Cannon micro set

[Wayne_H]

Following a tip off from David (Iflylilplanes), I made contact with the seller who was, surprise surprise, (relatively) nearby in Canberra, and as it turned out, (even bigger surprise) a former electric flying colleague from the 80's. When we were back in Australia last time, we were travelling to/from Canberra for medical appointments, family commitments, etc, so when the stars aligned even I could see an opportunity not to be passed by!!

This version is a 72Mhz AM set, probably from the late 80's or early 90's. It is very clean & in great condition - no corrosion, wires still very flexible, etc. I'll need to change it over to Mode 2 when I do the gigification.

I'm intending to use a Tobe encoder board running Phil's FHSS code, and make a matching Rx to fit inside the Cannon Rx case. The conversion is on temporary hold while some ongoing medical issues are being sorted since our return from NZ last month. Having waited since the early 70's to get a Cannon radio, another month or so is not a hardship.

I've downloaded plans for Ken Willard's Cannon Ball, which is the obvious destination for this radio. Oh to be able to get to Ponte

[Tobe]

....I have used a "proxy" flier the years I haven't been able to attend Ponte.
I have built a couple of Ken Willard's Cannonball where the first was exactly as in the article/drawing and the second electric with more "modern" electronics and cheated with a flat bottom for the wing....for the first time i realized that there were plenty of space. Both were good fliers but the second came out quite lighter and actually flew much calmer and at a more reasonable speed. There was a third one....a quasi Cannonball built fully sheeted with Jedelski wing and originally R/O ACE, this is the only one still in life and currently flown by a good friend electric/ Adam's Clone.

[tiptipflyer]

Great catch.
Do you guys mean Ken Willards Cannonshot, the small biplane or some other model. There are Cannonball and Cannon Ball named models on OZ which look more like a racer, but great models also.

Frank

[Tobe]

...Cannonshot!
I actually have a Cannonball up in the attic, the one designed by Aberle, also a very good flier.

[Pchristy]

Seeing this reminded me that I have a Tx case for one of those:

DSC00921 by Peter Christy, on Flickr
DSC00922 by Peter Christy, on Flickr
DSC00923 by Peter Christy, on Flickr

Its a bit dusty! Been in storage for years! Mick Wilshere brought it in with the idea of building some micro systems. It should have been quite easy, as we were already using Dunham sticks. Sadly, he retired and then passed away before we got around to it.

I never saw a complete one, but it looks as if the PC board (containing both the encoder and RF section) was meant to slot in below the sticks, forming the top of the battery compartment. The aerial would have gone in at the top, between the sticks and screwed straight to the board.

I'm sure I still have a set of Dunham sticks somewhere.

Damn! Looks like I'm talking myself into yet another project...!!!



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Pete

[Phil_G]

Mick Wilshere brought it in with the idea of building some micro systems. It should have been quite easy, as we were already using Dunham sticks.

Hi Pete, I have one of Mick's Talisman transmitters which is very small with Dunhams, is this the forerunner of a World Engines Micro??

[Tobe]

Here's one original Cannon in the metal case, I have a couple of those....in the beginning Bill Cannon were manufacturing them basically out of his home and only on 72 MHz.
There was a few of us that got our eyes on them but they were illegal in Sweden as only 27 MHz was allowed...dad didn't really cared so he got one on 72 MHz during one of his business trips to the US, probably one of the earliest.
However one summer I joined him, mid 70's and we knocked on Bill's door and I asked for one on 27 MHz...he didn't had any but said to come back the day after as he would have a couple on 27 MHz ready for us.
His first Mini servos were different as they were held together with clips and needed a special tray.
The later one that are shown in Wayne's picture were also sold as Kraft but then int the mustard colour however Kraft never really followed up with a Rx comparable to Cannon's.
Bill to what I can recall, never made any plastic molding and bought most of its components on the "open market" mainly Bob Dunham.
What was remarkable the gauge and softness of his wiring.

[stuart mackay]

Here is mine with a FrSky Rx/ Futaba 148s for size comparison.

Were these ever imported/retailed in the UK or personal US imports?

[Pchristy]

Phil_G:

I still have both my prototypes of that set, one (Orange case) is 27 MHz AM - the first set I designed for Mick, the second (Yellow case, like yours) started life as 27 MHz FM, then converted to 35 MHz.

I've left them both on their original frequencies, and still use them occasionally! Yes, they were very small, but each case was hand-made by Mick. The attraction of the plastic case was the reduction in labour required to make it, but by then the domestic RC market had pretty much collapsed anyway.

We couldn't buy the components for the cost of a ready made cheap Futaba or JR (and yes, they did make some cheap sets!).

Due to their tiny size, those Talisman sets were the only transmitters with which I was comfortable flying a helicopter without a neck-strap!

This actually came in handy once, when I had to take over in a hurry from a friend who had let his heli get away from him! Luckily, he was using a Talisman mini TX, and I managed to get it down intact!

Happy days!



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Pete

[Wayne_H]

.....
What was remarkable the gauge and softness of his wiring.

Totally agree Tobe. To look at, the wiring & connecctors look like they too may have come from Kraft, but that is where the similarity ends.

The wiring on the Kraft sets I have awaiting conversion is stiff & "set" in it's shape. The Cannon wiring is still good and flexible.