Originally Posted by neato4u

Yep I did calibrate.. but when I turn it off.. it just 'forgets' again..
When I shake the unit after calibration, I can see some travel from center.. I will show some video later when I get home.



Nah I don't have any rates and mixing when I tried this. I will post another clear video of it when I get back home. The thing is.. power cycle issue only happens when I leave the unit like 30 minutes or so.. it does not happen if I turn if off for like 2 3 minutes and turn it back on again..

I never have any flight failures or crash because of this yet.. but then, I am selling off all of my RC stuffs at the moment - possibly retiring.. so, while waiting for this one to go away I thought of asking around if someone knew of a solution.. not that I will sell it off at a higher price, but so the buyer will be a happy customer!

If you have motion when you shake it then this seems a lot like my problem. Again, unplug and replug the 4-lead wire several times at both ends and hopefully that will cure it.

- Birger

Originally Posted by bdelapen

If you have motion when you shake it then this seems a lot like my problem. Again, unplug and replug the 4-lead wire several times at both ends and hopefully that will cure it.

- Birger

Hmm.. thanks Birger. Hopefully it's just that..
Will update the result later

Originally Posted by neato4u

When I shake the unit after calibration, I can see some travel from center.

This is related to my unplug/replug suggestion. Not the same cause but the effect and solution are similar.

I spoke with someone about this today and he described a likely culprit because he'd had a similar problem. Turns out that the wiring harness to the pot was not designed as right as it should have -- when the stick rotated it put sufficient pressure/flex on the cable, that caused the plug/socket connector to actually -loosen- a bit over time. He'd found this by opening the radio, with a live plane, and poked at the wires a bit. That cable, being slightly -loosened-, when he poked at the wire caused the servo to activate simply by slight variation in the wire resistance as it moved. He plugged in the connector firmly and the wonky servo motion stopped. His more permanent solution was to discard the plug/connector and solder the cable directly into the board.

He reported it to Futaba. The correct fix on their end would be a cable arrangement that doesn't put enough pressure on the connector to cause it to loosen. That's not something the user can do but the solder trick is possible.

That's not correct jbarchuk. Most radios suffer from the poor design you describe but the 8FG is actually designed very well such that no wires move anywhere near their connection points. The only moving wiring in the entire radio are the 3 pot wires that twist thru the center of the J1/J4 axles, gently twisting/untwisting as the stick is moved. You can see in the pic above how those wires are solidly anchored after exiting the axle so as not to transmit any motion to the termination points.

It's worth noting however that only the early 8FG's had connectors on these pots, later models and the new Super use direct soldered wires.

Well, apparently I'm a glutton for punishment. Although I never got any responses on my original post here is one final ditch effort, this time with video (I'm just trying to share the UM / UMX / Blade goodness with fellow modelers).

If you are interested in DSM2 BNF for your futaba radio then check out this thread: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1727230

which has a copy of this video:

Spektrum Module for Futaba Trainer Port. Fly UM, UMX and Blade BNF models (18 min 46 sec)

And now I'll hold my peace.

- Birger

Originally Posted by bdelapen

Hi All,

Well, it turns out that Horizon finally did get the DM8 module back in stock and it is now readily available again:

http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...le-SPMMSFUT720

This means that we can now again start making 8FG compatible modules again. Sooo here is my question to everyone... Would anyone be interested in a simple plug-and-play add-on component to the DM8 that would incorporate the necessary circuit to create your own DSM2 module for your 8FG, no soldering necessary?

All you would have to do is source your own DM8 http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...le-SPMMSFUT720 , source your own DM9 case: http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...module-SPM6817 . Drill 3 holes, cut a bit of plastic, do some quick assembly, add some velcro and you would be up in the air.

The module I could provide would look something like the attached picture.

If there is enough interest I can look into what it would take to source all the materials and put a price on it.

Let me know.

Regards,

- Birger

Has anyone replace switch on this radio I need to replace sf and se. I don't want to send to futaba and be without it

Originally Posted by dbar101219

Has anyone replace switch on this radio I need to replace sf and se. I don't want to send to futaba and be without it

I haven't had to but it can be done if you have decent soldering skills. Here are the replacement switches:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...P?&C=MZB&V=FUT

- Birger

If you buy the swtch but no soldering knowledge like me. Just go to a electronic repair shop with the new swtch and for 10 or 15 bucks some1 can doit

Originally Posted by neato4u

---
The thing is.. power cycle issue only happens when I leave the unit like 30 minutes or so.. it does not happen if I turn if off for like 2 3 minutes and turn it back on again..
---

Its a safety thing mentioned in the manual; leave the unit without any input long enough it shuts down to preserve battery (and not kill eg. any Li pack) - Your changes will not be saved - normally changes are stored at power off or model change.

Originally Posted by bdelapen

I haven't had to but it can be done if you have decent soldering skills. Here are the replacement switches:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...P?&C=MZB&V=FUT

- Birger

I looked at tower but none for a 8fg Im sending a picture they solder into a borad not wires like I have done before

dbar101219 I believe you have to desolder those faulty switch(es) and solder the new ones on the board? - correct me if I am wrong.

I too have a short 3 position broken switch. I am not good in soldering, but my brother is. So the Futaba Toggle Switch ML-1BFSP 3 Position Short is the short 3 position for T8FG I believe.

Originally Posted by dbar101219

I looked at tower but none for a 8fg Im sending a picture they solder into a borad not wires like I have done before

Those are the correct ones, if you have the Airplane Version here is what you need:
SF: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLP5&P=V
SE: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLP1&P=V

If you have the helicopter version here is what you need:
SF: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLP3&P=V
SE: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLP2&P=V

You will have to unsolder the switches from the board and re-solder the new ones. If you don't feel comfortable doing this then either find someone that does or you probably will want to send the radio in to Futaba.

- Birger

These switches are very easy to solder but not as easy to de-solder because you need to remove all 3 pins simultaneously. I highly suggest using a "solder braid" (sold everywhere) to wick out all the solder so that the switch comes right out.

Originally Posted by bdelapen

Looks very similar to my problem. Cleaning the pots may definitely help, I'm not saying that's not the issue. What fixed mine however was disconnecting that yellow/orange/brown/red wire and re-connecting it a few times. I would try that too, un-plug and re-plug a few times for the connectors to clean themselves, remember to do both ends of the wire.

- Birger

Thanks Birger! Pulled the yellow/orange/brown/red wire out and away from being routed along the side the plastic case and then BOTH channels on the right stick started to jump around! - the elevator channel had never done this before, previously only the the aileron.

I then tried tugging at both ends with some force and bending and twisting the wire. Since then no matter what I've tried I can not get it to fail again (which is annoying), as I haven't really 'done' anything to conclusively find out what it is. I think like yours, it must be connected to this loom and/or the connectors at either end. I'll follow your lead, remove it, clean both connectors with contact-cleaner and the reinsert it a few times.

Originally Posted by vespa

These switches are very easy to solder but not as easy to de-solder because you need to remove all 3 pins simultaneously. I highly suggest using a "solder braid" (sold everywhere) to wick out all the solder so that the switch comes right out.

COOL i have some of that but did know to use it that way i allways use it to build battary packs

I call futaba and this is the switches they said to use

SA FUTM3677 - 3 position short ML-1BFSP
SB FUTM3680 - 3 position long ML-BFLP
SC FUTM3680 - 3 position long ML-BFLP
SD FUTM3677 - 3 position short ML-1BFSP
SE FUTM3677 - 3 position short ML-1BFSP
SF FUTM3680 - 2 position long ML-BFLP
SG FUTM3677 - 3 position short ML-1BFSP
SH FUTM3680 - trainer ML-1FLP

thanks for all the help