Mode Zero

Just before lock down I found on eBay that Aviacraft in Bromley were selling off some old Remcon parts following the passing of the original owner. I went up there and ferreted around a bewildering array of boxes and bags putting together enough components to build a brand new Quantum 6 outfit. When I was 13 or 14 I dreamed of being able to buy one of those kits but the cost for a young lad made it completely out the question. This was my chance to fulfil that dream.

I came home with a large box of parts that together with a Jan/Feb 1969 Radio Modeller mags meant the project was on. Then the first lockdown happened and my daughter and her family who lived in London moved in with us to shield her from Coronavirus. With a full household it was shelved until October when I got started on it. I had a new circuit board and semiconductors and I was going to use new resistors and capacitors as the old ones may not be very good any more.

I got the circuit board built up and applied power for the first time and ..... nothing. It didn't work, drat!! I checked all the components again and everything was right so I was puzzled. I then put it away again and got on with another project of building a Vario Chinook over the latest lockdown when the family stayed at their own home.

Fortunately Pete Christy came riding to the rescue. I sent him the circuit diagram and he talked me through the circuit analysis with my oscilloscope and the fault was found. A dead transistor. But for the help of Pete and with only my rudimentary knowledge the project was stalled, but with his help it now works fine. Thank you Pete!!

I have tried to post some pics of the transmitter but it won't accept jpg files of 84kb. Would someone let me know what format is needed please and will add more when the receiver and servos are finished.

Hi Jonathan

Good to hear you've got your Quantum 6 going only 42 years after they finished selling the kits! There are still a few more unstarted Quantum kits out there, so you may not be the last to build one.

The forum accepts all the popular image file formats, jpg, jpeg, png, gif etc. I have put an upper size limit on image and video files (50MB I think) and Phil or me will come along later and edit large images to get them below 1MB if needed, to try to make it as easy as possible to post. We prefer video files to be uploaded to YouTube and linked, but again if they are posted, we'll move them onto YouTube. If you continue to have problems, give me a call and I'll talk you through it.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks Mike it all seems to work now. I am not sure how to use the "place in line" box though if you could maybe shed some light on that. I am short of working servos. I collected about 11 used ones at the time but they are all faulty. Three of them move very slowly and the others are dead as a dodo. I have no circuit diagrams of the servo amplifiers either. I do have 4 other working ones that I bought on eBay a long while back so I can make the airborne set work but it will be two servos short of complete. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Jonathan, mouth-watering shelf selection of great radios you have there!

Thank you Stuart. I have quite a few more in their boxes and change the display around from time to time. For me it has to look in time warp condition and work. This sometimes means making one set from a number of them to achieve the new look.

stuart mackay wrote: 13 Apr 2021, 20:44 Jonathan, mouth-watering shelf selection of great radios you have there!

Yes Stuart I noticed the two FLC’s.

Hi Robert. Yes there are two FLCs there. They are the hardest to get to work due properly to their complexity. On both of them there is some interaction between channels. I believe it is due to a resistor on each of the amplifier boards that drifts with the years. I was in contact with Idris and was going to pop over to his place to get some advice. Trouble is I then had a heart attack and by the time I was up and running again he passed away. Sadly there are no circuit diagrams that he knew of, it was all in his head. Someone somewhere might have one though.
Idris was a true pioneer that did everything his own original way. He is a sad loss to the rc world and having his radios restored to their former glory is a fitting tribute to him.

Hi Jonathan

Your right there, he certainly was a clever chap and a sad loss ..
His equipment was truly individual and unique in design..
I could never afford it in my younger days , but now things are easier ,there’s none about , so with help from Mike K and Stuart M ,I’ve managed to build a sovereign and half way through a series 4 ..
Lovely collection you have there and to be admired , thank you for showing ...
Rob