safety issues

[rob]

From the rules page.

Please note that from January 1st 2010, 40MHz will no longer be permitted for use in feather weight and above. The only permissible radio frequencies will be 459MHz and 2.4GHz for these classes.

i have had issues with BR6000 and the dx6 binding and the robot not going to failsafe on my featherweights.
What would be the best setup for hellbent as i dont feel confident with the setup i have for the FW.
ROB....

[joey_picus]

...has that been announced anywhere? This is the first I'd heard about 40mhz being banned

[razerdave]

I can understand the possible reasons behind this (Safety, 40MHz being drowned out), but it is a bit cheeky putting that in the rules without any announcement from the FRA or, AFAIK, any voting on it.

[RogueTwoRobots]

WTF? First I'd heard about it too. Think its a bit unnecessary personally, 40MHz has been used for years and while it isn't interference free, its clear that with the use of failsafes and the usual handling measures (TX control) they are perfectly fine for featherweights at least. Oh well, three good units going to gather dust after Christmas

[m2xt]

This is simply beyond belief, 40MHz has done us fine for all of these years and just because a new technology is now available doesn't mean that we have to bin perfectly good radio gear. I have four 40 meg sets and had no reason to buy another at 2.4GHz.

[craig_colliass]

Perhaps after someone from the FRA has commented on the history and logic of this decision we will be more able to consider the pros and cons.

[grant_ploughbot]

Might be worth checking the minutes from the last event to see why they banned it. But thats 100% false in my eyes.....

[RogueTwoRobots]

From the minutes of the 20th FRA General Meeting:

Phase out of 40Mhz - A number of safety issue with 40Mhz were raised, due to the increasing number of robots in certain melee fights due to the use of 2.4Ghz controllers there have been a number of issues where robots on 40Mhz have been out of control/ uncontrollable due their signal being drowned out by the large number of higher frequency controllers. Proposal was put forward that as from Jan 2010 all featherweight or larger robots should use either 459Mhz or 2.4Ghz
Decision - Agreed (Unanimous)

Was it mentioned before the meeting at all that this issue would be up for consideration? Don't recall seeing it anywhere, as I would've stated my disapproval of such a move had it been up for discussion on the forum. Would it not be better to have it come down to the discretion of the EO as to whether they would allow people to operate on 40MHz, as its their own arena marshall that's responsible for the arming/disarming of potential out-of-control robots? (a risk that should be reduced if the robot is fitted with a working failsafe - which would be, let me think, every robot!)

I guess it could be viewed in a similar light to the current discussions regarding the power tool drag racing; I paid £120 for my Skysport 6 when I bought it new and it still works perfectly fine. I could do without having to fork out a further £60 (minimum) for a DX5 and RX (£120 if I want to run two robots) and I'm sure new builders who are operating on 40MHz could do without that added cost too. Yes I have decided that I will go to the effort of building a drag-racer to enter the Robo Challenge event, but that's a one-off entry requirement. This rule would affect every event from 2010 onwards.

[leorcc]

I have conferred with the DRG and GRA, and we will not follow suit on this. 40 MHz will still be allowed in 2010 at our events.

[blazerbotics]

First of all as i understand it has only been proposed and will be discussed further at the next meeting, im sure it will be announced before then to allow members to make their points.

From an EO and arena marshall point of view: This is something that we have looked at over the last few events. It is getting nearly impossible to run feathers in large fights (burgess hill we had 20 fighting at once) on 40Mhz, as it seems to just get drowned out. No matter what failsafes are fitted, it stray signals get through and can cause misfires and unctrolled movement. Its only a matter of time before we start to see these problems in the heavyweights.

Most robots are running 2.4Ghz now with only a few still on 40Mhz. 2.4Ghz setups can be bought for £70 upwards, you struggle to get a decent 40Mhz set for that, especially if you're looking at PCM.

FM radios have been banned in the USA due to similar reasons.