Illegal Xstal Change

[matrix1171]

ok, then thanks for the information

[matrix1171]

2 more questions these rules apply to both industrial and hobby more so industry?
and what about the transmisson wattage does that play a part also.

thanks for the info

[Pinecone]

IN what way? The rules are we cannot cause ANY interference with the other users of the band, but we have to accept any interference that they cause to us.

Bummer, but that's what happens when the other uses pay, and pay big bucks, for use of the spectrum.

[BarracudaHockey]

Yes, power output is limited by the rules. I believe its 750miliwatt (3/4 of a watt)

[matrix1171]

any body know what the wattage is on our transmitters at about 12 volts give or take?
just wondering

[Tom Fiddler]

I the big picture this argument is a mute point.
No one in the history of hobby R/C flying has ever be charged with a crime for changing his crystal!

If the FCC wanted to get rich all they have to do is go a R/C Car event (as said earlier)

It's always fun to talk about ......Usually once a year!

Matrix: The battery voltage is reduced inside the trans to either 5 or 9 volts so any thing over that won't effect wattage.

I'm probably wrong about all of this though :arggg:

[matrix1171]

not really an arguement, i'm just wondering and your right about the rc car part of it because we change crystals all the time. i think it things get a little more complex when you start changing bands 27 to 75 and so on. particulally when the radio was built on a specific band.

[Tom Fiddler]

"Plug-in crystals are not
considered modules and must not be accessible to the user."

Found this on the Futaba site, Funny how they can make radios with plug in crystals right on the front :glasses2:
All my old Plank radios had this feature.

[matrix1171]

now, you see that's what i was thinking, i was also thinking that if was that illegal the crystal would be directly to the board and not accessible to the user or better yet there would not be plug in modules. in either case it would seem that the FCC dropped the ball on that one,towards the manufacturers of the radios and all my radios have plug in crystals except my futaba 3pk which is now outfitted with the spektrum system(got tired of changing crystals) now how ironic is that . that's my opinion. OK, moving on what's the next topic? :D :roll:

[spork]

Matrix: The battery voltage is reduced inside the trans to either 5 or 9 volts so any thing over that won't effect wattage.

That may be true - but I'm not certain. On my ham handheld bigger input voltage = bigger output wattage. May or may not be true on our stuff.

I suspect a regulated voltage supply is used for the brainy parts of the radio, but perhaps not for the RF stage.

[matrix1171]

i'm no expert but with the voltage that these radios operate at i find it hard to believe that these radios can any problem to anything other than another radio on the same or real close to the same channel. for example in 75MHz one guy on channel 70 and another guy 69 one of these two guys will have glitching problems because of the adjacent channel. i've had it happen to me but thankfully i went PCM modulation rather than PPM or FM after that and have not a single problem since.

[Pinecone]

While the FCC may not be the player.

Your heli crashes and hurts someone. That some sues and picks a lawyer off of one of those TV ads. You are sitting in court and the lawyer asks you, " So you modified your radio is DIRECT VIOLATION of Federal regualtions?" And then, "So you showed a wonton disregard for the laws of the land and this person was harmed due to your negligence."

Hope you have good insurance.

And secondly, this may be a non-popular opinion, but is it a regulation, and while you may not agree with it or believe that it willhave any dire consequences, it is a violation of the regulations.

[Tom Fiddler]

And how would anyone KNOW I changed the crystal?

"(a) You must not make or have anyone else make an internal
modification to your R/C transmitter. "

So I adjusted my stick spring pressure, or disabled the "ratchet" on the throttle.
Am I illegal doing that?

I would guess a lawyer would really focus on the builder of the heli.
Did you take every precaution to prevent this accident, IE Range check before every flight, Do a COMPLETE nut and bolt before every flight, Cycle batteries before every flight, Please show us documentation of training that would qualify you to even build this helicopter?
What sort of training did you have prior to flying?
Sir it is common knowlege that a radio on the same freq. could cause loss of control of your model. Did you inform everyone within a half mile radius that you would be flying on said freq.?
Sir did you actually operate this dangerous device within 500 feet of innocent bystanders without a protective fence?
Sir, Did you or did you not install what is known as a "Cyclic Ring" on your transmitter,, A device that actually LIMITS the control you have over the helicopter?

Ladies and gentelman of the jury, We have evidence that this person, through his lack of flying ability has crashed an R/C helicopter no less than 6 times in the past.
Yet he willfully took off on this fatefull day KNOWING there was possibility he could endanger or even kill others.

Somehow I think the crystal change will be the last thing a good lawyer will need to look for :D

Lets just have a safe 2007 and Fly On!!

[matrix1171]

which is why i won't change crystals in an aircraft radio. if someone else in on my freq i don't fly until the person is done. hence freq pins and boards and built-in fail-safes, even then the possibility of a crash is still there.

[matrix1171]

I'm in total agreement :noteworthy

[spork]

So I adjusted my stick spring pressure, or disabled the "ratchet" on the throttle.
Am I illegal doing that?

I don't think that's illegal. We think of the sticks and such as part of our R/C transmitter, but I think the FCC is refering to the RF stage. In fact, I think it would be legal to modify even the electronics that produce the PPM signal that is sent to the RF stage.


I would guess a lawyer would really focus on the builder of the heli.

The lawyer will go after the one with the money (or insurance).

[Pinecone]

The lawyer will focus on ANYONE that is associated with anything to do with the injruy and that has any money they can get.

Yes, FCC is only concerned about the RF deck and components. Heck, they even blessed the Specturmizing of 6102s as long as you also transfer the acceptance sticker.

Oh, and once the worng person in the gov figures out they can make some money on this, they will be all over it.

And BTW while the FCC doesn't seem to do much WRT things like this, I know a guy that after $20K of attourney fees, still had to pay $25K to stay out of jail, and he was running CB.

[Tom Fiddler]

Pinecone where are you at in Maryland?
I'm in northern Va...Last exit on I81

I was into the CB thing many years ago the FCC was watching us hard then.
Tell your friend not to run a 1MW linier and he would have been ok :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Come up and I'll let you fly my Gasser....On the correct channel !!

[Pinecone]

Up near Aberdeen. I work in Rosslyn.

He got hit with being off frequency and talking over the 5 mile limit.

[BarracudaHockey]

Ah Aberdeen, I used to race boats down there once in a while in Harve-de-Grace when I lived in Philly.

[Pinecone]

I raced sailboats there. :)

[spork]

I raced sailboats there. :)

I'll bet you know my old boss - Stan Honey. He recently navigated the winning boat in the Volvo race.

[Pinecone]

Much higher end than me. :)