Bonner Digimite 4RS

[jmendoza]

Just won an auction for a1968 Bonner Digimite 4RS Tx off eBay, it will make a nice Phi G conversion to add to the collection here. Plan to fly my Carl Goldberg 1/2A Jr Skylark with it. Photos will follow as I do the job on the old Bonner. Plan to use the new updated sketch, it should help with the odd Bonner stick trim arrangement.

Merry Christmas,
Jay

[Tobe]

That was my first full house proportional inherited from my late father. Surprisingly it was possible to fly with does sticks that moved as you change the trim.
Memories

[Tobe]

Digging in my boxes I realized that before the 4RS i flew a short time with this in a 3 channel trainer. What impressed me was that already in the early days there were "Fail safe "

[Bo Edstrom]

Jay,
Nice with a Bonner Digimite 4RS.

What is special with the Bonner stick trim arrangement?

Little sidenote about Bonner sticks:

The Bonner sticks was rather common in other brands of radios also in the mid 1960s and some years, for example (source of most below is from RC Hall of Fame site):
- Heathkit GD-47 TX (5 ch)
- F&M Digital Proportional
- C&S Electronics Digicon II
- Deans Proportional
- Hallco 123
- Ace RC Jansson Triple Treat (Galloping Ghost)
- One 1-stick Kraft TX had them
- Some PCS TX
- Sampey Starlite 500 proportional
- Spar proportional
- Command Master (Sterling) 3+1
- Uni-Troncis Mustang 200
In my country (Sweden) the "Micronic 5" TX and "OPPS 3-6" TX had them.
I have seen Bonner sticks in some Brittish "kit" radios also.

Anyone know how good in general the Bonner stick is? It almost seems that Bonner had set the standard for proportinal sticks (closed) with these sticks, at least many other RC manufacturer used them in their transmitters.
I guess they was improved during the years, maybe things like pots and such things was improved?

The Bonner Digimite 4(RS) seems to have rather nice seize, the big brother Bonner Digimite 8 was really big (in height) I have seen on photos.

Hope Your conversion of the Bonner Digimite 4RS goes fine and You will enjoy Your radio.

/Bo

[Tobe]

Bonner sticks were mainly used as they were cheap and readily available compared to others as they weren't that comfortable and terribly stiff...must admit that I'm quite surprise that I was able to fly Heli in those days with them. Some Hobby Shops had them even available over the counter for a while. They came in different colors but remained almost the same during it's full period.
Older sticks have internal parts done in a nylon that tends to dry out and crack especially where there are connected to the pot shaft.
The pots were quite standard and easy to replace and you will find sticks with all kinds of combinations, for most GG transmittera they had a linear on rudder and a logarithmic on elevator.

[ozrs]

"What is special with the Bonner stick trim arrangement?"

Moving the trim lever mechanically causes the stick to move off-center.

e.g. with left trim in place, the stick will be angled left at neutral.

[Bo Edstrom]

That was a strange trim arrangment on Bonner stick. I suppose not even the later versions of the Bonner stick worked as it normally did on most other sticks, that the stick pin itself remain centered and unaffected by trim movement. For very small trim changes it was probably OK with the Bonner stick, but for major trim changes so the stick was more tilted it could not have been good for precision flying like aerobatics (F3A and such).

Anyone know what was the last Year Bonner sticks was produced? The Heathkit GD-47 transmitter (kit remote control) had the Bonner stick, last Heathkit catalog I have seen this GD-47 radio was still avaliable was in 1969 Heathkit catalog. In Heathkit catalog 1970 they had changed to Kraft sticks on this radio, now named GD-19 (instead of GD-47) with many other enhancements also.
Maybe it was at about that time the Bonner sticks started to fade away, since sticks from other manufacturer like Kraft, EK etc was avaliable for other remote control manufacturer?

/Bo

[Tobe]

As Bonner closed the factory due of a breach/litigation concerning patents i.e. his gearbox the sticks where also no longer available. I'm sure Jay Mendoza knows better the story