Windjammin Sails
Making Racing Sails for the AMYA Classes!

DX5e 5Ch Full Range Transmitter/Receiver only MD2 SPM5500 by SPEKTRUM



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Why buy a radio from Windjammin Sails?

I personally test all radios before shipping. A few past customers were having trouble doing the initial binding of the receivers to the radios. Thus, I now go ahead and bind all radios to their receivers so your system will arrive in working order and ready to install in the boat.

Also, being a avid user of the Spektrum radios and boats myself, I can help with programming and set up issues if needed. For example, you must use a special wiring technique "Y connector" when using Spektrum radios with RMG sail winches.

 

 

 

 

Windjammin Sails Boat Recommendations page!

Ok, you just bought a new boat, now what will you need to finish it. Windjammin carries a lot of radio accessories you may need.

Recommended Boat Set Up

Here is a list of items one might need in order to build a new boat.
This set-up list is intended for your smaller RC boats, which use the Hitec Sail Arm or Winch.
For example Odom, Soling, US12, US1 Meter

1.
 Radio System DX5e or DX6i
2.
 Sail Winch Hitec-815BB Arm or Hitec-785HB Drum Winch
3.
 Rudder Servo Hitec-311 Standard Servo or Upgraded Hitec-475HB or HS-645MG
4.
 Switch For turning the boat on/off
5.
 RX Battery in boat 4.8V to 6V light weight to heavy duty
6.
 Battery Voltage Indicator 4.8V or 6V displays power level in boat
7.
 TX Radio Batteries DX6i comes with rechargeable, but DX5e does not - comes with disposables
Rechargeable1500Mah NiMH (4Pack)
8.
 150Mah Wall Charger DX6i already comes with, but DX5e does not - needed to charge rechargeable
9.
 Sentry Capacity Gauge Awesome, not only reads power in batteries, but displays capacity
10.
 Neck Strap Spektrum Transmitter Neck Strap hold radio while launching boat
11.
 Radio Case Spektrum Transmitter Case to safely store and transport your radio

 

RMG Sail winch Set-Up

WARNING! Very Important for those intending to use
a Spectrum Radio with an RMG Sail Winch.
Spektrum Radios are great, and they will work flawlessly with an RMG... if you set them up correctly.

The secret is you must run a Y connector after your battery with on end going into the RMG and the other into the Spektrum receiver, and you must disengage voltage protection on the RMG. Failure to do so will most likely result in voltage drops large enough to disconnect the Spektrum RX and TX. In non 2.4Ghz radios, these outages would be un noticed. However, the 2.4 GHz require 6 to 10 seconds to check for available channels before reconnecting. So, what happens is you start racing. Everything is fine until later in the day when the battery wears down a little. Then, if you operate the RMG while also trying to steer at a mark or something, the voltage drops just enough tot he RX to disconnect. You loose all control for 6 to 10 seconds before the radio reconnects. Argh!

This happens because the traditional way and most common technique of wiring the RMG is to run the battery straight into the RMG. The RMG then back feeds voltage to the RX when you plug the RMG servo connector into your receiver. The RMG at times draws enough load to starve the RX of power. It only happens for a split second, but that's all it takes to disconnect the RX. This problem is worse when using a 4.8V battery, and much less noticeable with a 6.0V due to the bigger drop needed to get a disconnect using the 6.0V. Having the battery Voltage indicator is a great tool for monitoring and checking out your set-up as you can see right away how power fluctuates as you move the rudder and sails in and out really fast.

However, once the Y-connector is installed, the voltage to the RX will become unchanged even with rapid steering and sail trim changes. Again, the voltage indicator is great in showing this. How you install the Y connector is you connect it to your battery. Then the one end will go to the RMG. I put a switch between this connector and the RMG so I can turn the RMG on and off independently on the RX, for programming and is needed for older RMG's which only had only 6 second delay before entering program mode (that's how long it takes the RX to connect, so RMG would go into program mode before the radio switched on)... new RMG's have a 10 second delay which is longer then radio connection delay. The other end of the Y connector I took to a second switch, and then into the power plug of the RX. Now, to keep the RX from getting double powered, you have to remove the red wire fro the RMG servo lead. You can just use a needle or a tiny screw driver to lift the tab on the servo connector and slide the red wire out of the connector housing. I then just taped it back so I could use it again if ever needed. Once the red wire is removed, go ahead and plug the RMG servo wire into the RX under throttle, and your done.

To turn on the boat, I then turn on the switch to the RX first. I wait for the light on the RX to go solid indicating a connection and then I wiggle my rudder to see that it moves.... it does. So, then i turn on the second switch to the RMG, and I'm ready to go. Turning off, I turn off the RMG, then the RX, simple as that. The one big advantage of 2 switches is if needed I can program the RMG by leaving the RX on and simply turning on and off the RMG to program.

I tried running the RMG with my Spektrum the standard way, with power going from the battery to the RMG then the RMG to the RX. I had all sorts of problems and a few times I reverted back to my old FM system as I was afraid of blowing a race due to radio problems. However, since I have switched over to this Y connector method in my EC12, I have not had a single failure and all works great!

1.
 Radio System DX5e or DX6i
2.
 Sail Winch RMG
3.
 Rudder Servo Hitec-311 Standard Servo or Upgraded Hitec-475HB or HS-645MG
4.
 Y Connector Extremely Important a must have - order
5.
 Switch (Qty 2) For turning the boat RX on/off and RMG on/off
6.
 RX Battery in boat 6v highly recommended... 4.8V creates power dips
7.
 Battery Voltage Indicator 6V displays power level in boat - very helpful with an RMG
8.
 TX Radio Batteries DX6i comes with rechargeable, but DX5e does not - comes with disposables
Rechargeable1500Mah NiMH (4Pack)
9.
 Voltage Regulator I'm not 100% if it helps, but is designed to prevent power surges
10.
 150Mah Wall Charger DX6i already comes with, but DX5e does not - needed to charge rechargeable
11.
 Sentry Capacity Gauge Awesome, not only reads power in batteries, but displays capacity
12.
 Neck Strap Spektrum Transmitter Neck Strap hold radio while launching boat
13.
 Radio Case Spektrum Transmitter Case to safely store and transport your radioo

Accessories

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Manufacturing Winning One Design Sails Since 1984!

Last Updated April 10, 2009 by Scott Rowland
scott@beanbag.com