Page 19 - MFW June 2025

enthusiasm by an enormous degree, my first real digital illustration’s on exactly what went were & how, most
fired up first time did what it should and was very easy to exciting for me was the decoder board following the very
adjust as per instructions, on reflection it was more about latest technology was comprised pretty much entirely of 2
the simple but clever design than my skill level and on integrated circuits, this approach of course dramatically
further reflection may also have set me up for a few ego reduced the scope for mistakes by the builder and in no
related failures down the track however for now I was small way was a major factor in ensuring the greatest
ecstatic all I now needed was a receiver & servos things number of successful builds, thankfully I was able to
really were looking up. follow instructions and I to joined the ranks of the
successful builders.
A point not appreciated today is that type approval & a
licence was required to operate Radio Control Over the late 1970;s and
equipment, this was of course administered by the Post 1980’s a number of
Office and if you were fortunate the equipment in question Micron based systems
had previously been submitted for testing & simply were built for myself or
required a quick look see by the resident radio inspectors others, all performing as
a fee paid and bingo you were licenced ,my first build was expected without undue
a bit foreign to the inspectors but because it was British d r a m a , a n o t h e r
turned on and off reliably didn’t create too much fuss on magazine based system
their probably rudimentary equipment it was deem to be call Digicon based once
compliant, thankfully anything else that I built or bought again on Micron circuitry
after that was already on the list of approved equipment, I was highly popular as a
don’t remember the fee amount but my recollections are it construction project,
was a once only and included a Post Office certificate of apart from utilising more
compliance, I also don’t recall at what stage this process modern componentry Tx
was dropped but it certainly hasn’t existed for a very long circuitry development
time now. was relatively static for a
number of years meaning that newer Tx output stages
The journey continues and Rx’s could be added to older Tx encoders with
Given that this was now the late 1970’s and my excellent results, this process is of course exactly what
successful Tx build circuitry was introduced in the late has stirred the current interest in adding 2.4GHZ to
1960’s I was advised by the wiser heads in the club that legacy TX’s.
most development in R/C had taken place in receivers
and it may be useful to cast around for a more up to date Currently Facebook has at least three different pages
design to avoid a disappointing end result, as previously dedicated to either 2.4GHZ conversion of legacy
mentioned the modelling press of the day was pretty transmitters or simply the collection and discussion on
much full of the newest and most exciting products of the older style radio development surprisingly they also
time so after some considerable research I picked a appear to be remarkably free of the normal Facebook
design and complete kit from Micron a company in the UK boasters and scammers.
operated by a guy by the name of Terry Tippet because of
his lengthy column’s in the English magazines I was Finally I was now ready to fly, the club instructor of the
already familiar with the name and considerable time was decked out with state of the art Sky Leader
reputation so once again off to the post office for more equipment and was definitely not super impressed with
funds my home crafted efforts & was reasonably free with that
opinion, thankfully a somewhat laconic farmer came to
Through various efforts locally I already had managed to my rescue and spent a considerable amount of time
find 3 pre-loved servo’s that came with a guarantee of quietly and gently guiding & nurturing me in the tricky art
working or help to make them work, in that time it was of managing to point my model in the direction I wished it
considered prudent to start on 3 channel rudder, elevator to proceed, this instruction period extended into a deep
and throttle and then move on once the rudiments had friendship and many shared social activities that lasted
been mastered so that once a working Rx was added until his passing.
bingo I was up and running.
One amusing incident I do recall at this time was the then
Receiving a parcel from overseas was always quite an almost unheard of brand Futaba had been imported by
event, generally a card was posted out and then was one of the club members and our Skyleader instructor
presented at the post office were said parcel was then said for god’s sake don’t turn that thing on it while anyone
located & grudgingly handed over by an unenthusiastic else is flying it will probably splatter over the entire band,
postal worker, the price of living in a country that at that needless to say that wasn’t particularly well received by
time didn’t have a huge overseas deficit. the proud owner.

The build While piloting successive models became routine my
Micron’s main claim to fame was that practically any interest in the controlling process continued to develop
modeller could build a Micron kit and to this end the build and as mention a number of times previously the
instructions were compiled somewhat like a model modelling press was eagerly awaited every month, with a
construction plan on a large sheet with a great number of good number of publications available a process of
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