Focus on Competition - 2003/12

F o c u s o n C o m p e t i t i o n
174 MODEL AVIATION
Technical Director Steve Kaluf
[email protected]
NATS ISSUE! Now I finally get to see
what took place on the site during the month
of July. It always seems like I miss the
whole thing because I’m running around
making sure things are going all right. The
Nats issue gives me a chance to read the
write-ups and see the pictures of what
actually took place. I hope you enjoy(ed)
this issue.
If you’ve not been to a Nats at the
International Aeromodeling Center you owe
it to yourself to attend one. Even better, fly
in one. There is an event taking place for
almost everyone anymore. This was the first
Nats I’ve ever been able to fly in and I had a
great time. I did terrible, but the amount of
fun I had made it all worthwhile.
I’ve said it many times before:
competition is a lot of fun, but, like the
lottery, you have to play to win. No one has
ever won or placed in a contest by not
entering. Flying in competitions will make
you a better pilot regardless of what you fly.
The help you get from those who are
winning is immeasurable.
Lately I’ve been getting what seems to be
an increasing number of calls and messages
from members who seem to be having
interference problems of some sort. None of
these recent problems has been worked
completely through to resolution yet, so I
can’t tell you what, if anything, is causing
this. Here are a few suggestions, however.
Each club needs to have a scanner
available to it. If the club cannot afford to
purchase one, borrow one from your AMA
district once a year and check things out.
Most scanners that will handle our
frequencies properly run approximately
$300. One we’ve been using lately is the
Yaesu VR-500. This unit has loads of
features for a low-priced scanner. It is
available from Ham radio suppliers.
I’ve mentioned this a few times in the
past, but one feature the scanner must have
is the Narrow FM mode. This is sometimes
designated NFM or FMN. If the unit only
has FM, or worse WFM, it will be looking
at too wide a picture for our use.
A couple of years ago AMA Flying Site
Assistance Coordinator Joe Beshar was
promoting the use of a nice little scanner
that sold for only roughly $200. However, it
only had FM mode ability. I received many
calls from members using this scanner and
thinking they were picking up interference,
when in fact they were listening to such a
large “picture” that they were hearing
signals that in no way affected their
operation of radio-control systems.
One other thing you need to be careful of
is the strength of the signal you are
receiving. Normally we are going to get
concerned if the strength goes over S5 or so.
If you think you are having trouble at
your site, take a drive around it. Look for
other areas in which people could be flying.
Look for new antenna construction
(typically not a problem).
It’s amazing how an open field can
suddenly have people flying on it and no
one knew anything about it. Also, with the
influx of park flyers and the like, fairly
inexperienced people are now able to fly
(that’s a good thing!); however, you never
know where they may crop up (that’s not a
good thing).
If you think you are having a problem,
check your receivers. Everyone (almost) is
very good about having up-to-date
transmitters; however, the receivers are
often overlooked. Many feel it is only the
transmitters that can cause a problem. That
is not true.
An older receiver that does not meet
narrow-band standards can be an accident
looking for a place to happen. They are not
capable of flying in the environment we fly
in today. Not only do we have our own
channels spaced fairly close together, we
also have other users of our band spaced
close to our frequencies. If your receiver is
not designed for a narrow-band
environment, you will have trouble and
possibly cause a serious accident.
If you are having problems, or even think
you are, call me. Let’s talk about what is
going on. This is the only way I know of
problems and the only way we can work
together to solve them.
’Til next time ... MA
N a t i o n a l R e c o r d s U p d a t e
SEPTEMBER 2003
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