[NSRCA-discussion] Futaba 14MZ glitch

[C. Smith]

I have a 14MZ purchased in March of 05. ( Early release). It has had 4 Touch
Screens replaced & 2 sets of "Encoders" replaced. Most recently the Aileron
Encoder Failed completely. Full deflection one way. As Luck would have it
the Full Encoder Failure happened on the ground & was noticed before
attempting to fly.
 A lot of times (Not all) Encoder/Pot. problems can be seen on the Servo
Monitor page. You will notice the bar graphs not centering or erratic
bouncing. Just not acting like the other indicators.
 Another thing Futaba Service has been warning ( Or NOT endorsing) is the
use of Aftermarket Stiff Springs.. They are saying they are unapproved &
could cause problems with the encoders & mounting structures.
I, like many use these springs & will continue to do so. But if returning
your Tx to the Service Center be prepared to hear discouraging remarks about
there use. I know of cases where Warranty Service has been Questioned
because of there use. 
 
 Your results may vary....
 
  

  _____  

From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
[mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of
adriancwong at earthlink.net
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 9:29 PM
To: NSRCA Mailing List
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Futaba 14MZ glitch


To all,

Two of my friends from Hong Kong informed me that their 14MZ has developed
what the the Futaba Japan called a "Stick Volume" problem.  You can be
flying along without giving any input to any of the control, but suddenly,
there can be a twitch on any of the moving surfaces, as if you give the
stick a quick jerking movement. One of my friend had it to the rudder, and
the other on the aileron. They sent it back to Futaba Japan and got it
fixed, explanation from Futaba was a wear and tear problem on the stick
control.

I've been using my 14MZ for over a year now, and I had the same thing happen
to my aileron started about a month ago. At first, I thought it was an old
ail servo, I changed both of them and flew it for another 20 flights without
any issues. Then, I switched to another plane with brand new aileron servos
a few days ago, and the same issue resurfaced, and the occurance gets more
and more frequnt. 

This morning, I was practicing the P-09 sequence with my friend Don Atwood.
As I was pulling the plane into the stall turn, it started to twitch on the
up line. I then pulled the plane into the next maneuver - top hat with 4 of
8 - it twitched again on the down line. It never went into a complete
lock-out, but just a quick twitch on the ail. 

After I landed, I was able to duplicate the same movement on the aileron. I
moved the stick back and forth a few times, as soon as I let go of the
stick, within a split second, both aileron will twitch a few times and then
stopped. 

As far as I know, the 14MZ Tx does not have atick pots any more, it has some
kind of an encoder, similar to a - fly by wire - system on the modern jet
liners? The encoder is suppose to detect the amount of input onto the stick
and feed the signal to the servos?

Here are my questions:-

Am I correct on the encoding system? 

Does anyone on the list experienced the same issue? 

Does this only occur to the 14MZ,  or, other models with the similar
encoding system. Particularly with the 2048 resolution?

When I send it to Great Planes for service, will they be able to identify
the problem easily with an electronic scope?

Thanks in advance to all.

Adrian

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