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Peter_B

Where do you stick it?...your receiver antenna I mean

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Another thing I've been pondering - what do people do with the antenna coming from a 2.4GHz receiver?

In my Boomerang and Twin Detonator, I just have them laying in the chassis somewhere. I do still worry that, even thought they are only short, they still may come dislodged and get tangled in something or become loose and get damaged. More worried with the Twin Det than the Boomerang because the chassis isn't a tub.

On both of those cars I've not bothered fitting the antenna tube or any of the mounting hardware.

Do people still tend to fit the tubes and feed the antenna into it? If so do they cut the tube to size?

If it's not in a tube do you secure it somehow to stop it getting where it shouldn't? Cable tie? Tape?

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I loosely thread it through the other wires, sometimes using zip ties to hold it in place. I try to keep it as straight as possible under the body, though that doesn't always happen. 

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I have a mix. One is threaded around stuff in the car to keep it away from the driveshaft, a couple have it in a tube to keep it out of the way/protected but bent under the body, and a couple have really short tubes sticking out of the body. I think the best is using the tube, but no preference for inside or sticking out through the bottle. The main reason I think this is best is my receivers are Sanwa or Futaba and stupidly expensive so I would be gutted if one got ruined by the aerial getting pulled out by a driveshaft!

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My absolute favorite feature of the Tactic radio that I like to use is that there is no antenna wire. It's all internal. So swapping receivers from car to car is as simple as a little velcro.

I also have three Spektrum receivers: two have antenna wires only an inch long or so, and the third lives in an enclosed box with its short 6 inch wire draped loosely around the inside of the box.

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I locate the receivers as near as possible to the chassis' antenna mounting post. So I can lead the short wire through it. This prevents it from getting entangled with any moving parts and also helps with getting an improved radio range.

SAM_2908_zps71a2e361.jpg

For offroad buggies, I made it a habit of using a long antennae tube anyway, even though I don't really need it with 2.4 GHz receivers. At the end of the tube, there's a flag attached to it, like on a flag pole. I like how the flag bounces like mad when driving through rough terrain, it puts a smile on my face.

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We are so lucky with 2.4g radio. The antenna length  are 1/10th of the original x tall based radios . I remember some kits back in the day came with a  antenna bobbin to wrap up the excess  length .  I thought I would be smart back then  and trimmed my antenna down  to find out I had no radio range as the antenna is a tuned length for the frequency  .

I try to use a antenna tube still and keep the antenna wire away from power and motor wires as that's the most electrical noise even though 2.4G operate way higher then the noise generated hence why we don't need motor capacitors now.  Still just me as it will always help in range  but antenna tubes are harder to find now!!!

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On the buggy I used to worry about reception and interference and all that guff. I stuffed it up the short antenna tube that Tamiya provided. Then I did a test and realised the ranges we drive at, a blind man on a galloping horse would see the reception on 2.4. So I stuffed it in the chassis. I've stuffed all my aerials in since. No tidying, as they're only short. Just poke it in under the body. Never a drama, nothing caught, no kamakaze self drives into oblivion like MHZ radios. Don't worry. Stuff it inside :-)

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On most of my race cars (where I used 2.4 GHz) I just run the antenna wire up a shortened aerial tube, just like you would for crystal radio's..

 

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In all my runners the short antenna stay under the body.

DT03

DT-03_00032_zpstp8btujp.jpg

TEKNO

EB48.3_00187.jpg

CR01

CR01_00306.jpg

mbx7

mbx7eco_00015_zps3539df41.jpg

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Thanks for the responses all.

It seems everybody does it different - some loose in the chassis, some in a tube, some with no antenna at all (the Tactic radios I've got for my boys cars are like this).

I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing then, unless I have any issues.

It certainly makes it a tad easier fitting bodies on without having to poke the tube through a hole as well.

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After reading this thread I'm regretting the aerial holes I've drilled in the 2 new racecar bodies. Holes just mean more dirt gets in, and aerial tubes end up getting lost, which means buying new tamiya kits for more!

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33 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

After reading this thread I'm regretting the aerial holes I've drilled in the 2 new racecar bodies. Holes just mean more dirt gets in, and aerial tubes end up getting lost, which means buying new tamiya kits for more!

Just checking - you do know you can get the tubes without buying a kit don't you? ;)

Or is this one of the excuses given to your other half when a big box turns up "I needed an aerial tube so I had to buy a <<insert model of choice here>>" :D

 

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5 minutes ago, Peter_B said:

Just checking - you do know you can get the tubes without buying a kit don't you? ;)

Or is this one of the excuses given to your other half when a big box turns up "I needed an aerial tube so I had to buy a <<insert model of choice here>>" :D

 

I haven't run out yet, the tamiya kits come with long ones and the new rx only have short aerials...but I don't know where to get them so please tell me. I may have run out or there is one in my Novafox box

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2 minutes ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

I haven't run out yet, the tamiya kits come with long ones and the new rx only have short aerials...but I don't know where to get them so please tell me. I may have run out or there is one in my Novafox box

Bang "tamiya antenna" into ebay - that should throw some up.

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