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Palfertronic

27 and 40 MHz...anyone still using it?

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I still have some old AM gear, both 27 and 40 MHz, I am replacing it all with 2.4 GHz over time, but should I just chuck the old stuff in the skip?

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No, don't chuck it!

Some people still run old-school radio gear in old-school models for the sake of authenticity. If you don't want it, perhaps someone else would?

Also, in very crowded RF environments, some 2.4GHz setups struggle where older 40MHz sets soldier on since their band is all-but-unused these days. If you have a well-specced 40MHz set, it might be worth keeping for this reason.

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I still use 27Mhz, I have quite a few, can't be bothered to swap over to 2.4Ghz in every car when the old stuff works fine.

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I still use it, I swapped to 2.4ghz but it was a wheel type and I couldn't get on with it, think my 7 yr old had better car control.

I'll keep using my vintage 27mhz sticks till I pick up a 2.4 stick transmitter, but I do prefer the simplicity of the old school tx/tx :)

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Still using it on mine but my receivers are all failing one by one, hoping to make the move to 2.4 to this year.

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I still use it, I swapped to 2.4ghz but it was a wheel type and I couldn't get on with it, think my 7 yr old had better car control.

I'll keep using my vintage 27mhz sticks till I pick up a 2.4 stick transmitter, but I do prefer the simplicity of the old school tx/tx :)

I use an old Futaba Field Force 3 stick radio. Its modular so you can simply plug a 2.4ghz unit in and your good to go. Very comfortable handset.

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Got a 2.4Ghz system 'cos I thought I ought to, but only using it on 1 new-built vehicle so far. Everything else still working fine on 27Mhz and see no reason to change them, got half a dozen good Tx's.

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no dont chuck it,,,,stick in the for sale room,i still use 27mhz and 40mhz,no need to upgrade to 2.4 stuff as my handsets are still working fine,il only upgrade if it brakes or get broken some how(my 2p)

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Like others, I've got a bunch of 27 mhz gear that works fine and I just haven't bothered to switch it over. Also as above, some of the receivers are starting to fail - mostly the antennas that get tattered. When I do make a change it usually is with 2.4 ghz but not always.

I've gave up on 75 mhz though. I was always told that it was better and had less interference and glitching, but that was not true. Perhaps it was just excessive interference in my area, but I had no end of trouble with 75 mhz - lots of glitching regardless of the brand of transmitter. I used matched crystal sets and always ran the same brand of RX / TX to no avail. Also, the longer antennas had a very short life span and were just annoying.

Last but not least, my wife finds the simple 27 mhz radios easier to use and feels less intimidated by them so I tend to keep them around for buggies that she likes to drive. There are bags of cheap receivers still out there for give away prices too.

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Thanks for the replies!

I guess I will hang on to my "vintage" gear for now....

I do prefer 2.4GHz, for one thing, the Tx aerial is unbreakeable compared to a 27 megs one! (4 grandsons finding ways to break them!)

BTW, I am a model flyer too, and I still have loads of Futaba 35MHz Rx s... (some crystals too) ..worth virtually zero these days!

If any flyers out there need a spare Futaba singe conversion Rx, drop me a line!

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75mhz is used for flight craft,heli`s,planes,gliders etc

In the States 72 mhz was the primary air frequency for a long time. Now I think it is all 2.4 ghz.

75 mhz was touted as the "better" technology until 2.4 ghz came along. There was a brief FM period but it never really seemed to take off here - not 27 or 75 mhz, although both were available. I've got one kind of cool "adjustable" FM receiver that had two dials and the frequency could be dialed in. It was a JR if memory serves. It came in a lot of stuff I bought and I never used it so it now lives in the closet of forgotten things with so much other stuff.

Think I even have a new 72 mhz AM receiver that I got by accident and couldn't return. (Also now living in the closet of forgotten things....)

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75Mhz is illegal in the UK I believe as it interferes with army radios......so I'm told!

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27mhz is a more universal public-use frequency in many countries. That is why most RC toys sold were 27mhz. Back in the old day you would get a lot of interference on those channels because there were only 6 (now 12) channels available and every RC toy and walkie-talkie (and I think even cordless phones) used them. Today there are very few things using those channels and you will rarely experience interference.

75mhz is not "better". It's just another set of channels in set aside for surface hobbies in the USA. The "better" part comes from the communications technology. FM is better than AM. PCM is better than FM.

72mhz (hi & low bands) channels, in the USA, are set aside for air hobby purpose. Do not use it for your service models.

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you are correct 72mhz not 75mhz,,ive alway used 27mhz and 40mhz for ground use and 35mhz for flight craft,,but that in the uk,,each country has different laws on freq

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I still use 27Mhz, I have quite a few, can't be bothered to swap over to 2.4Ghz in every car when the old stuff works fine.

And me......plus the old crystals remind me of being a kid again, hoping you got the right one for the model in the TX and more than half of this hobby, for me, is about feeling (and acting) like my ten year old self!

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I try to put a small reminder on each car of which colour crystal is fitted in the receiver, just a blob of colour on a number plate or something like that.

I do have a few 2.4ghz radios but only on the newer stuff I've bought and built. Not that I've run any cars for a while, the weather is just to bad at the moment and its dark when I get in!

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75Mhz is illegal in the UK I believe as it interferes with army radios......so I'm told!

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=67851&view=&hl=&fromsearch=1

Actually threw a load of 75mhz controllers and receivers in the tip after being sent them in many US ebay wins over the years.

Shame,but living near an airport and possibility of upsetting the military wasn't worth the risk for the price of them these days.

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Duplicate post,(not sure what happened there!) please ignore.

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Still run 27 and 40 MHz gear in most of my kits. Just building a re re grashopper and that got fitted with an old 27Mhz Reciever I had. Only 2.4 Ghz ones I have are my Neo Scorcher as thats what came with it, and I picked up an Acoms 2.4 GHz controller and a couple of receievers in some stuff recently. One went into my Kyosho Nexxt and the other will be going in to Racing Fighter. At some point I will get a 2.4 GHz setup with model memory.

Craig

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