Greetings
How do I install a ratchet in the HItec radios? (ranger III)Went to the web site for hitec but picture will not show up.
Also which control arm is made into ratchet?? I say the sail control is the one, but a friend thinks it is the rudder control. ($5.00 riding on this if I am right)
No instructions in the box as to how to do this either. But there is a little bag of parts, servo saver, copper/brass piece and a small screw driver
thanks for the help guys and gals
Jeff
Jeff, you might want to consider not using a ratchet at all. On a sail channel a ratchett moves the sails in a seriesof little jerks-not helpful in my opinion-the same being true of the rudder. There are probably ways you can “firm up” the movement without using a ratchet. I have one of those radios -I’ll look at it later.
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
I took the rachet out of my Futaba to get that extra feel but found it too loose. When I raised the trans past 45 degrees the control arm went down by gravity and pulled my sails in.
There is a way on Futabas that’s really easy: just remove the ratchet metal piece that is sort of bent with a point at the crease of the bend; straighten out the bend and reinstall it so that the metal puts pressure but no ratchet action on the little wheel…
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
Might sound like a stupid question but what’s the reason for the rachet in the first place?
Peter
Doug, do you mean the centering spring or the rachet.
You definitely want to remove the centering spring on the sail channel. Otherwise you will need to hold it with constant pressure. If you have no spring or rachet, the stick is fairly loose such that a good jerk of the transmitter can cause the stick to move. The rachet will hold it much more securely so that it does not slip. But doug is right that the rachet will cause the stick to jump in discrete steps rather than in a smooth motion.
I use the standard rachet on my Tx, but I mainly use my fine tune slider to make most of my minute sail control changes. Generally my stick is either all the way up or all the way down and I am playing the fine tune for trim. Only on reaches do I have the jerkyness problem…
Will Gorgen
You definitely have to remove the centering spring if there is one; usually there would not be a centering spring on the stick direction used for sail control(left, toward and away from you) because on airplanes thats the throttle stick.
I was referring to the ratchet which on a Futaba can be removed, flattened out and reinstalld to put pressure ,without ratchett action, on the sail control stick. That way you always have smooth action but the stick is not flopping around loose. Haven’t had a chance to check my Hi Tec yet but I will.
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
Just opened my new hiTec (2 yrs old but brand new in the box)Ranger 3. I was surprised to note that it did have a centering spring on the sail control stick! So I removed that and another surprise: the “action” is perfect-no adjustment of any kind necessary. Stick movement is smooth and it stays where you leave it. You can move the trans around -vertical- whatever and the stick stays put.
If I were you Jeff-- and yours is the same as this-- I’d leave it as it is-perfectly smooth feel! I wouldn’t even consider a ratchet on either stick. This one is a lot better than on my 9c right out of the box since it requires no mods at all-just remove the centering spring and arm and you’ve got it…
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
Hitec has the same metal ratchet piece as the Futaba. I took one out of an old Futaba 4channel and put it in my Hitec Laser 6ch. You can make one with a thin strip of metal easily. Most radio manufacturers will sell you a metal strip that either has the bend in it for ratchet or is smooth as most heli flyers prefer the smooth feel. On a Hitec Eclipse I bought last year it actually came with a replacement metal part to put in that doesn’t ratchet to replace the ratcheting part.