Antena question.

[Car God]

Well My roomates son ripped off my antena on my maxx and i was wondering if i just solder it back on ( wire to wire) will i still get the same range?


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[FastEddy]

You can solder it on wire to wire. If the joint is inside the antenna tube make sure it will fit. If its outside the tube use a section of heat shrink tube for protection and strength.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

First step - Beat the kid! Just kidding.....

From what I have read I would suggest replacing the entire length of antenna. It is very possible that by just soldering the 2 pieces back together, you will have a negative impact in either range, accuracy or both. Make sure you replace the antenna with the same length as what you would normally have. Most receivers are tuned for a specific length.

If you do just solder the two together, make sure you are running a failsafe. Then, observe and report back what you did. I.E., what % tin and solder type did you use? What was your temp? method? etc.....

Good luck!

-Chris

 

[RaCinJason399]

if i was you i would just replace it, its easier and it may save you money if you do it the other way.

 

[SkyMaxx]

You can solder the two halves together. But if you are not dead on with the job, you may suffer some of the problems that Christian mentioned. I'd replace the entire length or get a new receiver...either way let us know how it turns out.

 

[Car God]

Well I got a JR xr2 ( I have no reverse due to the one way tranny) and I just spliced the two wires back together and put a piece of shrink tube on it. The new reciever would be about $60 so I'll try this for know but i can't run it until i get another charger for my battery (EZ Starter). And because my antena doesn't stick as far up anymore will that bring down my distance. The experiance i have tells me it's better to have your antena straight up for better distance.


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[x_789]

less antena will cause less distance but honestly you have to run a truck out very far in my opion to loose control of it if you have good batts even with an am system. I think it will impact your system if the soder joint is not good but other wise probably not enough to notice.

Here is a antenna kit Deans Sells and it tells you to cut the antenna and leave 4-10 inchs and soder this new into the wire So evidently one of the most renowned wire guys in R/c dosen't think its that big a deal to splice a antenna wire.

Still this is what I would do in the long run. Get a replacement wire like this one its a futaba but i didn't fell like looking on horizonhobby for a JR. Any get a wire like this open the reciever soder this directly to the reciver pcb and cut it to the lenght of your old reciver wire. Also dont get near that pcb with a soldering iron over 15 watts or an adjustable turned all the way down. X

 

[SkyMaxx]

If you notice X there are very specific numbers associated with what you can do with that antenna. The length of the antenna is cut for the specific frequency of the radio receiver. Cutting the antenna isn't what reduces the range...antenna height it. Cutting the antenna will change the frequency characteristics of the receiver; so if you cut too much or do not meet the appropriate antenna length for that frequency, you have just screwed yourself out of a receiver. The kit you linked to is a different type of antenna and replaces the length of wire with a solid state metallic antenna. The other thing that a botched soldering job will do is reduce the actual length of the antenna by a bad connection between the two halves of the wire.

So, is there a real problem with doing this? No...just be careful in how you do it and how much antenna length you lose.