[The Violets]

Happy Father's Day!

They’ve come a long way, this operated on 27.045 MHz and distributed by “Udisco” here in Montreal. Seached the net and I can’t seem to find much on this kit like how old it is and how much it sold for in its time? Also, is this frequency band strictly regulated? You can certainly see the quality that went into these units, still easy handling and the chrome antenna is nothing like they are making today.
Can’t be considered an “Antique” for another 75 years or so, yes?

Michael

[JJBANNER]

I would estimate this would have been made about 1975 - the 27 MHZ would be unusual after that point. I believe it could still be used legally as the 27 MHZ channels were not eliminated for RC use.
It probably was about $250 CDN when new.
Good luck with it!

[The Violets]

Thanks JJbanner, for the info, I could not find much on it. Pretty similar to the packages offered by the main competitors of today. Of course, it can’t be compared to the early single channels, (rudder only) and then the introduction to reeds or tuned-filters (multi-channel) radios. I wanted to give it to a collector advertising in the MAAC magazine but never hear back from him. I don’t believe any of the long established Canadian clubs have a show case on the evolution of the hobby.
Some clubs are shying away for FM transmissions; so I guessing this radio would not be welcome in their fields?

Michael

[JJBANNER]

I have a small collection of RC things from the period from 1975 or so through to some from the last decade. I have a Futaba 6FN system which is very similar to what you have. These radios were extremely well made from a mechanical view but, of course, modern electronics seems to perform a whole lot better.
The people moving away from FM are usually heading to the 2.4 GHZ range.

[cloudniner]

I promised I would never by another O.S. or Futaba product after these (Udisco) crooks took over the O.S. line in Canada (around 1976 or so) and immediately jacked the price up 50%. As far as Futaba yellow box was concerned it was way behind the rest of the completion at the time (Proline),(Kraft), etc.

I heard that Udisco would go to Hobby Shops and threaten them if they imported O.S. engine from the U.S.

As far as I am concerned they can go you know where and proceed with speed.

[The Violets]

Hi Richard,

Thanks, that explains how “Udisco” was able to have the prominent label across the radio. I found these Kraft yellow boxes you spoke of, and there’s some interesting history on them. The battle of winning the consumer dollar still goes on today with “Spektrum”, “Futaba” and “JR” trying for a hard third place. All this branding still makes it an expensive hobby today.

Michael

[cloudniner]

I am not sure where you got the numbers on the radios sold but the club I belong to in Kingston has a little over 90 members.

A large majority of the members use Spektrum, the next numerous would be JR, and there are only a couple of Futaba and two Hitec A9's.

If someone wants to dispute my observations jump in.

The Spektrum and JR features that sell a lot of us on are mainly 'Model Match' and the BNF stuff and with Spektrum price and availability. The are a lot of foam things that you can walk into the local H.S. and walk out with a ready to fly A/C with very little if any set up required. This feature alone sells a lot of stuff.

I have never seen the same thing from Futaba or Hitec.

The local H.S. is chuck full of things from Piper Cubs to Spitfires ready to fly, a lot of them complete with a six channel Spektrum radio.

As a long time RC'r (my first radio had a vacuum tube in it) I can say without a doubt that the RC equipment we are able to buy today has way more features and robustness compared to the radios back in the 70's and 80's. The price of the new radios is much less than we paid back then.

That Kraft radio in your picture looks like it was one of the top of the line radios and I would think would have been in the $600 to $750 area. It sure had a lot less features than my comparatively priced JR XG11.

Just some of my thoughts.

Richard

[michel gravelle]

Hi

Most , if not , " ALL " the info provided in the above posts are correct , including the price . And , " NO " micheal , you cann,t come to our field with that system , But ,................ it might work in the high artic .

BTW ,......................... where,s youre A-9 , now thats high tec

Michel

[The Violets]

Hey Michel,

No, It’s too dam cold up there for me, the artic that is, not your club, LOL! Just thought it’s pretty cool how the technology evolved over the years, ESC, batteries, smaller electronics, longer ranges, telemetry, FPV, etc…

Gabriel is still on vacation, for one more week, but promised me first dibs on the A-9!

BTW, if you want this Futaba, it's yours for the asking, I won't be doing anything with it

Michael