tch_popeye
Mar 20, 2005, 06:04 PM
Hi all. Just thought I'd post my recent experience with Reflex XTR, a JR XP662 radio, and some spontaneous interface problems. Hopefully, somebody out there will benefit from this story.
For reference, I’m running Windows XP SP2. I’ve got an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor, 512 Mbytes of RAM, and NVidia 5200 GX video card. All in all, it runs not too badly if I set a couple parameters in my favour (e.g. simple aircraft model, low res, no smoke, etc.), but things would be better with a stronger video card.
Out of the box, Reflex functioned just fine. The initial controller/interface setup worked flawlessly, all of the channels centered correctly, etc. I was flying planes and helis… life was good.
After about 2 weeks, and approximately 8 hours of flying time, I installed the 5.01 upgrade patch for Reflex. Over the next couple of flights, I saw control surfaces start to glitch. Also, I could hear the throttle doing weird things occasionally. Within the next 15 minutes, I could not control anything. Centering would not work, and the Channel Display (F8) showed some channels at poor centers, others pegged either + or -, and some channels glitching all over the place.
Having read about the JR Quattro fix, I briefly considered setting out to find the appropriate resistor. It just didn’t read quite the same, though. *That* problem involves all channels pegged over the same way.
I tried to remove and reinstall Reflex, without the additional patch. Same problem. After adding the patch again, things were still mucked up. In retrospect, I don’t think that the patch had anything to do with this problem – the timing must have been a coincidence.
At last, my Web search engine turned up a reference to swapping the leads in the 3/16” connector (for the D.S.C./buddy box port). Although the explanation of this user’s problem involved a malfunction from day 1, it seemed like an easy thing to try anyway.
After desoldering the 2 wires, and reconnecting them in the opposite configuration, I now have the white wire connected to the shield/base, and the brown wire connected through to the tip of the plug…
Presto! Everything works just fine again.
Interestingly, and of some vague similarity to another user’s post, I got a good spark (high voltage charge separation) from this modified connector once, before screwing the cover back over top of the connector. It hasn’t affected operation at all, though – nothing seems to have been damaged. With the cover back in place, I’d be hard pressed to detect any abnormal charge accumulation, anyway.
Obviously, I cannot assume any responsibility for your computer, radio, or USB security dongle if you try to fix a similar problem in a similar fashion. If you’re reading this with an interface problem of your own, may you have the best of luck with whatever remedy you pursue.
-Trevor
For reference, I’m running Windows XP SP2. I’ve got an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor, 512 Mbytes of RAM, and NVidia 5200 GX video card. All in all, it runs not too badly if I set a couple parameters in my favour (e.g. simple aircraft model, low res, no smoke, etc.), but things would be better with a stronger video card.
Out of the box, Reflex functioned just fine. The initial controller/interface setup worked flawlessly, all of the channels centered correctly, etc. I was flying planes and helis… life was good.
After about 2 weeks, and approximately 8 hours of flying time, I installed the 5.01 upgrade patch for Reflex. Over the next couple of flights, I saw control surfaces start to glitch. Also, I could hear the throttle doing weird things occasionally. Within the next 15 minutes, I could not control anything. Centering would not work, and the Channel Display (F8) showed some channels at poor centers, others pegged either + or -, and some channels glitching all over the place.
Having read about the JR Quattro fix, I briefly considered setting out to find the appropriate resistor. It just didn’t read quite the same, though. *That* problem involves all channels pegged over the same way.
I tried to remove and reinstall Reflex, without the additional patch. Same problem. After adding the patch again, things were still mucked up. In retrospect, I don’t think that the patch had anything to do with this problem – the timing must have been a coincidence.
At last, my Web search engine turned up a reference to swapping the leads in the 3/16” connector (for the D.S.C./buddy box port). Although the explanation of this user’s problem involved a malfunction from day 1, it seemed like an easy thing to try anyway.
After desoldering the 2 wires, and reconnecting them in the opposite configuration, I now have the white wire connected to the shield/base, and the brown wire connected through to the tip of the plug…
Presto! Everything works just fine again.
Interestingly, and of some vague similarity to another user’s post, I got a good spark (high voltage charge separation) from this modified connector once, before screwing the cover back over top of the connector. It hasn’t affected operation at all, though – nothing seems to have been damaged. With the cover back in place, I’d be hard pressed to detect any abnormal charge accumulation, anyway.
Obviously, I cannot assume any responsibility for your computer, radio, or USB security dongle if you try to fix a similar problem in a similar fashion. If you’re reading this with an interface problem of your own, may you have the best of luck with whatever remedy you pursue.
-Trevor