G3 Receivers Suck the big one

[Rossta RAT]

Baja170
My 14 will be here next week! :glasses2: Did Futaba come out with a update to fix the problem (not a problem for everyone) in the G3 RX??? I know 2 guys that will not use the G3 Rx due to lock out problems. I have read as much as I could on this problem and see there are tons of people that have had no problems but the guys I know are not the only ones with trouble.
How long does it take after sending in your info to get a logon for the flyers club??
Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks
Ross

[WillJames]

Took a couple of weeks for me. The update is posted here in the 14mz forum. I have never had problems withthe G3 rx's but some have. It is a hardware fix, cutting off the antenna if yours is old, all the new ones ship with shorter antennas already.

Love mine,

[EricLarson]

The G3 does not seem as good as the old 149 in covering up RF in the machine.

It really sucks to have lockout problems as they are VERY hard to find some times. I will say one thing that is almost always true. It is almost never the receiver causing the problems. RF can come from many sources, bad regulator, faulty battery pack, carbon or metal rubbing, bad bearing, wires rubbed through, bad connections in the servo leads, and I have seen a bad servo cause a lockout.

I hope you have luck finding the problem.

[pilotError]

David futaba would not come out and say cut your G3 receiver legth to 55cm or 21.6 inches if it wasnt a problem.

I know this is a little late, but my new 14mz came with a note that the receiver antenna was cut to 55cm.

I have a couple of new receivers coming as well, we'll see it they were cut too...

Mike...

[Linley]

Just completed 15 flights on my G3 receiver installed in a fury tempest with a deans whip antenna - no problems, not a single glitch - performance is great. 14mz has made my heli's come to life. Really can't explain it, but it almost feels like a new more powerful engine with extra boost power is in the machine. The 14mz is an incredible radio. Iam also flying on 1024 with my other machine (raptors, etc..) and the is an increase in performance as well. I let a friend check it out the other day and he was amazed that there is a noticeable difference even on 1024.

[RCfan]

We've all been there ... 14MZ's rock! :smokin: :glasses2: :noteworthy

[frankg11]

Linley, How long did you cut the antenna from the reciever when attaching the Dean's antenna?

Did you just follow the instructions. I am thinking of installing my receiver in one of the helis, just for the frequency convenience.

Thanks.

[Linley]

Hello Frank, the Deans instructions recommend between 4 - 10 inches, so I cut the receiver antenna 7 1/2" Inches. I do this for all my heli's and I always allow the antenna to hang loose around the canopy. The antenna IS NOT tied down to other servo wires or anything else. It's free to move around. Only thing to watch out for is when pulling the canopy off since the antenna is loose and can latch on to a window shield screw or something.

I have not had any glitching problems. A range check with the Transmitter antenna on 1 level gave about a little more than 100 feet. Confirmed with a friend who was watching the heli as I paced out. We were talking via cell phone so we could closely monitor the servos movements.

[worlikjr]

Hi Tim, seems I too may have a similar problem with my 14MZ as you did. My first problem started with my MA 99SE with the 14MZ radio hovering at 10-12 feet about 15 feet out when the engine throttled back (fail safe mode as set my me). The helio dropped about a foot then the engine revved back up to normal mode (at least to where the throttle was set).

Since I was still checking out the bird I landed it looking for a problem with the engine could not find one so I tried again to reproduce the problem again at about 15 feet out the engine cut back then returned to normal throttle as it started to sink. This time I checked the fail-safe mode and found it to be on for throttle only. I then did a range check with the antenna installed and collapsed engine not running seems about 15 feet the moving servo I'm controlling with transmitter stops moving and the throttle goes to fail-safe but if I continue to walk further away (just inches from where it stopped working) the receiver goes back to normal mode and the servos start working normally. Walking ever further away from the helio fail-safe happens again (about 45-50 feet).

I also noticed if I remove the gyro (GY601 or GY611 I tried both) from the receiver fail-safe will not happen for the distance tested about 100 feet. I have also tested 2 other R5014 (G3) receivers and 1 R309 (from my 9Z) in the MA 99SE they all have the same problem. I have an MA Tempest just frame with main shaft, blades and landing gear no engine no tail boom it to has the fail-safe problem but at about 25 feet.

The real break thru came this weekend when another 14MZ helio pilot let me program his radio with my Compact Flash card (CF) with my MA 99SE setup and install it in his 14MZ. We first performed a range check with MY radio and I showed him the problem fail-save at about 15 feet, then he did a range check with his radio. There was no question, his radio was working the way it should have worked no glitches, no fail-safe mode just constant servo movement for about 150 feet, he just got tired of walking away. I then asked if he would install my FM 72MHz module into his receiver, he agreed and again his transmitter worked flawlessly.

Yes, I’ve been talking to Futaba service about this and they recommended cutting the antenna after trying ferrite’s (RF attenuators) on the servo wires, battery and gyro. I tried the short antenna 55cm (on one of the 3 receiver), I installed a revolution whip antenna on the 3rd receiver. The problem seems to be in the transmitter in my case, I’ve been lucky in the sense no crashes but I’ve also been working this since December 05 when I got the radio.

The radio is going back to Hobbie Servies tonight for repair just thought you might want to hear from someone having similar problems

[WillJames]

The real break thru came this weekend when another 14MZ helio pilot let me program his radio with my Compact Flash card (CF) with my MA 99SE setup and install it in his 14MZ. We first performed a range check with MY radio and I showed him the problem fail-save at about 15 feet, then he did a range check with his radio. There was no question, his radio was working the way it should have worked no glitches, no fail-safe mode just constant servo movement for about 150 feet, he just got tired of walking away. I then asked if he would install my FM 72MHz module into his receiver, he agreed and again his transmitter worked flawlessly


Charles Rosario was having hte same problem at B-Ham. He borrowed my radio and all was fine. Steve Helms was there and said to send it back and have them check the RF output level. Charles's radio would lockout with all his models, he copied the programs to mine and all was fine. Steve knows what he is talking aobut, this will fix your problem I bet.

[tnreefguy]

Hey Will you changed your avatar again.

[cwbonner]

Sounds like I may be joining the group who have 14mz TX problems. My EVO started going into failsafe this past weekend, so I started checking things out. I changed Rx's, battery pack, regulator, and then started unhooking servos one at a time, and still the heli would go int failsafe sitting on the bench. The puzzling part is I tried to get my Avant to go into failsafe, and I couldn't make it happen. There does seem to be a combination on the EVO that makes it lock up, because it is intermittant. Oh well, I will test with a different TX and see if it cures the problem.

[WillJames]

If you have the problem Charles had with your TX, the lockouts will happen with everything you try to fly no matter if it is PPM, PCM 1024 or PCM 2048. I bet there is most likely something else up with the EVO Carl. Charles could not successfully fly any model no matter what was in it without having the lockouts.