SPM4649T - reliability concern?

[dsevern]

Anyone else heard anything like what the last poster in this thread said?

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=773272

Here is the quote, to save you the reading:
"Guys, I got a response direct from Spektrum Dev...
I'm not going to put a single person in the hot seat but I was told, and I quote: "I'm a bit surprised at the number of units that have been installed in Large helis, it was not intended for that purposed and from a reliability stand point it is insufficient for that application as this Rx was built with numerous crashes in mind in quads, therefor it was of a lower-quality build for lower cost reasons".
There will be no 8.4 volt versions. Their focus is on other Rx technologies.."

[Coco66]

I tend to think that if somebody exaggerates to the point of writing:

Originally Posted by KSKen

I'm about to put 2 Evos and a std Protos 700 on the "Fore Sale" classifieds because of this.

... he could have been exaggerating also in thte previous 10 lines of the same post...

[Caeguy]

What other options are available today?

[mlp3028]

Originally Posted by Caeguy

What other options are available today?

I agree with your question!
I have been a Spektrum user for many years now. The 4649T was an attractive option with the bi-directional SRXL. It died on the bench after being mounted. Large kudos to Horizon Hobby for refunding what I spent on it. They stood behind their product.

Now......what do the heli guys need to do to see a Spektrum receiver with the same capabilities, is reliable and designed for large helis?

[toadiscoil]

I am interested in this point. I have followed more or less this because I too would LOVE to have Spektrum/iKon telemetry.

I have read that most, if not all, of the failures of the 4649T are due to people bench testing the receiver. Could this be why it's failing? Because there are others who seem to keep flying it no issue.

Definitely the voltage is a concern, you need to keep the power system down. I am setting my BEC to 7.0v which is not a big deal for my size helis.

But I am curious what the bench tests consist of that seems to be behind a lot of the failures. I bind my sat usually when everything is mounted on the heli, except the servos for centering but all other electronics are on their final position.

Originally Posted by mlp3028

I agree with your question!
I have been a Spektrum user for many years now. The 4649T was an attractive option with the bi-directional SRXL. It died on the bench after being mounted. Large kudos to Horizon Hobby for refunding what I spent on it. They stood behind their product.

Now......what do the heli guys need to do to see a Spektrum receiver with the same capabilities, is reliable and designed for large helis?

[flint723]

I don't know the answer, but I still have three in service, all at 7.4v. The oldest one has 60 flights and counting on a 700.

Never ran any on the bench. I think one of them I did bind off the heli, on a 6.6v rx pack. The other two I installed and bound on the heli.

[Caeguy]

Really want a solution now but don't want to take the risk

[mlp3028]

Originally Posted by toadiscoil

I am interested in this point. I have followed more or less this because I too would LOVE to have Spektrum/iKon telemetry.

I have read that most, if not all, of the failures of the 4649T are due to people bench testing the receiver. Could this be why it's failing? Because there are others who seem to keep flying it no issue.

Definitely the voltage is a concern, you need to keep the power system down. I am setting my BEC to 7.0v which is not a big deal for my size helis.

But I am curious what the bench tests consist of that seems to be behind a lot of the failures. I bind my sat usually when everything is mounted on the heli, except the servos for centering but all other electronics are on their final position.

My 4649T ended it's life during a second power-up using a 6v dc power source. I did the bind and powered up with all working well the first evening. The second night, power at 6v and nothing happened. Tried a different power source and still nothing. Removed it from the heli and tried it a third time. It was certainly dead.

[toadiscoil]

I installed the 4649T on my Oxy 3 because it is my smallest heli, which should be the cheapest to crash if something goes wrong, and because I needed to steal a sat for my next project.

I did it because I wanted to try out the reliability. For the Oxy I felt it was perfect. There is very little cable so I had to orient the antennae towards the front of the heli but still they are open air so I had no issues at all. I am using the Mikado antenna mounts and they are awesome for this application. My once concern with mounting it on a bigger heli would be I need now a servo extension and I have had back luck with those. Right now it will be only on the Oxy. I have a v3 ESC so no telemetry, I am just testing it out as a receiver basically.

Here some pics how I mounted it: