Hi Robert,
Installation is pretty simple, but ground range testing is important. Follow
the instructions. My tips below are for JR systems with aux receivers
(satelite receivers).
In a DLG with a CF fuselage, simply poke the antenna through the sides of the
fuselage. You mentioned Larry Jolly described his Blaster installation. I'm
assuming he did something similar.
For sailplanes with slip-on nose cones: Most, if not all nose cones are
fiberglass (as is the fuselage forward of the aft edge of the nose cone). Put
your
receiver and aux receiver in the nose. Range check while walking a complete
circle around the plane, looking for loss of signal. A logger is useful.
For CF fuselages: Poke the main receiver antenna through the sides. Even if
only half of each antenna protrudes, that should be fine. If you have a CF
D-tube wing, you can place the aux receiver near the flap servo. I did this
install with Joe Rodriguez's plane and it worked great (with good logger
numbers).
With a full CF wing: You can put the aux receiver in the nose and poke the
antenna out. You can also mount it to the underside of the canopy and poke the
antenna outside. I've heard you might still be able to place the aux receiver
in the flap servo pocket since the CF is pretty thin, but I've never done this
and don't have any info to back up this claim. Likewise, you might be able to
mount the aux receiver in the fuselage, behind the tow hook, if the fuselage
is a CF/kevlar weave (lots of RF "holes"). But again, I haven't tried this or
taken any measurements or data points. In both these cases, the main receiver
should still have its antenna poked out the sides of the fuselage.
Keep in mind that the aux receiver usually does 75% of the work since the
main receiver is often blocked in between the battery and servos. This becomes
more of a factor for a fiberglass nose since the antenna will tend to be
enclosed in the fuselage. A CF nose would have the antenna poked outside and be
more
"visible" to the transmitter from a nose-on or tail-on postion. I crammed
everything into the nose on my Zenith and Eraser (both have FG nose cones and
CF
aft of the nose), and have had no problems.
Small changes in antenna position can make a big difference in reception.
Thats why it's important to do a good initial ground range check. Having a
logger
in place for the first few flights is helpful to confirm your range checks.
Larry moved an aux receiver in his Danny by about an inch (it was in an
obviously poor, but convenient, location) and that small move improved
reception
dramatically.
The obvious good location would be in the fin since they are usually
fiberglass above the stab. There is a limit to how long the aux reciever
extension
lead can be (I think its around 36 inches) which might preclude placing it in
the
fin. I believe the limit is due to voltage drop considerations. I might try a
longer than recommended lead and see if there are any problems associated
with that.
Its not magic---just a little common sense and range checking. Hope this
helps.
Ben Clerx
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