Tuesday 31 December 2013

The 'Diff' issue

One or two people have noticed an issue with the Diff setting in OpenTx. It's actually not restricted to OpenTx. More details in my OpenTx Tips page.

Monday 25 November 2013

F3F setup v2.0 for FrSky Taranis

After a few weeks of tweaking and documenting, I'm finally releasing version 2 of my F3F setup for the FrSky Taranis.

Friday 18 October 2013

Multiplex Profi - revival of a legend?

[Update February 2017 The article was written when the Profi was first released. The latest firmware is considerably more capable.]

I've always been a big fan of Multiplex radios. There's an elegance about their design and programming which sets them apart from the usual run of Far Eastern clones. And of all their radios, the legendary Profi 4000 is surely the most notable. It was way ahead of its time when it was launched back in the 90s, and its generic programming method opened up a world of possibilities for scale, jet and F3X glider flyers.

Tuesday 15 October 2013

A plane in Spain

Just returned from our annual fortnight in Spain with Vic, Sylvia, Kevin, Andrzej. As usual we flew at the wonderful La Muela, the perfect setting for both slope and thermal flying. This year, though, we went in late summer. A good decision, as the slope conditions were fantastic, a steady breeze on the SW face virtually every day.

Sunday 11 August 2013

FrSky Taranis - the start of a beautiful friendship?

The Taranis has finally been put though its paces - three flights with my Acacia F3F, at Ivinghoe. And very successful they were, too!

Jeti DS-16

Spotted on the hill: one brand spanking new Jeti DS-16. The spec is as for the DC-16, with the addition of internal accelerometers. These can be programmed to trigger actions based on gestures, e.g. 'tilting' the transmitter. Very cool!

Thursday 11 July 2013

FrSky Taranis - review and photo gallery

FrSky's new transmitter, the Taranis, continues to generate great interest. It has many advanced features, yet it's very aggressively priced at a shade under £160 / $210 - and that includes an 8-channel receiver with built-in telemetry.

Thursday 4 July 2013

MKS 6125 Mini - a substitute for the Hitec 5125?

In this post, I'll compare MKS 6125 Mini with the Hitec 5125. I'll also describe a slightly scary method of removing a ply servo tray from a moulded wing.

Thursday 27 June 2013

Amerang bites the dust

Hot on the heels of Punctilio Modelspot, yet another established name is set to disappear from the UK modelling scene.



Tuesday 16 April 2013

Porting an F3F setup from the Multiplex 4000 to OpenTx

Most of us are familiar with open-source software, whether it's operating systems, office suites or any of the thousands of other programs. But open-source firmware for R/C transmitters? It may sound a little strange in a world of commercial R/C systems. Well it exists... and it's called 'OpenTx'.

And very soon you're going to hear a lot more about it, as FrSky have adopted OpenTx as the operating system for their forthcoming Taranis.

Thursday 11 April 2013

FrSky Taranis - spiritual successor to the Multiplex 4000?

There's been a lot of interest in the FrSky Taranis recently. In fact it must be one of the most eagerly anticipated R/C system in recent years.

The reasons are not hard to find. First there’s the price - just $175 / £139.99 (Tx only). Second, it offers the kind of capabilities you'd expect to see in a high end set. 

It's sure going to ruffle a few feathers over at Futaba and JR, not to mention the boys at Bretten-Gölshausen.

Monday 4 March 2013

Goodbye Graupner, hello Graupner/SJ

Graupner is under new ownership, and is trading under the name "Graupner/SJ". And their web site is now up and running again:

Thursday 28 February 2013

Modelspot closes its doors, and a new web site for Multiplex fans

Last week the unthinkable happened: the once-mighty Graupner went into administration. And today, one of our best loved retailers, Punctilio Modelspot, closed its doors for the last time, after 41 years. Their tales are told on their home pages:

Graupner 404'd

RIP Modelspot