@VictorC

Back again , My system fell down on No 1 on your list. Sitting in a cupboard for all those years and expecting it to work perfectly was too much too expect .

Just to be sure changed the crystals back to 35mhz where it worked before but no joy. It may have been on its last legs before when it was kinda working so now its a new radio .
Thanks for your help and I will alter the motors as suggested .

@VictorC

Thanks , There are no capacitators fitted so once I get and fit them I'll come back with the results.

As you may have guessed now I'm a complete novice at this .

@roycv

" RC Futaba Compatible Receiver Transmitter 40 MHZ FM Crystals TX & RX 40MHZ Black FM 40.755 " are what I've fitted, I think theses are the right things .

Hi Karoq, just in case are you using FM crystals? AM 40Mhtz crystals will not work.
Roy

Try these is the order listed.
Before doing any tests check if the motor has two small capacitors, one from each terminal to the case. These provide a low impedance shunt for any high frequencies. Many motors come with these pre-fitted.

1 Run the radio its own battery with just servos. If OK go to 2, if not OK get the radio serviced or get a new radio. A new radio might well be cheaper.
2 Run the radio with 1 ESC and no receiver battery. If OK run the boat and test for range. If not OK go to 3
3 Run the radio with the red wire to the ESC disconnected (use an extension cable with the red wire cut) and the radio running on its own battery. If OK run the boat test for range. If not OK go to 4
4 Get all the extension cables that you have and place the ESC as far as possible from the receiver antenna.
5 Try wrapping the ESC in cling film (Saran wrap) then wrap it in aluminium foil. If OK the chopping frequency in the ESC is coupling with one of the radio IF frequencies.

@Karoq
I have now changed to 40mhz from 35mhz but its seems even worse now , the only way things will nearly work is to poke the receiver wire with the transmitter antenna .
There is still a lot of cross interference , even with the 35mhz , If I work the throttle joystick the rudder servo starts along with the throttle and vice versa. There is no rhyme or reason if the rudder or the throttle works .
I think I will take the advice some have given on here and look for a modern system,
Any recommendations ?

@roycv ".....Way back before my own interest many boats with RC were an exercise in electronics with ex-GPO selectors in use and needless to say very heavy. My first serious boat also had a switch to by-pass the radio and run the rudder and speed control manually to test the system. Reliability in RC makes this unnecessary now, the best introduction was the manufacturers opting for the standard servo connectors....."

Happy days! Though Sanwa used to have physically compatible servo plugs which were NOT electrically compatible, with the negative pin in the middle, making it easy to destroy your electronics if you were not aware of this. Dell tried the same trick on their computer motherboard connectors in an attempt to force people to only buy Dell spares...

I have just tried to edit the previous post and it has ignored it!!!!!
Roy

What happened to the rest of my post? I tried edit and it was not there either!
Roy

I have noted the reduction in the number of batteries required, which is good. I use the old gear with the back coming off to reveal the AA cells. Normally 8 but I have very old (not in use) Acoms with just 6 cells! The current batteries dry or rechargeable have increased in diameter by about a millimeter and the backs often do not want to go back on. The weight of a rechargeable cell gives a good idea of the capacity. I bought 4 rx battery flat packs, 4 cell for less than £20 from you know where.
They were marked as 3300mAh, in your dreams I thought! However, a 4.8 volt pack for

Yeah Roy, I had to reach for the manual to figure some things out on my old (but still 2.4) Futaba transmitter. What a nightmare. I decided to set it aside and put a Flysky receiver in and use a Flysky transmitter now including this model. So much easier to program. I don't get into mixing very much. Most of my boats are two and three channel. If I were to even use an old two channel radio, I would replace it with a new Flysky as they are inexpensive, no interference, probably longer battery run time, and of course the antenna issue. The only good use for the long antenna is poking the boat (or whatever).

Hi Lew I respect your views on the RC extras but the setting up has me reaching for the manual and they all seem to be different for throw control mixing etc. On my Fleet Tx I have a switch for mixing 2 channels, nice and easy but the programming leaves me with a disconnect in my brain.
My son makes his living with the subject and although I was a computer engineer I found the hardware more to my taste. For fault finding I used to have small paper tape programmes that were fed in via a Teletype 33. I have now been retired longer than my career in computers, where many of the components were double triodes, (which light up in operation!).

regards
Roy

The old black wire syndrome!. If you disconnect the TX battery when not in use for a long period it helps.
The models I make rarely go beyond 3 channels. The multi-channel modern sets do not have the switches the old sets have. I did make some circuits up that only reacted to full stick pulses and these do any on/off actions.

So with this circuit in use with old 2 ch. sets I can pulse up for turning on lights via a relay pulse down for sounding a horn, a second pulse for lights turns them off.

Way back before my own interest many boats with RC were an exercise in electronics with ex-GPO selectors in use and needless to say very heavy. My first serious boat also had a switch to by-pass the radio and run the rudder and speed control manually to test the system. Reliability in RC makes this unnecessary now, the best introduction was the manufacturers opting for the standard servo connectors.

I have an early Acoms set with entirely different connectors. And of course Fleet being a bit b****y minded had reversed red and black until the end with their blue connectors! You can swap for modern connectors for all but the early 4 wire ones where there was a split battery idea in use.

I used to make my own esc's as the commercial ones were so expensive, I now use Aliexpress ones at a couple of pounds each and buy by the half dozen.
Roy

I would toss the old gear. (Or save it for parts, like me.) I still have several Futabas from the old days. Newer radios have so much more adjustments and settings besides having less interference (and no eye poking with the short antenna). You don't have to break the bank to buy a decent one.

@Steves-s

I thought I had blown something inside when I changed the batteries to rechargeable ones.

I decided a couple of months ago to clear out my garage, There it was sitting in the cupboard and I was thinking of dumping it but after testing it just as an exercise and found it was the on/off slider switch . I finally changed the switch about a month ago, then I thought why not use it for something , as there is a pond nearby why not a RC boat.

Hi all, just been reading this thread on old radio gear and found it quite nostalgic!!.
The one thing that you have to be very careful about is bad corrosion of the black leads when the tx used nicads. My futaba M6 had it all the way up to the on/off switch from the battery pack I think it was quite common back in the 1970's to 80's and it had a particular phrase which I can't remember 🤔. I first read about it in the Radio Control model aircraft magazines.
I checked mine out years later and the black wire had completely corroded away and the switch also needed to be replaced. I can't remember if they ever got to the bottom of the reasons why it happened.
So if you are going to use the better built old gear check the wires.☺.

@Fogwall Old 35/40 MHz systems are much sought after by the submariners, of course

@roycv Good to hear some others out there are still using old school gear in its original form. I was beginning to think, probably correctly, I was being a bit eccentric. I sail Fleet 90s era 40Mhz sets and MacGregor Digimac 27Mhz sets from the 70s if it’s models from those eras, 2.4Ghz otherwise, or if it’s particularly fast. All seem to be perfectly reliable and CB radio interference isn’t the issue it once was. I actually prefer the aesthetics of the old transmitters.

As a sign of how things once familiar no longer are however, I’m regularly asked by passers by at our local pond if I’m fishing! And then they suddenly realise….

I have a Futaba M6 that I bought new in the model shop on Deansgate in Manchester in July 1977, I also have another Futaba M6 and an M4 as well as a Futaba FP-2L. all still works. I have the batteries on charge right now, this evening I'm taking 3 boats to the lake.

I also have an Ariel 6 reed multi that I bought new on clearance in the model shop in Ashton. In the receiver, two of the plastic formers for the coils have broken, I going to attempt to make new ones on my 3D printer and get that set back into working order.

@roycv I wish I worked that well when I was 65 years old😁

I have some old Futaba equipment 4 channel 27Mhtz AM and it functions as well as modern equipment fortunately I have 3 rx's with it so all good. It runs on the old coloured crystals so fits in nicely with my 2 Ch. stuff.

There was a short period with Futaba M3 sets which are beautiful to behold in brushed aluminium that use 27Mhtz FM crystals, which are still available.

I have no intention of embracing 2.4 gHTZ as I have so many of the older sets. The big draw back with 2.4 Ghtz transmitters is that you cannot poke your model along when needed!
Roy

@roycv
Thanks , So there's hope for my system yet?

I see according to my manual that it can be fitted with 29mhz, 35,36,40,60 or 72 mhz.
The only problem I see could be sourcing these crystals. I see ebay has them for a futaba so I'll get them

The tx battery has been changed from ni-cad to ni-mh but the aa cells may not be the best

I have tried editing my previous post and it ignores changes!!!!

I wanted to say that some of my RC gear is over 50 years old. I have a few servos that were dismantled from the Wind tunnel at a research establishment which started life in the 1960s, I changed the servo connectors and they make excellent sail winches. Maybe 65 years old and work a treat on my Bella yacht.
Roy

@VictorC
Hi victor , I am only using 1 ESC but with a Y harness and it seems to work Ok until I plug in the rudder servo.
I have another ESC which is meant for 2 motors but for some reason it doesn't do anything but flash a red light in its insides.

I'll try your idea about disconnecting the power wire as I need to use the separate radio receiver battery for the rudder servo unless there's another workaround .

Hi, all is not lost with 35Mhtz equipment. Just replace the crystals with FM40Mhtz crystals and it will all become legal.
To save any dissent on this virtually all 40 Mhtz equipment coming into the UK was 35mhtz with 40 Mhtz crystals inserted.
I have Fleet equipment bought direct from the shop and served by Derek Olley and his 40 Mhtz Plainsman transmitters are all marked 35 Mhtz at the base.
I would however check on the Tx. battery as it does sound a tad old!

Some of my RC gear is over 50 years old and still works OK.

AS regards cutting wires I suggest a more subtle approach and buy some spare servo leads and insert one between Rx and esc and cut the servo lead red wire
Roy

@Karoq Hi, As far as I'm aware that's correct.

@Fogwall
Thanks for that ,

What your saying is its all right to use it for an rc aeroplane but not for a ground /water based craft ?
I think I will have to look for a more modern system . The date on the instruction manual is I think 1987 so a newer one wont go wrong.

@Fogwall yes your right 35mhz is air only

Are you using two ESCs?
If so, the two ESC will each have 3 wires going to the receiver. It is necessary to cut the red wire on 1 of them to power the receiver from the Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC) and cut the red wires on both of them if you wish to use a separate radio receiver battery.
Depending on your location, using a 35Mz system on a model boat might be illegal.

@Karoq I hate to be a downer on this: I’m sure others can help on the electronic issues involved, but I think using a 35Mhz set in an R/C boat is illegal. That frequency is for aircraft only. I you’re using ‘old school’ radio (as I often do for old times’ sake) then for ground or water based vehicles it must be 40Mhz, or you can use 27Mhz.

Practically I don’t know if anyone still flies using 35Mhz, but just to be sure…. You might be better using a modern 2.4Ghz set as they’re so cheap these days.