14MZ and cold weather

[flyinfool]

Has anyone had their 14MZ out in the cold yet.
I am refering to the cold of a winter season around 0°F.

Not what some of the southeners call to cold to fly at 60*.

0 is around my comfort level. If it is colder than that I wuss out.

Since the radio came out in March there was not much chance to get it out in the cold yet.

This Saturday it is supposed to be 13*F.

I think my biggest concerns are if the "liquid" crystal display will be ok, (I would sure hate to break it trying to answer yes to transmit) or if any critical tunning components might drift with the cold. I have no way to measure frequency accuracy other than to do a range test.

And no, waiting for warmer weather is NOT an option.

[Hotwings]

if you are concerned about the touch screen, then use the knob to set transmit or no to the transmit question. also you can goto any screen and function without touching the screen. c-ya ron

[flyinfool]

I had thought about that. I'm just wondering if I am puttting the TX at risk in the cold.

[flyinfool]

Well I took my 14 out in the cold Sat and Sun.
Temps went from 13 to 24F.
The Radio worked flawlessly.
I only got 7 flight out of a charge before the battery showed 30%.
I never did touch the screen, I was chicken, I just used the wheel.

Even the falling snow did not bother it.

[WillJames]

Thanks for the report Jeff!!

[hjscm]

just saw this post. i flew last year in about -8 weather in the morning. the only problem i had was when i brought the radio inside the house after the flight it seemed to devolop condensation inside the touch screen was a couple of drops and stayed there for about a onth but is finally gone now. you could move the drops when you pushed the screen but it still worked fine and the drops are gone now. i use the touch screen the whole time i was outside. about 4 flights then too cold for me.

[WillJames]

I have those drops (a couple of them) now and my radio is brand new. Anyone else have the bubbles or "drops" inside their screen?

[Phaedrus]

I have a friend who is an electrical engineer and RC pilot. He has seen the same little bubbles on my 14 screen and tells me that they are very common on thee types of displays and that they are nothing to worry about. He had a name for them, which I cannot recall. He works with these types of screens in his work (non-RC) and says they are very common.

[RCfan]

Check here: http://www.14mz.com/faq/faq-14mz-q843.html -- Seen these a lot in portable gear/handhelds and some game units. I'd want to send it in for a replacement.

[bono1]

There is a protective cover over the screen, is this what has the bubbles?
Sam

[WillJames]

No the bubbles are between the internal layers of the screen. You can take the stylus (in my case a 601 plastic screwdriver with fuel tube on it) and move hte bubble anywhere on the screen.

[hjscm]

this is exactly what i had and it happend coming in from the cold weather. they where there for a couple of months and went away. they are gone now.

[WillJames]

Interesting. I was looking at mine today. I can make it be one big bubble or I can break the bubble up into a bunch of small bubbles. Kinda cheesy for a 2K+ radio if you ask me.... :DOH

[flyinfool]

I have not had any "bubble" issues yet.

The display screen is also fun to watch since when you change from one screen to another it does a slow fade from one to the next. It takes 2-3 seconds for the change.
I will continue to use only the wheel and buttons, since it takes noticeably a lot more pressure to activate the touch screen in the cold.

What I have found is that something in the battery monitoring circuit is temp sensitive.
This weekend we were doing some work on a windbreak, Temp around 5°F and my TX was out on the table.
After sitting unused for about 2 hours when I did turn it on the battery indicator was showing 19% remaining and the low battery alarm sounded. I put in my spare pack and it did the same thing.

After I got home and warmed things up, all was normal and both packs ran the TX for almost 2 hours with the display set to never go off.

Test one.
After recharging the packs I put them in my freezer (I never did check the freezer temp) for 3 hours and then tried them in the TX.
They worked normally although capacity was down by around 30% as would be expected from the cold.

Test two.
Recharged and warmed up the batteries and put the TX in the freezer.
Now with warm batteries and a cold TX I was able to duplicate the early low battery alarm.

My solution for now is whenever the temp is below freezing I will keep the TX in the case and add a hand warmer that is sealed in a Ziploc bag next to the TX. I did this on Sunday and with temps in the single digits I flew all day with no issues other than fingers falling off.

You just have to remember to let some fresh air into the hand warmer every once in a while since they consume oxygen to make heat.
I sealed it in a Ziploc bag because i do not trust a porous bag, filled with a mixture of powdered iron, and salts designed to produce oxidation just sitting next to my TX full of delicate electronics.

[Phaedrus]

Interesting. I was looking at mine today. I can make it be one big bubble or I can break the bubble up into a bunch of small bubbles. Kinda cheesy for a 2K+ radio if you ask me.... :DOH

Cheesy or not, it is a fact of life for these types of displays. No matter what the installation, they can all do this. And it is between the outside protective layer of the screen and the underlying touch sensitive portions where the bubbles form.

They have absolutely no effect on the functionality of the screen.

[flyinfool]

Well after a couple of weeks now the chemical hand warmers in a ziplock bage are working well to keep the 14MZ alive in the cold.

I put one warmer in a ziplock sandwich size bag with a good size bubble of air and place that in the bottom of the TX case with the TX sitting on top of it.
Keep the lid closed to help hold the heat in.
Every time I pull the TX out to fly I open the plastic bag and let fresh air in.

[WillJames]

My bubbles have all but disappeared now. Do they come and go regularily? I definitely LOVE the radio, easiest to program and most versatile I have ever had.

Sounds like a good plan Jeff!! Thanks for the tips.