3 week old dx8 problem

[nick779]

ive had my dx8 for maybe 3-4 weeks, and ive flown with it maybe 30 flights between my blade 450, the sim and my msr

just today, i was flying my blade 450, and at a certain collective stick height my heli would spin left somewhat quickly....

i brought her down, brought up monitor, flipped throttle hold, and ran my collective full neg to full positive...

between 60-80%, my rudder goes from 0 all the way to 19% and back to 0....

i figured for the hell of it id recalibrate the sticks.... and now its gone, and i flew another pack after that...

should i be worried? and my dx8 was already updated and no recalls apply

[bart2546]

The calibration was probably the trick but I would bench test it a few times just to be safe like you already started doing. If you notice the same thing happen again, then I would contact Horizon ASAP and I'm sure they'll get you taken care of.


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
Sent from my iPhone

[nick779]

Originally Posted by bart2546

The calibration was probably the trick but I would bench test it a few times just to be safe like you already started doing. If you notice the same thing happen again, then I would contact Horizon ASAP and I'm sure they'll get you taken care of.


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
Sent from my iPhone

yea, im going to play around with it on the sim for a while, i just dont get how that randomly happens

[sd401k]

Well, if it's like my aileron stick, then yes, you should worry. Mine has not been on any of the recall lists and has been to Horizon twice now and the problem shows up after about 50 flights. Being the curious, technical kind of guy, I took it apart myself to see what the problem is. Turns out the connector on the end of the pot leads is garbage and after soldering the leads directly to the printed circuit board, all is well so far. (3 weeks or 25 flights). I've got my fingers crossed. Good luck.

[fatalsync]

It's a known issue, there's a recall. Send it back to Spektrum immediately or you will be sorry. Mine ate two 450s on the same day.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 10.1 using Tapatalk

[nick779]

Originally Posted by sd401k

Well, if it's like my aileron stick, then yes, you should worry. Mine has not been on any of the recall lists and has been to Horizon twice now and the problem shows up after about 50 flights. Being the curious, technical kind of guy, I took it apart myself to see what the problem is. Turns out the connector on the end of the pot leads is garbage and after soldering the leads directly to the printed circuit board, all is well so far. (3 weeks or 25 flights). I've got my fingers crossed. Good luck.

just the connector? or were the pins falling out?

Originally Posted by fatalsync

It's a known issue, there's a recall. Send it back to Spektrum immediately or you will be sorry. Mine ate two 450s on the same day.

Sent from my Galaxy Tab 10.1 using Tapatalk

but was it a centering problem or something else?

most of the videos ive seen are the stick wont center at all anywhere between high and low stick, mine was consistant, but only at certain stick heights

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by nick779

just the connector? or were the pins falling out?



but was it a centering problem or something else?

most of the videos ive seen are the stick wont center at all anywhere between high and low stick, mine was consistant, but only at certain stick heights

The connector can move a bit as you move the stick, it can cause these jumps. As something i tried that is less drastic than soldering direct I got some slightly flexible general purpose glue and slathered it over the place where the wire enters the connector, I also glued the wire to the gimbal (so there is no pulling on the plug connections when moving the sticks) there was some of that brownish silicon stuff there already but not enough to hold the wires on, my DX8 has now been fine for 4 months or so since then.

I use the same glue on my spektrum sats (the connector is the same) and so far this has avoided problems with those connections becoming intermittent as well.

[nick779]

Originally Posted by desertstalker

The connector can move a bit as you move the stick, it can cause these jumps. As something i tried that is less drastic than soldering direct I got some slightly flexible general purpose glue and slathered it over the place where the wire enters the connector, I also glued the wire to the gimbal (so there is no pulling on the plug connections when moving the sticks) there was some of that brownish silicon stuff there already but not enough to hold the wires on, my DX8 has now been fine for 4 months or so since then.

I use the same glue on my spektrum sats (the connector is the same) and so far this has avoided problems with those connections becoming intermittent as well.

what glue did you use?

[Busher]

Originally Posted by desertstalker

The connector can move a bit as you move the stick, it can cause these jumps. As something i tried that is less drastic than soldering direct I got some slightly flexible general purpose glue and slathered it over the place where the wire enters the connector, I also glued the wire to the gimbal (so there is no pulling on the plug connections when moving the sticks) there was some of that brownish silicon stuff there already but not enough to hold the wires on, my DX8 has now been fine for 4 months or so since then.

I use the same glue on my spektrum sats (the connector is the same) and so far this has avoided problems with those connections becoming intermittent as well.

My set has been fine from when they first came out, however I had to send mine back in as the PID was in range. I had previously had the back off to do a mode change, and there was no real probs with the pot connectors as such, but I thought it strange to have a connector on the pot like that. I am used to seeing these things soldered up, but like everything in life things change and not always for the better. When It returned from service I took the back off again as I wanted to see the differences and what they had done to the vibration motor etc. The connectors had been re seated the wires had been adjusted to take away any chances of stretch, and the connectors had a smear of some kind of glue or silicon were they met the pot.
So it seems like it was the connector causing the problem. you probably have done the right thing gluing up the connections. I have still to find fault with the radio, other than a quirk on the swash mixing which is annoying to say the least. but may be fixed at a later date in a software change.

[AussieBigMal]

Had the same or similar problem with my DX8.

I use mode 1 left stick controls rudder and elevator. Over a number of flights my rudder input would go from 0 to 9-13 when centered. Caused me major grief.

What I did was remove the rubber backing grips and adjusted back the tension screw on the left stick by about 1/2 a turn. Seems to have solved the problem. Had about 10 flights with it now and the rudder stays at 0 when centered.

You will find how to adjust the tension is explained in the manual

[nick779]

Originally Posted by AussieBigMal

Had the same or similar problem with my DX8.

I use mode 1 left stick controls rudder and elevator. Over a number of flights my rudder input would go from 0 to 9-13 when centered. Caused me major grief.

What I did was remove the rubber backing grips and adjusted back the tension screw on the left stick by about 1/2 a turn. Seems to have solved the problem. Had about 10 flights with it now and the rudder stays at 0 when centered.

You will find how to adjust the tension is explained in the manual

My rudder tension is actually pretty tight

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[aerocal]

The one thing you can do that will solve the connector problem is to unplug it at the pot module.Then remove the female connectors from the plug housing.One by one so you dont mix them up.Just like a servo connector give a gentle squeeze front to back so they will be tighter on the pins when you plug it back in.Careful not to squish them too much or you wont be able to get the plug back in.Make them tight enough you have to push the connector together with more than slight force.I cleaned mine at first and it held up for awhile.Then the problem reappeared after a couple months.After I tightened them they have been good so far.I tend to think they wont act up again for a long time.
I have an original release radio and so far it hasnt had a need to go to service.Everything else has been great.The loose connectors were a slight inconvenience but not a big deal to sort.I first noticed my aileron getting wonky at about half stick deflection.I went ahead and tightened the one on the rudder side while I was in there the second time.
Also be very careful with the little release tabs on the plug.If you break one your kinda screwed.
If your not sure about how to release the wires from the plug practice on an old servo connector.Same type of little release tab on the plug.If your not confident in what your doing it may be better get someone who is to do it.With a little care while your brain remains engaged its a simple procedure.

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by nick779

what glue did you use?

Just some general purpose stuff, its a thick gell type stuff and sets fairly hard but not rock hard like CA.

[spikestabber]

Originally Posted by sd401k

Well, if it's like my aileron stick, then yes, you should worry. Mine has not been on any of the recall lists and has been to Horizon twice now and the problem shows up after about 50 flights. Being the curious, technical kind of guy, I took it apart myself to see what the problem is. Turns out the connector on the end of the pot leads is garbage and after soldering the leads directly to the printed circuit board, all is well so far. (3 weeks or 25 flights). I've got my fingers crossed. Good luck.

I find that funny, as thats exactly what Horizon Hobby themselves did to fix my twitchy rudder when I sent my DX8 in to be fixed. They did it to both sticks for good measure. They must know its a known problem. New units probably don't even use the connecting plugs anymore.

[aerocal]

Originally Posted by spikestabber

I find that funny, as thats exactly what Horizon Hobby themselves did to fix my twitchy rudder when I sent my DX8 in to be fixed. They did it to both sticks for good measure. They must know its a known problem. New units probably don't even use the connecting plugs anymore.

From the reports Ive heard any radio that is in the service dept for any reason gets a complete new gimbal assembly.And guess what? The new assembly has no connector.
It really has been a PITA for alot of users.Such a simple little thing that could cause so much grief.Who coulda known? In the end I tweaked mine and made them tight and they have been fine.I guess maybe I should send mine in and get it checked when winter slows the flying down some.I really hate going back to a DX7 after using the 8 so much.The DX7 kind of feels like a toy to me now but it will hold me over while my 8 is in the shop.

[nick779]

Originally Posted by spikestabber

I find that funny, as thats exactly what Horizon Hobby themselves did to fix my twitchy rudder when I sent my DX8 in to be fixed. They did it to both sticks for good measure. They must know its a known problem. New units probably don't even use the connecting plugs anymore.

Mine has the stupid connectors on the pots and its brand new

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[Slyster]

Originally Posted by nick779

Mine has the stupid connectors on the pots and its brand new

Then you got an early radio that slipped through somehow... maybe at the bottom of a huge stack of new radios?

[nick779]

Originally Posted by Slyster

Then you got an early radio that slipped through somehow... maybe at the bottom of a huge stack of new radios?

No idea... id like to have faith in spectrum, but they don't have a good record with me personally

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