Spektrum park flyer receivers

[NJSwede]

Noob question of the day: What's the difference between the spektrum "park flyer" and their regular receivers? Ok, some of the non-parkflyers have satellites, but not all.

I thought the range was determined by the tx more than anything else. So what's makes a receiver "park flyer"? Antenna? Quality? Spektrum doesn't really give a lot of information on this except for stating " It is designed for parkflyer use only".

Any insight?

[rcers]

The Parkflyer designation is about shadowing. The small receivers with small antennas can be shadowed by large hunks of metal like a engine or muffler. So they designate them for parkie use knowing you won't have that to block the signal.

This is why you see the other receivers with a longer whisker or satellite receiver.

But you are astute to point out it is not a range issue.

Mike

[NJSwede]

Thanks! Makes total sense!

And yet again my love affair with Wattflyers has deepened! Simply the most helpful bunch of people around!

[Saddlebum]

Originally Posted by rcers

The Parkflyer designation is about shadowing. The small receivers with small antennas can be shadowed by large hunks of metal like a engine or muffler. So they designate them for parkie use knowing you won't have that to block the signal.

This is why you see the other receivers with a longer whisker or satellite receiver.

But you are astute to point out it is not a range issue.

Mike

Mike! You have blown the cover off the Horizon Hobby Marketing Department!

Just to make this crystal clear in my little head... ALL Spektrum RX's have the same range if they are in an airplane that has no "shadowing" issues, right?

But doesn't every electric airplane have a chunk of metal up front spinning the prop, an ESC and a battery to block signals?

And... can a longer antenna be aded to any "Park Flyer" Rx to help it see around shadowing?

(I think this is going to be a great thread NJS).

...The Bum

[rcers]

Originally Posted by Saddlebum

Mike! You have blown the cover off the Horizon Hobby Marketing Department!

Just to make this crystal clear in my little head... ALL Spektrum RX's have the same range if they are in an airplane that has no "shadowing" issues, right?

But doesn't every electric airplane have a chunk of metal up front spinning the prop, an ESC and a battery to block signals?

And... can a longer antenna be aded to any "Park Flyer" Rx to help it see around shadowing?

(I think this is going to be a great thread NJS).

...The Bum

No all receivers do not have the same range. In fact the smaller units usually do have a shorter range, but it is irrelevant if the range is 1.7 miles for the AR6100 vs 2.3 miles for the AR6200. Both will provide you with far past line of sight vision for most any airplane.

So yes - smaller parkflier planes also have stuff that may block signals like motors, wires and batteries. And yes some signals (frames/packets) might be dropped!

The good news is it takes many dropped frames/packets before you start having issues. No RF link is 100%, period. So don't spend much time at night losing sleep. Since the plane is moving all the time it will be out of that shadow condition in a fraction of a second. This is why heli installations are so critical. In theory you could be in an orientation in hover that blocks the signal for a second or two. This would be fatal.

Yes you could add a longer antenna but the benefit is likely marginal and in fact you will likely cause yourself more issues. The receiver was designed and testing in the configuration provided. You are much better off to select a receiver with the airplane and conditions in mind.

For example if you have a carbon fiber fuselage - you MUST buy a receiver that you can get the antenna(s) outside of the fuse. That is why Spektrum makes an RX for just that purpose with two nice long whiskers that you place outside the carbon.

When you use the Flight Log data link feature on the Spektrum receivers (that support it) they will actually tell you how many lost packets you have. This can show a poor installation. That said you will be shocked at how hard it is to even get one lost packet. The systems are simply that well engineered.

Here is the quote from Spektrum:

Overview
Spektrum’s optional Flight Log is a unique tool that allows you to view the performance of your radio system like never before. With the revolutionary Flight Log, you can now quickly and easily view the real-time voltage supplied to your receiver, how many fades each internal receiver and remote receiver gets each flight, and if the system received any frame losses or failsafes (holds).

Mike

[NJSwede]

My guess (based on some experience with similar systems in the mobile telephony world): Modifying the antenna probably isn't a great idea since it is most likely precisely matched to the receiver. At such a high frequency you get a lot of nasty wave distribution effects in antennas and conductors.

Remember all the flame throwing about dropped calls at Apple when they released the iPhone 4? The reason for that was essentially that the user's finger acted as an extension to the antenna which got the whole receiver out of whack.

About the shadowing from motor, battery and electronics, my guess (again) is that the shadow is narrow enough that some part of the signal will always reach some part of the two antennae, which should be enough for the rx to pick up the signal. And if it doesn't, it will only take a fraction of second for the angle to change enough for the signal to reach the antennae again and you probably won't even notice the dropout.

[NJSwede]

Wow! Rcers and I are saying the same thing! Maybe I'm finally right about something! :-)

[Saddlebum]

Very cool.

Thanks guys... The Bum

[rcers]

Originally Posted by NJSwede

Wow! Rcers and I are saying the same thing! Maybe I'm finally right about something! :-)

Awe great minds......

Mike

[Turner]

It's important to understand that you do not want to point the antenna at the model during flight. You want the side of the antenna facing the model.