View Full Version : Revlock in cold weather
Has anyone flown in 30 degree temps or below using a Revlock/Stator Gator setup? Mine was working fine for approximately a gallon and a half until I flew in temps below 30 degrees. Now it will only hold the programmed 1650 RPM setting about two out of ten tries when raising the throttle from idle, and the rest of the time goes to wide open throttle instead. On one occasion it was holding at 1650 but then went wide open by itself. The only difference other than cold weather was the installation of a Duralite battery system with a 5.3v regulator. I have checked and double checked all the wiring and the operation of the governor and everything checks out perfectly. Appreciate any suggestions or experiences you've had. Thanks.
BarracudaHockey
01-27-2007, 08:26 AM
I'm always helping people with revlocks so I watched your other thread to see what was going on. Though I dont have many ideas I'll ask you have you contacted Colin directly? He's pretty good about supporting his product.
Who is Colin and how do I contact him? I did talk to Tom Fiddler about the Stator Gator but at that time I thought the governor was just not initializing and he confirmed that that does happen now and then. Since then, however, I was able to check it out again and the governor does initialize each and every time I raise and lower the throttle: it just goes to full throttle whenever it wants to instead of holding at 1650. I also wrote an e-mail to CSM when this first happened and their suggestion was to remove the Revlock and Stator Gator and send it to them for inspection. Of course, they're located in England and I hate to think of how long that will tie it up. I'm reluctant to do that without first trying to figure out what's wrong. If I remove both units, that's it. Ain't ever goin back on. This is my first experience with a governor. I've always used my own throttle curves. Must admit, though, when it worked I really liked it. I still think the cold has something to do with it because when I ran it yesterday I brought the heli out from the house, started it up right away and the first two times I throttled it up the governor locked on at the programmed 1650. After that, however, once it was exposed to the cold a little longer, it just went to full throttle every time. You wouldn't think that should matter but it sure seems suspicious. The heli is stored in the house and I have checked and double checked all the wiring and the range settings and RPm settings, even wiggled the wires to try and cause a glitch - no luck. Everything checks out fine. Please let me know who Colin is and how to contact him. Thanks.
cbergen
01-27-2007, 06:24 PM
Colin is Colin S. Mills, the genius who brought us the Heading hold gyros from CSM. Whom I believe makes the Revlock system.
Do you still have the paperwork fromyour unit?
I would not hesitate to send it off, Colin will definitley do whatever is necesary to fix it or figure out what the problem is.
What servo are you using on the throttle? Have you verified your Failsafe settings by turning off the radio and watching the servo to be certain it goes to off and not full throttle?
Thanks, Chris. Yes, I still have all my paperwork. Does Colin reside here in the states or in England? Do you have information for contacting him? My throttle servo is a JR DS 821. I just checked the Failsafe setting and it does go to off when I turn the transmitter off. I did write an e-mail to CSM but the response was from a female employee named Wendy. Her only suggestion was to send both units back to them (England) for inspection. First, I'd rather try and determine what the problem is to see if it can be rectified here before removing it and sending it to them. It's really crazy, it worked so flawlessly for over a gallon and a half of fuel. I've written a couple different posts and no one seems to have any answers. I even talked to Tom Fiddler about the Stator Gator after the first time it happened but at that point I thought the Revlock was just not initializing and he confirmed that that is not an uncommon occurrence. After that turned out to be wrong, I called him again yesterday (Friday) but he'd already left for the weekend. If you can think of anything else to try please let me know. And I'll let you know when and if I get it worked out. Thanks again.
cbergen
01-28-2007, 07:09 PM
CSM is a british company and as such I believe Colin lives in the UK.
I doubt any one else here is going to have any answers. Without swapping out units, the only other way to tell which is causing the problem is to send it to them.
Thanks again, Chris. I wrote to CSM this weekend and just got a response back this morning. After informing them of my latest findings, they now believe the Stator Gator sensor is malfunctioning and suggest replacing it first. That's the cheapest of the two units to replace but hopefully Tom Fiddler will return my phone call from Friday and we can discuss it further. I'll let you know what I find out.
BarracudaHockey
01-30-2007, 11:05 AM
I wish he hung out here and participated in forums and answered pms like he does on the other forum. :?
Cold temperatures do not seem to be the culprit. I was able to run up the motor today in a heated garage. Even with a 50 degree temperature the governor malfunctioned, going to full throttle instead of holding at the programmed 1650 RPMs. I'm sending it to Tom Fiddler so he can check it out. To be continued. . .
Well, here's the latest update. Duralite requested I check the voltage from the receiver. I got readings of 5.38 to 5.39, which I thought were perfectly acceptable. While they don't think it's a problem, they are sending me a new 5.3v regulator to try. Also, Tom Fiddler has checked out the Stator Gator already and found slightly higher readings on his rig (whatever that means) and also apparently found differences when the sensor was frozen. Anyway, just to be sure, he too is sending me a different unit to try. The service and attention I've received from Tom (Stator Gator), CSM and Duralite has been exceptional. It just doesn't get any better than these folks. I still have access to a heated garage so I should be able to test it out some time this week. I'll post the results.
Still nothing to report. I've installed the new Stator Gator but am waiting for another regulator (should be here tomorrow). However, our temperatures here are still below zero every day so I don't even want to leave the house. I will post the results as soon as I get a chance to start the motor again.
BarracudaHockey
02-13-2007, 12:07 PM
Year round flying in Florida! Its supposed to be in the low 60's here this weekend, I'll probably need a jacket!
Seriously thanks for keeping us up to date.
The new regulator arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, however, this one reads higher than the original one, 5.44 volts. I sent an e-mail off to Mark at Duralite for advice on what next. To be continued... :dontknow
Mark is sending me another regulator. He said they should actually read 5.3 volts but that 5.31 or 5.32 would be acceptable. Once again their customer service has been exceptional. I am totally convinced that this regulator issue has nothing whatsoever to do with the governor malfunctioning. And I'm still waiting for the weather to warm up so I can start the motor to see if the governor is working yet.
I was able to start the motor today with an outside temp of 34 degrees. On the first attempt when the throttle reached 25% the governor locked on at 1650 RPMs, which is what it is programmed to do. On the second try, unfortunately, the throttle went wide open when the governor initialized. However, on subsequent tries (4 or 5 more) the governor locked on to 1650 every time. Later in the day the outside temp reached 44 degrees so I decided to try it again. I raised and lowered the throttle a dozen or more times and each and every time the governor locked on and held the programmed 1650 RPMs. I even flew about a half tank of fuel in governor mode with no problem. Once again, it seems awfully suspicious that cold weather does somehow affect the operation of the sensor. I'm completely convinced that the Duralite system has nothing to do with the malfunctions I've experienced. CSM suspected the sensor was causing the problem and at this point I have to agree. When the original Stator Gator malfunctioned in the heated garage experiment, I don't think it was a fair trial. The outside temp that day was below zero. The thermostat in the garage was set at 50 degrees; however, the heater is mounted on the ceiling and, therefore, the floor temp was probably 32 degrees or below. I'm going to start the motor again this week when the temps are below 30 degrees. I'll post the results once more. Also, the regulators have probably been fine, my voltage checker is faulty. Duralite is sending a new one.
Tom Fiddler
02-21-2007, 02:26 AM
"At this point I'm convinced that the cold weather does somehow affect the operation of the sensor. The original Stator Gator did malfunction in the heated garage"
I told you when I froze the sensor you returned to me it made a SLIGHT difference in the output.
Not enought to be a problem.
Then I sent you a new sensor, that has the same readings as 99.9 percent of all the sensors I have sent out.
I will call you tommorrow, but I really don't think saying my sensor "Malfunctioned" is a fair statement.
My sensors do not malfuntion due to temperature.
Out of over 1200 sensors sold I have gotten 2 back that MAY have had a problem. But I still send out new sensors to those who think there is a problem.
I would like an explanation of how my sensor could malfuntion and send your throttle wide open?
I will be happy to refund your money, but I don't believe my sensor is the problem.
Tom Fiddler
Stator Gator
Here's my explanation. The bottom line is this: THE GOVERNOR MALFUNCTIONS WHEN THE OUTSIDE TEMP IS BELOW 34 DEGREES, period. Above 34 degrees it has never failed. The consensus from CSM is that it's the sensor malfunctioning. On the surface, the Revlock operates properly all the time. There's nothing else to explain. Even you, Tom, told me you got different readings when you froze the unit (whatever that means). You also stated in a phone conversation that your own throttle has gone wide open before and that you didn't know the reason. I'm just relating what's going on and that something is not working properly. And as I stated above, your help and service has been excellent. But the fact still remains that the governor does not work properly in cold weather. I feel that this is turning into a pissing match now and I'm too frustrated to continue with trying to solve the problem. I'm removing the governor altogether and will sell it to someone that only flies during the summer months. Thanks again for all your help.
cbergen
02-21-2007, 08:28 AM
Just for S&G, have you changed the throttle servo??
Thanks for the suggestion, Chris, but I'm fed-up with it now and not willing to perform anymore experiments. However, before removing it, I am going to run it one more time (probably tomorrow) in temps below 32 degrees just to confirm/prove that it malfunctions in cold temps. And whether it's the Stator Gator or Revlock, the bottom line is that I cannot depend on it performing properly in cold weather. My initial post was whether or not anyone else has run this combination in temperatures below 30 degrees and to date no one has answered that question. I now feel that I have enough proof on my own to answer that question. Besides, it flies great using my own throttle curves.
Well, it looks like Tom Fiddler was right after all. It was 60 degrees today (finally) and I went through a couple tanks of fuel - using my throttle curves, not the governor. The governor did not lock on most of the time. When it did lock on the motor ran very poorly, like it was missing or something. I switched the governor off and used my own throttle curve and the motor ran great. Cold weather DOES NOT appear to be the cause of this malfunction; however, something is definitely wrong. I'll contact CSM and see what they have to say now that I've tried what they suggested initially (trying a different Stator Gator). I never got a chance to run the governor in cold weather again but now it doesn't matter. Cold weather, warm weather, it malfunctions all the time. My apologies to Tom for being so damn stubborn about the cold weather issue. I WAS WRONG. That having been said, the governor still doesn't work, though.
Well, I flew again on Tuesday, Mar 13th and the governor went to full throttle over 50% of the time. I contacted CSM, again, and their suggestion was to remove the Revlock/Stator Gator and ship it to them - they're located in the UK, by the way. Besides shipping it to them they also charge $10.00 to inspect it. If they find any defects they will replace it; however, their response was that they've never had one come back yet that was defective. This morning I was looking over some posts in the "Gasser Helicopter" section and came across a thread from March of 2005 started by Will James entitled "Just programmed my Revlock for Stator Gator governor". While reading this particular thread I came across a response posted by none other than Greg Alderman. He describes the exact, identical wide open throttle problem that I was having (without the cold weather issue). Even his setup was exactly how mine was, using a three-position switch so the middle position would be disabled. I won't quote what he says except to say that when he returned his Revlock and got a new one it eliminated the throttle going wide open. He also commented that he was going to try a third Stator Gator to cure another problem he was having. So, after letting me believe my problem was unique and never happened before, and letting me believe it was probably an error in my setup, it turns out that they were well aware of this particular glitch in the system. To say I'm disappointed in both Stator Gator and CSM would be putting it mildly. Letting me believe that no one else ever had this same problem - shame on both of you. Next time try a little honesty.
Tom Fiddler
03-17-2007, 08:20 PM
"Next time try a little honesty"
I told you MY Acrobatic with a Revlock had done the same "wide open " thing from time to time.
I have replaced your sensor, offered your money back, and answered all your questions online (on 2 forums) for the world to see,and called you.
I have no idea what you want me to do to make you happy. :dontknow
I'll stand by my comments. You and CSM both led me to believe that I was the only one that ever experienced this wide open throttle malfunction (albeit I thought it was due to cold temperatures). Neither one of you offered information about the fact that others had experienced the exact same set of circumstances in warm weather. You were also both adamant about the fact that your particular units had never failed or had a defective unit returned. Yes, you offered to replace it, and in fact did send me a new one, but you also left me with the impression that this was some new development and that you've never had a defective one come back yet. If one of you could have just come forward and stated that, yes, this problem is not unique, we've had other complaints of the same thing happening, let's try replacing the units to see if that helps. I would suggest that would have been the way to handle it instead of trying to hide the fact that this type of malfunction has occurred before. However, you both were adamant that you'd never had a defective unit yet. No, I'll stick with what I said. I feel that both you and CSM tried to hide the fact that there have been these same or similar issues in the past. Had I been informed that others had this same experience I might possibly have come across Greg Alderman's post sooner about how he initially solved the exact same problem by taking off with the governor disabled and then switching it back on. That would have satisfied me completely. However, he eventually replaced his Revlock with another one and that eliminated the wide open throttle issue completely. And he goes on to mention trying a third Stator Gator to solve another problem. Yeah, I think disappointed is a fair statement. And there's nothing you can do now to make me happy. I just wanted to relate my experience with you and CSM for the rest of the readers so they can make a more informed decision about purchasing a governor and how to approach this particular problem should it come up for them.
Tom Fiddler
03-18-2007, 12:49 PM
http://www.helifreak.com/viewtopic.php?t=5345&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=revlock
"And he goes on to mention trying a third Stator Gator to solve another problem"
Please re read Gregs statement.
"And there's nothing you can do now to make me happy. "
Then I will quit trying.
I've re-read it and will stand by what I said. I hope others interested in this governor combination read it too.