Team Tekin Q&A

[DCM]

It maybe unrelated, but I have seen a similar issue in a rock crawler with a 'converted DX5E Spektrum 'Air' radio, not sure what causes it. As Stu say's though, you have to rule out your 'converted' radio first, especially as the RX8 initialises correctly with a 'Surface' radio.

[NTS]

Wow quick response, thank you.

Originally Posted by HarlowS

I can see where your coming from and as you have had no issues with your old GTB then yes it would point to speedo. If i were you and you could get hold of the items then i would get a cheap tx & rx and hook it up in your car with the Tekin. See if that works. If it does then we know its an issue with the Spektrum gear that you are running. If this is the case then i dont know compatability reasons why it wouldnt work. But at least we know where the issue lies.

Your logic is sound so I may be seen running my old 27MHz next week!

Originally Posted by DCM

It maybe unrelated, but I have seen a similar issue in a rock crawler with a 'converted DX5E Spektrum 'Air' radio, not sure what causes it. As Stu say's though, you have to rule out your 'converted' radio first, especially as the RX8 initialises correctly with a 'Surface' radio.

Interesting, when you say a "similar issue" are you refering to the switch on LED sequence initialisation or the hesitation? Also interesting that it intialises correctly with a surface set. Obviously its the hesitation I'm worried about, I don't care about the LED sequence as such but I do fear it may be indicating the real issue. I really don't want to have to replace my radio gear or loose the speed potential of the Tekin

[DCM]

It wasn't with a Tekin unit, just wouldn't work 'right' on another brand.

[Northy]

Did you say it was out of the box? Do you know what version of firmware it has? May be worth updating it to the latest?

G

[InsideLineModels]

Originally Posted by Northy

Did you say it was out of the box? Do you know what version of firmware it has? May be worth updating it to the latest?

G

Agreed! there is no saying how long the speedo has been on the shelf.

[HarlowS]

Come on guys lets not do half a job, He has already said version 2.12

[DCM]

I think NTW has already hinted to a possible cause, and that is the radio, so until he can confirm is this is the problem or not, we may be poking in the dark. Lets see what happens if the issue is still there with his 27MHz unit.

[Randy p]

I've never tried plugging in an RS into an air band radio. I wouldn't expect it to be an issue though, a signal is a signal to us. However if the 2.4ghz band is caught swtiching channels mid stream we will show the 7 led flash briefly. I know my cars will do this if I'm too close to a lot of wi fi networks at the office.

The 3s pack being only rated at 20c may be your issue all together. Cogging can be a lof of things but the fact that it's fine on the 2s and only acts up on the 3s pack leads me to think the 3s battery is the issue.

[AJ Roberts]

Originally Posted by Randy p

The 3s pack being only rated at 20c may be your issue all together. Cogging can be a lof of things but the fact that it's fine on the 2s and only acts up on the 3s pack leads me to think the 3s battery is the issue.

Thats what i was thinking, my friend has a 5000mah 30c im going to try wednesday, but what i dont understand is it worked fine before and then started to do it????

[HarlowS]

You dont know if one of the cells in the 3 pack has gone down or playing up though ? Should be clearer when you try another pack.

Originally Posted by DB01R

Thats what i was thinking, my friend has a 5000mah 30c im going to try wednesday, but what i dont understand is it worked fine before and then started to do it????

[AJ Roberts]

It does it on both my 3s packs, i would have thought if it was a esc or motor problem then it would play up on 2s as well???????

[HarlowS]

Does it do the same with no load on the motor ??? Have you tried any other motors ?? Even if its just for bench testing ??

Originally Posted by DB01R

It does it on both my 3s packs, i would have thought if it was a esc or motor problem then it would play up on 2s as well???????

[AJ Roberts]

Originally Posted by HarlowS

Does it do the same with no load on the motor ??? Have you tried any other motors ?? Even if its just for bench testing ??

It runs fine with no load, ive run it without the sensor lead and it does the same, i havent try another motor yet

[NTS]

Originally Posted by HarlowS

Come on guys lets not do half a job, He has already said version 2.12

Thanks for reading my post properly

Originally Posted by Randy p

I've never tried plugging in an RS into an air band radio. I wouldn't expect it to be an issue though, a signal is a signal to us. However if the 2.4ghz band is caught swtiching channels mid stream we will show the 7 led flash briefly. I know my cars will do this if I'm too close to a lot of wi fi networks at the office.

The 3s pack being only rated at 20c may be your issue all together. Cogging can be a lof of things but the fact that it's fine on the 2s and only acts up on the 3s pack leads me to think the 3s battery is the issue.

Randy, The 7 LED signal is very predictable as in it repeats very consistently every two seconds ish whenever the stick is in neutral so if it is related to channel switching presumably it is something Spektrum do systematically? As soon as the stick it is off neutral it shows the expected throttle or brake position LEDs. My main question is do you think this is likely to be linked to the intermittent hesitation issue or should I be looking at other factors for that? I will try and test it with the 27Mhz system but my track time is limited so I'd like to have a good idea of what to try before I get there.

Nick

[Randy p]

It's entirely possible that the spektrum is hopping channels. Any 2.4 system can do this, some do it more than others. If it's on a constant basis something is going on.

Try unplugging everything else in the receiver and see if anything changes.

also try another radio channel and let me know what it does.

[NTS]

Originally Posted by Randy p

It's entirely possible that the spektrum is hopping channels. Any 2.4 system can do this, some do it more than others. If it's on a constant basis something is going on.

Try unplugging everything else in the receiver and see if anything changes.

also try another radio channel and let me know what it does.

Randy,

Tried a few tests last night:

1. Everything unplugged from the receiver except the RS obviously. Neutral sequence as described previously, alternating between LED 4 then all 7 flashing about every two seconds. I then ran a make shift "response time" test where I pushed the throttle from neutral to full and then released back to neutral as quickly as possible and noted the response at the wheels and motor tone. I did this on the bench with the wheels off the ground. Over a sample of 30 starts the response ranged from high speed at the wheels through a jolt at the wheels but not much more to nothing, i.e. stick to full travel and back to neutral without the RS / motor responding at all. Of 30 starts about 5 or 6 show no response to this test, no obvious pattern to the responses. I also repeated this test using a different channel on the receiver with exactly the same results.

2. I then hooked the RS up to an old Futaba 27MHz system (more than 25 years old!) and repeated the above. After calibrating the start up sequence does not show the 7 flashing LED's just LED 4 then LED 1 repeating. The response test was a good deal better, with no starts missed in 30 samples. There did appear to be some variation in the amount of response but we must accept that it is impossible to be 100% accurate with the manual transmitter input speed and duration.

3. I then moved to my buggy with a GTB Spread Spectrum ESC and using the same Spektrum DX6i transmitter but a different (AR500) receiver. Repeating the 30 starts response time test showed an instant response every time to the point where I was reluctant to go as far as full throttle as the wheel speed gets pretty high even with a very short blip.

4. I did the buggy test again using the 27MHz system with exactly the same instant response (no varition apparent), to all 30 starts as test 3 above.

From these tests I have so far concluded that the majority of the hesitation problem lies with the relationship between the RS and the Spektrum set. I will try some more tests tonight, time permitting with a different motor on the RS as I obviously can’t be sure if the delay is with the ESC responding to the RX or the motor responding to the ESC. I may also run the test with an LRP Stock Spec ESC and the Spektrum but as I never previously noticed any delay with that combination I do not expect to see the problem.

Is there anything else I should try with the RS, any settings that may affect this hesitation problem? If I can’t find a solution then it looks like I’m stuck with getting rid of the RS or buying a new radio set neither of which is very attractive.

Nick

[HarlowS]

As we appear to of pointed the issue to the Spektrum kit im now out of ideas im afraid as my knowledge of Spektrum workings is limited. Do you still use the transmitter for air use or is it from a previous hobby ???

I dont think there are any 'settings' on the RS that would alter the effects of what you are seeing. It all seems to be a signal related issue. Maybe Randy could shine any more light.

[NTS]

Originally Posted by HarlowS

As we appear to of pointed the issue to the Spektrum kit im now out of ideas im afraid as my knowledge of Spektrum workings is limited. Do you still use the transmitter for air use or is it from a previous hobby ???

I dont think there are any 'settings' on the RS that would alter the effects of what you are seeing. It all seems to be a signal related issue. Maybe Randy could shine any more light.

I have never used the transmitter for air, it was bought for car use. I wanted Spektrum because in air circles (my farther is a long time flyer) the Spektrum 2.4Ghz system is considered by many to be the best (I don't want to get into a "who's the best" debate by the way) and the DX6i is very reasonably priced for the spec. compared to car kit. I would have bought a "surface" set but unfortunately Spektrum only make wheel sets for surface use. I have spoken to Horizon Hobby about it in the past who say it is fine for surface use, someone at our club suggested it was illegal to use a 2.4GHz air set for cars but that is complete rubbish as the requirements for 2.4Ghz kit are identical for air and surface. My experience with it to date has been great, the conversion to sprung throttle is relatively easy and the 2.4Ghz has been bullet proof. It is a real shame that it seems to have issues with the Tekin as I really don't want to have to replace it.

If Randy can't help then I guess I may have a one week old RS for sale

[HarlowS]

My only other thought is trying a standard 2/3 Spektrum channel receiver with your radio ??

[NTS]

Nice idea but unfortunately you can't bind a Spektrum air transmitter to a surface receiver or vice versa. The smallest, as in number of channels air receiver is the AR500. Obviously there is some difference between "air" and "surface" systems to Spektrum but I have no idea what?