I’ve just got back from the annual F3F competition at La Muela in Spain. It was the 20th Anniversary event, and Pierre Rondel won the event. Pierre was using a 'cheapo' FrSky Taranis, having recently switched over from JR after three years as a sponsored pilot.
I too was using a Taranis, and was lucky enough to win a round thanks to a fortuitous burst of strong lift!
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| Winner Pierre Rondel was using a Taranis |
Using RSSI to find a lost model
After the comp we spent some time sport flying. Unfortunately, while la Muela can generate some fabulous thermals, it can also produce sink - the 'blanket' kind which rapidly turns your model into a diminishing spec racing to the bottom of the hill. What’s more, retrieval can be somewhat time consuming - and success is never a given.
This time, two of my sport models (a Wildthing, and a Gladiator) fell victim.
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| La Muela is a BIG place to lose a model - red circle contains two full size humans (Kevin and Andrzej)! |
Fortunately, both models were equipped with FrSky X4R receivers. These tiny units support telemetry of received signal strength (RSSI). This means that it's possible to get a bearing on the receiver simply by pointing the tx in the direction of the strongest reading.
Or so I'd heard...
Confronted with the prospect of several hours of possibly fruitless searching, I decided to try this method for the first time, without any particular expectation of success.
Reunited
In the case of the Wildthing, telemetry ceased when the model went down, and I feared that the battery had become disconnected. Nevertheless, I decided to carry the transmitter as I set off in search of my model.
It turned to be a good decision as after 15 minutes of tramping the transmitter sounded a "telemetry signal critical" warning. The signal was weak, but hey, the model was alive - and I might even find it!
I carried on descending, taking a bearing every 20 meters or so, until I was finally reunited with the model. It was well hidden, hence the initial loss of signal.
My Gladiator was the second model to go down. This time there was no interruption in the telemetry. However, it took me a full hour of walking on rough ground to reach the model. Much of that was spent retracing my steps after the RSSI told that I was on the wrong side of a ravine. Once on the correct path, the transmitter once again led me to the exact spot.
I had read of other fliers using RSSI in this way, but was impressed by the effectiveness of this technique. Without it, I would probably have returned empty handed.
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| Wildthing impact area, well hidden from launch point (iPhone 6 pano shot.) |
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