72 Mhz Radio Gear allowed in UK?

[R D Trucking INC]

Please help me anyone know if I can use the American 72Mhz Radio Control Gear Here in UK or is it not allowed.

Any help apreciated.

[fury_dice(2)]

quote:Originally posted by R D Trucking INC

Please help me anyone know if I can use the American 72Mhz Radio Control Gear Here in UK or is it not allowed.

Any help apreciated.

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Doesn't look like it I'm afraid...

http://www.radio.gov.uk/publication/ra_info/ra60.htm

http://www.ukrcc.org/info.html

http://www.rctek.com/radio/rc_model_car_ra...requencies.html

Looks to be a European band. HTH. David

[DJTheo]

Its also not allowed in Germany I think, maybe a Japanese band?

[wriggleandgiggle]

I have a 75mhz radio system, anyone have any idea where this is from.

Many years ago I had lots of 27mhz radio systems and 1 40mhz radio. I tried the 40mhz crystals in the 27mhz radio and it worked fine. Due to the nature of what crystals do, the bit that decides 27mhz or 40mhz must be the crystals. Would it be possible to fit 27/40 mhz crystals in a 72/75mhz radio??

If you do run on 72/75mhz it's pretty unlikely that you will get interference from another modeller!!

[fury_dice(2)]

quote:Originally posted by wriggleandgiggle

I have a 75mhz radio system, anyone have any idea where this is from.

Would it be possible to fit 27/40 mhz crystals in a 72/75mhz radio??

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75MHz is a US 'surface' band as far as I can tell.

http://www.rctek.com/radio/rc_model_car_ra...encies_usa.html

As for crystal swapping; my basic electronics would suggest that you probably can change the frequency of a Tx by fitting a crystal from a different band, but the efficiency would be much lower as the 'tuned' components in the RF circuit would be operating outside their designed range. I'm sure there was a thread covering this a while back...

[wriggleandgiggle]

quote:but the efficiency would be much lower as the 'tuned' components in the RF circuit would be operating outside their designed range

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that makes sense.

I normally don't like pistol type radios but as I managed to mess my left thumb up a fair bit the other day with a dremel and circular saw attachment pistol radios are the way to go (Until the thumb is sorted anyway)

This Hitec TX came with a car I bought, It has a really nice quality feel to the switches etc. It came with a strange 'knob' off an old radiogram or something so I hunted round for a better one. I found that Tamiya hex type wheels were way too large, then I remembered the 'build an R/C car from bits' magazine that came out recently, it had a smaller hex and was almost perfect for the job. I quick dremelling session later and it fits as seen in the photo. Has a really good 'feel' to it as well....

[fury_dice(2)]

Sorry to hear about your thumb mate - must have bled like a stuck pig [:0]. Was going treat myself to a Dremel or 'clone', but now I'm not so sure []

We get on with 'wheel and trigger' Tx's better than sticks - I've got a second Adspec on the way to join another one, a Hitec something-or-other and my Futaba 40MHz (which the kids don't get hold of!). They just seem more 'natural' somehow.

Love the mod on the tx wheel - probably the most use that the 'build an r/c car' parts are going to get. I can't see many people finishing a whole car...

[R D Trucking INC]

Thanks guys for all this Info on Frequencys. I will get the right answers now.

Regards.

[wriggleandgiggle]

The old thumb was a bit messy, I would advise anyone into this hobby to get a dremel type thing, mines a clone from B&Q it cost £29.99 and comes with more attachments than you can shake a mutant thumb at, it also comes with a long flexi shaft with a chuck in the end and a 'drill stand' type thing that doesn't move up and down and it holds the 'bits' in the bottom.

I think they are worth every penny and have been invaluable so far (thumb incedent aside, which was my own fault for not using a vice)

Highly recommended

[fury_dice(2)]

quote:Originally posted by wriggleandgiggle

mines a clone from B&Q

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At the risk of starting a really tedious B&Q/Power Tools/New Yankee Workshop/Router Monthly etc. thread [], is it mains or rechargeable and does it have variable speed?

[wriggleandgiggle]

It's mains powered and has variable speeds, from really fast to 'why would I ever want it to go that fast' fast. I have only ever used it the lowest setting.

It has proved to be an excellent peice of kit for modelling (cars, not people) The amount of mods I have done with it is endless.

For trimming plastic chassis's etc it really is the bussiness. I have used it to make some pretty accurate repair peices for hard bodies etc, they come with heaps of accessories too, sanding bits and drills, grinding wheels etc. I bought some cheap diamond burr bits off a car boot sale and have done all sorts of mods and fixes with it.

I'm not too bothered about stuff being re-chargable as I have a massive mains inverter should the power fail! Isn't that why they make power tools, so you can continue modelling when theres a power cut - lol

As an aside to this post, I once used the inverter to run a very large mains drill when I was doing my workshop up. the workshop is on a farm and we had to switch the mains off for most of the farm to do the wiring to my workshop. The look on the farmers face was a picture when he saw me running my 'obviously' mains powered drill from under the bonnet of my car.

I'll stop waffling now

[Jozza(2)]

I've got a B&Q one too, but mine was the cheaper one (about 15 quid ISTR). It goes quick, but I find it's underpowered, but there's the advantage that it can (probably) be run off a car battery. The ones with direct mains are more powerful, but I'm not sure if you can get them anymore though.. I've had the thing for years and never really used it until it was time to shorten the Mini body posts, and it did those a treat (managed to cut my finger well too [xx(]).

Oh, and to keep on topic, 72/75Mhz is not allowed over here, only 27 and 40 (am and fm) - it used to be 40FM only from what I remember, but I think is relaxed now to allow 40Mhz/AM as well (?). The Hitec and most other trannies are advertised on the manufacturers sites as 27meg or 72/75, but they are all sold over here as 40mhz so I suppose they are just slightly differently tuned for the european market - you can get the Hitec pistol ones for about 60 of our GBP's

[netsmithUK]

Its funny I was talking to Stulec and Synchrocnc about just this issue the other day. I bought a car which the guy had obviously been running and it wasn't until I got to stripping it all apart I realised that the chrystals were all 40mhz and the receiver was too but the transmitter which the crytal plugged into was a Schumacher 27mhz brand (the 27mhx was actually part of the case molding) Switched it all on and it worked fine.

Chris

[Gates Mini Racing]

I have a little dremel clone or 'Mini Me' as I like to call it []They are really good at pretty much everything except when it is being used on a surface, the sander/grinder can grip the surface and kick/run along it like a good-un! No injuries yet tho []

Mike

[fury_dice(2)]

Thanks for the 'write up' on the B&Q tool W&G - I've looked at them before and been tempted. I'll have to have a word with the singer in my band - he works for B&Q and gets a staff discount [8D]

Your workshop sounds ace - I'm quite green with envy. All I've got is the kitchen table [V]

Anyway, enough 'tool talk' for this thread []

[DJTheo]

Isn't the 75Mhz band for USA? All the RCs I got from there were running at this band...

[wriggleandgiggle]

The frequencies allowed in the UK are 27 35 40 and 458, it doesn't matter whether its AM or FM as this is just the method the TX and RX use to comminicate, either by Amplitude Modulation or Frequency Modulation. With an FM radio set there is generally better resistance to interference.

Think of it like a normal radio in your house, if you listen to a station on AM you can hear it but it sounds awful, the same station on FM is much clearer.

I would be interested to know if the 27/40 crystal swaps are possible without sacrificing range etc. I would imagine that the radios internals are tuned to a set 'range' of frequencies so you may loose some range by swapping. A decent radio system will have a range in excess of your ability to see the model, so if it halfs the range that shouldnt be a problem.

I bought a T-maxx the other day and its range is about 10 feet, obviously something I'm going to look into. It's pretty gutting really as I can't rag it about properly as it goes out of range so easily. The truck is pretty battered so I'm going to completely strip it and try a few other bits in it.

On the dremel issue I can only say that most people I know dont actually own a 'dremel' but a clone, are the dremels really much better than the B&Q cheapies. I bought mine about 3 months ago from a B&Q warehouse, its a current model apparently.

[madbad jezza]

hi,

i run my mardave marauder on 75MHz - the radio gear came from the USA. so far i haven,t had any problems with the radio gear, but to be honest, i haven,t taken it anywhere for a really good blast. so i can,t really comment on any possible interferance problems....

i happen to have a "proper" dremel, and i,ve also got a "cheapy" copy one aswell. the original is much,much better though - very tough and very powerfull - its got more "add-ons" available too!. i bought mine when they first came out (years ago), and it cost me about £80 then - compared to less than £20 for the copy.

the old saying is true - you get what you pay for.

i,ve also cut my hands many a time with it..........[]

is this going to turn into a power tool thread......

cheers,

james.

[wriggleandgiggle]

quote:its got more "add-ons" available too

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Surely the genuine dremel bits will fit a 'non dremel'

Your right, you do get what you pay for. I couldn't justify spending the extra £50 on a real dremel versus the B&Q thing. It does the same job (spins things around very quickly in its chuck)

It does look like this thread is turning into a power tool debate. lol

[Jozza(2)]

Hehe, "My Dremel is better than your Dremel" [] Maybe there's a dremelclub.com where we can go []

[BalmyBaldwin]

quote:Originally posted by wriggleandgiggle

The frequencies allowed in the UK are 27 35 40 and 458,

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Remember 35mhz is Aircraft only!

[fury_dice(2)]

quote:Originally posted by Jozza

Maybe there's a dremelclub.com where we can go []

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Would this be the site where debates ensue about whether the old Dremels were better than the new ones, obscure Dremel bits are traded, and heated arguments happen over whether new Dremels should actually cut, sand or polish anything (rather than sitting on the shelf looking pretty) [}][}]

[Twmaster]

Here in the US we use 27, 72 and 75 MHz. The 75 MHz is for aircraft only, 72 is ground use (cars, boats etc.) only and 27 can be any radio control models. I personally like the Hitech and JR radio sets and have had awful luck with Futaba. (sadly the current Adspec sets are Futaba rebadged for Tamiya)

As for 'moto-tools' the Dremel is the business indeed. I have a genuine Dremel. My original dremel from 1975 died last year, poof! out came the magic smoke from the armature. Since it was out of warranty by about 27 years and could not be repaired Dremel sold me a refurb current model for $30US and it works as good as my original. I won't buy any other brand moto-tool after having the real deal.

Cheers,

[wriggleandgiggle]

quote:Your workshop sounds ace - I'm quite green with envy. All I've got is the kitchen table

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It's not that glamorous I'm afraid, I don't do any R/C stuff in there as it's a fair way from where I live. I do all my 1:1 stuff in there.

Its got a few mod cons, sofa. 26" TV, stereo etc.

I used to be into very fast fords and built a Sierra 2.8 litre turbocharged 'thing' down there. It is very remote and has nice long concrete access roads which are ideal for blasting up and down.

quote:Would this be the site where debates ensue about whether the old Dremels were better than the new ones, obscure Dremel bits are traded, and heated arguments happen over whether new Dremels should actually cut, sand or polish anything (rather than sitting on the shelf looking pretty)

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LOL - Mines definately a runner

[Jozza(2)]

I've got a workshop at the bottom of the garden [] Not a patch on wriggle's, a lot smaller, but it's warm and away from the wife and little'uns, and has a telly and stereo to keep me entertained. I convinced my misses (and myself) that I needed it for my tools and stuff, now it's become a r/c pit, and I spend many a happy evening up there. Just got to sort out the wireless network to reach up there, and I will be able to browse TC from there too [}]

My Dremel used to be a shelf queen, but now it's a runner. It still looks almost NIB Mint though []