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Futaba TM-14 and R6014FS System Review
Product Review by "Rockin' Rick"
Well, the wait is finally over for all the owners of the Futaba 12Z and 14MZ radios to get in on the 2.4mhz technology. These transmitters can be upgraded by purchasing the TM-14 transmitter module and the R6014FS receiver. Before installing the system, you'll have to download the firmware upgrade, transfer it to your compact flash card and install it in your transmitter. The URL for this is: http://2.4gigahertz.com/downloads/downloads.html.
I installed the firmware upgrade in my 12Z transmitter, and proceeded to program my new 150CC YAK 54. You have to remember that this program groups the servos in gangs of "fours" instead of "threes" like the PCM 2048 flight conditions.
The Problems with the R6014FS Begin
The receiver that came with the module already showed a green LED when activated and I had assumed that it was already bound to the transmitter module at the factory. Everything went fine with the initial programming and we took it out the field for test flys on 5-4-08. A range check was done on the aircraft and all proved to be working fine. I started the engine and let the DA 150 warm up for about 3 minutes before preparing to taxi on to the runway. At that time I had no control on any of the surfaces nor the throttle and the receiver had gone into a "red" condition (as indicated by the led) and was not accepting signal from the transmitter. This was puzzling to say the least.
Needless to say, I didn't fly the maiden that day and brought the aircraft back home. I rebound the receiver to the TM-14 module when I got home and haven't been able to cause a failure of the receiver since then. There is a lot of buzz on the net at these URL's concerning heat issues that have become apparent with the R6014FS receivers. It seems that receivers exposed to the heat generated under clear canopies are experiencing shut offs when the temperature reaches approximately 160 degrees inside the fuse. I test flew the Aircraft on 5-7-08 and all went well. NO PROBLEMS. It was 85 F that day outside and I recorded cockpit temperatures no higher than 110F.
http://www.flyinggiants.com/forums/fg239/29053-problems-14mz-2-4-r6014fs-30.html http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7443726/tm.htm
A lot of questions have been raised in the forums concerning this problem, but as of yet, no word from Futaba has been sent down. The RC Universe forum had a lot of replies to this on their forum but as of this morning, (5-12-08) many were removed by the moderator. It would seem that Futaba has been caught with their pants down on this one and are trying to avoid the fallout from this type of negative PR. People who have bought into this system are mad as hell now that this problem has been exposed. I think that Futaba royally deserves the ridicule because of their continued silence. They've know about this problem for two weeks now. They haven't even admitted to the flying community that a concern exist for the R6014FS receivers.
I, with a lot of other dedicated Futaba owners, have bought into this new Futaba 2.4mhz system. We trusted their quality and waited patiently for the units to become available, long after JR had their Spektrum systems flooding the market. It appeared to me a some time ago that JR has been kicking their asses hard ever since these 2.4mhz systems hit the market a couple of years ago. Futaba has been bereft with problems on their 2.4mhz systems
I am convinced myself that a problem does exist, but I think my failure was of a different nature. I did my own testing and was able to reach temps inside the canopy of 125-130 degrees F. The outside air temps on the days of my testing were 85-90 degrees. No failures, occurred during my tests. In all, I tested over a period of four hours without a failure in the system and no "red" conditions occurred during the tests. Stay tuned, more to come as this unfolds further.
Update 5-17-08. While attending the Joe Nall Fun Fly, I had occasion to speak with Futaba representative Arthur Pesch about the concerns over the R6014FS receiver. He is the Senior Manager of service and support for Futaba products at Hobbico, who distributes Futaba here in the US. Arthur had nothing new to add officially from Futaba about the heat problem that is being reported by users on the internet forums. As a matter of fact, his unofficial solution was to put the receiver in a shaded place in the aircraft (not directly under a clear canopy) where it could not receive direct sunlight and ensure that it could receive cooling air flow. For all the good that this solution does, I might as well just fly my planes on Futaba's 2.4Ghz system in the dark. Arthur made it sound to me that the real problem here is created due to the ignorance of the modelers when choosing a location for the receiver in our aircraft. Say What? So, I guess it is also our fault for their apparent defective construction of this receiver, and for their apparent choice of inadequate components that fail during summertime conditions in the Southeast and Southwest US. What about testing these receivers in real world conditions? Did Futaba test all of these receivers in Air conditioned buildings without thought as to what would happen in a real model airplane in the summer? And why did they drop the voltage out put on this receiver to 2.7V from the traditional 3.7V?
Whatever was right with their most recent PCM 2048 receiver? (The R5114DPS) This one had no trouble with at all with summertime temps? Weren't any lessons learned by their fabulously overrated engineers from this working model? Arthur seemed quite a bit on the defensive while answering my questions on what is now apparently a very touchy subject. It was as if he didn't want anyone standing near me to hear that the Futaba 2.4GHZ systems are having trouble. You can contact Arthur Pesch yourself at Hobbico for further information, although I doubt that he'll have anything new to add in the near future. Futaba is keeping mum and has to keep on raking in the dough to pay for this new system until the whole world figures out that a real problem exists here and stops buying Futaba products and then switches over to JR. Watch out, I think the mad stampede has already started. Lot's of fliers at the Joe Nall were investigating JR Spektrum systems. You can call this "bashing" Futaba if you want, But I'll call it response to crappy customer service from a monster that could seemingly care less about the consumers. They just don't know how badly this is going to hurt them.
Additionally, the thread that was started at the RCU Forum on 5-1-08 about this subject has had no recent update to it by Futaba wiz kid Bill Baxter or Krysta ( whoever?). Oh yeah, Arthur told me that these folks work for him also. We're going in to our third week as Futaba continues ignore those of us who have unfortunately given them our money for this flawed system. I'll promise you one thing, the longer they stay silent, the louder I'm going to be getting. I guess the engineering staff at Futaba in Japan is still on Vacation. Hell, they started their little holiday on April 28th, might as well stretch this out till the end of June. Who gives a Rat's Ass about us? They've already got our money. Stay tuned, more to come as this unfolds further.
Update 5-19-08 Well, here's a new twist. While setting up my new TOC Extreme 40% 260, I have found that the new R6014FS receiver that I intended to use, is defective and will not send any signal to channels, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 when multiple servos are plugged in. This is not the receiver that came with the transmitter module. It is a separate unit that was purchased at the same time. I Checked all my servos and they were good. Put them on a PCM 1024 receiver and all functioned flawlessly. How about that shit. Sending it back to Tower now for a replacement. This is getting out of hand.
Update 5-21-08 Both the discussion threads at RCU and Flying Giants have been locked by the moderators. Seems like this thing is getting a bit out of hand and severe Futaba bashing has been experienced at theses sites. Or, could it be the heavy hand of Futaba/Hobbico applying the pressure to stop the bad PR?
Update 5-29-08 Ten days have gone by and I called Hobbico/Tower Hobbies to find out what was going on with my returned R6014FS receiver. They had given my account a credit for the receiver and would replace it at no cost. However, the receivers would not be in their possession until the end of June. I ain't waiting that long to fly my planes. I explained my problem with the receiver to Hobbico rep, David Wolf, and he advised me that this particular receivers' output voltage to the servos on channel 3-8 was at least a volt less than that of their 72 MHz PCM 2048 receivers (The R5114DPS) I had been previously using. I was told that Futaba servos are the only type that Futaba guarantees to work with this receiver. Of course, there's nothing published by Futaba that advises you of this crap. So what am I to do with my Hitec HS-5955TGs that I've used on all my planes? Eat 'em and grind out some Futaba garbage servos that can't be programmed???? That's enough, I wouldn't buy a Futaba Servo on a bet. Let me know when you finally get all this fixed and I'll have a good laugh at Futaba. They've really screwed themselves on this one. My money's going to go elsewhere. Ho Hum... JR I might be coming to see you. Update 6-12-08-Solutions!!! Tower Hobbies was unable to send a replacement receiver for the one I returned due to being out of stock. They said that these would not be in stock until the end of June and if I wanted to wait for one, they would send me the replacement as soon as possible. That all seems kinda funny because their website shows them in stock in limited quantities. Fishy, fishy. Well, I told them just to cancel the replacement and credit my CC back for the purchase. I found one at a local hobby shop and installed it. I has been working fine since 6-1-08 without any problems. But, it was installed in my Smart-Fly Power expander and that seemed to solve the voltage problem. I spoke with Krysta, one of the Futaba technicians at Hobbico today and she advised me that the solutions to most of the difficulty occurring with the R6014FS receivers are now posted at these RCU Threads: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7606959/tm.htm http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7365443/tm.htm and use of the Smart-Fly power expander is one of the fixes in this thread. So What Now????
And if you want a lead on what's going to be happening soon, Krysta advised me that all of the major radio manufacturers, including The Almighty JR, will be following Futaba's lead with the voltage reduction to the servos on the 2.4GHz receivers. 2.7V will become the standard output voltage to the servos in the near future. So everybody who flys on 2.4Ghz and purchases the JR stuff now just to get the free receivers are being "duped". Do you really think that they (JR) give away stuff for free because they're good guys? BS!!!! They'll work for now, but not in the future. JR is trying to clear this stuff out so they can make you purchase the new low voltage stuff later. I've been informed that All the new digital servo's are supposed to be going tot he 2.7v input range so they won't work with the older higher power output receivers. The higher voltage can destroy the integrated circuits in the servo. Real NICE!!! There is no such thing as "charity" in this hobby; only greed, so get used to it. More marketing to get us to buy more new stuff that won't work with the older components. Backwards compatibility is not an option in the RC business. There are a multitude of Hitec Servos that won't work now with the R6014FS receivers bare without using a power box. Krysta also says that Hitec will reprogram your incompatible Hitec servos for free if you send them back to Hitec. So all you guys who have the HS-59__TG or MG series servos can look forward to this new nicety being put on you by the all radio manufacturers in the near future. Thanks a lot. Buck up and drink a beer, be happy you didn't buy the JR stuff that you're going to have to replace more sooner than later. And if you did buy the JR stuff, well you know what they say about the joke... End of story, for now. RR Resolution: Update 9-4-08 Well, I've been flying the Futaba 2.4Ghz Fasst system with the R6014FS receiver for three months now all through the hot summer. It was employed on my Aeroworks 150CC YAK 54 and my 40% TOC Extreme Extra 260. I haven't had one glitch or failure with the system, so I'm now going to give it a two thumbs up for reliability. I'll continue to use the Futaba set up until further notice. RR
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