On the topic of RFI, Channel Check and such (must be _that_ time of year again too)... There has been a presumption in the whole discussion that scanners are very expensive, hard to use, etc. I've been using a very inexpensive ICom handheld scanner for two years now, and have prevented many crashes with it (my own and others, sport flying and contests) - both from transmitters left on AND from channels that for one reason or another have had intermittent RFI present on the band. There are scenarios in which channel check could be useful. Many of them require that _everyone_ has it. There are other scenarios wherein even if everyone has channel check you can be downed by another transmitter on your frequency. I won't rehash it here unless prodded strongly as it's been said and flamed before... The approach below is for those of you would like a more comprehensive solution, and want it now. In order to help dispel the myths, and help remove the hurdles to owning a scanner, I've put together a few pages with: - an interference scanning FAQ and how-to - a description of an inexpensive, high sensitivity scanner that can be set up with all 50 "standard" RC channels on one scan bank (with slots for 400 channels from 500 kHz - 1 GHz) - an RC configuration file, COMPLETELY PRE-BUILT, that YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FOR FREE and load into your scanner using the available software - a quick-start sheet, set up to be printed either on 8x11" or three 4x6" index cards, with the common commands Here is our Articles & Tips Index: http://www.charlesriverrc.org/articles.htm (the RFI FAQ is in the Electronics Column, and the ICom IC-R2 pages are linked on the Radio Systems page - also in the Electronics column) Here is the direct link to the ICom IC-R2 overview, setup file and how-to pages (the link below should be all on one line): http://www.charlesriverrc.org/articles/radio/joelfoner_icomicr2.htm Here is the direct link to the RFI scanning FAQ (the link below should be all on one line): http://www.charlesriverrc.org/articles/radio/joelfoner_rcrfi_scanningfaq.htm I've been mostly figuring this out with the assistance of the folks on the RC Jets list - when this idea was floated they were all over it (wish I had a commission for the units sold as a result of the discussions and putting these pages together - but I don't!). PLEASE ALSO NOTE: I've researched (and have in hand) a couple of other units in the ICom line that folks have graciously sent me for comparison. The funny thing is that, for some reason, the unit I originally picked has the best sensitivity of the group in the RC bands - the next couple models "up the line" have lower sensitivity, even if they have more features. Stay tuned for more info as I get it together (pun intended!). Also, any comments on these pages are welcomed. Regards, Joel RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
