SPARROW

[Richard Martin 3Participant @richardmartin3]

another thing is the film for the sails?. amazon stock it but it gives different thicknesses and sizes.Where do people buy it from, and hints. Richard I am not going to get the radio till much later. when I am feeling more normal, at the moment I have depression.

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Just measured my mylar sail thickness – 0.05mm (if I'm reading the scale on my mic right). When learning and experimenting I have used bin liner plastic (white, black would have been a bit grim looking) with 3M Magic tape reinforcement at the edges and corners.

Radios – 27MHz does work OK and has the advantage that the TX aerial can be used to snag the upper rigging at risk to the aerial. A wine bottle cork makes a good protector for the far end.

The downsides –

It relies for tuning on crystals. If you never sail in company, not a problem, but if you do, the chances are that you will need a different pair, which ups the cost, probably over that of a 2.4GHz outfit, which works by magic and doesn't need crystals.

27MHz is more prone to interference problems.

With all but the most basic 2.4GHz sets, you get at least 4 channels for very little more money. Not all will be needed for this project, but a future one………..?

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

I'm not so sure about 'wanting to use a set for a long time'. I suppose it depends how long a 'long time' is….A high-quality 27Mhz set is now old-fashioned and unlikely to be developed further. 35mhz and 40mhz sets are becoming rare, and all the development is taking place in 2.4Ghz sets.

And technology is still changing as we speak – I expect on-model video and other telemetry to drop in price and become a standard feature, as well as on-model autopilots. Buy a reputable make by all means (! don't!), but expect to change it when a new must-have feature drops into your price range…much like computers or mobile phones!

Edited By Dodgy Geezer on 22/03/2016 15:40:07

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