in the radio and a fresh 6 cell in the truck my distance is still fairly short. i've seen some people brag of 200+ yards - the only other guy around here with a car is running a similar setup in his rustler and he's getting 300+ yards! i'm luck to get 100 to 150+ before i'm clipping out and losing my steering and throttle. all my electronics are less than two months old and have been acting like this since day one. the motor doesn't have any effect (since the steering cuts out too) and i've had two different motors installed. is the AM hurting me? maybe FM would be better? i know i'm not being crowded with my signal since i'm the only one around. i realize that a stadium truck doesn't need that sort of distance but it's just nice to know that i could if i wanted to. help!!!!!!!!!

[rchotrod]

I bet it is kind of hard to see what your car is doing when it is 300 yards away. Must have some pretty good eyes.

[Nitro Newbie]

in my t-maxx manual it says it will go up to a 1/4 mile away... it comes with am radio

[Gutter Ball]

Do you have a schottky diode on your motor? That might help...maybe the motor "noise" is causing problems.

[quadna71]

yeah yeah yeah rchotrod. 300 yards seems pretty far but it isn't that bad considering where we drive them. it's on an aircraft parking ramp on weekends. sometimes when on a straight line you can really run them far out. i have to tell you though, it's refreshing to see someone as new to the forum as i am being given awesome advice like that. nothing helps me love this hobby more than your slander and spouted disbelief - what gives? :confused:
nitro newbie, that's cool - my manual didn't really state an expected distance but just was hoping for more than i've been getting.
gutterball, what is a schottky diode? i'm sure i don't have one since i don't even know what it is. what's the benefit of having it? thanks for all the help and i'll try researching the topics on those diodes to see what i can come up with. later...

[Nutter]

A schottky diode is a kind of diode that goes across the + and - terminals on the motor to, as Gutter Ball said, reduce motor noise. Same with capacitors, you should have some installed on the motor too. Going to FM will not help you, as AM signals will travel further than FM signals, although FM signals are more powerful. 150 yards isn't bad though, I really wouldn't complain about it!


-Nutter

[SKYNFAN]

quadna71,

You may also want to try a longer antennea tube!

I used a 2PBKA AM system in both my ancient "Big Brute" electric truck and my RC10-GT, and got way over 100 yards. I got a long antennea tube and only let about 1/4" of wire stick out the top.

Hope this helps,

Karl

[plinko]

Originally posted by Nutter
A schottky diode is a kind of diode that goes across the + and - terminals on the motor to, as Gutter Ball said, reduce motor noise. Same with capacitors, you should have some installed on the motor too.

Just remember if you have a reversible esc do not put a schottky diode on it. They are meant for forward/brake escs only.

[InspGadgt]

Schottky's are mainly to help in braking not necessarily there to reduce noise...but if it does that's a bonus. Make sure you have 2 to 3 capacitors on your motor. Often times new RCer's leave their motor and battery lead wires really long...gotta watch that as they tend to lean up against the antenna tube and cause glitching...try and keep those as far away from the reciever and antenna as possible...zip tie them somewhere if you have to. If that still doesn't work then try moving your reciever more toward the front of the truck. Sometimes standard electronics setups don't work for all radios so you may have to move things around a bit. Keep your reciever as far away from the ESC as you can too.

[rchotrod]

quadna71 wrote;

"i have to tell you though, it's refreshing to see someone as new to the forum as i am being given awesome advice like that. nothing helps me love this hobby more than your slander and spouted disbelief - what gives? "


I didn't mean to sound mean, It was just an observation about how far you guys can run your cars. I guess I don't have the eyesight I used to. I mostly run on prepared tracks, so I don't get to see how far my cars will go.

Sorry for any thing I may have said that you found offensive.

rod

[Gutter Ball]

A schottky diode doesn't reduce noise/glitching?? Really? I'm just going by what the LHS guy told me when I first started. I also had problems with my XR2 glitching and that's what he suggested...it worked. A new racer's dad also came into the shop one day asking about glitching, I suggested a schottky diode and capacitators. The guy came up to me on race day and thanked me because it worked :) Then he proceeded to beat me in stock oval :cool: