On Fri, Aug 26, 2005 at 03:39:48PM -0800, ron wrote: | Just bought one of the new Futaba Synthesizer for my Super 8 | transmitter. Someone told me that there units use additiontal power | from the battery pack and it would be a good idea to upgrade my pack. | They do seem to generate more heat than a standard module.
I measured the power consumption of my transmitter with various modules, with the antenna up and down, a little while back. Results are here -- http://groups.google.com/group/rec.models.rc.air/msg/5a0063936df977d3 As a quick summary, it seems to use about 30% more power with the synthesized module as it does with a standard module. At least in my tests. I've heard reports that the difference seen by others is much larger, but I'm just reporting what I measured. I used an accurate multimeter to measure the current draw, and have no reason to expect it to be inaccurate. You don't need to upgrade your battery pack, but as suggested, you'll like the results if you do, no matter what module you use. Another thing to consider -- the instructions for the TP-FSM say this: This RF module has been exclusively designed for use in transmitter model T9C. Operation in any other transmitter is not authorized and could void the user's authority to integrate the equipment. Only OEM integrators are authorized to install this RF module. It looks like it's only been certified for use with the 9C, though I don't doubt it works fine with the 8U and other transmitters. (And I don't know what that `OEM integrators' bit means. Do end users qualify?) I tried to find something more on the FCC site, https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm (The FCC ID is AZP TP-FSM-72) and it looks like they only tested with the 9C. So I guess that techincally it's illegal to use this module with an 8U or older transmitter. (It may also be technically illegal to use it with the 9CS, though that would be absurd.) (Of course, the FCC stuff is as clear as mud, so I could be wrong about that. And of course, in practice I doubt anybody will actually care, unless there's some sort of ... incident ... and the lawyers looking for people to sue.) Another interesting thing is that the tests show about 0.210 watts of emitted power -- a good deal lower than the legal limit of 0.750 watts. Not that this is really enough of a difference to really be signifigant, but I'm surprised that it's not closer to the limit. (Of course, I haven't looked up the other modules and transmitters to compare.) Ok, enough rambling. -- Once I finally figured out all of life's answers, they changed the questions. RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format