Multiplex M-LINK 2.4 GHz - upcoming review

Today I did some initial flight testing of the Multiplex Royal Pro 12, equipped with a brand new M-LINK 2.4 GHz module - woo hoo! The photo above shows the transmitter after the conversion (it's the same unit which I reviewed in RCMW a few months back in 35 MHz trim).

M-LINK is the name for Multiplex's new spread spectrum system, and is their answer to Futaba's 'FASST' and Spektrum's 'DSM-2'. Big deal, you say, they are already established on the market, and there are cheap aftermarket systems available as well.

However, M-LINK is the only system to support fully integrated telemetry. Using a telemetry enabled receiver (like the RX-7-DR M-LINK), it's possible to monitor your model's vital functions on the screen of your Royal Pro or Cockpit SX transmitter (obviously they must have M-LINK modules installed). Unlike the Jeti system, no additional boxes are required for data monitoring, the transmitter already has the necessary receiver/firmware.

I got to see a demo of the telemetry system - albeit on a ground based test rig - at the Multiplex Fly-in at Baldock, and it looked pretty cool.




My review of the Royal Pro 12 with the M-LINK conversion will appear in RCMW. Suffice to say that initial flight tests with an Easy Glider went well, and further flight tests are planned. The receiver supplied for review is the RC-7-DR Light receiver, which is not telemetry capable. However I've been promised a telemetry capable rx for a subsequent review. And an M-LINK module for the Profi 3030/4000 is also on its way.

For more details of M-LINK, have a look at the Multiplex web site.

Swapping a DLG for a camera

A couple of months back, my F3F mate Phil Taylor invited me to join him at the Dome for some DLG'ing off the nearby Thames river wall. Wow! It sounded too good to pass up, so I soon found myself on the Jubilee line, heading down to North Greenwhich tube station, with my trusty Longshot DLG swaddled in protective bubblewrap. And yes, we did manage to fly over the river Thames, not to mention the roof of the David Beckham Sports Academy! (If you want to read more about our little adventure, poke your eyes at Phil's post on RC Groups).

Aside from the flying, what really struck me were the fantastic views of Docklands which we saw from the tow path. I decided then that I would return for some photography.

So it was that one evening several weeks later, I found myself heading back to North Greenwich tube station - but without the Longshot. Instead, I brought my Pentax K100D, 40mm 'pancake' lens and a tripod.

The photo above is the result. It's blended from five separate captures using Enfuse, which compressed the very wide tonal range (bright sun/dark shadows) into a single image. It's currently work in progress - I'll post the finished article to my Flickr site.

The EeePC proves itself in combat

Guadalajara street, after a rain shower. Our hotel there provided free Wifi access.

If there were any doubts about the usefulness of my EeePC netbook, they certainly vanished during my recent trip to Spain (see Asturias Open F3F).

With its small size, built-in Wifi, and preloaded software, the EeePC 701 makes a great holiday PC. I used it to access local weather forecasts, check my email, call home, look at photos - and even play the odd game on the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao.

Of course, for email and web access you need an internet connection. Fortunately, and to my surprise, Spain is well endowed with WiFi hotspots. In fact, all of the three hotels we stayed at had WiFi, as well as many motorway service areas. And it was all free of charge.

There are a few considerations if you're taking the EeePC on holiday. For example, you may not wish to use the supplied Thunderbird email package, as - like Outlook and other similar packages - it stores your emails locally on the computer. This makes it an open book for snoopers if the EeePC is lost or stolen. Instead, I used Googlemail in the Firefox web browser.Googlemail is not restricted to Gmail addresses - it can access all your other POP accounts.

The EeePC also came in handy as an image viewer. There was a small problem though - the EeePC has only patchy support for Pentax RAW files and only 4GB of disk space. To get round this, I wrote a short script which converts the RAW images from the SD card and saves them as small JPEG's on the SSD drive. The resulting images look fine on the EeePC's viewer, and hundreds of images can be stored in this way without running out of space

The EeePC also comes with Skype preinstalled, so I was able to use it to ring home, much to the surprise of our hotel receptionist who wasn't used to people talking into their computers (the EeePC's built in mic and speaker are fine for this if you don't mind people listening in).

In short, the usefulness of the EeePC on this trip far exceeded expectations for a £220 device, and it's now a fixture in the backpack/overnight bag. I'm still looking for a nice nickname though - somehow 'Eeyore' doesn't have quite the right ring to it.

Rc-soar becomes a fashionista!

Complete change of subject... a photograph of mine has appeared rather unexpectedly in the Fashion and Style section of the International Herald Tribune!

The photo (see screenshot at left) was from a series of publicity shots I did for a friend who is an aspiring dress designer. She submitted the photo along with a press release to the IHT, and somehow it ended up heading the report on London Fashion Week.

The equipment I used was the same as I take with me to the slope i.e. ordinary entry-level 6MP dSLR camera. I had no idea that the photo had been submitted to the newspaper, so it all came as a bit of a surprise!

FASST goes slow

Futaba have at last acknowledged what many already knew - that a number of FASST systems have been released in the wild with identical GUID's, which has resulted in at least one crash in the UK. This issue affects the 6EX and 7C transmitters, as well as the TM-7 module.

For background on this issue, see my earlier report. For advisory bulletins, see

• Futaba USA
• Ripmax (UK)

The bulletins are identical except Ripmax make no mention of the Futaba 7C (perhaps it's not on sale in the UK).

Curiously, both bulletins mention another issue which appears to be unrelated to the duplicate GUID problem. I quote: "if the transmitter and receiver have lost their binding which required them to be re-linked, we recommend returning them to the Ripmax Futaba Service Centre for analysis. This is not expected behaviour and should be investigated accordingly."

A break from RC - my new Asus EEE PC

As a complete change, here is my new toy - an Asus EEE PC. This seems to have been a huge hit in the US over the Christmas period, and having had mine for just two days, it's not hard to see why.

There are two great things about it - firstly its ridiculously small size - it fits easily in a small corner of a small backpack, with lots of room for camera, groceries, transmitter etc. And secondly there are no moving parts (except for a processor fan which is not always on anyway).

The EEE PC has built-in Wifi, three USB ports, an SD card slot (great for reviewing photos), a small but perfectly formed keyboard, and a 6.9 inch screen. And a solid state disk, so no whirly bits to go wrong. It even comes with a stetchy neoprene case.

Yesterday I took it to my local Costa Coffee for a test run. Surprised myself at how easy it is to use a public Wifi network, and in a couple of minutes it was all up and running. I finished off the Futaba 12FG review, checked my email, surfed the Futaba site, and remoted into my work machine - with not a glitch or pause. I could swear a neighbouring iBook owner was casting envious glances in my direction...

The EEE PC runs under Xandros Linux, and has a fast and easy to use front end and takes only about 25 seconds to boot up. It comes with OpenOffice 2 preinstalled (this is largely compatible with MS Office). And all for a bargain £220. Here's the link.

2.4 GHz is totally secure. Or is it?

There are be thousands of modellers who entrust their models to 2.4 GHz radios, in the belief that 2.4 GHz spread spectrum transmission is inherently more secure than narrowband FM. And ignoring issues of external interference, hotspots, trees, water etc. 2.4 GHz is indeed much more secure than 35 MHz, because two spread spectrum transmitters simply cannot interfere with each.

...or can they?

A guy in my club claims that at another club he's a member of, two 2.4 GHz transmitters interfered with each other, leading to a crash. On further examination, the two transmitters were able to control the same receiver. Both transmitters were the same brand and type.

Now the only way this could happen, is they if the affected transmitters all left the factory with the same GUID. Since generating and loading GUID's is ultimately a human-managed task, we have to consider that this scenario is not as unlikely as it may at first appear.

If correct, this would be a pretty serious matter. Unless the offending transmitters could be identified by their serial numbers, the only totally option left to the distributor would be a total recall of all such sets sold. Otherwise, the manufacturers claims of interference immunity could not be guaranteed, and the purchaser would almost certainly have recourse under the law for a replacement set anyway.

Watch this space.